Disciples.

There are moments when something happens, something shines forth from one of the children we have been working with that makes my heart overflow with joy and gratefulness to the Lord for what He is doing in the children in our care.

Our vision is to see lives transformed and many days it is hard to see the transformation that God is working. There are days when the children are breaking windows, kicking and hitting their house parents and other children, screaming curses, and just behaving horribly. During these moments the pain and hurt that our children have suffered shows through and sometimes their problems seem insurmountable. But thankfully, the Lord specializes in working out impossible situations and taking each of us in our brokenness, restoring us, and using us for amazing purposes.

Soledad is a beautiful young lady that arrived in our home only 10 months ago. She has a difficult story, like the other children in our home, and came to us shy, hurting, and discouraged. Last week, she told her house parents during their nightly devotional that she thanks the Lord for Him bringing her to know Him at this point in her life. When Soledad attends church, she hangs on every word. Later, she takes her notes home and re-preaches the sermon to her house "siblings." Last Friday, she spoke at the school assembly to her classmates and the director and teachers were blessed by what she shared. Soledad has never made good grades in her life and just brought home her report card with all A's and only one B. She is not only making positive changes within, but her whole face and countenance have changed in her time with us. Her face literally shines with the joy that is overflowing from her heart. I thank God that He is using our house parents, the school staff, and our other volunteers to bring healing into the lives of some of the world's most precious and wonderful children.

Thank you for your prayers for us. We do need them and we ask that you continue to pray for every child in our home and school. We are also facing some difficult financial challenges this month and would ask that you keep our finances in your prayers. If you would like to support our school and children's home, please send tax-deductible donations to:

Serving Paraguay

P.O. Box 6092

Mesa, AZ 85216

Trust and Provision.

It is a nearly constant battle for me as a missionary, someone "directing" a children's home to trust in the Lord, the creator of the universe. I can trust the Lord is so many areas of my life, but when it comes to trusting in His financial provision, I must say that I struggle. I want to write this note to encourage you, to say that you can trust in our Lord to provide and to declare that He will meet the needs of every child and worker under our care here in Paraguay.

I spend much of my time crunching numbers, reviewing donations, and honestly, just worrying. God has been working in my heart in this area and He has been speaking to me in so many ways to communicate to me, "Just trust Me." The last two months, we were several thousand dollars short to pay for our salaries and food costs here in Hogar GANAR and the Itaugua Christian School. Many people do not realize how much money we need to operate monthly. Currently, we need around $11,000.00 a month to pay all teachers, house parents, other staff, and to provide for the children's basic needs. Our costs have risen significantly because the dollar has lost much of its value here in Paraguay.

I always have a way in my head that God is going to answer my prayers and provide, and He is constantly surprising me by where the finances come from. Praise the Lord that in the last two months "surprise donations" have arrived at just the right time to be able to cover our monthly costs. One gift of nearly $4,000 came from someone I have never even met.

This month, I have no idea, and don't even want to try to guess at how God will provide, but I am learning that I can trust Him, because He is faithful. A wonderful friend sent me a link to an article about George Mueller and I would like to paste a portion of a quote from him here below:

My dear Christian reader, will you not try this way? Will you not know for yourself . . . the preciousness and the happiness of this way of casting all your cares and burdens and necessities upon God? This way is as open to you as to me. . . . Every one is invited and commanded to trust in the Lord, to trust in Him with all his heart, and to cast his burden upon Him, and to call upon Him in the day of trouble. Will you not do this, my dear brethren in Christ? I long that you may do so. I desire that you may taste the sweetness of that state of heart, in which, while surrounded by difficulties and necessities, you can yet be at peace, because you know that the living God, your Father in heaven, cares for you.

Be encouraged! The Lord is faithful and will meet all of our needs.