missions – Loucks 2 Paraguay

July 2025

For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

Psalm 100:5

The Month came and went faster than we expected, but we are very thankful for how the goodness of God was revealed to us in the month. From visitors from home, to Missionary Training Camp, and exploring new ministry opportunities, I can say that we are full and blessed.

Many of you recall that we shared of the surprise visit of my (Jared’s) Mom and Brother, David. We really had a great time together and enjoyed many wonderful opportunities of making memories. One of the things that was on my mom’s list for coming was to meet the people who had taken us in, but also to walk some of the paths that we walk regularly. It was great introducing parts of our new family. They even had the opportunity to serve in a couple different ways. David was asked to share with the Christian school from his experience working with Kids with Autism. Mom was given the opportunity to teach one Saturday in Club de Niños, and that too was a real blessing. They served above and beyond what they were sent to do!

Every July our church hosts a Missionary Training Camp. Last year it was the first big ministry we were asked to be part of. This year I was given the topic “The Responsibility of the Local Church in Missions.” It was great sharing not just from Acts but also from personal experience. Missions does not exist without the Local Church. It was great teaching alongside fellow missionaries serving from Urugay and Bolivia. After three days of camp the team got to put their training to practical use. They got to present ministries in two other cities and share in Club de Niños on Saturday. It was great to see and hear testimony of God working in people’s lives, opening hearts toward missionary service.

This month we also got to look into some future ministry opportunities and we have begun praying that the Lord would lead. One area of opportunity is in the city of Hernandarias. This city is just 20 minutes north of us. A few families from the church travel from hernandarieas every week to be with us on Sunday. We have begun praying about starting a Bible Study group among these families to strengthen them as we pray about the future planting of a church.

Another opportunity we are praying about is how to help a small local church in the town of O’Leary just an hour from us. There is a small Baptist church with no pastor, and we are praying about how we can offer some support including helping them to find a pastor. Would you please pray with us for these opportunities.

As for coming events we don’t have anything big on the radar, except for helping plan for better organization for future events. I would also like to take a weekend trip to go connect with Pastor Mancuello again in Encarnacion and see the new work that has begun in the city of Pillar. Missionary Felix and I are praying to make that trip sometime in August to allow me to know a little more about the ministry as well as serve the leadership in any way we can. Would you please be in prayer for these opportunities.

Again, we cannot thank you all enough for allowing us to serve the people of Paraguay. If you want to see a little more of what is going on in the ministry, please don’t forget to watch our video on YouTube. Missions is impossible without the local church!

Now how can we pray for you?

The Loucks Family

Kids Corner:

Nana and Uncle David came to be with the kids, see into our lives and be part of our ministry for just a short while. Although their visit was short it provided a much needed refresh for all of us. The kids especially enjoyed sharing a little bit of our lives in Paraguay!

January 2025

“The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Luke 19:10

As we consider the birth of Jesus Christ we also consider the reason for his coming. The Son of God, born in flesh, laid in a manger, was on a rescue mission for the souls of the lost. We have such a great reason to remember the birth of Christ, not just on the 25th of December, but on every day of the year. I once was lost, but praise God I have been found.

We did not really know what to expect for our first Christmas in Paraguay. Over the last several years our Christmas traditions have had to be flexible due to traveling for deputation and our time in language school. We looked forward to this Christmas season and the opportunity to incorporate some of our new culture into our celebration.

We traded in winter coats and snow caps for Flip flops and Sunscreen. We forgot about a turkey or ham and went right for some beef and pork. Instead of sitting by the fire to stay warm, we turned up the A/C to cool off. A Subtropical Christmas was going to be just a little different.

We were warned that it was summer, and this is the season for vacations. Before everyone else hit the road we were blessed to get away for a few days to just put up our feet and relax. Shortly after arriving back at home everyone else took off for their vacations, and most of them will be gone for a couple weeks. Things slow down at church, because most of the church body travel back to home (wherever that might be) for Christmas and New Years.

While some of the ministries slowed down, we got a little busier. One of the things that has helped keep us busy is being able to socialize with new people. On a few occasions we have had some new faces come to the door which has added to our cultural adaption. I was also asked to help fill in with preaching for a couple weeks in January so that Pastors could travel for some family time. You can find that video below. Note: I did preach in Spanish.

As we have begun into the New Year, we are looking forward to what God has in plans for us. We plan to meet with Pastor Juan Carlos and Pastor Sergio about what is next on the radar for ministry. In the meantime, we will continue working with men in the church and helping prepare them for ministries in the church. The discipleship of men into leadership rolls has been a focus point for us and our time here in Paraguay.

We are very thankful for your faithfulness in praying for us as we serve the people of Paraguay. As we progress in language and culture we look back and are reminded to give thanks. Hard to believe that we set out for deputation ministry in January 2021 and how quickly time has passed. Daily we are reminded of the great cloud of people that hold us up in prayers and are humbled by this truth. We pray for you also and would ask that you send us a note and let us know how we can pray for you.

Let’s go to Paraguay!

The Loucks Family

February 2021

The Second Update!

Well, we have stuck it out to write a second letter! We have survived the first few months of deputation ministry and what a blessing it has been. We hope that in reading this letter you will be blessed as well.

Current Ministry:

Currently Kathleen and I when we are not on the road sharing what God has called us to, we are busy serving in the local church. God has blessed me with many service opportunities as a deacon, in worship ministry and other great opportunities. Kathleen is busy with Children’s ministries from Master Clubs, a special Wednesday evening kid’s program, and scheduling nursery workers and helping keep it all sanitized. She is also active in worship many weeks singing for special music. We love our home church, and the opportunities God allows us to be used for His glory to the people of Grace Baptist Church.

What about the Kids?

Life for our 5 amazing kids has been uneventful, just kidding. The kids are active in ministry right along side us. Our oldest three are homeschooled so most mornings they are busy with getting lessons done while Kathleen chases the other two around the house.

We are blessed in that we serve in a local body that wants to educate our children anytime the doors are open, so when Kathleen and I are there, the kids are with us serving along side us. We have been warned that deputation with 5 kids can be a challenge and we have gone to great lengths to prepare ourselves for this. We have a great support team of family and friends who have offered to help with the kids so that we do not burn them out. The kids really do not mind an extra night with Nana and Papa, especially if Uncle David is around to play with them!

While making appointments for deputation we take all of this into consideration, but also know you want to see them and get to know them. We hope that our youtube channel (loucks2paraguay) will be a great help in allowing you to see them and what mission’s life is like for them.

Upcoming Plans:

Our current appointments have us busy and we are super excited for this! February, we have a little down time and coming in March we have lined up 3 meetings that we are very excited for! Followed by the first of April where we will start the month of recovering together and end it traveling. We will share more details as these visits come about on our Facebook (JahaParaguayPe)!

We are so excited to share that we are already at 15% of our monthly support goal! We can not thank those who have come along side us enough. We are so thankful for the opportunity

God allowed us to share our ministry at First Baptist Church of Boardman, OR the end of December and for the great fellowship with the body there. It was great to worship with them again after several years of not being there. We were also blessed to share our ministry with First Baptist Church of Burbank, WA. We visited with them not long ago and were so thankful for the invite back and for their great encouragement as we move forward.

Prayer Requests:

Please pray as we continue to set up meetings and build our support team. We have been so blessed up to this point and are excited for what the Lord is doing for His kingdom through so many people.
Pray for Temperance as she will be being baptized soon. What a blessing to see her desire to follow the Lord in such a way!
Please pray for Kathleen’s Dad. He has many health issues and if facing some tough times. Pray also for her Mom that she would find comfort in the Lord and strength to meet each new trial.

Jaha Paraguay Pe!