Parties and a Garden

October has been a month of beautiful weather here in Paraguay. On the 9th of October we celebrated Lysandry's 15th birthday. For those of you who are familiar with Hispanic culture, a girl's 15th birthday celebration almost surpasses a wedding celebration. It is an important rite of passage ceremony that we want to be sure and celebrate with each of the girls in our home when they "come of age."

Lysandry on her big night with her cake

Lysandry (we often call her Lysa) was very active in the preparations for her big evening and we had the support of all our staff and church family in planning the event. Her shoes, the cake, the sodas, the labor to sew her dress, and her hair, nail and make-up preparation were all donated for the event. Both the pastor from our church here in Itaugua, and the pastor of the house parents' church in a neighboring city were present to bless the evening and to encourage Lysa to follow the Lord's plan for her life. Lysa is an extremely special and intelligent young lady. She dreams of being able to attend college in the United States. She makes great grades in school and can memorize almost anything by looking at it once. She is constantly smiling and we pray that with each year of her life she would grow more committed to serving the Lord. We know that His plan for her life will amaze us all!

Prayer for Lysa's life and future

The evening began with Lysa's grand entrance on the arms of her house mom and dad. Lysandry chose to have the event on the basketball court, and our hard-working house parents from House 2 decorated the area beautifully. The children in House 2 cut branches and formed clay bases to make the centerpieces for the tables. Milciades, our maintenance worker, wired multiple lanterns with light bulbs to illuminate the trees around the court.

The fruit cascade at the entrance to the basketball court- thank you, Miguel and Nelida!

The area illuminated by lantern light- thank you, Milciades!

Our school principal and her husband, Elias (their son), Dana (our English teacher), and Elisabet (school maintenance worker) sang two special songs for Lysa. We showed a power point presentation of Lysa's last two and a half years (the time she has been living in our home). We ate finger foods, and then we danced the waltz. Lysa began the waltz with her house dad and as is the custom, all the men and boys in attendance lined up to dance a round of the waltz with Lysa. All of our children had practiced and they all danced... and danced, enjoying the evening. Finally, the night ended by sharing the delicious cake that our pastors donated for the occasion. Everyone in attendance couldn't stop talking about how beautiful our Lysa was, about her princess-style dress, and about how wonderful an evening it was. We thank the Lord for the good weather and for each person that helped to make the event a success.

Lysa dancing the waltz with her house dad, Arnaldo

House 1

House 2

House 3

On the 18th of October, I celebrated my 27th birthday. I have never had a birthday quite like this one. Days before my birthday, Abi began presenting me with gifts (things that I already owned, decorated coke bottles, etc. etc.)! On my actual birthday, in the school and children's home, I was thrown a surprise party! The staff at the children's home sang happy birthday to me in Spanish, Guarani, and ENGLISH! Later that evening, we ate an all-American cake, courtesy of Shaun's mom who is visiting us this month! It was a beautiful and blessed day- and one of the best birthdays I have ever celebrated!

Surprise party in the children's home with our older kids and staff

Finally, we are re-opening our garden project under the supervision of the house parents. They have divided the kids in each of the houses into three, mixed teams and each team will have their own garden plot to care for. I am amazed at how absolutely thrilled the children are to begin this project. They have been working already each day to prepare the garden for planting. We do need some funding to buy needed materials (hoses, pipes for irrigation, shovels, rakes, and seeds) that will cost approximately $300.

Lujan raking and Kevin and Ever weeding

If you would like to support this project or our other ministries in the children's home and school, please send checks payable to "Serving Paraguay" to the following address:

P.O. Box 6092

Mesa, AZ 85216

Our ministries that are reaching and transforming the lives of dozens of children in Paraguay would be impossible without your support! Thank you and blessings to each of you!

A Science Fair, Youth Day, Goats, and Report Cards

Our school director, Fransisca, has been working ceaselessly in the school and we have been thrilled with all the progress our students are making. Today was our first science fair, and students from pre-school to eighth grade had to present science experiments or explain some biological process to the other students and parents present. So many of the projects were creative, from making acid, creating a magnet with batteries, floating an egg in salty water, explaining the body’s digestion, even to the classic exploding volcano! Shaun and I had to judge the projects and choose winners. It was no easy task when even the first graders were “expertly” explaining the life cycle of a plant!

Rolando explaining how to make acid

Antonio Paredes, Lujan, and Oscar explaining the different types of reproduction in animals

Jose Maria, Abi, and Araceli introducing us to animals that live in the water

Our science fair day coincided with “Day of the Youth,” a very important holiday for young people here in Paraguay. Once again, our friends from Super Alegria (a local supermarket) showered us with donations for the event. The young people (6th grade and up) ate hamburgers (loaded hamburgers which here include a fried egg, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, and cheese) and had soda and a cake. They spent their afternoon playing soccer and volleyball games in the children’s home and each received a t-shirt with a Bible verse and their name as a gift. What a wonderful tradition to celebrate youth for an entire day each year!

All our youth with their new t-shirts

We can’t fail to mention the donation that our generous friends in the grocery store presented us with last week. They told us one evening that they wanted to give us a couple of goats, because they heard we were looking to buy some more for the home. The next morning they showed up at the home to deliver three goats, one being a male and one pregnant female. We have begun our goat project in hopes that these low-maintenance animals will help save us time and gas money in mowing our large property. Our oldest children are in charge of tying up and watering the animals during the day and returning them to their shelter in the evening. We now have a total of three females (two pregnant) and one male. Milciades (head of maintenance) is working now on a house made from recycled materials for these additions to our farm.

Finally, report cards were handed out this week and I am proud to announce that in the second grading period, three of our girls from the homes received all A’s. We are so thrilled for Soledad, Nayeli, and Rocio. They have worked hard and will each be treated to an individual dinner in town as a reward. We also had five children that earned all A’s and B’s: Marcos, Lorena, Antonio Paredes, Lysandry, and Ever. They will go out as a group for dinner in town to reward them for their hard work! The academic level in the school this year has been significantly more challenging for our students, and we feel proud that they are adjusting and even excelling.

Our straight A's group: Rocio, Soledad, and Nayeli

Please be in prayer with us for following needs:

New teachers for the coming school year (Paraguayan school year runs from February through November): We will be adding a few teachers to our staff as we are separating the grades that are currently taught together and adding ninth grade. We are currently conducting interviews and praying that God will send the right, capable, passionate teachers to our staff.

Funding: The Lord has been faithful to miraculously fund the ministries this year month after month. Legally, every December, Paraguayan workers have to be paid a 13th salary in addition to their December salary. It is a sort of bonus for workers- something that was very strange for us to understand when we first moved to Paraguay, but something that is an absolute legal requirement. This means an extra $6,000 will be needed this December to pay our staff in the school and children’s home.

Deliverance for each child from their past: Many of you have been praying with us for the lives of the children in our home and we can honestly say that we are seeing God’s hand working in the lives of the children that most desperately needed his touch. Continue to stand with us in prayer for their lives. Please see my last blog for more information on how to pray.

The Rest of the Story

I rarely touch on the issues that I want to address in this note. Our desire, in working with children in our homes, is that they would be transformed from the inside out. We want them to learn manners, to study in school, to be kind to others, and the list goes on. However, beyond these good habits that we want to instill in our children, there is a much deeper level that we have to address in their lives. Our kids come to us from situations of serious neglect and most come from cases of sexual and physical abuse. It is hard to describe the effect that these drastic and violent abuses have on a little boy or girl of four or eight years old. We have children in the home that go into fits of rage, kicking their teachers, throwing knives, displaying superhuman strength in their destruction, screaming profanity, and even abusing other children. I do not generally write public notes about these challenges that we face, but I want to share with each of you a little more in-depth glimpse of the challenges that these precious children face every day.

Some of our children suffer from nightmares, reliving their past abuses night after night, afraid and trembling in their bed. Other children hear voices telling them to harm others and themselves. We are so grateful to have a male and female counselor on staff at the home that are working in the process of recovery and healing for each child. As a Christian, I understand that many times our struggle with the children in our care is not really with them but with the darkness and spirits that have taken a hold of their little hearts and lives. In some sense our job is a spiritual war, battling for the soul of every child. The house parents live in this battle day in and day out and pray and fast so that the children in their houses can be free of their pasts. Currently, all of our children are going through a lengthy program focused on forgiving those that have harmed them, asking forgiveness from those they have harmed, and freeing their hearts from their pasts.

I know that liberation for these children may not happen all at once and that recovery for them will in many ways be a process. Several of our children, as you saw in the last post, have already been transformed and are completely “new creations” in the Lord, displaying a joy and strength that comes from their salvation. However, with many of the children in our care, we have arrived at a point of desperation, begging the Lord to intervene and deliver them from their own suffering and harmful and compulsive behaviors. I cannot imagine being a child of 12 years old, not being able to lay down at night and sleep, without having to relive the most traumatic and painful moments of my life in my dreams. Nor can I understand the deep struggle that is happening in a 9-year old boy’s head when he hears voices demanding him to abuse a younger child.

I know that these descriptions are not cheerful or pretty and honestly, I don’t even like to write them down. But, we desperately want the Lord to work in the heart and mind of every child living in our care. We want them to find freedom in coming to know Jesus as their savior, being able to overcome the fears and burdens of their pasts. We want each of our three houses to be totally filled with the peace and joy of the Lord.

We feel that the Lord is leading us to invite our staff and church family here in Paraguay and our friends there in the United States to fast and pray with us, specifically for deliverance and freedom for our children in Hogar GANAR. Please keep these needs in your mind and pray for us, pray for our house parents, pray for the children in our homes and the thousands like them suffering on the streets around this nation. If you feel led, also consider joining us in fasting once a week. At this link you can see pictures and first names of each of our 30 children, which may help you to be able to pray for each one.

A beautiful Sunday morning

This past Sunday morning was a very special day for us. Two of the boys from House 3 (Kevin and Amado) were baptized. They have been attending church some Sundays with their house parents, Arnaldo and Ramona, and they heard the announcement about baptism. They expressed interest in being baptized and completed a preparatory class last week.

Kevin is 12 years old and was very bitter towards God for a long time. He had no interest in the Bible, in his house's devotionals, or in giving his life to the Lord. Since the arrival of his new house parents a few months ago, his life has undergone an amazing transformation and everyone is noticing his new attitude. He has not only taken interest in Bible studies, but has begun to teach some of the house's devotionals with his house siblings. We are so proud of Kevin for his decision to be baptized and we thank the Lord for the work that He is doing in Kevin's heart.

Kevin being introduced to the church

Amado is also 12 years old. He is our little philosopher and has loved to read and study the Bible for a long time. He is one of our best-behaved children in the home and really does have a desire to serve the Lord. He was extremely nervous before going up for his baptism, and we were so proud that despite his nerves, he was baptized and even spoke into the microphone beforehand!

Amado overcoming his nerves to speak before his baptism

The boys were announced as Arnaldo and Ramona's children, and it was precious to see the way that the house parents really do feel that God has given them the 10 children in the house to love and disciple. I couldn't stop the tears of joy that I shed when watching these two young men publicly display their commitment to the Lord. We know that the Lord has great plans for their future, and we can't wait to see all that the Lord will do in them as they continue to grow and mature. Thank you for your prayers for these children! Each of you that prays and supports our ministry plays a part in every victory in our children's lives. Blessings to you!

Ramona, Ricardo (the house parent's biological son), Kevin, Arnaldo, and Amado

Overwhelmingly blessed

Today was our celebration for the very important "Day of the Child" holiday. At the children's home we hosted children from our school and the surrounding community for a giant party honoring children. The Lord blessed us with a day that was absolutely gorgeous, complete with moderate temperatures and a beautiful blue sky.

In preparation for the event, we had so many people volunteer to help that by the week prior to the event, there was nothing left for Shaun and I to do. Our house mom from House 2 and some of the children decorated the basketball court beautifully with balloons. Our church family volunteered to take care of the activities and the young people that teach our children in their Bible program on Saturday set up several exciting games for the kids.

The grocery store that is already donating meals to the school to feed 100 children five times a week also wanted to help. They reassured me that there would be enough food for everyone, but I was shocked when I saw the quantity of the delicious food that they brought. There was enough food for an army, and parents and children were able to take part in the meal. The cakes were delicious and there were cookies and candy filling everyone's hands.

The bouncy castle and slide were also a gift from our wonderful grocery store friends at Super Alegria! The teachers from our school and some special guests put on a wonderful program for the kids, focusing on God's love and care for the children, and on His ability to "clean" our hearts.

I can not express how overwhelming it is to watch how the Lord has brought together a team of precious Paraguayans that love our children and want to serve them. I know that the doors that are being opened in the community within the hearts of the moms and dads that were present today will result in a wonderful harvest of souls for the glory of our Lord. This was the first Day of the Child event done in the home that involved all the children from the school, and even other families from the community that participate in our weekly Bible school. The parents enjoyed the entire event and were so appreciative that we had planned something so wonderful and included their families.

This past weekend, Richard Baker, from Children of the World ministries visited our home. Our children's home has recently been accepted as an associated orphanage with this international foundation. We are excited about our partnership with them, and were humbled to hear about the status of orphans around the world in other continents. Our children took time to pray for the ministries of Children of the World as they have a heart to pray for children still on the streets and in situations of abuse. Our children are learning not only to receive the blessings that they have been given, but to use what they have to bless others. We hope to instill in each of them a servants' heart and to encourage the passion they have to help other children in situations like the ones they have come from.

Shaun and I want to say "thank you" to you, our American family, that prays and supports the work here in Paraguay. We also want to publicly thank our Paraguayan family for their support and hard work today! Together, the international body of Christ will bear the burden of the "least of these" around the world and our Lord will be glorified in every nation and tongue! Blessings to all!

Winter Vacation!

As many of you know, summertime in the states means wintertime here in Paraguay. We have been having a wonderful winter here in Hogar GANAR.

Special youth outing to the Expo (Paraguay's annual national fair)

complete with new sunglasses!

In May, we had a team of three interns from the Lee University Intercultural Studies Program join us for a ten-week internship. They returned to the states this month and were a blessing for our children's home during their stay. They did some of the less-glamorous but much-needed work projects of scraping paint and clearing our garden space and led Bible school on the weekends with our children from the home and many children from the school and community. They taught English to young people and adults from the community and taught our children in the home several dramas and dances. They ate meals in the houses with the children and really became a part of the Hogar GANAR family during their stay. They each stretched themselves out of their comfort zone to communicate with and love on the kids and staff in our home. We want to say "Thank you" to Audra, Erica, and Letitia for your time and efforts during your missions internship!

Letitia cheering on the green team in our school's winter field day competition.

Erica getting ready to begin her English class.

Audra teaching the youngest children during the Saturday Bible class.

We also had the visit of a team from Mufreesboro, TN during July. The team included Dana William's (our school's missionary English teacher) brother and sister and three other young people from their church. They did a variety of painting projects, including completely painting our school auditorium, which is now beautiful! They also held a special VBS program for our children in the home during their two-week winter vacation, with daily lessons and some amazing crafts. Their church, The Carpenter's House, rallied together to send a new pair of tennis shoes to every child in the home! This was a wonderful blessing for us and for every child! Thank you, Austin, Ryan, Tarah, Angie, and Ashley!

Tarah, passing out new tennis shoes to Lysandry.

As our two teams overlapped, we took advantage of their visits to take the children to the Zoo. It was great to have so many adults to help keep an eye on all our little ones and we had a wonderful day. It was unseasonably warm and the weather was beautiful! We had a picnic, Pizza Hut lunch in the shade of the trees inside the zoo. There was literally a monkey hanging in the tree over us while we were eating!

A combination of teams serving pizza to the children on our zoo outing.

We have had a full and busy winter! We are so grateful to the two teams that came and donated their time to touch the lives of the children in our homes. Also, a special thanks to Camille and Caroline Hagerman, our resident missionary kids and translators for these mission teams! If you or your church are interested in coming to Paraguay on a mission team or for an internship, please contact us at servingparaguay@gmail.com. To see more pictures of our children in the school and homes and our wintertime events, please visit our Facebook Page or our website.

In front of the Natural History Museum at the Asuncion zoo.

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