We are so happy to have our camera back! So, to show evidence of how excited we are to have a camera and to experience the beauty of the changing seasons....here are a few early signs from our yard that spring is on its way!
Brazilian Walking Iris
Cattleya Orchid
We have had tons of rain lately, to Timmy's delight...it makes great mud for his trucks to plow through!
Tomato plants
Lilies
Passion fruit flower
An avocado tree that grew out from our compost pile
Prickly pear after the rain
Our garden
Another bright-colored lily
The eucalyptus sheds its winter bark
A magnolia about ready to open
The balsam tree and its fruit
Freesias welcome visitors with their fragrance at the front gate
These kids were found either working or sleeping on the streets by social workers.
These boys wash car windshields on very dangerous, busy streets to help their family make ends meet.
This little guy's mom works all day and he stays home alone.
These are some girls in a shelter for abandoned children.
Thanks so much for making a difference in the lives of these little ones! Please pray that the situation changes in Paraguay to better defend and protect these vulnerable children.
Paraguay Troop 33 was present at the annual Exploradores camp!!
A group of 45 children/adults traveled 6 hours this past weekend to the national "Exploradores Camparama" in Aregua. This is Maria's first time to camp and she was so excited!
It was our job to set up camp before the kids arrived. At least we didn't forget the poles, like at this camp!
There is nothing like camp to make memories!
The troop had to make their own living quarters. This was their creative way to store the tools.
Here's commander Norberto testing out the port-o-pot!
The troop had great food to eat, thanks to some parents who came on board. Here, they're eating chicken and rice.
The troop even won the cooking contest for best guiso, which is like a beef stew with rice! Ours is pictured far right.
Our troop in formation; we had the biggest turn out of any troop in the country!
They played games, had Bible study and worked on their survival skills
One of our campers was chosen as the "Camper of the Week" for the entire Camparama. When he found out, he was so happy he began to cry. Can you see the look of pride on our leader, Hugo's face?
A special thanks to some donors who helped pay for one child's camp fees and for help with the bus rental. There is always a rich return when you invest in the lives of children.
Do you ever get a garage sale find that is a real gem? When we were on furlough last year I hit the garage sales in our area (whichever city we were in) every Saturday morning. Well, I found this study book for 50 cents and brought it home. I decided to start it last week; it's on the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) and it is so rich and full that I'm gleaning all kinds of insight out of it for personal growth and for teaching purposes.
Yesterday's study was on Hagar. I have never given her much thought. Truth be told, I've had a negative perspective on her my entire Christian life. She's the Egyptian slave who bore the "other" son to Abram. That son (Ishmael) was the father of another nation that historically has made life difficult for Christians. Ishmael was born because instead of waiting on God's perfect plan, Sarai took things into her own hands and handed over her maidservant to her husband to bear him a son. As expected, once Hagar found out she was pregnant, animosity grew between the two and well, total pandemonium broke out in the tents. Hagar was sent away into the desert to "cease to exist".
Yet, God saw Hagar and came to her. He had a plan for her life, even after things got really messed up. The poor girl, I wonder if she even had a choice in the matter... Could she have refused to lay with her mistress' husband? Doubtful. She was just a mere servant and who was she to give opinions to her boss? It wasn't that she had brought humiliation upon herself; she was a victim of sinful choices that lead to a major breakdown in the home and a painful separation of not only her job, but her source of food and shelter. As I meditated more on her circumstances, I started to have a compassion for this woman and I was moved by God's care for her.
He gave her unwanted son a name. Ishmael means, "Yahweh has been attentive to your humiliation." How beautiful it is that God showed up in her utter desolation and told her that he has cares for her and that even though she felt completely abandoned, she was not alone.
What was even more moving to me is that Hagar, the lowly maidservant, is the only Old Testament character to give God a name; we see that name in Genesis 16:13. El Roi. "You are the God who sees me." Not only did he see her, he gave her life meaning and he changed her shame into joy, with the knowledge that her son would make history.
Friends, God sees us when no one else seems to care. He comes to us in our most desperate moments, he knows when we feel alone, when we're completely exhausted and when we just want to craw behind a rock and hide. He has been attentive to our situation and he is the one who can turn our circumstances upside down. I can just see the joy in Hagar's face as she returns to Abram and Sarai, a transformed woman. She is no longer just a slave, she is one who has seen God and that encounter made all the difference.
Do you believe that God sees you today in your greatest need?
As director of a children's ministry called Children of Promise every month, I purchase, deliver, package and distribute food for 52 children. It is a huge undertaking and thankfully, I don't do it alone.
It takes 4-5 hours to complete the process from start to finish. We buy the items i.e.: flour, soap, toothpaste, fruits, vegetables, milk and rice for the families that are involved in the ministry. Here are some of my faithful helpers at work:
We still have some children who are waiting for a sponsor, like Hector V. He's 7 and loves animals. He likes to play soccer, help his mom watch his little brother and go to Sunday School.
If you are interested in helping a child get healthy food, receive an education and learn more about God, please contact Children of Promise.
Right now our power is out. Usually that would mean no internet and we'd be up a creek, because today is our office day. However, our computer has a charged battery and we have a portable modem, so thanks to technology, we're in business!
What a HUGE savings technology has been for us! I think about Norberto's grandparents on the mission field and when they received a telegraph it meant someone had died. Even missionaries twenty years ago had to make very expensive phone calls and pay for slow fax messages to connect with those back home. When we first arrived in Paraguay we could only call mom once a month because it was so costly. Today we whip out emails daily, upload videos, scan documents and we talk via skype and do video calling for free. I heart skype. Grandma can see her grandson every week and check out what new invention he's created with his legos and she can see his boo-boos and blow him kisses, like grandmas love to do. Here's a video of our little techie...
The days of shelling out $50 to the post office every time we want to send out our newsletters are over. We update our sponsors weekly on our free weblog. So we can keep people informed more frequently and for less money. We can know through online statistics who's tracking with us and what stories are most read.
The wonders of the world wide web continue. At the first of the year, I asked on our facebook status if anyone had an old sewing machine for women who needed them here. I got six replies in one day! Now, a poor pastor and his wife are the proud owner of a new-to-them sewing machine from another online friend in Chaco Paraguay. Even though we've never met her, we connected online over a year ago and have been in touch ever since. Now if I can find a way to get the other 5 machines from the States, I'd bring 'em over in a heartbeat!
Another time we were in a remote village with no land line telephones. We were able to use our USB internet connection to make a conference call to people in three different cities in Paraguay and the US at the same time!
We have made a network of online friends including missionary colleagues, received donations and even hosted strangers because they found our blog and were interested in our ministry. We can stay better connected to the supporters and churches that are backing us and we can ensure that our son is known by his family far away thanks to being connected online. Through the internet, we can better show you how your support is making a difference in lives and give you up-to-date information on how people are being transformed.
Lastly and most importantly, when we need prayer we can ask you to pray for our special needs, we have an instant circle around the world praying in literally minutes. When our truck was stolen last year we felt an immediate covering from so many people. We believe that it was recovered because of the prayers of God's people.
Indeed, the way internet and technology has changed the way missions is done. Technology definitely has its challenges (i.e. We often wonder how much information we should disclose online simply because we don't know everyone who's reading), but we can say what a difference it's made in our work here and we thank God that it's being used to reach more people, more effectively.
By the way, another great thing about technology, is that you can give to our ministry right now without having to lick a stamp or get out of your chair (wink, wink). Just click on that green "Donate Now" button to the right and you'll experience yet another way technology can be used to enhance the Kingdom!
