each way) a little more often than before. In Mark Donahue. I am so grateful for his hard addition to our monthly team meetings I work this past year, particularly after our attended the Iglesia Evangélica Mundial part-time office secretary, Andrés Torres, (World Gospel Church) District meetings left to begin a full-time job. On August sixth, and had a few more speaking opportunities. the Carrs returned from their time in the

Last June our Paraguay Field Director and Every once in a while I needed to be in U.S. and I happily turned the Director

his wife, Larry and Sharon Carr, left for their Asunción to do some other sort of business. responsibilities back to Larry. We thank the

Homeland Ministry Assignment in the Lord that there were no major crises to deal

United States. During their absence I acted Really, though, the one who did most of the with during the year and that He is continu-

as temporary Director. This meant I had paperwork and running around that were ing to build a good relationship between the

extra responsibilities which took me to required to keep the Mission operating and mission and the national church leadership.

Asunción (a journey of about two hours legal was our field Business Manager, Pray for our Paraguayan leaders!

World Gospel MissionP.O. Box 948,

Marion, Indiana 46952United States of America

+1 765 664 7331

www.wgm.org

A couple of years ago, having spent the previous year on Homeland Ministry Assignment in the U.S., we were preparing to return for another four-year term to Paraguay. It happened that our final Sunday at our home church, Wilmore Free Methodist, in Kentucky, was a Communion Sunday. The leadership there has discovered over the years that an efficient yet still intimate way to share Communion among a large congregation is to post a couple at the head of each aisle, each of which hold a tray of cups and a tray of wafers. The congregation then forms lines in each aisle to be served by one of the couples.

This particular Sunday, without intending to, I joined the line where the gluten-free wafers were being served. It happened that the couple serving in that line was Dr. and Mrs. Victor Hamilton. Dr. Hamilton had been my professor at Asbury College and I had maintained a friendship with him over the years. I've learned a great deal from him, both in the classroom and on the numerous occasions I've heard him preach. His Biblical teaching has formed part of the foundation of my life and ministry. So it was especially meaningful to be served by them, sharing the Body and Blood of Christ with my American brothers and sisters one more time before returning to Paraguay.

The very next Sunday, due to a difference in church traditions, we found ourselves in our adoptive church home, the Paraguarí Mennonite Church, on Communion Sunday. In this much smaller church, one couple serves the elements of the Lord's Supper, carrying the trays to each row and reaching across to allow each believer to take a cup and a piece of bread. While in Wilmore the drink is usually grape juice, in Paraguarí the tiny cups contain a swallow of wine. Communion wafers aren't common in Protestant churches in Paraguay, so baker Alcides Alcaraz, the lay leader who along with his wife serves Communion, brings his own freshly-baked hard rolls, flavored with anise seed and broken into small pieces.

As I heard the sacred words proclaimed, so old but so alive, “This is my body…,” Este es mi cuerpo…, I was powerfully struck by an impression of the Body of Christ: so multi-hued, so multi-voiced, yet eternally unified around this truth. So beautiful how Christ is at home in such diverse modes of expression, yet who He is is always the same. It reminded me, too, of how God has blessed me by allowing my life to be impacted by such a great variety of people who have molded me in enormously different ways and helped to form me into who I am becoming. “In Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” (Rom. 12:5) What a privilege to be connected to this body where each has a role and all are useful as we continue to serve in obedience Him who is the Head.

though, everyone feels much more comfortable in Guarani than in Spanish, and most of our neighbors know us and are happy to

Our regular ministries have continued help our students learn!over the past year also. We haven’t had

Thanks to a $4000 gift by blessed us. His son, Antonio, stayed at our any nine-month language classes, but Andy’s home church, Wilmore Free house with his wife and daughter, taking care we’ve had several shorter classes. These are Methodist in Kentucky, this year we were of the property while we were in the U.S. for for missionaries like Rainer and Solveigh able to buy some property to build two of Homeland Ministry Assignment.Simon, who work with the German Indian these small family residences. We have Pioneer Mission. Rainer is a medical doctor Ever since we moved here, we’ve been budgeted $100,000 to build the two houses. and his wife is a nurse. They minister among praying for Juancho and his wife Leónida Would you pray about being a part of this indigenous Paraguayan groups (Indians). and their family, as well as Antonio and his project? Gifts may be sent to World Gospel They did a one-month Guarani refresher family, to be able to understand the Gospel Mission at the address on the front of this course on returning from a year in Germany. message and begin following Christ. We’ve letter, along with a note saying the gift is for

witnessed to them by our words and our life We’ve also hosted orientations for groups Paraguay Guarani Program Student and built up trust and friendship with them.like the TIME (Training in Medical Housing.

Evangelism) students, young people In May of this year, we hosted a group from Once again, we want to thank you for your interested in medical missions who spend the Río Grande Bible Institute in connection with us and with what we’re doing five weeks working with rural medical Edinburgh, Texas. These five students, in Paraguay! We definitely don’t say it often missionaries in Paraguay. from Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, enough. Thank you! We love you.

Paraguay and the U.S., did a week-long In February we were invited to Bolivia to orientation with us at the start of a two-serve at the Carnaval weekend camp for the month mission practicum in Paraguay. For Beni and Guarayos District. Lizet worked their midday meals I took them to eat at the with the kids and Andy was the main home of Juancho and Léonida. One day speaker. The trip was also a chance for us to one of the students shared the Gospel with spend time with Lizet’s family who are now the Guerreros. They were powerfully living back in Santa Cruz, and for Joe to get impacted and a spiritual awakening began.to know his grandparents and aunts.

Since then they’ve invited us to hold an Another special treat was the visit in evangelistic Bible study in their home. It’s a December-January of Andy’s parents, Earle brief overview of salvation, looking at the and Dorothy Bowen. We went to see the lives of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and ruins of the Jesuit Reductions in the south of Jesus. Please pray that these seeds would the country and the stunning Iguasu Falls on germinate and grow and that Juancho and the Argentina/Brazil border. The boys got his family would decide to follow Jesus.some great Grandpa-and-Grandma time.

Part of our long-term plan for the Guarani Six years ago, the first person that we met in

language institute is to build houses in the the community of Hugua’i where we live

community where missionaries studying the was Juancho Guerrero. He has been a great

language can live among Guarani speakers. help to us on many occasions, and seems to

Currently they have to find places to rent in have been the “man of peace” that Jesus told

the nearby town of Paraguarí, where not all his disciples to look out for in Luke chapter

of their neighbors are eager to speak with ten. Though he was not a believer, he has

them in Guarani. In our community,

Right: The team from Río Grande B ib le Institute in Texas who d i d a o n e - w e e k orientation with us. Front: Williams and L o u r d e s V é l e z ( D o m i n i c a n Republic), Maribel Mendonca (Venezue-l a ) . B a c k : J a d a Thomas (USA), Luis Giménez (Paraguay).

Right: The WGM Paraguay team at retreat: L to R, Andy, Weadette, Mark, Lizet, Timmy, S u s a n a , J o e , Andrés , Lucas, and Beverly

Right: Lizet worked with the children at t h e C a r n a v a l weekend camp in Ascención, Bolivia. Can you spot Lucas and Timothy?