On the Move

Just wanted to share the good news that the judge signed the paper we needed yesterday and we will be heading to Asuncion today to obtain Esther Anahi's birth certificate and passport.  It was very interesting how the whole situation played out.  I decided I had to speak with her personally, so I dressed up Anahi in her cutest outfit and I drove one hour to her office.  My heart was pounding so hard as I walked right upstairs to her office.  I felt like Queen Esther before the King without prior consent.  I asked the judge's secretary if I could show her Anahi.  This judge cared for our daughter for a few nights after she was brought in by the police for transfer to Asuncion.  She also was the one who named her.

When I went to the office, our lawyer told me that she might not even see us.  However, Anahi just kinda walked into her office.  When she saw how beautiful Anahi was she began to cry.  We talked for a few minutes and Anahi gave her a big hug and kiss.  It helps to have an affectionate child!!  I breathed deep and explained that I needed the judge to help us make a correction on the adoption resolution so we could proceed with Anahi's documents.  She said she'd work on it that very minute!  Whoa, that was a God thing, so amazing.

We're SO grateful for your prayers and while we're still not out of the woods, we are no longer "stuck" in the paper chase.  Our hope is that we can come home with Anahi's passport and maybe even her visa.

In one month, Lord willing, we'll be on U.S. soil eating Wendy's frosties, Mexican wet burritos and cherry cheese cake.  Well, maybe not all at once!  Keep the prayers coming' friends.  We need them.

Miracle Baby

Have you read this story of the baby alive in the morgue in northeast Argentina?  It's an absolute miracle!  While it didn't happen here in Paraguay, it was pretty close. 

Happy Easter from Paraguay!

After having our power off Thursday, Friday, part of Saturday and part of this morning, we have had a VERY quiet Holy Week!!

Here are some pics we took right before the service...thanks to our wonderful photographer Nila.  There were many people at church last night and we believe the Holy Spirit was stirring hearts.

It rained again this morning and after the rain let up, we were able to hide some Easter eggs for the children this afternoon to enjoy an American tradition.

 

The eggs are typically Paraguayan and they are beautiful.  You use a real egg shell and splatter paint it.  Then hollow it out and put in a sugary peanut mixture.  After it's full, cut out a piece of tissue paper and adhere it to the egg using egg white as a glue. 

 

  The eggs and family time are fun, but we are grateful that we celebrate the true significance of Easter, RISEN KING today and on every day of the year!

Tropical Storms: the Good and the Bad

On Thursday we had a fierce tropical storm.  We thought the winds were hurricane speed and they took down two trees in our yard.

We were out of power for ten hour on Thursday and all day on Friday.  I guess it's kinda fitting to be in silence on Good Friday!

There are some positive things to storms.  One, we got some much-needed rain.  Two, we got to rest.  Three, we took advantage of the fierce winds and picked up a wheelbarrow of avocados that had fallen from our trees!  We'll be sharing with the whole neighborhood and making lots of guacamole!

 

  We also got a bunch of fallen banana bunches.

Norberto will be preaching tonight on the Good Shepherd at church.  So, keep him in your prayers.

We wish you a very Blessed Easter!!

The Nut Shelling Process

 These past two weeks the students have been working hard to fill an order for 220 lbs of shelled peanuts for our large cooperative.  The extra value of a shelled peanut is worth twice as much as an unshelled nut.  At Easter time, people make a sugary peanut mix and fill eggs with it.  (I will try and get a picture of them for you).  So, this is definitely the time to sell peanuts!

Here is one of the students carrying a 40 lb bag of peanuts from dry storage to the nut sheller.

 The students are grinding the peanuts in our Universal Nut Sheller.

Here they are separating the peanuts from their shells.

This is another way of separating the fine shell from the peanuts, with a fan! 

This is a very exciting and busy time for our students.  It is giving them a real glimpse at running a micro-enterprise and it is giving them a challenge to reach.  We are grateful for everyone who helped us purchase the nut sheller.

Once we get the peanuts shelled, stay tuned for the elaboration of some yummy peanut products!

We are Grafted In

We are currently preaching a series on the "I Am" statements of Jesus.  This weekend I'll be talking about "I am the True Vine."

John 15 is one of my all-time favorite Bible passages.  I love grapes and I can just visualize a bountiful grape vine just bent over with the weight of huge, luscious grapes.  My mouth is watering for those juicy morsels right now!

What is more difficult to grasp is the idea of pruning the grape branches.  Yet, if you know anything about gardening, you know that in the winter time pruning has to be done in order for an abundant crop come harvest time. 

The most powerful image I think this passage portrays is the concept of a young branch being grafted into its source.  Jesus took lifeless branches and grafted us in as His children so we could produce fruit in abundance.  We have absolutely no life outside of Him and can do nothing when we're separated from Him.  I believe remaining in Christ means being tied so tightly to Him, that no storm, no wild animal, nothing can pull me loose from what sustains me.  His DNA is in me and I should bear the kind of fruit that He desires from me.   

So, the question bears asking first to myself and then to church, "Are we connected to the TRUE vine (vs. the ones that don't give life)? and if so, what kind of pruning needs to happen so we will bear an abundance of fruit?

Travels and Setbacks

This weekend we traveled to Asuncion to obtain Anahi's new birth certificate.  Our hope was to start the passport process with her birth certificate, but nothing went according to plan.

We were told there was an error with the adoption resolution.  Because ONE word was written wrong, we have to go back to the judge in Encarnacion and have a new resolution issued.  We were so discouraged and frustrated about this mistake. 

Now, we have to travel again to Asuncion this week and try to resolve this issue, before we travel in about six weeks.  Please pray that we can get this resolved and get Anahi's passport (it usually takes a month to process passports) and get her visa all in time for our May 14 flight.

To top it off, it rained like cats and dogs.  When it's like this, we have to roll up our pants to our knees and take off our socks and shoes to cross the street.  This is what the streets in Asuncion is like when it rains:

At least the kids were such troopers on the long trip and having their big smiles helped us jump from office to office a little faster! 

Oh God, grant us mercy!