Finding Joy in Unlikely Places =)

Hi! My name is Ashley and I’ll be blogging on Erin’s page today! I’m from NJ, but Erin & Co. have graciously allowed me to serve in their Tekove Ministry for a few weeks. What a joy it is to be here in Paraguay! Although I’ve only been here for a few days, I had a difficult time deciding what to blog about. God is doing so many things through this ministry!

I decided to write about my visit to the school in Nuevo Asentamiento yesterday. This school is located in what American’s would call a shanty town. Due to the town’s poverty, this school seriously lacks resources, as evidenced by the classroom pictured above. (Yes, that is a classroom.) If your heart aches for these kids, take heart, because yesterday these kids got a top-notch presentation which brought a message of ‘Tekove’ or ‘Life’ to the asentamiento.

I’ve visited 9 schools with Erin and the team so far, and the students were most receptive at the Nuevo Asentamiento. They hung on to every word that came out of Pedro the Puppet’s mouth…and they were on the edge of their seat for the Good Samaritan drama. These kids aren’t always surrounded by the best role models, so I’m especially glad that we could come into their town and share God’s love and truth with them. I’m grateful that the presentation’s theme is a message that Jesus shares throughout the Gospels; God’s love enables us to love our friends and our enemies.

After the presentation, we had an opportunity to spend time with the kids and show them God’s love...and I was so encouraged by these kids. I couldn’t stop laughing! Erin and I were surrounded by kids who wanted to talk to us, hug us, and most of all…tickle us! I was tickled so hard by a group of kids that I collapsed to the ground. Their smiles are etched in my mind =) (And there smiles were captured in the picture below. That’s their school behind them!)

I thank God that He let me share at the Nuevo Asentamiento…the kids heard truth, I was blessed, and God was glorified.

Thanks for sharing in this moment with me!

Love from Paraguay,
Ashley