June 2009

Sorry this didn't get uploaded earlier in the month...

In May we asked you to pray for the setting up of the play space in Quyquyho, following a training session for the leaders of the children’s ministry in April. We are very pleased to report that the first sessions went very well indeed. Sam Parsons was there to help the team set it up the first week of May and she writes; “On the Saturday Osvaldo invited all the mums and children from 0-7 years from the village to see the play scheme and learn about the ministry they are opening to them. One mum said that Quyquyho had never had anything like this before and that it was a real privilege for their children. Then all 37 children were invited to play and had the most wonderful time. The 4 helpers were absolutely fantastic and played brilliantly with the children. What a great and committed team they have.” Praise God for the way he is extending the ministry of FEISA’s play scheme to bless other ministries in Paraguay.

The two workshops run by FEISA teachers at the ACSI conference were a great success. A total of 180 Christian teachers participated and Ana Demestri has been asked to take her workshop to the ACSI conference in Ciudad del Este, as well as a number of schools in Asunción. Praise the Lord for these opportunities to help improve the standard of education across the country.

From 8th to 12th June, Anglican pastors in the Chaco will have training on how to use the FEISA-produced Bible materials in Enxet for children. The final part of the adult and child literacy materials will be translated during the same week. Pray for Esteban, from FEISA, and Remigio, from the Chaco, as they carry out the training work together, and Remigio as he works on the translation.

The Ministry of Education decided on Monday 1st June to move the dates of the July holidays forward by one week. This has caused significant disruption to the timetable at FEISA, due to exams and teaching practices taking place in the last two weeks of term.

The first and third years have exams from 22nd June to 3rd July. For the third year students, these are their final exams because after the July holidays, they will be on teaching practice for the whole of the second semester, until they finish in November.

The second years start planning for their teaching practice on 8th June and will be teaching from 22nd June to 3rd July. Please pray for peace and wisdom as things need to be reorganized, particularly for the second year students who will now have very little time to spend with the children before they have to teach them.

Pray for strength, guidance and grace for Ana Demestri, head of Teaching Practices, who has to organise the second years’ teaching practice without the help of her assistant, Noemí, who is on maternity leave. Praise the Lord for the safe arrival of Rebeca, Noemí’s second daughter, on 29th May.

Our vision of offering high quality Christian teacher training at an affordable cost means our dependence on outside funding is too heavy for our small institution to sustain long term. Please pray for much wisdom, peace and grace as the leadership and the Anglican Church, which is the governing authority of FEISA, steer it through some very difficult decisions.

May 2009

Praise the Lord for successful teaching practices in state schools for our third year students. The teachers in the schools were pleased with the work of our students and the children enjoyed the new and exciting activities. (See top photo)

In April the play scheme team took the toys to a large number of schools and over 150 children from disadvantaged backgrounds got the opportunity to play freely for a time. Give thanks for this valuable ministry. (See middle photo)

Give thanks for the successful training session with the team from the Quyquyho children’s home. They were inspired by the strategies we showed them to encourage children’s learning through play. The first week of May, they will set up their own, permanent, play space in the home, so please pray for the training to bear fruit and the girls who live there to really enjoy the time to play. (See bottom photo)

On 22nd and 23rd May, the annual Paraguay conference of the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) will take place. FEISA has been asked to run two workshops for early years teachers. Gloria de Alvarez will do one on behavioural problems in early years and Ana Demestri will do another on how to plan projects to fit in with the Ministry of Education’s new early years curriculum. Please pray for the smooth running of these workshops, for time and wisdom for Gloria and Ana in the preparation, and for all the teachers who attend to be blessed, encouraged and challenged to become better teachers.

Last year’s third year students, who were following the pilot curriculum from the Ministry of Education, have now completed their studies. They will graduate at the end of this year along with the current third years. Please pray for their transition from student to full-time teachers; for all that they have learnt during their time at FEISA to bear fruit in the loving and dedicated way they carry out their vocation. Pray for the lives of the children they teach to be transformed by the love of Christ.

There has been very little rain in Paraguay these past months. The months from February to April are when the water tanks and ponds in the Chaco usually fill to provide water for the drier winter months. However, the lack of rain means there is not even enough water right now for 5 different regions of the country. The government has declared a state of emergency in those five regions, covering most of the Chaco, the northeastern region of Concepción and the southwestern region of Ñeembucú, and is providing assistance. Please pray urgently for abundant rain.

Please pray also for political stability in Paraguay. The past few weeks have seen revelations about President Lugo’s past that include fathering at least one child while he was a Bishop. And this week, on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, bombs were found near government buildings and defused by the police. The Opposition parties are clamouring for resignations and there is a general atmosphere of instability and uncertainty.