After a very enjoyable, busy, and successful furlough to the USA, we are now back in Paraguay ready to get back to work! The schedule is full for the next few months with Bible studies, Bible Academy activities, special church events, various campaigns, and lots of traveling. What a wonderful blessing to be involved in such an active work! Praise God! We hope you enjoy this month’s edition of our Paraguay Mission report! God bless.
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News from the Spradlins in South America Back to Work in Paraguay After a very enjoyable, busy, and successful furlough to the USA, we are now back in Paraguay ready to get back to work! The schedule is full for the next few months with Bible studies, Bible Academy activities, special church events, various campaigns, and lots of traveling. What a wonderful blessing to be involved in such an active work! Praise God! We hope you enjoy this month’s edition of our Paraguay Mission report! God bless. DEVELOPMENTS AT AVE. SACRAMENTO Upcoming events: “Homecoming”! On September the 5th, 2014, the church of Christ on Avenida Sacramento will have completed 10 years since it first began worship services. It started with a mission team made up of the Chris Fry family, Ethan Hardin family, Vanessa Heady and Enoch Rinks. In order to encourage the brethren of the church here, many of the former missionaries and former members, are returning to Paraguay for a very special weekend! For three days, on July 25-27th, there will be several special activities held at all three congregations for fellowship, devotionals, and worship. We are doing lots of planning and looking forward to what promises to be a wonderful event. The “Fundamentals” class on Sunday mornings for our new brethren in Christ continues to go well. It is so important to reinforce a babe in Christ with these “first principles” so that they will have a solid foundation to help them remain faithful while avoiding temptation. DEVELOPMENTS AT ÑEMBY CONGREGATION It’s hard to believe, but Eliezer Pérez has already completed one year with us here in Paraguay! On Sunday, June 15th, he gave his first “annual report” to the brethren at Avenida Sacramento about the work in Ñemby. (I heard there were many tears of joy shed among the brethren when they saw all the work that had been done this past year). Some of you may remember that Eliezer is from Panama and is a graduate of the Institute of Theology of Latin America in Guatemala (another Bear Valley Extension School). We are, indeed, blessed to have such a dedicated and diligent worker such as brother Eliezer here in Paraguay. We pray he will labor along side of us for many more years to come. The brethren at Ñemby have decided to add a Bible study hour before their regular worship time. They are currently studying through the Gospel according of John. ASUNCION BIBLE ACADEMY UPDATE Andrea and I spent a great deal of our furlough time raising funds for the Academy by going to visit new contacts and meeting with current supporters. We want to say “Thank you” to all those who donated toward the funding of the school and for the kind hospitality we received while traveling. It was a marvelous blessing! One of the requests that we received quite often was to give more information about the students and the activities of the school. With that in mind, we will begin this month publishing a new monthly report that will be sent out to all supporters and made available online. Eliezer Pérez has completed one year as missionary to Ñemby for the Avenida Sacramento church of Christ. JUNE 2014 Vol. 6 No. 6 This picture is of the first anniversary service of the church of Christ at Avenida Sacramento, held on Sept 5, 2005. This was in our former location just up the street from where we are now.
Transcript
News from the Spradlins in South America
Back to Work in Paraguay
After a very enjoyable, busy, and successful furlough to the USA, we are now back in Paraguay ready to get back to work! The schedule is full for the next few months with Bible studies, Bible Academy activities, special church events, various campaigns, and lots of traveling. What a wonderful blessing to be involved in such an active work! Praise God! We hope you enjoy this month’s edition of our Paraguay Mission report! God bless. DEVELOPMENTS AT AVE. SACRAMENTO
Upcoming events: “Homecoming”! On September the 5th, 2014, the church of Christ on Avenida Sacramento will have completed 10 years since it first began worship services. It started with a mission team made up of the Chris Fry family, Ethan Hardin family, Vanessa Heady and Enoch Rinks. In order to encourage the brethren of the church here, many of the former missionaries and former members, are returning to Paraguay for a very special weekend! For three days, on July 25-27th, there will be several special activities held at all three congregations for fellowship, devotionals, and worship. We are doing lots of planning and looking forward to what promises to be a wonderful event.
The “Fundamentals” class on Sunday mornings for our new brethren in Christ continues to go well. It is so important to reinforce a babe in Christ with these “first principles” so that they will have a solid foundation to help them remain faithful while avoiding temptation.
DEVELOPMENTS AT ÑEMBY CONGREGATION
It’s hard to believe, but Eliezer Pérez has already completed one year with us here in Paraguay! On Sunday, June 15th, he gave his first “annual report” to the brethren at Avenida Sacramento about the work in Ñemby. (I heard there were many tears of joy shed among the brethren when they saw all the work that had been done this past year). Some of you may remember that Eliezer is from Panama and is a graduate of the Institute of Theology of Latin America in Guatemala (another Bear Valley Extension School). We are, indeed, blessed to have such a dedicated and diligent worker such as brother Eliezer here in Paraguay. We pray he will labor along side of us for many more years to come.
The brethren at Ñemby have decided to add a Bible study hour before their regular worship time. They are currently studying through the Gospel according of John.
ASUNCION BIBLE ACADEMY UPDATE
Andrea and I spent a great deal of our furlough time raising funds for the Academy by going to visit new contacts and meeting with current supporters. We want to say “Thank you” to all those who donated toward the funding of the school and for the kind hospitality we received while traveling. It was a marvelous blessing!
One of the requests that we received quite often was to give more information about the students and the activities of the school. With that in mind, we will begin this month publishing a new monthly report that will be sent out to all supporters and made available online.
Eliezer Pérez has completed one year as missionary to Ñemby for the Avenida
Sacramento church of Christ.
JUNE 2014
Vol. 6 No. 6
This picture is of the first anniversary service of the church of Christ at Avenida Sacramento, held on Sept 5, 2005. This was in our former location just
I met with our brother in Christ, Enrique Albera, over the recent restructuring of our ministry groups. Since we do not have elders or deacons, the church decided to divide the work up among groups of men of the congregation. They are simply to initiate the work and manage it. Enrique and I have been charged with evangelism. We have developed several new ideas to get the church more involved and to produce more Bible study contacts. We will be presenting the ideas at the next men’s business meeting.
We have two men that are eligible to be elders, they are Pedro Vera and Ike Yegros. Several of us have been and continue to study with them in various formats to help prepare them to be appointed some day soon. One of the Biblical requirements of eligibility is that they be “apt to teach.” Imagine how wonderful it was and the joy it brought to come back from furlough and to find them both teaching a class on Sunday mornings! Praise God!
I was recently pleasantly surprised when the brethren at the Ñemby congregation hosted a nice little “merienda” for me upon my return to Paraguay after furlough. They are so kind and thoughtful and show true Christian love in so many ways.
Worship and Bible class attendance (Ave Sacramento):
Sun am – 70 (1st), 51 (8th), 50 (15th), 50 (22nd), 62 (29th)
We would like to introduce you to one of our dearest members, Odila. She is from Uruguay and is the widow of one of the first, original missionaries to Paraguay, brother Juan Uriola. They helped plant the church in Paraguay in 1978 and since then, Odila has continued to have Bible studies. What a shining example of Christian faithfulness! She is a widow indeed and is supported by the church.
Pedro Vera teaching the“Fundamentals” class to new converts on Sunday mornings.
Ike Yegros teaching class in the main auditórium on Sunday mornings.
Our sister in Christ, Odila.
Several good brethren have encouraged me to start writing about what I have learned and experienced as a missionary. Although I have a mere 8 years of missions involvement “under my belt” (4 of those while living in a foreign mission field), I have studied, seen, and experienced a considerable amount with regard to “missiology.” Please understand, I am not too proud to admit, I still have much to learn! The hope here is that I might simply provide good, sound information that will perhaps be helpful within the brotherhood.
“Missiology” is a term that is often defined as “the study of the church's mission especially with respect to missionary activity.” It is a study that includes aspects and combinations of theology, anthropology, and history. To explain it in more basic terms, it is the study of how to go about completing the “Great Commission” that the Lord has commanded of us (Matthew 28:19,20; Mark 16:15), across various cultures in the mission field, in a manner that remains Scripturally sound and equally conducive for the local, native church.
So, why does it matter to you and me? We know the Bible, so we should just simply follow that and be good, right? That is, indeed, correct! But, unfortunately, that is not what always happens in the mission field with so many well-intentioned, mission works. Therefore, instead of laying blame, pointing fingers, or creating issues among the brethren regarding the works that they are involved in, why not just examine what the scriptures have to say and help one another grow in producing healthy, Biblical practices in every mission field? That, I pray, will be the result of this new section of our report that I would like to dedicate to the subject of “missiology.”
I pray you will find what will be written here to be helpful and enlightening, thought provoking and challenging, yet always Biblically sound. Until next time, “be ye nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine!” (1 Tim 4:6).
Paraguayan Culture Spotlight: Street Vendors! You can buy just about anything on the street in Paraguay. Whether you are walking, riding the bus, or driving in a car, the world is your shopping oyster. The pearls? Pretty much everything you could want, from inflatable pools, flowers, cooking oil, windshield
wipers, to ripe fruit. Sometimes there will be one or two walking between the cars at the stoplights or sometimes there might be dozens. It can be a bit confusing and distracting at first, but once you get used to it, it can become quite convenient! Just don’t expect to receive any discount; oh, and you might want to check the expiration dates on any perishables before you buy them. Street vendors are a common sight in the unique culture of Paraguay. For more information on this and all things Paraguay, visit this informative website: http://discoveringparaguay.com
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT AND ACTIVITIES
Personal Activities:
Furlough 2014 comes to a close. Wow! Every year seems to get better and better! It was so good to see so many of our brothers and sisters in Christ, our friends, and our family. You make us feel so loved and please know that we dearly love you! THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts for all of your kind hospitality, encouraging words, and loving support!
Over the past couple of years, there have been many brethren who have insisted that Andrea and I take “a little time for ourselves.” Some have even given us money and “mandated” that we use it specifically for that purpose. So, to show our appreciation, Andrea and I took a little trip to New England just for vacation, through their generosity, (and a ticket voucher). Thank you so much to all those who made it possible!
Personal study:
I am currently reading / have read: “On the Wings of the Morning” by Eldred Echols “Scriptural Organization of the Churches of Christ” by Jim Massey “Muscle and a Shovel” by Michael Shank
I have been studying and preparing for teaching Biblical Greek coming up soon in the Academy.
Preaching/teaching opportunities:
I was blessed this past month with the opportunity to preach at Carriage Oaks church of Christ in Bossier City, LA and at Central Avenue church of Christ in Valdosta, GA.
Andrea about to enjoy a Maine lobster meal … in Maine!
There should to be a TV show named “Everybody loves Andrea and Andrea loves Everybody.” This really became apparent as I was looking through the pictures from our recent furlough and every other one was of Andrea hugging someone or being hugged. Jesus said, “They’ll know you are my disciples by your love for one another” (John 13:35). Being her number one fan, I can tell you that
Andrea is, indeed, a very loving, special, Godly, Proverbs 31 woman, and a wonderful Christian example. …. I also know I have embarrassed her with this! ;-) But those of you who know her, know I speak the truth! God bless you, Andrea!
Our Mission Goals for 2014:
The brethren at the Avenida Sacramento congregation have set the following goals for themselves for 2014 and have asked the mission team to help them accomplish these goals. The team will actively support them under their direction. The goals are:
Evangelism: (1) Hold a Personal Evangelism Seminar, (2) Evangelism campaigns in various plazas, cities, (3) Plan, investigate, and pursue areas for a new church plant, (4) Offer “Learn English using the Bible” campaign, (5) Use "Searching for Truth" book, (6) Post banners that get people’s attention for Bible studies. Long term: (1) Evangelize each Department/Capital of Paraguay, (2) have a Radio Program.
Edification: (1) Promote the Asuncion Bible Academy for the next class, and/or start a “Saturday School,” (2) Host a special “Homecoming” event involving all congregations, (3) Improve ministries organization, (4) Special Men’s Retreat, (5) Install glass doors at the main entrance, (6) Have a Camp/Retreat with all three congregations, (7) New convert classes, (8) Skype studies offered by brethren from USA, (9) Conduct new extension courses in leadership, (10) Develop or obtain materials/courses for brethren with family problems, (11) Develop communication in Guarani for the brethren. Long term: (1) Finish the building façade. The mission team will assist and coordinate these activities according to the direction of the congregation.
Benevolence: (1) Offer the course "Comfort in Times of Grief" to the public, (2), Visit the sick / prisoners, (3) Provide a class on the topic of "Benevolence," (4) Use donations to help some members, (5) Prepare meals for the needy, and (6) Participate in various activities of benevolence.
These are some wonderful goals and we are so excited to see their growth in leadership. Please pray for the successful completion of each of these and the continual development of leadership in Paraguay!
PARAGUAY MISSION
Asuncion, Paraguay – South America
Troy and Andrea Spradlin
Casilla de Correo 13092
Shopping del Sol Asuncion, Paraguay
(595) 0981-630-886
We are seeking to "equip the saints for the work of service to the building up of the body of Christ." (Ephesians 4:12)
OUR SUPPORTERS
Margaret Street church of Christ (Sponsoring Congregation) 6745 Margaret Street, Milton, FL 32570 Central Avenue church of Christ – Valdosta, GA Dripping Springs church of Christ – Dripping Springs, TX Palm Beach Lakes church of Christ – West Palm Beach, FL Poolville church of Christ – Poolville, TX Families of: Clay Bond / Chet Brown / Virginia Guess / Joseph Markham
