Asuncion,
Paraguay (December 15 - 21, 2014) - Two brother workers were waiting
for us outside the airport when we landed in Asuncion, Paraguay. One of
them told me that they were expecting me to be as
old as they are! Don Edgardo is 76 and Don Jose is 70! From the airport we took us to the Convention home where the rest of the crew are waiting for us.
The first workers came to Paraguay in 1962. The work of the gospel is rather slow in Paraguay, but the workers were able to find a few souls that embraced the gospel with all their hearts. We heard about Doña Lorgia, Doña Maria, Doña Emilia, Doña Genara and Doña Cristina..... among the first ones that professed...... All of these ladies finished their earthly journey... very faithful to the end! Some were added thru the passing of years.
The friends here in Paraguay are pretty much separated from one another as far as distance is concerned. We workers scattered around visiting them in various places four or five hours away by bus, usually just one friend in the area, or a family. There were around 40 of us that gathered at our one day convention in Asuncion, the furthest friends to come traveled around six hours by bus! There is only one Convention in Paraguay.
One of our friends, Chingolo, is a baker. They started listening to the gospel in 1999. He was a drunkard and his wife told him at one point, "If you don't straighten up your life, I am going to leave you." He knelt and prayed asking help from God. One time he was at his work and saw a brother worker passing by and as if a voice came to him saying, "That man is the man that can help you". Because he was not free to leave his work, he wasn't able to talk with the brother worker. A few days after that, the brothers were knocking on doors inviting people and the other brother knocked on one particular door.... And a man came to open the door, and it was Chingolo! He right away connected these two men are companions, and he received them in his house. After listening to the gospel, he and his wife felt that the first thing they need to do is to get married.... So they got married and professed! Chingolo's wife and 3 children and a daughter-in-law, and another two men, all professing, were all at the Convention.
Traveling on the bus and going thru the city, it is pretty common to see people carrying a jug of water and a glass with sipping pipe attached to it. They have a national hot drink here they call 'mate' (mateh), or the cold drink they call 'terere'. People are drinking it all the time.... even while they are driving, walking on the streets, etc! They fill the glass with mixture of herbs and pour either hot or cold water and sip!
Traditionally, when someone visit a home, you can tell you are not appreciated when you are not served 'mateh'. If they make sure you drink enough of it, that shows you are very much welcome! They would pass the glass around, each taking a little sip at a time, then pass the glass to the one next to you for his turn. For the country people, it is very offensive to wash or wipe the sipping pipe before you take your sip.... And I lost track how many times OUR glass was refilled and passed around! So i think that tells us we are pretty much appreciated!
Some thoughts shared at Covention:
*We don't want to be in a condition where God can not heal us. If I'm not willing to receive His help, there is no healing.
*The most effective armor is to have the love of God.
*God told Moses to remove his shoes. Our feet is one of the most sensitive part of our body. To not have anything that will protect us from our feelings. God wanted us to feel things at this Convention.
*We don't always understand when God's hands work, but we can always trust in His hands.
*Joseph found himself far from his country, far from his father and brothers, but he is never far from God.
*It takes a lifetime to build a testimony, and in just a moment, we can ruin it.
*The Potter was asked, "When do you know when the clay is in the center of the wheel?" "When the clay stops resisting my hands".
*Jesus said, No one can go to the Father but by me. We have to manifest Jesus in our lives.
*The most precious hour of the day is the hour of prayer.
*We might say, Time is passing quickly, there is no time to pray. That is the reason we must pray... Because time is passing quickly.
*Prayer is our fellowship with God. We can be praying for one hour but if we don't have fellowship with God, its not prayer.
*If we have faith that God is listening to us, this will encourage us to continue to pray.
*Obedience to His will is the greatest expression of our love to God.
*A weapon we just used for the first time in the day of the battle can not be used to overcome the enemy.
What will give us victory is by being faithful in our daily life.
*God gave a message to the seven churches. He didn't speak about their natural, economic conditions, but their spiritual condition. We should pay attention to the message God will speak to us.
*Change of love is a change of life.
*Sometimes we just see the hardness of the experience because we are looking thru it with our human eye. Obstacles are seen if we keep our eyes on the goal.
*Pray harder when it is the hardest time to pray. When it's hard to pray, it's the time we need prayer the most.
*When Goliath was killed, the enemies went fleeing. Sometimes, the enemy is not that great at all. What is really causing the problem or our struggle is not so great after all. We need to focus on what is really
causing the problem and deal with it.
*We receive help from God according to the measure of willingness we have to what God teach us.
*A sculptor made a beautiful lamb carving out of a rock. The people were awed by the beauty of it. They asked the sculptor, 'what did you do, how did you do it?' He replied, 'I did not do anything. The lamb was inside the rock. I just chipped away what doesn't belong to the lamb!'
*How do you show your love for God? If I allow God to work in me, this proves that I love God.
*Message of hope to the Church in Sardis... 'Thou liveth and art dead. Strengthen things which remain, that are ready to die.' Jairus came to Jesus and said, 'My little child is at the point of death'. A centurion's
servant is sick and at the point of death. Only Jesus can heal them.
*Sometimes the spirit of a little child in us is at the point of death. Saul felt he was very small and God was able to use him. Then he grew in disobedience, he grew in dishonesty. He lost the spirit of a little child
and he lost everything.
*How do we know if the little child in us is healthy? If someone corrects us and we accept and change, the spirit of a little child in us is healthy. If we are offended, the spirit of a little child in us is at the point of death. If they do us wrong and we want to take revenge, the spirit of a little child in us is at the point of death ... If we bear patiently, the spirit of a little child in us is healthy.
We greatly value your prayers!
Your brother, Renante
old as they are! Don Edgardo is 76 and Don Jose is 70! From the airport we took us to the Convention home where the rest of the crew are waiting for us.
The first workers came to Paraguay in 1962. The work of the gospel is rather slow in Paraguay, but the workers were able to find a few souls that embraced the gospel with all their hearts. We heard about Doña Lorgia, Doña Maria, Doña Emilia, Doña Genara and Doña Cristina..... among the first ones that professed...... All of these ladies finished their earthly journey... very faithful to the end! Some were added thru the passing of years.
The friends here in Paraguay are pretty much separated from one another as far as distance is concerned. We workers scattered around visiting them in various places four or five hours away by bus, usually just one friend in the area, or a family. There were around 40 of us that gathered at our one day convention in Asuncion, the furthest friends to come traveled around six hours by bus! There is only one Convention in Paraguay.
One of our friends, Chingolo, is a baker. They started listening to the gospel in 1999. He was a drunkard and his wife told him at one point, "If you don't straighten up your life, I am going to leave you." He knelt and prayed asking help from God. One time he was at his work and saw a brother worker passing by and as if a voice came to him saying, "That man is the man that can help you". Because he was not free to leave his work, he wasn't able to talk with the brother worker. A few days after that, the brothers were knocking on doors inviting people and the other brother knocked on one particular door.... And a man came to open the door, and it was Chingolo! He right away connected these two men are companions, and he received them in his house. After listening to the gospel, he and his wife felt that the first thing they need to do is to get married.... So they got married and professed! Chingolo's wife and 3 children and a daughter-in-law, and another two men, all professing, were all at the Convention.
Traveling on the bus and going thru the city, it is pretty common to see people carrying a jug of water and a glass with sipping pipe attached to it. They have a national hot drink here they call 'mate' (mateh), or the cold drink they call 'terere'. People are drinking it all the time.... even while they are driving, walking on the streets, etc! They fill the glass with mixture of herbs and pour either hot or cold water and sip!
Traditionally, when someone visit a home, you can tell you are not appreciated when you are not served 'mateh'. If they make sure you drink enough of it, that shows you are very much welcome! They would pass the glass around, each taking a little sip at a time, then pass the glass to the one next to you for his turn. For the country people, it is very offensive to wash or wipe the sipping pipe before you take your sip.... And I lost track how many times OUR glass was refilled and passed around! So i think that tells us we are pretty much appreciated!
Some thoughts shared at Covention:
*We don't want to be in a condition where God can not heal us. If I'm not willing to receive His help, there is no healing.
*The most effective armor is to have the love of God.
*God told Moses to remove his shoes. Our feet is one of the most sensitive part of our body. To not have anything that will protect us from our feelings. God wanted us to feel things at this Convention.
*We don't always understand when God's hands work, but we can always trust in His hands.
*Joseph found himself far from his country, far from his father and brothers, but he is never far from God.
*It takes a lifetime to build a testimony, and in just a moment, we can ruin it.
*The Potter was asked, "When do you know when the clay is in the center of the wheel?" "When the clay stops resisting my hands".
*Jesus said, No one can go to the Father but by me. We have to manifest Jesus in our lives.
*The most precious hour of the day is the hour of prayer.
*We might say, Time is passing quickly, there is no time to pray. That is the reason we must pray... Because time is passing quickly.
*Prayer is our fellowship with God. We can be praying for one hour but if we don't have fellowship with God, its not prayer.
*If we have faith that God is listening to us, this will encourage us to continue to pray.
*Obedience to His will is the greatest expression of our love to God.
*A weapon we just used for the first time in the day of the battle can not be used to overcome the enemy.
What will give us victory is by being faithful in our daily life.
*God gave a message to the seven churches. He didn't speak about their natural, economic conditions, but their spiritual condition. We should pay attention to the message God will speak to us.
*Change of love is a change of life.
*Sometimes we just see the hardness of the experience because we are looking thru it with our human eye. Obstacles are seen if we keep our eyes on the goal.
*Pray harder when it is the hardest time to pray. When it's hard to pray, it's the time we need prayer the most.
*When Goliath was killed, the enemies went fleeing. Sometimes, the enemy is not that great at all. What is really causing the problem or our struggle is not so great after all. We need to focus on what is really
causing the problem and deal with it.
*We receive help from God according to the measure of willingness we have to what God teach us.
*A sculptor made a beautiful lamb carving out of a rock. The people were awed by the beauty of it. They asked the sculptor, 'what did you do, how did you do it?' He replied, 'I did not do anything. The lamb was inside the rock. I just chipped away what doesn't belong to the lamb!'
*How do you show your love for God? If I allow God to work in me, this proves that I love God.
*Message of hope to the Church in Sardis... 'Thou liveth and art dead. Strengthen things which remain, that are ready to die.' Jairus came to Jesus and said, 'My little child is at the point of death'. A centurion's
servant is sick and at the point of death. Only Jesus can heal them.
*Sometimes the spirit of a little child in us is at the point of death. Saul felt he was very small and God was able to use him. Then he grew in disobedience, he grew in dishonesty. He lost the spirit of a little child
and he lost everything.
*How do we know if the little child in us is healthy? If someone corrects us and we accept and change, the spirit of a little child in us is healthy. If we are offended, the spirit of a little child in us is at the point of death. If they do us wrong and we want to take revenge, the spirit of a little child in us is at the point of death ... If we bear patiently, the spirit of a little child in us is healthy.
We greatly value your prayers!
Your brother, Renante
Another helpful letter from Renante...
Cochabamba, Bolivia (December 8 - 14, 2014) - Greetings from the City of Cochabamba.... The city that never gets too cold, nor too hot! It's 2558 meters elevation.
Traveling thru the main road in Bolivia is quite a sight. Beautiful sceneries.... But also along the road are memorials for people that are killed in accidents on those spots..... And we saw hundreds of them! As we journey along in this life, we are often reminded where others have fallen and we want to be careful in our steps so we can continue to the end.
The workers first came to Bolivia in the late 1950's. They worked in a mountain City called La Paz, but they didn't see much response there, so they left and moved to the City of Cochabamba. They worked in Cochabamba for about five years and they found no response here either. The workers felt that maybe it's not the right time for Bolivia yet....And thought about leaving Bolivia. It was around that time that they met a lady that had taken real interest in the gospel and professed. From there on, a few have been added thru the passing of time. The work in Bolivia has been very slow from the beginning, but in the recent years, there had been quite a few that professed. The meeting was tested at the end of our Cochabamba Convention and there were four that stood up to make their choice known.
Thursday morning, we had a baptism. It seems that the last baptism in Cochabamba field was about five years ago. There were 8 that took the step. The friends were very happy and very supportive. They hired two mini buses for the friends and workers that took us to the baptism place and some friends followed along with their cars. The baptism took place in a very secluded little brook more than an hour drive outside the City. Among those that were baptized was a lady with very bad arthritis, very frail, but we took turns carrying her from the brook back to the bus!
We heard that our Convention in Cochabamba was 155 on Saturday, and 188 on Sunday. Convention was held in a retreat house.... where some of the friends and workers stayed all throughout the Convention. They said it was the first time they used the place.... And it worked out very well. It gave us more time with our fellow workers and friends! The nuns that run the retreat house were very impressed with our group...They told us afterwards that it is the first time they saw people who love to be with one another, enjoyed visiting, well-disciplined children, and orderly people...People who do not only hear the words of God but applying it in their lives!"
Some thoughts shared at Convention:
*Jesus told Peter, "Do you love me more than these?" He reminded him about the sheep, and the need of the sheep. I want to give my life not because I need to but because I love the souls of others.
*Right spirit comes with a great price.
*"Because of thy word, I will cast the net." If we do what Jesus asks us to do, blessing will come.
*Peace is not the absence of afflictions but it is with the presence of God.
*A fire is put out because it’s not being looked after.
*The love of God within us will take us in the place of prayer.
*Jesus separated himself from the multitude...Far from the world and along with His Father. We want to separate ourselves from multitudes of thoughts that could be harmful to our souls.
*Walking in the land of the living. We have a responsibility to take care of our own step.
*Our growth is not measured by things that we left behind but by the things we outgrow.
*Shepherds are abomination to the Egyptians. As long as we are feeding the lamb that is in us, this will keep us separated from the world.
*If we don't separate ourselves from the world, the world will separate us from God.
*Pharaoh told Joseph's brothers to live in Goshen, the best of the land. Going to meetings, meditating on the words of God, being faithful in prayer life.....is like living in the best of the land.
*David protected the lamb from the lion and the bear. We all have lions and bears in our lives, but it is nice to remember that in our struggles, it’s not just about me and myself. It’s about protecting the little lamb.
It wasn't easy for us to leave Ariel and Melinda at the airport.... But know they are filling very useful place in Bolivia. Like what Uncle Jim said, if we have a great need of workers in the Philippines, their need is greater in Bolivia. And we are so thankful that they responded to the call with willingness.... Though it came with great price!
Next stop is Paraguay! Thanks for following us faithfully in your prayers.
Your brother, Renante
Cochabamba, Bolivia (December 8 - 14, 2014) - Greetings from the City of Cochabamba.... The city that never gets too cold, nor too hot! It's 2558 meters elevation.
Traveling thru the main road in Bolivia is quite a sight. Beautiful sceneries.... But also along the road are memorials for people that are killed in accidents on those spots..... And we saw hundreds of them! As we journey along in this life, we are often reminded where others have fallen and we want to be careful in our steps so we can continue to the end.
The workers first came to Bolivia in the late 1950's. They worked in a mountain City called La Paz, but they didn't see much response there, so they left and moved to the City of Cochabamba. They worked in Cochabamba for about five years and they found no response here either. The workers felt that maybe it's not the right time for Bolivia yet....And thought about leaving Bolivia. It was around that time that they met a lady that had taken real interest in the gospel and professed. From there on, a few have been added thru the passing of time. The work in Bolivia has been very slow from the beginning, but in the recent years, there had been quite a few that professed. The meeting was tested at the end of our Cochabamba Convention and there were four that stood up to make their choice known.
Thursday morning, we had a baptism. It seems that the last baptism in Cochabamba field was about five years ago. There were 8 that took the step. The friends were very happy and very supportive. They hired two mini buses for the friends and workers that took us to the baptism place and some friends followed along with their cars. The baptism took place in a very secluded little brook more than an hour drive outside the City. Among those that were baptized was a lady with very bad arthritis, very frail, but we took turns carrying her from the brook back to the bus!
We heard that our Convention in Cochabamba was 155 on Saturday, and 188 on Sunday. Convention was held in a retreat house.... where some of the friends and workers stayed all throughout the Convention. They said it was the first time they used the place.... And it worked out very well. It gave us more time with our fellow workers and friends! The nuns that run the retreat house were very impressed with our group...They told us afterwards that it is the first time they saw people who love to be with one another, enjoyed visiting, well-disciplined children, and orderly people...People who do not only hear the words of God but applying it in their lives!"
Some thoughts shared at Convention:
*Jesus told Peter, "Do you love me more than these?" He reminded him about the sheep, and the need of the sheep. I want to give my life not because I need to but because I love the souls of others.
*Right spirit comes with a great price.
*"Because of thy word, I will cast the net." If we do what Jesus asks us to do, blessing will come.
*Peace is not the absence of afflictions but it is with the presence of God.
*A fire is put out because it’s not being looked after.
*The love of God within us will take us in the place of prayer.
*Jesus separated himself from the multitude...Far from the world and along with His Father. We want to separate ourselves from multitudes of thoughts that could be harmful to our souls.
*Walking in the land of the living. We have a responsibility to take care of our own step.
*Our growth is not measured by things that we left behind but by the things we outgrow.
*Shepherds are abomination to the Egyptians. As long as we are feeding the lamb that is in us, this will keep us separated from the world.
*If we don't separate ourselves from the world, the world will separate us from God.
*Pharaoh told Joseph's brothers to live in Goshen, the best of the land. Going to meetings, meditating on the words of God, being faithful in prayer life.....is like living in the best of the land.
*David protected the lamb from the lion and the bear. We all have lions and bears in our lives, but it is nice to remember that in our struggles, it’s not just about me and myself. It’s about protecting the little lamb.
It wasn't easy for us to leave Ariel and Melinda at the airport.... But know they are filling very useful place in Bolivia. Like what Uncle Jim said, if we have a great need of workers in the Philippines, their need is greater in Bolivia. And we are so thankful that they responded to the call with willingness.... Though it came with great price!
Next stop is Paraguay! Thanks for following us faithfully in your prayers.
Your brother, Renante
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