Two friends, One Heart and One Mission

Every year, for the past four decades, softball teams from Churches in over 20 states come and play in the Interstate Church of God softball tournament. The tournament came into being after two radical women, upon graduation from Anderson College, decided to serve the Lord.

Twila Briscoe spent her life loving God and family, while serving the local church and running a daycare Center in Roanoke VA. Tabita Kurrle married a pastor in South America, and become a missionary to Paraguay. Both women were radical for their time. Both followed their heart, faith and calling. Both continue impacting and touching lives on both side of the Equator.

The softball tournament began as a sport which the Briscoes were passionate about. At the same time the Kurrles were starting a school in a rural community in the town of Raul Pena Paraguay.

In 1984 the players from the First Church in Hickory North Carolina challenged the other teams to raise the support for scholarships for the students who needed help to pay the $125.00 tuition for the mission school. (https://interstatesoftball.com/missions.php)

That was the beginning of a partnership that has outlasted a generation, now with their sons and daughters connecting over four decades.

Hence both, tournament and school began to grow and link families in two very far regions of the world to expand the kingdom of God beyond their local community. Alpha and Omega has grown, overcoming great odds, graduating some one thousand five three hundred, who once a week heard the word of God in addition to learning to read and write.

Alumnus from the school quietly, decisively continue representing their school with great pride and to this day remember story time on Wednesday when Tabitha would walk into a classroom, with her flannelgraph, bible and a guitar. These times are fondly remembered by the kids-adults today.

Passion for a cause and a higher purpose are extremely strong bonds. Twila and Tabitha shared this kind of love for God and children.

Comments

Christmas in Paraguay!

If you're wondering what Paraguayans do at Christmastime, they have some great traditions , including the " noche buena " meal on Christmas Eve at midnight. They eat lots chipa guasu (a type of corn casserole, stay tuned for a recipe), asado or grilled meat (some eat it cold), salads, especially fruit salad, watermelon and drink mucho terere . Families travel from all over the country, many even return from working in other countries like Brazil, Argentina, and Spain, to celebrate with loved ones. This is us at last year's Kurrle celebration in Asuncion. Festivities are anything but a silent night with fireworks, loud music and drinking cidra (hard cider). Most Paraguayans do not decorate Christmas trees (we decorate ours in shorts!) or emphasize Santa Claus. Instead, they put beautiful nativities " pesebres " in their yards and in store fronts. Kind of novel to focus on Christ at Christmas, isn't it! To beat the heat, many Paraguayans g...

Paraguayan Weddings

On Valentine’s Day, we had the joy of attending the wedding of Sandra and Anastacio, young leaders in the church. Sandra is my assistant with Children of Promise and Anastacio, apart from his carpentry job, has a popular youth-focused radio program every night at 8:00 on our station. We’ve been to quite a few weddings, and these are some of the uniquenesses of southern Paraguayan wedding celebrations from our North American culture: 1. Nothing is fancy. Emphasis is placed on the act of marriage and not on the decorations or food. 2. It is not an expectation that parents help pay for expenses. Most families just make it each month with regular expenses and cannot afford to pay for eleborate feasts. Most couples have to spend months saving for their own wedding. 3. Borrow as much as possible. Many times wedding dresses are borrowed 5-10 times, because few women can afford their own. Flowers, decorations, shoes and ties (Norb loans out his ties often...since he never wears them!...

How to make Rosella (Roselle) Juice and Tea

This is rosella (not to be confused with grosella, which is gooseberry). Rosella is from the hibiscus family. It's harvest time here, and we use the rosella to make juice and tea. It's properties are absolutely tremendous. It helps sooth colds, coughs, helps digestion, promotes healthy kidney function, is a treatment for cancer, and reduces a fever and that's just a few of its benefits! To make rosella juice, first de-pit the fruit and wash the skin thoroughly. Put the fruit into boiling water until the water is bright red (about 15 minutes). The color is so vibrant, Roselle is sold to make dyes. Strain the fruit (which can be used to make a delicious jam) and refrigerate the juice. Add a few squirts of Stevia for a healthy drink. The finished product looks exactly like red Kool-aid, but is entirely full of nutrients. We can't get enough of it. We dehydrated the petals for hot tea. All you need is two dried flowers to infus...

Passion for Paraguay

Search This Blog