And They're Off

It’s been a while since I’ve updated the pages here. Some of you have been asking how we’ve been doing and what we’ve been doing.

How Are We?

Transitioning into a culture is a bigger task than I ever imagined. In Costa Rica we transitioned quite smoothly. Partly because the school has been transitioning students into the Costa Rican culture for decades, the culture was not as different as what we knew in the States, and the fact that our reality now in Paraguay is that this is our home. That last reason I believe is the greatest challenge. Last year we knew that Costa Rica was not our final destination. We knew that we would be returing to what we accepted as normal, even if it was only for a week or two. But now, there is a sense of permanence here in Paraguay. This is it. No more retreating to our
comfort zone. It is true that this is what we’ve been working towards for many years (10). And it is true that this is where we want to be and know we should be. But we can’t deny the sense of losing our comfort zone from our own culture now that we have accepted the reality of our new situation. So pray for us as we grieve the loss of our culture and begin the exciting process of discovering the richness of our new culture.

What have we been doing?

We are still in the process of making our home a home. Karen has set Christmas as the date of our being settled. We are still waiting on some funds that our wonderful and generous supporters have sent us from the States. With those funds we still need to purchase: Kitchen tables and chairs, Dryer (although this will only be utilized for a few months out of the year), Silverware and flatware, various smaller kitchen appliances, couch for our family room, end tables, lamps, a bed for our guestroom so that you all can visit, a lawn mower, extra chairs to be used for ministry within the home, and many other odds and ends. The making of a home has been a major time consumer.

We spent the first month of Sunday’s visiting the various Alliance churches in the greater Asucnion area. Just within the past couple of weeks we’ve been able to make a stronger connection with the church in which we will be ministering. Karen and I have had several ministry meetings with the pastoral couple (Daniel and Eunice) who have been at the church for several years. We are learning the history of the church and working at extracting the mission (understanding of What we do), values (understanding of How we do the mission), and vision (understanding of Where we want to go) of the church. Pray for us that the Lord lead us in this process as it will define WHO we are now and WHO we will be in the future.

Karen has begun connecting with the ladies and young women in the church. She is encouraged by the openess and desire the women have to minister to their community. Pray that the Lord enable Karen to come along side these women and help them achieve their ministry goals. Especially be praying for an upcoming event that the women desire to have prior to the end of the year. They would like to have a couple craft nights that would also include a time of ministry to the women involved. (For you Gainesville women, it sounds a lot like Lydia’s Corner. However, Karen did not make the suggestions for this ministry. So, it seems God was preparing Karen for such a time as this, huh?) Also Karen is cultivating an idea of a monthly get together for the young women of the church to be held in our home. I’ll share more about that as it is developed.

I’ve been busy building the relationship with Pastor Daniel duirng the past couple of weeks. I truly believe that God has placed us together for a marvelous purpose and that our time in ministry together will be powerful. Pray that we are able to encourage one another and the church we have been called to serve. He’s been working solo for several years and has been longing for someone to come along side of him. Pray that God would use me to encourage and strengthen this dear brother’s heart. And pray for the success of ministry in our area of Asuncion.

I’ve added several pictures of the neighborhood in which our church is located. I’ve been walking through and praying for this neighborhood a couple times a week. I’ve been encouraged by what I’ve seen and by the people that I’ve met. As you can see from the pictures there are many opportunities to minister in the lives of people as there are many apartment buildings. Our church is located in between two very different nighborhoods: one is upper-middle class and the other is more lower class. Again, pray that the Lord guide us as we pray, dream and strategize about the future of the Asuncion church.

Thanks to all who are praying for us. I hope to keep you updated more as I’m supposed to receive internet in the home within 7 days.

It’s a GIRL!

God continues to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think. He once again has given me the desire of my heart. We are happy to report that the second and final baby (so Karen tells me) is a girl.

The doctor confirmed that the baby is very healthy. As you can see by the chart the baby falls exactly in the middle of the norm for the 25 week. Please continue to pray along with us as baby and mother progress during the pregnancy. The due date is January 13th.

Many of you are probably wondering what we have been doing since coming to Paraguay. The first month has been filled with the necessary tasks of transitioning to a new culture and ministry. We’ve been working on our Visas. Once we obtain these we will be able to minister in Paraguay for three years without having to leave the country. We’ve searched, found and been making ready our new home. We’ve researched, searched, found and purchased our new vehicle. We’ve visited the various Alliance churches in our area (six so far, one more to visit). We’ve met and started to build a relationship with the pastoral couple at the church we will be working with in Asuncion.

This coming week we will continue fixing up the house and we will be adding some new responsibilities to our weekly routine. For example, Monday we are hiring a person to help with the work around the house. Her name is Hilda. She is a Christian young lady. This will free Karen and I up so that we can invest more time in ministry and it will also be a great help to Hilda as she has not been able to attend church due to her past work schedule. And, the cost for a maid is very low when compared to the wage you would pay in the states. Wednesday we begin our Spanish classes. We will attend two-hour classes on Monday and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 12 noon. Thursday I (J) will be meeting with Daniel Paredes for our first official ministry meeting. We will be sharing our desires and dreams for the ministry at the Asuncion Alliance Church. Friday Karen is having the pastor’s wife (Eunice) and a younger woman from our church over for lunch.

Along with all of our new responsibilities I would like to mention that it is also Karen’s birthday on Wednesday (October 4th). So, if you would like to encourage my helpmate you could always drop her an e-mail at thespurlings@yahoo.com

Thanks for your continued interest, encouragement and prayer towards our ministry.

Ciao for now.