Skip to main content

Wicked Storm


We had a wicked storm on Oct 31. And I mean WICKED. It was Halloween night and right around midnight the wind started howling and the trees were cackling and I felt like Dorothy in Kansas. We grabbed Timmy out of his room and all retreated to the bathroom, the safest (and smallest) room in our home. We felt like there was seriously a cosmic battle going on around us and we began to pray for our safety, for our friends, our church and of course, the radio.



This morning we drove around town and couldn’t believe the terrible damage the storm incurred on our small town. Our competitor radio station’s tower split in two and collapsed on a neighboring house. My heart went out to homes that had entire roofs fly off. Trees were down everywhere. Our little town made the national news! Well, the whole day yesterday we had no lights and no water. Try trying to keep a toddler boy clean all day especially when it’s muddy outside! We did lose a huge avocado tree on our lot, but I just thank God for his protection.



Paraguay is known for it's tropical storms, but this one was different. The entire episode was extremely eerie, long-timers said they’ve never seen anything like it. Honestly, it made me more acutely aware that there is much more to life than the visible world. Ephesians 6:12 says, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” We in the western world tend to dismiss the idea of spiritual warfare and the supernatural world, but God’s word clearly talks about the reality of such things. I have seen evidence of witches in our area and I know that there are strongholds on our country. What do you think about spiritual warfare and about our role in the cosmic battle around us?

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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
4 comments
Read more

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!
2 comments
Read more

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 infuse in hot water to make a won
3 comments
Read more