Author Archives: missionarytoparaguay

“Taste and see that the Lord is good; how blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.”

Psalm 34:8

As July started we were excited for what the Lord had prepared for us. Everyone was excited to see family and to make memories. We had lists of things we wanted to do and were eager to see their faces. There was also the opportunity for me (Jared) to make a trip to Paraguay and I couldn’t wait. It had been 8 years since our last trip, the trip that God used to call our family to the ministry. For this update I want to share a little bit about what God did while I was in Paraguay and things we are looking forward to.

Tuesday would start out at Hope Christian School seeing students, sharing my testimony, and answering some questions. It was a great way to start off my time in Ciudad del Este and to connect with some of the students. Following that Pastor J.C. Escobar picked me up and we began discussing what our family is looking for in a house in Paraguay. We drove around several neighborhoods and took notes and got ideas. We are not picky, but we also want to be in an area where we can be comfortable and with space for all of us.

In Paraguay the best conversations are held around the table. We had been praying for good communication while on this trip. It was important for me to share what was in my head, but also to listen to what they have going on. We had a lot of meals, which meant we did a lot of talking and I am really really full.

There were several things on the radar in going down to Paraguay this summer. One of which was connecting with Pastor Sergio Escobar. Both Pastor J.C. Escobar and Pastor S. Escobar have a great vision “Paraguay para Cristo!” They have a strong desire to raise up men in the local church and to send them out into the ministry as Pastors and Church Planters. I love this vision and the more we sat and talked the more I realized that God was up to something great. Their passion, vision, and projection are spot on with where I feel God calling us to serve and this turned us from simply being brothers in Christ to friends for the ministry. We are very excited for the path that lies ahead.

Saturday I had the opportunity to go and see a new area for ministry. I will share more about Missionary Felix and his family later, but God has opened a really great opportunity for them. Minga Guazú is about 15km from Ciudad del Este and it is wide open for the gospel message of Jesus Christ. Please pray for Pastor Felix and his family as they begin to make connections and build relationships. Much needs to be done, but the Lord has planned a way and they are trusting as He leads them.

That’s Pastor J.C. Escobar to your left and Missionary Felix on the Right.

I left Paraguay very blessed! Having made great connections, had great communication and lots of enthusiasm for the future we are ready to finish second semester strong. I was encouraged to keep focused and ministry will be there when we arrive.

How can you pray for what lies ahead: First off pray for us while we finish language school. We have several other things to accomplish while taking classes to make sure we are ready for the move. Please pray we do all this faithfully. Secondly please pray for our ministry partners. They have their work cut out for them! They are looking into homes and have funds to get one furnished prayerfully prior to our arrival. We have been praying about renting for our first year, but have now opened to the idea of purchasing. The market is a little different in Paraguay, would you join us in prayer about this. Thirdly, pray that above all the name of the Lord Jesus Christ would shine bright in the country of Paraguay!

The Heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.

Proverbs 16:9

This verse means more and more as we approach our time to head to Paraguay as a family. We are assured that God has the perfect plan for getting us to Paraguay and in His time we will see His will. Our focus is to remain to be faithful in service and follow His leading in our lives. As I (Jared) prepare for heading to Paraguay the end of this month to get some things organized we thought it would be appropriate to send out a ministry update as the end of the month might keep us a little occupied.

What a joy it is to serve the Lord here in the Rio Grande Valley this summer. Between connecting with students on campus and serving in the local church we are thankful for the opportunities God has given us. The end of last month we were blessed to be involved with a few ministries in church. That has continued to be the case for us as the Lord has provided opportunity.

We had a great few days with Papa and Nana but their trip was too short. While we wish we would have stopped and taken more pictures of our time together the memories will always be in our hearts and minds. We thank everyone who sent their love with my folks. My mom really worked hard to picture every face that asked her to pass on a message. We really are blessed and refreshed.

We are really excited to have Grandma and Neil joining us the end of this week. They will be with Kathleen and the Kids while I am in Paraguay. They are looking forward to making many wonderful memories together and we look forward to sharing some of those with you all later.

As I stated the rest of the month will be plenty busy. Grandma and Neil come on Friday to begin their time with us. I (Jared) fly out on the 23rd and arrive in Paraguay on the 24th and am returning on August 1st. Most of the trip is around organizing and preparing for our move. Please pray for safety traveling, for great fellowship, and the opportunities to serve the Lord. I look forward to sharing how the trip went once I return.

“The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens”

Proverbs 3:19 ESV

This month has been a slow one. After saying goodbyes in May and as the campus got quiet the heat set in. A heat that the locals say is unusual for this time of year and keeps most people indoors. We have followed suit but not without enjoying time with those who are still hanging around. It has been a real blessing to have some staff and students around to help pass the time.

The School of Church Planting is something that Baptist Mid-Missions offers every year and focuses on a few different aspects. While much of this years focus was on Cross-Cultural or Inter-Cultural Church planting in the United States there were several great takeaways from the conference that will be helpful on the foreign field. Largely because Paraguay has such a variety of cultures that we can minister to. The classes went fast and the information was deep but I am looking forward to time in review once we arrive on the field and can work out some things as to how it pertains to our ministry to the people of Paraguay.

After I returned from this conference the family was ready to get away for a day so we made a trip to the beach. South Padre Island is only about an hour away and it is a nice get-away for the family. Being raised in the Pacific Northwest I had never been to a warm beach before so the experience was new and very fun! We would like to make more trips to the beach this summer as it is close by and the temperature is 10 to 15 degrees cooler there then here in Edinberg.

The month of July will be a busy month and we are excited for what God is bring our way. My (Jared’s) parents will be visiting for a few days at the start of the month. We know that they are really coming to see the grandkids, but we can all be excited that they are coming. We have been getting more involved at church which has opened opportunities for Kathleen to teach in Children’s Ministry and for Me to lead in worship. The end of the month Kathleen’s mom and her husband are coming for a visit to help pass the time while I take a trip to Paraguay. The kids are very excited to see all of the grandparents and to make some memories. Please pray for a good month of memory making.

My tickets for Paraguay have been purchased and I fly our July 23rd. This trip is three-fold in purpose: 1) to encourage the church 2) to take some supplies down and 3) to start getting some things in order for the move. I will arrive in Paraguay on July 24th and will fly out of Asuncion on July 31st. This will be a quick trip and full of activities please pray for all that is involved. It has been 8 years since our last trip to Paraguay and it will be exciting to be back especially as we prepare to make the move.

“Look among the nations and see; wonder and be astonished. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.”

Habakuk 1:5

The boys and I read through the short book of Habakuk this month. It was a joy to encourage the boys that while things may not always make sense to us, God has a purpose and is working out His plan. The New Testament is full of encouraging verses to just keep us focused on serving God where He has us. The has been helpful in encouraging the boys that God has a purpose for them too, and that God wants to use them as a light to the world. Please continue to pray for them as they learn these truths.

As the semester came to a close it was hard to see our family and friends here on campus packing up and taking off. As I mentioned in the past Rio Grande Bible Institute has a strong focus on Missions, and that is what many of the students have left for. I believe this summer they sent teams to Asia, Africa, South America, Central America and some staying serving throughout North America. Exciting to see these teams off, but things sure got quiet around here.

Now it is time to use what we have been learning. Mothers day was a special day for us. The kids participated in a song and poem reading and I (Jared) lead the morning in worship. This was something new and very out of the box for me. Due to some students leaving for summer ministries I have also been asked to play the guitar and lead in singing for the worship service. I am working at learning some more hymns so that we can make this happen.

We have a few things in the works for our summer break. The first thing is that we are working to connect with as many people on campus as we possibly can. We do not want to lose what we have worked so hard to achieve. Time away from classes can set us back, so we are pushing hard to host as many meals as possible with students and staff. Please pray for us in making these connections.

The hardest part of this process is the goodbyes that frequently happen. This has been a hard learning lesson for the kids as many of the friends they have made over the few months have packed up and moved on. The missionary kid community can be very tight. The kids now have friends called to serve in Bolivia, Columbia, Mexico and others called to new ministries here in the states. Please continue to pray for the kids through this adjustment period.

We have a couple other exciting things on the radar for this summer. The first is that I have been asked to attend a church planting conference offered by Baptist Mid-Missions. I will be flying out to Des Moines, Iowa on June 2nd. I will be staying with Kathleen’s brother and his family while in the area. The conference will keep me pretty busy but I am excited to attend a couple area churches while I am there. Please pray for Kathleen and the kids while they keep occupied while I am away for a week.

The second thing I will be doing this summer is taking a week long trip to Paraguay. This thought came about while Kathleen and I were talking about opportunities to prepare for the move to Paraguay. After discussing it with our sending church and director it made sense to make a trip to lay some groundwork. This trip is threefold, 1) to encourage the church in Ciudad del Este of our soon coming, 2) to take some of our belongings down to have on hand when we arrive, and 3) to go over some of the details and communicate some of the needs we will have upon arrival. This trip will come at the end of July, and I will update with more information as we get closer.

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

Psalm 23:4 (NASB)

Stepping into language school was an adventure that not many people had talked about. We had heard small talk from a few but when it was time to make the move, the stories came. We prepared as best we could. We purchased the materials, stocked up on Omega-3, and set out bathed in prayer. Yet, we arrived really not knowing what to expect. Little did I know that in just a few months we would be speaking Spanish! It all came at us so fast! I hope that this ministry update is just a small picture of our daily lives here on the Rio Grande Bible Institute campus!

We spend 4 hours a day in classes, but its more than learning a language! Yes, we have Phonetics and Grammer, Phonetics lab and Special Grammer, but its more than that. Our classes are focused on teaching us about a culture. They have taught us about our own culture and differences that make the Latino community unique. We have a Conversations course that teaches us to use what we learn in general communication.

Learning in a classroom setting is great, but the focus is not so much passing the classes as it is real life use of the language. The director of the InterCultural Studies program that we are part of has reminded us time and time again, communicating is far more important that getting an “A” in a class. Finding a good balance for this can be difficult. We want to get good grades and do well academically, but we have also seen the benefit of just sitting around the table practicing.

One of our classes requires that we spend four hours a week outside of class communicating in Spanish. That is easy when we have free coffee and often food to offer to students. We also attend a Spanish church (Grace Baptist Mission). Although our involvement has been minimal there, we are working to get more engaged. Please pray as we take steps to put our training to more use this summer.

We try the best we can to wrap up classes with enough energy left over to embrace the afternoons with the kids. Sometimes that requires a powernap but God has been very gracious to us along the way. When we don’t have evening plans we enjoy dinner and a movie (in Spanish). We enjoy our nights together in the home just relaxing.

As the first semester draws to a close we have just a few more things left on the books to accomplish. We have our final presentation coming up soon. For this we are required to give a five-minute devotional. We have five minutes to give an introduction and two or three key points from our passage of Scripture. We have them written out and turned in for corrections then we will have some time to practice them before doing our final presentation. Please pray as we prepare and present. We also have one final exam to do. This will be a lengthy one but it will be good to help us review all that we have learned from the semester into one exam. Please pray that our minds retain the information and that we relax and do well.

The phrase is “better late than never” and well things got busy. The end of March into the beginning of April has been packed with school, life and ministry. Between a big midterm exam, memory verses and an upcoming project or two we have been busy. There will not be a video update this month because of all that has been going on, but we did not want to miss the opportunity to share some things from this month.

Much of our daily lives have revolved around the busy school schedule and while I would love to share with you more about our classes, I wanted to share with you something special that happened the end of March. It was the “Morning of Prayer” that happened here on campus. It was such a special time for students to come together in prayer and it touched my heart in a special way.

The Lord blessed and allowed us to break up into different groups and pray for many different things throughout the morning. Rio Grande Bible Institute has a heavy emphasis on missions and students are encouraged to join teams for Easter Week mission trips as well as Summer mission teams. Several teams are out right now serving area churches, reaching into different street ministries and others have headed to Mexico to assist churches in ministry. While they go out, they go out bathed in prayer!

This is one of the things that I love about life here on campus. The Holy Spirit is binding them together as they learn together, grow together and prepare to serve together. It was great to have the opportunity to be part of this special day here on campus. As I said there are several groups out serving this week here in the area and just south of us in Mexico. Would you please take a moment to pray for these teams as they faithfully serve the Lord.

This month we also enjoyed a week of spring break. We were challenged to enjoy time together as a family and that is what we did! We were able to spend some time at the park and also to work on some crafts and baking. It was great to just be home together before we took off again for another couple busy weeks. It has been a blessing to grow closer as a family in just spending more purposeful time together.

When we went back from spring break it was time to prepare for midterms and we have successfully completed our largest midterm exam. Now we are on the downward spiral for school but we are building up speed. That means we have several projects coming due, a few more passages of Scripture to memorize and another big reading passage. We have had so much stuffed into our brains and are excited at what the Lord is doing in allowing us to use what we are learning.

We would ask that you please continue to pray for us while we are on this journey. This summer we are excited to be able to stay on campus and continue to stretch our language abilities. We know of a few other families and single students that are going to remain in the area. We look forward to building stronger relationships with those that stick around.

Thank you for your continued love and support over the months. We are continually humbled by you all. I apologize that there won’t be a YouTube ministry update like I had hoped, but we plan to share some fun pictures with you all the end of April.

Another month has come to a close and that means it is time for a ministry update! One of the things we were most concerned about in moving were our kids. The last two years traveling on deputation prepared the kids for what was ahead. Our busy end of the month schedule has us lagging a little so we are turning this months update over to the kids. To hear a couple of them share their days we would invite you to head on over to our YouTube channel!

We are so blessed to live on the Rio Grande Bible Insitute Campus. There are many blessings to being here on campus and most of those revolve around being connected with so many wonderful people. The kids have wonderful childcare, friends that keep them busy, and space to run and explore.

We have a busy couple weeks ahead of us for classes. Between homework, quizzes and projects we are always working on something. We appreciate your prayers as we continue through this semester and can praise the Lord that we continue to do well. We have been encouraged by many at our progress in the program and are excited for what lies ahead.

Spring break is on the horizon and with that will come a few days to just relax around the house. We didn’t make plans to do anything exciting over the break as we figured our minds may need to just relax a little from all the class work. Thank you for your continued prayers as we seek to faithfully follow the Lord!

Looking ahead as traffic is already slowly proceeding to make their way, we begin to notice brake lights begin to wave closer and closer. I begin to tap the brakes knowing that attached to me is a trailer and below me is a sheet of ice. Colorado had been by far the hardest state to drive through. Our time there was short, but it was a slow steady drive. The snow that had fallen had frozen to the road and the steady movement of vehicles was enough to compact layer upon layer. We shifted slightly left and then right while the pedal was now tapping closer and closer to the ground and the van came to a stop.

We had come to a stop because just a short distance in front of us was a less fortunate driver who had slid off the road. Traffic was backed up on both sides of the two-lane road but once the vehicle was cleared, we carried on the way. I didn’t mind being the slow driver that may have held up some larger trucks, but as the turtle taught me “slow and steady wins the race”.

We left home on December 27th and began the almost 2200 mile move to Texas. For the most part the drive was pretty smooth (minus the trailer bumping us around every now and then). We were blessed to meet up with Pastor Clancy and his family coming through the Boise, Id area on day one. They were such a blessing and encouragement to us! We were in 7 states in 6 days and arrived at Rio Grande Bible Institute on January 2nd, 2023!

Leaving Washington and the 30-degree days and arriving in Texas in the 70’s to 80-degree days has been probably the toughest adjustment. We rushed to unload the trailer and find the shorts, which we have worn just about every day since our arrival.

Every day lends itself to learning something new. We have been greatly blessed to have wonderful tutors in the afternoons, but we rotate every week or couple weeks so we don’t get them long. Please pray for my tutor Temo, not only does he have to deal with me for an hour every day but his parents are not believers and he prays for opportunities to share the gospel with them regularly. Pray for Kathleen’s tutor, Carla and her husband who are expecting their first child in 2023. They are also preparing to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to a majority Muslim country. They plan to do their first mission trip in 2024 and are excited for what God has ahead of them.

As we continue to adjust to the culture here on campus we ask that you not stop praying. We are working hard to balance home life and school, as well as fit in opportunities to serve those in our community and church (we’ll share more about Grace Baptist Mission later). While we work hard to get things done off the checklist, we do not want to miss any opportunity to speak into the lives of those around us.

Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.”

Proverbs 16:3

We carry this verse and others around on our hearts to motivate us through each day. As we attend classes as we sit and study it is important that all we do, we do for the glory of God. As we seek to bring Him glory, He is directing each step and fulfilling His plan for our lives. When days are hard we commit them and God who leads us to green pastures, restores our souls. This is the beauty of the Christian life! No matter where you are or what you do for a living, if you commit it to the Lord, you are surrendering to being used by a Holy God.

“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6

We have said it several times before and I am sure we will say it again, but we are humbly blessed by the willingness of so many of you to join us in prayer, to encourage us along the way, and to join us in financial support. November 27th, we gave our last ministry update at our home and sending church, Grace Baptist Church of Kennewick, WA. We had the blessing of looking back and helping them see the stones that have been laid in our lives. Stones that God would bring to our lives to help encourage us in the ministry, stones to remind us of how great a God we serve, stones to keep us faithful.

This is why we have chosen to stack stones in our hearts and minds. To remember how great a God we serve and to remember many of you who have joined us in this ministry.

The Month of November we were blessed to be part of the Treasure Valley Missions Conference in Boise, ID. A huge thank you to Notus Baptist Church for allowing our family to stay in the mission’s house. I think in the last 2 years we have had the blessing of staying there 4 times and have grown close to several of the members at Notus. What a blessing they have been to our home.

The conference is a wonderful time for missionaries to connect with several churches over the course of a two-week window. We shared this time with Missionaries from North America, Central America, South America, and Africa. It was a great blessing to pick some brains on ministries and to share in encouraging local bodies to faithful service.

Columbia Heights Baptist Church poured out a lot of love on our family and gifted us with an amazing time of encouragement and fellowship. It was a blessing to kick off our time sharing with them. We were then able to be part of several ministries including two symposiums, a lunch and pie social, some family game nights, and a youth rally. We shared our ministry with Kuna Baptist Church, Involve Church, and Notus Baptist Church. It was a great time of fellowship and encouragement. Many wonderful memories were made!

Wrapping up the month we were able to arrive home with time to attend the annual Harvest Banquet at GBC. This was a great time to be home, be with family, and begin the process of closing out this chapter in our ministry. We shared a two year wrap up at Grace this last Sunday evening. It was a blessing and great encouragement to us to thank them one more time publicly for their faithfulness to our family. They have served us very well as a sending church. Now we get to the busy work of packing and preparing for the journey to Texas for Language School.

• Praise: We have been selling things off and the Tahoe sold this last weekend! Still working through anything else we can get sold before dumping things.
• Please keep praying for us as we prepare for the move to Texas. The Lord has the details and is showing us just a little bit at a time. Already things are coming together for this adjustment.
• Please pray that we would use our time wisely in enjoying time this Christmas with the kids and make it full of great memories for them.

We want to wish you all a Very Merry Christmas! We may not send out a long ministry update this month in light of the prepping to move and the busyness of Christmas, but we do not want it to go untold, we praise the Lord for each and every one of you! May the joy of a newborn babe, laid in a manger, sent to save His people from their sins be the light of this Christmas season.

Jaha Paraguay Pe!

The Loucks Family

” While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Summer and winter, and day and night Shall not cease.”

Genesis 8:22

The beautiful colors of fall have set in around us here in the Pacific Northwest and reminds us to look to the immutability of God. While the days get shorter and cool air sets in we are reminded that God is the same, yesterday, today and forever. What a joy it is to serve the God of Abraham, Issaac and Jacob. The same God who formed the nation of Israel now bringing together His church to be salt and light to the World.

The month of October started with two weekends at home allowing us to catch up from the busy month of September and prepare for 13 days away in the Mid-West. October 9th, Kathleen and I celebrated our 12th anniversary. What a joy it was to be home for the weekend and to spend the time with those we love here in Kennewick. Call us strange but as often as we can we like to spend our anniversaries with some of our best friends. Jared and Sherry have been a huge blessing and encouragement in our lives as we seek to follow the Lord in this way. Even a simple evening of dinner and dessert with friends brings great encouragement.

One of the highlights to deputation is being able to be back at Faith Baptist Bible College and being part of the Global Reach Conference. Dr. Mark Lounsbrough was very influential my Jr. and Sr. years at FBBC, and it is a joy to see how God continues to grow the mission’s program on campus. We were blessed in speaking with many students on campus, connecting with staff and sharing our burden for the people of Paraguay, South America. This year I was able to share a ministry highlight with the students during their Thursday banquet. We pray it is an encouragement for students as they seek the Lord’s leading in their lives.

I do want to thank Andy Stearns, Dr. Tim Little and Charlie Carter of the Thinklings Podcast for taking time to meet with us. A quick cup of coffee with a group of friends is a wonderful treat. It is even better when you leave the office with a couple books in hand, a list of books to order, and greatly encouraged in our walk with the Lord.

Let’s go to Paraguay!

The Loucks Family