Christmas Letter 2010
Dear Friends,
Here I am at the end of yet another school year in Paraguay, with time for reflection as we move into the Advent season. It has not been the easiest of years. We faced some changes as SAMS became a branch of CMS. That was an unsettling time.
I faced personal challenges when I lost one librarian assistant and had to wait for the Lord to send another. I also had the added challenge of teaching English to some sixth graders as well as my normal classes across the Primary.
The Lord promises never to give us more than we can cope with and He has been faithful to that promise.
Paraguay has been generally quieter this year, apart from when Paraguay played in the World Cup! For a while that brought a renewed spirit of hope to the nation. Then we heard the news that President Lugo has cancer. We thank the Lord that his prognosis is now better.
The Anglican Church here is experiencing change as the Holy Spirit moves among us. We thank the Lord for answered prayer. This year’s Synod saw an opportunity for “Growing Together”. This is the vision for the future. Spiritual barriers within churches are gradually being broken down and the future is looking much better, as we come closer together as God’s family.
There have been challenges in the church I attend. We are working far more to help each other through difficult times. This has involved more “giving” in a variety of ways. The Lord is blessing us.
This year I have learnt so much about giving and I have been blessed in my friendship with Fermina, my indigenous friend from the Chaco, as I help her. I have learnt a lot from Fermina about having confidence and trust in God. I have been amazed how the Lord has provided for her. I truly love and value her as a Christian sister.
Life in school has been difficult. We are all overstretched. My extra classes meant a lot more preparation and marking. With the Lord’s help we have all survived together and had fun along the way. I still managed all the other work. The Holy Spirit has guided each day and I have been given wisdom and strength. I have also received so much joy and love from the children. A week ago Giovanni and I packed up the library. It is now under refurbishment.
The Christmas season started early in the school. The year finished at the end of November. We have had lovely services and concerts to remind us as teachers of what we are about, preparing future leaders who are grounded in the Gospel and who have the opportunity to know Jesus personally from a young age.
We started the end of year celebrations with presentations from the pre-school departments in both the main school and our Annexe school. The little ones have a simple faith and we could all learn from them as they danced and sang, praising the Lord.
There were mixed emotions from both students and parents, as the 6th form leavers held their service and were sent out to shine the light of Jesus in their future lives. Many tears of happiness were shed as prayers were said for each student.
Finally there were the graduation services for the sixth grade, moving into lower secondary and for the ninth grade finishing their basic education and moving into upper secondary.
This year one of the secondary students wrote, “I am a fortunate girl for being in this school. Since I’ve been here I know God a lot better. The teachers always talk about God and the importance of keeping Him near us. It doesn’t matter if we can´t see Him, we have to believe and have faith. I really don’t know yet what I’m going to do in the future but I am sure that God has already planned my life. If I’m stuck in life I am convinced that I can talk to God and He’ll listen to me. He is like a friend for me, my best friend. God will never leave me alone. That is what ************ School gives us day by day.”
Seeing and hearing the children’s response to the gospel message makes every day special.
As we approach Christmas, I thank our Father God for all his love and faithfulness over the past year. He has upheld us and has responded to your prayers for us. As I celebrate His birth and look forward to him coming again in Glory, I will be thinking of you all. I give thanks for you who enable us to have the privilege of being here on the Mission field.
Thank you so much for your amazing prayers and support.
Have a wonderful and blessed Christmas and may the next year bring you good health and happiness.
For your prayers:
Give thanks for good things that are happening, as the Holy Spirit moves and inspires us.
Pray for the people here to turn from corruption and to really seek God’s Will for the future. Pray for President Lugo’s health to improve and for his government to have wisdom. Pray for healing in the nation.
Pray for the Holy Spirit to work within our churches to bring unity and love as we support each other and reach out with the Gospel message of salvation.
Pray for the school, for the Lord to send more Christian teachers for the English departments. Pray for new English teaching staff who will be joining us, for the Lord to equip them well. Pray for the children to be protected in their walk with the Lord. Pray for safety for everybody as we take our annual break for the summer.
Please pray for my health and ask the Lord to give me more energy for the year ahead.
You can read in more detail, see photos and comment on some of the things that we have been up to this month, on my other blog site at
Dear Friends,
Here I am at the end of yet another school year in Paraguay, with time for reflection as we move into the Advent season. It has not been the easiest of years. We faced some changes as SAMS became a branch of CMS. That was an unsettling time.
I faced personal challenges when I lost one librarian assistant and had to wait for the Lord to send another. I also had the added challenge of teaching English to some sixth graders as well as my normal classes across the Primary.
The Lord promises never to give us more than we can cope with and He has been faithful to that promise.
Paraguay has been generally quieter this year, apart from when Paraguay played in the World Cup! For a while that brought a renewed spirit of hope to the nation. Then we heard the news that President Lugo has cancer. We thank the Lord that his prognosis is now better.
The Anglican Church here is experiencing change as the Holy Spirit moves among us. We thank the Lord for answered prayer. This year’s Synod saw an opportunity for “Growing Together”. This is the vision for the future. Spiritual barriers within churches are gradually being broken down and the future is looking much better, as we come closer together as God’s family.
There have been challenges in the church I attend. We are working far more to help each other through difficult times. This has involved more “giving” in a variety of ways. The Lord is blessing us.
This year I have learnt so much about giving and I have been blessed in my friendship with Fermina, my indigenous friend from the Chaco, as I help her. I have learnt a lot from Fermina about having confidence and trust in God. I have been amazed how the Lord has provided for her. I truly love and value her as a Christian sister.
Life in school has been difficult. We are all overstretched. My extra classes meant a lot more preparation and marking. With the Lord’s help we have all survived together and had fun along the way. I still managed all the other work. The Holy Spirit has guided each day and I have been given wisdom and strength. I have also received so much joy and love from the children. A week ago Giovanni and I packed up the library. It is now under refurbishment.
The Christmas season started early in the school. The year finished at the end of November. We have had lovely services and concerts to remind us as teachers of what we are about, preparing future leaders who are grounded in the Gospel and who have the opportunity to know Jesus personally from a young age.
We started the end of year celebrations with presentations from the pre-school departments in both the main school and our Annexe school. The little ones have a simple faith and we could all learn from them as they danced and sang, praising the Lord.
There were mixed emotions from both students and parents, as the 6th form leavers held their service and were sent out to shine the light of Jesus in their future lives. Many tears of happiness were shed as prayers were said for each student.
Finally there were the graduation services for the sixth grade, moving into lower secondary and for the ninth grade finishing their basic education and moving into upper secondary.
This year one of the secondary students wrote, “I am a fortunate girl for being in this school. Since I’ve been here I know God a lot better. The teachers always talk about God and the importance of keeping Him near us. It doesn’t matter if we can´t see Him, we have to believe and have faith. I really don’t know yet what I’m going to do in the future but I am sure that God has already planned my life. If I’m stuck in life I am convinced that I can talk to God and He’ll listen to me. He is like a friend for me, my best friend. God will never leave me alone. That is what ************ School gives us day by day.”
Seeing and hearing the children’s response to the gospel message makes every day special.
As we approach Christmas, I thank our Father God for all his love and faithfulness over the past year. He has upheld us and has responded to your prayers for us. As I celebrate His birth and look forward to him coming again in Glory, I will be thinking of you all. I give thanks for you who enable us to have the privilege of being here on the Mission field.
Thank you so much for your amazing prayers and support.
Have a wonderful and blessed Christmas and may the next year bring you good health and happiness.
For your prayers:
Give thanks for good things that are happening, as the Holy Spirit moves and inspires us.
Pray for the people here to turn from corruption and to really seek God’s Will for the future. Pray for President Lugo’s health to improve and for his government to have wisdom. Pray for healing in the nation.
Pray for the Holy Spirit to work within our churches to bring unity and love as we support each other and reach out with the Gospel message of salvation.
Pray for the school, for the Lord to send more Christian teachers for the English departments. Pray for new English teaching staff who will be joining us, for the Lord to equip them well. Pray for the children to be protected in their walk with the Lord. Pray for safety for everybody as we take our annual break for the summer.
Please pray for my health and ask the Lord to give me more energy for the year ahead.
You can read in more detail, see photos and comment on some of the things that we have been up to this month, on my other blog site at
My email address is ltedman@hotmail.com. I would love to hear from you and to pray for you.
