by Tony and Jean Floyd
11 January 2006
Yesterday was an exciting day. We had our first Encuentro*, an all day church meeting here in San Francisco, Paraguay, bringing together people with whom we've been studying the Bible for the last two or three years. We also invited believers from two other SIM church plants an hour's drive away and other interested visitors who had never been to the Bible studies. Over 60 people attended. We met just outside of town in a shady pasture belonging to one of the believers.

Seeing all the believers prepare for this event was heartening. The week before, some men dug an outhouse. Others built tabletops to set on saw horses for the noon meal. The ladies cleaned up the lot, raking and burning leaves, and leveled the ground by removing small stumps.

One of the men collected chairs from each person's house and delivered them to the site by truck. The ladies brought bowls, forks, knives, and spoons, as well as tablecloths, dishtowels, and pans for cooking a big camp style meal. Each one brought vegetables or herbs from her garden to put into the pot. Thirty-three pounds of meat and additional veggies and noodles went into two five-gallon pots to make a delicious soup. Another five-gallon pot was chock full of manioc root.

Around nine o'clock, only an hour late, our meeting was ready to start. We had a great time of singing with one of the youth timidly leading while Tony played the guitar. Tony gave a short message, and the two who were to be baptized gave their testimony. Their sister also explained that she had been praying for her brothers for twenty years.

Across the pasture was a round, brick watering trough, resembling a well, just big enough for an adult to be baptized in if he first sat, then lay down. Of course, two other people got in, too, to help him get back up. We all gathered around for the baptism.

After a time of fellowship and drinking a bitter, but refreshing, Paraguayan tea, we ate in groups at the two makeshift tables, the children taking the first turn. Two young girls carried water from a spigot across the field in a jug hanging from a stick between them. The ladies used this water to wash all the dishes and pots. When the men disassembled the tables and put the chairs in rows, we had another fun time of singing. Three more testimonies and baptisms followed before each one returned to their homes.

Something exciting has started in San Francisco! Paraguayans are cultural Catholics, intermingling their culture and Catholicism so they are almost indistinguishable. Consequently, to reject Catholicism is in many ways to reject the culture. For those who were baptized at the Encuentro, this was a big step. God is moving in people's lives.

Pray

Pray for these five brave people: Iginio, Ashela, Olimpio, Alba, and Aquile. Pray that others who have been studying the Bible with us for the past few years will be emboldened to make public their own trust in Jesus. Pray for the townspeople who will be talking about this strange event, and pray that God would be honored in His church in San Francisco, Paraguay.