Our "Send-Off" Service

On December 15th, we had a special service for us to say goodbye to our family and friends.  It was an amazing service.  We showed a slideshow of pictures of our trips to Paraguay.  We also had several friends share favorite memories.  Then, everyone gathered around us to pray for us.

We had several tables of items from Paraguay.  We also had note cards for friends to write notes to us.  We also had two books for friends to write notes for Eli and David.

It was a very special time that we will never forget.  It is such a great feeling to know that we have so many people praying for us.  We are so blessed!

We are back from Colorado!

We just returned from our training in Colorado at Mission Training International (MTI). We had an amazing time! Now we feel much more prepared for Language School and living in a different culture. We loved getting to see the mountains, the snow, and made some new friends for life who are heading out to countries all over the world.

For the last two weeks at MTI, we focused on Culture and Character.  It has been extremely beneficial, but at times very difficult.  The staff at MTI really wants to make sure missionaries are prepared for the Mission Field in every single way.  And they do a great job!  One way they prepare us is covering things that missionaries struggle with while on the field. Some topics covered were:  making the transition to another culture, dealing with conflict & stress, remembering to take time to rest in God, handling paradox in life, and dealing with culture shock.  This training has been very helpful in many ways.  I am sure we will look back and appreciate what we learned even more in a few years.

An example of the paradox that we have in our lives:  we are very excited about spending Christmas with family and friends, but at the same time we feel deep sadness about leaving for Language School on December 27th.  The next few weeks will be will be both beautiful and sad, but we are prepared to make the most of both sides of the paradox.

You are invited to join us on December 15th at 2pm for our "Send-Off" Service at Grace Bible Church of the Shoals.  You can find where it is located here.  We would love to have you be a part of this special time.  As we pack and prepare to leave, please keep us in your prayers.

Our first two weeks of training in Colorado

We arrived at Missionary Training International (MTI) in Parker Lake, Colorado on October 28th.  Since this was our first time anywhere near Colorado, the drive from Alabama to here was very cool.  We saw windmills and oil wells along the way.  When we arrived at MTI is was breath-taking! (And not just because the elevation here is above 7,500 feet.)

The view from our training facility!

MTI: Our home for the next few weeks

We have had an amazing two weeks of our missionary training here in Colorado. We are learning all about the non-English sounds that our mouth can make (and how to make them and hear them) and some language learning techniques. It is very interesting stuff, and it gives me hope that my mouth can sound like a native Paraguayan!

We have also met some really amazing people here.  Each person has an amazing story, and we all have many things in common.  It is so neat to see how God is working in all our lives.  We have only known each other for 2 weeks, and we already have some deep friendships forming.

We are looking forward to the next 2 weeks of training, which will be about transitioning to another culture.  Please continue to pray that we are able to absorb all the information while we are here.

Thanks for your support of our ministry!

New Outfits for the Kids at the Daycare

Amy has been in Paraguay with the mission team from our church.  One of the things that the team took to Paraguay was a new outfit for each of the children at the Daycare in Santa Rosa.  Here are some pictures of the boys and girls wearing their new clothes.  What a blessing these kinds are!

Just a man? Or something more?

Was Jesus just a man?  Or was he something more than that?


Something More on GodTube.

Paraguay National Anthem Video

Here is a video that shows many beautiful pictures of Paraguay while the national anthem is played by a diverse group of Paraguayans.

This Year Is Going By So Fast

Can you believe that it is almost time for school to start again?

We have been so busy lately. We have visited several churches to share about our Paraguay ministry. We are so close to completing our fundraising! Please keep us in your prayers during these next few months!

Happy Father's Day!

We pray that you have a great Father's Day.  Please keep Jonathan's family in your prayers.  This is the first Father's Day since his dad passed away on June 22, 2012.

We pray that all fathers around the world will look toward their heavenly father daily.

Prayer request for Amy

Amy found out yesterday that she needs to have surgery on June 26th.  Please pray that everything will go smoothly.

This Month's "Unfinished" Magazine

This month's issue of The Mission Society's magazine "Unfinished" is online and it is a great glimpse into "what missionaries don't tell you."  We would really encourage you to take the time to read this issue.  Being on the field really is such a blessing and is truly rewarding, but it is also, at times, really difficult.  This month's "Unfinished" gives a glimpse into some of the things that don't typically end up in missionary's newsletters.  You can read this month's issue at the link below:

http://www.themissionsociety.org/issue-templ/unfinished-55

Happy Easter!

We hope that you have a blessed Easter!

Paraguay Methodist Church Celebrates 25 Years

The Paraguayan Methodist Church in Paraguay (La Comunidad Evangelica Metodista del Paraguay) has recently celebrated 25 years of existence.  Since the very first church was planted, much has happened.  Thousands of people now have a relationship with Christ.  Here is a video from The Mission Society that explains some of that history.

Also, new leadership has just been elected on January 25th!

• Pastor Pedro Magalhaes is now President and will be ordained Bishop in April.
• Pastor Alcides Garay is Vice-president.
• Pastor Dario Revelli is the new Treasurer.
• Cinthia Valdez, the wife of Pastor Eligio, is the new secretary.
  
  
  

The current Bishop, Pastor Pablo Mora (far right in the above picture), has served the church as Bishop for the majority of those 25 years.  We continue to pray that God's Will marches on in the country of Paraguay (and the world)!

It Is Because Of Love

This Physics teacher teaches his students a very important lesson... "The reason why things work is because of love".



Wright's Law from Zack Conkle on Vimeo.