Harry Potter

Last night I finished the final book of the Harry Potter series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." J.K. Rowling ended the book with the phrase, "All was well." I trust all who read the books (especially the youth of this generation) will be able to say the same 19 years from now. My motivation for reading (actually I listened to the last book) the series was based on my desire of wanting to be informed when asked if the books were "O.K." to read. I won't tell you they weren't entertaining, because they were. However, how many things are entertaining (O.K.) but not beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me [Paul is talking], but not everything is beneficial" 1 Corinthians 6:12.

I grew up fascinated with stories like Peter Pan, Swiss Family Robinson, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Imagine as a pre-teen the magical feeling I experienced when I entered Disney World and realized I could enter the stories I had always dreamed about. Between the ages of 12 and 16 I enjoyed reading The Chronicles of Narnia, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I remember searching for more information about these books after I was done reading. I found The Silmarillion by Tolkien, but I found this to be borring. I found Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength as well as many other Lewis classics. The Lewis books always directed me to think about theological themes.

My point being, in my opinion it is necessary to be careful putting the Harry Potter books in the hands of young kids. Whereas Narnia and Middle Earth are mere fantasy, England (the setting of Harry Potter) is real. Aslan the talking Lion is completely fictional, and I've never met a hobbit. It's true that Harry, Ron and Hermoine are fictional as well, but they are adolescents experiencing real places and situations that are made to reflect a real-world philosophy (Witchcraft). In pure fantasy I'm not going to find a ring, a wardrobe, or a door that will magically whisk me away to another world. But in this real world I will find witches, spell books, wands, covens, etc. Not all those who read the Harry Potter books will begin searching for extra material and/or experiences to suplement the fantasy once it ends. But, I know I would have been curious. I was an average kid.

My advice (if you are interested): Know what your kids are reading. Make sure their minds are being filled with pure things. Read with your kids. Explain to them what is Good and Acceptable and Perfect according to God (Romans 12:2). When Jeffrey and Jasmine are older (teens), I'll probably read these books with them. But prior to that time we'll have read about Narnia, about Gandalf, and every Bible adventure possible.

Karen's Citizenship Process

Some good news (finally!): Karen's new passport arrived the other day. This means we can actually leave Asuncion for a few days during our vacation. We're heading out tomorrow for Iguazu Falls.

Many of you who have been praying continue to ask about the process of Karen's citizenship. First of all let me say THANK YOU for your partnering in ministry with us.

The Process:
Karen and I were married in August of 2000. Karen received her permanent residence status (Green Card) at this time. After the required period of time Karen applied for citizenship. Everything seemed to be running smoothly up until we were commissioned as missionaries. I say that to point out the spiritual dimension of this process.

While we were studying prelanguage acquisition at Wheaton College we received a letter from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) stating that Karen's failure to attend her fingerprint interview had been viewed as an abandonment of the citizenship process. We realized at this point that the government does not forward sensitive mail when the snow-bird parents are spending the Summer up north. We immediately changed our address to our home church in Florida and explained the situation to the government. Karen was back in the process.

Several months later, around Christmas time of 2005 while in Costa Rica we began wondering
why we hadn't heard from the INS. We made a phone call and found out that Karen once again was being told that she had "abandoned" the citizenship process. This time the government hadn't changed our address and sent the interview notice to the old address.

Let's take a pause from this process and bring you up-to-date on another coinciding situation. When we arrived in Costa Rica, Karen's purse was stolen... along with her Green Card. Added to our citizenship process we were also in process of getting Karen's Green Card replaced.

Back to the citizenship process: We convinced the INS that the problem this time was on their end. They agreed to reopen Karen's case. Keep in mind she still had not given fingerprints for the citizenship process.

During May of 2006 Karen returned to the States to have her fingerprints taken for her new Green Card. The INS gave Karen a temporary Green Card and assured her that the 6-month expiry date would be sufficient for them to replace her old one. Also at this time the INS told her they could not use the same fingerprints for her citizenship interview. She would have to return at another date for that appointment.

In August of 2006, after our language school study in Costa Rica, we came home for 12 days. During this time we tried to "push" along both the Green Card replacement and the Citizenship process to no avail. We were sent off to Paraguay with the understanding that Karen would not have U.S. permanent residency after 11/23 if she did not receive her new Green Card.

In the beginning of November Karen had to return to the States to extend her expiration date on her temporary Green Card. While in the States Karen was told by the INS that again she had "abandoned" the citizenship process. And again the INS had sent the interview information to the the incorrect address. Karen proved her innocence and the INS reopened up her case once again.

Finally we received a date for Karen's citizenship interview which would be held on June 2, 2007 (the INS sent this announcement to the correct address and had communicated that the fingerprints would not be necessary as they had obtained them elsewhere). Karen passed both the written and oral exam without problem. However, we received a notice that her application for naturalization had been denied. The reason stated was that she had disrupted her continuous residence requirement because of her time overseas. However, it was our understanding that since she was continuously employed by a US entity and was overseas as a direct result of that employment, legally she had not disrupted her continuous residency.

In the end the C&MA decided that it will be best to accept the denial and pursue citizenship in 2009 when we return home on furlough. This will probably mean we will be home on an extended furlough as the process does extend for more than one year.

This has been a long and difficult process that our family has endured. You might be able to imagine what it's been like to begin a missionary career, transitioning to another culture with this lingering situation. Or maybe imagine the stress that this situation has added to our family life. As can be expected we are very disappointed with the INS’s decision to deny Karen's application even though our family has shown ourselves to be loyal, law-abiding and productive members of society. But we have another citizenship that supercedes, "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Philippians 3:20). Yes, we are disappointed and even a little beleaguered for having experienced this. But no, we are not beaten nor discouraged to the point of giving up. If anything we understand this process better. I'm not talking about the process of governments. I'm talking about the process of fighting Satan with his firery darts. We now have a stronger resolve for serving God and His Kingdom.

We have been encouraged throughout from the support that we have received locally (Hope Bible Church, Springhill Florida), familial (Mom and Dad and their many changes of plans), nationally (David Kennedy, Esther Hsu and many others in Colorado), and spiritually (the body of Christ and their many prayers made on our behalf).

Thank You. We are TEAM.

When Given Fudge...

You've heard that when life gives you lemons you are to make lemonade. What about, "When given Fudge, make Hot Chocolate." I know, I know... fudge is definitely more palatable than lemons. But as my wife oftentimes tells me, "every analogy ultimately breaks down at some point." All this rambling to say, "It's cold here!" I feel as though I was misled. Everyone told me that Paraguay is one of the hottest spots on the planet. Which for me is O.K. as I like it hot. But alas, our first "winter" here we've been experiencing temperatures in the 40s and 50s (and sometimes during the night dipping into the high 30s). BRRRR. The houses here were not constructed for these temperatures. I grew up in upstate New York. So, I've experienced cold weather. I've experienced cold weather in the refuge of central heat. Today it is 73 outside. But, because of the brick construction it is 59 inside. So, how do we make hot chocolate from the fudge we've been handed?

1. Family pajama party. There have been several evenings over the past two and half months where we have all slept in the same room: Jasmine in her pack-n-play, Jeffrey on his mattress alongside of our bed, and mom and dad cuddling closer than the norm in their bed (I wonder if couples have less marital disagreements in colder climates for fear of losing thier cuddling companion?). Seriously, I've enjoyed those evenings when I can reach down and muss up Jeffrey's hair.
2. Yuletide carols being sung by a fire. Or, "DVDs being watched by a fire" (more accurate). Thank the Lord for the two fireplaces we have in the house. One is strategically located in our T.V. room. We all have utilized the space to play with toys, swing in the baby swing, read a book, and catch up on our favorite T.V. series (24 and American Idol).
   
   
3. Opera Season. We recently discovered the Paraguayan Opera. The Opera season which is usually the end of September to the beginning of April (at least in NYC) is currently taking place here. For our anniversary we enjoyed Il Trovatore (The Troubadour) at the Teatro Municipal. I was introduced to opera life by a former Australian Alliance Missionary to Indonesion (Jeff Bennett). Personally, the Opera always reminds me of colder weather and a reason to wear a scarf. We are looking forward to taking in Cascanueces (The Nutcracker) at the end of September, although technically this is a ballet.
4. Spiced Hot Chai. While in the States I was one of the masses taking part in the bougie* practice of a daily Venti Tazo® Chai Latte at Starbucks for $3.35. There are no Starbucks in Paraguay (How barbaric!). So, I've been perfecting my own Spiced Chai this winter. It's actually pretty good. Although I miss the velvety Starbuck creation with it's precisely balanced piquant essence, of which it's intensity lingers in your mouth, my attempts are satisfactory. But, enough of that.
   

* bougie: (adj.) Aspiring to be a higher class than one is. Derived from bourgeois - meaning middle/upper class, traditionally despised by communists.

I'm told in a month we will be back to experiencing the above 100 degree temperatures again. Everyone is quick to tell me that the winter here has been historically long with abnormally low temperatures. To confirm this I'll have to wait for the experience of next "winter". If it is true, it will be somewhat sad as I'm sure I won't be able to relive the memories of what we are now calling the "Blizzard" of 2007.

As always thanks for your love and support. We are TEAM.

A Letter to the President

Some of you have read the letter from our denomination's president, Gary M. Benedict, entitled Seeking and Pursuing Peace. After reading his words I quickly searched the Internet and found a New York Times article with the aforementioned letter.

I'll be honest, when I first read these two letters my thoughts weren't instantaneously clear. I had many thoughts that are probably commonplace. The two predominant thoughts were:

1. A peace treaty is not possible
2. Is it our place to commit ourselves on one side or the other in this political argument?

Oftentimes I've been confused as to what our responsibility is as followers of Christ in this particular situation. However, as I thought about what I would say to our President (Gary not George), a couple verses came to mind:

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God" (Matthew 5:9).

"But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace" (James 3:17-18).

With that in mind I say "Thank You Gary for representing us in the way that you did."

"But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men" Luke 6:35.

"For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God" Romans 8:14.

Thank You for Your Prayers

When God's people pray, God responds. Many of you have been keeping up with our ministry here in Parguay. You have been praying for our outreaches. Last night we had an outreach for "Children's Day." The people started arriving at 3:30 for our 4 o'clock program. By the time we concluded there were between 120-130 children under the age of 12 that came out and many more older youth and parents. I would guess that in all we had approximately 200 people at our church. Among the parents were two mothers who have been on the receiving end of our Thursday evening "Feed the Children" ministry. Although there has been contact with them for several years through their children, this was the first time that they came out to a church event. This is a huge PRAISE. Muchismas gracias por tus oraciones (Many thanks for your prayers).

Karen and I are beginning a two week vacation today, please pray:

• that we get rest
• that we have quality time with the kids and one another
• that Karen receives her new Trinidadian passport this week

Prayer requests for the ministry:

• that some of the parents of these children would start coming to church
• that our church would continue to be encouraged and unified
• that we would reach the goal of 100 regular attenders before January 2008

If you have hi-speed internet and would like to see a video follow this link:

Children's day video

As always, Thank You for your support.

Different Perspective

There is one young boy in my Sunday School class who has been a source of frustration. One Sunday he behaves great and then the following he is my biggest distraction. Last night I spoke to one of the adults in his family. I expressed my desire to help this boy and asked if there was anything specific that might be troubling him. I have a completely different attitude now that I have a different perspective.

This boy, who is only 11 years old, had to withdraw from school earlier this year because his mother became ill. He has been working in order to meet the needs of his family. I was told that his mother is much better now and has returned to work. The young boy will hopefully return to school in the upcoming year.

Wow! I had no idea. This took me by complete surprize. How many times do I prejudge someone without understanding their situation?

Pray that I would see this world through HIS eyes.

If we could see through His eyes
Then we could dare to love the way God loves
If we could see through His eyes
Then we would understand the way God understands
For His eyes see through the surface right down to our needs
Far beyond where we are to where we can be
If we could only see through His eyes

— 4 Him

Wednesday Prayer

Thank you for visiting the blog to retrieve our updated prayer requests. We will continue to try and have these request here for you every Tuesday or Wednesday.

• This Sunday we are going to have another outreach to the children and parents in the neighborhood around our church in honor of Children's Day. Please be in prayer for our preparation, for good weather, and for a good turn-out.
• Tomorrow evening Karen and I will be meeting with a husband and wife (both medical doctors) to discuss the possibility of holding a cell group in their home. Pray that the Lord would go before us and give us favor.
• Karen and I are meeting weekly with a couple that has been married for 26 years in order to counsel them in marriage. This is a new experience for us and at times we feel somewhat inadequate. Pray for the couple (Juan Carlos and Suny), for wisdom and our ability to model a marriage that glorifies God.
• This coming Monday we will be taking two weeks of vacation. Pray that we would be able to relax and spend quality time as a family.

As always THANK YOU for your prayers. We are TEAM!

Love,
J, Karen, Jeffrey, and Jasmine

We Are Missionaries!

Have you ever had a defining moment? A specific time when you realize that you are who you are? Karen and I just experienced that. We've prayed for years about being missioanaries, we've studied in Bible college, seminary, and language school to be missionaries, and many of you have played a part in sending us out as missionaries. We've just come to realize that We Are Missionaries.

Situation #1
Last night I received some visitors around 10 o'clock: Carlos, Alfredo, Josias, and Juan Manuel. Actually, Carlos arrived and told me the other three were sitting out on the sidewalk because they didn't want to bother us (smile). Once the five of us got situated around the table, Carlos began to explain why he wanted to talk. He shared that he considers us (me included) to be his best Christian friends and that he is struggling with a decision concerning work and church. The job that he just landed does not enable him to be in church on Sundays. His basic question was "Pastor, What should I do?"

I began my relationship with this discipleship group last summer and we met regularly until school started back up. It started as a relationship with Alfredo and I. Afredo invited his brother, Josias. Josias invited his friend Carlos. And Carlos invited his brother Juan Manuel. Since then, the entire family of Carlos and Juan Manuel have started attending (minus a brother-in-law). During our time together in the D-group I shared with them the importance of the Holy Spirit in our lives. How we need to exercise our ability to listen to the HS when He is convicting us and we need to do the right thing, and when we do the wrong thing we need to confess and repent of it.

My Answer to the Question

"Guys, I'm never going to tell you exactly what you need to do in a situation like this because I believe that the HS is telling you what you need to do. However, if you all do anything blatantly wrong, you had better believe we'll be talking (smile). Of course I'm saddened when I'm not able to spend time with you all, but at times in our lives we have to make sacrifices. That doesn't mean that I'm telling you that you should work. Only that I'm sad when you are not there. I have two questions for you Carlos: What do you need the money for? (to which he replied, 'I really don't need the money'). O.K. then, What is your heart's desire? (to which he replied, 'I want to be in church, and I want to serve the Lord). Guys, I've been telling you from the beginning that our good desires are not in our heart without reason. They are there because God puts them there. I look forward to seeing how you make your decision. "

Situation #2
My field leader (Bob Boston) and I have been visiting a contact that he had close to the church where I'm ministering. Through this visitation Marianela became a Christian. We realized that in this neighborhood another contact, Teodora, would be willing to open her home for a Cell group. At our alliance church there is a woman named Clara who was willing to move her cell group's location to this neighborhood (as it would be a great help to her not to have all the responsponsibility). This morning Karen, Clara and I went to talk over the details with Teodora. It was a God-thing when Clara realized that the new location would be a block away from her sister who she has been witnessing to for 40 years. Afterwards we stopped by Marianela's home to pray with her and her husband. It is amazing how God has been orchestrating this whole situation.

As we were leaving Karen stated, "Now I feel like a missionary." To which I asked, "You didn't feel like a missionary until just now." She explained that being in a paraguayans home, praying with them, seeing them leave thier old life for the new life in Christ, and experiencing God's movement in it all was a poignant moment.

After Karen shared that, I understood what she was talking about as I thought back to my experience with the D-group. This is why we are here... to be used by God.

Please continue to support us in prayer. We are TEAM.

El Festejo de la Amistad

The Celebration of Friendship

On Sunday July 29th our church celebrated the holiday "Day of Friendship" with an outreach to children and parents in our neighborhood. Our plan is to have several one-day children events prior to the Paraguayan summer (which begins in December). In December we will have a Vacation Bible School that will include several eventful days for our neighborhood. These one-day events are our practicum.

Saturday was a great success on many different levels.

sidenote: Outreach is always a success no matter the results. Stepping out in obedience to share the Gospel is never a failure.

• The participation of the members in our church was encouraging. In total we had 30 people involved. The children and parents enjoyed 5 separate stations of activity.

1. Welcome: This included an area for parents to converse with members of the church while enjoying snacks provided by the members.
2. Biblical Teaching: Our theme was "LOVE." We had a clown (yours truly), memory verse, and puppets.
   
   
3. Choreography: The children were taught actions to upbeat christian songs. I was surprized how much the children took to this.
4. Photography and Snack: Snacks were provided while individual photos were taken of each child. The idea being that the parents could return on Thursday evening to receive a photo of their children for free.
5. Games: One of our members who works as an athletic director was in charge of this area. She came up with a variety of fun games for the children to play in our limited space.

• The results were encouraging.

1. Thursday evening three new family groups returned to the church to retrieve the photos. All three communicated their joy to have found our church because of the friendliness that they experienced. All three told us that they would be back on Sunday for our services and Sunday School. Praise God!
2. The church members were encouraged by the quantity of visitors. We had between 60 and 70 children in attendance, as well as approximately 15 parents (the parents were all first time visitors)
   
3. We are meeting Saturday for a planning meeting for the next event which will take place August 12th in honor of the holiday, "Day of the Children."

We are so excited with what God is doing here in Asuncion. Since arriving the church has exerienced steady growth. Our goal is to maintain a Sunday attendance of 100 people by the year end. Continue to pray for this with us. The growth is not because of us. The growth is because of God. When we pray, when we align our actions up with His desire to reach others with His love, He will respond by entrusting us with the people He is reaching in a given location. Glory to God for what He is doing in Asuncion. He is transforming our hearts and He is entrusting us with the formation of others.

If you have access to highspeed internet and would like to view a video of the day follow this link: Festejo de la Amistad Video.

As always thank you for your faithful support. WE are team!

Prayer Requests

This entry is for those of you who are checking in for Wednesday night prayer requests.

First a praise (which I will update in greater detail in the next day or two):


Our outreach for Friendship Day was a success. Thank you for praying. We had between 65-70 children in the church on Sunday evening with about 15 parents visiting. Many of these people were first time visitors to our church. It was a great encouragement to the church members. Check back soon for the update.

Prayer:

1. Pray for our next outreach on Sunday, August 12. We will be celebrating the day of the children at the church. Pray for more visitors.
2. Pray for the visitors that came out this past Sunday. Several mentioned to us that they would be back for our Sunday services.
3. Pray for Marianela. This is a woman who professed Christ as Lord and Savior two weeks ago. She is experiencing a spiritual battle due to the strong hold that her belief in the virgin Mary has on her life. Pray for deliverance.
4. Continue to pray for Karen's citizenship process. It would appear that the doors are being shut. We are pursuing our last lead through our Senator's office in Florida. If Karen receives her citizenship it will be because God makes it happen. If she does not receive her citizenship we will have to remain in the U.S. for an extended furlough in 2009 (and by the way, we believe that will be God's doing as well... smile, lol).

As always THANK YOU!