Happy Easter!

Sometimes we get so caught up in our "regular" life and our "regular" worship that we lose sight of the amazing power of Christ.  In the weeks leading up to Easter this year I was reading the Lineage of Grace series by Francine Rivers.  These stories of the faithful women in the genealogy of Jesus helped me to re-focus on God's power and His hand in lives throughout the ages.  The same God that saved Rahab, redeemed Ruth, and forgave Bathseba is at work in MY life today.  

I know so many of you are praying daily for our family and I wanted to share just a few of the answers to prayer that God has provided in these last 3 months:

• A safe journey to Paraguay
• A beautiful, comfortable place to call home
• A vehicle
• January 11 - A large tree branch fell where one of our 4040s does his morning devotions.  He had moved to another, nearby spot right before the branch fell and was unharmed.
• January 17 - After being told there were no openings in the school of our choice, we received a call that there was a vacancy in the second grade  for Isaiah.  Both boys are able to attend a Christian, bi-lingual school.
• January 17 - A truck nearly rolled over in front of us on the highway.  It went up on the median and we were able to safely maneuver around it.
• March 16 - A strange man approached Landon at the gate and tried to entice him away.  One of the church members was nearby and called Landon to him. 
• March 16 - After 5 years on and off the market, our house in Nampa Idaho finally sold :)

We are so thankful to be covered in prayer!!!  In addition to the above answers to prayer, we have felt such peace and strength that can only be from God.  He is truly ALIVE and working in lives today!!!!

 Isaiah and Landon with our guy 4040s (Mike, Felipe, Juliano, and Leon)

Dyeing Easter eggs with Felipe and Mike

HE IS RISEN INDEED!!!!!

Random bits

Has it really been over a month since I last posted?!  I kept waiting for something "BIG" to happen but then I remembered that God isn't only about the big things.  We have a magnet on our refrigerator that says, "God wants to be a part of every little bitty, teeny tiny, itsy bitsy thing in your day."  So this blog will be about several of those random bits of our life here - all those little things that God cares about :)

A couple of weeks ago the Sunday School program held a yard sale.  People from the church donated used clothing, toys, and household items; then we sold them along with homemade cookies and empanadas.  We made a little over $100 and are excited to purchase some much-needed supplies for the kids with this money!

Emily and I decided to try on some of the donated items while we were setting up the sale :)

 Every Saturday the leaders from the church meet and spend an hour of sharing and prayer.  This special time is usually led by either Felix or Ryan.  Although we are not always able to see the immediate results, God is doing a mighty work in Fernando de la Mora and these leaders are an integral part of the growth process.  Please pray for them as we move from a church of less than 100 to a church of 1000 members!

 Our office :)  Notice the letters on the wall - Ryan's "Club de la Alegria" or "Joy Club".  It always makes me laugh!

 Finally, a praise and prayer request for our kiddos.  For the first time since we moved to South America in 2007, the boys are experiencing culture shock.  It's difficult to watch them struggle with this although we know it will pass.  We are grateful that they are fluent in Spanish and have made many friends here but they still miss their friends in Pucallpa and often talk about wanting to move back there.  Please pray for their adjustment and contentment here in Paraguay.
The praise is that, however slowly, they are fitting in here.  An interesting piece of the Paraguayan culture that Landon has already picked up is a love for terere.  Terere is a popular herbal drink made with ice-cold water.  Drinking terere is often used to share and chat with friends or to meet new people.  Our 4040s use it an evangelistic tool :)

As always, we are so thankful to have such wonderful people praying for and supporting us!  Many blessing to each of you :)

Kid Stuff and Prayer Request

A few weeks ago, Pastor Felix asked the 4040s to prepare a children's festival for the last weekend before school started.  The team was excited to do this for the community and planned an awesome event for the children of Fernando de la Mora!

We started the day at 7 AM getting the church grounds cleaned and set up.  As the children began to arrive at 9, they were placed into one of four groups (yellow, green, red, or blue).  At 10 we started with a time of singing and getting to know each other.  After the group time, we split up and rotated between four stations (art, Bible story, VeggieTales movie, and water balloons).  

 After a lunch of hot dogs and bananas, the kids all had the chance to participate in a relay race.  It was fun to see them working together in their teams!

 As any good children's program, we then ended the day with a hot-dog eating contest..... and more singing :)

 It was a great day and we met lots of new kids in the neighborhood - and their parents!  We pray that the church might be able to touch the lives of these families and that God would continue to work throughout the city.  Already some of these new contacts have attended the church and we are hoping to see more relationships formed in this community.

Last week, Isaiah and Landon started school.  They were a little nervous their first day but are enjoying attending a "real" school (they were both surprised that they had to raise their hands to talk in class!) and are making new friends.

 The school is a Christian bi-lingual school and they attend classes 8 hours each day.  Landon is in preschool and spends the first four hours of his day in English and the last 4 hours in Spanish.  Isaiah is in 2nd grade and does 4 hours of Spanish in the morning and 4 hours of English in the afternoon.  They have Bible classes every morning and weekly chapel on Thursdays.  We are so happy to have found such a perfect fit for our boys!

It's hard to believe we've only been here a little over 7 weeks.  It's been a wild ride, but things are falling into place and we're so thankful that God has blessed us with this ministry!  Satan, however, is not pleased with us and the whole team is feeling his attacks.  Please be in prayer with us for health, safety, and precious SLEEP. It seems nearly everyone on the team (including Isaiah and Landon) are suffering from an inability to sleep and we know how detrimental this can be - not only to our health, but also to our attitudes and the way we act and react to others.   

Thank you for joining us on this journey and lifting us up in your prayers!  

Stretching.....

 When we first moved to South America 4 and a half years ago, God began stretching me in ways I never knew I could go!  It had always been a dream of mine to stay at home and raise our children.  In Argentina, I was faced with the necessity of putting Isaiah and Landon in daycare half-days.  Not much, I know, but it was still very difficult for me.
After we finished the project in Argentina, God stretched us (me) by calling us to a place where we would be the only Nazarene missionaries for nearly 6 months.  Then, we moved to the jungle and, let me tell you, I was STRETCHED farther than ever as we learned to survive in nearly unbearable heat with no air conditioning, no  hot water, and very few modern conveniences.  It was certainly an adventure and I praise God for what we learned during each of these "stretching" times.
Well, we've moved and it's happening again :)  This time, our children are old enough to be in school all day, we are blessed to have a team of Nazarene missionaries with us all working towards the same purpose, and this is one of the most modern cities we've lived in South America.  So, how is God stretching me this time?
FINANCES!
With our new positions, I am now the Financial Coordinator for Extreme in Paraguay.  Scary!  When I graduated from NNU, my advisor, Jerry Hull, told me that I would maybe be able to one day help my children with their math until they hit 5th grade :)  I'm great with people; math, not so much.
My good friend, and Extreme's accountant, Sydney Drinkwater, flew to Paraguay last week to help me set up the books and train me.  It went really well and, armed with my very detailed list of what to do in each program and each month, I think I will be just fine!

Also, while Sydney was here, I tackled another one of my bigger fears and stretched some more - driving in the city!  

And, finally, this week I stretched even more by agreeing to cook dinner every other Monday for our 4040s.  I love them and very much enjoy their company, but it's HARD to make enough food to feed 8 ravenous young adults :)

We have a wonderful team here and we are confident that God can and will do amazing things through them. 

 As God continues to grow and stretch us and our abilities to be of greater use to Him, I am grateful for His ever-present hand in our lives!

Arrival in Asuncion

 We made it!!  After 2 months in the States visiting friends and family in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Colorado, and Delaware and 36 HOURS of travel, we finally reached our new home on December 28.  We were joined 2 days later by the three Venezuelans on our team and the rest soon followed as well.  The first Paraguay team is complete :)  Below is our new family for the next 19 months:
Emily (Colorado), Islenia (Venezuela), Kelsey (California), Yoli (Venezuela), the Fosters, Mike (Idaho), Leon (Minnesota), Gerardo (Venezuela), and Felipe (Brazil)

 It's been a bit of a challenge getting everything set up for our family and the 4040s, but we have such wonderful new friends here who have been willing to do whatever we needed of them.  We have been spending the last two weeks learning our way around this new city, purchasing furniture and food, finding the best supermarkets (yes, there are more than ONE to choose from!!!), and settling into a new routine.

We've attended several services and the church here is ON FIRE for Christ!!  It's so exciting to see their fervor and desire to share the gospel message.  Under the leadership of Felix Vargas, the attendance has gone from 0 (doors of the church CLOSED on Sundays) to over 50 in just 3 years.  We are so blessed to be able to come alongside him and serve our Mighty God together.

The 4040s have been given their first home groups and begin meeting this evening.  We were excited to learn that there are already 10 leaders requesting discipleship groups in their homes.  This means that two of our pairs have 2 groups and two of our pairs have 3 groups their first week!  Please join us in prayer for them as they begin this intensive work.

The boys are adjusting well to their new home.  They love the church grounds where we live and have already made numerous friends who come by each evening to play soccer and ride bikes.  

Speaking of riding bikes......Look who learned this week!  He's so proud of himself and ready to take his bike to a riding track near our home next Sunday afternoon :)

Thank you so much for your prayers as we traveled and are making this transition!  We have such faithful supporters and are blessed by each one of you.  May God shower His richest blessings on you this year!!

Paraguay - Here we come!!!

We will be moving to the capital city of Asunción, Paraguay on December 27th and will be serving there for a minimum of two years. In Paraguay Ryan and I will:

*lead another group of young, single missionaries in church planting,

*oversee several short-term missions projects,

*work in the administration of a new discipleship/leadership school, and

*assist Felix Vargas, Assistent Field Strategy Coordinator for Bolivia and Paraguay and ex- member of the Cali drug cartel, in pastoring the Fernando de la Mora Church of the Nazarene.

In addition to these job duties, Ryan will be continuing his theological education and working toward ordination in the Church of the Nazarene. 

We are excited about this move for our family and the opportunity we've been given to continue serving in South America!  Thank you for partnering with us as we Follow the Call God has placed on our lives.