What price are you willing to pay?

A couple of weeks ago, we had the opportunity to do the drama, "Heaven's Gates and Hell's Flames," again, in a church named Buenas Nuevas (Good News). I thought it was cool to share the Good News in a church named Good News.

Anyway, it was a rather unique experience for us. The cast, this time, was the Bible school students where I teach. Normally, we go into a church that has invited us, and we choose the cast from the volunteers that show up. Members or attendees in the church who want to share what God has done in their lives with others through this powerful drama. So, we went into this drama not knowing what to expect because we didn't get to meet with the church members or talk to the pastor too much beforehand.

The pastor of the church is an amazing person. He is the National Treasurer of the Assemblies of God in Paraguay. He opened the doors of his church to us, allowing us to use the facilities to do this outreach. Not only did he open the doors, but he encouraged his people to get involved in the discipleship process. They caught the vision of the drama and began inviting unsaved people. They put together packets of information with an invitation letter to a brindis or fellowship the following Monday after the drama. It was awesome!

Over the 3 nights of the drama, we saw 150 people come forward to give their lives to Jesus Christ! Now, Pastor Nery (the pastor's name) and I feel like there were more than 150 people, but we only have 150 cards filled out. The church people and some of the Bible school students worked hard at consolidating or following up on our new brothers and sisters in Christ. On Monday night, 50 people returned to the church for the fellowship and Pastor Nery gave them their first discipleship class. Also, thanks to the Arkansas and Southern California districts men's program, Light for the Lost, we were able to purchase a complete, hardback Bible for each and every one of them and all the others who have given their lives to Christ. We thank all of you who support Light for the Lost! Your new brothers and sisters in Christ thank you, as well.

There was one particular salvation that I thought was just amazing. It was amazing because of how God did it. We arrived early on Saturday evening before the 2nd night of the drama. There was a gentleman asleep on the ground in front of the church. Two of our students went up and talked to him. He was a homeless gentleman who didn't have a job, money, or clothes. It looked like he hadn't bathed in a while. The students and I invited him to come inside, and we would get him something to eat. He said that he was fine, and he wanted to come in, but he didn't have the proper clothes to go inside a church. We told him that it didn't matter what he was wearing, but he couldn't do it. He promised to come back the next night. We weren't sure that he would; however, as we were getting ready to start prayer time before the drama on Sunday night, in walks this man. He looked the same as yesterday, and he really felt uncomfortable. One of the students had brought some clothes for him with them. We took him to the shower. He showered, shaved, and ate some empanadas that we had purchased for him. He looked like a totally different person. He sat through the drama, and at the end, he came forward to accept Christ.

I often wonder, "What price do we place on a soul? How much would you give or pay to see one person saved?" Did we spend that much, really, to make him feel comfortable enough to enter the church and attend a drama that ended up changing his life forever? How much would you give in order that someone could hear the Gospel and be given the opportunity to meet Jesus? I know that I am willing to give my money, my abilities, my time, my love, and my life.

Oh, by the way, this man now has a job and is living in a small apartment while he is trying to get his life back together. If you don't think that Jesus can change lives, here is living proof that He CAN and WILL.

Blessings,
Charley

What is holding you back from running the race?

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to minister to a youth group in Capiatá, a city about 45 minutes from our home in Asunción. Chariti and Kaylee traveled with me, and we had a good time talking and visiting. They are good girls with great hearts and an amazing love for everyone we come into contact with here in Paraguay. Let me give you a glimpse of what it is like to travel, minister, do things with family, and other daily things that we do in Paraguay.

During the girls and my trip to Capiatá, we were driving along the road, encountering smells, sights, and sounds that just a little over 2 years ago, were so unfamiliar and even unknown. The smell of burning rubber or trash mixed with the smells of chicken cooking on open flames, pizzas in the traditional brick ovens, or chipa baking. The sights of children begging, teenagers attempting to wash the windshields of vehicles stopped at lights, families selling trinkets, toys, clothes, or whatever they can just to survive, jugglers with balls or fire-sticks trying to earn a few coins, homeless children with no shoes and torn clothes coming to your car window, putting their hands around their eyes, trying to peer in and ask for a coin, and many other sights. The sounds of cars honking, children crying, vendors selling their wares, policeman whistling and directing traffic, people watching and cheering for their favorite soccer team, etc. When driving in Paraguay, there is no end of sights, smells, or sounds.

Chariti, Kaylee, and I were talking about different things like that as we traveled to the church. We have come to love all of these different sights, smells, and sounds. Some, of course, are more enjoyable than others. We started talking about going "home" in December. We can't believe that our first term is almost done, and it is time to head back and visit churches, family, and friends and allow God to minister through us as we attempt to raise our second budget. Paraguay, already, has become our home. Don't get me wrong. We love the United States, and it is our home, our country, our flag, our people, and our nation. However, God has given us such a great love for Paraguay and the people that it will be very difficult to leave here, even for such a short time to itinerate. We have learned so much in our short time here, and we are anticipating learning so much more when we return.

As we made our turn off of the main highway onto a side road to the church, I made a phone call to the pastor because I didn't know where the church was located. It was a dark road, paved with stones, and we were wondering if we had made a correct turn. The pastor told us to come eight more blocks and turn right. As the girls and I counted the blocks, we came to the eighth one and turned right. We drove for a while but never found a church. In fact, all we saw were homes. It was too dark to take any pictures of the houses, but my heart broke as I looked at some of them. Our home is a mission's owned home. It is nice with lots of space. Some of the homes that we saw were so small and so poorly constructed that I wondered how they stood up in a storm. Sometimes, twenty people will live in one of these tiny homes. It really makes you think about complaining about anything in your lives.

I have learned that when serving God, we never really lack what we need. Being in Paraguay has taught me to rely on God even more than ever before. Every time I speak, minister, or preach, I can feel the presence of the Holy Spirit as He ministers through me. At the youth service, after we finally found the church, I preached from Hebrews chapter 12. It follows the faith chapter in Hebrews. It talks about the great cloud of witnesses and putting off all thing that hinder us in running our race. Sometimes, we are more worried about the witnesses and what they think than the race we are running. I brought a large backpack to the church and several bricks. I asked a young person to run around the church with the backpack on during the entire sermon. I talked about the things that take our eyes off of the goal, the end of the race, the finish line, which is Jesus Christ.

There are things in our life that take our eyes off of the prize, the goal, Jesus. Simple things like tv shows, girlfriends or boyfriends, friends, materialism, etc. None of these are sins, but they can take time away from our relationship with Jesus. For example, I could complain or worry about things that go wrong in our house (i.e. pipes bursting, roof leaking, yard eroding, security), but then I must remember homes like we saw that night. Sometimes, our enemy takes simple things in our lives, problems, complaints, worries, lack of something, desires, etc., and uses them to take our focus off of Christ.

As I was preaching, I asked the pastor to add bricks to the backpack each time I mentioned something that can take your eyes off of Christ. It became harder and harder for the young man to run around the church as more bricks were added. I asked some of his friends to help carry the backpack and run with him. Sometimes, our friends help us carry the weight instead of get rid of it. Then, I asked a couple of the youth leaders to stop him at the altar, pray for him, and remove the weights from the backpack. As they removed them, they placed them on the altar. I told him that once we give God something, we shouldn't go back and don't need to go back to get it. It's placed at Jesus' feet, and we don't need to carry it around any more. Then, for the altar call, I asked each young person to take a brick and allow it to represent something that is taking your focus off of Jesus. Then, take the brick, place it on the altar, and give it to Jesus. It was amazing to watch these young people, crying as they placed the bricks on the altar, as Jesus ministered to them.

Is there something in your life that is taking your focus off of Jesus? Allow Him to take if from you. Allow Him to minister in your heart and life and be the main focus of your life and family. If you do, I promise you that your life will be so much happier.

Blessings to you,
Charley

Picture from our latest drama!

Here are some pictures that I promised to put on our blog from our last drama. The first picture shows as we were beginning to set up for the drama. As you can see, the church isn't very big. It was really tight, but it worked out. They were a great group of people to work with.The next picture shows Kaylee's buddy, Spot;) She does a great job running our spotlight for us. In fact, the whole family does a great job.
Our equipment in the church waiting to be opened and placed where it needs to be. Lots of work still left to do.
Me, trying to figure out how to get the computer, video, and sound working. Sherry and Chaz offering moral support :D
This is a picture from the first practice. I am trying to explain something to the angels and other actors.
Part of the first practice. This is the opening scene as they are beating Jesus (the actor who plays Jesus, not the real Jesus :) and getting ready to crucify him.
Our actor, who played Satan, laughing up at heaven. He did a really great job during the drama. He was focused, kept praying and seeking God, and he wants to do the drama, one day, in our large national soccer stadium.
More of the first practice with Jesus entering with the cross.
The day after the first practice, we began to set up the scenery. Nery and Pastor Francisco are trying to figure out how to hang the mylar.

The first piece going up.

Starting to get everything covered up.

This is how we laid it out before putting it all up.

Sherry and Chariti working on the entrance to heaven. They and Kaylee did such an awesome job decorating the scenery.

Here is how it looked. The finished product. Sherry and Kaylee working on the microphones. We had one broken after one of the actresses decided to throw it down on the concrete, tiled floor. Emotion and excitement got the best of her, I guess.

Taking a break while waiting for the electrician to finish up his work so that I could get the lighting all set up.

Here is the light switches for our drama, here in Paraguay. Our dimmer pack fried during our first drama. So, we had to rig up something new.

The other end of the lighting solution where we plug all of the lights in.

Chaz, taking a break with Vicente, drinking some tereré and chatting.

Sherry all smiles because the sound, video, and lighting are all working. Charit took this behind-the-scenes photo of Satan telling the audience that he hates them. Dramatic, but effective.
Praying before our first or second night of the drama. The prayer time was really amazing. This church knows how to pray. Thus the reason for 120 new believers in God's family.
Sherry painting our devil's face while everyone else is praying.
Praying for the devil :D
From left: Chaz' profile, Nery, & Vicente. Vicente cooked up some ribs for us on Thursday afternoon to thank us for doing the drama at their church. YUMMY!
The first night, old lady scene in heaven.
The reason why we do the drama. This is a picture of the altar call from the third night. I had to climb the steps into heaven so that everyone could fit in the front. It was so awesome to see people weeping before God.

Third Night

I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am to God for all He did for us, this weekend. This was the third night for our drama presentation of "Heaven's Gates and Hell's Flames." The crowd starting arriving around 6:00 p.m. By 6:30, it was full. In a building that can only hold about 80-90 small chairs, 200 people crammed into the small space to watch the drama. This church went all out inviting unsaved people. I couldn't believe the effort that these amazing people went to so that their family and friends would have an opportunity to know Jesus. 

We actually started this one at around 7 p.m. People were still coming, but we started the drama. It went really well. We didn't have any major glitches with the technical side, and everyone did really well. It went really smoothly. I attribute that to the constant prayer by all of the actors, pastors, and lay people of the church. There was always someone in the back room and in the front of the church, praying. It was what really made this drama, successful.

There are so many testimonies to share, but it would take up a lot of space and time. I will be sharing more, later this week, but I am exhausted, tonight. Suffice it to say, for now, that the total of salvations came in at, officially, 120 people. 66 more salvations, tonight. What is amazing is that out of that total, 30 are family members of the cast!!!! Praise God!

Blessings to all,

Charley

Second Night

Tonight was the second of three nights. I am learning that nothing goes as planned here. When we arrived, we set up all the equipment, and everything was working great. The microphones all worked, the lights all worked, sound and video was all working great. I was encouraged to find everything working fine. When prayer time came, I went to the room where all of the cast was supposed to be and found about 10 people there waiting for prayer. I became a little discouraged. Oh, I forgot to mention that it was raining. When it rains in Paraguay, normally noone comes to any type of service. I began to wonder if that meant that the cast wouldn't come, as well.

We were supposed to start the drama at 6:30, again. 7:00 p.m. came around and we were still missing the dad from the Christian family scene, one of our secerataries, a businessman, 2 teens, a drug addict, our satan, our head angel, and 4 or 5 angels. I was beginning to wonder what was going on. How could I question what God was doing? At around 7:15, a group of about 20 people showed up, filling up the rest of the space in the auditorium. They were all friends of our devil. Every last one of them were unbelievers! He had invited them from his neighborhood. God knew that if we started at 6:30, they would have missed almost all of the drama. And wouldn't you know that every last one of them came forward to pray to accept Christ as their Savior.

Also, we had a huge crowd, tonight. I think almost every seat was taken. When I first gave the invitation, no one came forward. I inwardly prayed. Talked some more. Gave another invitation, and no one came forward. I prayed some more. Talked a little more, and gave another invitation. One gentleman came forward. I looked him in the eye and told him thank you for coming. Then, it was like a floodgate opened. More than 40 people, in a tiny church that can hold about 80 people, came forward. It was all I could do to keep from crying as I watched this miracle displayed before me. I sure am grateful to God for this opportunity to serve Him. It is so awesome! That makes for a total of 54 salvations in two nights! Can't wait for tomorrow night!

Oh, by the way, another testimony from last night. I told you (or you can read about it) about the police officer who gave his heart to the Lord. Well, I just put it together today that if the microphone would not have been broken by the young lady last night, I would not have walked around the church to tell Sherry that it was broken. Then, I would never have seen the officer crying, and I wouldn't have asked the pastor to go and talk to the officer. Who knows? Maybe he wouldn't have asked Jesus into his heart. Who knew that a broken microphone could be used of God to make sure that someone is given the chance to accept Christ? I promise to look for more "broken microphones" the rest of my life. 

Blessings to all,

Charley

First Night

Tonight was the first night of our latest drama. It was very challenging and amazing. I am always amazed at how God works no matter how much goes wrong. One of our guardian or centurion angels didn't get to the church until 30 minutes after we were supposed to start the drama. The hour to start was 6:30 p.m. We started at 7:30 p.m. In the opening scene, one of our drug addict girls, twisted her leg and had to be carried out by one of the other actors. She still did her scene, and she seemed better after the drama. She got so excited and emotional about being dragged off to hell that she forgot to gently place her microphone on the tile floor. She threw it down, instead, and the microphone didn't work the rest of the night. So, some of the actors had to yell our their parts instead of using a microphone. We are dreaming of some day having the headsets or lapel mikes for the actors. If someone has any spare lapel mikes or headsets, we would love to have them in Paraguay. We will be home for itineration in 2010, and we would love to help you get rid of some old lapel or headset mikes (hint-hint:D). The rest of the drama went well, and the church is really excited. One of the pastors came to me and said that they have never seen anything like this before in their church.

God worked some amazing things. 10 people responded to the altar call. There were only about 30 in attendance. Hey, I just realized, 10 is pretty good. 1/3 of the audience accepted Christ! Awesome! WOW! God really is good! After I sent all of the group back with the cast so that the cast could meet them, pray for them, and help them in their new lives, a young couple came forward and asked me to pray with them. They didn't want to miss heaven, and they wanted to accept Christ. I prayed with them and sent them back to meet the cast and pastors of the church. 

Then, pastor called me over as I was re-setting the mikes, lights, props, etc. to talk with a man. As I got close, I smelled a really strong odor that almost knocked me over. I realized, immediately, that this man was as drunk as a skunk. I think I might have become a little tipsy just from the smell. He began quoting scriptures and talking about what Jesus and Peter did and said. I couldn't understand half of what he said, but he started crying and talking about how he appreciated me so much for coming and doing this drama. He knows that he needs Jesus. I asked him to be honest with me and tell me if he wanted to live for Jesus. He said, "Yes!" So, we prayed together and he asked Jesus into his heart. He talked for several minutes more about MANY different things. Pastor Francisco and I hugged him (getting the remains of vomit transferred to our shirts -oh, the joys of ministry:), and we prayed for him, again. He walked out a little straighter and with a little more of a smile. I am praying that God work a miracle in his life.

Pastor invited us to eat some hot dogs or panchos, as they are known here. They are not quite the same as in the States, but they aren't too bad. As we were eating, Pastor Francisco mentioned that a police man had accepted Christ, as well. Yesterday, Pastor went to the police station to let them know what was going on at the church. They offered to send a policeman to guard the church during the drama. He came, and I noticed that he was really watching the drama. One time, as I was running around trying to fix things and send cast members in to do their part, I noticed that he was crying. I asked the pastor to talk to him during the altar call. Pastor asked him what he thought about the drama. The policeman said that it was beautiful and amazing. They talked some more, and the policeman asked the pastor if he could accept Christ, too, even though he didn't go down front with the rest of the people. Pastor prayed with him. After I have my 2 panchos, I went out and asked the officer what happened to him tonight. He said, proudly and with a big smile, "I accepted Jesus as my Savior!" We talked, I prayed for him, and he allowed me to hug him. He was so proud to be a Christian! It was such a privilege and so awesome to see it happen!! 

The last thing about tonight, and I will finish. One of the other pastor's came to me, and said that in all they years he has been there, there has never been 10 people accept Christ in one service. Wow! 25 years of this church, and never have they seen 10 people accept Christ at one time. I actually felt a little defeated because ONLY 10 came forward. I learned a big lesson tonight. Even if it is only 1, it is still 1 soul that will spend eternity with Jesus Christ. 1 soul is worth all of the sweat, stress, work, problems, and everything!!! Thank you to all who are praying. The struggle begins anew tomorrow night at 6:30 (maybe :D) east coast time! Please continue to pray so that the enemy won't have a chance to keep away those who have their appointed time with God. We want more souls won for Jesus!!!!

Blessings to all,

Charley

Challenges and Salvations

It is time, once again, for another drama presentation. This one is at a very small Four Square Church in Barrio San Pablo. The title of this blog is "Challenges and Salvations." First, I will start with some of the challenges we have faced with this specific drama. The lighting has always been a problem, but on this one, it wasn't the only problem. The sound and video didn't work for the longest time until I was told by the electrician that we have too much stuff plugged into our transformers. Who would have thought that this would affect the sound and video? Well, I always learn something new each drama. The pastor of this church called in a professional electrician to help, and he has done a good job. The lights work with all the switches that we put in, and we should have lighting this weekend. The other problem, which we can't figure out, is the sound. In order to hear the sound from the computer, we have to crank it all the way up. Then, we we add the microphones for the actors, we get a nice big sound of feedback. Oh, well, we will try to work with it. Sherry is really good with adjusting on the fly. She will have her work cut out for her, this weekend. Please pray for all the technical problems!

Depsite all these problems, and a few more, God is really working overtime on this one. Thursday night was the dress rehearsal. After the rehearsal, I gave an altar call for salvation and rededications. 25 members of the cast rededicated their lives to Jesus. As we were praying with them afterwards, a young girl came up and asked if she could go to heaven. I asked her how she can get to heaven, and she said by asking Jesus to be the Lord of her life. We prayed and she asked Jesus into her heart. It was a beautiful God-moment. It was awesome! Her name is Monse (pronounced MOAN-SAY). Please pray for her new life. It is difficult to serve the Lord when the rest of your family are not Christians.

Tonight begins three straight nights of doing the drama. We are anticipating that God is going to do great things. The cast and crew are prayed up and ready to serve the Lord. They are ready to receive the new converts, and we are excited to see what God is going to do. Tonight, following an hour of prayer with the cast, we will begin a battle for lost souls. Please, please, please ask the Holy Spirit to take control of the entire weekend. There are many diving appointments that we would love to see happen. Please pray that God continues to speak to hearts and souls as they enter the church and are given the chance to either accept Christ or deny Him. Please pray that they accept Him!!!

Blessings to all,

Charley

Visit From Family

We had the amazing experience of my parents coming to visit us here in Paraguay. They came down on June 2nd and left, yesterday, June 17th. It was a nice visit, but it was way too short. While they were here, we took a trip to the east, crossed two borders, and went to visit Iguazu Falls in Argentina. Above are a couple of pictures of them with the kids and one with Sherry and I. In the background is Devil's Throat. It is amazing the amount of water that comes over these falls. What is really amazing is the difference from November to June. There was not near the amount as their was in November. Here is a picture from the same angle, but this picture is from November. Look at the difference in the amount of water.Amazing, isn't it? If you ever visit Paraguay, northern Argentina, or southern Brazil, you have to go to Iguazu Falls (spelled Iguacu in Brazil). It's truly breathtaking.

Blessings to all,

Charley

Why We Are Here!

Last Sunday night, we had the opportunity to minister at a small four-square church in Asunción. The people in this church are hungry for a move of God. They have been praying for over a year for God to bring a spiritual renewal and revival to Asunción. They have asked us to bring the drama, "Heaven's Gates and Hell's Flames," to their church. On July 4th, we will meet at their church and show the DVD of the drama, select the cast, and begin one month of fasting and praying for lives to be changed by the love of Jesus Christ. 

During the service, one of the pastors announced that they will be continuing the prayer for the drama outreach on this Thursday evening. I asked them how long they had been praying for the drama. They informed me that they started praying two weeks ago. I was so impressed and humbled by the faith of this small church. I really believe that God is going to honor their prayers and commitment to bring revival to their church and to Asunción. Would you pray with us that God will bring revival to Paraguay? This nation is ready for change. They so need what we offer. Many here are looking for something, but they will never be satisfied until they accept Jesus.

The only reason we are here in Paraguay is to tell people about Jesus. Yes, there are many ways that we do this, and there are more ways that we can. However, the main objective is to show them who Jesus really is, and that He loves them and wants to save them. Sometimes, we can lose our focus and forget why we are here. I was reminded, again, of why we are here on this planet last Sunday night. It is the small, simple things that God uses to show us how much He loves the unsaved, and how much He desires that everyone comes to know and believe in His Son.

Blessings to you all,

Charley

Mission's Conference Banquet Night in Nicaragua

I have finally gotten around to downloading the pictures and video I took from my trip to Nicaragua. Again, it was such an honor and blessing to be there and witness what God is doing all over Latin America. A group of 20 different nations assembled together for one week in Managua, Nicaragua to be encouraged, to share experiences, to learn more about missions, to grow, and to meet other mission's organizations. The Assemblies of God is growing rapidly all over Central and South America. God is moving and people are responding to His call to become missionaries. The second quarter just started at the Bible school here in Asunción. Last night was my first night with my new students. Two of them feel called to Africa. Another student is a lawyer by profession, and he started taking classes at the Bible school because his wife is called to the mission field. He told me, last night, that he had better get on board with his wife's call, or she will leave him behind (he smiled as he joked with me about it). Then, seriously, he added, "My wife has a strong call, and I believe that God is calling me, as well. I realized that I had better prepare myself before God really calls me."

This video shows a little about what God is doing in Latin America. These young people are deaf. They attend, during the week, a deaf school in Managua, Nicaragua. They blessed us with a song called "Enciende la luz." Basically, the song is about bringing or turning on the light in the darkness because when the Light shines, it chases away the darkness. There are still many tribes and nations who need the Light to be shined in their lives. Here, in Paraguay, there are still unreached people. Oh, be sure that the Mormon church and Jehovah's Witnesses have a presence there, but there is no Evangelical message, the true message of Jesus Christ, being given to them. We must spread the Good News of Jesus Christ wherever we are and whenever we can. There is no greater message.

I am challenged today with this thought. Someone wrote on their Facebook status this quote: "How come we invite people to church, but we never invite them to Christ?" Isn't that so true? It seems, today, that it is much easier to invite people to a church service rather than show them who Jesus really is, and that He loves them. I want to be a person who shows people the love of Jesus! Help me, Lord, to invite people to meet with you!

Blessings,

Charley