Paraguay might be called the “least” of the countries in South America.  With a land mass the size of California, Paraguay is a landlocked nation bordered by Brazil, Bolivia, and Argentina.  It has few natural resources.  Agriculture and hydro-electric power are its major industries.  It is one of the poorest of all the South American countries.

The country survived a brief civil war in 1949, a military coup in 1954 that ushered in the reign of a brutal dictator, an overthrow  of their dictator in 1989, nationwide strikes in 1993, assassination of the Vice President in 1999 and the forced resignation of the President a year later, anti-government rioters in 2002 who forced the impeachment of the President …and the litany of corruption and governmental and economic instability continues.  Paraguay is viewed as the most corrupt country in South America, the fourth most corrupt country in the world, and the second poorest nation in South America.  Its region that borders Brazil, Bolivia, and Argentina is known as a haven to terrorists and drug traffickers, netting an estimated $100 million a year for Islamic terrorists organizations.

In other words, Paraguay is a land in need of healing!

The evangelical church in Paraguay is small, representing less than 3% of the population. But, from this small sliver of the country’s population has sprung revival! Upon the invitation of women’s leaders of many denominations, their pastors and other women of influence in the country, Anne was in Asuncion, the nation’s capital, to hold Sólo Dame a Jesús (Just Give Me Jesus) in what would be the largest evangelical Christian women’s meeting in the history of Paraguay.

Before the sun rose the morning of Saturday, March 19th, it was clear this was to be no ordinary day in Paraguay. Before the preparations were complete during the early morning of the revival, the first busload of 40 women (and several children) arrived at Consejo Nacional Sports Coliseum for the Revival. The women from Conceptión, (a small village in the outermost part of Paraguay), had boarded a bus at midnight the night before, driven all night and had arrived at 6:00 am ready to meet Jesus in a fresh way.

As Fernando Ortega led the first songs of worship, every available seat in the coliseum was filled, the stairwells were filled to overflowing and the aisles on the floor were filled with women standing shoulder-to-shoulder. Quick measures were then taken to open doors at the end of the venue and to place large speakers outside the coliseum – allowing hundreds of others to take part in the day. 

The crowded conditions and the sweltering heat did not diminish the presence of the Spirit of the Lord among the 5500 women in attendance. It was as if each realized she had been invited by the Lord to feast on His Word and she was not going to miss one morsel of what He had to offer.

Among the most powerful demonstrations of the Spirit took place at the end of Saturday morning’s message when Anne, speaking through her Spanish interpreter, Georgina Gonzalez, extended the invitation to accept Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for their sins. Leading up to that invitation, the audience had hung on Anne’s and Georgina’s every word. And, yet, it was still a stunning sight to see nearly every woman stand to confirm or re-confirm her decision for Christ. At the sight of seeing nearly the entire audience standing, Anne thinking, surely, that the women must have misunderstood the gravity of the decision they were making, proceeded to clarify what was being asked of them.

Multiple times Anne encouraged the women to be seated if they were not making a decision to accept Jesus as their Savior or to re-commit themselves to Him.  All remained standing.  It was clear, this was a remarkable moment orchestrated by the Lord. So, Anne led nearly each and every woman in the prayer of salvation. At the final “Amen” of the sinner’s prayer, a spontaneous explosion of applause erupted as it was clear the women were, indeed, understanding the magnitude of their collective sins being forgiven. Fernando took the lead from the celebration and led the audience in a thrilling rendition of “Shout to the Lord.” The now-familiar chorus took on new meaning for all in attendance after hearing the chorus of thousands genuinely shout its words, “singing praises to the King!”

Throughout the day, there was no letdown in the intensity of the hunger and thirst for God’s Word demonstrated by the women of Paraguay. The afternoon Bible study was encouraging as the women, young and old, rich and poor, and of all denominations, worked through the material and seemed to track with Anne’s introduction of the simple 3-question method of hearing God speak through His Word. As we listened to women share through microphones, it was evident that they truly seemed to grasp what the Scripture means to them personally.

With every woman still in her place and now hundreds sitting in the afternoon sun listening outdoors, Anne finished the afternoon using the story of Mary Magdalene to challenge the women to “go and tell” of the experience they’ve just had with Jesus. It was an electrifying time of commitment when every woman in the coliseum and those outside stood to their feet when Anne asked them to respond if they were willing to leave that place and be used by God to share the Good News – changing their families, their places of business, their childrens’ schools, their cities and villages…and their nation of Paraguay.

Going into Saturday, March 19, it would have been difficult to visualize Paraguay as a nation that could rise above its own struggles much less impact other nations. But, by the end of the day with thousands of women filled to overflowing with a fresh sense of the power of Jesus in their lives, it seemed that the Lord had, indeed, begun to bring revival to this small nation. The wave of revival seemed so present, it seemed hard to imagine it would stop short of the borders of Paraguay – but, that possibly, this small “worm of a nation” could rise to be a powerful sword the Lord would use to cut a new path through all of South America.

Please join our dear sisters in Paraguay in prayer that the Lord would take this movement of the Holy Spirit and help it gain momentum as each woman goes back to her home and neighborhood. Pray the enemy will not rise up to snatch away any commitment made at Sólo Dame a Jesús Paraguay. And, pray that as these thousands of women go forth in boldness to share Christ that the revival underway will result in a great Spiritual Awakening in Paraguay and her surrounding neighbors.