Monday 11 February 2008

February 2008


Praise the Lord for a wonderful graduation ceremony with all the graduates from 2006 and 2007! The 2006 graduates finally paid their outstanding fees, which meant they could participate in the ceremony on 11th December.
(The photo shows Estela with some of the 2006 graduates.)

A new academic year has begun! Please pray for all the organisation and administration details that will help this year run smoothly.

Urgent and intense prayer needed:
FEISA is a department of the Evangelical University of Paraguay. The same university's Faculty of Languages ("Falevi") has had to close suddenly and FEISA has been asked to take on responsibility for the two degree courses Falevi was running. One of the degrees is in English and the other a bilingual degree in Spanish and Guaraní and both include a specialism in education, so the graduates are qualified to teach these languages. There are issues to do with the current students' documentation and legal issues with staff which need to be sorted out. Another faculty was asked to take on these courses but refused and FEISA has been told that if we don't take them on, there will be huge repercussions for the university as a whole.
Pray for great wisdom and discernment for the leadership team at FEISA, particularly Estela and Gloria, as they thoroughly investigate all the implications in order to make an informed decision and as they seek God's will on whether to accept this challenge.

Praise the Lord for a very good staff retreat on 6th February (pictured). The leadership, admin and teaching staff all enjoyed a time of fellowship and hearing God's word.

So far, only four students have signed up to begin the first year of the diploma course. We need between 20 and 25. Please pray for the right students to respond to the publicity and apply. The first year course will start on 24th March.

Please pray for our third year students who are on teaching practice this month.

Praise God for the 19 students who have so far signed up to start the 2-year degree extension. We have offered former FEISA students a discount if they sign up by this Friday, the 15th. Please pray for more students to apply; we would like 25 altogether. The degree course will start on 24th March.

Our first visit to the indigenous community of Yatnata this year is on 15th-16th February. FEISA will be starting a training programme with the mothers in the community, to enable them to set up their own nursery for the youngest children. Please pray for the FEISA team as they prepare the training and for the right mothers to attend and be committed to the programme. The second training visit will be 29th Feb-1st March.

December 2007



Praise God for a lovely end of year show by the students on 20th November. They presented songs, dances and short plays suitable for early years children and they all did a fantastic job. The photo shows the second year students finishing their play about a duck with a song.

Praise the Lord for a wonderful visit by the play scheme to Quyquyho, a village 3 hours drive away from Asunción. The children in the countryside are particularly poor and needy in so many ways. We went to support the work of a couple who provide a free canteen for 100 children every day. The children were excited to have the opportunity to play with so many toys, and they behaved themselves very well indeed. The photo shows the 80 children watching the puppet sketch we did before the play time.


Last year's third year students, who could not graduate because they had not paid all their fees, have finally all paid what they owed. Praise the Lord indeed!! This means that they will graduate with the current third years on 11th December.

Please pray for the thanksgiving service for the third years on 10th December. Pray for those who will be leading the service and that the girls will be blessed by it. Please pray for them as they begin a new stage in their lives, for God's love to shine through them on the children they teach, that lives might truly be transformed as a result.

The first and second year students are in the middle of exams as we write this. Please pray for them all to find the time to revise and the clarity of thought to bring it all to mind in the exam.

Please pray for the publicity which is being organised for both the three-year Diploma and the five-year Degree course. Please pray that students would be drawn to both courses and the right students would apply.

Finally, please pray for a restful break for all FEISA staff during the long summer holiday. The next prayer letter will be sent out in February.