Passion for Paraguay

Katuete  a word in the guarani language that means “for sure” - “for certain”. The name is attributes to Dr. Alejandro Marin. He said  this is the ideal place for the establishment of a city in the language of Guarani. ( « katueté  voi, ko ape oî porâta») For years our church has been present in Katuete. The church began in the mid 80s when brazilian farmers migrated into Paraguay. A number of the initial families came from Rondon and Mercedes Brazil. During those years, Wilson Wild, a pastor and great man of God, along with his wife began crossing from Brazil into Paraguay and doing house services with the farmers. Pastor Wilson continues serving in Rondon and leading a strong congregation in that region. He is not thinking about retirement any time soon.  As I have observed, Churches in rural settings often struggle to grow and expand. Its also hard to find leadership willing to move to remote area. The reasons are obvious - school for their children, lack of instr...

During the week of June 18th-27th, 2023, I participated of the annual Church of God convention in Tampa FL. Along with the conference a series of meetings took place. We meet with missionaries from around the world and at the end of the conference participated of a global dialogue. This event was a discussion on a new way of meeting and organizing international events associated with the Church of God, Anderson IN Besides, I was able to reconnect with friends from my college days. I even got to run a 5K fundraiser for global disaster and relief funds. These and other events made this conference a truly engaging and packed time of worship, fun and social-spiritual interactions.  The covid years, kept us isolated. This post-covid time is reenergizing, making us more present with people and probably more eager to be a part of events face to face. Here are some pics that better describe this event and the week in Tampa.  With pastor Keith and Nora Wilkins in Orlando With past...

On July 10th we checked into the Warsaw Church of God campgrounds. The experience was outstanding, refilling  We shared during their mission sessions in the afternoon We spoke to people everytime we had a chance We had the opportunity to share during one of the services The evangelist for this retreat was Rev Mitch  Burg, who challenged believers to getting back to the life in teh spirit and to faith. I specifically liked one of the concept he drilled during one of his sermons. We need to discover our sixt sense, that being ' our faith. Without it we are lost in a world that worships sensorial experiences These campgrounds have a sacred feel. They draw people from all ages and backgrounds. For some it is a spiritual pilgrimage, for others a vacation, for others its a serious game changer. No matter the motivation, Camp Warsaw captures you. It envolved you in a sense and separates you from the noise of the world. Its definitely a ground zero, reset type life experience.  C...