Don and Lorene Gould have some stories to tell.

The Hungry Horse couple served as Assembly of God missionaries to Paraguay for 36 years.

Today, the Goulds spend their retirement teaching leadership and discipleship courses at the Whitefish Assembly of God.

The Goulds are teaching the same courses they taught in Paraguay over the years, except that now they are teaching in English instead of Spanish or Guarani, the native language of many Paraguayans.

Don, 76, spoke of God opening a door for them to conduct tent crusades in Paraguay from 1980 to 1990. At the time, the country was controlled by dictator Alfredo Stroessner. They even have a photo of the meeting, which occurred in the late 1970s.

Stroessner, who was in power from 1954 to 1989, gave his approval for the tent crusades, Don said.

“He was very amenable [to the crusades]. He said Paraguayans would appreciate all the spiritual help they can get. God helped us and touched his heart.”

Fifteen yellow-and-white tents were shipped through Argentina by riverboat. The Goulds helped start 50 churches during that 10-year period. Their part was in discipleship training.

“Paraguayans are very open, hospitable, very friendly,” Lorene said.

Their missionary journeys took them all over the countryside, including the rural areas outside the capital of Asuncion.

Don talked of clapping at the gate of rural farms. They say, “Adelante!” and welcome you with a hand gesture, he said.

Don grew up in Montana. He moved from Nebraska to the Bitterroot Valley at the age of 1. His parents later moved to Ronan when he was 9, and he graduated from Ronan High School in 1953.

He remembers being asked in eighth grade what he planned to do with his life. He replied that he was going to be a missionary.

“I prophesied over myself,” he said, noting his father was a Baptist circuit-riding preacher. His mother grew up attending a Pentecostal Holiness church.

Don served as youth pastor in Milton, Wash., before pastoring in Roundup for five years. He was praying in a Sunday school room when God led him to go into foreign missions.

“How would you respond if I said we should apply to be missionaries?” he asked his wife. She replied that she had been waiting a whole week for him to ask her.

Lorene, 75, grew up in Anchorage, Alaska. She felt the call to missions while in high school. She came to know Jesus Christ at age 15 and dreamed of sitting in front of a bunch of children. When the Goulds first arrived in Paraguay and saw the many children there, she cofirmed that was what she saw in her dreams.

“I enjoy the kids,” she said. “Everywhere you go, there’s lots of kids.”

She related a  Children’s Day event when 300 children showed up to take turns swinging at a piñata. Lorene sent Don out for more candy.

The Goulds began their work in Paraguay doing evangelistic crusades and helping in the Central Bible Institute in Asuncion from 1984 to 1995.

Then they taught at a regional Bible institute in Ciudad del Este, where they lived on the border with Brazil and Argentina near the world-famous Iguazu Falls for 11 years.

Then it was back to the Central Bible Institute in Asuncion for five years, where they worked as directors.

From 2001 to 2009, they taught in Bible institutes in Concepcion and Pedro Juan Caballero. They also taught in Valle Mi, a city on the border with Brazil that could only be reached by plane or boat at the time.

When the Goulds return to Paraguay, they welcome the customary greeting of kisses on both cheeks.

“Most of the [Assembly of God] pastors in the whole country have been our students,” Lorene said.

They raised two sons, Randy and Scott, in the subtropical climate.

“It’s like going home when we go to Paraguay,” Don said.

Reporter Caleb Soptelean may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at csoptelean@dailyinterlake.com.