June 2011: "Gracious Words are like a honeycomb..."

June 2011

Dear Friends and Family:

The 2011 Benson High School student body president stood before his fellow graduates, tall and confident. He congratulated them for their accomplishments while challenged them to go on to achieve greater honors.  Four years earlier, in eighth grade, this young man struggled to speak in front of the class and didn’t make the honor roll.  As a middle son of refugee parents with twelve children, he had many responsibilities vying for his study time.  He was in a class I taught called AVID.  This program encourages marginally-performing students to prepare for post-secondary education by teaching them study skills that help them succeed in honors classes.  The encouragement he received in this program as well as in his high school classes proved to be “sweetness to his soul.” His hard work in high school earned him an excellent GPA, which resulted in a full-ride college scholarship.  The testimonies of many like this young man show that encouragement can push a young person towards wisdom, and “if they find it, there will be a future,” for them and their household.

Pray for the 2011 graduates you know, adding, please, these students: Roselily, Khalid, Andrew, Calvin, Darien and Mary.

Education is a means to end family cycles of poverty and a factor to increase quality of life; therefore, encouraging students to achieve could literally translate into “health for their bodies.”  Unfortunately, educational opportunities are limited in many parts of the world, namely Paraguay.  There the New Horizon School operates with the mission to provide a quality education to students who normally would not have such an opportunity.  The school’s faculty of dedicated believers, inspired by Christ “who lives in them,” lovingly gives of themselves in encouraging the students toward achievement.  Please pray for renewal for the New Horizon faculty during the upcoming winter vacation, in addition to more sponsors for the students.  Also, praise God for the $50,000 challenge-grant that was met last month for construction on the school.

Margarita and I are enjoying our time in the United States.  We have opportunities every week to share about the New Horizon School and our mission work.  The more we share, the more we think about returning to Paraguay; though, we still have seven months left in the U.S.  We also still have half of our monthly financial goal left to raise.  This is up from April when we were two-thirds short.  Give thanks to God with us for all those who have contributed.  Please ask Him to call more groups and individuals to help fill in the other half of our monthly financial goal.    

A number of people have asked if contributions should be sent now or when we leave for Paraguay.  If you decide to support us financially, please start giving now.  Not only does this set the pattern for our monthly support on the mission field, but it also currently covers our car expenses, helps pay for my continuing teaching license courses, and enables us to pursue fundraising opportunities.  In fact, the monthly contributions are our main source of income right now (subsidized by some tutoring and regular acts of spontaneous generosity).

Our final prayer request is for our child, who will be born in two months, and for Margarita.  We’re both very excited.  Margarita is feeling quite ready to have the baby.  Praise God that all is well.  Likewise, we praise Him for all the generosity shown to us, and because of your partnership in the gospel.      

Happy Independence Day!                Tim and Margarita Revett