prayer – Loucks 2 Paraguay

August 2025

The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth.

Exodus 34:6

It is amazing to look out and see the goodness of God all around us. From the home and watching the kids learn and grow, to the church and being blessed to serve such a great and awesome God. We are continually humbled by the opportunity to wake up here in Paraguay and know this is where our good God has called us to be.

Hard to believe that another month has come and is almost gone. We have had a month of construction, rain and service. The home we are renting needs plenty of work, but we are comfortable making it into a home for us. We began praying and looking for a new place several months ago but ultimately landed on staying put. While the house needs repairs and we are working on those, it is close to everything we need and all the connections we have made in the first year. We are excited to get things finished up so that we will have a living room to host people in soon!

We have lost track if this is the second or third cold snap that we have had this year, but the August showers will hopefully bring out the flowers. Winter in Paraguay has been interesting to adapt to. We usually have a few cool days followed by a quick change to warm and humid. For example, the highs the last few days has been low 50 F, and tomorrow it is supposed to be back up to 75 F. The weather and seasons are one of the parts to missionary life that I imagine takes the longest to get used to, but we are thankful for a warm home to shelter us in and a nice patio to enjoy when it warms up.

We are continually thankful for the opportunity to serve the people of Paraguay and the many ways God allows us to do that. This month in Club de Niños we made some changes. Thanks to some motivation and an offering from a supporting church we have been working to help this group become more organized and focused. This led to us getting some Bibles for the group so that the kids can open a Bible to follow along as we study through the book of John. Kathleen works with the younger kids and teaches once a month while I help with the older kids and do my best to learn the language of the older kids. We also get the opportunity to teach and preach on a regular basis, and we are thankful for these opportunities.

This month I was asked to preach from Luke 18:31-34. It was a great to study and apply some of what I have been studying in the counseling courses. What lies on the throne of our hearts will often distract us from understanding.

Meet the Hernandarias group!

I mentioned previously that we were working at strengthening a small group in a city just north of us to begin a church plant. Every Wednesday we have the blessing of gathering together for a time of Bible Study Discipleship. Please continue to pray for this group as we study the Word of God together and begin to map out a future church plant.

Church Plant in Pilar:

Pilar is a small town about 7 hours from where we are located. The missionary that was sent to plant a church has been very ill all while construction for their building has begun. Please pray for Missionary Pastor Victor as he waits for some test results and recovery. Also, for Pastor Mancuello from Encarnacion as he makes plans to travel to the states to raise some support.

September 4th-7th I will be traveling with Missionary Felix over to meet up with Pastors Mancuello and Victor to connect with their ministries and to offer help where we can. Please pray for this trip and the opportunity to serve these pastors and churches. Also pray for Kathleen and the kids while I am away.

Added to the month of August is the blessed opportunity of celebrating two Birthdays! Adara-Dasha turned 10 and Jedidiah turned 12. It has been such a joy to watch them connect with kids locally and make relationships. Adara-Dasha has never had a problem making a friend even extending into the lives of those from Club de Niños. Jedidiah has been stepping out more and more as he gains confidence and has even started connecting with some kids at Kickboxing training. Please continue to pray for our kids as they allow the Lord to use them as missionaries.

Thank you for your faithful love and support as we serve the Lord. May His name be glorified in all that we do, and may we remember to stop and see His goodness all around us.

Jaha Paraguay Pe!

ONE YEAR IN PARAGUAY

“You are good and do good; teach me your statutes.” Psalm 119:68

Hard to believe that one year ago we arrived in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay and began ministry on the field. All parts of the missionary process are important steps and each is its own ministry. We were excited for each step in the ministry but were most excited to step foot into the foreign field as full-time missionaries!

Time really has just flown by since we arrived in Paraguay. As we sat and reflected around the dining room table about the last year and key moments of the last year it was great hearing each of the kids and their perspective. If you would like a little look into their perspective and favorite parts, please don’t miss the opportunity to watch the video on our YouTube channel linked below. It will give just a brief look at what caught the kids attention from year number one.

Our first year went about as good as we thought. Sure we had the occasional surprise flood to clean up, new bug to deal with and language mishaps, but overall our first year was great. We got to spend time as a family adapting to life in Paraguay, the kids got to complete a whole school year in one home, and we got to start into some different ministry opportunities. This made for a full first year.

Many of you know that I (Jared) was able to start working with the leadership in development of future leaders. We began a leadership group to strengthen the local church and to work as a team in the ministry. We also have formed a church planting team. This team includes Pastor Juan Carlos Escobar, Missionary Felix and me. This year we plan to meet and discuss more roles and responsibilities as we move forward with church planting. We have had a couple of guys express interest in planting church and are working through discipleship.

As we progress forward into our second year we are excited for what lies ahead. We have begun talking about the Bible Institute and how to reinitiate this ministry. Please keep this in your prayers as we would like to start in August if we can get things organized, otherwise we will postpone until the new year to give ourselves enough time to organize. The leadership has met a few times about this theme and are putting together a plan to begin classes soon.

Other events on the radar. We have some special visitors coming to stay with us for a few weeks this next week. Please pray for safety as they travel, and also for the sweet reunion with family! We have also begun to prepare for the missionary training camp. Please continue to pray for this ministry and its impact on the youth of local churches.

Please continue to pray for Club de Ninos and for the little souls that come. We know they hear the gospel every week but please pray for their understanding. We have also had many new kids come and it has been great to take part in their lives. Also pray for those in the group that the leadership would be strengthened!

Thank you so much for allowing us to serve the people of Paraguay. Thank you for your faithful prayers, encouragement, and support. We are blessed!

Jaha Paraguay Pe,

The Loucks Family

March 2025

I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.

Psalm 116:1-2

I love the illustration given to us in these first couple verses of Psalm 116. This is not the only Psalm that this is illustrated to us, but God has inclined his ear to hear our prayers. How often do we get distracted and misarrange our priorities to not hear the little voices calling unto us. I know as a father it can be easy to let things distract me and keep me from the little things my kids have to say. I am so very thankful for the Lord who reminds us through example of what it means to not be to busy to stop and listen. There is also great encouragement in knowing that our God is ready to hear us call upon his name. May we not forget to pray.

As many of you have been praying ministries are now moving forward at Iglesia Bautista Biblica Jerovia. We are excited to be working with teams that have a passion for the Word of God and a desire to share the hope of Salvation to those in their community. Working with national partners means that we get to serve in rolls of encouragement and providing some support to those leading the programs. Building up leadership will be important as we move forward in serving the people of Paraguay. We have had a few meetings with ministry teams and are excited for those that God is allowing us to work with.

Abel and Liz are some of those that we will be working alongside in the Kids Club ministry. They have a great love for the Lord and a desire to serve the kids in the community. Part of our role in the program is to support the leadership and to help in training in areas of leadership.

We are excited to work along such a great group of people and to be able to invest into their lives as they prepare for future ministries.

April is fast approaching and some things are happening to move in the direction of local church planting. Will you please begin praying now as April 12th and 13th we will be having missions conference with the focus on Local Church Planting. Our guest speaker from Argentina will be sharing and encouraging the church body in this area. We have started a church planting team (which I will share more about later) and now we are waiting for men who feel called to this ministry to come forward. Please join us in praying for this!

As for the family, things continue to go well. March 13th was Kathleens Birthday, and it was a blessing to be able to spend a couple days celebrating the years God has given her. We even went and grabbed a little dinner at her favorite place in Brazil. The kids continue in homeschooling and twice a week a tutor comes over to help them with Spanish. We are super excited for how they are advancing in the language and using it more and more.

If you know Elijah, you know he can be quite the character. He loves connecting with people and has his own unique way of doing so (mostly, just being silly). There have been lots of cultural lessons along the way, but watching him adapt and grow has been nothing short of a blessing.

His favorite parts of being in Paraguay are 1) knowing that God sent us here, 2) his friend, Ian, and 3) His dogs!

A lot of things are moving forward in ministry and we are excited for what lies ahead. Please continue to pray for 1) hearts to be open to the gospel, 2) our family as we invest into lives, 3) that God would be glorified. We truly are blessed to serve our Lord in this way. Now how can we pray for you?

Jaha Paraguay Pe/ Let’s go to Paraguay!

The Loucks Family

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

November 2024, Giving Thanks

“Oh sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth! Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day.

Psalm 96:1-2

What is it like to be in November approaching the heat of summer? Our minds are all a little confused. We have the Air Conditioner running while we have apple pie in the oven and are preparing to cook turkey for Thanksgiving. In all of this we give thanks. We sing praise to the Lord and tell of His salvation from day to day. We reflect on the goodness and grace and have reason to praise him in song. Frederick M. Lehman Put it wonderfully in his song, Oh Love of God…

“Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.”

November has been a busy month of serving in different ministries. Many of you know that we have been asked to help with the kids club and it has been a blast getting to know the kids from the community. The end of November ministries close down for the summer and will begin again in February. Will you please continue to pray for the kids that attend the club? We will miss our Saturday mornings with them! Also, I have been asked to help out on the occasional Friday night passing out tracks and cocido at the hospital. This has been a great way to work with fellow missionary Felix and many of the young adults from the church. Please pray for continued relationships with hospital staff.

This month we were also asked to help fill different teaching rolls at the church. Kathleen did a great job giving a devotion to the ladies group for a baby shower. The theme was changed last minute but we have received great feedback from the devotional both on her speaking and the message that was given. I was also asked to help fill in with the youth and young adults for several ministries. We praise the Lord for opportunities to serve, connect and share the truth from God’s word.

Family time has continued to be filled with many wonderful opportunities to make memories. Hard to believe that we have been in Paraguay for 5 months, but it has been a great joy each step of the way. As a family I can say we are adjusting well. The kids are learning Spanish, making friends and becoming involved. This warms our hearts as we see the Lord working in their lives. If only I could be a fly on the wall of conversations to hear them using their Spanish, but we have heard great things. We have also hired a tutor to work with the kids on being confident in speaking. It has also helped Kathleen and I learn some more common phrases in Guarani!

As summer sets in and the school year comes to a close here in Paraguay, we have been warned about how quiet the city gets. Major stores will remain open, but the family-owned places will be scarce. People start to travel and thus ministries slow down. The Saturday kids club will continue just at a very relaxed pace, the same with youth and young adults. While things will slow down for ministries, we ask that you pray for continued connections into the lives of youth and young adults in the church and community.

As we prepare for our Thanksgiving Day, we want to take a moment to express our thanks for you! We are thankful for you and your part in serving the people of Paraguay. Your prayers, your love and support continue to allow us to serve the Lord in this great country and we know we could not do it without you. We give thanks to the Lord for the great cloud he has placed around us in this ministry.

We pray that your Thanksgiving is filled with a time of reflection on the goodness and greatness of our God. His love has been poured out upon us giving believers in Jesus Christ a true reason to give thanks. Psalm 100:3 “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.” Praise the Lord for these great truths!

Prayer requests and praises: 1) for opportunity to share Christ with the young lady at the ice-cream shop (Luana) 2) for continued relationship building with people in the community 3) that God would continue to be glorified. Praise the Lord for continued growth in our language and opportunities to serve. Now how can we pray for you!

Jaha Paraguay Pe/ Let’s go to Paraguay!

The Loucks Family

Kids corner:

This month one of the workers at Hope Christian School was wanting a cup of coffee but wasn’t able to leave work to get one. No problem we said, Lulu and I packed up and went and made coffee for all the teachers. It was a great way to show our willingness to serve and be part. Lulu got to surprise some of her favorite people and bring a little light to a crazy morning.

October 2024

OCTOBER 2024

“It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to your name, O Most High”

Psalm 92:1

Over the weeks I usually choose one Psalm to reflect upon and to pray through for the week. Recently Psalm 92 has been playing through my mind as I have had the opportunity to study. Our reason to give thanks is not always found in the ease of situations, but in the God of those situations. We live in a world where wickedness often seems to prevail, but the truth of God’s word remains the same. These truths from the Psalms reminding me of the greatness of the works of God is a true encouragement and motivation to keep focused and moving in faithfulness.

At the end of September we were given the opportunity to get away for a couple days and just enjoy some time together. We went about 20km away to a nice quiet piece of property with some cabins and a swimming pool. It was a great time to just be away and soak up the outdoors. We are very thankful for family who invites us along to outings like this. It was good for all of us! The kids got an extra day off from school so that they could enjoy hours of time in the swimming pool. This was a treat much needed!

Many of you have been praying for us in regards to the completion of our documents and obtaining a vehicle. Our documents have arrived, and we were able to purchase a vehicle! We thank the Lord for providing this for us and for how He worked all the details together. We had someone approach us with the desire to help us in the process and it was greatly appreciated as the market in Paraguay can be tricky to navigate. I have my international driving permit but am working toward my licenses and hope to have that by the end of next month. We want to thank you for your part in praying and giving toward this. We pray that our vehicle is tool used to honor the name of Jesus Christ here in Paraguay and wherever else He might take us in it.

The second week of October we were able to host our first guests from the United States. Many of you are aware that Jaha Paraguay Pe was our theme and our desire in it was that people would consider coming to see the ministry here in Paraguay. Our guests are in training for missionary work and on the recommendation of their pastor they were sent to learn what it looks like to be new on the field. They brough with them a list of questions about ourselves, our family life and the process of adjustment. It was a great time for us to reflect on all that the Lord has done in our lives to bring us to the field and what He has used us for on the field in just these first four months.

We would love to be part in helping others get to the mission field and so if you have anyone that is interested in missions, please let us know. If we can answer any questions you may have or be used as a tool and resource, we are glad to share.

As October comes to an end we are looking forward to several ministry opportunities. Pastor J.C. Escobar and Alejandra have gone to Chile to be with her mom in her last few days. The Lord called her to glory about two weeks after they arrived and now they are helping the family in Chile through this time of adjustment. Please pray for the family and many are unsaved and lacking the hope found in Jesus Christ. While they are away, I will be helping fill vacant spots as I am asked, and Kathleen has also been asked to teach a devotional to the ladies group. Lots of opportunities to practice and be used.

Kids Corner:

This month the kids want to say a huge thank you to the churches that have sent packages for us. This month was almost like Christmas in October and the kids got to enjoy an evening with American snacks and lots of activities!

Yes! We have a mailing address and it has been updated on the contact portion of our website.

Now how can we pray for you?

We want to stay connected and part of being connected is knowing what is going on in your lives. Please, send us an email or a message and let us know how we can pray for what God is doing in your lives!

Thank you for your faithfulness in joining us on this journey. We are beyond blessed to serve the Lord in this way!

Jaha Paraguay Pe,

The Loucks Family

September 2024 Ministry Update

I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations. For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. Psalm 57:9-10

As I sit to write this ministry update, I am reminded of the abundant mercy of God. It was a lesson I taught a couple weeks ago to the young adults of the church. I was nervous to share that night because it would be my first time teaching in Spanish, but I was amongst friends. The thing that made it even easier was that the mercy of God was present in the moment I would share. I knew it was with me and the Spirit was guiding me as we opened the Word of God together. What a blessing it was to have that time exploring the greatness of God’s mercy and being able to reflect on how that mercy is portrayed in our lives. We have the opportunity to live out our lives sharing and reflecting that mercy amongst the world. It is a great responsibility we bear but one that honors our God.

This month I had the amazing opportunity of joining a group of guys to go help secure a church building down south in Encarnacion. The testimony of Pastor Juan Carlos Mancuello was of huge impact in my life my first trip in Paraguay. In 2005 he was serving as a deacon in the church and in 2007 the church sent him to plant a church in Encarnacion. A lot has happened over those years and they were finally able to purchase property and begin working on the building. The first phase is about complete and the men from Ciudad del Este took up offerings and raised some funds to put bars up around the windows and doors.

The first wave of the team left on Friday and began setting up and getting organized. The others left early Saturday morning and upon arrival we got right to work. It was a long day but all to the glory of God!

It was really amazing to watch as a group of guys gathered around each other for this project. We prayed together, we laughed together, and we worked hard together. The following weekend a few of the guys were given the opportunity to share of their experience with the church. One of which is a new believer and is growing spiritually. He remarked how the unity is something he had never experienced before. The other man mentioned that it was humbling to be around a group of guys and to be able to serve the Lord in this way.

The testimony of this ministry opportunity impacted many people. Men from the group that went, men from the church we went to serve alongside, and also men from another area church that came to see what was going on. They all exclaimed how they wish that the men in their church would get together for something like this.

This month I was also given the opportunity to share from the Word of God with the youth and young adults. As I mentioned one evening I was able to do it in Spanish which was one of the most difficult things I have done to date, as I shared 99% in Spanish and 1% in Guarani. While learning Guarani is not the focus, we have picked up a few words here and there and as we pick up more it will help in communication. I know the time will come when I will be able to preach in Spanish, but baby steps are very important for right now.

Pictured above was from the youth and young adult camp that I was asked to speak at. It was a busy few days but the Lord was good and provided for a great time of serving together. I shared 2 messages with both groups and then we did a question answer time. Our theme was “Our Purpose in God’s Plan” looking at 1st Corinthians 6:19-20. Please pray for these students as they learn to lay aside the old nature and put on Christlikeness.

Mommy and the kids do not just sit around while Daddy is away. They get treated with the best care and were blessed to go do some exploring in the city center. They were gifted some money to go by something and they were eager to go see what there was. Tia Lillian and Tia Julia take the greatest care of us and are always there to help out while I am away! Lots of smiles and lots of memories!

Other Ministry opportunities include helping with the Saturday morning kids club and Kathleen has been asked to make some goodies to help raise funds for the upcoming ladies conference. All of these things add up to keeping us pretty busy, but the Lord is good, and our hearts are very full. We continue to be amazed that the Lord would call us here to serve amongst such a great group of people and we thank God for each of you for your part in this ministry.

Prayer Requests: 1) Please pray for all of us that we would stay healthy. 2) Pray that we would maintain a good healthy balance of priorities. 3) Pray for the response of the men to opportunities to serve within the church as we develop leadership.

It has been just over three months since arriving in Paraguay and it has been a blessing to watch our kids thrive in their new environment. Temperance has been working hard on practicing her Spanish and trying to connect with more young ladies. She is very thankful for all the people she has brought into our lives to help care for us during this time! Would you please pray for her to make more friends and for her to really connect with the young ladies.

Thank you for being part of the ministry in Paraguay and for your love, encouragement and support that allows us to be here. Please continue to pray as we seek to serve the Lord as under rowers in ministry! Now, how can we pray for you?

Jaha Paraguay Pe!

The Loucks Family

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:

Pray for housing to be secured in Paraguay.
Pray as I (Jared) finish classes at Rio Grande Bible Institute
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

February 2024

“Then Job answered the LORD and said: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.”
Job 42:1-2

As part of my homework, I have read through the book of Job in three different translations. Each time I read through it I was reminded to give thanks for the godly people that have been placed in my life. Those people that God has used to shape us, to mold us, and make us stronger. Those who have walked with us through the good and bad times and to know that it is God who has placed them into our lives that His work could be completed in our lives. What beautiful truths to reflect upon and encourage us along the way.

With all the changes that were made to our plans we felt such great peace knowing that it is God who is directing our steps. I (Jared) have been taking classes online at Rio Grande Bible Institute and am in over my head. Classes are Monday, Wednesday and Friday and I spend Tuesday and Thursday reading, writing and making sure I am understanding. It is a full load of classes with a full load of homework, but God has been blessing in each step of the process.

As explained in the last email the program changes at Rio Grande Bible Institute were developed for helping missionaries that are aiming toward Preaching and Teaching ministries. Taking the classes allows me the opportunity to learn how to teach in a Latino culture. Already, it has been a great help in things to do and not do in teaching Latinos. I am thankful for the men that God has placed as Professors in the classes and am already looking forward to using what I am learning.

The time here in Washington continues allow us plenty of time for the kids to get school done, enjoy time with family, and make great memories. Kathleen and the kids keep busy each morning while I am doing school with their own school tasks. We celebrated not long ago that the kids finished their 100th day of school for the year. Elijah is catching up on schooling and LuVerna is reaping many of those benefits as she sits and takes in what mommy is teaching.

Commissioning Service February 11^th ,2024 at 10:45am! That’s right, we are just a couple weeks away from our commissioning service and are excited for all that the Lord is preparing for that weekend. Friday Night, February 9^th, we will be having a Commissioning Service Dinner at Grace Baptist Church in Kennewick, WA starting at 6pm. We want to make sure you know that you are all invited to join us for this special time of fellowship! Our guest speaker for the evening will be President of Adelphos-Chile, Patricio Oliva.

Prayer and Praise:

Pray as I study that the Lord would continue to give me the necessary strength and understanding
Pray for safety as representation of Adelphos-Chile and Adelphos-USA travel to Washington to be with us during the commissioning service.
Pray for family and friends as they travel for the commissioning service also.
Continue to pray as our Ministry Partners in Paraguay continue looking for us a home.
Praise that the first couple weeks of classes have gone well.
Praise that Kathleen and the kids are enjoying having her back teaching them and being together in the home.

Thank you to the many of you who reach out with prayer requests. It is a true joy to take those requests to the kids and to be praying for you all. If you have any requests, you know how to get ahold of us! Thank you for your faithfulness in praying for us and the ministry that God has called us to.

Jaha Paraguay Pe!

The Loucks Family