Passion for Paraguay

After suspending all Paraguayan adoptions in Sept. 1995 due to baby stealing, Paraguay has now re-opened its doors to inter country adoption and has been resubmitted as a Hague Convention Country ! I just called the U.S. Embassy to confirm this information. Please pray for the hundreds of Paraguayan children that are sitting in orphanages waiting to be adopted by a loving family, maybe yours! Happy New Year!

She came to our home after dark. She didn’t know where else to go and so she timidly applauded at the door. I answered the door and I saw a thin frame behind the night's shadows. Her weak voice made me instantly aware there was a problem. “Simone?” “Si,” she whispered, almost embarrassed. I asked her to come in and tell me what was going on. She was shaking as she told me that her husband and beat her because she had bought a small bottle of coke to drink with her daughter. She asked if she could stay the night, because he was surely still raging. It was the fourth time this year that he’d laid his hands on her delicate body. She was filthy and it tooked like she hadn’t showered in a week. She has no tooth in front; she’s been toothless ever since we met three years ago. Now, her protruding feature wasn’t her missing tooth, it was her black eye. Her husband and mine work out together and are on the same adventure racing team. She thought of us because we’ve showed them ...

Wow! Yesterday was an incredible day. We had our first ever Christmas party for the children that are sponsored in a special program called, Children of Promise. Julie is the director for the program and there are 37 beautiful Paraguayan children that are benefited. Thanks to some very special folks that decided instead of receiving birthday gifts, they wanted their friends to donate to help children in Paraguay, this event was made possible. So, with a portion of those funds, we had a Christmas fiesta! We played games... We ate hamburgers and french fries and pop... something that most of these kids will not be able to eat during the year, because they are a luxury food item. We told the story of Jesus’ birth (Julie added a few interesting twists to the story) We thanked God for our sponsors, near and far and gave fruitcake (a Paraguayan tradition) to all the local helpers who have served faithfully this year. And we opened presents! Every child in the program was present. Some...

We just returned home from “Oma’s” (That’s “grandma” in German) funeral. A stroke two weeks ago took her into the hospital, which she had hardly ever visited. She was always very strong, physically. She has had an incredible will to succeed no matter what. But most importantly, she loves God with all her heart. At age 23 she committed her life to serve God and has never, ever wavered. Emilie Kurrle, turned 100 last May. Her three daughters, two sons, 27 grandchildren, and 33 great-grandchildren, celebrated her life with music, good food, and wonderful memories of the early days and prayer. Ten of her children/grandchildren are pastors, missionaries, or Christian writers and with only the exception of 2 or 3, all are Christians. We are all sad she has left this earth, but we all understand that it’s time to let her go home As I (Norberto) reflect on my grandmother’s life, I realize how important it is to live life with purpose, committed to the deepest convictions. I ask myself at th...

We had a nice birthday party for our big boy! We invited our family and we wrote little reflections for our now three year old son. Here's us sharing in the living room why Timmy is so special. Timmy's bday5 Here are some excerpts of what we said: "Timmy, today is your third birthday. You've been a complete joy to our lives and every single day we thank God for you. Your name means "One who honors God." We pray that your life, your gifts and abilities will be used to honor the Lord. Your middle name "Samuel" means, "God hears." Timothy, you are an answer to our prayers. You are a gift from the Lord, our inheritance, and we love you so much. We just love the way you like things "just so". You really have an eye for detail and when your mommy doesn't fix your toy exactly right, you say, "Make it much better, mommy." You love veggies and especially carrots and pepinos (pickles). You could eat popcorn every d...