John Simons

Paraguay 2009 - Prayer Calendar

Despite my best intentions to post about the mission trip, time has been very limited.  For each trip that they sponsor, e3 Partners puts out a prayer calendar.  I have slightly modified the calendar, and am posting it here, both as text, and as a pdf version that you can download and print.

Sun. June 14

Satan begins his attacks long before the trip.
Start praying against him now!
Col. 2:13-15
CLAIM GOD’S VICTORY

Mon. June 15

Pray that the team will prepare themselves spiritually all week
Eph. 6:15-21
FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT

Tues. June 16

Pray all week that God will open many doors for the gospel and draw many to Jesus!
Col. 4:3
PRAY FOR LOST

Wed. June 17

Pray for campaign preparation, both for us and the nationals.
Eph. 3:16-19
PREPARE

Thurs. June 18

Pray for last-minute details.
Pray for focus and vision and that God will be glorified.
Eph. 1:15-20
FOCUS AND PASSION

Fri. June 19

Depart for Paraguay
Pray for travel safety and good connections
Acts 4:31
SAFE TRAVEL

Sat. June 20

Arrive in Paraguay.  In-country orientation.
Preparation to work with nationals
Eph. 3:15-21
FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT

Sun. June 21

Worship with local church.
Eph 4:1-6
UNITY WITH CHURCH

Mon. June 22

Morning & afternoon: door-to-door evangelism
Eph. 6-19
BOLDNESS

Tues. June 23

Morning & afternoon: evangelism & discipleship.
Eph. 6:10-20
PERSEVERE IN WARFARE

Wed. June 24

Morning & afternoon: evangelism & discipleship.
Rom. 15:5-6
ENDURANCE AND UNITY

Thurs. June 25

Morning & afternoon: evangelism & discipleship.
Commissioning service for new church.
1 Tim. 2:8
HEART FOR OTHERS

Fri. June 26

Fellowship with new friends and sightseeing.
1 Thes. 5:16
REJOICE

Sat. June 27

Depart Paraguay.
Psalm 91
SAFE TRAVEL

Sun. June 28

Arrive home.
Pray for us to process all that God has done.
Psalm 91
SAFE TRAVEL

Mon. June 29

Pray that God will radically change lives of new Christians as they are integrated into new churches.
Eph. 4:17-32
GROWTH IN CHRIST

Tues. June 30

Continue to pray for new believers, their churches and leaders, and the USA team.
Eph. 5:1-14
GODLINESS

Wed. July 1

Pray for leaders and workers at new churches as they disciple new believers.
Eph. 4:11-16
EFFECTIVE LEADERS

Thurs. July 2

Give thanks for all that God has done both in and through those who shared Christ in Paraguay
Psalm 91
REJOICE

Fri. July 3

Ask God if He would have YOU go on a campaign!
Matt. 9:38
WORKERS FOR THE HARVEST

Thank you for your prayers!

e3 Partners
(214) 440-1101
(800) 542-2646
http://www.e3partners.org/

Tags: Church Planting, mission trip, Missions, Paraguay

Images of Paraguay

I have put most of my pictures from Paraguay up on Flickr. I have continued to add pictures after we got back. There are still a few more pictures that I need to upload, so check back in another week or two. If you want to look at the set, here is the link.

Tags: Church Planting, Flickr, Missions, Paraguay

Snapshot 3 - Translators

I can’t say how important the translators were on this trip.  Yes, there language skills did come in very handy.  I am saying that as one of the members of the group that was able to survive in Spanish.  I was very proud of being able to have a short conversation without a translator, even if it did make my brain hurt.  I was also able to jump in and help as a makeshift translator once or twice when the “real” translators were busy elsewhere.

› Continue reading

Tags: Church Planting, Missions, Paraguay

Snapshot 2 - Jorge

At the right is a picture of Ale, one of my translators, and Jorge, who accepted Christ while I was in Paraguay. Jorge taught me how bad I am at reading situations. On the first day that we were out doing evangelism, I (along with Rebe - another translator - and David) sat down with Andrea and her young son. It was almost the end of the day, and Andrea was sitting in front of one of the local stores. We weren’t sure whether we should talk to her or not, but David encouraged us to go ahead and talk with her.

Shortly after we got started, Jorge walked up and sat down. It was clear that he was with Andrea, and it seemed to me that he was coming to check out who was talking to her. We later learned that Jorge and Andrea are brother and sister, and that Jorge runs the store. As we presented the Gospel, I got the feeling that neither Jorge or Andrea were particularly engaged in the presentation. When they both prayed to accept Christ, I figured that they were being polite, or trying to get rid of us. They did make an appointment to meet with us the next day, but still didn’t seem excited. › Continue reading

Tags: Church Planting, Missions, Paraguay

Snapshot 1 - Birth of a Church

The first snapshot that I want to share is how much I like the vision of e3 Partners and the pastor in Paraguay who leads the movement to plant churches there. The goal is aimed more at discipleship than evangelism. The first night that we were there, Pastor Alcides told us that we did not want a big church from this week; we wanted big Christians. The emphasis was very much on making disciples, not just converts.

I see this as very similar to the methods that Paul used. Paul came into a city and began teaching. As people accepted Christ, he continued to teach them and developed leaders. Paul never stayed in one city, he always looked to move on to other areas. In order to do that, he had to equip the local church to survive in his absence. He appointed elders and then stayed in touch. › Continue reading

Tags: Church Planting, Missions, Paraguay