Finding Encouragement

      I am not even sure how to start my blog this week. I fully believe that God has plans for Paraguay and is working hard through us and because of this there seems to be nonstop attacks on the Paraguay Mission Team. Looking back over my recent blog posts I can see an underlying theme consisting of a ton of roadblocks, a lot work with not a lot of results, and yet in the midst of it all there is a lot of good stuff happening.

      On Tuesdays we have been visiting a home for older men who fought in the war. These men are all very old and can hardly understand what we are saying but they are very happy when we come and visit them. It is great that we are able to share a little bit of Gods Word with them as we are there but I think one of my favorite things is knowing that this ministry opportunity was started by one of the contacts I have been working with. They had a desire to share with these men and they decided to follow that dream and took me along with them. It has been such a huge blessing.

      The Tuesday Cell Groups, there are 2 groups, have been consistent and I believe that good things are happening there. One group is with a family who I am blessed to say were actually all there for the first time this past week. This family has been through a lot and yet I am happy to tell you that I am able to see the small changes God is making in their lives. My second small group is with a woman from the church. She has a huge vision for the small group in her house and it is for it to grow and people to come to know Christ. Well this past Tuesday we are finally seeing the fruit of this desire happening! We had four new people in the group who accepted Christ for the first time, Praise the Lord!!!

       What is happening here in Paraguay are some huge victories and yet as I said in the opening these victories come with many and multiple attacks. These past couple weeks have been really hard weeks not only for me but the rest of my team also. Everyone has been having trouble sleeping along with there being a lot of stress. In the midst of these attacks there is a great praise in that Leon's partner finally got here. His name is Juliano and he is from Brasil. So be in prayer as Leon and the rest of the Team grow together as they continue this work. As we praise the arrival of this new teammate we also said goodbye to my original partner, Yoli, who after much prayer and discussion went home to continue her walk of faith in an environment that she can really grow and achieve all God desires for her. Because of everything surrounding all these activities I found myself very discouraged and tired – physically, mentally, and spiritually. And if all that wasn’t enough, it seemed like it was “transportation versus” me this week. Normally I don’t have much of a problem getting from here to there, but this week transportation was just one of those things that didn't go right. This only added to my discouragement as I had trouble making it to my cell groups on time.

Praises:

      The ministry with the men at the veteran home has been such a blessing and is the fruit of a contact.

      Leon’s partner, Juliano, which allows that component of our team to work to their fullest potential

      The Tuesday Cell Groups are showing signs of growth as God works in the individuals’ life within the cell goups.

Prayers:

      Rest and relieve from the stress we are being attacked by

      Pray also for the Team as a whole as we continue to grow together to carry out God’s plan for us

      Pray for me as I am without a partner for the time being as my partner went home. Please pray Yoli, who went home, and also be in prayer for the partner God has been preparing to replace her here on the team.

      Prayer also would be greatly appreciated for me in the area of finding encouragement in the midst of all the attacks all the way around me. Help me to see God at work in and around all that is going on here in Paraguay.

"Consistent" - thats a Praise

Hey guys! Don't worry I am still here and I did not fall off the face off the earth or anything exciting like that. The best way that I can describe these past weeks is that it seems like you are always busy and never have time to just stop and yet it seems like the amount of work I have been doing these past few weeks has decreased somewhat. It's that funny situation where there is a whole lot of little stuff that is taking up so much of the big time that it seems like there is less work and yet there is so much more going on - if that makes sense?


I did want to get a brief blog up though to let you know that our cell groups are going okay. They seem to be somewhat consistent in the times (which by the way is a great thing - consistent!) that we meet but we have yet to see a lot of numerical growth in our areas. So we will count "consistent" as a Praise and continue to push on and pray that God will give us the answers to help spur deeper growth both numerically and spiritually in these groups.


I am writing this to say I am not discouraged, only that I am trying and will try to trust in God's timing in regards to this growth. I also want to thank you for your prayers and support. It helps me get through these rough weeks of "busyness" knowing that I have people thinking and praying for me. 
Thanks for you prayers and looking forward to all God has in store as we continue the journey.






Thanks for all your continued prayers as they are felt! I also ask that you prayerfully consider joining my support team through prayer or financially or would like more information on how to join the team click the following link: Kelsey Extreme Paraguay Click to donate or join the prayer team and follow the steps provided. The most efficient is direct withdrawal from a bank account, credit cards have charges so not everything you donate will make it to the field with me. Thank you

Contact Info: "There's a Gas Station by my House"

As I write the blogs each week I have come to realize that a lot of what I am writing each week sounds and says the same things and yet that is what a lot of our time is – spending time with the same people, meeting new people, helping people with tools to help grow their faith, praying and being present for situations that are beyond our control, and staying strong in our faith in the midst of monotony, difficulty, and exciting time all the same. All this to say Missionary work is not all glitz, glamour and excitement so I share everything I do so maybe something will catch your heart as something to be praying for.  

On Tuesday, this past week, besides our regular Tuesday Night Cell Group we had the opportunity to meet with a new Cell Group. This group consisted of a husband a wife and while the husband is not a Christian he seemed to be very interested in knowing more about God. The women said she was very blessed to have us there and we have faith that through her excitement and his curiosity that God will grow this group. After this new group we met with our normal Tuesday Night Cell Group. This group is going very well and as we slowly get to know the people more and more in this group we find that we are being able to minister more and more effectively.

Thursday we had the opportunity to go to an event in which the other Nazarene churches in the area were getting together. It was a great opportunity to meet some new people. We ended up traveling about an hour outside of the city to a campground. After about 3 hours in the rain playing soccer I jumped in the pool – like I wasn’t wet enough. It was a very long and yet fun day.

Friday we met with our normal Cell Group that went really well yet this group sees to be lacking any type of growth. We are continuously praying for additional opportunities within this group and presenting different ideas to the women of this group on how to invite people to come. Of all the ideas we have presented so far there hasn’t been one that the leader thinks will work so we are trying to get creative and find ways to overcome her skepticism.

Saturday was a normal day with our English class and then the Teen Service. I was not in the English class that day because I was preaching at that night’s service so I was reviewing my sermon. While I was working on my sermon at the Church a women showed up. She had been talking to some people from the church and they were talking about the small groups. I remember meeting her before at the kid's event we had hosted however at the time she did not want to give me any information, or should I say the only information she was willing to give was that there is a gas station by her house, kind of helpful right? I asked Emily if she could talk to her because they need some more Cell Group leads and yet when Emily went over to talk to her she stopped her and asked for me. She wanted to talk to me because she said she had given me her information – remember, the house by the gas station. We sat and talked with for a while and in the end she ended up giving me all her contact information and we have a meeting set up this Saturday. Then to my surprise she came to church on Sunday! It is amazing to see the way God has drawn her to Him and I am going to do all I can to help her grow closer to Him and not let her get away this time.

Our services on Sunday are continuing to grow and we are running out of room for people. This past Sunday I sat outside because there was hardly any room inside!   

Praise: I have finally got some sleep!

Prayers: Even though we have some new groups starting it feels like we are seeing very little growth. Yoli & I are both feeling frustrated by this. I ask that you pray that we will continually remember to put our frustrations in God and his plan for our groups.

Prayers: I do not think I have mentioned this in a Blog yet. Leon is currently partner-less and has been for a couple weeks now. Please be praying God will open the door and a new partner would get here soon to help carry the load and the burden that Leon is carrying now by himself. Also be praying for Leon for as much as we are a Team there is so much that partners share together in and that piece is missing.