“For I delievered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,”
1st Corinthians 15:3-4
Our hope is found in the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour. As we reflect on the abundant grace of God in our lives, we look to powerful truths and point us to our future resurrection. If Christ had not risen from the grave, then our hope is in vain. Praise the Lord for the concurring of death and defeating the grave!
The update is coming to you a few days later than planned. Every time I sat down to write an update something came up and my attention was drawn to another task. Wither it was helping with sick children, going to visit Missionary Felix in the hospital or pausing to enjoy Workers Day with fellow believers. All things of great importance and needing their own attention.
As I sat at my desk the other day to get some things off my list accomplished I saw my neighbor walk by my window. I heard a clap (they clap more than knock) outside the door and so I went to investigate what was going on. Well, Chris asked if I we wanted to spend time with some friends that had offered to bring some meat over and hang out. That always sounds like a good idea if you ask me. He told his wife to finish making the plans, but the other family was already on their way over! We spent the day making deeper relationships, learning more culture, and embracing in fellowship!
Now back to our resurrection Sunday! So much goes into the celebration of Holy Week. We were able to take part in some traditional Chipa making which made for some great memories. Put this on your list of things to try when you come and visit!
We were also blessed to get away for a couple days and enjoy a vacation. It seems like Paraguayans take a lot of time for vacations, but they honestly use every moment they have to get away and be together. We are learning where we fit in for our family vacations and make opportunities to learn and explore new places. The planning of this vacation fit right in for a little ministry service as well.
We had planned to be near Pastor Juan Carlos Mancuellos church in Encarnacion and had planned to attend his church for the Resurrection Morning. We had not planned that God would use this as an opportunity to serve the brothers and sisters there in Encarnacion. The Sunday Prior Pastor Mancuello and his family were on their way home from Ciudad del Este and were in a head on car accident. Pastor Mancuello, his wife and grandson all ended up in the hospital with rather minor injuries. The drive of the other vehicle however did not survive the incident.
I offered to fill the pulpit for Sunday knowing that Pastor Mancuello would need time to recover and that he might be in jail for a few days (when someone dies in an accident normally the driver of the vehicle is kept until the trial). Praise the Lord we were able to be with them and open the Word of God together. Pastor Mancuello was also at the church service with his wife. We had a wonderful time celebrating the resurrection of Christ together before our trip back to Ciudad del Este.
Club de Ninos is still going strong, and we appreciate your prayers as we share in this ministry. Please continue to pray for these kids, most of which are from very rough backgrounds. Also, we ask that you continue to pray as we develop leadership in this program.
As you know one of our reasons for coming to Paraguay was to help in training up leadership. This is one of the ministries we are able to work with in developing leadership skills in others.
I feel like there is so much to share for the last month, but maybe we will pause it right here and encourage you to check out our video update. The month of April sure was busy and full of great blessings! Many reminders of why we are here and encouragement as we move forward.
Now how can we pray for you? As we round out 11 months of ministry here in Paraguay we have so many blessings to look back on and know that we are not alone in this journey.
Jaha Paraguay Pe!
The Loucks Family
KIDS CORNER:
Temperance turned 13 years old on the 4th of May! It has been such a great joy to watch her learn and grow through these last few years of ministry. If you know Temperance, then you know she likes her books and enjoys just time to herself. Over the last couple months, she has been coming out of her shell a little more and it is noticed by the Paraguayans! We are blessed to have her on our team serving the people of Paraguay.
Loucks 2 Paraguay 