Spiritual Retreat Conference

This past week I was at the SIM Spiritual Life Conference in the wilds beyond the town of Paraguari.  It was great gathering together everybody as well as teachers from the United States.  It was 4 days in mid-winter in a collection of little huts that had no heating.  It was, in the freezing conditions in the woods, what Calvin's dad from Calvin and Hobbes would have labelled 'character building.' We had great teaching from from the life of Saul's son Jonathan and his belief in God despite overwhelming odds whereby he and his shield-bearer scaled a hill to attack the Philistine army by themselves as Jonathan's father Saul worried...

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Paraguay's Forgotten Railway

As you drive through Asuncion you sometimes cross all railway crossings and there's an old station near downtown where old trains and carriages litter the side of the road.  Heading out of the city to the southeast you frequently pass solitary station buildings which sit in once-thriving villages but what now seem like little ghost towns.  Paraguay used to have a great railway system with the kinds of early 1900's steam trains people these days love to see due to their rarity, however the railway was shut down several years ago. In the typical lack of foresight, most of the train tracks were pulled up, and engines left to corrode where...

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Children's Centre

Last week I was able to join some of the Stout family as they helped out at an Asuncion children's centre for kids from a low-income area where parent(s) work most the day and can't provide enough time at home to look after their little ones.  It was really awesome!  The band of children were so sweet.  They sang, listened to stories, did crafts, ran around like mad things, and had a good day.  There's just so many ways to get involved in community projects here, and it was such a delight to see this one. Here's a couple of pictures from the day: ...

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River Audio Bible Distribution (prayer request)

For a few months I have mentioned the 14-day Audio Bible distribution to be done up a major river to the North to reach some of the remote communities (inaccessible by car).  I was very excited at the prospect of being able to film the American Bible college team and others doing this amazing work of bringing the Good News of Jesus to the ears of people who maybe had no access prior to God's Word (and certainly nothing in the native Guarani language to listen to for those who can't read). It was set to happen this month, but for several reasons including crew overlap, and boat rental problems, it has had to have been postponed for several...

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