Last Day in Paraguay

Anna's highlights- The big highlight yesterday at the teacher retreat was when she shared her testimony. And one of the teachers spoke up and said that Anna had encouraged her about teaching her daughter about God. She also said that when she saw Audrey and Anna singing together that she felt like she was seeing her future with her daughter. Today, her highlight was meeting the music teacher at the New Horizon School and talking with him about music. Then, his students prayed for Anna. One of the teachers, Ceasar, shared with the group about her testimony. They also sang a song for Anna and sang a song by an American Composer for her, named Don Moen.

Audrey- Today, wrapping everything up and getting to say goodbye to people she met. And getting to that the people that helped her sing her songs. Yesterday she got to make a pastry called Chipas with Kaleb in the house of Bethania. This is a tradition as families prepare for Easter.

Celeste- She liked praying with one of the ladies that works in the school named Soledad. Getting to talk with another great teacher named Ceasar was great. We are hoping that some day Ceasar and his wife named Estella will hopefully come to the United States some time and stay with us. She also prayed with Eva who cleans in the school. She drives two hours both ways to work at the school. She was so thankful that God has taken care of her since then. Also, talking with Sofia and another girl named Ana. They shared their dreams about doing good things for God and it was exciting to see what God is doing in her. Sofia also believes she may be a missionary in the future and we can host her too.

Kaleb- He really enjoyed getting play soccer with the other kids. He even scored two goals. There was a teacher who said she had a son some kinds of dietary issues and Kaleb was an inspiration for her and her son. She hoped that some day her son could give God thanks even with the challenges he faces. The boy is really rebelling right now! Eating so much yummy food... especially the flan was fantastic.

Highlights from Tuesday in Paraguay

These are Audrey’s highlights from today. She enjoyed getting to play the guitar in the school today. She played well and showed a lot of confidence in what she was doing. She had fun singing while other people were playing their instruments as well like the guitar, background vocals, and the drums. All the other young people have done an excellent job welcoming here in Paraguay and working to include her in the activities. She also learned one of the dances that the kids were doing and got to help with the dance multiple times throughout the day.(She got better and better at the dance too. She was gettin’ down! She also was very confident and sang beautifully.) She had many opportunities to practice the Spanish she knows. But the hardest thing was dealing with the language barrier.

Other Highlights. Today we focused most of the day on helping with the chapel times with the kids. There were four chapel times for four different sets of children and youth. The students danced, sang, did skits, did miming, and more. Kaleb and Wil got to lead a message with the children about giving God their best in all they do. Kaleb grew in his ability to share and connect with the students throughout the day.

Celeste has become the translator of our group and she is getting better and better at adding new words to her vocabulary and helping everyone understand what is being said. She has a gift for helping to connect with people.

Anna, had a rough start to her day, not sleeping well at night. But she joined us mid-day and helped us worship and give our best to God for the rest of the day. 

Tomorrow, we will have a great morning with the teachers sharing about what it means to give God our very best.

Afternoon and Evening of First Day

We had a good afternoon in Paraguay. The weather is fantastic and our hosts, Alcides and Mary are great people. Apparently in Paraguay turning 15 is a huge deal, called your Quince. So tomorrow, when Audrey turns 15, we are going to have some kind of celebration. We went to service this evening and had a great service learning about how to listen to and cooperate with the Holy Spirit, not fight against him.

Please pray for Anna to get good rest tonight as she is very tired and pray for the pastor of the local Methodist Church, Robert. He has some kind of lasting virus or cold that keeps him coughing and his wife Joy is dealing with all kinds of pains. They are precious people.

We are all learning how to be bold, listen well, and give our best for Jesus Christ! Wow.

The Trip Down

We had a great trip down. We missed Sarah a TON but we also had a incredible God orchestrated situation. A man named Joe overslept his flight from Dallas to Philadelphia so he was able to take Sarah's spot. Anna and Audrey were faithful listeners and passionate proclaimers and Joe was very open to sharing what he believed and listening to what we believe. I think some serious seeds were planted. Anna prayed with him as well. What a fantastic opportunity to listen and learn.

Anna also met a nun on her way to Dallas and had a great conversation with her.

Our final leg to Paraguay was wonderful to have a direct flight. Only 8 hours!

Sue met us in the airport as we got our VISAs and our time here began. Thanks to so many people who so generously gave for the trip. Sue said the resources we brought are so helpful for the mission of the school.

We thank God for our journey so far. In all things God is always faithful.

Who knows what surprises, God sightings, and opportunities to serve lay ahead. More pictures will come.

Kaleb's highlights so far include: the airplane lift off (all three times), being in a new country, eating lots of meat for lunch, finding out that he didn't lose his diabetes pack!!!! Thank you Jesus.

Celeste's highlights so far include: hanging out with and talking more with Sue, helping out here, listening to Anna talk with Joe.

Thankful

I am so thankful to get to go to Paraguay with my wife and son!

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Sincerely,

 

Wil Davenport

The Trip Begins

Today, our trip will begin to Paraguay. And the first person we need to pray for is Sarah Roach. She is an incredible young lady who is a senior in high school and faithfully/passionately serves the children of our church. She had planned to go on our trip but had an emergency appendectomy yesterday. She is recovering well but is sad that she is missing the trip. Feel free to give her a call and encourage her.

Our team will not be the same without her but she will be with us because of her strong faith and prayers for what God is doing.

Celeste, Kaleb, Anna Young, Audrey Young, and I are thankful for your prayers.

Wil