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Donald and Carol Paige have been missionaries in Paraguay since July 2008. Donald has a degree in history and is a journeyman silversmith. He has developed friendships with and ministers to Paraguayan silversmiths in the town of Luque. Carol has a master’s degree in social work. She works closely with the students, families, and the staff of a Methodist school located in an impoverished neighborhood in Lambaré.

Here, Carol recounts a story involving their daughter, Cora.

One of the things that I love best about Cora is that she has a tender and forgiving heart. She is loving and giving and wants to be friends with everyone. She was so excited to come back from the U.S. this August and reunite with all of her friends at school.

The first couple weeks of being back in Paraguay went very smoothly. That all changed one day, however, when Cora came home in tears saying that a girl in her class was picking on her. We comforted her and told her to tell the teacher the next time it happened. And it did happen ... again, and again, and again.

Unfortunately, Cora would not stand up for herself despite what we said. She simply could not understand why the girl did not want to be friends with her.

It got to the point where it was obvious that the little girl was bullying our daughter. She was also the sneaky kind of bully who would wait until the teacher was not looking. 

As a protective parent, Donald’s first inclination was simple, ‘Punch her in the nose.’ Cora and her sweet, gentle nature was horrified at the thought. I told her to yell loudly when being bothered in order to draw the teacher's attention. Cora would not do that either. 

Finally, frustrated with our daughter's lack of action to stand up for herself, we had a conference with the teacher and a conversation with the girl's father. We also forbad Cora to even speak with the girl.

As we were busy taking matters into our own hands, Cora had a different solution. She chose to pray. Every single night before going to bed she included this little girl in her prayers, asking God to help her. Every morning during her prayers on the way to school she remembered to ask God to help her classmate during the day.

During the last week of school, the father of that little girl approached Donald and asked for a ride home. On the way, he shared with Donald that he and his family had started counseling and that his daughter was being helped by a psychologist. He wanted him to know that changes were being made.

Wow! That truly humbled us. I am convinced that Cora with her gentle heart and persistent prayers made a difference in that family's life. Prayers proved to be much more effective than a punch in the nose!