Well there is only one title that I can successfully give my prayer letter this month to accurately describe my past experiences.........INSPIRED!!
This last weekend I got the privilege to go to a town called Yuty (pronounced jutu) and visit some missionaries down there with my friend and roommate Melissa. It was the exact break that I needed from my work here in Villarrica to give me the last push to the end…. But before I get into all of that … here is EVERYTHING that you need to catch up with on my life.
I have spent the last month or two just in school … I was slightly discouraged by my work out here because I was not feeling as though I was really putting a lot of energy into being a teacher and I was not really seeing a place for ministry, and although I was REALLY needed in the school and there was no doubt in my mind that I was supposed to be here helping with that I have always been wanting a way to minister to the people since the beginning of my time here. I have just not been able to jump into ministry here with these kids the way that I would have liked....…but I have found my niche in working with one girl in particular. Her name is Karen, and she is turning 15 in the next few weeks. Karen lost her parents this last year and is now living with relatives whose kids go to CEI the school where I teach. Karen herself does not go to the school but they brought her to church and I met her there. Melissa and I have become quite close to her and we are excited to spend time with her practicing Spanish and getting to learn teenage life in Paraguay a little bit better.
We have also found a place in ministering to Bob and Carole our mentors and friends here in Villarrica. They are going through a very tough and stressful time as things with the church in Villarrica are facing some challenges and there is some serious reconciliation that needs to take place between the elders of the church including Bob himself before the church will be moving forward again. Also Carole is the director of the school and this is not an easy task as a woman in this country. She also has diabetes which gets worse with stress.
We all get together as a team once or twice a week for a meal so that they can connect with Melissa and me and get a chance to unwind. It is a great time for all and a great time of prayer for the 4 of us. Melissa and I try to show our appreciation to the two of them by cooking meals or taking Carol to get her toe nails painted as that is one of her favorite things to do when she goes into the city.
As for school we are in full swing in term three and beginning to wrap things up. This week I begin exams and they will run for the next 3 weeks to follow. I cannot believe how fast this term went by. It is difficult to get all my exams made up and ready to go. The kids are also having a hard time focusing as they can taste the end. To be honest Melissa and I are close the same way! Schools here are VERY different from back home, lots of children have undiagnosed learning disabilities and the rest have never been taught how to learn or behave in class. The level of order in a classroom is worse than anything that can be imagined… if it was not for God I am not sure how either of us would make it through! Praise him for my patience and understanding for I know they are not from me but completely from him.
This past weekend I was invited to go to Yuty with Melissa and visit Dan and Christy Riche. They are a missionary couple that lives in a town with one other SIM couple, the Cameron’s. Dan and Christy have two boys Samuel (8) and Nathan (10).
On Friday Melissa and I went to the bus terminal with our bags which have become routine for us as that is our only means of travel around the country. An hour later we were ushered into a hot sweaty bus and we were off down a dirt road that we had never been down before. As we were driving along on this four hour bus ride we were passing less and less people and it was very apparent that we were entering an extremely rural part of Paraguay, the most rural either of us had been before.
While we were riding the bus we were joking with one another about the bus breaking down as we had no cell phone service and no way to contact anyone, but that was not our main concern… we also realized that less and less people were speaking Spanish and more and more were communicating in Guarani, the native tongue of Paraguay. We decided jokingly that we could probably make it about 2 days on the side of the road walking and hopefully we would be able to find some way back to civilization or at least find someone to communicate with by then. Needless to say we arrived in Yuty with no problems and that is where the really exciting stuff began.
Dan and Christy are church planters in Yuty and on Saturday night Melissa and I were able to attend a bible study that Dan leads in one of the poorer areas of the town. We got to the small house and set up about 15 chairs and waited for people to arrive. It was a rainy day and we were not expecting many to come but almost all of the chairs were filled by the time the study started. I sat there listening to Dan draw on a small chalk board and talk about the outline of the study “what characteristics does a disciple of God have”. I was in awe by the answers that these people were giving.
As Dan was talking the women and the men of the study were engaging in a thoughtful conversation about their savior in their native tongue. The entire study was spoken in Guaraní and Christy translated for Melissa and me. As I was sitting there listening I couldn’t help but feel a strong sense of compassion, pride and love for these people. This was the heart of Paraguay. This was a missionary reaching the unreachable. I was reminded this weekend during that small bible study why I love missions and why I came out here in the first place. Missions for a short termer is about learning “how to be a missionary” and helping out the long term missionary where they can but Missions is about giving people like the ones in Yuty a chance to learn about God. It is about reaching the unreachable and showing them the most important thing that we as Christians have. And that is the love of Christ.
It was such a blessing to watch a man of God teach the thing he loves most (God’s word) to the people who deserve it the most (the unreached) and in return have them bring new unreached people to gain the same opportunity that they got by sharing the word of God. The experience was a definite highlight for me of my time in Paraguay and I will look back on this when I get home as a defining moment in my life. The day that I saw the bare bones of what missions truly is first hand. The day there was no English teaching involved, no food being handed out, just people sitting under a roof in the rain coming together for one common goal, to get to know Christ better. I imagine that this must have been what it was like for the apostles… when I was just them traveling for miles, not offering t-shirts or food or lessons in English but rather just the good news of the gospel.
On Sunday there was communion at Dan and Christy’s church and I was able to break bread with these people. I could not communicate with them at all, but I was able to share in and remember the body and blood of Christ that day, and for that there are no words necessary. We ended the service by praying, in multiple languages, English, Spanish, and Guarani. It was he perfect ending for the weekend to me. Just another reminder that god really does hear all our prayers…... in EVERY language.
PRAYERPlease pray for …
• Perseverance. I am close to the end and it is easy to loose focus
• Health here in Villarrica, bob and carol are really sick and I can’t afford to follow in their footsteps right now.
• My dog indy, she just got fixed and recovery is not going too well
PRAISE
Join with me in thanking God for…
• An amazing family back home who are so supportive.
• We caught the infection in Indy before it took her life
• Paraguay has a great director couple, who has taught me so much about the logistics of missions.
Verse to think about:Think about how epic this moment really was… How much would you give to have been there for this … what does this mean to you?
Luke 22: 19-20
19And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."
20And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Monday, September 7, 2009
Summer has Arrived in Villarica
Well it has been a while and to say the least quite a bit has changed since the last time I wrote! Sorry it has been so long, I have had a CRAZY month and a half. SO in the last month and a bit quite a few things have happened here are just some Highlights:
During the first three weeks of July it was winter Vacation at the school. It was only supposed to be two but due to the risk of swine flu the school was under quarantine and it lasted three weeks. I was fortunate to be able to travel during that time with Melissa! We went on a bus to Buenos Aires Argentina! The bus ride was 24 hours and extremely cramped but it was fun to stay in a hostel and spend time together outside of work. We saw so many cool things in the 3 days we were there including a giant catholic cemetery the size of 2 city blocks! They call the cemetery the city of the dead because all of the graves are above ground and extremely elaborate; it feels like you are walking through a city!!! We also got to take a train out from Buenos Aires to see the Tigre River which was extremely beautiful! I felt totally at home in Buenos Aires, it is described as the Europe of S. America and though I have never been to Europe I imagine it to look like that! Ha-ha. I also got to take a quick trip to Brazil where I got to see Iguaçu falls which I am convinced are the most beautiful falls in the world!
Also two other short termers have come and left. There names were Katie and Felicia. Katie was from New York and Felicia was originally from Germany but has lived in South Carolina since she was 10. It is amazing how quickly friends are made on the mission field! God placed just the right two girls here. I immediately felt like we had so much in common just because we were all from N. America. They were here for a little over 6 weeks and they were both able to speak Spanish before you came so they helped me and Melissa with our lower level kids, brining them up to speed. Also Felicia speaks German, so she was able to communicate with the Germans here in Villarrica. (There are quite a few German immigrants here.)The 4 of us including Melissa had such a great time working together and getting to know one another. Katie left two weeks ago now and Felicia left just the other day. I am really going to miss those two girls a lot.
As for regular life it is going well. I have gone back to school after vacation and classes continue to go well. I am building relationships with the kids and they continue to flourish… I have even been inviting the kids over to my house! What a blessing this house will be for my ministry with these kids. My 7th grade class is 15 girls and 3 boys so I had the girls over to bake cookies and they had a blast! I also invited my 8th grade class over for my birthday. We had cake and decorated balloons and watched a movie in English! It is great to see them comfortable speaking and understanding English all the time with me. We are also getting ready for exams that are coming up in the next couple of weeks… it is a little difficult because 6th and 7th grade are not catching on to some things as quick as I was expecting them to so we are falling a bit behind! For the most part, it is going super well and I thank God every day that things are running so smoothly.
Praise:
• Great Birthday with friends and Paraguayan family! (Melissa, Felicia, Katie, Bob, Carol, gr.8)
• School is back after swine flu!
• I am building a relationship with my language teacher
Prayer:
• Pray for the church here in Villarrica, that it continues to grow despite adversities it is faced with for being a growing evangelical church in a catholic society.
• English Night is coming up; I am in charge of a special number to perform with my classes such as a song, skit, poem etc. It is highly anticipated by the parents and I am struggling to come up with ideas! Date: Sept. 24,09
• Exams are coming up for my students; pray that they get adequate rest and review!
• My Spanish is a hit and miss these days… my mind is filling up and I need strength to continue the desire to learn.
During the first three weeks of July it was winter Vacation at the school. It was only supposed to be two but due to the risk of swine flu the school was under quarantine and it lasted three weeks. I was fortunate to be able to travel during that time with Melissa! We went on a bus to Buenos Aires Argentina! The bus ride was 24 hours and extremely cramped but it was fun to stay in a hostel and spend time together outside of work. We saw so many cool things in the 3 days we were there including a giant catholic cemetery the size of 2 city blocks! They call the cemetery the city of the dead because all of the graves are above ground and extremely elaborate; it feels like you are walking through a city!!! We also got to take a train out from Buenos Aires to see the Tigre River which was extremely beautiful! I felt totally at home in Buenos Aires, it is described as the Europe of S. America and though I have never been to Europe I imagine it to look like that! Ha-ha. I also got to take a quick trip to Brazil where I got to see Iguaçu falls which I am convinced are the most beautiful falls in the world!
Also two other short termers have come and left. There names were Katie and Felicia. Katie was from New York and Felicia was originally from Germany but has lived in South Carolina since she was 10. It is amazing how quickly friends are made on the mission field! God placed just the right two girls here. I immediately felt like we had so much in common just because we were all from N. America. They were here for a little over 6 weeks and they were both able to speak Spanish before you came so they helped me and Melissa with our lower level kids, brining them up to speed. Also Felicia speaks German, so she was able to communicate with the Germans here in Villarrica. (There are quite a few German immigrants here.)The 4 of us including Melissa had such a great time working together and getting to know one another. Katie left two weeks ago now and Felicia left just the other day. I am really going to miss those two girls a lot.
As for regular life it is going well. I have gone back to school after vacation and classes continue to go well. I am building relationships with the kids and they continue to flourish… I have even been inviting the kids over to my house! What a blessing this house will be for my ministry with these kids. My 7th grade class is 15 girls and 3 boys so I had the girls over to bake cookies and they had a blast! I also invited my 8th grade class over for my birthday. We had cake and decorated balloons and watched a movie in English! It is great to see them comfortable speaking and understanding English all the time with me. We are also getting ready for exams that are coming up in the next couple of weeks… it is a little difficult because 6th and 7th grade are not catching on to some things as quick as I was expecting them to so we are falling a bit behind! For the most part, it is going super well and I thank God every day that things are running so smoothly.
Praise:
• Great Birthday with friends and Paraguayan family! (Melissa, Felicia, Katie, Bob, Carol, gr.8)
• School is back after swine flu!
• I am building a relationship with my language teacher
Prayer:
• Pray for the church here in Villarrica, that it continues to grow despite adversities it is faced with for being a growing evangelical church in a catholic society.
• English Night is coming up; I am in charge of a special number to perform with my classes such as a song, skit, poem etc. It is highly anticipated by the parents and I am struggling to come up with ideas! Date: Sept. 24,09
• Exams are coming up for my students; pray that they get adequate rest and review!
• My Spanish is a hit and miss these days… my mind is filling up and I need strength to continue the desire to learn.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Another June Update.........with much PRAISE!!!
Well, can you imagine after not hearing from me in over a month you are going to get TWO update letters within just a few weeks of each other???
I would like to thank you all up front for your prayers at such a time that they were so desperately needed.
I feel like the last update that I sent out didn't fully give justice to the work that I am doing here... well maybe it did at the time ... but a lot has changed in a little bit of time!
=D
It turns out the the lack of effort that was being shown by the grade 8's was not only an isolated incidence in my English class but instead it was an overall attitude in their academic lives. The day after I wrote my letter the Director of the a school, Greg Stirling another missionary out here, interrupted my class and gave a stern talking to to the students!
Now I don't know how their attitude in their other classes is going but there has been a HUGE difference in their attitude in my class... come to think of it maybe God has just blessed me with a bit more patience! ........but I have decided to make this class my project!!
The general feeling of the teachers in this school is a sense of defeat with the grade 8's everyone has sort of given up on them and is sick of all the teen angst floating around them at ALL times.
Well I have some experience with similar types of kids at my Winnipeg job where I was working with at risk kids in the foster care system as as my years serving as Councellor at Bird River Bible Camp.
It is going over great I am happy to say I have found my place in this school community!! Praise the Lord!!
I have decided to begin supplementing my English class once a week with a class on leadership and character building.
I want these kids to have a sense of pride from being the oldest in the school... as well as help them to develop a strong sense of who they are in general as well as in Christ...... All any teenager ever wants anyways is a sense of belonging... come to think of it that is all anyone wants! ........ Well they are really beginning to open up to me. It is almost as if their attitudes towards me changed over night! they Talk to me now! Yesterday i asked them what they did on the weekends and the NOT ONLY ANSWERED>>>but they did it with smiles on their faces and with enthusiasm!!!
I know that doesn't sound like much but it is HUGE! I told the other teachers and they were amazed............ all of them said that they can't get them to answer ANY questions ... school OR life related!
Praise God... that was a HUGE BATTLE TO WIN!!!!
We now joke in class and they ask me all sorts of questions............ We are getting quite close and I LOVE IT! ............I now look forward to grade 8 English everyday!
Isn't that just like God.........He takes the things that we cannot do anything about no matter how much we try in our might strength and talents............and THEN ........He shows us His solution and it is always so much better than what we were working to achieve in our own strength!
I am also going to be moving out of the Ocompos house (the family I have been living with) in 2 weeks.........
I can't even believe that at the end of those two weeks I will have been living there for 6 WEEKS! My how that time flew by........... I am so blessed to have been put in a home where the people are SO down to earth... the money thing is not so crazy to me anymore ............ I am over the initial shock.......... God is my faithful DELIVERER!
I am so blessed that even though the family has enough money that we have never had to do without anything we needed.........they do not let it define them...........
Please pray for the truth to be revealed in this situation: 500 000 guaranis (money) was stolen from a locked closet in my room which is the equivalent of $100... I am not worried about the money so much as I am about the girl who stole it!... she will get fired!
Anyways in two weeks when I move I will be moving into a house with Melissa the other short term missionary who I initially met in Ethiopia while serving there ........so long ago........ and in that house I am going to start an English club / small group with the grade 8's and I am SO excited!
I am excited to watch them grow and mature over the next few months to come!
~Kristin
I would like to thank you all up front for your prayers at such a time that they were so desperately needed.
I feel like the last update that I sent out didn't fully give justice to the work that I am doing here... well maybe it did at the time ... but a lot has changed in a little bit of time!
=D
It turns out the the lack of effort that was being shown by the grade 8's was not only an isolated incidence in my English class but instead it was an overall attitude in their academic lives. The day after I wrote my letter the Director of the a school, Greg Stirling another missionary out here, interrupted my class and gave a stern talking to to the students!
Now I don't know how their attitude in their other classes is going but there has been a HUGE difference in their attitude in my class... come to think of it maybe God has just blessed me with a bit more patience! ........but I have decided to make this class my project!!
The general feeling of the teachers in this school is a sense of defeat with the grade 8's everyone has sort of given up on them and is sick of all the teen angst floating around them at ALL times.
Well I have some experience with similar types of kids at my Winnipeg job where I was working with at risk kids in the foster care system as as my years serving as Councellor at Bird River Bible Camp.
It is going over great I am happy to say I have found my place in this school community!! Praise the Lord!!
I have decided to begin supplementing my English class once a week with a class on leadership and character building.
I want these kids to have a sense of pride from being the oldest in the school... as well as help them to develop a strong sense of who they are in general as well as in Christ...... All any teenager ever wants anyways is a sense of belonging... come to think of it that is all anyone wants! ........ Well they are really beginning to open up to me. It is almost as if their attitudes towards me changed over night! they Talk to me now! Yesterday i asked them what they did on the weekends and the NOT ONLY ANSWERED>>>but they did it with smiles on their faces and with enthusiasm!!!
I know that doesn't sound like much but it is HUGE! I told the other teachers and they were amazed............ all of them said that they can't get them to answer ANY questions ... school OR life related!
Praise God... that was a HUGE BATTLE TO WIN!!!!
We now joke in class and they ask me all sorts of questions............ We are getting quite close and I LOVE IT! ............I now look forward to grade 8 English everyday!
Isn't that just like God.........He takes the things that we cannot do anything about no matter how much we try in our might strength and talents............and THEN ........He shows us His solution and it is always so much better than what we were working to achieve in our own strength!
I am also going to be moving out of the Ocompos house (the family I have been living with) in 2 weeks.........
I can't even believe that at the end of those two weeks I will have been living there for 6 WEEKS! My how that time flew by........... I am so blessed to have been put in a home where the people are SO down to earth... the money thing is not so crazy to me anymore ............ I am over the initial shock.......... God is my faithful DELIVERER!
I am so blessed that even though the family has enough money that we have never had to do without anything we needed.........they do not let it define them...........
Please pray for the truth to be revealed in this situation: 500 000 guaranis (money) was stolen from a locked closet in my room which is the equivalent of $100... I am not worried about the money so much as I am about the girl who stole it!... she will get fired!
Anyways in two weeks when I move I will be moving into a house with Melissa the other short term missionary who I initially met in Ethiopia while serving there ........so long ago........ and in that house I am going to start an English club / small group with the grade 8's and I am SO excited!
I am excited to watch them grow and mature over the next few months to come!
~Kristin
Hola mi familia y los amigos! Hello my family and friends!
Well I can’t even believe that it has been a month already and NO I did not drop of the face of the earth when I flew across the equator!! But to say the least there have been some serious ups and downs out here! Here is a little bit of an update to let you all know a little bit of what has been going on in my life…..
It has taken me a little while to get into routine out here but I finally have a little bit of stability. I had to move around like crazy in the beginning from missionary’s house to missionary’s house while I was looking for a place to stay but I have finally found one!
I am living with a wonderful family out here in Villarica! The Ocampo's have 3 children. Pauline 12, Cecilia 10 and Florencia 10. They are twins but they are DEFFINATELY not identical... in fact they are polar opposites! They also happen to have 8 dogs! 2 wiener dogs 3 puppies and 2 German Shepherds and one German shepherd puppy! The puppy is SO cute and her name is Hannah!( I am so honored that they allowed me to name this puppy!)
I am really fortunate to be living here as the family speaks relatively good English and they are really trying hard to help me with my Spanish! Pauline is a student of mine at CEI (the school where I work) and she is in 7th grade! She has the best English in the whole class but only because last year she was an exchange student in Illinois (a city close to Chicago) Also, Gloria (their mother) has been a huge help to me as she has really been showing me the ins and outs of life in Paraguay and has never once hesitated to include me. They are not a Christian family but rather extremely catholic and VERY religious... they are very well off so their role in the Catholic church has much more to do with status then with faith.
Pray for this family and for me to be a light and a witness while I am living here.
As for my job while I am here I am teaching English in an Elementary/ Jr. High and I teach grades 6,7 and 8.
I LOVE it so much but it is a challenge to say the least especially with the two older classes. In 7th grade class there are 14 girls and 3 boys and I can barely get the class quiet long enough to teach anything. In my grade 8 class I have 3 girls and 6 boys and they will never TALK... EVER! It is frustrating when you are trying to teach a LANGUAGE!
Thanks you all for your support and prayers in this adjustment time! ~Kristin
Paraguay Orientation:
My first month was a surprising challenge to me who by God’s design delights in serving others!
I am surrounded by such opulence that I was lulled into an apathetic state as to what my part in this mission was.
I am living with one of the wealthiest families in the city and many of my students are also very well off.
It was easy in Africa to see the needs and hopelessness of a nation and show those around me
the savior of all nations and share with them the Christ who has no borders.
I am living in such luxury I plead with you to pray for my clear direction from God in seeing what he wants me to do and how to show these people who seem to have everything that they have one need unmet ……...the need for Christ the Lord in their life!
Pray also that I will see clearly and avoid the deep waters that He has delivered me from………...
Prayer Requests
Please pray that my love for the Lord shines through my inadequacies in my teaching skills! :)
Pray for wisdom, knowledge and creativity of task within all of my teaching classes!
Pray for me to be a light and a witness to the Ocampo’s (the family I am living with) They have everything except Christ!
Pray for my part in what God wants to do through me within this community of extreme affluence!
Praise
Praising God for the safe arrival of my field support friend Melissa.
Many of you have been praying for this culture shock that took me by surprise …. And I am praising God for his deliverance in this situation!
My lifeline ……..
My Inspiration this Month
" He reached down from on high and took hold of me, he drew me out of deep waters"
Psalm 18 v16
It has taken me a little while to get into routine out here but I finally have a little bit of stability. I had to move around like crazy in the beginning from missionary’s house to missionary’s house while I was looking for a place to stay but I have finally found one!
I am living with a wonderful family out here in Villarica! The Ocampo's have 3 children. Pauline 12, Cecilia 10 and Florencia 10. They are twins but they are DEFFINATELY not identical... in fact they are polar opposites! They also happen to have 8 dogs! 2 wiener dogs 3 puppies and 2 German Shepherds and one German shepherd puppy! The puppy is SO cute and her name is Hannah!( I am so honored that they allowed me to name this puppy!)
I am really fortunate to be living here as the family speaks relatively good English and they are really trying hard to help me with my Spanish! Pauline is a student of mine at CEI (the school where I work) and she is in 7th grade! She has the best English in the whole class but only because last year she was an exchange student in Illinois (a city close to Chicago) Also, Gloria (their mother) has been a huge help to me as she has really been showing me the ins and outs of life in Paraguay and has never once hesitated to include me. They are not a Christian family but rather extremely catholic and VERY religious... they are very well off so their role in the Catholic church has much more to do with status then with faith.
Pray for this family and for me to be a light and a witness while I am living here.
As for my job while I am here I am teaching English in an Elementary/ Jr. High and I teach grades 6,7 and 8.
I LOVE it so much but it is a challenge to say the least especially with the two older classes. In 7th grade class there are 14 girls and 3 boys and I can barely get the class quiet long enough to teach anything. In my grade 8 class I have 3 girls and 6 boys and they will never TALK... EVER! It is frustrating when you are trying to teach a LANGUAGE!
Thanks you all for your support and prayers in this adjustment time! ~Kristin
Paraguay Orientation:
My first month was a surprising challenge to me who by God’s design delights in serving others!
I am surrounded by such opulence that I was lulled into an apathetic state as to what my part in this mission was.
I am living with one of the wealthiest families in the city and many of my students are also very well off.
It was easy in Africa to see the needs and hopelessness of a nation and show those around me
the savior of all nations and share with them the Christ who has no borders.
I am living in such luxury I plead with you to pray for my clear direction from God in seeing what he wants me to do and how to show these people who seem to have everything that they have one need unmet ……...the need for Christ the Lord in their life!
Pray also that I will see clearly and avoid the deep waters that He has delivered me from………...
Prayer Requests
Please pray that my love for the Lord shines through my inadequacies in my teaching skills! :)
Pray for wisdom, knowledge and creativity of task within all of my teaching classes!
Pray for me to be a light and a witness to the Ocampo’s (the family I am living with) They have everything except Christ!
Pray for my part in what God wants to do through me within this community of extreme affluence!
Praise
Praising God for the safe arrival of my field support friend Melissa.
Many of you have been praying for this culture shock that took me by surprise …. And I am praising God for his deliverance in this situation!
My lifeline ……..
My Inspiration this Month
" He reached down from on high and took hold of me, he drew me out of deep waters"
Psalm 18 v16
New Location, New Location, New Location
So just in case some of you are questioning the title of my letter and are realizing that it has changed it is because my location has changed also! I sent out a short update a few weeks ago just letting everyone know that I would now be going to Paraguay but in case you did not receive it for some reason I will give you a brief update.
I was really apprehensive about going to Ecuador and could not figure out why. The closer I got to my departure date the worse it was becoming. I wrestled with the concept for a few weeks before I decided to fully give it over to God. As soon as I did that I realized that I was going to Ecuador because of what I wanted and not necessarily because that was what God had planned for me. I had made a commitment to a friend of mine that I met in Africa as well as a commitment to God that we would obey His call on our lives and serve together in support of one another on the field where ever He was going to place us. My placement came quickly but hers did not and for this reason I made a call to SIM informing them of my decision to cancel my assignment in Ecuador and wait on God. This decision came not without tears and prayer as it had seemed perfect for me.
This began my change of placement. SIM found a placement for the two of us to serve together in a town of Villarica Paraguay where we will have the opportunity to teach English in a PreK-12 school as well as observe other ministries all under the mentorship of a great missionary couple that focuses on the mentorship of short termers as part of their ministry.
Yes, humbly I am still growing in Christ!
Villarica is located in the southern half of Paraguay. It is a university town with a population of about 50,000. The main language is Spanish which will be great as a personal goal of mine is to study Spanish in order to become fluent or at least conversational! Villarica is also considered the second most important cities culturally in all of Paraguay which will allow me to gain a better understanding of what true Paraguayan culture is!
There are many great ministry events God is doing through some wonderful people on this field and I am excited to embark on this adventure with your support!
Thanks so much for this opportunity! ~Kristin
I am scheduled to leave on May 10th providing my funds come in by the end of this month of April!
What will I be doing???
While in Paraguay I will have an opportunity to work at an English school for youth of all ages. The students range in age but from the information I have so far it looks like I will be working primarily with students in Jr. High and High school.
I will be teaching English to a number of classes for the time that I am down there. There are both Paraguayan English teachers as well teachers that are native English speakers but they try to get mostly native English teachers to work with older children as to further aid in their education.
The missionaries use this school as a way to get into the community. Many people send their children to learn English and though this development of relationships it allows for the gospel to be spread among these people.
I will also get the opportunity to witness other ministry opportunities in order to gather a better understanding of the field’s vision.
Prayer Requests
Please pray that my funding will come soon and I can fulfill my departure date!
That God will continue to prepare and grow me in both wisdom and knowledge and equip me for what I am about to do.
Grow my faith as this time I am finding it harder to leave the comforts of life as I know it here.
Praise
My budget dropped slightly as I require no Malaria meds (YAH!) while I am there and all but one shot was up to date! PTL!
God honored my request to serve with team support!
How can you tell it is getting CLOSE? The list is growing!
Monthly Inspiration
“The almost impossible thing,...to hand over your whole self—all your wishes and precautions—to Christ...Until you have given up your self to Him you will not have a real self.” C.S Lewis
“It is a safe thing to trust Him to fulfill the desire which he creates.”
Amy Carmichael
(1867-1951), Missionary in India
I was really apprehensive about going to Ecuador and could not figure out why. The closer I got to my departure date the worse it was becoming. I wrestled with the concept for a few weeks before I decided to fully give it over to God. As soon as I did that I realized that I was going to Ecuador because of what I wanted and not necessarily because that was what God had planned for me. I had made a commitment to a friend of mine that I met in Africa as well as a commitment to God that we would obey His call on our lives and serve together in support of one another on the field where ever He was going to place us. My placement came quickly but hers did not and for this reason I made a call to SIM informing them of my decision to cancel my assignment in Ecuador and wait on God. This decision came not without tears and prayer as it had seemed perfect for me.
This began my change of placement. SIM found a placement for the two of us to serve together in a town of Villarica Paraguay where we will have the opportunity to teach English in a PreK-12 school as well as observe other ministries all under the mentorship of a great missionary couple that focuses on the mentorship of short termers as part of their ministry.
Yes, humbly I am still growing in Christ!
Villarica is located in the southern half of Paraguay. It is a university town with a population of about 50,000. The main language is Spanish which will be great as a personal goal of mine is to study Spanish in order to become fluent or at least conversational! Villarica is also considered the second most important cities culturally in all of Paraguay which will allow me to gain a better understanding of what true Paraguayan culture is!
There are many great ministry events God is doing through some wonderful people on this field and I am excited to embark on this adventure with your support!
Thanks so much for this opportunity! ~Kristin
I am scheduled to leave on May 10th providing my funds come in by the end of this month of April!
What will I be doing???
While in Paraguay I will have an opportunity to work at an English school for youth of all ages. The students range in age but from the information I have so far it looks like I will be working primarily with students in Jr. High and High school.
I will be teaching English to a number of classes for the time that I am down there. There are both Paraguayan English teachers as well teachers that are native English speakers but they try to get mostly native English teachers to work with older children as to further aid in their education.
The missionaries use this school as a way to get into the community. Many people send their children to learn English and though this development of relationships it allows for the gospel to be spread among these people.
I will also get the opportunity to witness other ministry opportunities in order to gather a better understanding of the field’s vision.
Prayer Requests
Please pray that my funding will come soon and I can fulfill my departure date!
That God will continue to prepare and grow me in both wisdom and knowledge and equip me for what I am about to do.
Grow my faith as this time I am finding it harder to leave the comforts of life as I know it here.
Praise
My budget dropped slightly as I require no Malaria meds (YAH!) while I am there and all but one shot was up to date! PTL!
God honored my request to serve with team support!
How can you tell it is getting CLOSE? The list is growing!
Monthly Inspiration
“The almost impossible thing,...to hand over your whole self—all your wishes and precautions—to Christ...Until you have given up your self to Him you will not have a real self.” C.S Lewis
“It is a safe thing to trust Him to fulfill the desire which he creates.”
Amy Carmichael
(1867-1951), Missionary in India
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
