Paraguay, Day 5 (Wednesday)

Today we continued work on the church office and painting. The painting crew, Lenny, Lori, Aaron, and Kelly from Redding, finished the major painting of the auditorium. That was quite a feat. The room probably measures 75 ft long by 60 feet wide, and is 2 stories high, with a balcony. It looks much nicer now.

As soon as they finished in the auditorium, they tackled a 4-story metal staircase which leads to the classrooms, apartments, and storage areas. The first job is to sand the metal railing and stairs, then apply a rust converter which will convert the rust to a stable state. Tomorrow, they begin painting the staircase. It's hard, intricate, and messy. Pray for strength and safety for them.

David and I worked with Bob and finished the stud work in the new office. We are building it in the back of the auditorium, just on the left as you come in the door. We have bent a lot of nails, broken a lot of drill bits, and had quite a challenge with the beautiful hard wood, but it's done. We installed fiberglass insulation for soundproofing (yes, I itch!), and tomorrow we should begin the process of nailing on the tongue-and-groove pine walls. Please pray for that process; the pine is soft, but the studs we are nailing into is very hard, and every time a nail bends, that will damage the pine. We want to leave our Paraguayan brothers and sisters with a nice-looking facility!

This afternoon we have some time to rest and email (and blog), and then tonight we are all speaking at various cell groups. Once again, we covet your prayers. Since this week is Noche de Amigos at the cell groups, everyone is encouraged to bring their unsaved friends to hear the gringos speak. That means that in this very eclectic spiritual place, we are blessed to be able to share the love of God with people who know Christ, and with people who have no hope, and with people who are slaves to demons, and with people who are caught up in their own sinful lifestyles. The blood of Jesus Christ covers all of that, and we have the freedom and power that these people need. When we were preparing for this trip, we had to receive shots to protect us from hepatitis, yellow fever, and typhoid fever, among others. It's a good feeling to know we are safe from those. It's an even better feeling to know we are immune to the spiritual slavery and oppression that many around us are experiencing, and that we have the antidote for those poisons--Jesus Christ.

What joy it brings us to share the good news. Being in this place, and hearing the stories of many people who have had life-changing experiences with Jesus Christ, has helped me to see just how good the news is that we share. To see the joy on the sweet faces of other Christians here, and to celebrate with them, is to experience the good news first hand.

Thanks for your prayers and support. We value it highly. You who are praying for us are a part of what God is doing in Paraguay.


Please also remember to pray for Dennis Way and the team that is in Romania. They have arrived safely, but are missing a couple of bags, and had a difficult time getting through customs. They will be preparing for the rest of the team to arrive at the beginning of July, where they will be doing day camps for the kids.