Praise:

1. For the opportunity to celebrate Christmas with Mike’s siblings and their families.
2. For Mike’s parents, who came to visit their children and grandchildren in Paraguay for 3 weeks.

Prayer Requests:

1. Wisdom and guidance from the Lord as Mike & Trisha raise their children and train them to walk in truth.
2. For their lives to reflect Christ and that all they do will honor and glorify Him.
3. For wisdom for Mike and Trisha as they serve in the different responsibilities that they are responsible for.
4. For Trisha, who is homeschooling Michael, Lea, and Kaleb.
5. For Mike & Trisha as they lead the Latin short term mission trip called ACERCATE. to the Pai and oversee the building of the Pai church.
6. For good health.
7. For safety in travels to the Chaco and the East side of Paraguay

Read about our Christmas with Mike’s family and Pai believers,

our church’s youth camp, field conference with other missionaries,

photography opportunities, and a brief update about our children

Christmas with Mike’s Family and Pai believers

Each year we look forward to spending Christmas with family. Mike’s brother and sister and their families live only a 5-hour drive away, making it easy to drop in for a couple of days. This year included a Christmas service with the Pai Tavytera church on the 25th. The meeting lasted over 3 hours as one by one people would go up front and share a testimony of God’s grace in their lives.

In 3 weeks, we will be returning to assist the Pai Tavytera build a larger church building for their weekly gatherings for worship and teaching. Pray with us and the Pai Tavytera church, as we continue to raise funds for this building project and for volunteer workers.

If you would like to have a part in Acércate 2012, you can visit our website. Be sure to indicate that this is a one-time designated gift toward the building project.

December: Youth camp, Field Conference, and Photography

Mike was given several opportunities to share on missions during our church camp. After talking passionately about the  Ayore people in the Paraguayan Chaco, he asked, “and who will go!?” to which one girl replied, “you will Mike!”

From church camp we went directly to NTM’s conference where we were refreshed by teaching in both Spanish and English.

Mike was able to serve two young couples in December by photographing their wedding. One couple started training in Brazil and will continue missionary training  in Bolivia in 2012. They desire to be tribal church planters.

Children Update

Michael graduated this year from 2nd grade in the Paraguayan Christian school this year. In 2012, he will be homeschooled by his mother.

Lea had a great time playing with her cousin Briana during Christmas Break.

Kaleb is started out the year very shy in pre-school, but he emerged very fluent in Spanish and outgoing.

>> Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name forever and ever. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts. Psalms 145:2-4

Thank you for your prayers and support which make it possible for us to serve on a full-time basis here in Paraguay.

Because of Christ,

Mike & Trisha Goddard

Read in this monthly Goddard Grapevine:

(1) 9 months of Bible teaching in Caaguazu

(2) Testimonies of Rural Church Leaders

(3) Intercultural Missions Conference

(4) Children Update

(5) Prayer Requests

9 Months of Bible Teaching

November concluded 9 months of Bible teaching to rural church leaders. One man gave testimony saying, “I’ve been saved for 20 years, but finally I feel like I’m getting to know God! Mike has helped us establish a firm foundation in our lives; that foundation is Christ!”

The church leaders expressed their gratitude to each of the Bible teachers by giving a printed certificate.

Trisha’s service in the kitchen alongside the other cooks, was also recognized through a certificate. Her experiences will be very helpful as she cooks for the 2 work teams in January and February 2012.

Testimonies of rural church leaders from the 9 month Bible teaching:

“The stories of Adam and Eve and about the Church had become common to me until this year. I’m understanding things I had never known.”  – Alcides

“I have always been extremely timid and backward, but God’s Word has given me tremendous confidence!” – Manuel

“Mike wrote on the white board about who we were before salvation and who we are now in Christ. All we have to do is use the tools God has given us to live in holiness!” – Saul

Intercultural Missions Conference

A Paraguayan organization called LETRA Paraguay and NTM put together an intercultural missions conference where tribal church leaders, national missionaries and expatriate missionaries were able to fellowship together and learn from one another’s experiences and ministries. There were 11 different ministries present, numerous churches, and 4 tribal groups from both Paraguay and Argentina.

Mike oversaw the organization and logistics of the conference while Trisha handled the welcome table and NTM’s display table. It was encouraging to see so many people working together toward a common objective: to see that the Gospel is preached and lived out among the least-reached people groups of Paraguay.

Children Update

Michael, Lea, and Kaleb have finished their school year in a Paraguayan Christian School and are now homeschooling.

This next year, we will be homeschooling. The kids are very excited to have mom as a teacher again and enjoy having their own assignment books to “check” of the assignments that they have accomplisted during the day.

Michael is finishing his 2nd grade English Abeka books and will begin 3rd grade soon.  Lea is finishing her 1st grade English Abeka books and will begin 2nd grade soon. Kaleb is continuing his Kindergarten English Abeka books.

Their Spanish has greatly improved over the year and often speak it in the home. We praise the Lord for our children, who have learned Spanish as well as tidbits of Guarani and Portuguese. In fact, this next  2 1/2 weeks, we will be having a Brazilian friend stay with us.

Prayer Requests

(1) to provide our children a balanced life-style in both education and ministry.

(2) wisdom as we raise our children to walk in righteousness in their faith in Jesus Christ.

(3) wisdom as we lead two Latin missions teams to build a church building with the Pai Tavytera

(4) wisdom as we live out Christ in so many contexts and cultures on a daily basis. May His Church be built up and engage efficiently in worldwide missions!

Download a printable version here: Goddard Grapevine – November 2011

Check out our new family photos here >> Goddard family 2011

I lift up my eyes to the hills- where does my help come from?  My help comes from the LORD , the Maker of heaven and earth.  He will not let your foot slip- he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.  The LORD watches over you- the LORD is your shade at your right hand;  the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.  The LORD will keep you from all harm- he will watch over your life;  the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. Psalms 121

Praise:

1. For the opportunity to serve the Paraguayan Christian community.
2. For the ACERCATE 2012 project that is now in full swing >> building a church for the Pai believers in a tribal location.
3. For Michael, Lea, and Kaleb, who are finishing up their school year at the Spanish Christian school mid- Nov and looking forward to being homeschooled with mom.

Prayer Requests:

1. Wisdom and guidance from the Lord as Mike & Trisha raise their children and train them to walk in truth.
2. For their lives to reflect Christ and that all they do will honor and glorify Him.
3. For wisdom for Mike and Trisha as they serve in the different responsibilities that they are responsible for.
4. For Trisha, who will be homeschooling their 3 children. Lord-willing, she is hoping to get 3-4 weeks of school in before the 2^nd week of December and start again end of February.
5. For Mike & Trisha as they lead 2 short term mission trips (ACERCATE) for 2 weeks each with approx. 12 Latin youth (end of January and beginning of February). These 2 teams will have a part in building a church for the Pai tribal people and see cross-cultural missions first-hand.
6. For good health.
7. For safety in travels.

From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD’S name is to be praised. The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. Who is like unto the LORD our God, who dwelleth on high,  Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth! Psalms 113:3-6

Building Project and 2 Short Term Missions Trips

The planning phase for the building project of Iglesia Nueva Cristiana, is in full swing! This is the Pai Tavytera church founded by a New Tribes Mission church planting team starting in 1996. After a lengthy period of pre-evangelism, a church was finally born in 2000 and has now grown into approximately 100 members.

The small property where the NTM Team built their houses was named “Light” in the Guarani language. Truly light has shown in the midst of darkness in this corner of Paraguay as this small group of believers grow in maturity and seek to impact their sphere of influence with the Light of Jesus Christ!

For 2 weeks in January and 2 weeks in February, we are combining this building project with the short-term missions program we lead called Acércate. We are planning for two separate work teams originating primarily from the capital of Paraguay and will be completely in Spanish. Many lives have been challenged into full time Christian work through these types of short-term missions trips. The cost of the project is as follows:

• Church building: $7,500 USD

• Cost per person for the two-week trip: $100 USD

Please pray with us and the Pai Tavytera church, Iglesia Nueva Cristiana, as we raise funds for this building project and trust God to bring the right young people as volunteer workers.

If you would like to have a part in Acércate 2012, you can visit our website.  Be sure to indicate that this is a one-time designated gift.

Neat Experience in the Southern City of Encarnacion

This month, we had a neat experience when visiting a small church in the southern city of Encarnacion. We shared with their youth group and adults what God says about cross-cultural ministries. Their response was tremendous and expressed desire to support a Paraguayan church planter! They also put us up in a hotel, treated us out to dinner, and gave us a tour of their city. What a joy to experience interdependency in ministry!

While in southern Paraguay, we took advantage of the opportunity to visit the ancient Jesuit ruins from over 300 years ago! We also stopped in for a quick visit with a missionary family working with the Mbya tribe.

4 Teaching Sessions on how to implement a Missions Program

The missions mobilization manual that Mike developed for the churches associated with an organization called FEMIPA is slowly making progress. With each step forward, there are overwhelming challenges to overcome.

In November, Mike will be providing 4 training sessions and discussions on how to implement a missions program within strategic churches.

Please continue to pray for us and with us as minds are retrained to think cross-culturally.

Thank you for your prayers and support which make it possible for us to serve on a full-time basis here in Paraguay.

Download pdf format of our Goddard Grapevine (Oct. 2011) and Praise & Prayer (Nov. 2011) here >> Goddard Grapevine – October 2011 (pdf format)

Praise:

1. For God’s continued provision for their needs.
2. That their children have a week vacation from school in October.

Prayer Requests:

1. Wisdom and guidance from the Lord as Mike & Trisha raise their children and train them to walk in truth.
2. For their lives to reflect Christ and that all they do will honor and glorify Him.
3. For Mike as he prepares for different meetings with pastors and missions organizations.
4. For safety as the Goddards travel to 4 different cities this month (Encarnacion, General Aquino, Neuland, and Caaguazu).
5. For the different meetings throughout this month with Pastors and other Mission Organizations.
6. For the different ACERCATE short term mission trips that are being organized for 2012.
7. For the Latin Mobilization conference that will be held in Brazil in April 2012.
8. For the Ache tribal church and the Bible translation being done by LETRA Paraguay.
9. For students in Bible Institute or Missions Institute: Ronald & Melissa (training in Bolivia); Leonie  (training in Bolivia).

This month in Goddard Grapevine, you can read about:

1. Our trip to the pai tribe
2. Participating in a youth camp
3. Paraguay tribal update
4. Specific prayer requests

Trip to the pai tribe

We were invited out to visit the pai tavytera and participate in an important meeting held in their community. Church leaders from various tribes met together to discuss the formation of an association which would bring them closer together in vision and purpose. Mike also accompanied his brother Mark to a meeting with a Pastor from the area to discuss future partnerships.

Youth camp

Earlier this month, we went to a youth camp that was 4 hours from home. We set up a display table about New Tribes Mission and had the opportunity to share about tribal missions with the different Pastors and youth that were present. Mike was invited to teach 2 different classes each day for 3 days at the camp. One class was on tribal church planting and the other class on Chronological Teaching. Many young people showed great interest in missions and specifically tribal people. Our children enjoyed playing with 3 other Mks during the camp: 2 from Paraguay and 1 from Mexico.

Tribal update

Recently, 3 tribal groups gathered together and started working on the formation of a tribal church association. In 2 weeks: the Sanapana people will be receiving printed portions of the Bible for the first time; the Manjui church will be appointing church leaders; and an Ache church will be having a dedication service for their new building. At the end of this month, the Ache churches plan to discuss the formation of their own church association.

Please pray:

1.    For the 17 tribal groups in Paraguay. God is at work here, and recently He has provided additional missionaries to the Paraguayan field with a desire to reach them!

2.    For us as we mobilize and train the local church here in Paraguay. We have been in this ministry for 5 years, and it has been exciting to see God at work in the lives of the Paraguayan people.

Please read below for our latest Personal and Ministry prayer requests. We appreciate your prayers!

Praise:

1. For a restful December. We only had one ministry commitment, and the rest of the month, they enjoyed their annual NTM field conference, time as a family, and visiting with Paraguayan friends.

2. That Michael, Lea, and Kaleb are recovering quickly from chicken pox.

3. That Trisha’s mom is coming this week to be with us for a little over 2 weeks.

Personal Prayer Requests:

1. For Mike and Trisha as they train up their children in the way of the Lord.

2. That Kaleb will understand the Gospel.

3. For Trisha as she homeschools Michael and Lea starting in February.

4. For Trisha, who will be taking an in-depth 30 hour course in Spanish starting in February with Nidia, a Paraguayan lady. Please also pray for Nidia’s salvation.

5. For good health.

6. For the Goddards as they look into buying airline tickets for their Home Assignment in the USA (end of August 2010 to early January 2011) and also for a vehicle to use during this time.

Ministry Prayer Requests:

1. For Mike and Trisha as they continue to plan out the 2010 ministry calendar for Mobilization.

2. For coworkers to help Mike and Trisha Goddard.

3. For the ACERCATE meetings on January 5th and February 2nd.

4. For Mike and Trisha as they prepare for an International missions event called CIMA2010

5. For Mike and Trisha as they travel the 3rd week of January to Argentina for CIMA2010.

6. For Mike, who will be teaching a 6 hour module on “Animism 007” and Mike and Trisha will have a Stand for New Tribes Mission Paraguay in CIMA2010.

7. For Mike and Trisha, as they lead a 10 day ACERCATE trip the end of January after the international missions camp with 10 youth from different countries. They will be taking the team to a Pai tribal village.

We praise the Lord for all what He has done for us this year. He is a faithful, loving God, who answers prayer!

We thank each of you, who have been a part of our Prayer team!

Praise:

1. That they now have Lea’s Paraguayan identification card. Praise the Lord with the Goddard family that all of their Paraguayan paperwork is now complete after 5 ½ years of living in Paraguay!
2. For a very relaxing 4 day trip to Brazil as a family. Thanks to the Christian Hospitality Network and their desire to see missionaries loved and cared for.
3. For  the opportunity that Mike and his cousin Wayne Goddard had at a Bible Institute to teach a module on Narrative Chronological Bible Teaching
4. For a very encouraging trip to a Missionary Training Center (4 hours south of Asuncion), where Mike taught on Animistic Worldview and led 2 discussions groups during a training seminar. There was around 100 people there.
5. For the last ACERCATE meeting this year (Dec. 1st) and the 35 people who attended. There was a great time of food and fellowship after the meeting.
6. That last month, Michael and Lea finished well at their 2^nd school year at the Spanish Christian school.

Personal Prayer Requests:

1. For Mike and Trisha as they train up their children in the way of the Lord.
2. That Kaleb will understand the Gospel.
3. For Trisha as she homeschools Michael and Lea next year.
4. For good health.
5. For Mike and Trisha to be able to find a babysitter that would have time to watch their children during 3 different events this month: a missionary breakfast and 2 weddings.
6. For a time of rest and relaxation for the family during the NTM Paraguay Field Conference the 3^rd week of Paraguay.

Ministry Prayer Requests:

1. For coworkers to help Mike and Trisha Goddard.
2. For Mike and Trisha as they plan out the 2010 ministry calendar for Mobilization as well as time designated for them to return on a 4-5 month Home Assignment in the USA later next year.
3. For Mike as he will be sharing on Mobilization and bringing a new strategy for Mobilization to our Field Leadership Committee the 2^nd week of December.
4. For the ACERCATE meeting on January 5^th, 2010.
5. For Mike and Trisha as they prepare materials for an International missions event called CIMA2010 and as they participate in CIMA 2010 being held in Argentina the 3rd week of January. Mike will be teaching a 6 hour module on “the Animistic World” and they will have a Stand for New Tribes Mission Paraguay.
6. For Mike and Trisha, as they lead a 10 day ACERCATE trip the end of January after the international missions camp with 10 youth from all over South America. Pray for wisdom, safety in travels, good health, and that these youth to be challenged as they see cross-cultural tribal missions first-hand.

Read below our ministry update for October 2009.

TEACHING SEMINAR

The first week of October, Mike taught a 15-hour course on Narrative/Chronological Bible Teaching at a missionary training center in Southern Paraguay. Your prayers and financial gifts have not only affected our lives, but the lives of the students who are bringing people into a saving knowledge of Christ! 20 Paraguayan students preparing to serve God either in their church, tribal villages, or outside of Paraguay. One young man plans to work among tribal people, but mentioned that first, he must help his church value their role in sending and supporting him. Our children loved the training center, as there was plenty of room to run and play. Michael learned how to play Checkers with the students.

TRAVELS

The 3rd weekend of October, we received a phone call from a missionary team requesting our participation in an effort to connect a Pai church with a local Paraguayan church. A Pastor and his church members from a town an hour away spent 2 days with the missionaries and Pai believers. Later that Sunday night, Mike shared in their church about cross-cultural ministry among animist groups like the Pai Tavytera.  This experience helped all of us see just how far we have yet to go before both groups understand one another and what steps can be taken toward that end. During the trip, Michael made a new friend, a Pai tribal boy named Roberto. He showed Michael some of his soccer moves after church.

SCHOOL CAMP

How would you teach about Cain and Abel, Noah’s Ark and Tower of Babel to 131 kids at school camp? Mike used several visuals as well as a skit to keep the kids stand in awe of the awesome God portrayed through those stories. During the camp, Michael Dean enjoyed being independent from his parents for a while and spent his first night in the dorm with all his classmates. The second evening, he wasn’t feeling too well, so he moved back in with Dad and Mom! Lea and Kaleb were a bit overwhelmed by all the big kids in the pool, but they were happy to be able to go to camp with Michael.

FAMILY UPDATE

Mike has had  a very full schedule for the past 2 months. This week, Hugo (the young man pictured on the right in the photo above) volunteered to help us in mobilization for a period of time. Currently he is compiling a database on all the churches in Paraguay that will serve to meet our goals.

Trisha looks for creative ways for her and the children to help Mike out in the ministry. Her organizational skills keep Mike from losing important information and keeping appointments.  Each month she has taken it upon herself to design and print a 2-4 page bulletin for distribution.

While on the road, Michael and Lea continued their school work. In just 2 weeks, they will complete their 2nd year at the Spanish Christian school.