Our First Wedding

Adrian and Miriam first walked into the church (Mi Esperanza) about a year ago. They both recognized their needs for God in their lives and slowly began to surrender their lives to Him. A few months they both recognized their need to honor God by being married. On May 23rd we joined them in celebrating their wedding after the church service! It was an incredible day of sharing, laughing, and enjoying a great time celebrating a Great GOD!

Thank you so much for praying - God is moving! Below are some pictures!

Peace!

Women's Tea 2010

On May 8, we celebrated our first Women's Tea. Lisa has been hoping to do a tea for a long time and with the help of fellow missionary Joy Brougher, the ladies in our church and a lot of help from the ladies at the San Lorenzo (CMA) church they had great success!!

We don't have many pictures - but there were over 30 women there with 12 first-time visitors. It was so great to see the women of our church inviting all their friends.

Thank you so much for your prayers - below are some pictures.

Peace!

Distinguishing the clapping...

One of the most peculiar parts of Paraguay is how to "knock on the door." Some houses have buzzers, which you can press and usually hear ringing in the house. But, this takes away all the fun. The usual way to "knock" is to clap.

I don't believe there is any particular method to the clapping. Some are louder than others. Some people clap three times to announce their presence at the gate and others keep clapping until someone comes out. Usually friends clap a few times, but venders, as you can imagine, clap until you come and talk with them. As you can imagine, when you live near-by to other houses the claps get hard to distinguish. Many times, we will go outside assuming the clap is for us, but only to find that the clap is for our neighbor.

I think by the time we are here for 5 years or more, we will know the distinctive clap of people that are outside our gate and beckoning only our family. Then we will know that we have arrived. Personally, in order to help others with this potentially confusing problem, I (john) like to put a little boogie in my clap and usually try to tap out a "funky beat." :)

Peace!

Labor day in Paraguay

Today is May 1st - can you believe it?!?

Today, in Paraguay most businesses are closed and workers are home enjoying time with their family. In our neighborhood kids are playing soccer, loud music is blaring and some men are drinking pretty heavily. Aside from the radios, the day is pretty quite with most people relaxing outside in this beautiful fall day.

One of my favorite parts of Paraguay is the "relaxed" atmosphere. Sometimes, there doesn't need to be a reason to pull out a chair and enjoy the shade. But, on these special days, when most are home from work ... well... on these days, relaxing becomes a true art form!

I am reminded that God said that we should relax (or at least "be still) so that we can hear His voice. I trust that you are enjoying your day - I am going out to find my chair and my spot in the shade!

Peace!