Keep kids off the streets

Dear Friends and Family:

Two years ago, you prayed for Pastor Eligio and his wife, Cynthia, after the death of their newborn, Elías Josue.  Before that tragedy, Eligio and Cynthia suffered three miscarriages and the death of another newborn.  With great faith they tried again last year to have another baby, and, in April, a healthy baby girl was born.  Her name is Janaí, which means “God responds” in Hebrew.  Give thanks to God for responding to Pastor Eligio’s and Cynthia’s long-suffering with the gift of their long-awaited child. 

Pastor Eligio, Cynthia and Janai

Children are indeed precious gifts.  Unfortunately, one can see many children in vulnerable circumstances on street corners throughout the Asunción metro area.  A number of these children are from the Ava Guarani tribe, and Margarita and I know some of them personally.  An Ava mother told us that when they have no money for their basic needs they feel that their only option is to take their children to ask for money at stoplights.  Through your support for us, you are helping raise awareness that sending their kids to school will contribute exponentially more to curbing their poverty than the coins they receive on the street corners.  Last month, Ava students with outstanding attendance at one urban community won fake money for a “shopping spree” of donated clothes.  Last week, the Ñanduti Organization provided a roof for their open-air classroom.  While these efforts support the students’ education, they also build the community’s trust in us and demonstrate their Creator’s love for them.  Pray for the parents to see education as an investment.  Pray for a door to open to make known the good news of Jesus to the urban Ava communities.    

The Ava School Before and After the Construction of the Roof

In mid-May, we traveled four hours deep into central Paraguay to visit a secluded mission among another tribe—the Mbya Guarani.  This region is the homeland of most of the people in the two urban Mbya communities where Margarita and I work.  In fact, we dropped off the teacher from one of those communities to visit his family on our way to the mission.  A German missionary, who has been in Paraguay for 30 years, shared about how it took 5 years for the first Mbya Christian in the area to decide to follow Jesus.  A Mbya Christian, who serves as a bi-vocational evangelist, said he placed his trust in Jesus when he saw that as he sought God through the Scriptures, his family began to experience peace—a peace that was absent during their years of following their traditional religion.  He additionally was drawn by the good testimony and compassion of the missionaries.  Pray for a harvest among the urban Mbya, and pray that Margarita and I, along with our co-workers, will represent Jesus well to them.

Road Trip to the Mbya Guarani Mission

Early in the month, we finished the Bible study in the Guarani language with the Ayala family.  During the course of that 5-month walk through the Gospel of Mark, their daughter overcame a serious illness and four family members decided to follow Jesus.  We concluded the study by challenging the family to go into all their un-churched village and proclaim the gospel.  Please keep the Ayala family and the people of the Yaguaron District in your prayers.  Thank you for supporting church-planting efforts there through your partnership with us.

Margarita is developing a close relationship with a young Mbya woman, who, like Pastor Eligio and Cynthia, has not been able to have any children.  Additionally, her brother recently died of AIDS, a disease that has ravaged some Mbya communities. Margarita left her awestruck by sharing the story of our friend, Nidian, who lost her son (a New Horizon School graduate) to leukemia last year.  Nidian found consolation in her son’s last words: “Mom, don’t worry about me. We will see each other again.  I am going in peace.”  Pray for the young Mbya woman, along with many others from her tribe, to place her trust in Jesus, who responds by giving a peace that surpasses all understanding.

Yours truly,

Tim, Margarita, Ana, Antoine and Gabrielli

Margarita and I thank you for helping keep these precious Ava Guarani girls off the streets and in school!