News from the Spradlins in South America

February 2013 / Vol. 5 No. 2

A BAPTISM, VBS, and LOTS OF PREPARATION

It brings us such great joy to see the brethren so excited about the many activities that have been taking place within the church here in Paraguay! Its been said, A working church is a growing church. According to what were seeing around here, its looking like that saying is true! SPECIAL ACTIVITIES / CONGREGATIONAL DEVELOPMENT: The church had a special Work Day to clean up around the building and organize all the rooms. Part of the objective was to gather up the many old things that were not being used, like furniture, clothing, toys, or anything that just needed to be discarded. There was a feria for the members to buy whatever they wanted among the items with the proceeds going to the building fund. We also hired a company to bring in a big trash container for the stuff we needed to throw away and we filled it up! Things are looking mighty good around here. It is great to see the brethren taking pride (the good kind) in maintaining their meeting facility. Our Wednesday night Summer Series lessons were such a success that the members have asked to have some more guests! Brethren Glen Henton, Ethan Hardin, and Ivan Villard, Jr, have all agreed to speak for us. If you Vacation Bible School! There were LOTS of kids! are a Spanish speaking teacher, or know someone who would be interested in participating in this program, please let me know! Vacation Bible School! School starts the end of February in Paraguay, so it is a great time to have a VBS. We invited our members children, those of our frequent visitors, and from the local orphanages. Our youth, like Natalia Mendoza, William Arzamendia, and Carolina Achucarro did an amazing job with organizing and executing this event. There were an average of 40+ kids there all three days! Thats a lot crayons used! ASUNCIN BIBLE ACADEMY DEVELOPMENT: The Asuncin Bible Academy is now in its final stages of development before opening on March 11. Everything appears to be in order, set, and ready to begin. Next months mission report will be mostly dedicated to the opening of the school. We now have five officially approved students. They are: Enrique Albera, William Arzamendia, Ramn Paredes, Paolo Roshol, and Karen Gimenez. Please pray for them! RECENT BAPTISMS / RESTORATIONS / IDENTIFICATIONS Baptized! Vicente Martnez, Jr. He is the son of Vicente and Zully Martinez who were baptized this past year. Vicente, Jr., has really come out of his shell lately and been a lot more involved in the youth activities and Bible studies. He eventually came to realize the state of his soul and decided to submit to the Gospel call. We rejoice to have a new brother in Christ!

Vicente Martnez, Jr., just before being immersed into the Lambs saving blood.

Evangelistic Contacts / Bible Studies: Dina Aycock is a new friend that Andrea has made through the Las Amigas club. She has started asking lots of questions, so Andrea has invited her to come and see the church for herself! The mid-week study groups are going strong again after a short summer break. We are back to studying in the homes of Delci Enciso and of the Martinez. Our subject is Romans. We are also studying with several different couples with various topics like marriage, new convert lessons, and textual studies. What a blessing to have so many brethren that want to learn and grow in His word. Two of our former English students have returned to continue their studies. Andrea and Adriana are just about to finish the John study that we use, then they will transition into the Searching for Truth material. There are always lots of questions that follow with that study! Sergia is one of Andreas English students who has now advanced to Searching for Truth. Steps toward mission goals: The new church plant in emby! The men of the congregation at Avenida Sacramento have decided to support a young preacher named, Eliezer Perez, who is about to graduate from the Institute of Theology of Latin-America in Guatemala. When he was here a few months ago, he expressed the desire to come to Paraguay and work with the church. So, the church will provide him a place to live and a salary. This is a HUGE step for the church in Paraguay! They are stepping out on faith with the intent to support a young preacher. Eliezer will be working with the congregation here, as well as, being very involved in the church plant in emby. We are praying and working toward having everything ready by July in order to start worship services there. Please pray for this effort. Worship and Bible class attendance: rd th th th Sun am 50 (3 ); 47 (10 ); 57 (17 ); 53 (24 ) rd th th th Sun pm 41 (3 ); 31 (10 ); 37 (17 ); 26 (24 ) Sunday Bible study average 39 Midweek study average - 28 Current members: 84 Baptized (47 Family Units) Upcoming plans: Preparing for the Inauguration Ceremony and opening of the Asuncion Bible Academy in March Congregational retreat in April We bought our plane tickets for our USA Furlough coming up in May and June of 2013! We will traveling to the following places during these dates: Poolville church of Christ (Texas) - May 5 Dripping Springs church of Christ (Texas) - May 12 Margaret Street church of Christ (Florida) - May 19 Central Avenue church of Christ (Georgia) - June 2 Palm Beach Lakes church of Christ (Florida) - June 9

Andrea with Dina Aycock at the Ladies Tea

We needed to get rid of lots of stuff so the guys filled up an entire trash container!

One of our future Bible Academy students, Paolo Rosholl, helping to paint the classroom.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT AND ACTIVITIES

HIGHLIGHT(s) of the Month: We have a new brother in Christ and the excitement is growing as we are getting closer to starting classes in the Bible Academy. Visitation / Other Activities: Yegros family. We had a nice evening visiting with Ike and Nora and just enjoying a late-night Paraguay style dinner. Angel Ortiz is the husband of our sister in Christ, Mabel Ortiz. We had a nice visit one afternoon when he came by the church building during our work day. He is a very interesting person and a rather busy entrepreneur. I hope to have more opportunities to visit with him in the future. Preaching on Skype! I had the opportunity to preach for our sponsoring congregation at Margaret Street church of Christ in Milton, FL via Skype. Even after having done this a few times, it is still such an interesting experience and great opportunity! I am very thankful for the technology that allows us to be there with are brethren in the USA. Family activities: Valentines Dinner! We went to an old Peruvian restaurant we had been hearing about. After a lot of sweat and hard work, I have advanced one more level in Tae Kwon Do to orange belt. Thanks to this much needed exercise, it has helped me to feel much better and have more energy. I have even lost a few pounds in the process. Personal study: I am currently reading / have read: The Letter of Paul to the Romans by Richard A. Batey (Sweet Co) Gramtica Simple del Griego (Simplified Greek Grammar) by Armando Alaniz Mejores Estudiantes de la Biblia by Mark Reeves (Bible Academy Textbook) Cultural or language discovery: Interesting point: Americans are often viewed as being frio (cold) by the Paraguayans. The reason is because we are considered to be very direct in our personal communication. Americans usually go right to the point, whereas the Paraguayans have several exchanges of greetings before eventually getting to the point. Then, the point is sometimes softened in some form or another. Even in text messages, it is considered rude if you dont put several lines of greetings before getting to the point! Want to learn more about Paraguay? Check out Natalia Goldbergs, Paraguay (Other Places Travel Guide) which you can get through her insightful website: http://discoveringparaguay.com

Andrea with Gina, Ruthy, Jazmin, and Romi showing off the crafts made at their Pinterest Party

February Ladies Tea with some of our sisters from emby leading the devotional thought.

Some of our young ladies on Work Day helping clean up and organize.

PARAGUAY MISSIO
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 Mission Team Goals for 2013:

This year, the mission team will be making a major shift in its role here by focusing on aligning its goals with those of the church and submitting itself to the authority of the Paraguayan leadership. In the past, the team had to make many of the principle decisions for the church until sufficient leadership could be properly developed. In 2013, for the first time, the Avenida Sacramento congregation itself will be making all the principle decisions for the church. The team will simply support them by their direction. The church has chosen the following goals for themselves and have asked us to help them accomplish them. Evangelism: (1) Offer various specialized seminars to the public, (2) conduct evangelism campaigns, (3), use the book "Searching for Truth" in various other ways, (4) provide more English courses, (5) plant a church in the city of emby, and (6) have a radio program. In addition, the team will continue to generate new Bible study contacts through advertising, campaigns, personal contacts, and family relationships. We pray to generate at least 65 new contacts. Edification: (1) Develop and begin an intensive, full-time Bible study program (Academy) to train brethren, (2) conduct a new leadership class, (3) have a camp / congregational retreat, (4) have two planning retreats for the men, and (5) start reconstruction of the church building. 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), keep a box of food for those in need, (3) provide a class on the topic of "Benevolence" (4) use donations to help some members, and (5) 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!

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

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