Log in to your Account

“You can attend the tutoring program with the Evangelicals or you can have a daily meal with us,” the local religious leaders told the children in Paraguay. “Which one do you want: education or breakfast?”

They chose food.

Kids used to show up at 8 a.m., notebooks in hand, gathering for a small tutoring program led by Cristhian and Madison, two TMS Global cross-cultural workers serving in the neighborhood. Within weeks of the religious leaders’ declaration, the room began to empty. Fewer kids each morning. Then fewer still. Eventually, almost none.

Cristhian, who grew up in Paraguay, understood the dynamic. He’d been where those kids were. When he left the Catholic Church to attend a Methodist church, his family and community shut him out. It took years to earn their trust again.

These kids had more immediate problems to solve.

In this part of Paraguay, many families sleep together in a single bed on a dirt floor. The money doesn’t stretch far. Often, children go without breakfast.

So when food was offered, the decision wasn’t complicated. No child should have to make that choice, but many do.

Cristhian and Madison had been there for a year, tutoring, building relationships, and talking about Jesus in ways that made sense in that community.

And then the local religious leaders drew the line, and the kids stopped coming.

Drug activity increased. Violence erupted behind it.

Police started coming through the neighborhood more often. Local folks threw rocks at their cars.

One day, in front of a crowd, a 16-year-old boy was shot and killed.

This wasn’t what Madison had in mind when she first signed up for a Greenlight trip with TMS Global. Then, she’d thought her future lay in Asia, not South America. Wasn’t it already reached with the gospel?

But those doors closed, so she chose Paraguay.

There, she met her neighbors. She learned their names, and despite not having a command of Spanish yet, her hugs demonstrated her love and support. Soon, leaving didn’t feel like an option anymore. So she stayed...even when it would have been easier to move on. Like now.

Conditions in the neighborhood continued to deteriorate.

That’s when Cristhian and Madison knew they had to go back. This time, they were aware that the local religious leaders weren’t on their side. Neither were the gangs. Or the police. But God was. They just needed a plan of action.

First, they considered adding breakfast to the program so the children could get both a meal and an education at the same place. Then, they decided to reach out to the nearby priests and Church authorities first. Maybe they could come to an agreement instead of conflict. Either way, the tutoring program was re-opening.

Sure enough, children began signing up, and just two months ago, Cristhian and Madison relaunched the education initiative. It’s fragile, but so far, it’s working.

For Madison, the question hasn’t gone away: What does it take to make sure a child doesn’t have to choose between food and hope?

And it’s where you can be part of the story.

Because of people like you, Cristhian and Madison aren’t doing this alone. Through TMS Global, they have the training, support, and guidance they need to keep showing up day after day, in a place that hasn’t gotten easier.

“We’re going to see what happens,” Madison said.

Would you keep praying with them?

• For the children who are beginning to come back—that they would return consistently and feel safe
• For wisdom as trust is rebuilt with families who pulled away
• For clarity as they navigate how to meet real needs without losing the deeper work
• For the students who are already open to Jesus—that their faith would grow