Tropical Storm Bonnie threatened to become a cyclone as it headed straight for Margarita Island. The government had to suspend all classes nationwide and limit airport activities. It looked like it would be necessary to cancel the Festival de la Familia that had been planned for months.
However, the pastors of Margarita Island had been praying for a long time that God would bring a great evangelistic event to the Caribbean island, and they knew very well that Jesus Christ is Lord of all—even over storms and cyclones.
They prayed tirelessly that God would turn the storm north, bypassing the island altogether. In the end, the event was affected only by light rain.
The Evangelical Council of Venezuela and the Christian churches of Margarita Island joined forces to organize this evangelistic effort that took place from July 1-3, featuring David Ruiz, the Spanish-speaking evangelist of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
“Aren’t you the one who will be speaking at the Festival de la Familia at the stadium?” a waitress asked Ruiz during breakfast.
“I recognized you from the photo. My neighbor who lives to the right of my house is a Christian and she invited me. My other neighbor who lives to the left is also a Christian and she invited me, too. So, after so many invitations, I thought I must go. I will be there.”
An evangelistic event of this magnitude had never been organized on Margarita Island, with even the national baseball teams not able to fill Nueva Esparta stadium like the Festival de la Familia.
Approximately 56,000 people attended the three-day event.
“We have witnessed that this is God’s time for Venezuela,” Ruiz said. “People know they have a need of God, and the churches on Margarita Island prayed unceasingly for their community and made a great effort to invite their neighbors. They even handed out invitations in the stores. It was wonderful to see that even the children invited other children. And God was the one who finally worked the miracle by touching so many hearts.”