Cases in Paraguay October 2009 from Mark Case on Vimeo.

AWAYO – Fear to Faith from New Tribes Mission on Vimeo.

REACH into the Darkness from New Tribes Mission on Vimeo.

WAYUMI – Your adventure into tribal missions from New Tribes Mission on Vimeo.

Here Joshua is showing off our underground cistern that is freshly patched and cleaned.

The problem is that it is the END of rainy season, and it is still empty! This rainy season we have received only about 1/3 of our normal rainfall. We depend on rain for all of our water needs. Rain water is valuable since water from wells is often too salty for drinking or irrigation. Pray for more rain for the farmers and tribal people as they depend on it. We are thankful that we can at least buy truckloads of water here in town.

We just completed an Education Camp for our Paraguay MK’s.  We had 28 MK’s attend the 3 day activity.  Families traveled up to 8 hours to attend the sessions.

I enjoyed teaching sessions on eyes and vision.  We studied the anatomy of the eye and how it functions.  We did eye tests that included vision and color tests.  We learned how corrective lenses work.  We studied a variety of eye disorders and diseases.  The funnest part was actually doing a cow eye dissection where students could learn exactly what makes up the eye.

This week we also had music, sports, speech, and a variety of other topics and subjects.

Ed Camps are a highlight for our MK’s as it gives them an opportunity to grow academically, socially, and spiritually.

Pray for more rain. Our rainy season is supposed to be from November through March. Some rains came in late October. Many farmers and tribal people planted their crops and gardens. Then the rains quit, and many of the crops and gardens have dried up and died. We also need rain to fill our cisterns which is our only source of water. We need at least 6 to 10 inches of rain to fill our cisterns which we then use for the rest of the year. It is ironic that in Panama we would sometimes get 6 inches of rain in a day or two, and here in Paraguay we are hoping to get 6 inches within 4 months!

We praise the Lord for a good first semester at the MK School. It is exciting to see the students grow academically, spiritually, and socially.

We recently did an insect project collecting and classifying over 50 different kinds of insects. Paraguay is certainly a great place to find bugs! Our next semester’s project will be to collect different kinds of arthropods. We have already got a start with this 6 inch scorpion and centipede.

Growing up on the mission field brings with it many exciting adventures and challenges. Many MK’s grow up speaking a national or tribal language and are able to assist with their parent’s ministries in a variety of ways.

Some of our MK’s live in very remote locations due to NTM’s focus on planting churches among tribal people. One challenge for families is the education of their children and preparing them to return to their passport country after completing high school.

It is our vision to assist these families with their educational needs so that the MK’s can receive the best possible educational experience and so that parents are able to focus their time and energy on their specific ministry. We are all working together so that tribal churches can be planted. 

Since coming to Paraguay this past July, we have been part of a team to start a field-wide educational support structure for NTM Paraguay missionary families. We have started an MK school which provides a traditional school option for our families. We also provide assistance for families who homeschool. NTM Paraguay has 40 school aged children. We consider it a privilege to serve these MK’s and their families.

One of our strategies to serve the families here in Paraguay is to conduct Education Camps for the MK’s. The purpose of the Education Camps is to provide an enriching academic, social, and spiritual experience for all of our MK’s.

We just finished our second Ed Camp. Thirty-four of our MK’s gathered together for a variety of classes and activities. The elementary had Bible, music, astronomy (with "Professor Cranium"), art, and court hockey. The secondary students had Bible, art, music, college and career planning, science experiments, survival skills, first aid, translation workshop, and court hockey.

The days were busy and profitable. Some of the homeschooling children live in remote areas and have little contact with other MK’s. Activities like these are a special highlight to these MK’s.

We praise the Lord for the privilege of assisting families with their education needs. In the future, we would like to see churches send some people down to help us conduct these Ed Camps. It would be a real blessing to have teachers come to help offer a variety of classes to our MK’s.

Check out the photos: Ed Camp March 2008