The last two decades

One of the greatest joys and rewards over the past 20 years, has been seeing hundreds and thousands of paraguayans transformed by the various ministry we have had the opportunity of pioneering, connecting and joining.

1. Radio Alternativa 2000 - to date. (thousands daily hear the good news)

2. Children of Promise - 2005 to date. (hundred of kids impacted with God's love and are today men and women with a influence)

3. Fifteen Church and classrooms buildings raised up with teams from the USA. (These buildings have ranged from small classrooms to sizes seating 300 +)

4. Leadership training programs (Icci Obligado was one of the efforts to establish a bivocational training school) Today the Bethel Bible Series is an effort to continue these trainings.

5. CMA Paraguay 2005 to date. (Today CMA Paraguay has been established in five states thanks to an incredible team of men and women in Paraguay that love bikes and Jesus)

6. CMA motorcycles donations. (We have given away 80+ motorcycles to pastors and leaders all across denominations in Paraguay)

7. Project Bread. An entrepreneurial effort which we began in 2020, to assist people in ministry to create a side income to help ends meet.

8. Project Rest. Our most recent project. A program that gives people in full time ministry a weekend away once a year to take a break and relax.

9. Daily devotional written by my wife Nancy, aiming to bring daily hope and challenging our faith during these challenging times.

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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!

Fighting Discouragement in the Busyness of Life

Hubby and I have made an agreement not to talk about sensitive issues after 10:00 p.m. It’s a rule in our household because when we were first married our late night talks would turn into fights and we would say hurtful things, because we were tired and our reasoning senses were shot. We eliminated almost all arguments with that simple rule. Exhaustion takes the best out of a person. Another new book on the market,talks about the high burnout rate among pastors. In reading reviews of the book, the author says that lack of sleep is one of the main causes of burnout. I’m reading this book that also deals with the correlation of sleep deprivation and discouragement. It’s a book for overactive people who are seeking to strengthen a love relationship with the Lord. Being in the ministry, I feel the demands of people’s needs constantly. Daily, we hear claps at the door to pray, to chauffeur people around, to do weddings, funerals, to lead Bible studies, to counsel just about any pro

Passion for Paraguay

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