Dear Family and Friends:
Two weeks ago, when we showed
up at the Zarate Isla Mbya Guaranà community for our lunch and tutoring
outreach, we found their leader holding a machete and staring down two
men next to a parked pick-up truck. Thankfully, a machete fight did not break out (which has happened before). Tensions arose due
to land ownership issues, but now the National Indigenous Institute claims to be working on a solution.
Pray for peace and positive outcomes to the various Native land disputes in in Paraguay
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| The new Tarumandy chess club (with chess pieces that reflect Mbya society). Earlier this year, the boy on the left lived on the street and had a destructive glue-sniffing habit. Now he’s one of the top chess players. |
All this
year, you asked God to help us build relationships with Native communities around the
Asunción metropolitan area. We have visited 9 communities, all of whom invited us to return, and work at 3 to 5 communities each week. Tarumandy, where we visit the most, rarely welcomes non-Native visitors. A teacher who has witnessed this community’s
rejection of outsiders recently asked us how we earned their permission to work at
their school each week. We didn’t know how to answer. We give thanks to God, for
he is good and blesses us with friendships with these communities.
Additionally,
we give thanks for the life of our healthy, energetic son, Antoine, who turned
4 this week. His little sister, Gabrielli, appears to be a
natural dancer. She instinctively moves
when someone starts to play a drum. Ana
is finishing her first semester of 2nd grade. Since classes are also coming to an
end at the Native schools, we’re starting to wind down our activities, plan for next year, and get ready to travel to the U.S. We arrive there in two weeks and request prayer for the
following requests:
1. Fun and
restful reconnecting with friends and family.
2. Meeting
financial needs: 5 new monthly donors
and $4,500 to cover ministry materials for 2019.
3. Learning from seminary courses and conversations about ministry.
4. Safety
and health.
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Margarita with the Zarate Isla students
who waited in the rain to learn.
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One day last month, the Zarate Isla school was closed due to rain. Margarita and I still decided to show up
there. When we arrived, three of the students
had been waiting for over an hour in the rain. Soon, other students began to appear. Moved by their dedication to learning,
Margarita and I spent the rest of the morning giving improvised math lessons, a Bible
lesson, and then served lunch. Please
keep the Zarate Isla community in your prayers, in particular, for a
possible opportunity on Monday, November 12th to share with
them about Jesus, who promises that anyone who seeks him will never go hungry.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Tim,
Margarita, Ana, Antoine and Gabrielli
