...more new teammates!

"Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:

"Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?"

Then I said, "Here am I, Send me."

Isaiah 6:8

...a great trip!

 In our new ministry, we have the privilege of visiting

our co-workers who are working among the unreached 

tribal groups.  Last week we took a 5-day trip to help 

mainly with the construction of the missionaries'

new houses, but also to be a help and encouragement 

in whatever way we could! 

 The men did the construction work.

We wives watched the kids, cooked the meals, and 

had a fun time talking!

 The kids had a blast playing together...

altogether there were 10!

 

 

 

  Here are some of the views we got to see while traveling.

 

 

 

 We had an incredible week!  

We thank God for the opportunity to go out and visit

our co-workers and pray that one day the tribal

group they live close to will have the Word of God

in their own language!

goodbyes for good reasons.

     Last month we helped another missionary family pack up their house for their 6th move.  They left before sunrise the next morning, moving about 8 hours away.

T helping load the moving truck! 

The "chica" in the green shirt and glasses beside me is 

the wife and mom of 5 who moved. 

  

C and I enjoying their friend before he moves.

J playing away with his friend while the adults
pack, clean and load!

      Three years ago now, we arrived here in Paraguay along with several other families with young children.  Although we were encouraged to spend more time with Paraguayans than other American missionaries, we did look forward to our weekly meetings at the Mission!  After a week of straining to understand Spanish and attempting to string together words to make a sentence, it was so nice to hear and speak in English!  It was a relief to hear that others were struggling with home sickness, funny to share language bloopers we made that week and comforting to know that there were other people who understood what it was like to be an adult who could only communicate at a 2-year-old level (it probably would have helped to have those cute chubby cheeks and adorable grin that makes everyone smile!)!  So, in a sense, we “grew up” with these other families!

     Well, three years later many of us have completed or almost completed our Paraguayan language and culture study.  We are ready to embark upon the next step: reaching the unreached.  This was the first family to leave the "nest".  On one hand, it is hard to think about not seeing them each week.  On the other hand, the Paraguayan tribal group they are moving to may one day know and understand  TRUTH!  

So, although it was hard, 
I consider that a good reason to say 
"Goodbye!"      

         

fellowship and fun times in the tribe!

We've been back from our Chaco trip for almost 

a week now but I still have more pictures to share!

I know I already mentioned that we got to visit
three different missionary families but here are just a few more
details of our stay with one of those families. 

 We started with a tour of the village.
(I tried to snap a few photos unnoticed 

so these aren't the best quality.)

We learned how to say hello in their language 

and got to meet a few of their good friends!

(Below is a soccer game.)
We didn't hang out there too long because our family obviously
didn't know the language, but it's always interesting to see!

 Later, the boys enjoyed some fun times together, including: 

sling shot practice, 

finding and tasting honey from a tree, 

and playing hockey in the back yard.
They all had a blast!

 While the boys were out, we girls painted toenails 

and had some good talks!

 

It was fun to be with our friends in their home

and also see how they have been building relationships with 

these people over the last 3 years.

Soon these people will have the opportunity to hear Truth - 

pray that their hearts will be prepared!

...the families we got to visit in their tribal ministry locations!

It is so important for us, 

while living in the big city studying Spanish, 

not to lose sight of our purpose for being here in Paraguay: 

taking God's good news to those who have little or no 

opportunity of hearing His Word in their own language.

We had the privilege of visiting and staying with 

three different families who live in tribal locations!  

We just "eat up" the time with them by asking tons of questions!

We want to prepare for our future ministry by gleaning 

from their wisdom, by learning from things they have 

already been through and learned!

 What does your day look like?

How do you handle it when people stare into your windows?

Do you feel safe out here?

How have you started to prepare the people to hear the Gospel?

What do the people eat here?

What steps do you take to build relationships with the people?

We had a GREAT time and learned a lot!

...the variety of landscapes God made, great praise music to listen to and a safe trip!

 (Middle bro got a kick out of wearing the pirate sunglasses...

he really does have a pair that covers both eyes!!)