Ciudad Del Este is the second largest city in Paraguay at 800,000 people.  It is also the most international city in the country, having large numbers of Asian and North African immigrants.  This became very obvious to us during our four days in this city.  But it was never more apparent than the show we did in Pastor Erwin's church on Wednesday night.

Pastor Erwin is a missionary from Chile to Paraguay through the Christian and Missionary Alliance.  He pastors a church housed in a small room in the bottom of the apartment building he and his family live in.  Previously, they met in the downstairs hallway.   When I went downstairs 40 minutes before the start of our service, the tiny room already had many teens, kids and adults waiting.  The room filled up quickly as I tried to set things up.  By the time the show began, the tiny room was packed.  

Earlier in the day, as I prayed and thought about the show, I decided to do the card castle illusion based on the verse "Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain."  I spoke to the youth,, but also to the adults about the need to let Jesus build our entire 'house' from the foundation up.  I mentioned to the adults that we must not let family pressures and past  traditions hold us back from following the Lord 100%.  

After we were done, a Lebanese man came and spoke to me.  He said the message  of this routine was extremely important to get out.  He thanked me for sharing it.  A Chinese man was speaking to our interpreter, John.  I found out later that the man I had spoken to was a nominal Muslim before coming to faith in Jesus, and the Chinese man had been Buddhist, complete with a shrine and idols in his apartment,  before his conversion.  There were also some Indian youth there.  The next day I met their father as he came out of the building.  He and his family are former Hindus.  He told me how much the show blessed his kids the night before. All three families continue to  deal with resisting the traditions of their past from influencing their walk of faith in Christ in the present.  I had no idea of their stories before the show,, but I'm humbled that God used me to share that encouragement with them.  And how joyful it was to be in a church with so many people from so many ethnic and cultural backgrounds.