Dear Friends and Family,
We are thankful for every day the Lord gives us in this ministry! We have had a busy and eventful spring with much to report. Shortly after our last prayer letter, I (Jim) received a call that my mom had had a stroke and was in the hospital. As an only child to an elderly mother who lives alone, this is the call we have feared. We made the decision for me to fly back to Pensacola to be with her and assist in whatever needs she had upon discharge. I am thankful for many who became aware through Facebook and prayed for my mom. She recovered well and is back at home. Thankfully, Kari’s dad lives two doors down and is able to check in on her when he is home.
As many of you know from our last letter, I have been having a few health problems related to my neck. The neurosurgeon did not feel I needed surgery at this time, and I was able to see a chiropractor while in the U.S. I’m happy to report that this is mostly resolved with just some weakness remaining in my hands. Many have told me that they are praying for me; thank you for lifting me up to the Lord! We were also having big problems with our car. We are sad to report that the engine seized and it wouldn’t have been good stewardship to continue to throw money at repairing it; still, we’re thankful for the good year of ministry we had with it. After three months without a vehicle, we praise the Lord for providing us with a much roomier and more reliable 2001 Toyota Hiace Diesel Van in very nice condition. It has a reputation for reliability.
The Bible Institute is continuing strong, and we will have a banquet for the men on June 22nd to celebrate the end of the first semester. Every other weekend, we take men from the Bible Institute out for evangelism. Part of this evangelistic effort includes going to the hometowns of two of the men. Several people have been saved in Caaguazú (about three and a half hours away) and between 20 to 30 people have been faithfully coming to services every other Saturday. The work in Arroyos y Esteros is much smaller but has also seen fruit with a few people saved. Please pray that the Lord will give wisdom regarding starting church plants in these towns using the Bible Institute students.
The church in Villa Elisa celebrates its second anniversary June 5th. We are excited about some preachers coming from the U.S. this week to preach a conference surrounding the anniversary. It is exciting to see people regularly saved. In fact, four people were saved in the church services yesterday in Villa Elisa and Villeta. We praise the Lord that God gives the increase.
And, lastly, we are excited to report that Kari is now also a permanent Paraguayan resident. We also should be able to pick up our cedulas (required police ID cards) tomorrow. This was another intricate paperwork adventure that required residency first. Thank you for your faithful prayers on our behalf.
Your Missionaries to Paraguay,
Jim and Kari Showers
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