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Enoch Rinks came to us in May of 1999 after graduating from
Freed-Hardeman
 University
with a B.S. in Business and a minor in Bible. He was born in Savannah, Tennessee on September
9, 1977 to parents, Buddy and Denise Rinks. Being the oldest of four children,
Enoch was already an old hand working with the youth. A much accomplished
young man at Freed, he was Homecoming King and Mr. FHU. While here
in Lawrenceburg, Enoch went on to earn his Masters Degree in Ministry from David
Lipscomb University. We know it was a blessing that Enoch worked as our youth minister for four years.
Beloved by all at Pulaski Street, Enoch is now living in South America in the country of Paraguay
with the other five members of his Paraguay Mission Team.
Standing:
Emily, Enoch, Emma, Buddy
Seated: Mark, Denise,
Ethan
Enoch
Rinks
 DeLa
Residenta y Rosa Pena 632
Edificio Montserrat 11C
Asuncion, Paraguay 1523
*If
you are sending Enoch a note or letter, it will cost 80 cents to
send it to Paraguay.
Selections from Enoch's E-mails:
RECEIVED JANUARY 4, 2005!
Hi Pulaski Street!
I hope that you guys had a great holiday season and that 2006 has started off
nicely. Things have been pretty busy of late and we are excited about 2006.
I am planning on being back in the states from March 25th - May7th to do
reporting and I am trying to line everything up with the congregations. I am
certainly planning on being in Lawrenceburg for the Sponsoring Churches
Workshop on April 1st.
Tell everyone hello and I'll be looking forward to being with you guys in a
few months.
Enoch
*****
I hope that everything is going well back in the states. I'm looking forward
to being back for a week during the Thanksgiving holidays to be with friends
and family. Thanks for all of your prayers and support!
Enoch Rinks
*****
Hi from Asuncion!
I hope that everyone is doing great back home. Here is the link to check
out what has been going on with the work in Asuncion, Paraguay, over the
last three months.
Things are going great with lots of stuff going on! It has been great to
have my brother Ethan staying with me over the past month and he will be
here until the first of August. He has been learning Spanish and has really
improved since he arrived. We have been able to do a little bit of
traveling so far and we're looking forward to going to Machu Pichu and Lake
Titicaca at the end of July.
We also have a Let's Start Talking group here that has been teaching English
classes using the Bible. We had over 300 people that called wanting to
study, but they could only study with 80, so we have quite a few people on
hold for the next time we offer the courses. If anyone is interested in
coming down for the fall to carry on the courses after they leave, please
send me an e-mail and we'll see if we can work it out. We have made many
new contacts that are interested in having Spanish studies on a deeper level
and we are really excited and encouraged about the future of these students.
Thanks for all of your support and prayers and I hope to see you when I am
back for about a week over the Thanksgiving holidays!
Enoch Rinks
..........If any of you are interested in coming or bringing a group down to
Paraguay next year to help out, please send an e-mail or get in touch with
me and we will start trying to plan things.
*****
I hope that things are going well for you back home in the US. Things
are going great here and we have been really busy since the first of the
year with work here in Asuncion. Click on the following link to check out
what has been happening over the past three months:
The Sponsoring Church Workshop is coming up this weekend in Linary,
TN and I hope that several of you can make the trip. We will be having a
live video conference and the Frys will be at the workshop. Thanks for
you support, prayers and encouragement over the past year and a half!
Enoch Rinks
Asuncion, Paraguay
***
Things are going well down here in South America as we recently passed
the six month mark of our congregation here in Asuncion, Paraguay. It's
hard to believe that it has been six months since we had our first
worship service at the building in September. Since arriving back from
my furlough trip to the states, things have been going full speed. Over
the passed month and a half we have had a Church retreat, an evangelism
day, youth events, many Bible studies, and weekend seminar by Dr. Dan
Coker on restoring the New Testament Church, a team retreat, and more.
Our quarterly newsletter will be going out at the end of March to fill
you in with the details.
One of the more important events of the year for our team is coming
up on April 2nd. The annual Sponsoring Churches Workshop will take
place in Linary, TN (just outside of Crossville) and we hope to
have elders, deacons, preachers, and members from all of our
congregations. Of course, we understand that not everyone can go, but
we would like to have your congregation represented. I have attached to
this email a formal invitation letter and schedule. The church in
Linary is making arrangements and would like to have an idea of who will
be coming a week or so before the event, so if you can RSVP that would
be great. All of the information is listed on the letter. Chris and
Vickie Fry will be there to present our work and we will also have a
video, a live web conference with the rest of the team, and time for
discussion and prayer.
Thanks for all of your prayers and support!
Enoch Rinks
*****
Seasons greetings and
salutations from Paraguay! We hope all of you are enjoying the
holidays and cold weather. We have been enjoying the 100+ degree
heat and listening to Christmas music at the same time. It is a
little strange, but if you turn the air-conditioner cold enough at
night and stare at the Christmas tree lights long enough you almost
feel like its Christmas. Anyway, we wanted to tell you all Merry
Christmas, Happy New Year, and fill you in on what has been
happening in Asuncion the past month or two. First, if you would
like to see the pictures, please visit
http://www.pixagogo.com/asuncion%20mission%20team.
First, we have had another 5
baptisms in the past month, which brings the total to 12 so far. We
are very excited that Osvaldo, a 21-year-old soon to be university
student, decided to put Christ on in baptism. Ethan studied with
him for two weeks and he made the decision to be baptized early one
Friday morning. Currently he works as a night watchman for a
neighborhood close to the church building. Also Eulalia, the wife of
one of our members, Reuben, both of whom have been studying with
Chris and Vickie. Reuben and Eulalia have three sweet kids, and
this past Sunday afternoon after services she decided to put Christ
on in baptism. Next, Reuben, a 23 year-old Soccer referee was
baptized after studying with Enoch and Ethan. Blanca, a beautiful
young lady that works in the business across the street from the
building was baptized last Thursday after studying with Vanessa and
Vickie. Finally, Lina, the sister of Nora Yegros, one of our good
friends and a member of the congregation outside the city, was
baptized yesterday after studying with Chris and Vickie. Please pray
for all of our new Christians as they begin their new life in Jesus.
Second, our evangelistic
studies have continued, though this week they are slowing down. We
have had great response to several well placed newspaper ads and
have been following up on numerous contacts. However, last week
brought the beginning of summer break, and anyone who is able leaves
the city for vacation for several weeks. We are looking forward to
the next semester when the studies should pick up once more.
Third, two of our beloved
members are currently in the U.S. for their furlough. Enoch and
Vanessa left a week ago for their month long stay in the states. For
those unfamiliar with what a furlough is, and for those who think it
is a long vacation, let me clarify. In the month that they are in
the states, missionaries attempt to squeeze in visits to all
supporting congregations, and individual supporters, often traveling
between several states and covering anywhere from 5 to 30 different
congregations. It is an important time of reporting as well as
maintaining relationships and fundraising. More often than not
going back to the field is a welcome relief from the hectic schedule
and constant travel of a furlough. However, it is also a great time
to reconnect with family, and I pray that Enoch and Vanessa are able
to spend LOTS of time with theirs. Being away from family is
definitely the most difficult thing about serving the Lord away from
home.
Fourth, we are very excited
about all the success God is blessing us with in reaching out to
families. We have four whole families regularly attending services
and active in our other activities. We recently held our first
Friends and Family Day and it was a big hit. We had around 70
people come with nearly as many adults as kids. We started early in
the afternoon playing games with kids and adults and for lunch had a
cookout where everyone brought something to share. We ended the day
with a devotional centered around the abundant life available in
Christ.
Finally, a note from Ashley.
Two
weeks ago we had our first event for the women of the congregation
and their friends. We had over 15 women participate, including
several visitors, and it was a great way to incorporate the new
visitors with the members of the congregation here. We planned the
most girly event possible, going to eat tiny sandwiches and drink
tea in a tea room nearby our building. It was a big success with all
the women, and we stayed and fellowshipped until the waiters began
turning all the other chairs up on the tables and ran us out. We
also succeeded in making the men very jealous, as they are now
begging for their own special day! We hope to plan other events like
this in the future to bring in even more family and friends of our
members.
******
Friends and Supporters:
It has been almost 2 months since our Inaugural
service and God continues to bless us so much.
It is an exciting time for the Church here in Asuncion!
Thank you so much for your continued support and
prayers. I hope that things are going well back in the
states and that your relationship with God continues
to grow and strengthen.
Since September
5th, we are excited to announce that our
team has been involved in a number of Bible studies and
God has blessed us with 7 baptisms and 1 restoration
so far. We are still trying to reach other couples and
individuals who we are getting to know. We ask that you
continue to pray that these couples and families will be
willing to study God's Word and that they will be open to the
message of saving grace in Jesus.
The work of the Asuncion church continues to grow and
mature.
Each Sunday, anywhere from 45 to 55 people
(including kids) come together to study and worship.
Already several of the new Christian men have been active
in leading prayer and the Lord Supper and we look forward
to them speaking and teaching someday soon. Our children's
class has been very popular--causing the kids to encourage
their parents to come! Many kids
come in off the streets
for our class. This brings many challenges, but truly helps
us to show Jesus to them.
Christian is a twelve year old boy who begs for coins
each day (along with others) at the street corner just a
block from our building. He is practically
black when he comes to service because of the
soot caused by the diesel engines in most of the cars
here. He dropped out of school after second grade for
no apparent reason. The other day at service someone
asked him when his birthday was and he said that he had
no idea. He is just one of the kids who are learning
stories about Jesus and receiving milk and cookies each
Sunday. He has parents who are on the street with him
and they usually have enough to eat, but it is a tough
situation for these kids. Please pray for these kids
and for us as missionaries to know how to help them.
If you are a church leader and are interested in
coming or bringing a group to Asuncion, we need to
know pretty soon. Now is the time to start planning
for next year. We are happy to have groups to work
and help evangelize in this great city we just want
to very organized so as too maximize the effectiveness
of the group and try to be as efficient as possible.
Just reply to this email and let
me know and we'll
start planning.
I am looking forward to being back in the states for my
furlough starting December 11th, though I have a lot of
traveling ahead of me. I am going to visit 10 different
congregations in one month and so I'll be on the road
quite a bit. I can't wait to visit with you all, report
on what God is doing here, and catch up with everyone
back there. I have been in touch with several of you
about reporting and I believe my schedule is pretty much
set-up. It will be a little rushed, but I hope that I have
the opportunity to spend quality time with all of you.
Again, thank you for your prayers and support. If
you would like to see pictures of the building, baptisms, or
other events go to this link:
http://www.pixagogo.com/asuncion%20mission%20team
May God bless you,
Enoch Rinks
www.paraguaymission.com
******
I hope that things are going well back in the States!
Things here in Asuncion have been going great and I'm really excited about
the future of the mission here! Click on the following link to see what has
been going on the past three months:
I look forward to being back in the U.S. during the month of December for my
furlough. I will be visiting my sponsoring congregations to report on the
work here and spending the holidays with my family. I hope to see you then!
Enoch Rinks
Asuncion, Paraguay
******
The inauguration service was an amazing experience for all of us here in
Asuncion. It was the culmination of over 5 years of our planning and many
more years of praying for the Christians here in Paraguay. It was a
celebration to praise God for what He is doing and what He is going to do in
Paraguay. The excitement of seeing our neighbors, teachers, World Bible
School students, and friends in the new building for our inauguration service
was overwhelming and almost surreal. There were 171 in attendance! The
worship was full of excitement and was a refreshing experience for many of the
unchurched people who were there. Everyone seems to be very excited about
what is going on and we look forward to our Bible studies this week and then
this coming Sunday to see what God is going to bless us with.
Thanks so much for your support and prayers! Please continue to remember the
work here in your prayers and we continue to try to follow God in all that we
do. Also, thanks for making it possible for those who came down from the
states to be here for the inauguration - they were a huge help and a great
encouragement! We will be sending out a more detailed report soon.
Enoch Rinks
Asuncion, Paraguay
Iglesia de Cristo: Church of Christ Donnie Gean, Chris Fry, Chuck Morris, Ethan Hardin, and Shayne
Iglesia de Cristo: Church of Christ
******
Hello everyone back in the states!
I hope that things are going well for you guys back home and that the Lord
continues to bless you all.
As most of you know, this coming Sunday, September 5th, is a huge day for the
Church, the country of Paraguay, and the mission team here in Asuncion. It is
a day that we have been planning for years (about 5 of them) and that God has
been planning since the creation. I am very excited, though nervous, and I
can't wait to see the power of God in action as we begin our hands on work
with the new congregation here in Asuncion. There has been a lot of
preparation, time, money, prayer, and study put into this mission and the big
day is finally here.
I just ask that you keep this work in your prayers and that God will be
glorified. It is our prayer that Sept. 5th and everything that follows will
be so awesome that the people of Paraguay will know that it is the work of God
and not ours. Please pray for:
- the visitors coming down from the states,
- the Paraguayans that will be there the first Sunday looking for something
greater,
- the weeks and months to follow that we will have strength and energy,
- that Paraguayan leaders will rise quickly,
- that we can truly be the Church of the first century - living and sharing
our lives together
- future congregations that will be established outside the city of Asuncion
Thanks for all of your support over the past year and a half! I pray that all
of you can make it down to Paraguay at some point in the next 5 years or so.
I'll update you after the inaugural service.
Enoch Rinks
Asuncion, Paraguay
***
Hola friends and family back in the States!
I hope that you had a wonderful 4th of July. We had quite a day yesterday
as we had a big American style Bar-B-Q with great ribs, baked beans,
watermelon, banana pudding, and the works. I also found some fireworks for
sell in a little alley down at a pretty shady market in town. When we lit
them it was like World War III on top of Vanessa's roof. People were coming
out of there houses to see if a war had started, a cloud of smoke covered
the city, and we ran like never before - it was hilarious!
Things are really shaping up with the building and progress is being made.
My family was here last month and helped with the building and my college
roommate has just left after helping out for over a week. It has been a
huge blessing to have visitors down to encourage me and to help with the
work. Thank you for all of your prayers and keep praying for September 5th
when we have our inaugural worship.
We have had some problems with the format, but check out the latest
newsletter to see what has been going on.
love you all,
Enoch Rinks
***
WE HAVE A BUILDING!
The moment has finally arrived - we signed a contract and will have a
building for the next four years! We have prayed a lot about this and are
very excited about the possibilities that are ahead of us. The building has
plenty of space to grow up to 300 hundred or more members with enough office
and classroom space. It is located on a main avenue that runs in-between
the two main roads in the most active part of Asuncion. We have quite a bit
of remodeling to do to get it ready for September 5th, but we are
looking forward to getting it done. Thanks for all of your prayers
throughout the search and we ask that you continue to pray for the
preparation for September.
Enoch 
The Rinks family in May '04
***
I hope that everyone is doing great back in the US! We had a little trouble
with our newsletter this quarter so it's a bit late, but here is the link
nonetheless.
Things are getting pretty exciting around here as we plan to make a decision
on a building for the Church this Sunday. Also, I had the opportunity to give
my first sermon in Spanish last Sunday. The two existing congregations came
together and we had a great group of people as I talked about the power of
influence. I was really nervous, but no one laughed at me so I think it went
well. They said I only made one mistake so I was really pleased with that.
The language school is still going well, my car is running good, I have all of
my furniture, World Bible School is really taking off, we continue to meet new
contacts, and I am starting to feel a lot more comfortable here. So, we are
all really happy with how things are going and just can't wait to get the
building and prepare for the first worship service.
Thanks for all of your prayers! They are definitely helping us!
Enoch
***
Thanks everyone for going to Savannah last weekend to be at the Sponsoring
Church Workshop! I hope it was worth going and that it was very informative
about what has been going on down here in Paraguay. It really means a lot to
have such a great supporting congregation like Pulaski Street and to know that
the leaders are actively involved in this Church plant here in Asuncion.
Things are really coming together as we continue to plan for September and
hopefully we can make a decision about a building soon. I hope that things
are going well back home in Lawrenceburg. I miss being there and can't wait
to see you again in December. Thanks again!
love,
Enoch
***
Hey everybody!
I hope that things are going great back in the states and
that you're having a great year. Things are going well here in Paraguay and we
have a lot of big steps to make this month. I will be sending out our quarterly
newsletter within the next week so be looking for that with all the latest news.
I wanted to let everyone know
about the upcoming Sponsoring Church Workshop for our
mission team on April 17th. It will be that Saturday in
Savannah, TN at their new church building and will begin at 10 a.m. and go until
about 3 p.m. It will be a great day of updating and a chance for all of the
congregations involved in this mission to talk about the future of the work here
in Paraguay.
I know that some of you live
pretty far away from Savannah, TN, but those who can be involved, please try to
make it to be present and give input for our part in this great mission. There
will be video reporting, powerpoint presentations, discussions on the future,
information on how to get more involved, information on taking a group from your
congregation, and even a live report from the team via webcam.
Please try to let me know if you
will be able to make it and how many will be attending from your congregation.
We need to tell Savannah how many to prepare for and how many will be there for
lunch. Thanks for your support!
From downtown Savannah, the new church building is on Hwy
128 going south towards Pickwick. It is located on the left just in front of
the Hardin County High School.
Enoch Rinks
***
received 3-31-04
Yep, I made it back to the green country with no problems and everything
seems to be going great here. We were really excited this weekend because we
found a building that we really liked, but when we went to rent it, it had
already been rented that day! :( However, the World Bible School stuff has
started and we have had over 30 people call and want to start the lessons so I
have been pretty pumped about that! My phone has been ringing off the hook and
my answering machine has been full everyday when I get back to my apartment.
The Ketchums who were originally supposed to come with us are here visiting with
us right now so we are having a good time with them, catching up and showing
them around. They can't get over how late we eat here. I went to a dinner on
Saturday night - a birthday party for my neighbor's son. It was supposed to
start at 8 p.m. but I knew it would get going late so I went at 9 p.m. and was
one of the first ones there. Finally at 11:30 p.m. the dinner was served - I
couldn't believe it! I was so tired I had to leave and go to bed right after I
ate. Things are going well though and I am still looking at vehicles. By
the way, the sponsoring church workshop is in Savannah on April the 17th so
remind the elders, deacons, preachers, and whoever else wants to go. Take care
and have a great week!
love,
Enoch
***
It begins everyday on almost every street corner of Asuncion. When a child is
born into poverty here, many of the parents use the baby on the street corners
to beg for money from people that are stopped at the red lights. Sleeping
pills and other drugs are used to keep the babies calm and sedated so that
different family members can take turns all day begging with the baby on their
shoulder for added effect. Some people even rent their babies to people on
the streets for this very reason.
Unfortunately, this is only the beginning of a life spent on a street
corner. Many of the babies soon become street kids that beg for themselves,
sell chewing gum, wash windshields, or sing for money. As they become
teenagers, many of the girls work the street corners at night selling
themselves and the cycle continues and they have their own babies. The new
mothers exploit their babies just as they were and then spend much of the rest
of their lives on the corner selling fruit, windshield wipers, or whatever
else they can think of.
I'm reminded everyday of how blessed I was as a kid and how God has
continued to bless me. It makes me wonder why I was so blessed to be born in
the states, into a great Christian family, and these people were not.
As our team continues the search for a building we have found several
great options and are really excited about the possibilities. We hope to make
a decision pretty soon in order to have plenty of time to prepare the
building for our inaugural service.
I have had the opportunity over the past several months to meet a ton of
people and make a lot of interested contacts. All of the people in my
apartment building are really friendly and I have even had many of them over
to eat or they have invited me to supper. One of my Spanish teachers,
Gabriela, has really been interested in the Church and we have already had
some very productive discussions. She found out that I used to be a youth
minister and we spent about two hours the other day talking about her teenage
boys and she was asking me all kinds of questions - it was great! I have also
been eating lunch every Saturday with a guy works in the apartment building
and I think that I have really made some progress with him.
Our World Bible School studies arrived with our shipment at the end of
last month so we are about to get those started. I just got prices for
advertising in the two best newspapers and should have ads in for the bible
studies by next week. There is a lot of excitement over the possibilities
with WBS and the amount of people that we might could reach through this
outreach.
The arrival of the container was a huge accomplishment after five months
of waiting. We had problems with the shipping company and also with the
customs people here, but we finally got our things. It was awesome to get my
pictures, sports stuff, furniture, etc. All of that stuff has helped to make
it feel a little more like home around here.
The language process has really shifted gears and it is actually fun to
talk to people now. Although, it was pretty fun sometimes when I would say
crazy stuff and make terrible mistakes - some of which I cannot repeat! It's
so nice to finally be able to really communicate with people and have more
meaningful conversation. Someone had told me that the six month mark is the
real turning point and I think that they were right. Our six month mark is
coming up on March 6th - hard to believe!
I never imagined that buying a car down here would be so difficult, but it
has turned out to be just that. At two different points, I have agreed to buy
a vehicle but things have fallen through. Just a month or so ago I had agreed
to buy a Honda CRV from a guy and I was waiting on him to get the paper work
done. I waited for almost a month (things down here are very slow) and
another guy offered a little more so he just sold it to him without telling me
or letting me match the offer. I couldn't believe it! So, I'm back on the
search and hope to find something soon.
The mission team is going to be having the second annual Sponsoring
Church Workshop on April 17th in Savannah, TN. So, for those of you who can
make it, (especially from Pulaski Street) try to get over that way if you
can. We are going to have live reports via satellite. Also, another date to
remember is September 5th - the inaugural service for the congregation here.
If any of you would like to come down for this huge day, let's start planning
now and definitely start praying for it.
It has been made evident to me that I am not a good pet person. You may
have heard that my remaining toucan flew away last week. He has been my
alarm clock every morning at 6 a.m. for about 4 months so I may have to start
using a real one. I think he went to find a new girlfriend since his
committed suicide off of my 11th story balcony.
Finally, my granddad is pretty sick right now, so if you think of it, I
would appreciate it if you lift up a few prayers for him.
Things are right on schedule and everything is going great so far. Thanks
for all of the support!
Enoch Rinks
***
Hey guys!
I guess many of you have heard that the container arrived in Asuncion and
after several delays we were able to get it out of customs. There were a
lot of problems with it, but we are just glad to have our things! The
shipping company put the wrong name on the bill of lading and we were going
to have to pay a bunch of taxes, but the guy that was working on it for us
talked to the customs people here and worked it out. We still had to pay a
substantial amount of dinero, but it was much better than what we were first
told.
It was hilarious going around with this big container on the back of a
flatbed truck all over town to the four different apartments and a handful
of moving guys. It was a long day, but after everyone was moved in we
celebrated with a Whopper from Burger King. It was so nice to have all of
my stuff that I stayed up 'til 4 a.m unpacking and getting stuff situated.
I have a whole room full of Spanish Bibles, World Bible School study
material, and Spanish songbooks! As far as I can tell, everything made it
and nothing was stolen, which is a huge blessing.
I really appreciate all of your prayers concerning the shipment and once
again God worked things out for us. Our next big thing is finding a
building for the Church to worship in and use that is in a great location
accessible for all people, hold at least 200 people, and something that we
can afford. We have just begun a more detailed search and we are going
to have a day of fasting on January 28th for this decision. We are hoping
to involve as many people as we can from our sponsoring congregations and
people back in the states. It's going to be a fast from sunrise to sunset
on Jan. 28th and then we are going to share a big meal together. The day
will be spent focusing on reaching the lost people of Paraguay and the
decision about the building. I hope that many of you will be able to join
us and if possible, get your congregation to join in.
Take care and thanks again for all of your prayers and support! I am really
excited about what God is going to do this year here in Paraguay!
I hope that you had a great holiday season and are looking forward to 2004!
Things are going great down here and I appreciate all of the cards, packages,
emails, and calls that I received over the past few weeks. I sure missed being
at home over the holidays, but we made the best of it here and really had a good
time together. Things are right on schedule and I am extremely excited about
what God is going to do here in Paraguay this year. I hope you enjoy the update
and I love hearing back from people, so if you have time let me know what's
going on in your life. Happy New Year!
Click below to read the latest newsletter and see
pics:
http://paraguaymission.com/newsletters/e_newsletters/Dec2003.htm
***
The Lord is already doing great things here in Asuncion and
we have not yet even begun our ministry! Last Sunday, we had the opportunity
to witness the birth of a new brother in Christ. Jose had been attending
worship with his sister for several months and finally decide to give his life
to God. The Christians here have recently become excited about evangelism and
are really reaching out. Last night our team went to a special youth
devotional for discussing baptism and what all is involved. There are several
of the teenagers who are growing spiritually and have many questions.
The team is continuing to progress in the language and,
beginning next month, we hope to individualize our classes so that we can
excel even more. We have planned our first team retreat on the second weekend
in December. We are going to review our strategy, plan for the upcoming
months, spend time in Bible study and praise, and just have some fun
together. Our visas are still in process and we hope to have them before our
container arrives on December 18th with all of our belongings from the states.
I never dreamed as a kid that I would ever celebrate
Thanksgiving Day in the country of Paraguay, but here I find myself. We plan
to take a day off of class and enjoy the
 holiday
together with a good ole fashioned turkey and dressing meal. I have been put
in charge of cooking the turkey, so I am feeling the pressure and hopefully I
will not burn the bird. Everyone is excited about turkey and dressing,
pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, creamed corn, pecan pie, casseroles, and sweet
potatoes. Nostalgia is in the air and unfortunately a little homesickness
will probably set in, but we are going to make the most of the day and enjoy
it like Americans should and give thanks.
The bus rides to and from school are always eventful, but
one day last week was quite embarrassing. The drivers drive like they are
qualifying for the Daytona 500 and have abilities to weave in and out of
traffic as if they were in a sports car. They do all of this while collecting
your money, giving out change, and yelling at others. After paying when
getting on the bus, everyone knows to lean a bit to compensate for the
velocity at which the driver is about to boost down the road. As I cautiously
made my way to the back of the bus, I was leaning for this very reason. While
leaning forward, I lowered my rear to plant it on the middle seat of the last
row. Just then the driver mashed the break like never before, which kept us
from hitting the car in front of us; however, I flew like my birds wish they
could. I sailed several rows forward like when I was a kid dreaming to be
superman. I hit the floor chest first and slid a few more feet. At this
point the lady to my right felt sorry for me, but she sure did get a kick out
of it, laughing as if I had just finished a comedy routine. I'm glad I could
make her day a little more cheerful.
 I
have also attached a picture of me trying to learn how to drink this black oil
down here that they call coffee as well as a picture of the team from several
weeks back. Things are on schedule right now and we are all enjoying our time
getting used to the culture, learning the language, and settling in. Keep us
in your prayers and thanks for the support!
SOME PREVIOUS E-MAIL:
There are a lot of poor
people here in Paraguay, as you might imagine, and therefore a lot of people out
in the streets and on the buses begging for donations. After two months you grow
a bit tired and skeptical of the whole situation. One day while riding a bus, a
man stepped onto the bus and I thought “oh great, he’s going to bother everyone
on here for some money.” His clothes were about to fall off, he was wearing an
old Marlboro man hat that was dirtier than the street itself, and his teeth were
completely brown. Just as I was thinking that, he paid his money and sat down
just like everyone else on the bus. Moments later a little girl crawled up into
the bus and was trying to sell some pieces of paper with pictures on them for
about 15 cents. As she made her way through the bus, not one person acknowledged
her until she got back around to the old man, the poorest looking person on the
bus. He dug in his pocket gave her some money and a big smile and let her keep
the pictures. It was the best sermon on generosity that I have ever heard or
seen and I learned a great deal about what giving is all about.
The team has just finished
two weeks at our language school and it is going very well. Many of you have
probably heard of Bertlitz, which is a world-wide language school out of
Princeton, New Jersey. The teaching method is mostly through conversation, which
is exactly what we need to work on right now. Everyone is progressing at a
consistent rate and we are in the classroom for four hours per day.
The visa process is still
going slow and we have yet to get our resident visas. Our tourist visas run out
on December 7th, so please be praying about that process. I met one
of my neighbors last week that happens to be a friend of the director of
immigration and he said that he could help us out, so hopefully that will
expedite the process.
Everyone is still settling
into their apartments, but we are all happy with where we are living and
comfortable with the situation. I now have a couch and chair for the living room
to go with my bed and three plastic chairs! Everyone is my building is really
nice and friendly. I have met most of them and they all seem to be pretty
interested in the mission work. One of my neighbors took me furniture shopping
the other day and we talked quite a bit about the Church, the differences
between the Iglesia de Cristo and the Catholic faith, and what the Bible says
about certain things. It was a great discussion and she said that she couldn’t
wait for her and her husband to “check it out.”
I have never been a huge fan
of pet birds. My brother had several when we
 were growing up, but I never had a
desire to have one of my own. However, when I saw the big toucan in the pet
store, I had to get him. He is a big black toucan with a big orange and yellow
beak and blue eyes. The bird doesn’t really like me yet and he just jumps around
in his cage from perch to perch, but he is tons of fun to watch. The first day
after getting him I went off to school and left him in his cage on the balcony
of my apartment. It was a scorching day and when I got back he was spread out on
the bottom of the cage, head in the dry water bowl, and dead for sure. But, when
I opened to balcony door, he popped up! He drank three bowls of water as quick
as I could fill them up. Then I squirted him down with a spray bottle and now he
is as good as new. Why in the world did I get this bird?
For those who got my mailing
address I forgot to put a postal code, though it is not really needed. I
received a package two days ago at my PO box with no problems. Here it is again:
Enoch Rinks
De La Residenta y Rosa Peña 632
Edificio Montserrat Deptº 11C
Asuncion, Paraguay 1532
The PO box is:
Enoch Rinks
Alberdi 130
c.c. 1663
Asuncion, Paraguay 1205
Thanks for all of your prayers and support!
Love,
Enoch Rinks
***
Wearing around a blue gas station looking coat is not really what I had in
mind when I moved to the sub-tropical country of Paraguay, but blue is my
favorite color and I prefer the huge coat over the coldness. The rest of the
team has gotten quite a kick out of it and the family that loaned it to me
thinks I love it since I rarely take it off - even at home. The weather did
warm up a bit today.
I went to a Paraguay vs. Uruguay soccer game with 2 Germans, a Paraguayan
girl, and one of the boys at my house. We live about 3 blocks from the big
stadium so we walked there and had a great time. It was a really big game and
the stadium was full while the crowd was primed. It had all the makings for one
of those riots you hear about, but Paraguay won 4 to 1 so everyone was happy.
You think UT football is crazy? You`ve got to come see one of these sometime!
The team met with a lawyer today to get started on our visas. He is a little
expensive, but he has a masters from Yale so we feel pretty good about it.
One of the cool things was that we got to talk to him pretty extensively about
our mission, Christianity, etc. and he seemed interested and asked a lot of
questions. He said that he would visit when we began our work. It`s amazing
how the seeds are being planted, so just pray that the Lord will help them
grow!
***
Latch has always been one of my favorite games for kids. When I worked as a
counselor at MSYC and at Pulaski Street as a youth minister, I never had a
problem explaining to people how the game was to be played. However, when our
mission team went to a get-together for some of the young people, it was a
different story.
We had a wonderful time at the Yegros home (one of the Christian families) on
Sat. night, where they host a Bible study every other week. We sang songs,
read scripture, and I got to even give a short devotional thought that was
translated by one of the boys. After the period of devotion, we all ate,
talked, and then Vickie suggested that we all play a game. She said this in
Spanish and I thought that she said "Let`s all drink some orange juice" - to
which I respond "well......ok," with a strange look on my face, but going for
the juice as I spoke the words.
After we got it all straightened out, we had quite a time teaching the crew
how to play the game of latch. We worked as a team in Spanish and they were
ready to go. The game started and I kept yelling "apagarle! apagarle!",
which at the time I thought was tag him! tag him! After minutes of "apagarle" they
finally wondered why I kept telling them to "turn him off" over and over!
Worship and Bible class on Sunday was a special experience with the few
Christians here in Asuncion. The singing was great and I am pretty sure that
the sermon was as well. We are understanding more and more as the days pass.
Chris found out that there is a town here in Paraguay somewhere that speaks
English. After two weeks of Spanish class, we are wondering if we can go and
be missionaries in that colony!
There are so many people that we meet each day and so many that are interested
in what we are doing. I will have to admit that I feel a bit impatient, but I
know that we must stick to language school so that our work will be more
productive in the future. I hope that all is well back home and I miss you
all.
Thanks for all of your support and prayers for this great mission that our
team has undertaken! Without you, none of this would be possible.
We have just completed our 1 month language immersion school and today we
moved from our homes to a hotel. We will be in the hotel for about 10 days
while we search for apartments, cars, furniture, etc. The Frys found us a
great deal at a great hotel. Our language study is going to cut back a bit
next week to 3 hrs per day since we have a lot to accomplish.
It was a difficult parting this morning when I left the house. I had only know
the family for a month, but Federico kept referring to himself as my
Paraguayan father! I think I got more entertainment at the house than anywhere
else in this city. They want me to come back for the weekend BBQs whenever I
want and I`m excited about the possibility of studying the Bible with them
when I can communicate better.
Take care and please continue to remember me in your prayers!
***
Our team is getting excited about settling in to our places pretty soon! We
have found apartments and are now working on contracts. If things go well,
we will be moving in next week. The time in the hotel has been great, but
it has been really busy running around the city trying to find the right
apartment. It has been nice to have some veteran missionaries here this
week from Chile and the US to help us with the process and next week others
from Argentina and Uruguay are coming to continue the process.
In a week and a half we will be making the next step in our language
training when we change schools to go to the Berlitz program. It is
internationally known and we feel that it can help us progress even more
quickly.
The visa process here is incredibly slow and we are still at the beginning
stages, so please continue to pray for that process. Also, due to some
problems, our shipment has still not left the states, so pray that our
things will arrive in a timely manner.
It has been a humbling experience to get started with this whole thing. I
expected to move here to help people, but in the first months we have all
been pretty dependent on some of the Christian families and others that are
helping us. The Yegros family has been amazing - co-signing for us on
apartment contracts, writing letters of responsibility to the government for
our visas, having us over to eat, carrying us to meetings, etc. They are
going to be great leaders for God's kingdom and have a servant's heart! Some photos from Paraguay:
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