TIMOTHY TRAINING #5

January 10-12

 

Jeff leaves today for a Timothy Training workshop.  What an incredible opportunity for rural Paraguayans to learn Bible stories and how to teach others.   This will be the fifth class in a year’s time and the first time the elders/deacons in San Francisco (Paraguay) have done the organizing ALL BY THEMSELVES (a HUGE step).  They are pumped about the record number of people expected to attend.  This is also the first time it will be hosted in San Francisco.  Since there's no building on the church property, they'll be sleeping outside and showering under a make-shift shower head in the chicken coop.

An Update from Jeff:

The San Francisco church leaders organized, hosted and staffed the teaching positions for the January Timothy training, our fifth one since January 2012.  It was the first one to be held in San Francisco and it was a great success.  8 men participated for the first time and there were over 25 Paraguayan men in total from 11 different rural communities.  The women of the church served up some incredibly tasty meals for the Thursday to Saturday conference.  The weather was hot, but for a Timothy first, it did not rain!  This was good news since the San Francisco church has no building!   Men slept on mattresses strewn all over the church property beneath the towering trees.  Two men from San Francisco, Emiliano and Ruben, who have not been attending regularly, were really encouraged by the 3 days of Bible storytelling training and fellowship.  We have seen a noticeable change for the better in both of them in the last few weeks.  Dionisio, a member of an indigenous group called the Mbya Guarani, came with our friend Justin, an IMB missionary.  He has been a believer for 30 years, much longer than any of the men participating.  They really enjoyed his wisdom and he really enjoyed the new approach to Bible teaching.  There is now talk of Pedro and Higinio, two of the San Francisco elders, going to visit Dionisio, who lives in the next state over, and training some of the Mbya  leaders how to teach the Bible through storying.  Pretty exciting stuff.  Higinio brought two of his disciples from his weekly Bible study in the neighboring town of Maria Auxiliadora.  They are beginning to reach beyond their Jerusalem and Judea into their Samaria.  They’ll be crossing a cultural boundary in there, too!  We are overjoyed to see their growing vision for Timothy training as a vital ministry of their local church.  Through eyes of faith, they envision the training sessions swelling to over a hundred in attendance in the next 12 months and also see themselves going out from San Francisco to train other leaders in other states.  They also have a vision for a women’s training session to take place this month!  We as a mission are looking for ways to help them own and carry this vision into the future.  Pray for the upcoming trainings for men in May and July, and perhaps a few for women as well!  Pray for God’s guidance and direction as SIM Paraguay partners in new ways with the Iglesia Bíblica Ka’aguy Rokẽ (Forest Door Bible Church) to help them accomplish their vision.