Check These Out!

The Candle in the Corner Event is going on RIGHT NOW! To participate, donate $5.00= one entry $20= 5 entries to win fabulous cultural items (like the ones below).



By clicking on the "chip in" button above you will be supporting missions somewhere in the world.  With just a $5.00 donation you have the opportunity to win beautiful cultural items like:

this rooster and table runner from Portugal

or this model drying house from Spain.

Aren't you curious as to what Paraguay's prize is????   Keep coming back to find out!  Every day there are new prizes to win!  Go HERE to find out all the nitty gritty.

Uh God, Need Your Help Here!

It was just one of those days yesterday.  Norberto was in Argentina teaching in the Bible school and our "trusty" old Suburban wouldn't start.  Ugh...  What to do? Bible study starts in 25 minutes on the other side of town and my only alternative is... well, something I haven't ridden in about a year- the bike. Did I mention I have to bring a laptop, my Bible and study materials, tons of photocopies and my son, who's almost four....on a bike that has low air in one tire!

I'm only slightly hyperventilating as I'm thinking to myself:

"I can't do this.  What if I fall?  What if my tire goes flat?  Wait, don't panic"

"Pray."

"Father, help me to get to the study on time, no just help me get there without falling down!  Amen."

I said a "quicky prayer," the kind you pray when you're in desperate situations...when you don't have time or energy to elaborate.  Thankfully Father God knows what you're dealing with ahead of time and He's ready to answer.

Why is it that worry and fear is my first natural reaction to a crisis? Panic starts to set in as the reality of a situation becomes clear.  I need help but many times I try to plan my escape route without inviting the Father to give me his input.   I love what The Message says about asking God for help. 

"Call to me and I will answer you. I'll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own." Jeremiah 33:3

After I threw up my cry of help to the Lord, I calmed down and somehow was able to carry my entire load on the bike without a flat tire or falling over (many know that grace is not my middle name).  God gave me the strength and the balance to arrive at my destination. Thank you God for the way you care for your kids when we take a few minutes to ask for your help.

Indeed, I got some very strange looks riding through town, but I made it in one piece, albeit very sweaty and out of breath. Gotta remind myself to exercise more often...just not this way!

What It's All About

We've got to admit that most days we just keep persevering without seeing the fruit of our labor. However, every once in a while we get the amazing blessing of seeing someone's spiritual light turn on or get to walk with someone in their next step in the faith journey. This weekend was was one of those times that makes ministry all worth the effort and sacrifice.

Nidia and Liliana are two girls from our Bible study. They have been faithful despite family objections to the evangelical faith. They are both hungry to grow and ask great questions about God and life. They definitely have matured in their spiritual walk and both decided that it was time to go to the next level....both were baptized this weekend!

Thank you Father for the glimpse of seeing you at work in lives around us. Thanks for the passion and insight of these precious young believers. Please give them strength to continue the journey one day at a time. Help us to guide them and love them, to laugh and cry with them and be people that live out what we talk about.

Support Missions and Win!

I want to tell you about something exciting that's up and coming! The Candle in the Corner event is one of those opportunities... for YOU to win some awesome items from around the world!

Missionaries serving around the world have donated cultural items to give away (including us) and you will have your chance to win them! I don't know about you, but we'd love to have something handmade from Paraguay (wink wink) or an Indian batik or a South African candle in our home! (The actual items are a surprise and will be revealed during the giveaway, but as you can see, this is a very unique opportunity!)

By participating in the Candle in the Corner event you could win a cultural item from one of the following countries while supporting missionaries and their work in taking the light of Jesus Christ to their corners of the world:

- Spain
- Portugal
- Indonesia
- Botswana
- South Africa
- Honduras
- Russia
- Paraguay (yours truly!)
- Brazil
- Argentina
- Uganda
- United States
- and more!

Does it sound great or what?! Here are the details on how it will work:

~~~The Candle in the Corner event will take place at Moms, Ministry, and More from October 27 - November 10.

~~~Any donation made via the PayPal button (on this site) during the event will earn entries to the giveaway. Every $5 will earn one entry and every $20 will earn five entries. The minimum amount to earn an entry is $5.

~~~During the event, Heidi (the giveaway hostess) will spotlight the countries and missionaries who are providing the giveaway items. All monies raised will go directly to support mission work in the spotlighted countries. This work includes church planting, orphan care, humanitarian work, prison ministry, missionary aviation, Christian education and student work, and more. As hostess of this event, Heidi will not receive any of the funds.

~~~Winners will be randomly selected on November 11 and announced. For time's sake, you must check back here to see if you've won.

Woman with No Identity

Remember Mrs. Rivero? We gave her a blanket a few months ago from our Christmas Projects.This sweet lady is seventy seven years old and still doesn't have any documentation to prove that she's a Paraguayan. She told me that she feels like a "nobody" because she doesn't have her cedula de identidad (identity card). She is basically a shut-in and it seems like the world has forgotten about this woman. But there is someone who hasn't forgotten....Isn't it amazing that God searches us out and shows his love for us as if we were the only one walking the earth. He knows us more intimately than anyone else and He cares for every aspect of our lives, our existence.

Yesterday we took her to get her Paraguayan document. It took 2.5 hours and she'll get her card in about three months, just in time for her 78th birthday! Here she is walking into the office with her daughter and granddaughter. All she needed was someone to give her a little help...
I told our elderly friend that even though she doesn't yet have legal identity in her country, she has identity in Jesus Christ. Her sense of belonging is in the Lord and that gives her the most important identity she'll ever need.

Keeping Kids Healthy

This week was a child-focused week for us. We had the honor of a special guest, Paul, who directs the children's ministry we work with here. It's a child sponsorship program that helps little ones in our area get an education, have solid nutrition, shoes and proper clothing and gives them spiritual mentoring all for $25 a month. The ministry started here in 2004 and we now have 46 children.

Two things stuck out to the director of Children of Promise when he came to evaluate the program, review our accounting and interview all of the children:

First, there were three children who said they wanted to be missionaries and four that wanted to be pastors!

Second, one of the kids tithes on his sponsorship. Of the 3,700 children sponsored in 23 countries, this is the first child to do something of this nature. Awesome!
One of the joys of the visit was the opportunity to distribute mosquito nets to all the kids. Only one of the 46 children actually owed one before this week! The mosquito nets are thanks to a combined effort of Children of Promise and Missionary Ventures Christmas Projects. We were able to purchase a total of 113, so we will continue distributing the nets in the next few weeks.By the way, there are still 8 children that are waiting for sponsors. If you are interested in meeting helping a young child dream for the future, contact Children of Promise.

Threads of Hope

I remember my very first church womens' meeting in Paraguay the ladies each had to help sew costumes for the Christmas program. I wanted to crawl into the floorboards and hide. Unfortunately, I don't know how to sew. Sewing's a dying art where I'm from, but I have learned since living in Paraguay how important sewing is for many women in this culture. It's a fantastic way for women to provide income for their family while staying at home.

Rosi is a young talented woman in our church. Even though her mom died when she was an adolescent, she taught Rosi how to sew. Now, Rosi is newly married and she works full time; at night she attends seamstress school. She told me earlier this year that her dream was to own her own sewing machine, so she doesn't have to borrow a machine from someone who lives 2 miles away. Her idea is to open her own shop at home, so she can make better money. Right now she works six days a week as a nanny and maid and only makes $80 a month. She can make twice that with a sewing machine!

When we went to the U.S. this summer on furlough, a dear friend donated a new sewing machine and we immediately thought of Rosi. She received her gift today thanks to the help of our friend Paul, director of Children of Promise,who brought it when he came to visit. There are no words to describe what this gift means to Rosi; she has new hope! Thank you for investing in the future of Paraguayan women and thank you for praying for us as we continue to focus on helping people make a sustainable living through micro enterprise.

P.S. There are two more needy ladies here that are praying for sewing machines. If you have an interest in helping Margarita and Pastor Silva, drop us an email.

Retrieving Blue

When we went to get our truck back last week we couldn't find the buyers or our truck. They had changed their cell phone numbers and we wondered if we'd ever get our vehicle back. Norberto went five times to the buyer's home and never found them. We were very discouraged to realize that these "Christian" folks were hiding from us. We went on Sunday night and finally found someone who would talk with us, the grandmother. Norb talked kindly to her and told her that we want to work this situation out peacefully. She admitted that her son and his wife were hiding the truck in a different part of town and that she would show us where it was. She also told us she'd call us when her son showed up at home, so we'd know exactly when to "pay them a visit". She also mentioned the name of their pastor, who happens to be a personal friend of ours. She called around midnight and said that they had just arrived home. Norb decided he would go arrive at their home around daybreak, before they had the chance to escape again.

Norb drove the hour distance to their city. First, he stopped at their pastor's house and asked him to accompany him to their house. After briefly explaining the situation, he agreed. They arrived at their home at six a.m. yesterday and the grandmother said to her son and his wife, "Wake up, your pastor is here." When they saw their pastor with Norberto their faces went white.

They tried to excuse their behavior; they had been using our truck for nearly two months without making a single payment and with no intention of returning it or paying for it. After their pastor told them that they had to make things right, they agreed that they needed to give us back our truck. They went to go retrieve it from its hiding place and were gone for over an hour. The pastor left and Norberto prayed that they wouldn't run away. However, the grandmother said, "They will come back." They gave us back our truck and Norberto praised God all the way home that God touched their hearts to do what was right. This whole week we remembered David's words in Psalm 103:

The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.

We thank God for an honest abuela and her information. We are thankful that we knew their pastor and that he was willing to guide the buyers do act justly. We thank you for your prayers as well. We have learned a few lessons from this situation too and in the meantime, will keep the Blue Cruiser around for a little while longer...

Weekend News and Updates

We've been on the road for the last five days, so here's what we've been up to:

The Association of Christian Communicators in Paraguay had their annual retreat in Tres Palmas and we had a great time of fellowship, networking and recreation with the other legal Christian radios and TV stations in the nation, 150 total participants! Here's a picture of some of the terrific staff at Alternativa: We got there and realized we forgot our tent poles, so here's what our improvised tent looked like; we were the brunt of many jokes. Thankfully it didn't rain!
We also had the privilege of finishing the distribution of the funds for 9 motorcycles and getting to know ministries all over the country, so in the next month, we'll be highlighting different motorcycle recipients and their work.

We got our license plate for our new car, which amazingly only took a month; last time it took us almost three years! We have decided to name our car: the White Fish, that's Timmy's name for our car.
We returned to find that our chicks are doing great and have tripled in size, only one is now in chicken heaven. We are working on building their permanent chicken house this week, so should be another great learning experience.

Thank you to everyone who has written us or has prayed for us and our car situation. We have contacted a lawyer and she will go with Norberto either today or tomorrow to (hopefully) retrieve our vehicle. Please pray that we can peaceably get our car back with no fights or hassles.