Dear Family and Friends:
According to the Gallup World Poll, Paraguay is the happiest
country in the world. This seems
misleading when considering the impoverished and violence-stricken slums in
which hundreds of thousands of people here live. On the other hand, upon visiting these slums,
one can hear laughter and children singing.
Topographically and
socially speaking, the Avamba’e Public School sits at the bottom of its
neighborhood. The gang-related graffiti
adorning the few standing sections of the school grounds’ walls and piles of
garbage decorating the recess area aesthetically match the surrounding
residential area nicknamed, “Pantanal,” or “swamp.” Despite the violence, addictions and poverty
around Avamba’e, the school is filled with precious elementary school children
and junior high adolescents who are eager to learn. Last month I sat in an
English class taught there by a missionary intern, Alex. He concluded the class by teaching the
students the chorus of a Dave Crowder Band song. It was powerful to hear the school’s halls
filled with their voices singing “He loves us, oh, how He loves us, oh, how He
loves…” Despite the conditions in which
the Avamba’e students live it still stands true that
neither height nor
depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the
love of God that is in Christ
Jesus our Lord. Pray that the students, their families and
neighbors will personally know the Giver of this love. Also, please pray for the short term mission
team from Montavilla Baptist Church in Portland, who will be working in schools
like Avamba’e at the end of June and beginning of July.
The families of many
Paraguayan students struggle to provide school supplies for their
children. Years ago, when I was teaching
in a public middle school in Northeast Portland I collected all the pencils, pens, notebooks,
calculators and other school supplies that the students left behind at the end
of the school year. The amount of items
that were still in almost new condition surprised me. I selected enough to fill
two medium-sized boxes, which I sent to a school in Paraguay. Although used school supplies may seem
valueless, Margarita and I have the opportunity to share Christ’s love in
un-churched areas of Paraguay through distributing such items. Would you like
to help us?
We are not asking for money or for you to buy new
supplies. As the U.S. school year comes
to an end, please talk to students and teachers about gathering usable school
supplies left in their classrooms to send to Paraguay. When you have a box ready, please contact me
and I will guide you in the best way to send it here.
Through your
continued prayers and support, Margarita and I see a part of the
great love the Father has lavished on us. We
thank you and, with Fathers’ Day in mind, thank God for his love, which, is freely
given to all of us.
Happy Fathers’ Day!
Tim, Margarita and Ana
