Need Your Prayers, Folks

Yesterday we got some bad news. It's not life or death news, but it is corruption and it affects us. The couple that bought our Surburban is paying in payments, which is very common here. They gave us checks with different dates to cash in each month. When the car dealer where we sold our truck went to cash in the check, the couple had closed their checking account. They are not answering their phone or their door. They haven't actually paid anything for our truck yet, and it's been over a month! We found out that the car dealer forwarded us the money that they would have paid us. We feel like we will have to get the police involved to escort us to their home to retrieve our vehicle.

The worst part for us is that we did our homework. We prayed about this sale, we did a criminal and credit background check on the buyers, they are "supposedly" believers in the faith, people that we should be able to trust, and the car dealer vouched for them saying that they are paying for two other trucks from his lot. We feel so bad for the dealer because in 15 years in the car business, this has never happened to him. At least our truck is still parked in their driveway. His trucks are no where to be found.

Will you pray with us that we can retrieve our truck peacefully and that we can have the opportunity to talk with them and show them forgiveness.

Family Love

While we were in the U.S. this summer, one of our talented college friends, Cliff Ritchey, who's an amazing photographer, took these shots of our family, free of charge! The cool thing is that we were needing a new family picture and God took care of the details. Here are some of our favorites:


Not only are we thankful for our family of three, we are so thankful to be a part of a great family that takes care of us!

Spring is Here!

Today is the first day of spring in Paraguay! It is also "Dia de la Juventud" or Youth Day. All over the country, schools are celebrating youth with sports competitions, festivals and parades. It is a time when the doves are building their nests (on the rafters of our house) and animals are mating...flowers are blooming... gardens are being planted... and trees are beginning to bud.

It is a season of hope of new things to come for Paraguay! Thanks for your continued prayers for this new season in our ministry . May we plant seeds of hope and love into the lives of those around us!

Fun with Chicken

We're embarking on a fun, educational and practical experiment! We'll soon be starting a chicken project here to help our neighbors with some income through raising chicken and selling eggs. Since Norberto is an expert** chicken farmer having raised up to 150 chickens at a time, we decided we needed to start training our son in the art of chicken raising. We bought 10 chicks and we're going to raise them free range to sell just in time for Christmas dinner. Before the end of the year, we'll be making some chicken coops and buying a corn grinder to help get our families started with their own chickens.

Here's how our first lesson went:

Timmy: What are we going to do with the chicks?

Mommy: We're going to raise them and them eat them.

Timmy: pause. We're NOT going to eat them.

Mommy: Well, if we don't eat them, then we'll give them to our neighbors to eat.

Timmy. I'm not going to eat my chicken. I want to name them Lola (there is a book Timmy has of a chicken named Lola that runs away from her farm)!

Looks like we still need a few more lessons!
**When Norberto was young, he had a pet chicken named "Pepito." He was so tame, he'd ride on the handlebars of Norb's bike as he went through town! I have a feeling our son will be following in his dad's footsteps.

Softball Tournament Raises Support for Paraguay

On Labor Day weekend in beautiful Roanoke, Virginia for the past 32 years, the Interstate Softball Tournament "Rally in the Valley" plays ball and raises funds and awareness for missions in Paraguay. Their slogan is so fitting, "Softball For A Reason." This year 36 teams came together to have fun, share Christ and support God's work in South America. A huge GRACIAS to all the teams, the speakers and worship leaders, and our lifelong friends, the Briscoes, for organizing this life-changing event each year! So much of what happens here is because of your love and support!

This article about the tournament was written by a participant and printed in the Bluegrass State newspaper:

I want to take this opportunity to discuss the tournament's reason and let everyone know about a Labor Day event that can only be described as something special.

My first experience at the Interstate Softball Tournament was about seven years ago. I had heard the stories about the tournament and was told that it was unlike any other weekend softball tournament, but that failed to register until I witnessed the event first-hand. Now, the Rally in the Valley is something I start looking forward to the Monday after the tournament ends.

I talked to tournament director Chad Briscoe Saturday night about the event and how it is being used to literally bring hope to people that have little-to-nothing else. Briscoe, who serves as the Director of Athletics at Grace College (IN), was more-than-happy to share with me the story of the Interstate Softball Tournament.

"Mom and Dad started the tournament in 1979 and we are now in our thirty-second year," stated Briscoe.

He continued, "We basically raise money for mission work in Paraguay. About the time the tournament started, my mother's roommate in college and her husband were starting a Christian school in Paraguay. The decision was made to put the money raised towards that cause."

Twila Briscoe, Chad's mother, was a roommate at Anderson University with Tabitha Meier Kurrle. The Kurrles, Tabitha and Martin, were instrumental in building the Alfa-Omega School in Raul Pena, Paraguay. In addition to raising funds for the school, the event has led to several other ground-breaking projects in Paraguay.

"We now support ten different pastors in ten churches in Paraguay. We have also built the first ever Christian radio station in the country and it can be heard through Paraguay and parts of Argentina," Briscoe added.

I asked Briscoe to estimate how much money has been raised for Paraguay during the Interstate Softball softball tournament and he happily stated, "we have raised approximately a quarter-of-a-million dollars."

The event has grown from ten teams in 1980 to an average of 24-65 teams annually since 1984.

On Saturday night during the weekend, there is a church service that is attended by all players, coaches and others. It is often termed the "Ball Players Worship Service." The service is always powerful and highlighted by a tremendous speaker. Some speakers that have attended the service in the past include Ed Lenzer, Steve Burch, Doug Talley, Mitchell Burch, Dean Schield, Jeff Frymire, Rolland Daniels, Gary Ausbun, Ron Patty, Tom Planck, Denny Huebner, Bill Ellis, Sid Bream, Ted Power and Frank Tanana. The 1999 service had a record attendance of 3,500.

Although the tournament is often termed a Church of God tournament, Briscoe said it is important to add that any church is invited to participate. Also, anyone that feels compelled to support the tournament can simply send a check or monetary donation to the address listed below. Another way to contribute is to find a local church that is participating in the event and help support that church in their efforts to raise money.

I can honestly say that words cannot describe the Interstate Softball Tournament accurately enough. It is an annual experience that I cherish and one that accurately matches the slogan: "softball for a reason."

For more information or to make a donation:

Chad Briscoe (Tournament Director)
Interstate Tournament
PO Box 7851
Roanoke, VA 24019

http://www.interstatesoftball.com

Cash for Clunkers? Nah!

When we dedicated our 1988 Suburban “Blue Cruiser” to the Lord’s service in 2002, we had no idea that we would transport literally hundreds of people to youth and pastors retreats, we would journey through 15 counties, visit countless families and even save the life of a baby by driving a pregnant mother to the hospital to have an emergency c-section when there were no ambulances to be found.

Most cars depreciate in value. However, God’s economy isn’t the same as the world’s. We sold our car for $2300 more than we bought it for seven years ago and with 100,000 more miles! We are learning that what we dedicate to the Lord continues to multiply in longevity, in quality and in value. If you want an excellent ROI, even better than what you’ll find in the stock market, invest what you have in God’s service and you won’t need a "cash for clunkers" program!
Here's a photo of our new ministry mobile, A 99 Toyota station wagon. Since we like to name our vehicles, we're taking suggestions. Any ideas???

Planting Time

This is the third year we are running the community garden to help our unemployed neighbors feed their families. We borrow an acre of land and help our neighbors grow for their families and sell the access to the local cooperative. Planting season is a family affair for us. This year Timmy helped us plant corn and yucca plant (by hand). He also helps us water our garden every day. Each year we glean more knowledge and have more fun during growing season. There's nothing like eating fresh, organic produce from your own garden. Today we made this pascualina, which is like a spinach quiche, picked today from our garden! Do you have a garden? What do you like to plant?

Fuerza Albirroja!

"Albirroja" is the nickname for the Paraguayan national soccer (fútbol) team. The players have all flown in from their international clubs (many play on European or other South American teams) for tonight's big fútbol game(Paraguay vs. Bolivia), one of the qualifying games for the 2010 World Cup. Right now Paraguay's in third place in their bracket, behind Chile and Brazil and only the top four teams qualify, so tonight's win is crucial.

The entire country goes crazy during World Cup games, and even in the qualifiers, people shut down businesses, school and consider it an unofficial holiday. You'll find Paraguayan paraphernalia on almost every street corner, people grilling steak and drinking beer all night long.

Norberto is preaching tonight at church, at the same time the game is playing unfortunately, so it will be very interesting to see if we'll see anyone besides a few old ladies in the pews!
**************************
Update: Paraguay won 1-0 and the church was full! It was a total win-win!