News from the Spradlins in South America

Relief, Research, and Reflection

This month was highlighted with several important activities that could be categorized as “Relief, Research, and Reflection.” Relief: We began with a disaster relief project for flood victims in Paraguay. Research: we made a church planting survey trip to Encarnación. Reflection: the month finished with a homecoming event that brought some wonderful times of fellowship. In addition to reporting about these activities, Andrea and I would also like to say “THANK YOU!” to all those who frequently send encouraging emails in response to this newsletter. We greatly appreciate your love and support! We hope you are encouraged by this month’s edition of our Paraguay Mission report! God bless. DEVELOPMENTS AT AVE. SACRAMENTO

“Homecoming 2014”! What an incredible weekend of fellowship and joy was had by all! Many of the former missionaries who have worked on the field here in Paraguay such as, the Chris Fry family, the Ethan Hardin family, the Enoch Rinks family, and the Forrest McDonald family, all returned to Asuncion this past month for a special “Homecoming” weekend. There were also other former members and special guests who returned to participate. There was so much laughter, hugs, and joy shared among the brethren, one couldn’t help but notice what a special event this was! We started on Friday night with singing and listening to all the missionaries tell their stories from their time served here. Saturday we went to Centro where we had a nice devotional and heard stories about the history of the church arriving in Paraguay. Sunday was a beautiful worship service followed by a tasty pot luck lunch on the grounds. That afternoon, we went to Ñemby and heard brother Forrest McDonald preach - the oldest missionary at the newest congregation. It was an absolutely wonderful and memorable event.

Church planting survey trip to Encarnación. The Academy students, members of the church, and some brethren from the USA went to the south of Paraguay to investigate the possibility of planting a church there. You can read more about this project in the ABA Newsletter.

DEVELOPMENTS AT THE CHURCH IN ÑEMBY

The brethren at Ñemby celebrated their one year anniversary! On July 7, 2013 the church at Ñemby began meeting in the home of Vicente Martinez. This month, they celebrated this first anniversary with a special worship service, a nice presentation, and then some finger foods afterward. We are so excited to see the growth and faithfulness of this young congregation.

Brother Eliezer Perez had to fly home suddenly this month when he learned that his mother was being admitted to the hospital. We were sad that he missed all the Homecoming activities, but certainly understand that family is much more important. He is scheduled to return on August 1, so we will have more news about his mother’s health at that time.

Lunch on the grounds at Ave Sacramento

JULY 2014

Vol. 6 No. 7

Forrest McDonald, missionary to Paraguay in 1981-1985 preaching at our newest church plant, Ñemby.

Saturday evening devotional with the brethren at the Centro congregation.

Evangelistic Contacts / Bible Studies / Activities:

We had two wonderful visitors from the States this past month. Brother Jack Locklin and brother Ed Temple from the Margaret Street church of Christ (our sponsoring congregation) came to Paraguay to visit the work and participate in our survey trip to Encarnación. They had the opportunity to visit with the brethren at Ave Sacramento and were present for the one year anniversay service of the Ñemby congregation. It is always a joy to have brethren visit us on the field and especially when we get to participate in a project together!

Food and clothing campaign for flood victims. Paraguay was hit hard with relentless rains and rising river levels on three sides of her borders resulting in a state of emergency. More than 300,000 precious souls were affected by the flood waters with around 48,000 homes having to be evacuated in Asunción and areas around Pilar and Encarnación. On Sunday July 7, the Church of Christ at Avenida Sacramento in Asunción collected food and clothing for the flood victims. We then took the ítems, along with food purchased from monetary donations, to a Guarani indian settlement in Trinidad (Southern Paraguay). This little community was hit especially hard due to the floods having destroyed much of their crops and killing several of their animals, which is the main source of their livelihood. This is also one of the oldest communities in the country which is frequently overlooked because of the needs of those in the capital city of Asunción. The village chief welcomed us with open arms and everyone was so grateful for the outpouring of love expressed by these donations. We witnessed many tears of joy falling from their eyes and listened to several heartfelt discourses of gratitude from the heads of the families. We pray the small amount of relief that was brought to them will provide some degree of comfort as they weather these difficult times. Please keep them in your prayers!

I began studying the Bible with Beatriz Ortiz in English. She is a former member of the Mormon church, who left a few years ago, and is now so full of questions that we spend the majority of our time just chatting in English (mixed with Spanish) and looking at what the Bible has to say in order to answer her inquiries.

Worship and Bible class attendance (Ave Sacramento):

Sun am – 47 (6th), 59 (13th), 82 (20th), 99 (27th)

Sunday Bible study average – 61

Current members: 74 Baptized (45 Family Units)

Worship and Bible class attendance (Ñemby):

Sun pm – 22 (6th), 27 (13th), 34 (20th), 56 (27th)

Current members: 14 Baptized (11 Family Units)

Upcoming Events:

Lord willing, Andrea and I will be traveling to the Darien Providence in Panama this next month to serve as translators and teachers in a mission campaign. We will be meeting up with our teammates from the Margaret Street church of Christ to go work with the church in Meteti.

We will be having several visitors the next couple of months from Costa Rica, Brazil, and Panama.

The Asuncion Bible Academy will be hosting an “Open House” in August for prospective students.

Jack Locklin and Ed Temple in Paraguay

Delivering food and clothing to a Guarani Indian village in Trinidad who were some of Paraguay’s many flood victims.

A view of some of the houses flooded out by the rise of the Paraguay River and the relocation facilities

that were provided by the government.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT AND ACTIVITIES

Personal Activities:

We made several visits this month, had some dinner invites, attended a birthday party, and generally spent time re-connecting with our dear brethren here after previously being gone on furlough. The fellowship is so encouraging and God’s family is just wonderful!

Andrea took a special trip to Santa Maria de Fe (Southern Paraguay) with the Las Amigas Club. It was a “Farewell” event for one of the ladies, Marsha, who is the wife of the US Ambassador to Paraguay. They toured a museum and an old church. Andrea says it was a lot of fun, although they are going to miss Marsha.

We finally got most of our house problems resolved! From a leaking roof, a leaking shower drain, other plumbing issues, mold problems, plaster crumbling, and paint peeling, we have just about wrapped up everything that was needing repair. Things take quite a little while to complete in Paraguay so we are thrilled to finally have our home back to some semblance of normal!

We have also been working on a project to install a video conference system in the classroom of the Asuncion Bible Academy. We are hoping to use this system so that teachers in the USA will be able to connect with our school and provide classroom instruction. This will save a great deal of expenses that teachers have to pay in order to come to Paraguay to teach. It will also provide a means for more teachers being available to teach other classes.

Personal study:

I have spent a great deal of time this past month writing book reports and essays trying to finish up another class towards my Master Degree in Missions with Bear Valley. It has been a challenge, but also very rewarding.

I have been studying and preparing for teaching Biblical Greek, Ezekiel, and Daniel in the upcoming quarter for ABA.

I have also begun taking classes in Guarani, once again. It is a difficult language to learn, but I am hoping to at least get to the level of basic communication.

Preaching/teaching opportunities:

I preached one Sunday at Avenida Sacramento about “Why I am a Member of the church of Christ” and taught classes on “Habakkuk” another Sunday.

I gave a special presentation at Ñemby regarding the vision of Paraguay.

Andrea with some of the precious little children of the Trinidad Guarani Indian village.

Paraguayan Culture Spotlight: Jesuit Ruins Paraguay has quite an eclectic history. Part of that history includes the Jesuit missionary efforts of the 16th to 18th centuries. They came and built self-sufficient towns, or ‘reductions’, all across the countryside where the indigenous people once lived in solitude and used these as the focus for educating the tribes. They gave the Guarani Indians a new system of living that actually saw an improvement in their conditions such as culture, society, literacy, agriculture, and especially, religious matters. The Jesuits were eventually expelled from Paraguay in 1767 and the mission compounds were abandoned or attacked. One can still visit many of these sites today and get a good sense of where many of the customs and traditions of the Paraguayans originated. The Robert DeNiro movie “The Mission” is based upon this fascinating piece of Paraguayan history. For more information on this and all things Paraguay, visit this informative website: http://discoveringparaguay.com

Andrea with her friends of the Las Amigas club during their trip to Santa Maria de Fe.

Our Mission Goals for 2014:

The brethren at the Avenida Sacramento congregation have set the following goals for themselves for 2014 and have asked the mission team to help them accomplish these goals. The team will actively support them under their direction. The goals are:

Evangelism: (1) Hold a Personal Evangelism Seminar, (2) Evangelism campaigns in various plazas, cities, (3) Plan, investigate, and pursue areas for a new church plant, (4) Offer “Learn English using the Bible” campaign, (5) Use "Searching for Truth" book, (6) Post banners that get people’s attention for Bible studies. Long term: (1) Evangelize each Department/Capital of Paraguay, (2) have a Radio Program.

Edification: (1) Promote the Asuncion Bible Academy for the next class, and/or start a “Saturday School,” (2) Host a special “Homecoming” event involving all congregations, (3) Improve ministries organization, (4) Special Men’s Retreat, (5) Install glass doors at the main entrance, (6) Have a Camp/Retreat with all three congregations, (7) New convert classes, (8) Skype studies offered by brethren from USA, (9) Conduct new extension courses in leadership, (10) Develop or obtain materials/courses for brethren with family problems, (11) Develop communication in Guarani for the brethren. Long term: (1) Finish the building façade. The mission team will assist and coordinate these activities according to the direction of the congregation.

Benevolence: (1) Offer the course "Comfort in Times of Grief" to the public, (2), Visit the sick / prisoners, (3) Provide a class on the topic of "Benevolence," (4) Use donations to help some members, (5) Prepare meals for the needy, and (6) Participate in various activities of benevolence.

These are some wonderful goals and we are so excited to see their growth in leadership. Please pray for the successful completion of each of these and the continual development of leadership in Paraguay!

PARAGUAY MISSION

Asuncion, Paraguay – South America

Troy and Andrea Spradlin

Casilla de Correo 13092

Shopping del Sol Asuncion, Paraguay

(595) 0981-630-886

We are seeking to "equip the saints for the work of service to the building up of the body of Christ." (Ephesians 4:12)

OUR SUPPORTERS

Margaret Street church of Christ (Sponsoring Congregation) 6745 Margaret Street, Milton, FL 32570 Central Avenue church of Christ – Valdosta, GA Dripping Springs church of Christ – Dripping Springs, TX Palm Beach Lakes church of Christ – West Palm Beach, FL Poolville church of Christ – Poolville, TX Families of: Clay Bond / Chet Brown / Virginia Guess / Joseph Markham

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