Ellen in Paraguay

Who here thinks Christmas is a stressful time of year? What about if you had a kid was getting married three days before Christmas? And how much more stressful would it be if you had two kids getting married a week apart in two different countries five thousand miles away from home and your whole family was going down for the weddings and needed places to stay and ways to get around foreign cities where no one speaks the same language? On top of that, there’s some missionary girl who wants to spend the holidays with your family and the night before Christmas eve she gets a stomach illness that causes her to spend the whole night throwing up. I wasn’t the first person to get sick either; Ben’s brother-in-law, P.J. got so sick after the family flew into Brazil that they took an overnight bus instead…which was unfortunate, because they needed every single moment before the wedding to buy clothes for groomsmen, rent a huge 9 passenger van (which we usually stuffed 11 or 12 people into), clean the duplex that they were going to stay in, etc. It rained on and off for almost three days, right up until the time of the wedding, which started over an hour and a half late because no one showed up until then. The next day again we were worried about getting Judah to the airport on time, and after that, we had to rush and buy paint before everything closed for Christmas in order to fix up the newlyweds’ apartment. That night I painted until 11 at night and then came home and got sick. The next day we rushed again to get the rental van back in time and buy bus tickets, and then Christmas day (today) half the family left for Brazil. During this whole time, we had no stove or fridge in the place we were staying (I moved in with Ben’s family because Vivi’s family was staying at my house), not to mention that providing food for a dozen people at any time can be difficult. Plus there were the typical Paraguayan obstacles, such as ant infestations and broken showers. Thankfully the electricity never went out.

I am being very selective in the facts I am divulging. That is to let you know that Christmas joy need not depend on favourable circumstances. You have to believe me now when I say that the wedding turned out fabulously and I think was highly enjoyed by all, especially the bride and groom. We ate cake AND cookies AND ice cream, my sweet tooth was overly-satisfied. Ben’s family was tons of fun and had a good time together and I got to share in all the love. P.J. brought me a new Eugene Peterson book, we watched “Fiddler on the Roof” together, and when I got sick Aunt Heidi gave me Pepto Bismal. Christmas dinner consisted of egg-roll filling and cucumber salad, but for dessert Ben and I were afforded the special treat of homemade cheesecake for Christmas eve (Cream cheese is unavailable here). I cried a little on Christmas eve because I missed my family, but Ben’s sister Amy hugged me and let me know that this was her fourth Christmas in Paraguay, and the first time she was with her family. My favourite memory from this Christmas is being stuffed into a van and singing Christmas carols; The Shurances have excellent voices and they all knew lots of verses to all the songs, even “Silent Night” in German. I got lots of hugs and everyone always made me feel very appreciated (my love language=words of affirmation), plus I enjoyed speaking in my mother tongue and making jokes and getting lots of attention!! Everyone already set off tons of firecrackers at midnight on Christmas eve, I wonder what New Years will be like?

# posted by Ellen @ 12:17 PM