Tag Archives: faith

June 2024, We made it!

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:7

Paul writes this letter to the church at Phillipi and in many ways it is a very encouraging letter. However, when he gets to the end of the letter he is led to write about the need for unity among the whole body and the responsibility of the church to aid in relationships. In the midst of dealing with complicated issues, we are to bath them in prayer, casting our cares unto the Lord and finding the peace of God to guard our hearts and minds. We have not been dealing with any interpersonal conflicts, but each season of change can bring its own anxiety and as we bath the newness in prayer God has been very faithful in providing an amazing peace in our lives.

POR FIN! POR FIN! POR FIN!

These words were said over and over again as we exited the bus and gave hugs entering our new hometown of Ciudad del Este. Words that express the long-awaited arrival as missionaries. Words that express their anticipation of our coming and their faithfulness in praying for us as we prepared for this step in our lives. Words that will forever be etched in our brains. Finally! POR FIN!

We left the Pasco, Washington at 5:30am on Monday the 10th and arrived in Asuncion, Paraguay on Tuesday afternoon/evening. After getting our visas and hulling all of our luggage through security (this is a story for a different day) we were greeted by a great brother in Christ, Jim Showers. They allowed us to call their place home for the two nights while we were in Asuncion. Wednesday, we got up and at it with getting to the immigration office to begin our temporary residency process. Things went smoothly as we have hired a great team to help us with the process. Until it got to my (Jared’s) paperwork. We left that day with everyone else’s papers being sent off for residency and a peace knowing that it was God who had brought us this far and it would be God who would sustain us here. After looking into several options, we submitted some papers and finally got approval to move forward with the residency process! Praise the Lord for all of you who have been praying for this. I will head back to the capital and meet up again at immigration and move forward for my temporary residency.

After 4 airplanes, and two bus rides, we were ready to be home! In all we slept one night on a plane, two nights in the capital and one night at a hotel. After all of that we were excited to just be home. Our family and friends at Iglesia Bautista Jerovia have done an amazing job in seeking a home for us, getting it cleaned up, and setting up furniture for our arrival! We cannot thank them enough for all of their hard work! We have a beautiful home, with lots of space and only need a few more things to make it complete.

As we are getting settled in, we are also getting to work. Thats right the ministry moves forward and we are excited for that. We have friends to meet up with, lessons to write and memories to make. July is a very busy month for the ministry here and we would ask for prayer as we get busy with serving the Lord. There will be a group coming from Vista Mission to do a vision clinic as well as preparing for the missions training camp. I have been asked to teach a few lessons during the camp and am blessed by the opportunity.

We continue in confidence knowing that it is the Lord who has prepared the work for us and that it is God’s people who send us into the field. Your prayers have been such a great encouragement to us as we make the adjustment onto the foreign field. It is a blessing to report that aside from a little sickness the kids have been adjusting well and are making great connections and strides in relationships. While the language barrier may seem like a big one, their ability to communicate has been such a great encouragement. We pray that our kids would not only make good friends but that they would be good friends to those in the church.

Elijah can make friends just about anywhere He goes. And it was one of the things he was most excited about in coming to Paraguay. He is off to a great start! These boys have been waiting to meet each other and we are excited for the friendship that has already begun!

There are so many stories we could share already but for now we will leave it at this. We look forward to sharing all the fun and exciting things along the journey!

Please continue to pray as we get settled in. I will travel to the capital the beginning of the next week to continue my residency process. Please also pray as we look at vehicles, we have one on our minds, but we can only pull a little cash out every day and we are praying it will be available when the time comes. Thirdly, please pray for our health. Adjusting to a new culture can be tough on the body. Fourth, pray that we are found faithful.

Now how can we pray for you? It encourages us to pray for others! Let us know by sending an email to jared.loucks@hotmail.com

Jaha Paraguay Pe!

The Loucks Family

March and April 2024

“…Arise, and anoint him, for this is he. Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brother. And the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward…”

1 Samuel 16:12b-13a

Samuel had been given the responsibility of anointing the king who would lead over the nation of Israel. This came with the great responsibility of walking close to God and listening when He called. Saul had failed and in chapter 15 we see where he sinned in fearing the People rather than the Lord. It was now time for a new king and Samuel had to be listening for God’s instructions. When studying how God appoints men for service it is humbling to know that He desires to use all of us in ministry. We all have a crucial role that God has appointed us to, and we are responsible to respond to that calling in our lives.

The month of March flew by and gave us many wonderful opportunities to make memories. We began the month with an overnight get away and had a great time of fellowship With Pastor Fodge and First Baptist Church of Quincy. Following that we began preparing for the kid’s pine car derby. I am not much of a woodworker, but it is always a joy to sit and envision with the kids and to attempt to create their idea.

A huge thank you goes out to Mr. Young! He has been part of the Loucks family pine car making since I (Jared) was a kid. Always fun to have the kids work with him on shaping their cars. Temperance made a globe and added an airplane from Washington to Paraguay. Adara-Dasha said she wanted her car to be the “Salt of the Earth” and so we had fun adding a saltshaker to the top of it. Jedidiah wanted a red-white-and blue car to represent both the United State and Paraguay.

As mentioned in our last update, we were also blessed in March to have Pastor Juan Carlos Escobar and Alejandra visit for a week. It is always a blessing to have Pastor J.C. at Grace Baptist Church and to hear what the Lord is doing in life and ministry. It was also great to have them around and to share some time together. We even got to celebrate Abuela Alejandra’s birthday with a special dinner and dessert.

One of the things that was on the agenda of conversations was when do we depart for Paraguay. We are excited to announce that we have purchased tickets and fly out to Paraguay on June 10th. A few things that we ask for you to pray for us concerning are one for housing in Paraguay. We were informed there are options for housing, but they are waiting for something more ideal to arise. Please pray that we can find a home near Pastor Sergio Escobar and his family. This would put us close to fellow laborers as well as to the local church. Another thing is that we are in the process of getting our Apostils on our background checks. Pray that these would get returned quickly in the mail so that we will be ready for the residency process.

The Kids made a short video answering some questions about what lies ahead for them. If you have a few minutes we think you will enjoy it.

The things the kids will miss most about going to Paraguay is their family and friends. It has been a journey through deputation and language school but being home around the people that for lack of a better term, “smell like you” just feels right. Temperance grew up with some of these gals, and others she has gotten to know over the last few months. She will begin youth group the beginning of May and move to Paraguay a month later. One of the things that keeps her excited about the next step in our lives is the encouragement that these girls are to her.

Prayer Requests:

  1. Pray for housing to be secured in Paraguay.
  2. Pray as I (Jared) finish classes at Rio Grande Bible Institute
  3. Pray as we pack our bags and prepare to say our goodbyes.

Thank you for taking a moment to follow us along this journey. We serve a great God and understand that we cannot do it alone. Your prayers have truly encouraged us along the way! Now, how can we pray for you?

Jaha Paraguay Pe!

The Loucks Family