“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing. Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.”
Psalm 100:1-5
We have so much to be thankful for not just because it is the month of November but because we serve the Lord who is good, whose steadfast love endures forever and whose faithfulness extends to all generations. That means as believers in Jesus Christ, we should be filled with thankfulness! The kids got to share from 1st Thessalonians 5:18 “Dad gracias en todo!” What a great reminder that our thanks to God extends to all circumstances.
We are thankful for the opportunity to serve! Among the many homework assignments and quizzes we have been doing, Kathleen was also able to teach the kids Sunday School class. The hardest part of teaching the kids Sunday School class is that it is bi-lingual. While teaching in Spanish is becoming more natural, it is even more difficult when it is both Spanish and English. We try to work through it with our kids, but English is still used to help others in the class.
Many have asked, and yes, the kids are learning some Spanish. They are not in classes with us or taking formalized training, but they are picking pieces of it up rapidly. Some have asked why they are not currently taking Spanish classes and well that is because their brains do not necessarily need the formalized training adult minds do.
We are thankful for the opportunity to socialize with believers in Jesus Christ. Anytime Latinos can gather to celebrate they will, and this month was no different. Because of the diverse cultures on campus you never know what is going to end up on the table. For us that usually isn’t a problem. Sometimes we have to be a little cautious because of allergies but you can always find something. We were looking forward to the collection of foods that would arrive on the table at our Thanksgiving feast on campus and well, it was filled with turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy and vegies. But no gathering would be complete without a bowl of rice!
We are thankful for brothers in the ministry. It was great to have Shawn and Tina Haynie on campus the end of October. We always enjoy our time together and while it was busy with missions conference, we are thankful they were able to take some time to just catch up! One of the other things we got to do this month was to video a quick update to our brothers in Paraguay! It was a great joy to be asked and to spend a moment putting together a quick thought to share with them. We even sent the video in Spanish!
We are thankful for the opportunities to make memories! This month has been busy but we have not neglected to take some time to just be together as a family and do some good laughing! We are two weeks from finishing classes and just over two weeks from beginning the journey back to Washington. Our schedule for what lies ahead: Finish classes on December 8th, pack up and clean up December 9th-11th. Our plan is to start making the journey back to Washington on the evening of December 12th. We don’t have set plans for stops and stays along the way. Our goal is to just drive as long as we can and stop where we need to for some rest. Please pray for us as we begin the journey.
Our commissioning service is set for February 11th and we will keep you updated on details as we get closer. We will be in Washington for two months finishing paperwork and preparing for the move. This two-month window allows us to focus on completing school well and not getting overwhelmed by extra things on the list. We are waiting on about 6 other documents to come in the mail. Praise the Lord we have a lot of the process over with, please pray as we work with a lawyer in Paraguay to help in securing our residency.
We are thankful for you! We are confident that God has brought us together for this mission and we know that we can’t do it without you. We thank the Lord for your love, encouragement, prayers and support along the way. We cannot wait to see you in Paraguay!
Let’s go to Paraguay!
The Loucks Family
Kids Thankfulness:
Temperance: Tia (Yesinia) that she is able to take care of us.
Jedidiah: For family and food
Adara-Dasha: God’s creation of trees.
Elijah: Mom and Dad
LuVerna: For Mommy
Loucks 2 Paraguay 
We are all ready for you to come home! What a precious family photo!
See you soon!
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What an amazing journey God has taken you on. Praying for your mission.
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