Monday, February 05, 2007
On Friday I took the bus by myself for the first time, and I couldn’t have asked for a more adventurous journey. First I had to walk about 15 minutes just to get to the place where I catch the bus. It was about 5:30, when everyone was coming home from work, and the bus was so full that I could only get onto the first step. So there I was, hanging out the door, thankful to be free from the reek of body odour inside the bus, but hanging on for dear life as the driver dodged potholes, flew over speed bumps, and made abrupt stops. Eventually I was able to make my way to the rear of the bus, where it was more difficult to see where we were. I panicked and decided to get off and walk the rest of the way, which I figured couldn’t be that much farther. But it was. In flip-flops and the heat and carrying my bags, at least. Instead of paralyzing me however, this experience has given me a lot of confidence that given enough time, I can make it anywhere, and like Marlene says, the important thing is that I arrived.
I have written about being at Dario and Marlene’s house before, but I have to say again that they are really great hosts. So when Dario delivered a sermon on hospitality at church on Saturday night, I had no trouble trusting the messenger. The primary text was Genesis 18:1-8, and I feel inclined to give a synopsis. The story begins with Abraham sitting in the entrance of his tent during the heat of the day. I can envision Abraham as any one of the old Paraguayan men who sit in the shade in front of their house drinking terere between one and four in the afternoon. But when Abraham saw three strangers in the distance, he stood up and ran out to meet them and bowed to the ground. He begged them not to continue on until after they came to his house and washed their feet and rested under the tree. Genesis says he hurried into the tent and told his wife to quickly make some bread, then he ran and picked a choice calf and his servant hurried to prepare it, which Abraham served to his visitors with curds and milk. Two things are to be noted from Abraham’s hospitality: his alacrity and his generosity. Dario contrasted the spring in the step of old Abraham with the sluggish response of a teenager who has been asked to sweep the floor. He said “I will bring a bit of bread” but he brought out a feast. Imagine waiting while someone had to cook dinner starting with a live cow. I remembering Auntie Margret saying how generous my grandparents were and when a visitor showed up, grandma would go out into the yard and kill a chicken. This way, the chicken was being heated up before it even had time to cool down!!
In the end, Abraham found out that one of the visitors was the Lord, and I bet he was glad at that point that he didn’t just offer something from the candy dish. In Matthew 25 Jesus tells a story about how when the righteous people gave food and water to the hungry and took in strangers and clothed them or took care of sick people or visited people in prison, they were actually doing those things for the King, and to these hospitable people he grants eternal life. The Newsboys sing a catchy song based on Hebrews 13:2 which says “Don’t neglect to show hospitality, for by doing this some have welcomed angels as guests without knowing it.” And in Greek mythology we read about Bacchus and Philemon, who even though they are poor as dirt, offer all they have left to some raggedy-looking travelers, who in the end turn out to be divine guests. After their visitors leave, the old couple’s house turns into a mansion, they have a pitcher that contains nectar of the gods that never runs dry, and the inhospitable village down the road is turned into a lake from which they catch fish. They spend the rest of their lives serving the nectar and fish to guests, until they die on the same day and turn into trees that provide a shady resting place for weary travelers. Dario finished the sermon by saying that hospitality is actually a blessing to the host, as is demonstrated by all these stories that I just mentioned. God himself visits us, not just that one time at Christmas, but there is that familiar image of Jesus standing at the door and waiting to come in and be a blessing to anyone who is willing to invite him. I have been a recipient of much hospitality in Paraguay, and after that sermon I am especially inspired to open up my house to others. I mentioned in my blog before that I was looking for a different house, because ours is not only small and difficult to have company, but also expensive. The problem is that it is hard to find a good house in a safe place here. I finally contented myself with staying where we’re at, but I told my roommate we had talk to our landlady about the exorbitant rent. We were very nervous and prayed about it, telling God that we only wanted to pay a certain amount. And guess what? Not only did she lower our rent to that exact amount, she is also going to do some repairs and build an addition so that we have a living room. Some people have to travel a distance by bus to get to church and often I have sleepovers with some of the girls. My latest idea is at least once a month to invite all the young girls to my house, there are about 10 or so of us, on Saturday night. Our church is having a pretty exciting time in terms of youth events; Marlene and Karen started having all boys to their houses on Saturdays. Plus this Friday youth group starts, organized by Ben and Vivi. It’s nice for me to have so much stuff going on because when I am busy and spend so much time with people, I don’t just think about my family and get homesick. Hey! I just realized that today I have been in Paraguay for exactly 4 months. That is supposed to be the length of time it takes to feel comfortable speaking a new language. Good. Just in time for me to start teaching on Wednesday.
I dedicate this blog to Keith Freund who I think is a great host, who introduced me to using horseradish on veggie burgers, and who used to have a picture depicting Bacchus and Philemon as intertwining trees on his fridge.
I have written about being at Dario and Marlene’s house before, but I have to say again that they are really great hosts. So when Dario delivered a sermon on hospitality at church on Saturday night, I had no trouble trusting the messenger. The primary text was Genesis 18:1-8, and I feel inclined to give a synopsis. The story begins with Abraham sitting in the entrance of his tent during the heat of the day. I can envision Abraham as any one of the old Paraguayan men who sit in the shade in front of their house drinking terere between one and four in the afternoon. But when Abraham saw three strangers in the distance, he stood up and ran out to meet them and bowed to the ground. He begged them not to continue on until after they came to his house and washed their feet and rested under the tree. Genesis says he hurried into the tent and told his wife to quickly make some bread, then he ran and picked a choice calf and his servant hurried to prepare it, which Abraham served to his visitors with curds and milk. Two things are to be noted from Abraham’s hospitality: his alacrity and his generosity. Dario contrasted the spring in the step of old Abraham with the sluggish response of a teenager who has been asked to sweep the floor. He said “I will bring a bit of bread” but he brought out a feast. Imagine waiting while someone had to cook dinner starting with a live cow. I remembering Auntie Margret saying how generous my grandparents were and when a visitor showed up, grandma would go out into the yard and kill a chicken. This way, the chicken was being heated up before it even had time to cool down!!
In the end, Abraham found out that one of the visitors was the Lord, and I bet he was glad at that point that he didn’t just offer something from the candy dish. In Matthew 25 Jesus tells a story about how when the righteous people gave food and water to the hungry and took in strangers and clothed them or took care of sick people or visited people in prison, they were actually doing those things for the King, and to these hospitable people he grants eternal life. The Newsboys sing a catchy song based on Hebrews 13:2 which says “Don’t neglect to show hospitality, for by doing this some have welcomed angels as guests without knowing it.” And in Greek mythology we read about Bacchus and Philemon, who even though they are poor as dirt, offer all they have left to some raggedy-looking travelers, who in the end turn out to be divine guests. After their visitors leave, the old couple’s house turns into a mansion, they have a pitcher that contains nectar of the gods that never runs dry, and the inhospitable village down the road is turned into a lake from which they catch fish. They spend the rest of their lives serving the nectar and fish to guests, until they die on the same day and turn into trees that provide a shady resting place for weary travelers. Dario finished the sermon by saying that hospitality is actually a blessing to the host, as is demonstrated by all these stories that I just mentioned. God himself visits us, not just that one time at Christmas, but there is that familiar image of Jesus standing at the door and waiting to come in and be a blessing to anyone who is willing to invite him. I have been a recipient of much hospitality in Paraguay, and after that sermon I am especially inspired to open up my house to others. I mentioned in my blog before that I was looking for a different house, because ours is not only small and difficult to have company, but also expensive. The problem is that it is hard to find a good house in a safe place here. I finally contented myself with staying where we’re at, but I told my roommate we had talk to our landlady about the exorbitant rent. We were very nervous and prayed about it, telling God that we only wanted to pay a certain amount. And guess what? Not only did she lower our rent to that exact amount, she is also going to do some repairs and build an addition so that we have a living room. Some people have to travel a distance by bus to get to church and often I have sleepovers with some of the girls. My latest idea is at least once a month to invite all the young girls to my house, there are about 10 or so of us, on Saturday night. Our church is having a pretty exciting time in terms of youth events; Marlene and Karen started having all boys to their houses on Saturdays. Plus this Friday youth group starts, organized by Ben and Vivi. It’s nice for me to have so much stuff going on because when I am busy and spend so much time with people, I don’t just think about my family and get homesick. Hey! I just realized that today I have been in Paraguay for exactly 4 months. That is supposed to be the length of time it takes to feel comfortable speaking a new language. Good. Just in time for me to start teaching on Wednesday.
I dedicate this blog to Keith Freund who I think is a great host, who introduced me to using horseradish on veggie burgers, and who used to have a picture depicting Bacchus and Philemon as intertwining trees on his fridge.
# posted by Ellen @ 6:06 PM 
Comments:
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Sooo... Ellen, since you had me post this blog, do you like the way I formatted it for you? I think it is a lot easier to read. I wish you would separate your paragraphs with spaces more often. :P
from your graphic designer sister,
Annette
from your graphic designer sister,
Annette
Hi Ellen,
I must first say that I really enjoyed your description of the sermon that was given on Sunday night. I don't know if the pastor included all of those stories, but that made the message more powerful to me. If you get good enough at Spanish, you should speak in church one day. I think it would be really interesting for both them and you.
You still haven't said whether or not you would be an Old Maid in Paraguay, so I will conclude my commenting on this subject by declaring that you must be.
Groundhog Day (I think) is the midpoint between the Winter solstice and the Spring solstice. A long, long time ago people thought that animals would come out of hibernation, and if it was sunny get spooked by their own shadow and go back to hibernate for about six more weeks. But if it was cloudy they'd have time to adjust and spring would come early. I think the tradition is European and becomes Groundhogish once people moved to the Americas. Anyway... I think that's accurate, but if not, someone will correct me and you'll get to know the history behind Groundhog Day anyway.
I saw your mom at one of my concerts. Yay for her, but boo for your blog becoming popular enough to get advertisements.
Your thoughts on prayer were also very interesting. My parents really liked them, even though they don't really pray all that often. I think that dependance on God is much easier when things are out of our control anyway. How do people deal with the times of disappointment (ie when God does not do what they are asking of him)? Is there a sense of entitlement (that he should be doing it) or of self-deprecation, or is it just a, "sometimes God just doesn't do what you ask of him and that's an alright thing." Of course, there's probably a wide variety of responses, but I'm thinking quite generally.
Lastly, you should definitely share the comments that you feel are inappropriate for your blog.
Much love.
Scott.
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I must first say that I really enjoyed your description of the sermon that was given on Sunday night. I don't know if the pastor included all of those stories, but that made the message more powerful to me. If you get good enough at Spanish, you should speak in church one day. I think it would be really interesting for both them and you.
You still haven't said whether or not you would be an Old Maid in Paraguay, so I will conclude my commenting on this subject by declaring that you must be.
Groundhog Day (I think) is the midpoint between the Winter solstice and the Spring solstice. A long, long time ago people thought that animals would come out of hibernation, and if it was sunny get spooked by their own shadow and go back to hibernate for about six more weeks. But if it was cloudy they'd have time to adjust and spring would come early. I think the tradition is European and becomes Groundhogish once people moved to the Americas. Anyway... I think that's accurate, but if not, someone will correct me and you'll get to know the history behind Groundhog Day anyway.
I saw your mom at one of my concerts. Yay for her, but boo for your blog becoming popular enough to get advertisements.
Your thoughts on prayer were also very interesting. My parents really liked them, even though they don't really pray all that often. I think that dependance on God is much easier when things are out of our control anyway. How do people deal with the times of disappointment (ie when God does not do what they are asking of him)? Is there a sense of entitlement (that he should be doing it) or of self-deprecation, or is it just a, "sometimes God just doesn't do what you ask of him and that's an alright thing." Of course, there's probably a wide variety of responses, but I'm thinking quite generally.
Lastly, you should definitely share the comments that you feel are inappropriate for your blog.
Much love.
Scott.
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