June/July 2008
Dear Friends and Family:
“Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these’” (Matthew 19:14).
Four-year-old Gloria Iluminada Nuñez Benitez knows how to greet and present herself in English, and proudly does so in front of her class. At the end of each lesson, when I give my farewell to the students, Gloria looks right at me, waves, and tells me in a stately tone, “See you later.” Gloria is precious. It broke my heart to hear that her mother died shortly after giving birth to her. It also broke my heart to hear a missionary doctor say Gloria is one of the least healthy students in the school. She is underweight, malnourished, has significant dental issues, and possibly has a heart murmur. Her teacher remarked one day, “Gloria has more lice than hair.” Gloria’s father works hard to care for her and the other five children, but is not able to pay for the medical attention she needs. Last April, I became Gloria´s padrino (sponsor). I use a small part of my monthly support to cover her education at Nuevo Horizonte. In addition, I will soon begin providing for her dental and medical needs. There are other students in great need who don’t have a sponsor to help out with school costs. If you are interested in sponsoring a student, contact me or check out www.paraguayschools.org. Please pray for Gloria and the many students at Nuevo Horizonte whose prospects to be a healthy and educated child are threatened by their family’s economic situation.
A number of you were praying in May for a youth evangelism event hosted by my church, Puerta Abierta, which coincided with the visitation of a Brazilian mission team. During the event, the church was packed, and the music from the bands could be heard throughout the barrio. We don’t know all of the spiritual seeds that were planted that night. A young man named Jorge prayed with me to accept Christ, and a few youths who left the church last year showed up for the event. Puerta Abierta continues to reach out to the Cerro Corá barrio and is planning for another youth event in September. Please pray for the Holy Spirit to guide the church in its activities and to move in the hearts of the residents of Cerro Corá. Also, please pray for Jorge, and for the youths who are away from the church (Pablo, Diana, Cesar, Denise, Milciades, Belen, and Lorenzo).
While ministry opportunities in the church abound, my main focus is still the Nuevo Horizonte School, where we are halfway through the second trimester and entering winter vacation. Last Thursday your generous donations enabled me to treat all the 7th graders who passed all their classes to a night of bowling. For many of them, it was the first time in awhile that they had gone into Asunción. For most of them, it was their first time bowling. The first hour of play was an anarchy of bowling balls going in all directions, students laughing and occasionally running down the lane to retrieve balls that had been thrown too short or had bounced off the bar that clears the pins (the bar would randomly come down). Eventually we did complete an organized team match. Most importantly, the students enjoyed themselves—up to the moment we arrived back at the school. They are a great group of adolescents. Pray that the Lord would impact their lives during this critical age.
In closing, I could write about a prison visit, activities with mission teams, a number of awesome church services, and the visit of a nice young woman named Brenda, who I met a month before I left Portland Paraguay
Sincerely, Tim Revett
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