Thanks for
all your prayers this month. Prayer has
been a great support to us through a difficult time.
The Country
The government declared an
emergency situation and then people in Asuncion began a “solidarity campaign”,
collecting food, clothes, bottled water and medicines. Helicopters have been
evacuating people to higher ground, where they are now living under plastic
sheeting.
Teams have been taking food into central collection points.
Helicopters have dropped food into inaccessible areas.
Things seem to be much more
organized than they were fourteen years ago when this situation last occurred,
soon after I arrived here.
Last week a famous celebrity came
to Paraguay for the first time. Sir Paul McCartney brought his “On the Run”
concert to Paraguay. Sir Paul played and sang for over three hours, almost
non-stop and the Paraguayans loved it, joining in with many of the songs that
they know by heart in English.
Luis Palau is here this week with
a big evangelism Festival, with bands for the young people. 30,000 attended
last night.
The Churches
This weekend there is a team here
from St. Mark’s church in Liverpool. They are sharing their experiences of
church growth, with the church here.
The school
On Easter Sunday we received some
devastating news. One of our pupils, Gabi Duarte, in the lower sixth form, was
tragically killed in a motor accident. Gabi was a talented singer. She had been
filming for
an appearance on a popular TV talent show and she was returning home with a
producer and another contestant, who were also killed. We were all deeply
affected by the loss of such a promising young student.
Our
first group of students went off to Brazil this week on an international Sports
camp. They had a great time and we are proud of their sporting attitudes.
The children produced
a show for us and also we received many gifts.
There was a lunch for the staff
and everybody received a beautiful, Spanish, personalized Bible with our names
on them.
Personal
news
Thank
you to those who have been praying for my health and well-being over the last
few weeks. Last week I had a small
operation on my gallbladder. In answer to prayer everything went very well and
I am now well on the mend.
Prayer
points:-
- We give thanks that the Lord is
here when we call out to Him and that he is a merciful and loving God.
- Please pray for our indigenous
brothers and sisters in the Chaco. Pray that all their emotional and
material needs will be met during the current emergency and for as long as
they need help. Pray that they will be able to return home soon. Pray for
the government to continue to help where needed.
- Please pray for our students and
staff as the term continues, as pupils come to terms with the grief of
losing Gabi. They are all much better, but these things take time. Some
exams have begun and the students need to be able to concentrate.
- Please pray that after all the
rain there will not be any major dengue outbreaks or other epidemics.
Please pray for the protection of our staff and pupils too.
- Pray for our congregations to be
inspired by the visit of the team from St. Mark’s.
Linn
Tedman working for the
Church Mission Society, Watlington Road, Oxford, OX4 6BZ email:- ltedman@hotmail.com
You can read more
detail and see more photos on my blog:- http://www.linninpy.blogspot.com
