Happy Friendship Day (late)!

Dear Family and Friends: 

One missiologist considers a short-term mission trip successful when those who travel can say, “We did not ‘go on a mission trip,’ but we visited family members, brothers and sisters we had not met or had not seen for a very long time.” Through the love that Christ’s followers show for one another, whether at the neighborhood church or across cultures and international borders, others will catch of glimpse of God’s love for them.

Most of the Montavilla short-term mission team who came to Paraguay last month from Portland, OR were high school students who left their home culture and comfort zone for the first time.  We had a full week of activities planned, but as anyone who’s spent time in Latin America knows, plans change.  While Montavilla was here, plans changed a lot.  But the team members were amazingly flexible, allowing themselves to be taken from one place to another.  On one occasion the only mother on the team was asked without notice to give her testimony to a group of local mothers.  A few moments later, some of them prayed to accept Christ, guided by the translator, who was a Montavilla youth.

The team painted one public school and gave presentations to hundreds of students.  They connected with the local youth between the presentations and while playing soccer at the church in evenings.  During the last few days of work they traveled on bumpy, un-cleared roads to arrive at church plant sites in rural villages.  By the end of their trip, the team had co-labored with and encouraged two youth groups, two church plants, three local churches and one children’s ministry.

This past week Ana started kindergarten at Asunción Christian Academy.  Her new school follows a U.S. educational program and English is spoken there all day. We are thankful for your support, which allows for Ana to receive a quality education from the mission field.

Classes also started back at the public school painted by the Montavilla youth and a local church.  As the students daily see the new appearance of their school, they see a reminder of the message that if anyone is in Christ, the old has gone and the new is here.

Happy Paraguayan Friendship Day (July 31st)!

Tim, Margarita, Ana and Antoine

For the Young at Heart

Dear Family and Friends:

A recent census reported Paraguay as the youngest nation in South America with 75% of the population under 40 years of age (DGEEC, 2013).  This not only highlights the importance of Christian schools and youth ministry in Paraguay, but also identifies Tim and Margarita’s ministry target group.  Your prayers and support enable Tim and Margarita to disciple hundreds of youth and young adults each week through educational ministry, Bible studies for young incarcerated men, youth ministry for teens and college students, children’s Sunday school, a home group for young adult couples, and evangelism for countless additional youth.  Thank you for standing with us, and continue to pray for this emerging generation of Christ-following leaders in Paraguay.

  

Margarita with her senior class at the New Horizon School.

From the three previous evangelistic events we organized at the Siloe Church, a group of young “missionaries” emerged.  In June, the Siloe youth, as well as two other youth groups, helped carry out outreach at another church in the city of Ñemby.  Nearly a hundred people heard the gospel with a few making decisions for Christ.  A highlight of the event was watching these youth accepting the challenge to leave their homes to share the gospel in another area. One young man, Richar, who is Tim’s former student, overcame nervousness to give his testimony for the first time in public.  Pray for us to find more opportunities for youth to be active in ministry.  

Ana was wrapped up in toilet paper by Richar and a youth leader, Juan Carlos, for a game during the children’s time.

June has been a very busy month for us.  In addition to the preparation for the Ñemby event, it was the end of the semester, which meant that Tim finalized his students’ grades and Margarita wrote reports on her students’ progress in the face of learning disabilities.  We were also preparing for a visit from the youth group from Montavilla Baptist Church in Portland, OR.  During their week in Paraguay, they will help three churches build up their children’s and youth ministries.  The group will additionally work with two church plants.  Two of Tim’s students will help with translation for the first time, and local youth groups will accompany the mission team.  Pray for safe travels, good weather, and for God to reach many people through Montavilla this week.   

Antoine fixed his attention on the instruments during the worship. 

*You can see the video of him drumming on our Facebook pages.

We always thank God for all of these Paraguayan youth who are becoming local missionaries, and ask that you continually mention them in your prayers.  Only he knows where they might be serving in the future.  Our hope is that many, many more will respond to Jesus, who calls to everyone, saying “Come to me." 

Happy Independence Day!

Tim, Margarita, Ana and Antoine 

A Newborn Child Reminds Us

Dear Family and Friends:

Pastor Eligio and his wife, Cynthia, endured three miscarriages and the death of one newborn child prior to the birth of their son, Elías Josue (for whom many of you prayed) last week.  In a sad, yet, faith-filled message, Pastor Eligio informed us of Elías’ death, stating “He is now in a better place.  He accomplished his mission, but we who remain haven’t.  Continue praying for those who remain.”  Please pray for Pastor Eligio and Cynthia as they mourn the loss of their fifth child.

Eligio and Cynthia:  Two of the strongest people we know

Even though infant mortality in Paraguay has been cut in half in recent decades, the nation still holds the second-highest rate in South America (Ultima Hora, 2015).  UNICEF (2013) reported that 65% of Paraguayan newborn deaths are preventable.  Lack of access to and maintenance of well-equipped, sanitary facilities providing pre-natal and neonatal care by well-trained, available personnel stands among the chief contributing factors.  The insidious issue of corruption is also undoubtedly connected.  Margarita and I know too many families that have endured preventable newborn tragedies.  In fact, problematic childbirths contributed to many of the learning disabilities among the students with whom Margarita works.  Pray that Paraguay’s leaders will care for mothers and newborns, especially in poor urban areas and among rural native populations.

The New Horizon School students continue to show remarkable talent.  One of Tim’s former students now teaches elementary English at the school and regularly serves as a translator for visiting short-term missionaries.  Another former student will enter Grace College in Indiana next fall on a scholarship. Tim’s current students received high scores on their interviews with native English speakers.  English is a skill that will open educational and employment doors for them.  Furthermore, through chaplaincy, Tim provides spiritual support for them as they endure many challenges at home.  Please keep the students as well as their families in your prayers.   

Tim and Ana

Earlier this month we carried out the third outreach event at the Siloe Church.  About thirty youth showed up for fun activities and music.  They heard the testimony from a youth leader who remained strong in a struggling church.  They also heard the gospel along with the challenges to pray more for their community and serve more faithfully in their local church.  Last week we visited a church in the city of Luque, where we saw the need for a new round of outreach events, perhaps starting next month.  Pray for us as we visit churches to form teams to serve in needy areas.  

Elías Josue reminded a mourning congregation last week of Jesus’ teaching that the kingdom of God belongs not only to the little children, but also to anyone who believes in him with the faith of a child.  Right before the service’s invitation was given, a young man, for whom the church had been long praying, walked in.  We’re not sure how he responded, but we know that tragedy and death can strangely bring salvation and freedom.  Fallen soldiers remind us of this on Memorial Day, as does Jesus’ death and resurrection.  

Happy Memorial Day!

Tim, Margarita, Ana and Antoine

Margarita and Antoine

That Which Comes to Destroy a Home

Dear Friends and Family:

Moments before Margarita and I began last Thursday’s home group meeting, one of the participants discovered that her husband was cheating on her.  We obviously couldn’t go on with the meeting after such a traumatic discovery.  All we could do is pray, mourn with our sister as she poured out her destroyed heart, and then pray some more.  Please keep “Leonardo,”  “Daniela,” and their two young children in your prayers.  Also, pray for us and the local church as we try to support them during this difficult season.

A 2016 El Tiempo survey in a South American country reported that 80% of men confessed to have been unfaithful at least on one occasion.  A renowned Paraguayan psychologist says that 75% of his patients come to him for issues related to extra-marital affairs.  Marital infidelity contributes to the dysfunction in the homes of many of the children and teens with whom Margarita and I work.  We have also seen that if not curbed, this destructive habit can become a cycle repeated in the next generation.  Through your prayers and support for us, you support hundreds of Paraguayan youth with Christ-centered teaching, which is a light that will guide them and their families along the path to life, and not to destruction.

In mid-April, another volunteer team worked on the Siloe Church.  During an outreach event that evening, about 20 youth prayed to accept Christ.

As we celebrate Teachers’ Day in Paraguay this weekend, Margarita and I recognize our coworkers’ hard labor in letting their lights shine in their classrooms.  Give thanks to God for the New Horizon School faculty, and please pray that his blessings be upon them and their families.  Margarita and I also give thanks for our missionary colleague, Sue Givens, who stepped down as principal of New Horizon.  Her persistent invitations played a role in me coming to Paraguay in 2008.  Even though her position changes, Sue will still work with children and students in Paraguay.  Pray for her during this time of transition. 

Ana and her classmates presented a country dance at a celebration for Sue’s 17 years of service.

When I’m not teaching in the classroom, I sit down with New Horizon School students to hear how their year is going and how their families are doing.  One student’s father died shortly after classes started.  Some students’ parents have life-threatening sicknesses.  There is at least one incarcerated parent.  A few homes have been recently torn apart by extra-marital relationships.  Jesus came so that these students, their families, as well as anyone who listens to his voice may have life, and have it abundantly.  Please pray that many more people in Paraguay will experience abundant life in Christ.

Sincerely,                    

Tim, Margarita, Ana and Antoine 

*60 Reina-Valera Bibles (1995, 1977, or 1960 translations) are needed for the Tacumbu Prison inmates who will complete this year’s “¿Quién es Jesús?” courses.  If you want to donate a Bible, please contact us.

Building up a Broken-Down Community

Finishing the Floor for the Siloe Church

Dear Friends and Family:

A couple of months after the Siloe Church in Ñemby, Paraguay lost her pastor due to his misconduct she also lost her building due to political maneuvers by the local government.  One Sunday morning during that very tough season for Siloe, Margarita and I worshiped with the congregation under a mango tree.  Their songs of thanks for God’s steadfast love in the midst of trials resounded throughout the neighborhood. 

On the Saturday before this past Easter, we organized a volunteer team to lay the floor for Siloe’s new church building.  After the work was done, the volunteers prepared a special dinner and service to encourage the church members.  Thirty children were the first to show up for the service, leaving the team—most of whom knew much about construction work but little about children’s ministry—at a loss on what to do.  The guitarist improvised some children’s songs that he remembered from his childhood while I ruminated on how to condense the message into an interactive, age-appropriate presentation.  It turned out to be fun, especially for the children who watched us fumble around and try to act like kids.

Following our un-planned children’s service, we gathered about 7 adult church members.   We listened to testimonies of how the church’s hardships over the years had taken their toll on the morale as well as the size of the congregation.  Then, we let the book of Nehemiah speak about God’s history of building up devastated communities.  The same “great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love” and rebuilt his community after Babylonian exile, is the same God to whom we and the Siloe congregation pray.  Keep the Siloe Church and the city of Ñemby in your prayers.   And, on another note, please pray for a favorable response to our proposal for a grant from a Texas foundation that’ll help us finish building our house.    

18 inmates, who are our new brothers in Christ, recently finished the "Quien es Jesus?" course.

Margarita and I know that work with at-risk populations involves bittersweet moments.  For instance, Margarita enjoyed weekly “girls’ times” with three teenagers from dysfunctional families, but would frankly speak to them about the warning signs she observed in their dating habits.  Even though she tried to guide them, they ultimately made their own decisions. During Easter week we visited one of them, “Lisa,” at the hospital where she had just given birth to a healthy girl.  In spite of the difficult road ahead for the single teenage mother, we encouraged her and celebrated the life of her child.  Pray for Lisa as well as her baby.

Finally, we thank God for you.  His constant sustenance for us is just one example that he keeps his covenant of love and that he is really not far from each one of us.

Sincerely,

Tim, Margarita, Ana and Antoine

"Queen Elsa" and "Superman" recently joined us for a stroll in downtown Asuncion.

Resurrection for Paraguay's Murder Capital

Seminary for Pastors and Church Leaders in Paraguay's Most Dangerous City

Dear Family and Friends:

Aside from its status as the only Paraguayan city with reported cases of the zika virus, Pedro Juan Caballero leads the nation in murder, mafia activity, and marijuana cultivation (Paraguay currently holds second place globally in the latter category).  Pedro Juan Caballero is also the home of many pastors and church leaders working hard to shepherd congregations and transform the spiritual landscape of their city. Through your support and prayers for Margarita and me, you are a part of that transformation.

I spent last week translating for New Orleans Seminary professors Dr. Gil Lain and Pr. Ted Gross as they equipped over 30 pastors and church leaders who serve on the frontlines of ministry in Paraguay’s most dangerous city.  Please pray for these classes, which will resume in September, to empower the ministry workers who have been given the task of reconciling the people of Pedro Juan Caballero to their Creator.

Three weeks ago Margarita, Agustina, Ana, Antoine and I arrived in Paraguay.  We miss our friends and family in the United States.  At the same time, we know it is right for us to be back at work.  Classes recently started at the New Horizon School.  I teach about 180 middle school students and support others through chaplaincy.  Margarita works with about 70 at-risk teens and elementary students either identified or suspected to have learning disabilities.  Pray that the New Horizon faculty will be controlled by Christ’s love, and that many of the students and their families will receive the new life he offers.

During our U.S. travels, two local leaders headed up the Fuente de Vida Church youth ministry.  We are handing that ministry on to them indefinitely because we have been asked to organize more events this year for the national Missions and Evangelism Ministry.  Please pray for the city of Ñemby, which will be the focus of our weekend outreach projects in the coming months. 

Ana just finished her first week of school—for the third time.  She is currently enrolled in pre-school at New Horizon and is enjoying it, in part, because her best friend, Eirene, is her classmate.  We plan to keep her there for the rest of the semester and then transfer her to kindergarten at a school for missionary children where a U.S. curriculum is followed.  Continue to pray for Ana as well as her little brother Antoine, who has become a very active toddler.

Like Christmas in the U.S. and Three Kings Day in Paraguay, Easter is also a holiday that involves gift-giving.  Scripture teaches, “This is a gift from God…God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God.”* Pray for Margarita and me as we share this message of reconciliation between all people and their Creator. 

Happy Easter!                                                                  

Tim, Margarita, Ana and Antoine

*2 Corinthians 5: 18, 21

-->For an informative article about Paraguay's progress in recent years, go to www.stratfor.com/analysis/dark-pasts-and-bright-futures-paraguay

The Zika Virus Outbreak

In Seattle

Dear Friends and Family:

“Don’t get pregnant!”  This was the advice of a Paraguayan doctor to the women of his nation in response to the Zika virus outbreak, which is linked to birth defects.  It is indeed important to hear out the medical professionals’ recommendations in regards to Zika since cases have surfaced in the Amambay province, where I (Tim) will be later this month to translate for two seminary professors from Texas.  Please pray for an effective response to the Zika outbreak as well as for those who suffer from the illness.  Also, pray for the seminary course to equip and encourage Christian leaders in the Amambay province.         

Just as we began to pack, Agustina told Margarita and me, “I’ve decided that I’m not going back to Paraguay with you.” Her declaration was not a real decision but rather communicated the enjoyment she’s experienced in the U.S.  For the longest period ever, she has not simultaneously cared for a dozen grandchildren, cleaned houses, killed and de-feathered chickens, and cooked large meals.  In less than two weeks, we will arrive in Paraguay.  As soon as we get back, we’ll prepare for classes at the New Horizon School, which start on Monday, February 15^th.  Pray for us to hear God’s guidance during our transition back to ministry in Paraguay.

Before we return to Paraguay, we’ll spend next week in New York, Boston and Houston.  We’ve greatly enjoyed our time in the Pacific Northwest; though, it has passed by very quickly.  While we’ve been in the Portland-area for most of the past month, each weekend we either hosted a visiting loved-one, or we visited loved-ones.  We enjoyed our time in Pacific City, Eugene and Seattle.  We thank everyone who gathered together to hear all that God had done through our work in Paraguay over the past 3½ years.    

At the Oregon Coast

We are thankful to the Lord who provided a rock-solid support network during our time in the U.S. through the hospitality of others.  As we travel and transition, we’ll continue to try to hear and heed his direction, because, as Jesus says, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

Yours truly,

Tim, Margarita, Ana and Antoine