PARAGUAY MISSION – MONTHLY REPORT SUMMARY

Missionaries: Troy and Andrea Spradlin

Mission Field: Asunción, Paraguay
Date/No. of Report: February, 2011 / Vol. 3 No.2

CONGREGATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND INVOLVEMENT

Name of congregation: Avenida Sacramento Iglesia de Cristo
Address: Avenida Sacramento 650, c/ Espaňa - Asunción, Paraguay
Year established: September 2004
Present number of members: 33 Family Units (67 Baptized)

Average Bible classes attendance:

• Sunday – 49
• Midweek – 15 / Other - 4

Worship attendance:
• Sunday – 51 (6th); 74 (13th); 57 (20th); 58 (27th)

Recent Bible classes:

• Our Sunday morning lessons have been studies concerning
“An Overview of the Old and New Testament.” We finished our
verse study of the Gospel according to Matthew. Next month
we will start a study of Ephesians
• I led two of the Sunday morning classes this month! This was
my first time teaching in front of the whole congregation. My
Spanish is still a little shaky, but it's good enough to get started.
• I have also been conducting a few smaller classes with some
of the members and our visitors. Dona Adorno rejoicing in her salvation
after her baptism.
Recent congregational developments:
• The entire congregation has been getting involved in planning an upcoming mission campaign. A group
from Freed-Hardeman is coming to assist the church in spreading the Gospel in Asuncion. They have
been planning lodging, meals, activities, and many other logistics. It's wonderful to see the excitement!
• Arminda Gonzalez, who was recently restored to the congregation, has moved to Argentina, near the
city of Buenos Aires. We will certainly miss her and pray she can remain strong in the faith.

Recent conversions/identifications/restorations:
• Baptized – Dona Adorno. the 13 year old daughter of
Alcides and Emi Adorno who have been members for
several years in the church. She had been studying with
Chris Fry for several weeks. She already had concern for
her soul, but after studying and realizing the state of her
salvation, she decided to be baptized immediately. You
can see her thankfulness and rejoicing spirit in the
huge smile that she had immediately after she arose
from the baptismal waters! We rejoice with her and we
know the angels in heaven are rejoicing also!"
Andrea giving her first devotional lesson in Spanish
Contacts made and resulting studies:
• Vicente Martinez Family – We like to call Señor Vicente,
“Cornelius” because of the inquisitive heart that he has.
He showed up one day at our services and said he had
been searching for Truth and looking for the church you
read about in the Bible. He had a million Bible questions
so we offered to go to his home and study with his family
(several miles outside of Asuncion). We have had several
studies with him now and every response we have offered
to his questions has begun with “What does the Bible
have to say about that?” He loves it that we only follow Diego Acevedo and Pablo Rochol
the Bible and regularly tells us how thankful he is to have
found the Lord's church! Doesn't that remind you of
Cornelius in Acts 10? Please pray for this sweet family.
The Martinez Family
• Please continue to pray for our Bible study contacts:
Señor Vicente, with his wife Zully, and their children,
Viviana Castro, Dr. Pablo Avalos, Ramon “Sixto” Vega,
Ingri and Salomón. (Vicente, Jr not pictured)
Elin Caceras, Britez Family, and Pablo Rochol.

Visitation:
• We invited the Fry family to dinner at our house before they returned to the USA. We enjoyed an
evening of remembering many wonderful things and it provided us an opportunity to say “farewell” to a
a very special missionary family that has had a huge impact on the church in Asuncion, Paraguay.
• We were invited to the home of the Pedro Vera family to try some traditional Paraguayan cuisine.
Andrea and I love Paraguayan food so this was a real treat for us. The Vera's are wonderful and faithful
family that provide so much encouragement for the body of Christ.

Meeting/efforts with fellow missionaries:

• We had a team workshop with Jerry and Gail Heiderich, a
couple from Brazil who counsels Christians. They helped us
work through some challenges we have had as a team and
prepare us for more to come.
• Went to TGI Friday's with the team to watch the Super Bowl
together (but they showed local Paraguayan commercials
instead of the really funny ones in the USA!)

Evangelistic efforts:
• Weekly Bible studies with various students and visitors.
• Preparing for a wide scale publicity campaign for a mission Some of the men getting together for a BBQ
group coming from the USA.

Special activities of the month:

• The congregation hosted a special evening for the Fry Family Despedida (going away). It was a very
special evening with good food, lots of tears shed, and many hugs exchanged.
• Andrea hosted her first “Ladies Tea” in our home on February
26. She also gave her first devotional lesson in Spanish! There
were 24 ladies who attended and they really had a good time
together. It was a huge stepping stone for Andrea.
• Since the ladies have their “teas,” the men decided we needed
to have our own get together. So, they decided to have a Men's
“Asado” (BBQ). There were 13 men who came, we had a great
devotional, and there wasn't any meat left in the end!
• School Supply Give-Away: We purchased several basic school
supplies with the help of a private donation from the USA to
give away to our member's children and some of the children
Chris trying to hold back tears while saying “farewell”
at a local orphanage.
 PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT AND INVOLVEMENT
Personal HIGHLIGHT(s) of the Month: Classes in Spanish! Andrea and I have finally stepped across the
language barrier and into the other side of teaching. For the past year we have been the ones being taught
Spanish, but now, we are the ones teaching in Spanish! God has blessed us with ability and we are thankful.

Personal study:
• Wrote/compiled an “Overview of the Old and New
Testaments” in Spanish for the church.
• I finished my study with the Mormons. I have learned
so many things about their doctrine, far beyond the
immediate resources that I had. I understand more
about their approach and their message. I am hoping
to use the information that I have gained to write a
Spanish brochure that will help our members better
understand this false doctrine in case they are ever
pressured by a Mormon missionary.
• I have been conducting many personal Bible studies
with our members in their homes. Many of them
want to build their faith and their understanding of the We went with Brittnea Yegros out to an orphanage in Limpio to
Bible, so we have been trying to accommodate their distribute some free school supplies. They showed us around
desire to learn more of God's word. It has been really their place and shared a lot of hugs with us! Here they are
encouraging to see their growth! showing off some of the supplies they received.

Culture and language study:

• I started teaching and leading Bible studies while
Andrea led her first Bible study by herself in Spanish!
We are scaling back our hours of classes this next
month. Andrea is still pretty nervous about that.
• We have been here just over a year now and we feel
like we are finally starting to understand a little more
about the culture and the customs of Paraguay.

Family activities:
• Reading the Bible: Andrea and I made a goal to read
through the entire Bible in one year together. We still
holding strong! Teaching a class on the Old Testament and the Divided Kingdom
• Valentine's Day dinner out together.

Government requirements:
• I have gone by the Escribana's office many times and they STILL
don't have our official registration card for the car. Ohhh boy!
• But, I did get my “5 year” driver's license as a legal Paraguayan
resident (since we now have our “green card”).

Plans for the near future:

• Preparing for our Congregational Retreat in March!
• Teaching, preaching, and Bible studies!
• Getting prepared for our furlough visit to the USA April 28-June 3
we are looking forward to seeing our family and friends!!

Andrea and I have been conducting regular

weekly Bible studies in the home of our sisters
Natalia and Delci Enciso.
 PARAGUAY MISSION
Asuncion, Paraguay – South America

Troy and Andrea Spradlin

Casilla de Correo 13092
Shopping del Sol
Asuncion, Paraguay
(595) 0981-630-886
We seek 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 2011:

Evangelism: We plan to make evangelistic efforts as a team through personal Bible studies from contacts
generated by public advertising, targeting specific neighborhoods, hosting special events such as “Teaching
English Using the Bible” campaigns, and Special Interest Seminars. We also want to encourage and develop a
more evangelistic spirit within the congregation utilizing Friends and Family Days, VBS, Prayer Vigils,
Anniversary Service, and Personal Evangelism Training.
Elders (Formal Leadership training). We plan to “mentor” our elder
candidates through personal one-on-one meetings with elders visiting
from the USA, and through Skype calls. We also plan to study with
them on a regular basis, as well as, mentor other promising brothers
for leadership positions such as deacons, or evangelists. We hope to
develop deeper relationships between the missionaries and the
church leaders through regular meals and social gatherings. We will
also be developing a Leadership Manual for Elders in Spanish.
Edifice (Building Construction): We hope to complete all legal
paperwork for construction and secure a loan for the Sacramento
congregation. The Paraguayan brothers will have the responsibility of
repaying the loan over the next 10 years. We will also assist them in
developing detailed plans and construction phases. We also pray to
begin construction on phase 1 this year.
Visit us at our websites:

PARAGUAYMISSION.COM

thespradlins.blogspot.com

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

Clay Bond Family Chet Brown Family Virginia Guess Family Randall Hunter Family