And then the Sky Lights Up

Dear Family and Friends:

Popular Christmas images like Santa Claus in a red winter coat and a snow sled with reindeer make no sense to most Paraguayans.  Late December is full-blown summer here, with the temperature breaking 100 degrees nearly every day.  On Christmas Eve, Paraguayans prepare a large meal, which the whole family sits down to eat around 10 P.M.  At exactly midnight everybody shakes hands and wishes each other a merry Christmas, and then the sky lights up with fireworks until 2 A.M.—it is anything but a silent night.  The silence comes on Christmas Day when most people sleep in late and relax around their homes.

Your prayers are being answered as we’ll celebrate Christmas at our new house.  Since classes ended, we’ve felt more like construction workers than educators.  I spent almost a week hauling at least a ton of debris from the yard in a wheelbarrow. We are now painting and gradually moving in.  Thank you for your prayers and for your donations toward our house!

Street View of the House

Additionally, thank you for your prayers for this month’s outreach event in Puerto Falcon.  We mobilized five car loads of volunteers from different churches around Asuncion.  They cut and styled hair, prayed for visitors, organized an evangelistic sewing circle, and played with and taught about God’s love to children.  Then, they put on a powerful open-air service.  We thank God for the nearly 20 people who decided to follow Jesus.  Please keep the Puerto Falcon Church in your prayers as they represent Christ in their city.

Margarita prays with a group of teenage girls in Falcon to trust in Jesus.

The preacher for the event, who also brought most of the volunteers, was a young man named Alexis.  It has been great to see the many fruits of his ministry, and I had the privilege to attend his ordination last Sunday. Two other colleagues, both named Leonardo, are also being ordained this summer.  Thank God for these men who’ve accepted the call to be pastors, and please pray for them and their families.

After New Years we’ll make a short vacation out of our trip to one of the ordination services.  Pray for us to have a safe, fun and relaxing time.  Likewise, pray for Margarita and me as we process our educational ministry vision for 2018.

Earlier this month we visited a Mbya Guarani community named Zarate Isla that appears to not have been engaged by any ministries or churches.  The inhabitants there have significant health, social and educational needs.  To make matters worse, local developers are starting to invade their land.  Pray for this Mbya community and for God to guide our interactions with them.

Lighting up the Paraguayan sky on Christmas Eve is quite appropriate for the evening we remember when “the true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.”  Jesus tells us that he came into the world as light, and that whoever follows him will have the light of life.  Pray that many celebrate this Christmas by choosing to follow him.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Tim, Margarita, Ana, Antoine and Gabrielli Revett

Ana, Gabrielli and Antoine wait for Christmas

Lots to Be Thankful For

Dear Friends and Family:

Margarita and I give thanks to God for the many great things that have happened this year in Paraguay.  The Torre Fuerte Church has grown in numbers as well as unity.  My 100 or so students advanced in their studies, and a number of the almost 100 teenage boys who I followed up on through chaplaincy made first-time decisions to follow Jesus.  We checked on many former students who continue in universities and have found good jobs.  Margarita worked with less students this year to dedicate more time to our two youngest children, Antoine and Gabrielli.  We organized 6 outreach events in 4 different cities, seeing as many as 200 people place their faith in Christ.  120 inmates completed the evangelistic course “Quien es Jesus,” with the majority deciding to follow Jesus.  Also, one former inmate who I discipled now helps plant a church near the world-famous Cateura neighborhood (watch the 60-Minutes report about the neighborhood at www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxUuKthY1dQ).  This all was possible because of your support.  Thank you!

Margarita and our colleague, Christian, trained the Puerto Falcon Sunday school teachers for the upcoming outreach event.

This has been one of the most eventful years for us as a family.  Gabrielli was born in March, presenting us with the beautiful challenge of raising three children.  To meet the needs of a bigger family, we had to purchase a bigger car and build a bigger living space, which has taken much of our attention.  Pray for the house to be ready for us to move in by Christmas.

Antoine had fun at his birthday party with his friends, cousins and sisters.

Last week we returned to the Ava Guarani settlement.  The principal there asked us to help at their school next year.  The previous week we received a similar invitation from a principal on an urban Mbya Guarani settlement.  In both cases, before being able to serve at the schools, the tribal leaders will need to accept us.  Pray that the Ava and Mbya leaders will approve us as educators for their students and communities in 2018.  

While Margarita was talking with the principal at the Mbya school, a young leader showed me around the settlement and told me a little of his story.  He didn’t say anything about his father, but he is the middle child of many brothers and sisters.  He left his mother’s house a few years ago to come to the city for a better educational opportunity.  He is now finishing high school and will soon travel back to his tribal lands about 3 hours away to visit his mother.  Pray for him to hear his Creator’s voice as he faces big decisions.

Margarita and I thank God because of your partnership in the good news through your giving and praying.  Please pray that words may be given to us and our colleagues to boldly proclaim Jesus' teachings each day in Paraguay, and, in particular, this Saturday (December 2^nd) in the city of Puerto Falcon.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tim, Margarita, Ana, Antoine and Gabrielli Revett

A Thanksgiving Meal with Missionaries 

A Door was Opened to Us

Dear Friends and Family:

In early October, Margarita and I unknowingly walked into a key meeting among educators from Native settlements around the Asunción metro area.  By faith, we waited to see what connections might come from our time there.  Right behind me sat a leader from the Ava Guarani tribe.  When it was her turn to speak, using the colorful vernacular of the Guarani language, she expressed her negative feelings toward white people--North American “gringos” in particular.  I silently stared out the window as she spoke.  Surprisingly, the meeting ended with Margarita and me being invited to this leader’s settlement.  Last week we followed through on the invitation.  I stood at the gate to the leader’s yard with Pastors Dennis Humphrey and Anthony Watt, who were visiting us from Texas, while Margarita sat down with her in the patio and had a pleasant conversation.  Before leaving, the leader invited us to return at the end of November.  She also entrusted us with the task of driving her daughters and granddaughter to the supermarket on our way home.  In spite of her antagonistic feelings, a relational door was opened.  Please pray for God to guide our relationship with this leader and her tribe, which some missions researchers consider to be an unreached people group.

Margarita obviously played a critical role in the beginning of our relationship with the Ava Guarani.  Her loving character and witty sense of humor certainly impressed the leader.  Moreover, her training in helping students with difficulties in school will be an important tool for possible educational ministry among the Ava Guarani as well as other underserved groups.  Aside from being an awesome mother and wife, she is an excellent ministry partner.  We celebrated her birthday earlier this month—in fact, rounds of birthday celebrations still continue.  Please pray for a blessed new year of life for Margarita.

Likewise, our son, Antoine, turns three next Tuesday.  Perhaps more than any of us, he eagerly awaits the completion of our new house so that he’ll have a yard to burn off retained energy.  His current interest is learning how to skateboard.  Next year Margarita and I will probably have him spend a couple days a week at a daycare or pre-school.  Give thanks for his life and pray for us to choose the best care option for him.       

As Antoine grows, Gabrielli is starting to say words and stand up.

Last month we visited the city of Puerto Falcon, which is the main border crossing into Argentina.  We began planning an outreach event there for December 2^nd and 3^rd.  In the next few weeks we will mobilize volunteers from churches in Asuncion while carrying out trainings with the few members of Puerto Falcon’s only evangelical church.  Please pray for God to impact that community and build up the church there.

Next week 21 inmates in the Tacumbu Penitentiary will graduate from the evangelistic Bible study, “¿Quién es Jesus?” during which most of them made decisions to follow Jesus.  For the last two years, I’ve devoted less time to this ministry, in large part, due to a dependable and competent group of inmate leaders who teach the study.  Basically, I visit the leaders 1-2 times a month to pray for them and make sure that they have materials and Bibles.  Give thanks for Jorge and his team.  Pray for them to live out their faith, especially after their release from prison.

Upon finishing the study, each inmate receives a Bible.  We hope to give out at least 120 Bibles to inmates in 2018.  If you can donate Bibles (Reina-Valera 1960 Version), please contact us.

500 years ago the Church was reminded that rightness with God doesn’t come through an institution and its rituals, but rather through faith.  This is not our own doing, but instead a gift of God, available to everyone who calls on the name of the Lord.  Pray for us as we communicate this message in forgotten and unreached communities in the Heart of South America.

Yours truly,

Tim, Margarita, Ana, Antoine and Gabrielli  

Tragedy, Graduation and Great Expectations

Dear Friends and Family:

“Vicente” and his classmates marched in their city’s festive parade, with his father proudly watching.  A hit-man took advantage of his father’s attention on Vicente to attack, leaving him lifeless on the street only a few yards from where his son was marching.  Vicente’s family had been and continues to be involved in drug-trafficking, which not only led to this tragedy, but also mars his potential for a future without violence.  Vicente attends one of the city’s two Christian schools.  His teachers are the only adults close to him trying to guide him on the path that leads to life.  Pray for the Christian schools and churches in Pedro Juan Caballero, who work tirelessly to end the city’s legacy as the most violent in Paraguay.

Seminary Graduation in Pedro Juan

Vicente’s Christian education teacher was one of the 23 graduates from New Orleans Seminary’s pastoral ministry program last month.  After a week of teaching, Gil and Mary Lain, Ted and Sue Gross and Fredy Pavez participated in the wonderful graduation ceremony that included an orchestra, dance performances and words of encouragement to celebrate God’s faithfulness over the two-years of studies.  Thank you for your prayers for this event and for the graduates.

While I was helping with the classes in Pedro Juan Caballero, a former student of mine was teaching my English classes in Lambaré.  It has been great to see her and other former students use their English for professional advancement.  Pray for my past and current students, to whom doors are opening due to the education they’ve received.

Likewise, Margarita and I appreciate your prayers over our household.  The day before I left for Pedro Juan Caballero, Gabrielli turned 6-months-old.  We thank God for her life, as well as for Antoine and Ana, who are growing rapidly.  We are also grateful for your generous donations to help finish building our family’s new living space.  Please pray for a timely completion of the construction and for the builders’ well-being.

The House is Coming Along!

October is turning out to be a busy month.  In addition to our weekly educational and discipleship activities, I am teaching at two upcoming camps, a local Bible institute and at least three different churches.  We’re investigating the possibility of doing an outreach event in a city on the Paraguay-Argentina border.  Also, last week we visited an un-reached, native community near the Asuncion metro-area to ascertain openness to an educational ministry project, and we were invited back by the community leaders.  On our next visit there I’ll follow up with a very talented young man named “Enrique,” with whom I made a good connection. Please pray for our ministry activities this month.

Through your support and prayers for our work in Paraguay, you assist in training leaders to change the landscape of ravaged communities like Pedro Juan Caballero.  You provide education that translates into upward social mobility for poor families.  Furthermore, you help introduce many youth, who do not know the way they should go, to Jesus, who says that he is the way and the truth and the life.  We thank God for your partnership.

Sincerely,

Tim, Margarita, Ana, Antoine and Gabrielli

Gabrielli's Debut in the Backpack

How to Conquer an Inflatable Mountain

Dear Family and Friends:

In remembrance of the hundreds of young boys that died in the 1869 Battle of Acosta Ñu, churches and organizations throughout Paraguay host fun events for children every year in mid-August.  Ana met up with her friend, Josefina, at one such event, where there was a very large blow-up slide.  Since Ana had shied away from slides much smaller than this one before, I repeatedly asked her and Josefina “Are you sure?” as they waited in the long line of older children to go on the slide.  When it was their turn, they took each other’s hand, climbed up the inflatable mountain, and, after reaching the top, threw themselves down the slide without hesitation.  Both Josefina’s dad and I agreed that neither of them would have done that alone.  Their brave feat was a testimony to the power of friendship and mutual encouragement.  

Josefina (left) and Ana (right) going down the gigantic inflatable slide.

Encouragement was a by-product of the mission trip we recently organized in the small town of Yrybucua with 20 volunteers from Asunción-area churches.  Coordinating a short-term mission team is sometimes like “herding cats,” but this team stayed together and stuck to their ministerial tasks for two long days.  They formed mixed groups with local church members to visit un-churched families who had participated in July’s medical clinic.  A few hearts were opened to Jesus during these visits, and many came to the evening open-air evangelistic service, at which a dozen or so people made decisions for Christ.  Give thanks to God for salvation.  Also, give thanks for the mission team and the encouragement they gave to the local church.

The mission team demonstrated their theatrical talents in Yrybucua.

Moreover, encouragement comes in the form of prayer.  Mild but bothersome sicknesses struck our whole household prior to last month’s mission trip, not only complicating the trip's preparation, but also our educational work.  We thank God for restored health and request your regular, intercessory covering over us.

On a different note, the city of Pedro Juan Caballero recently made national news when a major contraband bust was interrupted by the sudden arrival of the region’s senator, who implicated himself in the illegal shipment by attempting to obstruct the investigators’ procedures.  Later this month, I’ll return to that highly dramatic city with Dr. Gil and Mary Lain, Pr. Ted and Sue Gross, and Pr. Fredy Pavez for the final New Orleans Seminary classes for pastors and church leaders there.  Pray for a successful conclusion to the two-year seminary program, as well as for God to transform Pedro Juan Caballero through the soon-to-be graduating class of trained ministers and their churches.

Ana and Josefina conquered their “inflatable mountain” together.  Likewise, much more serious, everyday challenges like injustice, sickness, and laborious tasks are best handled in company. When the Lord is our shepherd, we shall fear no evil, for he is with us.  And if he is with us, who or what can be against us?

Yours truly,

Tim, Margarita, Ana, Antoine and Gabrielli

In August we also gave thanks for Ana's 6th birthday.

Winter Travels in Paraguay

Dear Friends and Family:

People in the U.S. often don’t believe me when I tell them that it sometimes gets cold in Paraguay. Although temperatures hardly ever drop below 30˚F, porous roofing, unsealed window frames, building materials that absorb cold air and the absence of indoor heating and insulation contribute to some pretty chilly nights.  Such was our experience one night at some friends’ house where we stayed on a recent trip.  We could barely sleep as the below-freezing wind blew almost directly on us through a broken window and an opening in the house’s tin roof.  We didn’t suffer another night because we soon after bought a space heater, which, upon our departure, became a gift to our friends who had graciously welcomed us in their home. 

Margarita and I greatly appreciate your prayers for our travels in July.  Our drive to Pedro Juan Caballero was 4-month-old Gabrielli’s first trip, and she was content for 6 of the 7 hours in the car.  The distance to Pedro Juan causes pastors and church leaders to feel isolated from their co-workers in other parts of the country and keeps emerging leaders from receiving sound ministerial training.  This is why the national pastors’ association eagerly opened the door for the New Orleans Seminary courses that we organize there. We were excited to see the local pastors’ association that was re-united during our last visit still meeting together.  We visited a Christian school and heard powerful testimonies of the impact of educational ministry on the lives of students from families caught up in the region’s prosperous drug-trafficking industry.  We also met with the seminary students to plan for the last classes and graduation in September.  Please pray for the preparation for the final seminary session in Pedro Juan Caballero.

Antoine and his new friend cleaned up the school in Pedro Juan Caballero while we had our meeting.

From Pedro Juan we journeyed five hours south to the town of Yrybucua. For four days I practiced translating between Guarani and English for an orthodontist from Illinois. The clinic also included doctors, nurses, optometrists, a pharmacy and a chiropractor.  Local pastors connected with most of the nearly one thousand patients who came, and more than 120 people made decisions to follow Jesus. Please pray for us on August 26th when we bring 20 volunteers from churches around Asuncion to conduct follow-up visits and an outreach event in Yrybucua.

Our family arrived home late on a Thursday night from Yrybucua.  Right after preaching at a church the following Sunday morning, we were on the road again, traveling to Ciudad del Este, which is on the border with Brazil and Argentina. We spent a week there with a ministry that works among the city’s 30,000 or so residents of Middle Eastern descent.  We observed that genuine, caring friendships are a key component to this ministry’s fruitfulness.  Pray for the ministry’s dedicated team members, as well as for our new Lebanese and Syrian friends who we got to know that week.  

Over 100 people from all over South America, many of whom are headed to Asian and African countries, also visited the ministry in Ciudad del Este.

Margarita and I are thankful for enjoyable travels.  We’re thankful for health for our children and for Ana beginning first grade.  We’re also thankful for friendships.  Jesus calls anyone who follows him his friends.  Pray that more people throughout Paraguay and everywhere else will choose friendship with him.

Happy Friendship Day (July 29^th)! 

Tim, Margarita, Ana, Antoine and Gabrielli

We're also thankful for our friends, John and Colleen Eisenbery, who recently returned to the U.S. after 17 faithful years of missionary service in Paraguay.

Thank you for Offering Freedom

Dear Family and Friends:

Last Thursday, a freshman at Grace College in Indiana captivated the attention of a classroom packed with my 8^th and 9^th graders about the importance of studying English.  What was particularly special about his visit was that he had been my student in that same classroom 7 years ago.  He, as well as other former students who now work in education, aviation and information technology, testify how English contributes to freedom from the poverty that their families once lived in.  Thank you for offering freedom to over 500 past and present students through your generous support and faithful prayers for our work in Paraguay.

One of Our Students was recently Baptized

Not only have New Horizon School students experienced opportunities for freedom from poverty, but also from unpromising legacies.  Another former student,“Alex,” came to the school from a household characterized by broken relationships, substance abuse and distance from God.  Through the school Alex learned about Scripture and placed his faith in Christ.  He now faithfully attends a local church’s college group, serves in children’s ministry, and is completing a law degree.  Please give thanks for Alex and the other New Horizon graduates, the majority of whom attend college and are active in churches.  Pray that more Paraguayan youth will approach God through our weekly educational ministry activities like school chaplaincy and youth ministry at a local church.

Sharing a Message of Hope with the People of Luque

Thank you for your prayers for our last outreach event in the city of Luque.  A household decided to trust in Christ, and a number of connections were made for future follow-up.  This Friday Margarita, Ana, Antoine, Gabrielli and I will travel to northern Paraguay for two strategic meetings.  First, we’ll plan the last seminary course for church leaders in the infamous border-town of Pedro Juan Caballero.  Then, we’ll meet with pastors in the rural Yrybucua District to organize evangelism.  We will also spend a week translating there for a medical mission team from Illinois.  After returning from the north, we’ll drive to Ciudad del Este on July 16^th to partner with a ministry that connects with the city’s large Middle Eastern immigrant community.  Please pray for great fellowship, safety and health as we travel this month.  

One of the highlights from June was Ana’s graduation from kindergarten.  Margarita and I delight in watching her grow and flourish through her education at Asunción Christian Academy.  Fortunately, my mom was able to attend her graduation.  She also tested my students’ conversational English and helped with a few ministry activities during her visit.  On two occasions she shared with the families of addicts at the support group hosted by the church that helps me with prison ministry.  Give thanks for healthy growth, family and encouraging visits. 

Ana's (Top Left) Kindergarten Graduation 

Independence Day reminds us of a hard-fought victory over despotism.  Today in Paraguay and all throughout the world, countless people—each of them endowed by their Creator with rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness—live under the despots of poverty, addiction and unpromising direction.  Your prayers and partnership fuel the fight for many to be released from such oppression and enable a new season of God’s favor to be proclaimed.      

Happy July 4th!

Tim, Margarita, Ana, Antoine and Gabrielli

Brothers Resisting Relapse in Paraguay

Dear Family and Friends:

Picture a drug addict-delinquent finding Christ and getting clean through a prison rehabilitation ministry.  Now imagine the same young man being transferred to a minimum-security prison—for good behavior—to share a cell with an inmate who consumes crack-cocaine daily.  This describes the situation in Paraguay’s Esperanza Penitentiary where about 80% of the population uses drugs, according to inmates.  Thus, perhaps as many as 8 of the 10 on average participants in our discipleship program there struggle to resist the constant internal and external pressures to relapse.  We thank God for the core group of inmates who stay clean, and for the church with a support group ministry who began visiting the prison every Sunday last month.  We also thank God for you because your support and prayers provide hope for the Esperanza inmates to experience Christ-centered transformation.  Please keep them and the ministry there in your prayers.     

Participants in the Esperanza Discipleship

The Evangelism and Missions Ministry, which coordinates the prison discipleship, also organizes monthly evangelistic events in strategic locations.  Unfortunately, we had to re-schedule May’s event in the city of Luque due to rain.  On Saturday, June 10^th we’ll visit the people who attended the previous events there and invite them to a family night in a local church.  Pray for the people of Luque.

 

In addition to providing English and learning disability intervention for hundreds of students, your support and prayers sustain the discipleship of about 100 teenage boys at the New Horizon School.  Some of them are going through tough seasons right now: parents with life-threatening illnesses, divorce, poverty, robbery, and at least one case of extortion by police.  At the same time, there are high school seniors planning for bright futures, others making the cut on select soccer teams, and many deciding to put their faith in Jesus.  Pray for our students and their families, in particular, for Teodolina, a mother with cancer, and Julio, a former student with leukemia.   

Mother’s Day is a major holiday in Paraguay with no work, no school and lots of barbequing.  We celebrated that day with Margarita’s family where she, her sister and her mother were the center of attention.  Ana, Antoine, Gabrielli and I thank God for Margarita, who is a wonderful mother.    We’re grateful for her mother, Agustina, who helps us quite a bit.  We’re also thankful for my father, who visited us last month and attended his new granddaughter’s dedication.  Please continue to pray for our family, as well as for the completion of the construction on our house.

Gabrielli was Dedicated in my Grandmother's 105-year-old Dress

Seeds of hope for new life are planted in rocky places and among thorns where growth is strained.  There are also seeds being planted in extremely good soil, where growth and multiplication occur.  Your partnership with Margarita’s and my mission work in Paraguay enables workers to be sent to and mobilized in this plentiful harvest field.

Thank you,                  

Tim, Margarita, Ana, Antoine and Gabrielli

El Raton Perez vs. the Tooth Fairy

Dear Family and Friends:

When a Paraguayan child loses a tooth and places it under her pillow “El Ratón Perez” sneaks into her bedroom at night and replaces the tooth with a 1,000-Guarani coin.  Ana didn’t want to put her first lost tooth under her pillow because she didn’t like the idea of a mouse scampering around her bed as she slept.  One of the advantages of her being bi-cultural is that she can choose who replaces her tooth with a coin. I told her about the Tooth Fairy.  Ana was more than excited to leave her tooth for a Tinkerbell-like character that would come, gracefully fluttering around and sprinkling pixie dust, to give her money.      

Ana's First Lost Tooth

On a different note, Ana, Antoine and Gabrielli figured among the number of seasonal-change illness patients that, according to local news, surpassed the Paraguayan Health Department’s estimates and preparedness for April.  If you’ve read our past updates, you know that sickness often hits our family when we carry out evangelistic events.  During the same week that we made daily pediatrician visits we were also coordinating a group of twenty-five Brazilian short-term missionaries.  They devoted four days of outreach projects to the city of Ñemby, which is called the “Youth Capital of Paraguay.”  Among the many decisions for Christ were members of a notorious family that lived next to a local church.  This family, who previously rejected their Christ-follower neighbors’ persistent invitations, powerfully encountered Christ that week. 

Youth in Nemby Powerfully Encountered Christ during the Brazilians' Visit

Give thanks to God for his work in the “Youth Capital of Paraguay.”  Pray for us as we help those local churches conduct follow-up and build up their youth ministries.  Also, give thanks that our family is well now, but please continue to pray for protection for our health.   

Last week I called a former student to teach my classes as I went on a United World Mission retreat in Peru with missionaries from all over South America.  It was a refreshing time of rest, meditation on Scripture, and fellowship with colleagues.  It was a particular blessing to hear about and see their successes in raising children on the mission field.  Like Ana, Antoine and Gabrielli, our colleagues’ children also live through issues like getting sick, changing schools, traveling excessively, and switching between languages and cultures.  Giving up normal lives in our home countries to serve on the mission field is one way we and our missionary colleagues express loving God with all our hearts.  We also express that love when we provide for our relatives’ well-being, especially for our immediate family, as best as we can on the mission field.

Children are rewards from the Lord.  In loving them unconditionally, we get a glimpse of God’s love for us.  Furthermore, their “child-like” trust in us reflects Jesus’ teaching that the kingdom of God belongs to anyone who likewise trusts in him.  Pray that more people in Paraguay, as well as everywhere else, will trust in him.    

Happy Paraguayan Labor Day!

Tim, Margarita, Ana, Antoine and Gabrielli

One of the Most Eventful Months of our Lives

Dear Friends and Family:

The pounding head and neck pain could not eclipse the wonderful first few days that Tim and I spent with our new daughter, Gabrielli.  The pain, however, did succeed in bringing me back to the hospital.  Although I dreaded the thought of being separated from our beautiful newborn—as well as from Antoine and Ana—the ceaseless pain and onset of a fever convinced me that I needed to see a doctor.

The doctors said it was cephalalgia caused either by a spinal fluid leak or an infection.  Intravenous medicine ceased the pain, and tests showed there was no infection.  I still needed to wait for my body to heal.  Despite the tears of longing to be with my children, I knew that God was with me in that hospital room.  My undesired hospitalization incredibly turned into a needed time of rest, prayer and renewal; it became the longest personal retreat that I’d experienced in years.  One evening I was awakened by a nightmarish uncertainty of how much longer I would be away from my children.  I opened the Scriptures and heard God say, “Trust me.” The next morning, the doctors said I could go home.  

Give thanks for Gabrielli’s life and for my health; though, please pray for my full recovery. 

March 2017 was one of the most eventful months of our lives. It started with a rushed conclusion to a search for a new car to fit our growing family.  We closed the sale on the right car at the right price, right before Gabrielli’s birthday.  Your months of prayers for a healthy, zika-free birth were answered when she came into the world at 4:08 P.M. on March 14th.  Even the foreknowledge of sleepless nights and the beginning of my headaches couldn’t dampen our excitement when we took her home. 

During my hospitalization, Tim made multiple, daily trips in our new car between our apartment and the hospital, juggling numerous responsibilities with little sleep.  About 24 hours after my discharge from the hospital, Tim led a three-car-caravan of volunteers to the city of Luque to coordinate an evangelistic event. Hence, our eventful month concluded with the message of salvation being presented to an overflowing crowd and many decisions for Christ. Please pray for our next evangelistic event in the same city on April 15^th with a short-term mission team from Brazil.    

Pr. Gustavo invited the audience in Luque to place their faith in Jesus. 

March 2017 was not an easy month, but it was a great month.  In spite of all the ups and downs, we found that we can take joy in the God of our salvation because he is our strength.

 

Happy Easter!

Margarita, Tim, Ana, Antoine and Gabrielli