Passion for Paraguay

We love to garden for various reasons. One important reason we choose to garden is to help three other families who don't have enough food to eat. Our garden is organic and is a great cost-savings for us as well. In Paraguay, the fertile soil and the tropical climate allow almost year round growing. This is just a sampling of what we're harvesting right now. We're experimenting with some new white beans, garbanzos and organic soy as well. Each year our garden gets a little bigger and more diverse.

Yesterday we submitted three proposals for the Google Idea Competition under the categories of: environment, energy and opportunity. The winners will receive $1-2 million to bring their ideas to life. Here’s a very short synopsis of our ideas: 1. Opportunity: GANA Paraguay. Provide Paraguayan youth with a mentor, hands-on training, and an internship so she can learn a trade and make a dignified living within the country. 2. Energy: Sunergía: Alternative Energy for all of Paraguay. Provide alternative energy to the poorest of the Paraguayan population. 3. Environment: Preserve, Protect, Prosper Paraguay. Provide an ecological infrastructure that allows Paraguay to protect its own ecosystem through recycling, legislation, education and tree planting. We know that Google will receive hundreds of thousands of applications, but we can dream a little, can’t we? So badly, we want to do something to make a difference in this nation. We eat, sleep and constantly think about what can be done t...

I’ve been preparing for a talk on forgiveness for a womens' retreat, so it's interesting that this week this scenario happened where I teach English: My colleague walked into my class before the students arrived and shut the door. She began to sob as she revealed, “I can’t forgive him, I just can’t.” As my colleague poured out her heart, she admitted to me that not only was she miserable because of this anger; it was making her physically sick. I talked to her about what it means to forgive and explained that the source of our ability to forgive is God. Then, just a few days later a close friend called me up sobbing. She told me she found messages on her husband’s cell phone to another woman. She was devastated. I went over to her house and she asked me, “Why should I forgive him?” Me “Well, because God forgave you,” Her “I forgave him once before, but I won’t do it again.” Me “Yeah, I know it’s hard to forgive repeat offenders, especially when they hurt you deeply. I’m s...

This week we had the pleasure of taking a road trip, a 10 hour drive into the interior, to distribute money for a motorcycle for this rural pastor and his wife. They have started 14 churches within 200 miles of where they live in Coronel Oviedo. Pastor Alfredo is 61 years old and is as excited as a little boy to own his first motorcycle. The Chavez family is doing a tremendous work in the middle of Paraguay. Please pray for them as they continue to spread the Word of God, now on wheels! also were able to donate a motorcycle for Planeta Joven , a ministry outreach to teens. Pastor Marcos has been the leader of this ministry since 2006 and is very grateful for this tremendous ministry tool. Here he is on his two-day old motorcycle. CMA (Christian Motorcycle Association) donates motorcycles around the world through their annual Run for the Son Fundraising event. This year we were able to donate a record number of 6 motorycles to deserving ministries. Next month a group of CMA will b...

This video was taken at Grandma Kurrle's house.  Timmy loves music and at two years, nine months he's becoming a little musician!