We really need your prayers

Dear Family and Friends:

After uncomfortable silence and unwelcoming facial expressions the Ava Guarani shaman finally gave her approval for our visit to her community with one simple phrase: “iporã” (“okay”). The chief (her husband) had been trying to convince her that our visit would be good for the community, but the turning point came when Margarita made a joke in Guarani that brought a momentary smile to her face.  Next week we’ll lead a group of students from a local seminary to this urban Ava settlement for an intercultural exchange.  First, we’ll listen to the Ava leaders share about their history and culture.  Then, we’ll serve a snack for the community and play games with their children.  We hope that this activity will open doors for future visits.  We really need you to pray for us on April 8^th when we’ll make the first-known visit by a Christian group to this settlement.   

Students at the Mbya school

Margarita and I need your prayers not just during the first week of April, but really throughout the month, during which we’ll launch three additional first-time, relationship-building activities with one other Ava Guarani and two Mbya Guarani communities.  The New Horizon School’s administration gave us a gift that we’ll pass on to an Ava school for construction later in the month.  On April 7^th, we’ll bring representatives from Ana’s school—Asuncion Christian Academy—to deliver school supplies to the Mbya school that I mentioned in our previous update.   At another Mbya settlement, Margarita will start working with early childhood education and I will start an English class for teens and young adults.  Give thanks to God for the open doors among the urban Ava and Mbya communities, and pray for us to proceed with wisdom.

Our Bible study hosts, the Ayalas, received sunglasses from Vista Missions in Seattle to protect their eyes during their long hours of work in the sun.

Much of March consisted in making visits and having meetings that laid the foundations for the activities we’ll be carrying out in April.  I also continued co-teaching the Guarani study on the Gospel of Mark in a nearby village, and began another Guarani Mark study at the Nueva Esperanza Church.  Moreover, we had some great family time this month.  Cousins, aunts, uncles and friends flocked to Gabrielli’s first birthday party.  Her grandfather even came down from Portland, Oregon.  She is now saying some words and on the verge of walking.  Give thanks to God for Gabrielli and for our family.

We’re likewise thankful that our house now has a roof.  We lived for two weeks with a 4-square-foot hole in our ceiling, and we’re very pleased that there was no heavy rain during that time.  One morning, I shared about the “Parable of the Two Houses” with the construction workers.  The welder, Ireneo, didn’t make a decision to follow Jesus at that time, but he did say that he wanted to learn more, so we invited him and his family to a Bible study at our house.  Pray for Ireneo, the other construction workers, and our future home group.

Moments after driving away from the settlement where we conversed with the Ava shaman, our car suddenly began to have problems.  It’s being fixed right now; however, the ordeal reminds us that the outreach projects we organize often are accompanied by annoying obstacles, which have included not only car problems, but also family sicknesses. In April, we really need your prayers, that we do the right thing at all times when we’re with the Mbya and Ava in order to build relationships with them that point to Jesus, who gave his life to redeem many.

Happy Easter!

Tim, Margarita, Ana, Antoine and Gabrielli Revett

Gabrielli's 1st Birthday Party

Immeasurably more than We Imagined

Dear Family and Friends:

On the Saturday after Valentine’s Day, Margarita and I, along with other volunteers, arrived early to decorate the Nueva Esperanza Church for a fancy dinner event for neighborhood youth.  It was set to start at 5:30 P.M.  By 6:00, church members brought some of the food, but no youth had yet appeared.  At 7:00, with still no youth present, I was frustrated because it wasn't going how I planned, and I considered canceling the event.  30 minutes later they began to trickle in, dressed in their best clothes.  Twenty teens participated in the event, which turned out to be a very fun evening for everyone.  An invitation was given at the end and 4 youth prayed to accept Christ.  Give God thanks that the event happened better than I had imagined.

The Valentine's Youth Event

The next Saturday, attendance at the youth service was more than twice as normal.  I’ve since been connecting with three teenage boys who want to go deeper in their spiritual walk.  Two adult couples are starting to support the youth ministry as volunteers.  We’ve also been able to help restore another couple, who had previously been the youth group leaders.  Please pray for God to impact the lives of the Nueva Esperanza youth and to prepare future leaders for this ministry.

Margarita and I made two visits this month to a Mbya Guarani settlement on the edge of a suburb of Asuncion.  Their school is a one-room wooden shack with a dirt floor.  The settlement’s only teacher has a blended class of 1^st and 2^nd graders.  Most of the children want to continue studying; however, they stop at third grade since there are no additional grades offered at their school.  Paraguay’s Ministry of Education sent additional teachers to help, as well as to provide adult education classes, but the teachers do not regularly show up.  Such educational needs—combined with the fact that this community is considered unreached and unengaged by the gospel—contributed to Margarita and me starting an educational ministry project there.  Pray for us as we connect with this and one other urban Mbya Guarani settlement. Additionally, pray for our developing friendship with a young, talented Mbya couple.

The Mbya School

Working with the Mbya means that I will need to improve my Guarani language skills, which I’m currently doing, in part, by co-leading a Bible study in Guarani in a village about 45 minutes south of Asuncion.  The study has resulted in 3 members of the village’s most infamous family deciding to follow Jesus.  Last week Margarita and I traveled an hour and a half in the other direction to spend a few days at a children’s camp.  I was the guest speaker and Margarita, with her vast experience as an elementary teacher, helped me prepare the materials for the five sessions I taught.  Give thanks to God for seeds sown among the attentive children, and pray that they grow up to be men and women who will shine Christ’s light in Paraguay.

When I was ready to cancel the Valentine’s youth event because it didn’t start like I imagined, I sort of acted like Antoine, who, recently at his new daycare, cried for me not to leave, but, as soon as I left, enjoyed playing with his new classmates.  Keep Antoine, as well as Ana and Gabrielli, who will turn 1 next week, in your prayers.  Also, pray for more Paraguayans to trust in the Lord, who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.

Yours truly,

Tim, Margarita, Ana, Antoine and Gabrielli

Ana, Gabrielli and Antoine also helped at the camp.

"...He went out, not knowing where he was going."

Dear Friends and Family:

In order for an addict to reject the immediate gratification of drugs, he or she must have faith that sobriety will bring greater gratification in the long-term.  Just as by faith Abraham in the Bible went to a new place not knowing where he was going, the brethren in recovery in Paraguay’s Esperanza Prison must leave the lifestyles they know, trusting in God to bring them to a new place where their needs and longings will be met. I spent much of January working with our core group of inmate leaders, and we’re thankful for the spiritual as well as numerical growth that we’re seeing.  Last week they carried out an outreach event that concluded with 35 inmates either deciding to or expressing an interest in following Jesus.  Give thanks to God for his work in the Esperanza Prison, and pray for the inmate leaders.

Inmate-Led Outreach in the Esperanza Prison

As the school year starts back up in February and we become more active in our educational ministry, I will decrease my involvement in the prison.  Years ago I unsuccessfully tried to leave the prison ministry due to few laborers; however, now a team of pastors and volunteers is available to shoulder the ministerial burden.  This will free up more of my week to make visits with Margarita to urban First Nations settlements.  Pray for open doors and open hearts among the Ava and Mbya Guarani communities who we’ll be getting to know better in the coming months.   

Margarita and I are very happy to announce that we started living in our new house during the first week of 2018.  We are very, very grateful for your contributions, which made our new living space a reality.  We were also grateful for a 5-day vacation to escape the discomforts of moving.  Please pray for the full completion of construction, in addition to the settling in process.  Also, pray for the home group that we plan to begin. 

We vacationed near the town of Belen, which is Paraguay's "Capital of the Tropic of Capricorn."

Furthermore, in a couple of weeks, Antoine will begin attending a daycare that is near Ana’s school.  Please pray for him as he adjusts to a new environment with new people.

Ten years ago this past January, I left my home country, family, friends and job to answer the call to missionary service in Paraguay.  There have been difficult moments, and I still miss my family and friends; however, there is no doubt in my mind that coming here was the right decision.  I thank God for Margarita, for our children, as well as for the countless marvelous things that have happened over the past decade.  I also thank God for those of you who have partnered with me since the beginning.  Leaving places and ways of living can be unsettling, but when we do so by faith, we will see that God, who calls us, is faithful and rewards those who seek him.  

Yours truly,

Tim, Margarita, Ana, Antoine and Gabrielli Revett

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