News from the Spradlins in South America

The Lords Kingdom Grows!

September was a month of growth and development. Several souls were added to the Lords kingdom and some
exciting plans are being developed. We pray this months mission report brings you much joy! God bless!

BAPTISMS!
Alma Agero, (pictured at right, top), asked the question, What must I do to
be saved? and was then baptized. She is the daughter of our brother and
sister in Christ, Gustavo and Elva Agero. There is now another entire
household of disciples of the Lords church in Paraguay. Praise God!
Mikael Jara. Francisca Villalba. Estefania Bogado. (pictured at right) Do
you remember that flyer we reported on earlier this year that got put in the
mailbox of one young man, (Alex Valdez) who told a friend, (Fabian Nuez)
who told a friend, (Sebastian Garcia) plus one more friend (Marcelo Alcaraz)
of the original young man that ended up with all 4 being baptized? Well,
Marcelo has been studying with several of his friends and all 3 of them were
baptized this month (and hopefully 2 more will be coming soon). Now we are
up to 7 SOULS being added to the church all from JUST ONE FLYER that
got put in someones mailbox when they werent home. (which, by the
way, was a campaign conducted by the Asuncion Bible Academy, AND.
all four of these young men are interested in attending the Academy).
Indeed, God provides the increase! (1 Cor 3:6)

DEVELOPMENTS AT AVE. SACRAMENTO CHURCH OF CHRIST
Special Benevolence Project (contd). The church distributed some
more beans and rice packages to the local flood victims. It was just a little
something to bring some much needed relief to a group who is suffering
(Matt 25:40). Paraguay continues to experience high river levels and some
reports say there are still some 55,000 people displaced from their homes.
The Directors of AME (Adventures in Evangelistic Missions) made a
special survey trip to Paraguay this month to coordinate sending interns to
come work with us in 2015. AME is a work of the church of Christ in Joao
Pessoa, Brazil, which trains and prepares Christian youth to go out and work
with various congregations in Brazil and Latin America. We will be receiving
two interns in January and were looking forward to having these
evangelistic minded young men as part of our mission team in Paraguay!
Mens Retreat. The men of the church held a special, overnight retreat
in the town of Itacurubi, this month. We prayed together, studied the subject
of Spiritual Development, and enjoyed some wonderful Christian
fellowship. Many were already talking about the next time we could do this!

DEVELOPMENTS AT EMBY CHURCH OF CHRIST
Preaching the Gospel. Vicente Martinez carried Eliezer Perez and David
Avila (who was visiting Eliezer from Guatemala) to a town in the interior so
they could preach the Gospel to some of his family members. This may turn
into a possible church plant in the near future! Please pray for the possibility!

ASUNCION BIBLE ACADEMY
Quarterly Report. The Asuncion Bible Academy continues to move
forward with its classes and activities. After an initial introduction, the new
report we have developed for the school will now be published every quarter.
The next report will be published in October. You can see all the previous
reports by visiting www.paraguaymission.com/asuncion-bible-academy/
SEPTEMBER 2014
Vol. 6 No. 9
Evangelistic Contacts / Bible Studies / Activities:
I was able to connect a couple of times with our brother
Ruben Castro in Meteti, Panama, via Skype this past
month in order to study Fundamentals with him. Not only
is he learning the material for himself, but he is using it to
prepare lessons to teach the congregation on Sunday
mornings.
Our ABA Leadership Training by Extension
students , Javier Zarate, Luis Yegros, and Enrique Albera
have been steadily continuing their courses.
Bible Studies and more Bible Studies!
We wish you could see all the wonderful things
happening here, especially all the Bible studies that
are taking place! We have members studying with
other members, others studying with coworkers, with
family members, and visitors, and new Bible study
groups that have started up in different homes. How
wonderful to see a church that is increasingly
becoming more self-perpetuating!
One of our members, Magda Ortiz, asked if we would
come study with her son, Junior, who is struggling
with drug addiction and other problems. Before we
arrived, he had invited a friend of his and his friend
brought his family with him. There were five new
contacts at what turned out to be a new, evangelistic
Bible study! We shared Gods word with them by
focusing on where we should place authority for
religious matters and then gave them a copy of
Searching for Truth. They were all very receptive!
Andrea has been continuing her Bible studies in
English with Adriana, Martin, and Oscar.
I am continuing to study the Bible with Beatriz Ortiz
in English, as well as, with Sebastian Garcia. I also
have a couple of new contacts that will be starting a
study this next month.
We pray all of these listed above will develop into
more souls being added to the kingdom of God!
David vila, who is a close friend to Eliezer Perez from
when they attended ITL Bible Institute in Guatemala, came
to visit Paraguay and work with us for a month. He taught
a class in the Bible Academy, preached several times at
Ave Sacramento and emby, and lead several
evangelistic Bible studies. It was a real pleasure to have him
here with us and we hope he returns real soon!

Worship and Bible class attendance (Ave Sacramento):
Sun am 64 (7th), 73 (14th), 62 (21st), 72 (28th)
Sunday Bible study average 60
Current members: 78 Baptized (48 Family Units)

Worship and Bible class attendance (emby):
Sun pm 19 (7th), 27 (14th), 25 (21st), 37 (28th)
Current members: 14 Baptized (11 Family Units)

Coming Up:
Brother Luis Camacho will be returning to Paraguay to
teach Denominational Doctrines in the ABA next month.
Andrea will be traveling to Brazil for Continent Care
Connection, a missionary retreat and renewal seminar.
Raniere and Jesica Menezes and Diego Dos Anjos (the
three from right) from the AME missionary program
came to Paraguay for a survey trip.
David Avila and Eliezer Perez preaching the Gospel in a
small village in the interior of Paraguay.
David Avila teaching Proverbs and Ecclesiates in the
Asuncion Bible Acedemy.
Ramon Paredes passing out packages of beans and rice to the
flood victims who continue to be displaced from their homes.
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT AND ACTIVITIES

Activities/developments:
Andrea had quite an interesting and exciting challenge this past
month! She was asked to cater lunch for the employees at the
US Embassy. With her usual high-level of enthusiasm, she
tackled the challenge and knocked the ball out of the park.
Everyone loved her food and, of course, she now has a few
more customers for Mas Que Dulces.
An interesting factoid: there just wasnt a lot of reliable tourist
information on Paraguay in the recent past. However, there are
now two great guidebooks on Paraguay for American tourists
written in English. Andrea has met the authors of each book!
One is Natalia Goldberg, who is Paraguayan and now living in
the USA (her website is listed below), and the other is Margaret
Hebblethwaite, who owns a hotel in Santa Maria de Fe.
Coming to Paraguay sometime? We highly recommend their
guide books. Both are available on Amazon.com.
We hosted another Grilled Pizza Party for the youth at our
house. It is always so much fun and they just love it!
My mother, AGatha Spradlin, suffered a major stroke this
past month. She was completely paralyzed on one side and
unresponsive to anyone or anything. She is still in the hospital,
slowly recovering, and doing some better. Please keep my family
in your prayers. We would greatly appreciate it.

Personal study:
I have been reading (or, still reading):
Isaiah, The Gospel Accounts in Chronological Order
The Book of Ezekiel by Jim McGiuggan
The Major Prophets by James E. Smith
Contextualization and Syncretism by Gailyn Van
Rheenen.
I am continuing to take classes in Guarani and have
also begun a basic study of Portuguese.

Preaching/teaching opportunities:
I preached one Sunday at Avenida Sacramento and
one Sunday at emby.
I taught Biblical Greek 2, Baptism: Unwatered
Down, and Ezekiel and Daniel in the Bible Academy.
Andrea with Margaret Hebblethwaite, author of
the Bradt Travel Guide Paraguay and Marsha
Thessin, wife of the former US Ambassador to
Paraguay, James Thessin
Troy preaching at emby church of Christ

Paraguayan Culture Spotlight: Cerro Lambar (Lambare Hill)
As one sails northward on the Paraguay River, there is a peculiar high spot
that stands out alongside the riverbank called Cerro Lambar. The hill lies
just South of the city of Asuncion and there exists varying legends regarding
its historical importance. One has it that it was here where the Spanish
conquistadors first came into contact with Paraguays fierce Guarani Indians,
lead by Chief Lambar. Several battles ensued and it was soon discovered
that the mighty Spanish armada was no match for the Indian chiefs warriors.
Another legend says the conquistadors landed here peaceably, scaled the hill
to make observations up river, and were met at the top by Chief Lambar,
who extended an open welcome ... and yerba mate! The Spanish then
established the city of Asuncin in 1537 and even enlisted some of the Guarani for explorations into the region of
the Chaco. Today, the hill stands as a monument to Paraguays eclectic history. In fact, a monument called
Victorious Peace was installed in 1982 which had five statues of Paraguayan heroes prominently displayed
which included the then dictator, Alfredo Stroessner. After he was overthrown, his statue was destroyed and
removed from the monument, leaving an empty space on one of its sides! For more information on
all things Paraguay, visit this informative website: http://discoveringparaguay.com
Andrea and Lisa at the US Embassy to serve food.
Our Mission Goals for 2014:

The brethren at the Avenida Sacramento congregation have set the following goals for themselves for 2014 and have
asked the mission team to help them accomplish these goals. The team will actively support them under their direction.
The goals are:
Evangelism: (1) Hold a Personal Evangelism Seminar, (2) Evangelism campaigns in various plazas, cities, (3)
Plan, investigate, and pursue areas for a new church plant, (4) Offer Learn English using the Bible campaign, (5) Use
"Searching for Truth" book, (6) Post banners that get peoples attention for Bible studies. Long term: (1) Evangelize
each Department/Capital of Paraguay, (2) have a Radio Program.
Edification: (1) Promote the Asuncion Bible Academy for the next class, and/or start a Saturday School, (2)
Host a special Homecoming event involving all congregations, (3) Improve ministries organization, (4) Special Mens
Retreat, (5) Install glass doors at the main entrance, (6) Have a Camp/Retreat with all three congregations, (7) New
convert classes, (8) Skype studies offered by brethren from USA, (9) Conduct new extension courses in leadership,
(10) Develop or obtain materials/courses for brethren with family problems, (11) Develop communication in Guarani for
the brethren. Long term: (1) Finish the building faade. The mission team will assist and coordinate these activities
according to the direction of the congregation.
Benevolence: (1) Offer the course " Comfort in Times of Grief" to the public, (2), Visit the sick / prisoners, (3)
Provide a class on the topic of "Benevolence," (4) Use donations to help some members, (5) Prepare meals for the
needy, and (6) Participate in various activities of benevolence.
These are some wonderful goals and we are so excited to see their growth in leadership. Please pray for the successful
completion of each of these and the continual development of leadership in Paraguay!
PARAGUAY MISSION
Asuncion, Paraguay South America

Troy and Andrea Spradlin
Casilla de Correo 13092
Shopping del Sol
Asuncion, Paraguay
(595) 0981-630-886

We are seeking to "equip the saints for the work of service to
the building up of the body of Christ." (Ephesians 4:12)
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
Families of: Clay Bond / Chet Brown / Virginia Guess / Joseph Markham
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