February 2015: Terere Day

Dear Family and Friends:

Last month’s suspicious death of attorney Alberto Nisman caught international attention.  His body was found the day before he was going to present his case against the Argentine government for an alleged cover-up in the investigation of the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, which, according to Haaretz, “was the bloodiest attack against the Jewish Diaspora since the Shoah (Holocaust).”  One detail in Nisman’s indictment is that prior to the attack the primary suspects entered Argentina after receiving logistics support—possibly including money and explosives—in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay.

Paraguay’s second largest city, Ciudad del Este, is not a particularly dangerous place, but lax regulations allow for an open border and a tariff-free flow of merchandise, making it one of South America’s main shopping-tourism destinations.  Visitors to its sprawling downtown market area can hear prices being discussed in Portuguese, Arabic and Mandarin Chinese.  The city’s international community offers a good experience for Paraguayans who are considering foreign missions.  This, coupled with the struggles of some churches there, motivated us to select Ciudad del Este as the subject of our missions conference on March 13^th.  Please pray for the conference, and that churches in the Asunción-metro area will catch the vision to organize short-term mission trips and send missionaries to Ciudad del Este. 

Neither Ciudad del Este’s legacy nor the corruption mentioned in our last update overshadow the fact that the Lord is making things new in Paraguay.  Inside the Tacumbú Prison, for example, 16 more inmates gave their lives to Christ and finished the “¿Quién es Jesús?” discipleship.  20 new participants started the study this month.  Since the study is now primarily inmate-taught, I have time to teach “¿Quién es Jesús?” in the neighboring Esperanza Prison.  Please pray for more changed lives through the prison ministry.

*We are needing about 80 more Reina-Valera (1995 or 1960 translations) or Nueva Version International Bibles for the prison ministry.  If you would be interested in donating Bibles, please contact us.

Another area of renewal for Paraguay is found in God’s work through the preparation of future leaders.  I began classes last week at the New Horizon School with my 240 talented junior high students, for whom I have high expectations.  Margarita is teaching and evaluating disability levels.  Many students face serious obstacles to their studies and difficult home situations; yet, we are hopeful for a great year because, for God, nothing will be impossible.  Please continue to pray for the New Horizon School.      

                                    My 9^th graders this year were once my and Margarita’s tiny 2^nd graders

Various times each day Paraguayans stop their activities to serve a loose-leaf, iced-green tea called tereré to friends as well as strangers, all sharing it from the same “guampa” and filtered straw.  Tereré is being commemorated this week across Paraguay and reflects the culture’s hospitality and value of people over tasks. These norms point to the inviting love of Christ, through whom every culture and nation was made, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him.  Please pray for us as we encourage others to seek him.

Happy Tereré Day!

Tim, Margarita, Ana and Antoine

*For a brief visual of an uneventful, though, authentic tereré session, see www.youtube.com/watch?v=2P63SI453iY