Mission's Convention

The other day, I posted a blog about the mission's convention at the Bible school. Here is a couple of pictures from it. At the end of the first night, everyone was given a flag of different countries. We all prayed specifically for that country. We prayed that God would send missionaries from Paraguay to each of those countries. It was an exciting time of prayer together.

The students are all excited about missions and the mandate of Jesus to take the Gospel all over the world. I believe that many of these students will one day be missionaries to a country that neither you or I could ever hope to go to. God knows what is needed. There are many countries that North Americans are not welcome to enter, but someone from Paraguay might have an easier time entering. That's what is amazing about God. He is taking people from a country where missionaries have been sent to go to other countries where we cannot go. Isn't God good!

Blessings,

Charley

Home in Paraguay

Many of you probably know by now, but we had a little setback in the process of moving into our mission's home. Just in case you don't know, the day before we were set to move in, the pipes in an upstairs bathroom broke and flooded the entire house. The kitchen had a lot more damage than other rooms. This picture is what the kitchen looks like now. 

Just below the window on the left is where the sink was and hopefully will be again soon. The wall, straight ahead, is where cabinets and the stove/oven will be. There are men here, six days a week, working on the bathroom upstairs, the kitchen, and several other places that had a lot of water damage. It has been quite an adventure.

Although frustrating, we are doing fine. A really nice missionary family that is home on itineration is allowing us to use an apartment at their house while we are waiting for the repairs to be done. As soon as the bathroom is finished and some painting is done, we are planning on moving in. It really is a nice house, but with all the mold and mildew, we couldn't move in, yet. I never knew how much damage water could do. It was all in the walls, cabinets, floors, pipes, and electricity. 

In spite of not being in our home, the work goes on. Life goes on. The kids are in school, we are meeting with pastors and leaders of the church here, we are finalizing plans for a shipment from the States of much needed equipment from Reality Ministries, and I am preparing for my first class at the Bible school. God is faithful, and He is helping us through this time. We are starting to make many new friends, and we anticipate this circle of Paraguayan friends to grow after we move into our home.

Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support. You mean so much to us, and we thank God for you every day. Please continue to pray as God is moving in our families lives. Pray that God will make us a blessing to the work here in Paraguay.

Blessings to all,

Charley

New Member of the Family

I just thought I would introduce you to our newest member of the family: Zoe. She is a Labrador Retriever, and she has quickly become well-loved by everyone. Sherry took a picture of each of the kids with Zoe on a Sunday afternoon. 

We bought a dog for protection, and she has also added joy to our family. She has a unique personality, and she is growing fast. Hopefully, in the next few months, we will be able to get our other Lab, Sydney, and our chihuahua, Bruno, from the States. They make our family bigger and give us a feeling of home. We miss them.

Anyway, it may seem strange to some of you that I would put our new pet, Zoe, on a blog. I just wanted to show you that life in Paraguay still goes on even though we are far from home. We still have the everyday living, work, school, cleaning, cooking, etc. that we always had in the States. So, we wanted to make Paraguay a little more like home. We all love dogs, and they also give us some more added protection.

Every day, it feels more like home here. We are adjusting quickly to the culture, food, and lifestyle here. It is totally different than anywhere in the United States, and it is fun learning how to live in Paraguay. Our family has made many new friends, and we are all enjoying times when we meet new people. Now that we have been here a couple of months, we are starting to fit in and beginning to get to the task at hand. 

In a couple of weeks, our shipment should be sent from the United States, and we should be able to start the drama soon. In the meantime, we are practicing Spanish, getting ready to teach in the Bible school, trying to get our house finished so we can move in, attending meetings, and going to as many churches as possible to meet more pastors and members.

Blessings to all,

Charley

An Amazing Week!

What an amazing week and weekend! This past week, the Bible school held a mission's convention for the students. On Monday, the services focused on Spain. The Assemblies of God in Paraguay has two families in Spain as missionaries. Less than three years ago, Paraguay had never sent missionaries to another country. This year, there will be another family that is going to North Africa. This country is more than 99% Muslim. There are less than 300 Evangelical Christians in the country to where they are going.

On Tuesday night, the services focused on China and the Chamacoco region of Paraguay. The same thing happened on Wednesday night. There were two chapel sessions every night. One for the afternoon classes at 5:20 and the other for the evening classes at 9:05. So, we ate supper every night at around 10:30. It was fun! 

In 2005, David Wilkerson came to Paraguay and challenged Paraguay to send 100 missionaries to China. Many of the Bible school students feel called to missions, and they want to go to China. Please pray with us that God will help them financially to go to China, and that doors will open for Paraguayans to reach the lost in China.

On Thursday, the focus was on North Africa. Then, another missionary preached about the need for supporting missions and sending missionaries around the world. He also talked about Faith Promises. Almost every student in the Bible school made a Faith Promise. Last year, from this tiny Bible school, God blessed them, and they gave over $600 to missions. That is amazing considering the average income for people who have full-time jobs is less than $300 per month in Paraguay. All the students are paying for their tuition, books, food, housing, and yet, they still were faithful to God and sent money to the mission field. Isn't God good?

Then, this weekend, I had the opportunity to preach at an international church. In this church, there was a German family, South African couple, Paraguayans, Japanese, Chinese lady, and a young man from Argentina. It was an English-speaking church. So, no, I have not yet preached in Spanish. I have had many invitations to preach. Sherry has had many invitations to preach, as well, but we haven't preached in Spanish, yet. The service went really well. God was working before we even spoke. I didn't know that they were having communion after the service, but God laid upon my heart to talk about being a servant. He led me to the passage in John 13 where Jesus washed the disciples feet. God led me to focus on the amazing love of Jesus, and how He taught us to always serve others. This is how we show that we are His disciples. The love we show others speaks louder than any bullhorn on a street corner. We can shout until Jesus comes! We can scream out praises to Him until we are blue in the face, but if we do not have love and show love to other people, all we are doing is making noise. Usually, this type of noise drives other people away from the Gospel message.

Then, at the end of the service, we had a really sweet time of communion together. We broke bread together, prayed together, and remembered the sacrifice Jesus made for us. 

As I mentioned above, there were many nationalities at this church. We met one couple who works at the United States Embassy here in Paraguay. His name is Mike, and her name is Jing. She is from China, he is from Oregon. They have a son named Alexander (in English), and I can't remember what his name is in Chinese. They were a really neat family, and they invited us to lunch at a Korean restaurant near the church. It was really good, but it is amazing who God brings into your path. Mike works in the political office of the embassy, and he is very knowledgable about what is going on in Paraguay. He gave me his card with his personal cell phone, and he told me if we ever needed any help from the embassy to call him. I felt honored, and I felt like God placed him in our path to help us here in Paraguay. We will see where God takes this relationship.

Just before leaving lunch, they invited us to be a part of a Bible study they host every Wednesday night in their home. He mentioned that he had a lot of theological questions he had, and he was hoping that we could come and help answer them. Pray for us, because I still have a lot of theological questions that I am studying and asking God to help me answer. Who knows? Maybe we will both help each other answer them.

One more thing before I sign off, I have been asked to teach two classes of Evangelism at the Bible school. I start in a few weeks. Please pray for me as I step out on a limb and teach in Spanish. I will be teaching some of the future ministers of Paraguay. I am excited about this opportunity, and I am looking forward to serving God in this capacity. It will be 8 weeks long. I will teach both classes on Thursday from 2:30 until 10:30 p.m. 8 HOURS STRAIGHT OF SPANISH! WOW! I can't wait!

Blessings to all,

Charley

Soccer or Fútbol

Would you like to play soccer? Take a look at this field. Isn't it nice and green? That's the thing about soccer. All you need is a small, open space, a ball, and something you can put up for goals, and you can play a game of soccer. Fútbol is how it is said in Latin America. It is pronounced almost like we say "football" in the United States.

This soccer "field" is just down the street from where we are staying until our house is done being repaired from the water damage. It is really hot in the afternoon, but almost every day, there is a group of either boys or men playing a game. They play soccer like we play football. It looks rough, but nobody seems to get upset with anybody else. I don't think I am going to join them anytime soon, but it looks fun. 

The other day, we were driving to the kid's school to pick them up, and I noticed that there was a group of boys tackling each other and throwing this odd-shaped ball around. I stopped to watch for a little bit, and I noticed that it wasn't soccer. They were playing rugby. I began asking around and noticed that a lot of people here like to watch and play rugby. I don't know much about it, but it is kind of like American football and soccer all rolled into one. Man, they tackle hard without any type of protection. I definitely will not be joining them in those type of games:)

What about us who are here to be missionaries in Paraguay or in any part of the world? Do we look at mission's work like these guys look at an open field? Can we pick up a "ball," so to speak, and join the game even though the conditions might not be up to our expectations? I, personally, am struggling with Spanish. I can communicate, but I really desire to be able to speak my heart to the Paraguayan people. I haven't learned enough vocabulary to be able to do this. The people here are really nice, and they have a lot of patience. So, what do I do. Do I sit back and not try to communicate Christ's love? No, of course not!

There are many ways we can communicate the love of Jesus without even being able to communicate, but we must also continue to try to communicate with the knowledge we have now. There is no more important message than the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. It is the only thing that can change lives. Do you know that there are people in your own neighborhood who are just waiting to hear that message and see the love of Jesus with their own eyes? Let's be that messenger today. The conditions or the "field" is never going to be perfect, but let's join the game today and stop sitting on the sidelines. Let us be the ones who show Jesus' love to the world. It is time to stop waiting on someone else to do it. What do you think?

Maybe I should ask the neighborhood kids if I can play a game with them.

Blessings,

Charley

A Few Pictures

I thought on this blog I would show a few pictures of what we saw when we arrived in Paraguay. The first picture is the first welcome to Paraguay we received.

Sherry took this picture as we were leaving the airport. We didn't think it would be too wise of us to take pictures at immigration or customs. The officials might not like their pictures being taken while we were trying to enter the country. The airport and all the customs and immigration lines were really short, and we were allowed in the country with all of our 15 suitcases and 6 carry-ons. They only asked to open 4 of them. They kept asking if different things were new or used (for example; our printer), but all in all, they didn't hassle us too much.

This picture is of a normal, neighborhood streets in the capital city, Asunción. As you can see, they are not paved. Most of the main streets are paved, but almost every neighborhood street is either dirt or big rocks and dirt.

Paraguay is an interesting country. It's history is something that is difficult to explain. They are a very proud people who speak two languages, and they have strong characteristics. Personally, I am enjoying living here. Is it easy? I don't know, but the people we have met so far have been very kind and accepting of us. We feel welcomed by the Paraguayan Assemblies of God. Most people have been kind to us in stores, restaurants, and the two malls here. 

I would say that God has really blessed us. Am I too naive to think that it will remain this way? I sure hope so, but I am realistic enough to know that anything can happen at any moment to change our lives. For instance; the home we are supposed to be living in, right now, had some pipes break and flood the entire house just as we were planning on moving in. Now, we are in the process of repairing the home. Is it frustrating? Sure, but we know that we are here for the long haul, and eventually, we will be moved into our home, settled in, and working hard to reach lost people in Paraguay.

Blessings to all (Bendiciones a todos),

Charley

Street in Asunción

I posted about our 4 wheel drive Speed-the-Light vehicle a few days ago. I wanted to show you a picture of the regular streets here in Asunción. Now, there are paved streets and "highways," but this is the usual street in almost all neighborhoods and side roads. It is made up of large, black rocks and dirt. Most of the time, it is not too bumpy. After a good rain, more and more huge potholes develop, and it can become tricky to navigate your way through with out breaking an axle. 

I've noticed that during a rain, there is a lot of water in certain places. I am thankful that we have a 4 wheel drive vehicle. We may not have to use it every day, but at least we know it is there for when we need to use it.

Some of our churches are on roads that need this type of vehicle just to get to the church. So, again, we want to thank the young people from the United States for providing us with an amazing vehicle to do the work here in Paraguay. Your ministry is very important to the kingdom. Because of your faithfulness, the work of reaching the lost is going strong.

Blessings,

Charley

Ministry in Caaguazú

I don't have a picture for this blog. All my camera accessories are still packed away, and the battery is dead on the camera. So, I wasn't able to take any pictures, and I wasn't able to find my charger before I left. 

This past weekend, I went to a town called Caaguazú. It is about 2 1/2 hours from Asunción and about 2 hours from Ciudad del Este on the Brazilian border. Frank Kendrick, our leader in Paraguay, had a mission's convention at a small church called Sanidad Divina. I am guessing that means Divine Healing. It is an Assemblies of God church.

I did not misspeak when I wrote "mission's convention." Yes, we did a mission's convention in Paraguay. When we arrived here, we found out that in the past 3 years Paraguay has sent two missionaries to Spain, and they are raising support for a third missionary to Tunis in North Africa. Isn't that amazing? God is moving all over the world to send missionaries all over the world. 

It was a great weekend. We had a service on Saturday night, Sunday morning and Sunday night. I understood most of what was going on, and I had the opportunity to give a short greeting and testimony on Sunday night. At the end of the service on Sunday night, Frank took up Faith Promise cards. God is so good! This little church in a poor country (the average income per month is less than $300), with the help of God, promised to give almost $100 per month in the support of missionaries. WOW! I was so honored and thrilled to see this. 

Also, 15 young people came forward to dedicate their lives to missions. Some felt a call to specific countries like China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and others. Some felt called to help raise more money for missionaries. The mission's program in Paraguay is still very new, but God is already taking what little they have and multiplying it to send people all over the world.

If they can do it in Paraguay, than anyone can do it in the United States. If your church does not have a mission's program, start one. Even if it is just you for now, start one, and let God work miracles in your life and in your church.

Blessings,

Charley

Speed-the-Light Vehicle

I have mentioned our Speed-the Light vehicle a couple of times, and I thought you might want to see what it looks like. Here it is! It is a really nice vehicle, and we are blessed to have the use of it. Thank you to all the churches who are allowing their youth to give to Speed-the-Light(STL). We couldn't go to some of the places we have been already without our STL vehicle.

Blessings,

Charley

First Ministry Opportunity in Paraguay

God has continued to be faithful and good to us. The kids had the exciting opportunity to help out another missionary at her church. They did a song with their puppets. DC Reto was the name of the group, and the song was something like "DC Reto para los niños." At least, that's one of the lines I understood in the song.

This picture shows Cindy Lucas and her puppet, Carlitos Chocolate and the puppets that the kids are using. I forgot the names, but I am not sure that they don't change every time they use them. I will have to ask them, and the next time they do a puppet skit I will put their names in the blog.

 This picture is the road we traveled on to the church. It wasn't too long, but we thank God we have a 4 wheel drive Speed-the-Light vehicle.

This church was for a lot of kids, and it is in a very poor area near a city called Aregua. In Asuncion, there are a lot of kids who work the street washing car window, begging for money, selling anything they can get their hands on, and basically doing whatever they can to bring some money home to their parents. Usually, their parents use the money for alcohol or drugs. It is really hard to see some of these kids on the streets. Everyday now, we notice some of the kids from the church working different street corners. Many of them don't have any hope of having a different life. Please pray with us for these kids.

The other pictures are of some of the kids in the church. Most of them did not come to church with their parents. They either walked to church, or they came with some older kids. A lot of this is really difficult to see and understand, but we are learning that we cannot solve all of the problems that face these kids every day.

Blessings to all,

Charley