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SEPTEMBER 2017
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JUNE 2016
Paraguay Missions Newsletter
The Miller Family

Happy Spring/Fall! As you all move into fall on September 21st we celebrate the first day of spring. We have had some unusually hot weather so I can’t even imagine what the summer heat will be this year.

We have had a very busy and exciting month. As I mentioned we only had a few days between the South American Conference in Ecuador and the team Canada/U.S.A. team arriving so we hit the ground running. This was a unique group because people were coming and going throughout the 3 weeks. We were blessed to have a group of 22 from Michigan for the first week along with the group from Canada. The Ontario group was a representation of 5 different churches. We instantly fell in love with them and the groups mixed like family. In total there were 61 people here for one week or the other and some staying for the entire 3 weeks.

There were 3 different construction projects that the group worked on. One was a dining hall for the local school where our smaller kids attend from the Home. The school organized the demolition of a room the school cook was using as a kitchen. The main ceiling beam was cracked and she often told me she was worried it would fall on her or the kids. Dan measured out the new area and had a crew put in the foundation. The team was able to build the walls using ceramic blocks and roof the building.

One day at the school there was a celebration for children’s day. They invited our group to come and have lunch with the kids. We had a dentist with us for one week from Canada and so he set up in one of the class rooms and he performed extractions free of charge after lunch. He also gave a toothbrush to all the kids in the school with a demonstration of how to properly brush their teeth. The group also gave away balloon animals which was a hit.

On the final week a group went back to the school to present flip flops (the everyday foot wear in Paraguay) to each child, along with chocolate milk and a treat. Each teacher and the principle received a bag full of school supplies for their classroom. The best thing to the kids was probably the new soccer ball presented to the school!!

Our dentist also offered clinics at the camp one day and at the local health clinic. I (Gwen) was just there to translate but when we started at the health clinic I had to fight the tears. I looked down at one of my neighbors who was about to have a rotten tooth pulled out and I was overwhelmed with gratitude. She is a hard working poor mom who would have just suffered on with the pain if it had not been for this free dental clinic in our neighborhood. Two of my kids needed extractions and I hadn’t been able to get them in to see a dentist. We have never had a dentist on a mission team before and I am so grateful he came.

The second project is the building of a trade school. This building is to teach different trades to our neighbors and our older kids. We had a huge group help pour the cement pad for this building. With 3 cement mixers and a lot of people hauling sand, gravel, cement and water we got it done in no time. The welder that we have working for us, Lord willing, will be teaching classes on welding when the school starts. Also Mario will be teaching gardening. I already had a neighbor lady ask me to sign her up for that class.

The third project is the building of 15 homes. These are one room homes for 15 needy families. It is heartbreaking to see some of the conditions people live in. I believe each member of the team got an opportunity to work on the homes in town. I only got there a few days but I felt very blessed to be a part of it. The people that the homes were being built for were more than willing to help. They also shared food with the team. Sopa is a traditional cornbread here. Ladies made sopa for the team to eat and to this day they are giving sopa to Dan for us. We have been sharing it with the kids in the Home so they are happy too. I now have a stack of dishes to return to various new home owners. The team did a presentation at each home letting the people know who had provided them a house and why. They also received a gift bundle of a blanket, sheets, towels and dish towels. One of the homes that was built is for a family whose house burnt down. When this house is completely finished, thanks to a generous gift from the team, the family will also receive a new fridge and beds. Dan has been in these 2 neighborhoods day after day for a long time now. First looking for potential needs then with the team and now overseeing our crew finishing up the homes. Everyone calls him Pastor and there are many who come looking for him to ask for a home too. We have been invited to come back and eat with some and we have made promises to go back together to visit and pray with others whom have expressed some needs. We were not at church last Sunday because we were in the city seeing off the group but apparently a few of these recipients were at our local church service. We had a meeting last night with one of the couples from our local church to discuss some ministry opportunities there. One of the young men from our church, Santiago, spent a lot of time with the team and worked hard on the construction alongside them. He made some real connections with the team and the families they were working with. Pray that God helps us and our local church to minister to these families.

On top of all the construction there were sermons preached, teaching, painting classes, a soccer game which the team lost to the Paraguay team, special music, dramas and more. We had 2 handymen on the team that blessed Dani and I. They took lists from both of us of odd jobs we needed done but that our men do not have time to do and they did them all. Then they started fixing things around the camp. What a blessing!! A fun thing the ladies from the team did was pamper the ladies from our local church. Not all of our church ladies could come but some invited friends out for the first time. The team ladies cut hair, washed feet and gave foot massages, painted toe nails, taught the ladies how to make their own necklace (thank you Amanda Moore for leaving that craft) gave away some clothes and provided refreshments. The team also did a children’s event in the soccer stadium right close to where they built the homes. There were about 350 people all together participate in this community event. There were 2 bouncy castles, face painting, balloon animals, games, prizes, refreshments plus an evangelistic program with dramas, music and a clear gospel message. The National Children’s Director, Jonathan, came with his group to help with the program. On their way out the gate every child received a water bottle that had the teams logo on it “be the hands and feet of God” plus our local churches name here in Carapegua.

We have been so blessed over these 3 months with 3 mission teams. Each one different from the next but all accomplishing amazing things! We have been reunited with old friends and made many new ones. Words can’t express how loved and blessed we feel.

Yesterday I received a call from a woman I have never met before from a church in Acahay about 30 minutes from us. She called to tell me how thankful that she was to Dan and I that we had had a music ministry in our local church that blessed other churches. She told me her daughter had learned how to play the guitar with Stephen and Jessica in their Monday night classes and that now she leads worship in their church. What a wonderful and encouraging call. Stephen and Jessica moved back to the U.S. this week. We love and appreciate them and know that what they started here is living on and that God will use them in North Carolina also.

Blessings

Dan and Gwen

Dan- Gwen-

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