Dear Friends and Family:
When the Mbya Guaraní shaman
heard the words of Genesis 1 in his native tongue, his eyes widened and he
immediately took the audio Bible. This was Margarita’s and my gift to him,
along with a bag of multivitamins. As we bid him farewell, he was clearly enamored by his new gift, which he continued to listen to as he walked into his
house. You prayed for him to overcome an illness a few months ago. Give thanks to God for his recovery, and
pray that the audio Bible will achieve its purpose in the life of the shaman.
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| At the Oregon Coast |
Two weeks ago, we arrived in
the United States. Our trip started on
Long Island, New York where my cousins and I raked their yard so that Ana and
Antoine could have their first experience of jumping into a pile of leaves. Our
teenage niece, Jazmin, who also came with us, was too mature to jump into the
leaves, but she did get to visit places in New York that she had only seen in
movies. Additionally, we had a great time at Crossroads Church, where we met a Paraguayan
family who invited us to their house for a delicious dinner of “vori vori.”
From New York, we traveled
to the Pacific Northwest. We’ve since visited
many friends and have shown Jazmin some of the region’s famous sights. Gabrielli and Jazmin played in snow for the
first time at Mt. Hood. They saw exotic
animals at the Portland Zoo and slept to the sound of crashing waves at the
Oregon Coast. Thank you
for your continued prayers over our U.S. visit. We've enjoyed our times with loved-ones, and everyone has been healthy. I also successfully
finished my first seminary course. A foundation pledged a very generous
donation to cover all our ministry materials for 2019. Now, we need to find four new monthly
supporters.
Later this month we’ll be in
Northern New Mexico and the Texas Panhandle, which is where we’ll stay until
mid-January. We will visit churches, youth groups and Sunday school
classes. We will also catch up with family and friends. From there we fly to Boston, and then will board a plane from New York to Paraguay. If you’ll be near any of these areas and
have a moment to meet, please let us know.
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| Ava Guarani Graduates |
Margarita and I give thanks for a successful year of work with urban Native communities. There was an increase in discussions about Scriptures and opportunities to share Bible stories. We witnessed students’ academic
progress. For instance, 13 Ava Guaraní women and one young Ava man earned Spanish literacy
certificates. We foresee
opportunities to start Bible studies and discipleships with women and youth in
2019. Our new friendships with the
Mbya and Ava are a gift to us, and, in return, we hope to share the gift of the
story of a child born and given the name Jesus, which means "savior," because he rescues any person
who calls on him.
Merry Christmas!
Tim, Margarita, Ana, Antoine, Gabrielli, and Jazmin
Merry Christmas!
Tim, Margarita, Ana, Antoine, Gabrielli, and Jazmin
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| We are very grateful to everyone who helped us build our house! The guestroom will be ready in early 2019. |
