Benjamin can't speak yet, so he will add his precious smile to this article!

Elijah:  “By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks unto His name.” Hebrews 13: 15

As I reflect back on the last two years I am simply overwhelmed thinking about God’s goodness and want to say thank you Lord Jesus!

I want to thank the Lord for my wonderful, sweet wife who is a help meet for me in more ways than I can count, and for each one of my precious children.

And I thank God for all He has been teaching us through the last two years in Spanish, Paraguayan culture study and in our walk with Him!

I thank Him for His tender loving care that we have experienced each step of the way through His word, His Holy Spirit, and through His Body both here in Asuncion and at home. 

I praise the Lord for giving us a great family back home!  My parents have been a tremendous example and encouragement to Moira and me.  For Moira’s mom and dad (and sisters) who have so faithfully shown their love and care for us and came all the way down to see us and helps with the birth of baby Benjamin.

I thank God for a great home assembly in Maine!  For their faithfulness in prayer, giving and for the encouragement they continue to be to us.  And for the elders He has given to us that rightly divide the Word of truth.

I thank the Lord for the body of Christ here at Encuentro Cristiano and the investment they have made in our lives and for the fellowship we have had together.  And for their excitement in helping with the work that lies ahead!

We are so blessed to have the privilege of getting to know and work with so many other dedicated missionaries!

There are so many people who I would love to thank, in person. Our lives here would not be the same without you and I continually give thanks for all of you in my prayers.           

And the list could go on and on…….  Thank you Lord Jesus!

Moira: “It’s been two years of growth. Coming to a strange country and hearing nothing but confusing babble to begin with, and now understanding not just what is said but what is meant – seeing deeply into the way another people group sees the world – has been an experience that moves me to awe over the grace of our God. He loves and cares for all His creation and knows us intimately, though it’s all so new and different to me at times. Learning to be relevant is a humbling experience; what else can we do but glory in our Savior?

I’m seeing the lost with new eyes, from the begging mother on the street with baby in arms, to the rich man who drives a BMW and whose hope is in the tradition he learned from his ancestors. They are people in need of not just a simple ‘fix’ or behavioral reformation – but in need of a full presentation, in word and in deed, of the living power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Who is salvation to all who believe in Him. What a privilege we have as believers to be ambassadors of Christ! What great things He has done in our lives, and how greatly He is working in the field of the world!

Elisha, age 7: “I think we’ve just been really blessed.”

Jerusha, age 6: “And I’m happy to live here but I really miss my family and friends back in the States. But really, Paraguay is a nice place to live too.”

Jedidiah, age 4: “We went to Tobatí and found honey. Daddy and Señor Celso chopped down a tree and there was honey in the middle of it! And it tasted…ummm…not very sweet, and the bees that make it are little and they are the kind that can’t sting. But they fly in your ears if you take their honey!”

Israel, almost 3: “Yes, and we found some cocos” (small seeds with a shell and marble-sized coconut meats inside). “And there was a hammer, and I bang the cocos with the hammer and there’s a crack, and I open the crack and I eat it all out! I like hammers.”

A young girl serves terere, the cold tea drink that is so popular in Paraguay

The day we arrived in the tribal village we were met by some grave news. An eight year old girl had died in school that day; she had complained of a headache and a while later began screaming hysterically before she suddenly became unable to talk and later died. All the parents were summoned to the school with these words: “Did you send a child to school today? Come quickly, someone has died!” No one knew the exact cause of her death, but already the rumors attributing it to witchcraft were circulating heavily. This was what one of the chiefs told Luci, the single missionary with whom we were traveling. 

   “What will they do when someone is accused of witchcraft?” we asked Luci.

   “Oh, it’s a very serious charge,” she replied. “If they think there is enough evidence, the person could be put to death. Usually the person they blame it on is old, or a woman, someone who cannot do much to defend themselves. Normally they run away, to another colony, before the punishment can be carried out. Most people here still attribute sickness, bad crops and many other things to witchcraft.”

   We knew that this chief was a Christian, one of the elders in the tribal church we had come to visit. So we asked Luci what he would do about this situation.

   “Oh, he will try to protect the person even though he faces so much pressure!” she told us. “I am always amazed at how the Lord gives him so much wisdom to deal with these kind of situations. First he will ask if she was taken to the doctor, and what the autopsy said, and then he will tell the others we have no proof of witchcraft. Also he will say that he could not punish an innocent person, if there was not enough proof, and he will drag his feet if nothing else works, and somehow he will find a way to avoid punishing them.”

   She also told us that probably the unbelievers would keep their children home from school for a long time out of fear of witchcraft, but that the believers are not afraid of this anymore and their children will continue to go.

   It was amazing to hear of this one man, a small and lightly built older man, leading his people according to his new conscience as a believer! What wonderful things the Lord is doing in the lives of the people of this colony! There is a church packed full every Sunday, five elders to shepherd the flock, and a room full of materials to the believers who teach their neighbors, once a week, to read and write and share the truth with them from beginning to end of the Scriptures!

   “There is so much to do, so many ways the believers need to mature,” said Luci who worked among them for 10 years, “but God has done so much in their lives and He is working through them to change so much, even in their weakest points!”

Israel recently fell asleep - or went to sleep - or put himself to sleep - during a meeting.

We all know about figures of speech: the obvious ones, such as “It’s raining cats and dogs”, immediately come to mind. But what about everyday expressions? They’re all literal, right? Or does it depend on how you look at it?

    In English, we “take a walk”. In Spanish, you “give a walk” (dar un paseo)! In English, we “fall asleep”. In Spanish, you “put oneself to sleep” (dormirse) – the word form indicates that you are both performing and receiving the action.

    In English, we “are” cold, and we “are” so many years old. In Spanish, we “have” cold (to be cold: tener frio) and we also “have” so many years (tener años). To think about it is a little mind-bending: we don’t actually “have cold” (as in tangible possession) but can we really say that we “are” cold? Will we be that way forever? Suffice it to say that each expression makes perfect sense in its context.

    Does it matter how we say things? Or is the meaning the important thing? Yes, and…yes.

    In English, one word for “you” suffices for everyone. In Paraguayan Spanish, we have three words for “you”. Vos is used for people you know (more informal), Tu is mostly used for praying and singing to the Lord, and Usted is for anyone you don’t know or one who is in a position to be respected (teachers, people with high status, etc.) Each word for you has its own verb form for every verb, and one is expected size up the social situation and use the correct form. For a native English speaker, that seems complicated! Even this is a reflection of the different needs of the culture that formed the language…where status means more, there are according ways of expressing the distinctions, and so on.

    In some cultures, there are very few color terms. In English, we have a myriad of names to describe specific hues (maybe because interior decorating and matching clothes are important to us?) In other cultures, there are specific words to describe how far one threw something. In English, we must use a phrase to express that meaning (“I threw it about three yards”). Generally, what is important to the people who live in a group with shared experience and culture shows up in their language.

    If seemingly simple expressions like this are so different in different languages, what about terms like “faith” and “salvation”? Is there a word in the language that carries anything close to the Biblical meaning? If so, can we use that word and re-teach the significance to cover the Biblical area of meaning? Or do we need to use a phrase? What if the very idea cannot be found in the culture? Where do we go from there? Many missionaries have wrestled with these questions for years.

    Why should this matter to us as missionaries, as believers? Of course we aren’t responsible to save anyone or do the work of the Spirit in people’s lives, but we should care about communicating to the best of our ability. Sharing the Gospel should involve using words, phrases, terms, etc. that communicate the message to the hearer, not just words that mean a lot to us as the speakers. It’s about finding out what our audience understood and taking the time to re-word, re-communicate and re-check until the true meaning of this most important message is not only spoken, but its significance understood!

Lucho is surrounded by an ash cloud as charcoal carmelizes sugar with yerba mate to make cocido, one of the most popular drinks in Paraguay.

Smoke rose from the little charcoal brazier as we were led into the backyard of our host, Lucho. He and his wife had waited out on the street to greet us: “Hola, hola!” shaking Elijah’s hand and doing the beso with Moira (kissing on both cheeks, the traditional Paraguayan greeting). Lucho and his wife Abelina are a Christian couple who speak not a word of English, but their welcome was full and warm. Developing strong relationships with Paraguayan believers is one of our desires during our time here in Asuncion; we want to learn from them how to model Christ in their culture and at the same time, help and encourage them where we can. Spending time with others in their environment is a basic way to begin showing the love of Christ to them (Luke 19:1-10).

Water was heating on the brazier. Our hosts were making for us one of the many drinks using yerba mate (pronounced “jare-buh mah-tay”). Lucho mixed two spoonfuls of yerba and one spoonful of sugar, then carefully added a few glowing coals from the fire. Ash billowed in the air and the smoke had a delicious aroma of caramelizing tea and sugar…Lucho dumped the blend into the water (coals included!), waited a few minutes, and strained it. We were served mugs of hot, delicious cocido with milk. Did Moira want extra sugar? They wanted to know. “Si, yes,” she replied, and spooned out a small amount into her cup.

Lucho’s daughter Carolina shook her head slightly and smiled. “Mas azucar,” she said and poured three more heaping tablespoonfuls into Moira’s mug. It seems that mild and sweet – very, very sweet – are preferred flavors in Paraguay.

Lucho and Avelina live in a cement house they built 25 years ago, entirely by hand. Lucho is a truck driver, and several of their six grown children still live with them (not uncommon in Paraguay).  Several of them gathered around to play with the children and smile at us. Suddenly a screeching but intelligible noise overshadowed the conversation. None of the family seemed to take any notice. Could it really be? 

“Loro habla Espanol (The parrot speaks Spanish)?”  asked Moira in her broken Spanish.

“Si, si,” said Avelina with a giggle. We all craned our necks to look up at the green parrots perched above our heads.  

Paco, the talking parrot. He eats bread soaked in cocido or coffee for dinner!

“Hola Paco,” the parrot squawked again. Our children jumped out of their seats and exclaimed excitedly. Everyone was bemused by our interest in the talking parrots.

We conversed as much as we could with our limited Spanish (punctuated by a lot of puzzled looks on their part and many smiles on ours). Half the time we wondered whether we ought to be agreeing with and later, what we were agreeing to!

When we left the whole family accompanied us two blocks back to our home. “My home is your home,” they told us over and over again.

It all seemed so natural in the situation – but later on, we felt like pinching ourselves. Were we really just there, drinking a smoky tea in back of an old home with talking parrots in the rafters? How in this setting have we modeled Christ to them? Or for that matter, how have we been able to serve since we came to Paraguay?

To tell the truth, we’ve been served much more than we are able to serve right now. From the veteran missionaries who are directing our language study, to the  host families that take us around and show us how things are done, and the fellow believers who invite us into their homes and lives, we are having to learn to graciously accept help and hospitality without being able to give much in return. Honestly, this rubs our independent attitudes the wrong way sometimes! But the Lord is helping us realize that during this phase of our life, we are called to be learners on a very basic level. 

We glory in the Lord! Through Him, because of Him, and for His glory!

Today you are learning the names of different fruits. You are sitting down with your language helper; you pick an item (an orange for example), and point to it.

Moira learning kitchen items with Sara

“La naranja,” says your helper. You add a couple more items (a passionfruit and an apple) and your helper says, “El mburucuya. La manzana.” Repeat this step until you think you know the names of all 12 fruits on the table.

1. “Vos decis y yo temuestro (You speak and I’ll show you),” you tell the helper.

“La naranja,” she replies, and you point to the orange. Repeat as necessary (this normally takes up to an hour!).

1. 

   Elijah records Miguel, one of our language helpers

  Record your helper saying the words you have learned.

1.  After she leaves, take photos of all the items, boot up your computer and open CLAware (Culture/Language Acquisition software, developed specially by New Tribes for learning languages from an emic – or insider’s -perspective). Load the audio file, edit it, split “la naranja” and the other words. Then load the photos onto your desktop, process them into CLAware, and paste the photo of your orange onto the right audio split. Now you are ready to listen!

For the next week, listen to the “Fruit TPR audio” 3-4x daily. When your helper comes the next week, review it by listening to her while you point to show her which one she is asking you about: “Donde esta la naranja? (Where is the orange?)”

1. 

   Elijah uses CLAware for hours...great program despite its problems!

   Listen again to your recordings for the next week. Pay careful attention to Sara’s pronounciation: how pure her vowels sound and how the “j” is different from any sound we have in English. Listen to her intonation as well.

2.  Review with helper again.
3.  The third week, use inner speech –  form the words in your mind while you listen to the recording: “La naranja. El mburucuya.” You hope that “orange” is an easy word for you and not a stone of stumbling like the word for “refrigerator” – but you can usually tell how you’ll do by this time. Halfway through the week you can begin to practice saying them. Record yourself saying “La naranja” and listen back to back with Sara’s recording, comparing the sound.

This week, you finally point to your photo of the orange and say: “La naranja!” 

Sara replies, “Muy bien! (Very good!)” as she giggles at your attempts.

Now you put “La naranja” into your review cycle and use it in conversation whenever you can. Actually, you create opportunities to use it!

 Whoever thought of so much work to learn one little word?

Moira tries her hand - literally - at making one of the most popular foods in Paraguay.

“Beautiful hair! Cavallo celinda!” I said, pointing to the curly brown hair of our tiny neighbor Camila.

Her mother looked so confused that I touched my own hair and said, “Cavallo?”

“No, no,” said Camila’s mother. “Cavello!”

It was then I realized what I had said. “Beautiful horse!” No wonder they didn’t understand! Cristian sat in the corner of the pawn shop. He wouldn’t look, but he was shaking in silent laughter. That same day I told someone that Elisha was a “fire boy” when I meant to say he was a “strong boy”. The list of blunders could go on…but you get the picture.

At the grocery store – which kind of receipt do I want? Well, I have to say I don’t know. Actually, I can’t even say that! And can I please see the total cost on paper, because I can’t understand “Cien y cinienta mil!” Oh sorry, I gave the cashier less than the total – I’m short 50,000 guaranies…just not used to paying in the hundreds of thousands for my weekly shopping list! 

Every day, inside the four walls of my house is the only place I know what to do. Outside, I’m about on the comprehension level of a one year old! I am in a position to help no one, but I really need help and end up having to accept it left and right. Every day. And I thank everyone who helps with a smile and a simple, “Gracias. Thank you,” just like a one year old. Kind of humbling for a twenty-five year old mother of four who is moving to a foreign land to “reach people for Christ!”  

I am getting used the idea that the Lord can and will use even my helplessness and confusion for His glory!  It’s a good reminder to remain teachable and dependent on the Lord, first and foremost, and then those He has brought along to teach me how to talk again!

“For we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” 1 Cor. 4:7

   Almost 500 pounds of items are packed and sitting in the corner of our bedroom. About half that weight is taken up in books – schoolbooks for the kids, reference and church planting books, parenting books – Elijah is careful to remind his bookworm wife that we probably have enough books already! He’s right, of course, but there’s always that one last book, and he always agrees. (Does that make him a bookworm too?)

   The kids each have their own little backpack to put their personal items. Jed’s “treasures” include: an acorn, some change, a key, and a button in a little red tin…

   Please pray that our health will hold up on the trip and our adjustment to a new life in Paraguay!

An aerial view of the Kanuka village Elijah lived in while in Papua New Guinea

 A Question of Origins

Where did you come from?

The village elders had asked this question of the missionary team who were newly arrived in a remote tribal village in Papua New Guinea, and now the team was discussing how to answer it. They could not communicate well yet and no translation had been done in the Kanuka* language, so Elijah’s father finally gave this reply: “Well, a lot of people in our country believe we came from monkeys. We don’t believe that, but it’s too hard to explain now how we came to be here. You must wait until we can tell you God’s Talk.”

The Kanuka leaders were incredulous. “What? They think we came from monkeys? That’s crazy! Everyone knows we came from birds. Which bird did you come from?”

“We didn’t come from any bird,” the missionaries replied.

The leaders consulted among themselves. “These people don’t even know which bird they came from!”

They told Elijah’s father that there were only two clans in the world: one had come from the Naa bird and one from the Kiwolo bird. Everyone, they said, must belong to one of these clans. “You have a big beard, and only men from the Naa clan can grow beards, so that means you are a Naa. Naas can only marry people from the Kiwolo clan, so your wife and all your children must be Kiwolos.”

Later as Elijah hiked down the trail with some of the men, he suddenly realized that he was the only one still walking. Everyone else had stopped and was looking reverently upward at a bird flying over the trail. “Really,” they said to him. “You must show more respect when Grandfather flies over.”
We are privileged to know that we did not come from birds or monkeys but were created by the God of the universe!

Every view of origin directly impacts the people who believe it…may our lives display our faith in the Lord more every day, communicating to the lost around us – and to those languages who have yet to hear – about the true Creator.

*name changed to protect the privacy of this people group

   Finishing school. Back home for two months. On the road with our three children for two months, back home busily getting ready for the baby to arrive the next month. Looking on to the summer, mountains of paperwork, preparation, construction jobs, ministry opportunities… then field preparation as we hope to be leaving before the end of 2009 – does this sound something like your busy life as well? So much to do and seemingly so little time?

   We are constantly reminded by our Father not to worry about tomorrow (Matt. chapter 6). Resting in Who God is and Who He will be when tomorrow does come is important when we are wanting to do everything for His glory!

   Practically, it may mean…going to bed early instead of fretting over the messy desk, exploring an old building with the children, or simply enjoying the newly sprung plants in the garden with quiet thankfulness.

   Our cares won’t be less as we go on with life – they’ll be greater as we move into an unfamiliar culture and begin ministering in Paraguay to a tribal group. So how will we find rest then?

   The same way we should be finding it now – in Christ. Not just mentally assenting to it, but acting on it!

   Sledding on the icy hills as winter breeze whips by; snowball “tosses” with the kids, hauling firewood and enjoying hot spiced apple cider with family.

   Elijah and Elisha even camped out in the snow cave for a night! They hauled out a mattress, subzero sleeping bags, fur hats, snow clothes, candles, and a thermos full of tea for the exciting trip (fortunately, the cave is only about 100 feet from our front door). It remains doubtful whether either of them actually slept, but at least they felt adventurous together! Check out the photo album “Halls back in Maine” on our Photos page for pics. 

   We head off in March for a trip on the East Coast, visiting relatives and other believers while sharing about the need for people to be involved in tribal mission work. Someone recently told us that seeing Elijah’s family and hearing them speak on that very same subject had been instrumental in her decision to be a missionary! We hope the Lord will use us to encourage His people to continue to fulfill the Great Commission wherever they are!