February 15, 2026
Susan Hoover
Dear family and friends,
Greetings once again in the Name of the Lord Jesus. He is as wonderful today as He has ever been!
I've been following a study on the life of Jehoshaphat lately, and found it both fascinating, and encouraging. In the early years of his reign as king over Judah, he diligently followed the Lord. Then later he made an alliance with Ahab, the wicked king of Israel, when his son married the daughter of Ahab. He began drifting a bit, not seeking the Lord quite as sincerely as he had been. He rashly promised to go with Ahab to defeat Ramoth Gilead, but forgot to seek counsel of the Lord first. Well, as the story goes, Ahab was killed in that battle, but the Lord protected Jehoshaphat. That made him think, and he began to mend his ways and return unto the Lord! Long story short, later he was to fight against a large army, actually from three different cities. Understandably, Jehoshaphat was scared! Would he be able to win against such a large army? He sought the Lord again, and the Lord gave him these wonderful words, "Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's." And a couple of verses later -- "You will not need to fight this battle. Position yourselves, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem! Do not fear or be dismayed..." Read the rest of the account in 2 Chronicles 20.
What a message! We are also in a battle, not against flesh and blood, but a spiritual battle. And the battle is not ours, but God's! And we know that in the end, He will win! We can be more than conquerors through Him who loved us! Hallelujah.
The Lord continues to bless us here in Paraguay. The first week in February we enjoyed visitors from Missouri! Three men -- David Keeling, Maurice Rohrer, and Micah Russell. Maurice was invited to the wedding of a cousin of his in another part of Paraguay, so that is what brought him here. And David and Micah came along for the visit! David is the elder of the church at Monett, MO. Maurice and Micah are young fellows in their early 20's. Their visit here was short, but such a blessing and encouragement to us. One day Peter travelled with them (they had rented a car at the airport so they had their own transportation) to Iguazu Falls in Brazil. They also toured the bird refuge which is close to the falls, and has lots of interesting and exotic birds. That day, when they were finished touring, Peter, David, and Micah returned home by bus from Ciudad del Este, and Maurice drove on to where the wedding of his cousin was to be the next day. I drove in to Campo 9 then in the evening when they arrived on the bus, to bring them home.
The next day, in the afternoon Peter took them to Pastoreo to meet some evangelical Christians that we have learned to know there, also they toured the Sommerfeld colony here close by. Maurice returned to our place Friday evening.
So we had a few eventful days while they were here. All I had to do was keep up with the cooking, which was not hard. They returned to Asuncion on Saturday forenoon, to catch their flight back to North America in the wee hours of Sunday morning.
Otherwise, life has been pretty normal. We have enjoyed quite a number of local visitors too. Yesterday afternoon Willie and Maria Braun came for a call. She is my second cousin. They are an older couple -- a few months ago we attended their 50th wedding anniversary celebration.
Last Sunday we had guests for supper -- Robert and Eleanore Neufeld. We had a simple supper of pizza. We had bought frozen pizzas earlier, and I baked them for supper. Quick and easy!
Last Thursday evening we were invited to Erdman Giesbrechts for supper. Ben and Justina Knelsen were invited too, so we went together in their car. Ben and Justina live in the apartment right next to ours -- it's nice to have them as neighbours! She often brings food over -- she loves to cook and loves to share. Bread, buns, meat pies, a pretty cake, and cookies have all found their way from their house to ours. Since we live right next to each other, we quite frequently spend an evening together. Sitting outside, sharing stories and ideas over coffee and apple pie, as darkness falls and the stars shine overhead -- and besides, we have such awesome sunsets here too! Sometimes the flaming beauty lasts for twenty minutes or even half an hour. We serve a mighty God who loves and creates beauty for us to enjoy, and to worship Him!
Since we live right next to the Knelsens, we often share our visitors too. Friday evening Jake and Justina Klippenstein were here to visit the Knelsens. They were sitting out in the yard, and called us to come join them. So we did, and had another very enjoyable evening of fellowship.
Peter continues his work at the Hogar Esperanza. I have not gone there to work since my surgery. I have been there to visit a number of times though. It's always nice to see the elderly folks again. They come and they go. I think right now there are 28 or 29 residents. Some of them need a lot of care, some need less. But they all need love and compassion, and it is a wonderful opportunity to share and spread the love of Jesus to them!
Today we had a different experience. We went to church as usual in the morning. Again we had gone along with the Knelsens, as we go to the same church and when nobody else wants to go along with them (like one of the elderly men does sometimes) they invite us to ride along instead of driving by ourselves. So we did, and heard a good message by brother Freddy Friesen, titled "Who is My Neighbour?" which of course came from the story of the Good Samaritan that Jesus told. After church and the usual visiting afterwards, we started on our way home and Justina got the idea that maybe we could eat lunch at a restaurant that we've been wanting to try. We all agreed, and so we stopped there. Right after we walked in, we heard a lady behind us asking something of a waitress, in English. She and her husband seemed very relieved to find someone who could speak English as well! Turns out they are a couple, about our age, from Texas who are looking for a place to relocate to, from the USA. We started talking with them and found them very fascinating, a Christian couple concerned about a lot of things that concern us as well. We ended up all sitting down together at a table to eat. And in the end, the surprise was that this couple paid for everyone's food! So generous. Peter went with them yet on a quick tour of Sommerfeld colony, and I went home with the Knelsens. But Peter had the house key so I couldn't even get into our house! Justina told me to just come into their house, so I did. We played Chinese Checkers and were just finished when Peter came home. Isn't it something how God orchestrates things sometimes. We had no idea we were going to get involved with anyone from Texas today!! With God, there are no accidents -- He has it all in His plan and all we need to do is follow.
Well, now it is Monday morning. Another bright, sunny morning, and we know it's going to get hot again today. It's already 26 degrees and the high today is to be 35. It is quite dry -- it's been awhile since we had a good rain. We did have a few light showers one day last week, but it didn't add up to much.
My letter-writing was interrupted yesterday by some more visitors. Deacon Abie Buhler and his wife, Anna, came to see us and the Knelsens. Before they left, another couple came -- Cornelius and Lydia Thiessen. They are fairly newly married, and right now they have the Knelsen's grandson from Rio Verde staying with them for a few weeks, so they brought him over for a visit. It was lovely to meet them and get to know them! She is actually a registered nurse, not having marriage in her plans when she did her training. However, God had other plans in mind for her, and they are very happily married!
Then at a bit before 8:00, when Peter and I were ready to start winding down for the night, we got a call from another family that wanted to come visit! Manuel and Jenny Friesen and their three little girls came over and stayed till about 9:30. Another enjoyable evening passed quickly.
So, that was our eventful Sunday! So many blessings. Today I want to do our laundry. I've been able to hang it out myself now for a few weeks already -- still noticing improvement in the strength of my knee. In fact, I have more trouble and pain with the knee that isn't done yet, than the one that had the surgery! So I know where I am headed -- another surgery. But I know better what to expect this time. Recovery takes a long time and a lot of patience! God gives the grace as we need it.
Anna Buhler brought us some wareneki and a loquat pie, which we will have for lunch today.
Wishing you all strength for the day, light on the pathway!
In Him,
Susan for the Hoovers