Passion for Paraguay

Happy Birthday, Anahi Anahi turned five this week. She arrived in our lives after a long wait and a season of challenges, in ministry and personally. On a personal level, we had struggled with infertility for many years. In ministry, we were pioneering the ICCI Bible school and walking alongside a struggling church as interim pastors, as well as shouldering other ministry responsibilities. The adoption process we'd begun as a result of our infertility was going nowhere, to the point that we were ready to give up. The paperwork seemed endless. Stamps, copies, legalizations, interviews, background checks, and so forth. We were getting tired of the countless trips lasting 10 to 12 hours to the capital city for meetings and interviews. We were stretched emotionally and financially to the max. But one phone call brought a new season into our lives. It came on a Monday morning at 10 a.m., on July 18th, when the director of the adoption agency called us with probably the best ne...

I began to occasionally journal in my last year in high school. One of my professors challenged us to keep a log of lessons we learned as we took his, bible and ethics class. Although not very regularly, I kept a journal to this day. Here is an entry from last week: It's 9:45 p.m. We are moving into spring in only one week. Today temperatures reached 95 degrees. Forecast tells us it will be a hot summer. Farmers are worried; prices are at a two-year low. “I finish my day tired. I was very busy today. I just helped Nancy put Anahi and Nicole down to bed. We packed Mark's bag for a weekend camp. After getting the kids out the door to school this morning, I spent about 3 hours networking on Skype, and 4 hours with unscheduled guests, attending the cable repair man, crawling into my ceiling to connect some cables. I worked on some papers and forms on the computer, and studied some for my exegesis course, which I teach in two days.  The internet went out two times for ...

On August third, I have been newly married five months . Nancy is Gods gift to me after losing Julie. It does not mean, there are moments I wish I could still have Julie with me and we did not have to go thru so much pain. But as they say, time has a way of healing. Time has a way to help you forget the pain. Today, August 12 th Julie and I would have celebrated our 15 th wedding anniversary . Our plan was to travel Europe, just the two of us. We began saving back in 2010 for this occasion. Yes I would like to be with Julie in Europe now, enjoying the scenery with the woman I thought I would grow old with. A lot of healing has happened, but the void will never be filled. Today I am in a very different place with different people doing different thinks. I will probably never comprehend, I just take a day at the time and try to enjoy, serve and live fully. These are some things I am doing different. I enjoy each meal with my new family with intensity. I don’t st...

I recently began to pursue my Master's in education. I had postponed my desire for more formal training for a while, and then with the accident in 2012, going to school was the last thing on my mind.  Over these past few years, however, I have had the chance to teach at various Bible schools in Paraguay and Argentina, and I see opportunities for helping in this area in the churches I am in contact with. I believe that continuing my education will help me to be a better teacher, pastor, and missionary. Two years before the accident Julie and I founded ICCI, a small Bible-training center targeted at helping Paraguayans to discover their calling and preparing them for ministry. We had to give up this particular dream (although several students continued and are finishing their education this coming year at a sister institution), but training others remains at the heart of what I love doing in ministry. I love to learn, and I also love to help others grow and discover truth a...

When Paraguay is playing soccer against another country, everyone seems to make time to watch the game. Such was the case this past Saturday evening. I chose to go on a jog to take advantage of the empty roads and enjoy some quietness. Paraguay played against Brazil in game that is part of the Copa America 2015. After a 1-1 tie in regular time, the game was decided on penalty kicks. I was amazed again, how soccer brings everyone to a halt this weekend. Brazil is a big rival, one that's hard to beat. So imagine the celebration after the game. Our major interstate highway 6 stood practically empty during the 90 minutes of game. There are two games left in this cup. If Paraguay wins, it will be the champion of this Latin American cup. Paraguay so far won two cups, 1953, 1979, out of the 44 played.

Since March 3, I am married to a wonderful, beautiful, godly woman who turned my world around. And, in addition to continuing to love and enjoy my little Anahi, who will turn 5 in September, I am now the proud dad of two adolescents, Mark and Nicole. Mark turned 15 on March 14. He is becoming a young man. He loves to play his guitar and drums. Mark went through a lot when his dad tragically passed away after an accident at their farm when he was just 11.  He has a sensitive heart to God. He is gradually embracing me and making room in his life for his new dad. Nicole is 11 and is in the 6th grade. She plays the harp very well. She loves to play with her cat, and in her spare time, she creates beautiful bracelets that she sells for a small fee. Nicole is very sweet and bright. She is very curious and loves her sister Anahi. I love getting her hugs and kisses as I come home from work or put her down to sleep. Anahi is the little girl t...

How to do you balance God time, family and work time? Its definitely a constant that requires wisdom and has its ups and downs. As I move into a new season of life, as a husband, father and leader in my ministry, I ask these questions more often More often than not, I have been on the busy side of life. Busy attending my family, busy attending ministry opportunities, often sacrificing my own spiritual and physical health in the process. Over these four decades of my journey, I have found that there are three things that should never be an afterthought, and cannot be delegated. These are three things I never regret doing in any given day: time with God, time with family (wife, kids) time for exercise. I have failed on all three at different seasons, and had to come back to some kind of balance with the corresponding apologies. As I plan some of my activities for the next three months, I am looking at Spending the early part of the morning, before the kids wake up alone with God...