Ellen in Paraguay

2007-12-13T19:46:00.001-02:00

Oops, I realized that I left off writing my blog rather undramatically. If anyone is still checking it, I had lots of things I wanted to write about my last week but now I've forgotten. I haven't even cried since I've been at home. I am just so happy for all my experiences, plus I know I will be going back one day, at least to visit. the transition back home has been wonderful...I feel like everyone is interested in what I have to share. I like teaching people about the little globally unimportant country of paraguay. This sunday I am going to do a presentation at church and make everyone empanadas, hopefully the first of many more to come in which I can continue sharing all the wonderful things that my time in Paraguay has given me. I probably won't write in this blog anymore. Thanks for reading.

2007-11-26T12:17:00.000-02:00

I don’t want to spend too long writing, because Peter and my new friend Kim are waiting for me outside by the pool. It’s a beautiful day in Villa Carlos Paz, in the argentine province of Cordoba. One week ago from today we were just arriving in Buenos Aries to meet up with Nate and Annette. For lunch we went to a place called Sabot, chosen purely because its name is only one letter off from our last name. As soon as we sat down, a man sidled up to us with a secret: "Usually this restaurant only serves little goat on Thursdays, but the people at the next table over ordered it. I advise that you take advantage of the chance to eat the best goat in all of Buenos Aries." It was very low-stress for me because he did all the ordering, and it turned out he was with the food and wine critic from the Buenos Aires Herald, and a man who produces fine wines in Mendoza, another province in Argentina. They shared champagne with us and the food and wine critic even gave us a free copy of his book on Argentine food and wines, which served us very well for the rest of the trip. My favourite page was the illustration of a cross section of an empanada.

Tuesday I didn’t have such luck with other people ordering for us, and I had to turn into tour guide. Remember how in May I wrote about wanting to become a storyteller? Well, my new dream is to become some kind of tour guide. I see it as a cross between a storyteller, a teacher and an entertainer, all things I like to do. We went to Recoleta cemetery where a whole bunch of rich and famous Argentines are buried, including Evita Peron, and we had a very dynamic tour guide who managed to make the cemetery a very interesting, not to mention educational, experience.

Wednesday we took the train to Mar del Plata. The train was less than half the price of a bus ticket, plus I was told later that tourists almost never take the train. The good thing is that the beach was not very crowded. The bad part was that it couldn’t even begin to compare to the beaches on the west coast of North America, and it was pretty cold while we were there.

The morning of American thanksgiving I woke up for a sunrise service (since I had never see the sunrise over the ocean, just watched it go down). It was very easy to me to be thankful, waking up in a comfortable bed, going down for a buffet breakfast and then going out to sit on the beach and read. It was a complete contrast to that evening, which we spent playing Connect Four in the mall until the security guard kicked us out, then walking in the rain and sleeping in the cold and somewhat uncomfortable train (but it cost less than $5 for a 6 hour train ride!). I chose as my Thanksgiving passage these words from Paul in Philippians: "I have learned to be content (and thankful) in whatever state I am. I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Right now I am definitely in abundance here at the house of Omar and Stella Gava, at the foot of the mountains, surrounded by kind and interesting people. Yesterday they asked me to share in church about my experiences of the last year, and I was able to do it in Spanish and didn’t even look at my notes once. Then we spent until the late afternoon at a place for missionaries in training and enjoyed sweet fellowship with a dynamic group, including a Cuban couple and some folks from Chile. They were in the middle of an intensive six-week English course, and were begging us to stay and keep speaking with them.

In summary, I feel that the last week has been very helpful as I get ready to say goodbye to my friends in Paraguay and then go back home. I am super-excited about different cultures, languages, and especially about missions.

2007-11-12T20:18:00.000-02:00

My sister and I are both here in the church sanctuary using our particular creative talents; as I write my blog, she is painting a mural of a Paraguayan river scene. On Saturday we took a tour of the countryside and now she is inspired to put into paint what I am writing down (but maybe I will post some pictures too). The topography of Paraguay is quite fascinating. AS I mentioned in an earlier blog, we are actually quite close to sea level, but every once in a while, a big hump juts out of the rolling flatness. One such hump is Cerro Lambaré where we got robbed a few weeks back, another is Cerro Yaguaron. There was a rainy torment the night before, but by the following afternoon the sky was a blue as it could be for us to climb the hill and see for miles. The only thing that put a damper on our hike was the teenager with his eyes on us and following as we took out cameras to take pictures on the deserted crest of the hill. Jason and Larissa and I may have been a little paranoid due to the previous events, but thankfully the most dangerous occurrence was when Karen saw a scorpion.
At the next place we stopped, I nicknamed Oscar the Paraguayan crocodile hunter owing to his superior knowledge of flora and fauna. I like how he differentiates between animals whose poison is fatal, and other that aren’t that aren’t really “poisonous” because they don’t kill you. The boys and I were wading around in the creek trying not to get our clothes too wet, but all our prior vigilance was forgotten when Gaby and I spotted a snake in the water and were only concerned with getting out as fast as possible. Oscar taught us how to tap the spiny stem of a certain plant to make the leaves steadily fold up on hinges and so we were occupied for the next few minutes seeking bushes to tap and filming video clips. I remember how during the winter time my siblings and I would pass the time waiting for the school bus by cracking the ice in puddles if the day wasn’t too cold for it to be frozen solid, and I imagined Oscar tapping all of the plants he could find while waiting out in his yard or walking along the way to school. In this same place by the creek we also found a bright orange fluid fungus called “Jew’s ear,” which I would say looked more like a cerebrum, I stepped into a booby trap under a decomposed log, and we did a photo shot with a frog.
As the sun was dropping, we visited Ypacarai lake just outside of the city. I remember reading about how often Spanish names don’t fit with the thing they are describing, but I have never met a worse example than the so called “blessed waters.” Well, the area called San Bernardino used to be a very exclusive expensive tourist resort, noted from the country clubs and fancy hotels. Then they found out that tons of sewage and other pollutants were seeping into the lake and no one has really done anything about it. Today there are still many vacation homes, but the hotels are closing up, and Gaby said it best when he called it a lake full of poop and oil.That night I was in my glory as we back and made a campfire at Oscar and Karen’s house, and I got to roast a whole bunch of hot dogs and marshmallows for everyone and we all shared our favourite parts of the day and heard funny stories about Brandon and Gaby when they were little. It was almost as fun the next day trying to describe a marshmallow to Emi so that she could understand. I am so glad I have some people I care about here to meet my friends and especially Oscar and Karen’s family so that when I go back and I miss them, my family will understand why.

2007-11-12T19:54:00.000-02:00

On night we ate dinner at Dario and Marelene’s house. We came at six o’clock but then sat around talking for a couple hours. Meanwhile the sky was turning greyer, the wind was picking up and I was sure at any minute waterdrops would be hitting my head. FINALLY she said “why don’t we go inside and eat before there’s a big storm?” Well, the weather held out for another hour while we ate, but we decided it would be good to go and catch the bus before it started to pour. We RAN to get on the bus back to Lambaré but a fifteen minute walk still awaited us from the bus stop to my house. I would have considered taking a taxi, but we decided just to run for it, and besides I only had another five mil, half the amount it would cost us to catch another bus that would bring us only a block away from home. This is what I love about Paraguay. At the moment we were passing the next bus stop (which is not really a bus stop at all, one can hail a bus from almost any position along the street. It is convenient to not have to walk to a bus stop, but fairly inefficient because the bus sometimes stops multiple times in just a short block) …the bus came along and I had the brilliant idea of asking if we could enter for half the price. I don’t know if I would normally be so brazen, but the thing was I had been throwing up earlier that night and all that running wasn’t making the situation any better. And of course the driver let us on, so that is why I am telling our victorious story. It started pouring during the bus ride, and we still ended up getting wet anyways, but it was an adventurous evening for us and hopefully make everyone appreciate their cars at home a little bit more.

2007-11-08T16:47:00.000-02:00

Wow, just two seconds ago I put the finishing touches on the grade sheets for report cards, and now I have really completed a whole year of teaching. I remember the days when I couldn’t ever imagine making it this far, the days when I said to myself “I’m staying until Easter break and then I’m leaving” or “I just have to make it to winter vacations.” It’s a good thing I have this joy of accomplishment to even out the dread of having to leave my friends here in less than a month. Thankfully there are many things going on to celebrate and use as an excuse to spend lots of time together. Last Friday was Larissa’s birthday as well as our friend David’s, and only two days earlier David’s brother Ricardo turned 31 on the 31^st. So we had a triple birthday party and I employed my neighbour lady to make us a HUGE cake with lots of whip cream and dulce de leche inside. It was extra fun because some of Ricardo’s family came from Formosa to be at his baptism on Sunday, his brother and cousin whom I came to know when we travelled there in July during winter break. On Saturday my sister and brother-in-law arrived and I got to spend a few hours just hanging out with Karen and Edson in the airport (Anytime I get to spend with Karen now seems so precious). Ben and Vivi made us a wonderful welcome lunch, make-your-own tacos. Emi is living with them for these two weeks so my whole family can be together in my cosy little house. Like I said, there was a baptism on Sunday, with four people baptised and two new people becoming members. I was very happy to see all these young energetic people wanting to commit themselves to serving God as part of the church. All the hugs and pictures after the service, as well as being able to spend all afternoon being with everyone, just drinking térere and playing volleyball, made me feel like I am really going to miss the community here.

On Monday we had our final “Monday Missionary meeting” in which everyone said nice things about me and made me feel that I can be happy with the work I’ve done here. Then Oscar took me and my guests to the downtown. We tried to do a little bit of tourist shopping and buy a birthday present for Gaby, but we couldn’t even find an American football and Lord of the Rings III apparently hasn’t come out yet in Paraguay. We went to a mall I had not yet been to, and there was a store that had clothes from Old Navy which were from about three years ago, but still cost the same original price in American dollars. Annette said now she knows why I haven’t sent back that many souvenirs; food is cheap here, but I have always though that buying things like clothes and cars must be almost crippling when the average income is taken into account. In the end we got Gaby a soccer ball and some other little things and then made him a treasure hunt for his birthday on Tuesday. That night we ate another HUGE cake that Karen made and slept outside in the tents.

I suppose I have convinced everyone to be a missionary now, sounds pretty fun huh? I am looking forward to dinner at Dario and Marlene’s house tonight, going to the country with Oscar and Karen on Saturday, and other invitations in the coming week. Everyone here is letting me know how much they will miss me and I know they are doing some special things because I’m leaving soon, but I have to say that all year long they have been so good to me. My hope is that I am overflowing with this love and I can carry some of it back home with me.

2007-10-29T20:48:00.000-02:00

Did you know…

Paraguay and Brazil share the largest hydro-electric plant in the world?

It is called Itaipu, which means “the singing rock” in the Guarani tongue. It was built in the 70’s during the Strossner dictatorship, flooding thousands of hectares of land and relocating many people from their homes, but also promising huge economic advantages. The dam has 20 turbines, of which only one is needed to provide 95% of Paraguay’s electricity. The output from the other nine is sold to Paraguay in order to pay their debt to the Brazilian government which funded the whole project, or eaten up by government officials or others at the top of the ladder with the right connections. In some ways Itaipu is a bit of a sore spot for many Paraguayans, or at least the ones who recognize that the whole country could be greatly profiting from the dam, but because of the corruption are instead paying outrageous monthly electricity bills.

Itaipu, one of the seven wonders of the modern world, was only one of the places we visited this past weekend on a field trip ninth and tenth grade classes. We also saw Yguasu “big water” waterfalls. There is a story that Woodrow Wilson (my brother thinks it was him, may have been a different president), upon seeing these falls, remarked “poor Niagara.” It is indeed quite a sight, even with the small amount of water, because of the quantity of falls arranged in a beautiful landscape and all the big rocks and lush tropical growth. I was even more impressed by Salto Monday (pronounced mon-dai-ew, with a really nasally accent on the “ew”, meaning “neighbourhood river”), which is an extremely powerful, fast-moving waterfall, I think it said it had the most output per second of any waterfall in South America. There used to be another waterfall even higher and more powerful than Monday, but it was flooded with the building of the dam.

Two of the nights we slept on the bus, but one night we stayed at a most beautiful campground…completely free! In addition to the kitchens and BBQ spits and cabins furnished with mattresses, there was even bike riding, horseback riding and wagon rides the next morning. What made me a little sad that it was one of six nature reservations built by the Itaipu corporation, which when one thinks about the amount of money that is running through their hands, the free camping is like giving away penny candies, an obvious attempt to win favour with the people that they have hoodwinked.

Another important place is the tres fronteras, where the borders of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay meet and each has built a large monument displaying the colours of its flag. The first day we visited the Brazilian side, well-kempt and complete with a gift shop, fancy restaurant, and special tourist photo spots. Across the river you could see the large luxurious hotels in Argentina. The second day we went to the Paraguayan landmark, and I was struck by the obvious difference in the sites, which were supposed to represent unity and friendship between the countries. The Paraguayan one didn’t even have a road leading up to it, just a path cut through the trees. I would have been nervous had I not been with such a large group, for it seemed such an abandoned place, the run-down structure with graffiti all over it. Furthermore, the stairs were falling apart and at one point would lead an unobservant visitor straight over the steep edge. But once we got down to the river, I realized that out of the three, I would choose the Paraguayan side any day. There were no touristy gimmicks to distract, and the lack of boundaries really allowed us to enjoy the beauty of the grand rivers. At the same time, it makes me sad that Paraguay really doesn’t get a lot of credit for its beauty, and the people are not benefiting from the resources with which the country has been blessed.

It was definitely a very interesting school trip…I learned a lot about political history, upcoming elections, contraband, average income, the cost of electricity, and the working hours of the ladies who sell chipa, and favourite Paraguayan snack. I only hope the students learned as much as I did.

2007-10-22T18:08:00.000-02:00

I am over at Karen and Oscar’s house, on a wonderful summer day, along with Peter and Larissa. We just finished eating lunch outside on the picnic table, and afterwards as we were cleaning up and Peter and Jason were at the table helping the boys with their homework, I remarked to Karen that her kitchen was so full of life (i.e. loud and busy).
Yesterday was also a beautiful day, and a group of young people from the church decided it would be fun to walk to a big hill called Cerro Lambaré and eat a picnic lunch at the top. As we were starting around the last bend, the three Paraguayan boys and my brother decided to be adventurous and make their way straight up through the bushes instead of by the road. One offered to carry my heavy backpack with all the pop in it, but I like practicing carrying heavy backpacks in case I go backpacking in the mountains someday, so I politely declined. A few minutes later as Emi, Larissa, Jason and I continued on, immersed in conversation, we were interrupted by a yelling guy, pointing a gun at us and demanding to hand over our cell phones. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a cell phone to satisfy him but I don’t think he believed us. The episode seemed to take a very long time, with me throwing my back pack on the ground and not knowing what else to do, but it probably took less that 3 minutes, finishing with a spiteful comment directed at Jason that ¨here in Paraguay we don’t like Yankees.¨ I ran the rest of the way to the top of the hill to tell the boys, and also found there a group of guys with motorbikes who took us on a search for the culprit, but we never found him. The police also came after awhile, but were completely ambivalent to the situation, probably knowing that this happens all the time and that the chance we would find the thief or get anything back was almost hopeless.
In the end we lost a pack back full of picnic items such as pop, cheese, sandwich meat, and ketchup, as well as Larissa’s little sister’s camera that she got for her birthday (sorry Lindsay, we’ll get you a new one), her driver’s license and credit card, and some money. Oh yes, and my house keys, so we had to saw off the lock on our house. I also lost what little trust I might have had in the Paraguayan police, and a little bit of dignity by being robbed by some little drunk kid with what was almost certainly not a real pistol, and who probably wouldn’t even be able to appreciate most of the things he stole that meant so much to us. Thankfully, I have not lost my desire to be in Paraguay, nor my freedom to be able to walk down the street without fear. There could be many regrets, things that could have been done to prevent the situation, but in the end we need to try to take the good out of the situation and learn from it, just like Auntie Annette told Larissa. I feel like yesterday was a time of bonding that we will never forget, and in the end we were able to talk about the good things we learned, and even laugh at it. Pastor Pedro came and helped us all afternoon to fill out a report at the police station, and bought us all empanadas. Haha, I forgot to write that Oscar and Karen were travelling that weekend, the first time that they had left the boys for whom I felt responsible, so that added just a little bit to the stressfulness of the situation. Anyways, I have been reminded of how important people and lives are in comparison to our possessions. I received a reminder that we need to be careful and stick together, but also that we have to trust that God is taking care of us no matter what. I was scared that Larissa’s mom was going to want her to go home or that my mom wouldn’t want us to travel anymore, but I guess our mothers are wise enough to know that no matter where one is, simply to live is to be taking a risk. Confidence in God and freedom in his promises of protection are better than fear, and living a full life is better than existing in a false security.

2007-10-16T23:24:00.000-02:00

“I’m so glad I know English.” “Rey said I look Paraguayan. Do you think that’s supposed to be a compliment or an insult.” “Man, I am so disappointed that our cake didn’t turn out.” “When is it going to start getting really hot?” I didn’t know where to start, so for the last minute I just wrote down some of Peter and Larissa’s conversation. My brother and cousin got here last Wednesday, and it still seems unreal to me. I have enjoyed all the visitors we have had over this year, but it is a special joy to share this experience with two of the people that are closest to me. Since they are staying with me until we all go home together in December, they will have had almost two months to become familiar with the Paraguayan lifestyle; I am thinking it will be nice to have other people me who understand what life is like here and with whom I can reminisce. They are both very serious about trying to pick up some Spanish while they are here and are coming along wonderfully…under my tutelage of course. It can be seen from Larissa’s first comment that studying Spanish has helped her appreciate some of the difficulties that a person might have in learning English. She is also having a great time with the communal way of life, sharing térere with all kinds of people, and she even suggested at lunch today that we all just eat our dessert out of the same bowl. Larissa already has been given a nickname by Oscar “La Risa” which means “the laugh” and it suits her well. I have spent much time in giggles for the last few days.

Peter probably looks even more Paraguayan after Saturday when he got a nice tan from spending two hours stranded in the middle of the Río Paraguay. We rented two boats for an hour for only $2, but they were probably worth about that much. Gaby had to spend most of the time bailing water with an old juice/worm container, while the rest of us battled with the oars that must have weighed about 20 lbs each. I felt bad because Karen prepared a beautiful outdoor lunch to which we arrived very late, very tired, very dirty, and very hungry!

Larissa tried to make an apple cake today and it didn’t turn out because our oven doesn’t work and she had to cook it in a heavy metal pot. Other than that, Peter and Larissa think all the food here is excellent, and are excited about pretty much everything we do. I like having them here, as well as Jason, just to hear the exclamations “Oh what a cool-looking house!” “what a yummy cookie!” “what a beautiful plant!” (usually it’s Jason saying that) or Larissa “what a nice street! It doesn’t have any garbage in it!” Everything is new and exciting again.

2007-10-02T20:56:00.000-02:00

I am two days short of having spent an entire year in Paraguay. I almost forgot to write that I attended the third wedding during my time here over the weekend. This time it was a young girl studying to be a lawyer and a guy from Argentina who hasn’t had a “real” job since I’ve known him, but I wouldn’t exactly say he is lazy or anything. (Perhaps being in Paraguay has changed my perception of laziness?) David plays guitar really well and I got to know him being in the music group at church, but I also traveled with them to his home during vacations in July and it was during that time we became pretty close friends.

The ceremony and reception were both at the church, and it was wonderfully decorated for that night, especially outside. Well, it wasn’t exactly the latest fashion, but the green looked nice with the trees and the weather was perfect. I received an invitation about a month ago with my name on it and everything, but I am pretty sure that it didn’t matter much if someone had one of those or not. The delicious chicken meal was prepared by the myriads of relatives that were staying at the bride’s parents’ house during the week. It was a little sad because there were so many people there that half of them missed the entire ceremony because of transportation difficulties. Three of David’s brothers couldn’t even come because they had to stay home and take care of the pigs and their little neighbourhood store. So when I feel sad because I can’t be with my family, I sometimes think about people here who even though they live relatively near to each other, they don’t get to see each other that much.

The bad part about having another wedding is that people are always asking and teasing me about getting married. Popular sayings are “you’re going to invite me to your wedding right?” and often they will add on to that “…and pay for the plane ticket?” I am sometimes hesistant to wear makeup or do my hair nice to go to school or church, because the girls will say I am trying to impress someone. The name for a bridal shower is goodbye to the single girl, and so one lady said that at my goodbye party we’ll also have to have a despedida de soltera, since they are so certain I will find a husband as soon as I get back. Many times when people are praying for young people or teenagers, they will confess the knowledge that God is preparing a special person for them and then pray for the future spouse. I think it would be really hard to choose to remain single here, even harder than it is in North America. Well, I know they are just doing it because they love me and for a little bit of fun, but like I said, I’ve just about made it a year here quite successfully, so I guess the joke’s on them!

2007-10-01T14:06:00.000-02:00

In first grade we just finished learning about different foods in English, and now we are taking on the word ¨favourite.¨ By way of introduction, the class asked Jason what his favourite food is, and he replied ¨taco salad.¨ Fortunately, I had already taught them the word ¨salad.¨ Unfortunately, ¨taco¨ is also a word in Spanish, and it means the heel of a shoe. So I’m pretty sure all the first graders think our new missionary likes to eat shoe salad.

2007-09-27T20:36:00.000-02:00

Today after work I was pretty tired, so on the way home I stopped to talk and drink térere with some neighbours. Actually they are not truly neighbours, but a chaufer and a security guard who work for a wealthy neighbour and are always just hanging around outside the house, and a lady who sells “the necessities” (eggs, yerba for drinking tereré, and cookies) from a little shack across the street. I think it is the highlight of their day when I stop and chat for awhile, not because I am incredibly special or anything, but they have the most boring jobs in the whole world. Sometimes the lady brings a little TV and watches soap operas, and the guys smoke and play lottery for their entertainment. Anyways, today was fun because I learned the nicknames they have for people who often pass by. I even have a nickname! In Guarani it is something like “walks fast” and in Spanish it is “roadrunner.” I think it suits me well.

Jason arrived yesterday. I am really happy to have another North American to hang out with, but in some ways it makes me sad because I know my time here is coming to an end soon. When I leave here, you will all have to start reading about his experiences in Paraguay from his blog (I’ll ask him for permission to put the address up later). He came with me to some classes today, and the whole time I couldn’t help but think that he must be wondering why he came here in the first place. The good thing is that he seems to have a really strong calling, and desires to be here because he knows this is where God has placed him. Now I just need to remember that I have that same call and need to finish strong, so as to live up to my nickname in a figurative sense.

2007-09-24T16:49:00.000-02:00

My sister said she thinks I am crazy for writing about how I was worried about adjusting back to North American culture, since I lived in it for 23 years, and it cannot even be compared to the shock I felt coming here. But honestly I think I have spent more time worrying about going home than I did about preparing to come here. Ben said it will probably only get worse as the time draws near and he gave me a book to read called “re-entry” to help missionaries make a better transition going back home, even if they have only been gone a year or so like I have. It is basically one big metaphor about space travel. I liked the story about Sergei Krikalev, a Soviet cosmonaut. Well, he left as a Soviet, and while he was in space the Soviet Union broke apart. He orbited the earth in the Mir space station for 10 months, double the planned length of his mission, because people had more important things to worry about than him. When a replacement finally came, he returned as a citizen of Russia, and the name of his hometown Leningrad had been changed to St. Petersburg. Plus his leg muscles had atrophied to the point of not being able to walk after so much time in a zero gravity environment. Granted, I have been living at a fairly low-altitude (80% of Paraguay is less than 300m above sea level), but I think my red blood cell count will be able to adjust fairly quickly to Alberta. I am more worried about things like leaving my very simple life style, and wondering if I will ever see my friends from here again. I remember when I went to Bible college in the middle of Saskatchewan, the most deserted place on earth as far as I’m concerned. I literally got sick at the sight of all the big shopping centers driving into to the city after being away for just four months. I have never gone hungry here by any means, but I can see myself being overwhelmed by food when I get back. Do you have any idea how special it seems to me to have ice cream in the freezer any time you want it? Or a microwave? Thankfully, I assume I will easily be able to adjust to not having to wake up at 5:30!

Anyways, enough of my complaints. The book on re-entry says that lots of times returning missionaries get depressed because they don’t get a big welcome back and they don’t have a strong support group like they had on their mission. Plus, where they were foreigners and special among the people they worked with, at home they are just like everyone else. The great thing is that I know I will have a great welcome home and lots of people who will be interested in hearing my experiences and looking at pictures, right? My church and my family and my friends always made me feel special even before I left. I am such a lucky girl. I decided that instead of worrying so much about leaving I am just going to enjoy my time here, and take advantage of the fact that people here want to make me feel special before I leave. Yesterday at Karen’s house we had a big “family” meal, I guess of which I am included, and it was so noisy that it felt just like Christmas, and we stayed all day long just being together. Then when we were walking to take the bus home, Rey and I passed by Pastor Pedro’s house, and were invited in for a second snack! I remember one of Ed’s sermons in which he talked about a book called “Bowling Alone” and how a major problem in North American society is that so many people spend so much time alone, even to the point of going out to eat or going bowling alone. It would be difficult to have this problem in Paraguay. When I come home everyone needs to make sure to invite me over a lot so I don’t get sad, or else I will just show up clapping at your gate like they do here.

P.S. My parents got a cat and they named it Michi. This is what they call cats in Paraguay, even though it’s not really a name, nor does it mean cat or anything, it is just a way of calling a cat. Just one small example or a change I can expect upon going back home. This is weird: Here, if you want to shoo away an animal, you make a kissing sound, which is how an animal would be beckoned in the States or Canada.

2007-09-20T19:49:00.000-02:00

A lot of people have made comments about how adventurous and daring I was to move to Paraguay without knowing the Spanish and only knowing Ben and trying to teach English, etc. etc. And I appreciate those comments. But I received some visitors this week that made my living situation seem ridiculously safe and comfortable.

My family moved to the country when I was 5, and Tennille lived just down the road and around the corner, but we preferred to travel through the woods between our houses. I spent the majority of summer during my elementary school years in our secret fort with a real linoleum floor and an upstairs, even though the upstairs was filled with mouse poop and the bottom flooded every spring, and the game ended in sixth grade when my brother and his annoying friend discovered it, although I suppose by that time we were already losing interest in playing house and preferred volleyball instead. So for the next six years, we played on every single sports team together and in the end spent a total of twelve years riding the bus together before we went our separate ways. Oh wait, she also drove me to school during one semester of university.

Anyways, Tennille has been traveling around South America since April with only a backpack full of clothes, her visa card, and a Lonely Planet Guidebook. It took me months to be able to ask directions from people in the street or feel confident ordering food, but she has been alone for the majority of five months doing just that after only one semester of beginner’s Spanish. Her older sister Tessa joined her a few weeks ago, and I still think it is a miracle that they were able to find me having only the names of two intersecting streets. Actually, I was walking back with my roommate from the grocery store on Sunday night and I just heard someone without an English accent yell my name from a taxi. They are already on their way to southern Argentina to go whale- watching, but we spent two really great days together. They oohed and awed over the Kraft Dinner and French toast meals I made for them, and even learned to like instant coffee! I let them sleep until 9:30 everyday, which I could see they really needed the rest after all that travelling. I taught them how to drink tereré, a few words in Guarani, and recounted some Paraguayan history. I talked the whole time about how great my church and all the people in it are, which is why I am able not just to survive here but be happy. I think the best part of their stay was the last night when we had dinner at Pastor Pedro and his wife Mary’s house. Tennille’s guidebook says that the real treasure in Paraguay is the people, and I think this proved true as we were able to sit down and share a meal with the family. I know I taught Tennille well, because as we were about to leave the girl mentioned that she liked the pin Tennille was wearing, and immediately she took it off and gave it to the little girl, who was ecstatic.

In Spanish, to say you have been to a place, you say that you “know” it. I wonder sometimes how much all of my visitors over the past two months were able to really experience, when I have spent almost a year here and I am still learning new things every day. I don’t know now if I would ever be able to go to a place for a week or even a month and feel like I “know” it. Remembering all those years at home with Tennille seems so far away (both in space and time) and I wonder how well I even know home anymore. I think when I go back it will be just as adventurous looking at North America through new eyes. I hope I can be a traveler and retain this sense of wonder for the rest of my life no matter where I am. Like the song says “this world is not my home, I’m just a passin’ through…”

2007-09-13T20:14:00.000-02:00

It’s hot here already, always above 25 Celsius even at 5 in the morning, which was to be expected. What surprises me is the unusual aridity. I can’t even remember the last time we had a good tropical rain. When we sang a song in church last Wednesday about God sending rain, or when I read Psalm 63 “God you are my God, I thirst for you, my body faints for you in a dry and thirsty land where there is not water” I am forced to think in especially literal terms. Oscar and Dan and I went to one of the biggest waterfalls in the world this past weekend, Iguazu “big water” in Guarani, and it was overwhelmingly disappointing (included is a picture of Dan and I showing our disenchantment). I imagine it would have been very impressive if I had not already seen pictures of other years when it rose over the level of the bridges. We also visited the church in Hernandarias close by, and the community water tank was completely dry. Thankfully the people I stayed with had a well. When I asked what they will do when their well runs out, they replied “we’ll wait.”

I am feeling a little dry right now too. I only have a month and a half of teaching left, but I am starting to get a little tired and I think my classes are getting boring (like my blogs, right?) I just got secure in my language skills and interaction with the culture, and now have to think about going back home and going through it all in reverse. But I suppose instead of worrying about it too much, I will borrow the attitude of my faith-full friend from Hernandarias and just “wait.” For inspiration, I have been reading a lot of Psalms (131 I have calmed and quieted myself like a weaned child with its mother” and 146 “the Lord protects foreigners”), and I am also reading Desiring God by John Piper for the second time, in Spanish. Finally, I am listening to a CD of songs and sermons from Western camp that Ben shared with me. It’s practically like I’m sitting there in the tabernacle or at the campfire watching the sunset.

This Friday is our school Olympics day, which I am really looking forward to, except that now they are forecasting rain. I really want to write something fascinating about Paraguay, and I hope all of you keep reading. By the way, the construction is fabulously along on its way. Until next week….

2007-09-03T14:01:00.000-02:00

I guess it’s a little late, but this week after being here for almost 11 months
exactly, I was reading a book about the stress of being a missionary in a different
culture.  Basically it confirmed to me that all the difficulties that I went through
at the beginning were just normal and to be expected.  Included were some tips to
reduce stress, and one of them was to not be afraid to retain some of the customs
from your native land and be a little eccentric, and now I am going to tell a story
about how I put that advice into practice.

The first Sunday night of every month we have a special tithe-giving service. I think it is intentionally modeled after the celebrations of tithe-giving in the Old Testament. The people set apart ten-percent of their yearly crop and then brought the goods to the place of worship and have a big party with it. See Deuteronomy 14. We sing happy songs of thanksgiving and listen to an inspiring message about the blessing of giving. We put it into practice by offering the tithes and then eating together because we recognize how much God has blessed us. We always eat basically the same food: empanadas, sanwiches, anything fried or starchy. A long time ago I wanted to bring a veggie tray but my roommate warned against it, saying that no one would eat it. But after being encouraged by the book to be a little different, yesterday I brought a big bowl of sliced raw carrots. It was terribly embarrassing to see that when all the food was set out, my bowl remained in the corner still covered up. And when the ladies went forward to serve the food, no one paid any attention to the yellow bowl. It took all my courage to go up and offer the people in the front row some carrots. Not until the fourth person did anyone take a handful. Unfortunately, it was Dan Munther, a fellow North American, which did not give me much hope. Some of the kids were asking “what is it?” (manna, haha). Another lady told Karen she thought I must have planned to cook them. My all-time favourite comment however, came from a pastor’s wife “I like my carrots with more salt…and meat.” But in the end the whole bowl was eaten, success! I am already planning for next month to bring a greater variety, and after that the cut them in fancy shapes, maybe add some dips or make vegetable shishkabobs. The possibilities are endless.

2007-09-03T13:56:00.000-02:00

Last week I visited a local public high school that has night classes for people that work during the day. They only have English class once a week, taught by a Paraguayan teacher who spelled John “Jonh.” I have been invited to come tomorrow and teach them a song in english, I am considering “He’s got the whole world in his hands.” A guy from our church teaches ethics him and though him a lot of the students have heard the gospel message and also become connected with our church. When they were convering the topic of addictions, our friend Adilson who spent 7 years going in and out of prison, shared his testimony with the class. Upon arriving he recognized a face and the two guys proceded to have a conversation in Guarani. Later when I asked who it was, Adilson replied “oh, I stabbed his brother and almost killed him.” It was amazing to witness the reconciliation that had taken place! We also invited the kids to come to our youth camp in the beginning of October. One thing I love about how in Paraguay people are so open to hearing testimonies and getting to know people, because the whole culture is based on relationships. Who knows, people may have eaten the carrots just to show that they liked me and didn’t want to offend me.

2007-08-27T19:40:00.000-02:00

Yesterday I was looking at some of the pictures and video clips that the Canadian girls took, and while watching a video clip traditional Paraguayan dancer with a bottle on her head, I suddenly remembered that I live in a very interesting foreign country. It was fun to play tourist a bit with the guests, to show off my newly-found translating abilities and try to find my way around town on a bus (I only got us lost one time). On the holiday we went to a fellow teacher’s house in the country and I learned how to cut and peal sugar cane. The most memorable part of that day for me was listening to her brother and cousin, who are professional musicians, serenade us in the church that was built by her family. It definitely was an experience inhabiting my somewhat small house with four other girls and their suitcases, but the Tim Horton’s coffee and the joy they brought me made up for any inconveniences there might have been. They also brought a whole bunch of very useful items for our library and English teaching department, which gets me excited to keep on teaching for the last 10 or so weeks left of school. I also just want to say that to anyone who thinks I talk a lot, I recognize that now as a gift from God, perhaps endowed upon me specifically to survive the last two weeks of my life. When we went to a meal at someone’s house, which we did for six days in a row, I had to do the talking for every person that was at the table, in addition to adding my own comments, which are numerous. But not today, I only have one more thing to say, which is that we are starting the construction for the new school building this week! It is a miracle that we actually met our goal of being able to start in August and I am so happy. It might be slow-going at first, but hopefully there will be at least two or three usable classrooms before the next school year starts in February. If you would like to contribute to the project, you can send money to the Apostolic Christian Foundation, 1135 Sholey Rd, Richmond, VA 23231, marked for the Paraguay School Building. I know I wrote this before, but someone asked for it again, and so I thought I may as well remind everyone. Then we´ll get it done even faster!

2007-08-17T19:42:00.001-02:00

Hi, I have no time to write my blog because I am too busy being with my North American visitors. This morning we were talking about the things they learned in Paraguay, and I hope they don’t mind if I write some of those things here in my own words. Kathy Sulja said she admired the unity of the church people here. J.C. learned that sometimes it’s important to give up some of your “rights” and just be humble. Although she has never considered teaching as a possible career before, Elysha has realized that it could be where God is leading her (maybe teaching in Paraguay!). The other tall Kathy talked about depending on God’s power and not her own plans (probably because things are so unpredictable here sometimes). Bianca noted the strong presence of God’s spirit at our prayer meeting on Wednesday night. I think out of everyone, Jason has been the most affected by his time in Paraguay. He has thought lot about the possibility of returning and he almost cried when my fourth-grade class in the morning sang a farewell song to him. I keep thanking God that I have such wonderful guests who never complain about anything…well, until a little bit today when it suddenly turned cold again. We are all huddled in my house drinking tea as I write this today. I became quite sentimental washing the lunch dishes today. My house was so full and loud and I had to use every dish and spoon that was in the house. I guess then I’ll say I’ve experienced what a blessing it is to have company, even in my house where I only have 7 forks and we have to share glasses and use Rubbermaid bins as chairs. I do have to say though, that I am really glad that tomorrow is Saturday and we’re going to lunch at Karen’s house! It is sad as well, because the boys will be leaving. Before they leave though, we are going to prepare a bilingual Bible trivia game for church tomorrow night…I’m going to go do that right now!

2007-08-10T21:15:00.000-02:00

“Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.”

Obviously that pun doesn’t work in Spanish, but it’s true that time really has flown by (osorry for not writing in my blog for so long). I can’t believe Jason and J.C., our two visitors from Virginia have already passed almost half of their stay here, and the four Canadian women are coming on Sunday. I have been having a good time dragging the boys around with me, to classes, to the top of Cerro Lambaré, to the place with the best empanadas, to the Hippie plaza and the place where all the Paraguayan political “heroes” are buried, and of course to my favourite stop, the supermarket. This week I made Jason dress up as a snowman with a real carrot nose, and I made J.C. teach the Barney clean-up song to the kindergarten class. I even made them do a bunch of my grading. In return for forcing them to walk long distances and embarrassing them in front of the students, I have shared a lot of my knowledge about Paraguayan culture and history. One day, just for the experience, I left Jason to drink tereré with some guys and fend on his own. I am really impressed with their language skills, and already thinking what a blessing it will be to have them help translate next week for the Canadians.

I was not disappointed at all in my expectation that they would be shocked at the pandemonic state of my classes. In spite of some frustrations experienced by J.C., during which a fourth grade girl came up to me and said “I think J.C. is getting a little angry” (haha, I can write whatever I want about him, he doesn’t read my blog), the classes this week were pretty fun and I feel like the kids have gotten a lot of exposure to the language. I love when we sing for them, even if it is just “happy birthday” or a Sharon, Lois and Bram song…sometimes my voice is weak from speaking so much, but with all of us together we fill the room and it is so happy. Jason is fairly convinced that his job as a computer programmer is meaningless in comparison and they are figuring out how much money he needs to save up to be able to come and live here. Overall, I think the boys’ greatest victory with the kids here has been goaltending for soccer and handball games.

I know I don’t have a lot of time left here, but if anyone reads this and gets inspired to visit, we’d love to have you! (Karen and Oscar too. I know I have wrote this a million times before, but I just think they are such a great, hospitable family). I admit that before I didn’t have the highest view of short term mission trips, after all, wouldn’t it be more effective to give $1500 instead of buying a plane ticket? But I have already been encouraged by my visitors, and I know that after spending less than a week here, Paraguay has already made its mark on them. I’m trying to do the best I can for all you who aren’t able to come for yourselves to experience Paraguay through my eyes.

2007-08-01T23:41:00.000-02:00

A man was well-known in his neighbourhood for his obsession with widlife. His house was full of paintings which he himself had created, as well as piles of books and magazines all on the topic of animals. He TV was constantly programmed to the nature channel.
One day this man decided to fix the sidewalk leading up to his house. He mixed the cement and carfeully filled between the boards he had laid. But when he returned an hour later to see how it was drying, he cuaght the neighbour's sog making paw prints in his fresh new sidewalk! He chased the dog away and then re-poured the concrete. He went inside, and came out later, only to find that the dog had stepped in the cement again. The man angrily fixed the marred cement and stomped inside. The next time he came out, the dog had of course messed up the work again. The man grabbed his shotgun and killed the dog in a fit of rage! The owner of the dog heard the shot and came out to see what had happened. He said, "I can't believe that you just killed my dog! I thought you were an animal lover!" "I do love animals!" replied the man, "It's just that I only like them in the abstract, not in the concrete!"
This was one of the funniest jokes I ever heard in a sermon, delivered by my cousin Ed. I honestly can't remember what the sermon was about, but this joke resonates in me. I think it might be because, like the man, I really do love looking at animals and learning about them, but I don't like having to touch them or take care of them, or put up with poop in the yard. Anyways, I got an email from my mom this week informing me that our family dog died. I cried a little bit for Toffee, after all, I had known this dog for almost half of my life, and she really was a fabulous pet. I can't imagine that we will ever find someone to replace her. If someone asked me "do you like dogs?" I would have to say that I loved Toffee and she was like a friend to me the times when I paid attention to her, such as while waiting for the school bus or going on walks, but I can't speak for all the rest of the dogs. I think it would be very hard to care about dogs in general if one lived in Paraguay. The stray dogs are especially pathetic, just moping around, looking for some trash to scrunge through, and they never bark at you or even turn their head. For that reason it is also a good place to get over your fear of dogs. people might think that from readint his that I have nothing exciting happening in my life to write about , bt it's not true. I actually have a lot, so much so that I feel stressed out, and so I write about dogs to be more relaxed. Last night the internet place I usually go to, two blocks away from my house got robbed just minutes before I passed by there with Rey and Emi. I admit I do feel a little less secure now, and i can see why some of the people are so paranoid if they hear stories like this happening all the time in their neighbourhood, people getting stabbed for their sneakers or cellphone. When Emi's cellphone got robbed last month, she didn't even bother reporting it to the police because apparently they can't/don't do anything. Yesterday morning a shipment of one million american dollars came into the asuncion ariport for some buisnessman here, and 5 men got away with it. It seems to me like the police really should have been able to aprehend the robbers, but I guess I am thinking very north americanish now. Just so everyone knows, it had to have been at least 23 degrees or so here today in the middle of winter. We had the fans going in the classroooms. Everyone is really hoping it will rain soon. I don't think it looks dry at all, but there is a saying in Guarani about how in August the cows always get really skinny for lack of rain.
The theme of this blog entry will be compassion. I don't have to love animals, but I want to feel compassion for them and help them live well. I feel very compassionate towards all the victims of the crimes that happen and there is no insurance and no one the provide justice. I also feel sorry for the poor paraguayan farmers and the skinny cows.

2007-07-24T13:23:00.000-02:00

Well, vacations are officially over and the weather turned a little cold again, but I am still enthusiastic, rejoicing over the wonderful two weeks I had, and looking forward to the return of Ocsar and Karen and Ben and Vivi. Plus we are expecting many north American visitors during the month of August, so I’m glad for all the Spanish practice I’ve had and anticipating translation practice. One compliment I learned here that I want to start using in English is sos percha “you’re a hanger” i.e. “you look good in anything.” I heard someone use that once on Ben.
I’ve made two interesting language discoveries lately: A common way of saying you’ve done something in vain is to do en balde literally“in bucket” and changing the preposition to “of” or “from bucket” de balde means “for nothing.” Thus, when I went to Argentina and we had to wash from a bucket, we were literally bathing in vain!
Second observation: the common word for wedding or marriage is “casamiento,” in which I only recently noticed the root casa “house” and so I guess it means something like a house-making? I joked that my friends Carolina and Alcildes didn’t really have a casamiento last month, because after getting married they moved into her bedroom in her dad’s house…they had a pieza-miento, a room-making!
My highlight of the weekend was playing Trivial Pursuit. I proudly announced that the game was invented by Canadians. This is obvious when playing the English version due to the over-proportionate amount of obscure Canadian political and historical facts, like who was Samuel D. Champlain or who was the eighth premier of Saskatchewan? Maybe Canadians won’t know the answer to the latter, but at least we know what a premier is and where Saskatchewan is located. My biggest challenges in the Paraguayan version were questions likes “how do you say dance in Guarani” (it’s jeroky) or chronologically who was the first Paraguayan poet? I had a lucky guess on which South American country produces the most salt (Chile, lots of coastline!) and I learned that Beethoven’s 9th, symphony, otherwise known as “Ode to Joy,” is the only coral symphony.
The picture is some of the friends I made at camp in Argentina.

2007-07-19T12:15:00.001-02:00

I meant to title the last entry “ask and it will be given to you.” I think this verse is just as well-known and oft-quoted in North America, but the people here probably have a lot better understanding of it and take it more seriously. I have to admit I don’t know if the “unconstrained generosity” is a phenomenon of the Paraguayan culture in general or just among the church people, but since they themselves give freely, they see this same character trait in God. It is obvious in the way they speak and pray that when they ask something of God, they expect to get it, no matter how outrageous the request may seem to me. They have no fear in asking, and have complete confidence that God will give the very best, because that is also what they would do.

2007-07-17T13:19:00.000-02:00

I just got back from church camp in Argentina. Oscar and Karen and their boys, Ben and Vivi were also attending camp, but in Washington with my friends and family, so I was glad to have something else to occupy my mind and keep me from being too nostalgic. I almost didn’t go for threat of the cold, but we were blessed with four sunny days, and I was blessed to share a small bed with Maria to keep me warm during four cold nights!I think I am in for a real shock when I go home, because even a trip to Argentina shows Paraguay in a pretty bad state of being. As soon as you cross the border, everything gets cleaner and nicer. The form of speaking is more melodic and smooth, and the people wear nicer clothes! One difference that I really appreciated was hearing four-part harmony at our camp meetings. Poor little Paraguay doesn't seem to have much of a chance in comparison. One night we watched the final of "Copa America" the classic game between Brazil and Argentina, and Marcelo, a Paraguayan, confessed to me that he hoped Brazil would win because he didn't know if he could stand the Argentineans' pride afterwards. They lost 3-0 so we didn't have to put up with any gloating and took a night walk downtown to the river where you could look across to Paraguay. It was very beautiful, but it was still in South America. The camp was at a school where everyone slept spread out on the floor in classrooms, there was only one cold shower and 5 out of 7 toilets didn't work in the women's bathroom. But I was a celebrity! I have to admit I am almost tired of speaking English, or at least the phrases "how are you?" and "good morning." I got three invitations to come to different parts of the country and teach English. I had no idea there were so many AC churches in Argentina. Also, greetings to the Pavkovs who know people in Argentina, and the Kovacs in Kitchener. When we were not at camp, I stayed at the house of David, who is engaged to my friend Maria from Lambaré. In his family there are nine boys and only one girl, and all the boys still live on the farm together, even the two married ones with families. David's mom confessed to me that she is worried for the six sons between the ages of 21 and 35 who aren't married yet. Perhaps partly for this reason, I was treated grandly and am invited back anytime! I would like to visit again, especially for the evangelistic campaign we are going to have in August there, but I know now that my heart is committed to Paraguay because of how I missed it. Even though the roads are bad and I don't care for the popular music and customer service is at an all time low, I have fallen into unreasonable and unexplainable love.I am afraid to write about this next topic for fear that my readers will not understand and be offended like I used to be, but this phrase keeps going through my mind since I heard it 3 days ago and if I don’t write about it I feel like I will burst: "If I have it, I give it." These words, even simpler in Spanish, were uttered by the wife of one of the married brothers in reference to an herb that someone was looking to add to her mate, but it could very well include material possession, all you have to do is ask. For example, this weekend a girl asked me for my jeans because she liked them, and when they didn't fit, she asked for a shirt, any one of my shirts so she could remember me. Another guy asked me for my sweatshirt because he liked it. He was the fourth person to ask me for this particular sweatshirt, but I haven't given it away, reasoning that I only have two sweatshirts and if it gets cold again, what will I do? But this mindset is not shared by the people here, and I am slowly beginning to understand. They don't think about caring for themselves in the future, they think about having good relationships right now. From now on, I am going to be complimented when someone likes my stuff or when they want something to remember me by. Often North American visitors will leave without their watch or their running shoes. Marcelo, who I am sure has a lot less stuff than I do, gave away a jacket and a toque this weekend, even though it might get cold again and he doesn't have a replacement. Maybe his plan is just to ask someone else for one! I think one reason why I am so affected is that I didn't exchange enough money, and instead of worrying about who would pay back who or exchanging with me for Guaranies, everyone just shared and the group took care of me. Don't worry, I am not taking advantage of them, in the end I gave people money, but the point is that no one asked or expected me to pay them back, they just gave. I think I used to be very discriminating in my giving, and taking into account the economic state of the person I was giving to or their ability to return the favour. I think here people just give and they enjoy it and they love the person they are giving to. I would love to experiment with this when I go back home and ask people for stuff and see what happens. I might need to too, since I am all pumped up now about giving away my stuff!

2007-07-12T11:43:00.001-02:00

All the events of my life for the past week or so are tied together by the common thread that I was freezing cold for the duration of all of them. There is no respite from the cold here except being in a store or riding in a car, things I do with little frequency. I think I used to have a somewhat romantic notion of the poor people here; when you see the women outside washing clothes in the sunshine and the kids playing soccer barefoot on the warm earth, they look free and happy. Yesterday when I saw the kids playing outside barefoot it just made me sink further into my layers of clothing. A lady at church told me that it has never been like this before, and usually winter consists of maybe two or three days of cold. Which is actually no consolation to me, since this is the only winter in Paraguay that I know. But it is obvious to me that this is not normal, or they would have started building houses and wearing clothes better suited to survive this cold. Today I am leaving for church camp in Formosa, Argentina, where it is NOT uncommon to have cold, rainy weather. I am really scared of spending 4 days just suffering from the cold and not being able to sleep or shower.
I remember returning home from college 4 years ago in April and just when we thought it might start to warm up, there would be another snowfall and cold spell. I was almost depressed after more than 6 months of white ground, and I had to take hope from God’s promise to know (better than the rainbow one as far as I’m concerned) that there would ALWAYS be a change in seasons: seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, so I didn’t have to worry that it would stay winter forever. The great thing about Paraguay is that hope is always in sight. As soon as a tree looses its leaves, there are immediately new green buds pushing through. Yesterday, which I think was the coldest day of the year, I was still able to sit outside with the strong morning sunshine warming my face. I will never be able to complain about weather again, hot or cold, humid or rainy. I will just have to be thankful for such things as indoor heating, thermo fleece, and air conditioning.

2007-07-02T18:20:00.000-02:00

Even though I haven’t written an entry for awhile, and no one knows what I’ve been up to for two weeks, I am just going to focus on yesterday. I went with Pastor Pedro and two of his kids to a sister church /outreach in Bañado, which means “bathed.” Contrary to the luxurious images this name may invoke, it is a dirty and uncomfortable part of town. The houses, sometimes just a collage of cardboard and metal, are meant to be impermanent due to the occasional flooding by a river which in this part of town resembles a garbage pit/sewage mixture. Even though that morning I was sufficiently cold to wear two sweaters and leave my winter jacket on during the service, I noticed that most people in attendance only had a sweater. One man was wearing only one flip flop, only one being necessary because the other leg just had a big round nub on the end of it in place of a foot. The service was on giving the best of ourselves and all we have to God, and I couldn’t help but be reminded of the poor widow who gave her last few cents as we went forward to give our offerings.
There were less than 30 people there for the sermon, but when it came time for me to teach the Sunday School class afterwards, I think there must have been near 70 or 80 kids. They tell me that just like the poor farmers on the banana island, here too every household has 5 or 6 kids. It is really easy to do children’s ministries in places like this, or I should say, it is easy to get lots of kids to show up if you have some sandwiches or a bag of candy. I told an embellished Paraguayan version of Jesus’ parable in Matthew 14 about a man who finds a treasure in a field, and in his joy goes out and sells everything he has to buy the field. In my adaptation, the man owned a hat, a coal cooking stove (which he sold for 15,000Gs, or $3), a bed, a cow, and a little house., and the treasure that he found had been buried by Francisco Lopez (see my blog entry from May). Of course, the greatest treasure we can seek cannot be put in a box and locked up; Jesus uses the hidden treasure as an illustration of the kingdom of heaven. When someone encounters this treasure, he or she will gladly give up whatever it takes to live a life of peace, love and service to others. That is why I try to be happy and not feel sorry for myself even when my family is all together on vacation at the beach.
The remainder of Sunday I celebrated Canada’s 140th birthday with the Elliots, my favourite Canadian family in Paraguay. The kids made pretend fireworks, we sang the national anthem, we quizzed each other on Canadian trivia and took advantage of the nice weather by going to the park with the kids. I knew that the Quebec Act was signed in 1774, but I didn’t know what purpose it served. Lane had me read an article on the Timbit as a national symbol. We watched the first episode of “Little House on the Prairie” although in hindsight I guess “Anne of Green Gables” would have been more fitting for the date. It was probably the most celebrating I have ever done for Canada Day, ironically in a country that barely recognizes Canada’s existence. The Elliots like being famous in my blog. Lane showed me some fascinating Paraguayan statistics. I forgot the sheet at their house but I will write the ones I remember and maybe Lane can correct me if he reads this. Percentages of Paraguayans that have:
a car 24%
a freezer 70%
a TV 74%
a cell phone 36%
internet in their house 1.4%
I guess I only have one of the above mentioned, and even then our refrigerator is about 2 steps away from the old appliance grave, but I do have a computer to write my blog!