"The most photogenic event was our camping trip last weekend, to an old quarry with deep water at its base – a popular spot in such a flat country. We carried alive with us our chicken dinner, caught our fish breakfast, and rappelled everyone down the...
Deepa, has served with World Horizons for more than twenty years. She and her husband Jesus Ayala, served in South Asia for ten years before returning to Venezuela to lead the training of Venezuelan mission candidates.
The militant Islamist insurgency is background to much that is happening in West Africa. As well as suffering brought to Muslims and Christians alike with millions of people forced to flee their homes, the church is increasingly targeted. Several of our friends have been attacked, kidnapped, or killed. But in many places, the church continues to stand, and to reach out with love and the gospel.
We have been here in Paraguay as a missionary family since 2015, living in the countryside in a small town called Coronel Oviedo. I, Talita and my husband Rodolfo, together with and our two kids, we have been experiencing the challenges of planting a church and training local people to the glory of God.
One day, when I was on my way to the office, an elderly gentleman asked me to help him get off at the bus stop. He was blind. Holding his arm, he thanked me a lot, speaking words of blessing to me. Then he asked me, “my son, do you know Jesus?”
I got a fright! Well, I was there to witness for Him to people through my behavior and words! But there I was, holding an elderly man’s arm, being asked if I knew Jesus.
We have the fabulous remit to love the world and to do this well we need to be balanced emotionally, physically and spiritually. If we are not, we don’t have much to give (and we tend to end up thinking mainly about ourselves!).
“Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” This well-used quotation has guided many cross-cultural workers seeking to help underserved communities. Unfortunately, in today’s world, it is often not that simple and we are having to ask new questions such as “Why is the lake drying up?”, “Why have the fish not come this year?”, “Why do people get sick when they eat the fish?”, and “Why do the fish have plastic in their stomachs?”
When I was first asked to write something related to “caring for spiritual health in ministry”, my initial response was, “Are you sure? That’s a topic I’m barely starting to come to terms with myself.”
