Celebrating 10 Years Together

We love to explore and this weekend we had the opportunity to discover new places in the department (state) of Caaguazu, Paraguay. We were invited to participate in the 10th anniversary program of our sister radio station, Mensajero (The Messenger) 100.9 FM in Tres Palmas, Caaguazu. It was a five hour drive; the last hour we were eating dust constantly and dodging enormous potholes on the 40 km dirt road stretch. There were so many turns and no signs, so we had to stop and ask directions nine times!

This rural colony, along with Bergthal, and Sommerfeld, were founded by Mennonite farmers. There are approximately 28,000 Mennonites living in Paraguay today. This radio is managed by the EMC (Evangelical Mennonite Convention). Here is a picture of Norberto in front of the station. The celebration was a testament to God's guidance and provision for this outreach ministry. We were so honored to be special guests and we are grateful that the hope of Jesus Christ is broadcasted in almost every region of the country.You can see here where the ACCP (Association of Christian Communicators in Paraguay) radio stations are located. We are the green star and Mensajero is the red one.

We look forward to the second concert in our series this Friday in celebration of our 10th anniversary year. We thank God that He has allowed us and Mensajero to make it to this landmark. Directing a Christian station is very strenuous work and there are many obstacles to overcome. Thank you for praying for Radio Alternativa and the other Christian radio stations in Paraguay!

Auction Items to Benefit Radio Alternativa

Our generator project, you can read about it here, called"Generating Hope" is burning in our hearts right now. It is our prayer that we can purchase this needed tool before we go to the States in May. We are auctioning off beautiful Paraguayan artisan goods to raise money for the generator. All items were purchased from locals at a fair price and all proceeds will go toward the generator. We still need $5,500. We have raised $2,500 to date. You can see the thermometer on the right hand side of the webpage.

Here are two lovely purses, perfect for your daughter, granddaughter or wife. They are made by the Macá Indians and are 6.5 inches tall.



You may bid on one or both. Just specify the color you like best.

Bidding starts at $0.99.

This is beautiful ñanduti. Ñanduti is constructed using needles on wooden frames and is Paraguay's most typical artwork. It measures 12 inches in diameter; is beige and is hand-woven. This elegant lace makes a perfect centerpiece or can be framed!
This one is vibrant orange (2 tones). It is the same size as the beige, but with a different lace design. A close up of the delicate handiwork. Each one starts at $0.99.

Don't forget about the genuine leather thermos. It has a current bid of $10.00, still WELL below its retail price.Please email us your bids. We will update weekly with the current bid on each item. Bidding will continue until May 9 at 12:00 p.m. We will announce all the winners on May 10. The winning bidder will receive tax credit for their donation. We will either hand deliver or ship (if you live somewhere we won't be visiting) this item to you when we head to the U.S. on May 15.

We hope you take advantage of these auctions, so Radio Alternativa can GENERATE hope 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Paraguayan Education is the Pits

Yesterday was one of those days where the weight of poverty was almost too much for me to handle. Our neighbor called us informing that her son Samuel had fallen at school and broken his leg. She went to the state hospital an hour away and they took X-rays and confirmed that the child would need a surgery with pins and plates! She left without one penny in her pocket and she asked if we could help pay the X-ray. I told her NOT to okay the surgery without a second opinion.

Since the accident took place at school, surely the school would take the responsibility for paying the medical bills. After calling the superintendent and having to talk to three different people, she told me that no such funds existed, the schools have no medical insurance for their students and to go personally to talk to the school principal because there is no phone in the school.

So, I went to visit the school principal. At first, she was on the defensive. "Impossible" was her response to helping this poor boy. She showed me her classrooms and said, "The government doesn't even give us chalk. Look at our chairs... We have 54 kids in this room and only the first ones to arrive get to sit down." I quickly counted 40 shabby looking chairs. Pathetic. No wonder why Paraguay is so impoverished, they invest nothing in their educational systems.I asked if they had a parent committee that might organize a bazaar to help pay for the boy's bills. She told me that it was a possibility but the committee hadn't been organized yet this year, even though we are 6 weeks into the school year.

I started getting really angry, not just at Paraguayan government, but at the general passivity of Paraguayans toward education. "This is the way things have always been. Nothing's going to change." This fatalistic attitude has pervaded even the way children think. The kids started following me around as I took pictures of their classrooms. They showed me their tables that were pieced together from scraps. They told me that they prefer to have class outside beside the classrooms are like ovens seven months out of the school year. My heart started to sink when I realized that if this is the future that we're creating for this beloved nation, there is little hope for improvement.Back to Samuel. I suspected that his simple fracture would not require surgery (that is another frustrating post about medical ignorance in Paraguay, but we won't go there today) and we took their family to a private hospital to get a second opinion. Sure enough, a good cast would do the job. The cost was 600,000 Guaranies ($120). It just so happened that Norberto had that money ready to pay our carpenter for our window frames. Here, you can't get treatment without paying first. So, we paid and waited and our friends were extremely grateful that their son didn't need pins and screws like the state doctor had said. We won one small battle, but the battle for education is a huge mountain to climb. Paraguay recently gave their teachers a standardized exam and 87% failed! Students only go to school 35 weeks/year, the lowest number of school days of any South American country. The government only spends 4.7% of the GDP on education. (Unesco and World Bank stats). Please pray for us as we seek God's guidance on how we can help. Something HAS to change.

Little Brown Church in the Vale

On Sunday we traveled about an hour to a small village called Poromocó, (named after its river) to share with a country church there.


We preached, played the worship music and even sang our first special number as a family...Jesus Loves Me, in English and Spanish, to the 15 member congregation.



After church, we were invited for a pig roast and a day of relaxing on a family's farm.


We got to tour their farm and their different crops. We hiked about 2 hours and still didn't cover half their fields. Timmy loved petting the animals. This lovely family has a daughter Timmy's age and they had a ball together!


We are having a very dry season here and all the families are agriculturists and are very concerned about the drought. So, we prayed for rain in the middle of their fields.

That is yerba mate (green tea) on the left and sugar cane on the right.






Yesterday our friend texted us a message that it rained on his farm on Monday morning and we are thankful that God heard our prayers!

Concert in the Park

As part of our 10th anniversary festivities, Radio Alternativa is organizing a series of concerts this year. On Saturday night we held an evangelistic concert in the plaza of Bella Vista. We had a choreograph team, a rapper from Encarnacion who shared his powerful testimony and a worship team from Villarrica.


We counted around 350 people who attended, the weather was absolutely beautiful and the mayor was so happy that we're trying to reach youth. He told us, "The plaza's yours anytime you want it!" and he made sure the grass was cut and the grounds were immaculate before the concert.













Here Norberto is giving the invitation to come to our next concert in Hohenau, on April 3.













Thanks for your prayers for our outreach events and for Paraguayan youth who need to hear the message of HOPE.

Radio Auction Item #1

As we mentioned in our newsletter (you can read it by clicking on the icon on the right hand side of the page), we will be auctioning off a few items to help us buy the generator! If you like Ebay, you're gonna love this. This is a silent auction, which means you don't post your price. Instead, please email us (click on the email us link to the right) and tell us your bid.

This is an authentic Paraguayan tereré set. See this post for a better explanation of this traditional Paraguayan pasttime. This is a genuine 100% leather thermos with matching guampa (cup). It includes a bombilla (straw) as well.
You can see that it is very well made with extra strong stitching. These incredibly talented artisans are Christians and are friends of ours. This hand-painted, matching set says Jesús and is brand new.


Even if you don't drink tereré, this is an excellent cold water thermos, just in time for summer! If you are not interested in the auction, you can STILL help us buy our generator by clicking that nice orange button on the right, so the radio station will continue operating when the power surges or goes out (several times a week).

Bidding will start at $0.99 and will continue until May 9 at 12:00 p.m. We will update weekly with the current bid. We will announce all the winners on May 10. The winning bidder will receive tax credit for their donation. We will either hand deliver or ship (if you live somewhere we won't be visiting) this item to you when we head to the U.S. on May 15.

All proceeds go to Radio Alternativa 92.7 FM, the only legal Christian radio station in our state, Itapua, Paraguay. We reach an audience of over 500,000 with the hope of Jesus Christ!

May the highest bid win!

Daily Life in Paraguay

Since most of you will never have the opportunity to visit us here in Paraguay we are trying to bring life in Paraguay to you! We'll show you videos of our Sunday School, of us in our daily life (washing clothes) and show you where we live and what we do. Here's a snapshot of one of our favorite activities-cutting down a banana bunch.

Since we grow our own, we were able to share bananas with five families (with this particular bunch). When a banana bunch is ready, we go bananas! We dry bananas, we freeze them (for smoothies), we make banana bread, banana cake, banana pancakes, fruit salad and we'll try just about any banana recipe you give us (hint, hint).

So, this is our "How to cut down bananas, when they're ripe" video:


When the bunch is cut, we leave it outside in the shade for about a day, so the sun doesn't scorch the bananas and we let the bunch set outside so all the critters (spiders mainly) have a chance to take a hike before we bring them in the house! Right now we have three bunches that will be ready this week. Good thing we all like bananas.

Prayer Breakthrough

It was 6:30 when I got on my motorcycle to begin riding the 20 min to the Papillion restaurant where we meet with a number of pastors for our monthly prayer breakfast. This is the 6th month we’ve sponsored the event, thanks to a generous gift from Missionary Ventures, Canada. Every second Saturday in the morning all the local pastors of the three nearest towns (United Colonies) are invited to fellowship, eat breakfast and pray.

This morning was special. Since the Rotary Club had to use our normal room, we met in the back yard, by the swimming pool. We had the yard to ourselves, very close to nature. The early morning birds were chirping, a late summer breeze was passing by...The air was pure; it was a great time to meet and pray.

One of the older pastors shared a few testimonies, we laugh and the prayed. At one point in the prayer, pastor Pedro asked us to join hands in a circle and for one moment time stood still. His words were,

“Father speak to us, allow us to reach the lost, help us in the midst of struggles, apathy and lack of unity.”

He was holding his tears back. We all knew that a very special spiritual connection had just taken place. One of those moments in your life when you forget that there are different denominations and you feel connected with God and privileged to be a child of God.

I told Julie it was a moment when we forgot that we were pastoring different congregations and singing different songs. It was a moment when in unity we were talking to God as ONE. I was blessed. I believe it was a breakthrough; it’s the beginning of something beautiful in the Colonias Unidas, (United Colonies). But it’s just the beginning.

All this happened before we got to the breakfast, the ham, yogurt, the cheese, and the Brazilian coffee. God is present in Colonias Unidas, Paraguay. This morning he gave us a glimpse of His presence in a special way.

As I rode my motorcycle back home two hours later, I thought,

“God, this is exactly what you want from us. A people, worshiping one God, against one enemy with one purpose. Help us God and forgive us for our critical eye and judging spirit.”

Jesus in John 17:21 said, “That all of them be one, Father just as you are in me and I am in you.” May we all grow and continue to focus on our united purpose.

Bibles Are Here

We’ve raised $3,030 for the Bibles to date! Unfortunately, we’ve had to enter “PLAN B” on this project since our 10,000 free Bibles are no longer available, (we don’t know why). We got a great deal from the Paraguayan Bible Society on a Bible for $2.45 each, so that brings us to a total of 1,216 Bibles that we were able to buy. This is a picture of the Bibles that just arrived today!!
We are going to work through churches and evangelists that are associated with the APEP (Association of Evangelical Pastors in Paraguay) to distribute the Bibles. We will ask the churches to give a very small token donation, so they don’t take more than what they really will distribute. The idea is not to give the Bibles to Christians who already own Bibles, but to people who have yet to own their own Bible (unfortunately, we do have some Christians without Bibles in our churches).

We are very excited about this project coming together. We are so thankful for your sacrifice to get the Word of God into Paraguayans’ hands. We look forward to giving you an update on the actual disbursement of the Bibles and sharing lots of pictures next month.
We can’t wait for 1,216 more Paraguayans to have the Word of God touch their lives!

Running Across Wildlife in Paraguay

On our way to a church assembly this Sunday in Alto Parana, where deforestation of the natural rain forest is occurring at 10% per year, we ran across (literally) this rain forest specimen on highway 6 and killed it. Snakes are common here, but it’s rare that we would spot one so big. It was about 8 feet long. This is what we learned about it, thanks to the expertise of Herpetologist Roy McDiarmid from the Smithsonian Institute:

Dear Norberto,
Yes. I know that snake from other places in Latin America, from southern Mexico south to Argentina. It is called Spilotes pullatus (Tiger Rat Snake). As you can see it is a large (~3 m), diurnal, terrestrial to semiarboreal harmless snake that occurs in forests and especially along forest edges. It kills by constriction and eats rats, mice, squirrels, birds and their eggs. This snake can put on quite a display extending its neck and throat and making lots of noise; primarily this is to discourage predators. Often times it will move with its head help up off the ground as if it were looking around. It is a striking component of the snake fauna of South America and should be protected. Hope this helps.

We are just thankful that we didn't meet this intimidating specimen up close in personal on one of our nature walks!

Modesty-Isn't That Just Old Fashioned?

I haven't always been a modest dresser. When I was in high school I let the fashion of magazines such as Seventeen and Vogue and my circle of friends influence my dress more than what God had to say about the issue.

While I was more careful in my dress after marrying my college sweetheart, I still would like to show off my curves when we went out. It wasn't until I moved to Paraguay that I realized that different cultures have different understandings of modesty. Shorts that were considered "normal" in the U.S. (mid thigh length) are not considered appropriate here. Most women do not wear shorts. If they do, they are knee-length.

When I went back to the States on our first summer furlough, I was so used to wearing long shorts and capri pants that I was a little taken aback seeing women wear the short-shorts I used to wear. My goodness, they were exposing almost all of their leg! It was then that I realized how blind I had been to the strong cultural current of sensuality and contrast of the message of "modern" fashion and God's word.

A fantastic little book called The Look, by Nancy Leigh DeMoss, (it's also in Spanish!), talks about how our clothing reveals the condition of our hearts. Her questions are challenging me to rethink my wardrobe choices. What motivates our style of clothing? What message are we sending with what we wear? Are we trying to attract attention to our bodies or are we giving glory to God with our clothing?

Why dress modestly? Not only is my body not my own (it is a temple of God), dressing indecently causes men to lust in their hearts. The thing is that Christian women are sometimes the worst culprits. I can't tell you how awkward and frustrating it is to sit behind someone in church who is wearing a see-through blouse. I know that this makes it hard for Hubby to concentrate on the Lord. She is also taking away from me something that is mine, and that's my husband's attention.

This issue has been burning in my heart lately as I see the youth in our church wearing the same scandalous clothing that all the other teens wear. In fact, if you would line them up, you couldn't tell the difference! It's not just teens though, it's their mothers as well who have shortened their skirts and exposed their breast. Since men are so visual, we women have a responsibility to make sure that what we wear doesn't make them stumble. I'm quite positive that if we were to revolutionize our clothing, there would be fewer affairs and separations! We have one life to live, and it's our choice to "flaunt" our bodies or live for God's glory, whether at the beach, a formal evening or at church.

I'm not at all saying that God doesn't want us to be beautiful. On the contrary! He is the Creator of all things beautiful. Queen Esther went through 12 months of beauty treatments (I'd probably need 36 months!). I'm also not suggesting you dress like your grandmother! The woman in Proverbs 31 is a woman who had linen clothing (nice fabric). I'm suggesting a beauty that's focused from the inside out; a beauty that's pure and humble and feminine.

On Thursday, we're having a women's tea to celebrate the International Day of the Woman (it was on Sunday) and I'm going to be sharing about true beauty in God's eyes. If you would remember me in prayer, I'd really appreciate it. The key for me is that this is NOT an issue of legalism and measuring skirt lengths, it's a matter of the heart.

If your clothes could talk, what would they say about you?

What's That Hiding in the Banana Leaves?

Since we don't have a garage we hide our lawn mower in the banana leaves during the day and bring it inside (in our living room) at night. In fact, our living room is our storage place for all our gardening tools, mower, and motorcycle! It is not a big living room, either.

When our lawn mower was stolen we had no idea who knew where it was hidden. We were crushed to learn that it was a young man (Luis) that Hubby had been mentoring weekly. He had taken it while we were out and sold it to his neighbor! His mom, who is a Christian, found out and went to the neighbor and threatened to report him to the police (since he knew the lawnmower did not belong to Luis).

The man turned over the lawn mower to Luis' mom and she gave it back to us. We've had to pray about how to deal with the situation because we were very hurt by Luis' actions and yet we want to show grace and love. We are thankful that we were able to recover our lawn mower and for the honesty of Luis' mom in this situation.

Poverty brings out the desperation in people. Many Paraguayans are petty thieves and think it's much easier to steal than to find work. We resonate with Ephesians 4:28. It says, "Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need." This situation continues to burn in our hearts the importance of training Paraguayans in trades so that they can begin to leave the cycle of poverty and the mentality of unhealthy dependence (or stealing).

In the next year, we are going to be focusing more of our time and energy in micro enterprise and development. We'll be updating soon about the farm projects and we ask you to pray for us for wisdom and God's leading for us, and for those we'll we walking alongside, like Luis.

How To Use a Wash board Sink (Or Things That You Never Thought You'd Do on the Mission Field)

My first time washing clothes by hand was a complete disaster. We were on our Pan American excursion. We were in Peru and we had no clean clothes left. We stopped at a rustic hotel in the middle of the desert and to my utter surprise, there was no washing machine to be found (how naive). I stared at the washboard sink for about 10 minutes completely clueless as to how to begin washing clothes. I fumbled my way through the process never dreaming that I would one day become a washboard whiz!

Here's me staring at the sink:
While my supportive husband was doing this
Three hours later (I'm not kidding), I managed to kinda wash all our clothes
Now, I wash clothes by hand five days a week. We get really dirty with the red dirt here, so while we own a standard washing machine, it doesn't leave our clothes clean. Upon request of a children's ministry in the States, I made a "how to" video on washing on a washboard sink. It's what works for me. I now can say that I actually enjoy doing the wash and find it a great time to get out my aggressions pray and worship. Here's my patented process:
Disclaimer: This was filmed by someone who's never touched a digital camera before.

Tribute to our Truck and a Request

"Blue Cruiser has been with us since day one in Paraguay. In fact, she drove us here without even a flat tire! When we purchased her back in 2002, it was not heard of to buy vehicles online, but it was a great match. We both knew she was the one for us!

We dedicated her to the Lord and the prayer team at church laid hands on her and prayed for her before we departed for our Pan American Adventure. She took us through the rivers of Nicaragua, the mountains of Honduras, the deserts of Peru and and Chilean Andes to arrive in Paraguay 70 days later. Incidentally, it was the same model ('88 Suburban) that broke the world's record of driving the entire PanAmerican highway. God didn't steer us wrong!

Last year, she brought us safely back from an adventure through blockades, broken bridges, narrow, dangerous roads in the Andes and safely back from Arequipa.
She's hauled 16+ work teams, hundreds of Paraguayans and she's been a true blue vehicle for our family. We have so many incredible memories with "Blue" and we thank God for the trusty ministry tool that she's been.
It's almost as if we are selling a member of our family. The only thing is that she has a drinking problem! She is a gas hog and our budget just can't take it any more (one fill up costs us $125!). Would you pray that our Blue Cruiser find a good new home? We are hoping to buy another vehicle to dedicate to the Lord's service soon and we are counting on the money from the sale to help supplement our new purchase.

That brings us to another request: We are in need of a vehicle while we are in the States. If you have a parked car you won't be using this summer, would you consider loaning it to us while we are visiting churches and friends giving reports about what God is doing in Paraguay?

Tereré - More Than Just a Drink

After being completely spoiled with a cold front last week (80 degrees instead of 100), we're back up to high temps. In our home, we live on tereré. Tereré is the cold version of Mate Tea. Everyone in Paraguay drinks it in the summertime. Tereré was introduced by the Guarani Indians in Paraguay and the tradition has been borrowed by the Southern Cone (Brazilians, Argentineans, Uruguayans and Chileans).

Very few Paraguayans drink plain water, so tereré's crucial for hydration in this humid heat. Day wagers take tereré breaks (our version of a coffee break) at 10:00 a.m. and at 3:00 in our area. They gather in a circle and one designated person serves to each person in the "ronda". Each person takes his turn sipping their serving of the cold tea and immediately returns it to the server. It is considered bad etiquette to hold on to the tereré too long! Paraguayans definitely take tereré seriously!

You can use lemonade, limeade, orange juice, pop, or cold water with lemon to pour into the tea leaves. Most Paraguayans add special herbs to their water and crush them with a mortar and pestle, to add a refreshing flavor or medicinal value. Our friends are teaching us about each of these herbs and their uses to cure ailments. We like mint and lemongrass.

One of our cups is a cow horn, called a guampa. The other one we use is metal, to help keep the drink as cold as possible. The straw is called a bombilla and has a filter at the end of it. It can be made of silver or metal and they are easy to lose, but we wouldn't know that by personal experience!

You will see a Paraguayana carrying his/her thermos everywhere they go. Many times they personalize their thermos with their name or their favorite soccer team. Ours has a scripture verse on it, with our name (so it's not stolen), which, unfortunately, has happened, twice.

Drinking tereré isn't just an addicting ritual here, it's a sign of trust and communion. For us, drinking tereré is an important part of our day, not just because it refreshes (and stimulates) us in the heat. It is an excellent time to sit down and catch up on the happenings of each other's day. Some of our best conversations and dreams are born while sipping this delicious drink outside on the porch. Here's a picture of our son drinking tereré. He was only 18 months old in this photo. You know, after all this talkin' I'm already getting thirsty for a tereré !




Do you have some type of "break" to sit down and catch up during the busyness of the day?

Enough is Enough!

We were in church and Timmy got tired and so we laid him on the floor with a blanket. During the prayer time a man in front of us turned around and started to stare at Timmy. His eyes got really big and I looked at our sleeping son and screamed (sorry, God!)

A tarantula, even bigger than the one on our front lawn, was four inches from his head!

Norb immediately took off his shoe and killed it, without even waking sleeping beauty.

We can only guess it climbed in through the side window. We are grateful for God's protection and are hoping for no more spider scares this season.