Today was the equivalent of Teacher Appreciation Day, in which all the little folks prepared poems, dances, and skits for their teachers. We ventured down to the local elementary school for the festivities. Camille and Caroline participated in an interpretive dance, and some of the classes presented traditional Paraguayan dances compete with the fluffy skirts.
While the girls were preparing the food and the presentations, the boys just wanted to play soccer, of course. They are so ingenious here, most times able to make what they need from what they have. These boys dug holes in the ground, poured water in to soften the dirt, broke limbs and buried them in the holes, and filled in with rocks. The limbs they selected had branches at the tip to hold the top cross bar, and next thing you know, GOALPOSTS!
We were invited to hang around after the students left, to enjoy a time of ASADO (grilling out) with the teachers. Tonight in English class, one of the students presented me with a lovely stalk of flowers. Awww! Right before I gave their first quiz..... (Don't click)

Caroline had a couple friends drop by to play this weekend. Two little girls from down the road came to play dolls and giggle. In the course of conversation, Caroline mentioned that I'd begun teaching an English class the past week. The girls said they'd like to come but can't be out after dark (boys their same age and younger are out but the girls keep close to home most of the time). So Caroline proceeded to start her own English class for them.

She asked if she could have my last two notebooks and then went over the things I'd done in class (alphabet, colors, numbers, greetings) while her "students" wrote it all down. They said they'd come back one day this week for class #2. Caroline was quite excited and is already working on lesson plans. (Don't click below..)

I've been practicing riding the motorcycle up and down our dirt road (it's a few miles each way) for the past couple weeks. I have trouble keeping it from sliding out rom under me in the deep sandy parts, but for the most part, I do okay. I always get a thumbs up from the neighbors, and I think that's a good sign. If I were causing them to have to rustle in the cows or round up the chickens every time I passed, it'd probably be a different story. And the way I slide around in the sand, I always get a crowd of "watchers" when I crank up for a test drive.

Yesterday, I was feeling ready for the real road. Not quite ready for the real traffic, but the real road, yes. I put on my helmet (I'm vehement about helmet use) and asked our buddy Fredy if he'd drive in front of me, so I could watch what he did and not be totally alone should something happen. Fredy has a different type of motorcycle, but the general idea is the same.

He rode along at a pokey speed (he said I was scaring him at first, so he kept it light) and I just did what he did. If a car was coming, we veered to the edge of the road. Scary. When the big trucks passed us (ever so closely) we slowed down to allow plenty of room for them to get over. When cows or chickens or other farm animals wandered out into the road, we swerved and slowed a bit more. When children walking home from school pointed and waved at me (is it the helmet, or what?), I beeped the little horn. That got me LOTS of thumbs ups and smiles.

I rode about 20 miles in all, enjoying some spectacular views on a road that's not too busy. I don't quite feel like I can venture into town yet, even the small town closest to us, since there are SOOO many cars, trucks, buses, and other motorcycles. For now, though, I think I can handle going for milk and gas and such. Yippee!!!!

I feel a bit like I did when we were building our house. For almost 3 years, Ken and I handbuilt our home, from the ground up. We learned as we went--well, Ken learned and I handed him tools and kept the girls out of the way of heavy things. Each day, I prayed on the drive over to the worksite that God would protect us, and then I thanked Him on the way home. I can't tell you the times we had near misses, like the two separate ocassions when I shot Ken with the nail gun. Thankfully they were both skin-grazers and nothing serious (one grazed his jugular vein... he's been much nicer to me since!)

Well, here we are in a world of new things, like maniacal drivers and mean old soccer balls. I've told you how horribly most people drive here, like each person is the ONLY person on the road and owns both lanes. I know Ken is exhausted after a day of driving, because short trips to town wear me out. It's a matter of CONSTANTLY being aware of 360* of traffic, and that at any moment a motorcycle or massive mack truck or bus is going to cross in front of you or weave into your lane. When Ken went to get his Paraguayan driver's license this week, I learned part of the reason why. He just walked up, paid the fee, took his picture, and got the card. No written test, no driving exam, no checking to see if he had a license from somewhere else, no questions asked. You have the money = you get the license.

A few days ago my brave husband was on the soccer field and took a big fall. Falls are quite common out there, so I didn't even see this one happen. He landed on his elbow and shoulder, and his head hit the ground very hard. He lay there a little bit before he was able to stumble to the bed. By the time I got to him a few minutes later, he was still seeing stars and lines in his vision. Yeesh. He has recovered, it seems, except for the ugly bruise on his elbow and a lot of soreness, but I am reminded of how we need God's protection every day, and how blessed we are to have it.

Today a couple of my "students" in English class took our family and a couple friends for a long ride in their ox-carts. We got to watch them yoke the oxen (perfect time for the discussion about not being unequally yoked together...) and we climbed up in the tall buggy. It was a bumpy, rough ride, but something I've wanted to do since moving here. I did feel a bit like I was in a parade, since all the houses we passed gave us the "Why are all those foreigners piled into the ox-cart?" Typically you just see one or two people in a cart loaded down with limbs or the tiny coconuts.

In class tonight, we had all the students return (that's a good sign), plus 5 new ones! WOW! At the end of class, one of the most shy young men we've met asked if he could read something (he was one of the guys who took a Bible at our house the other night). To my surprise, he came in front of the class with his new Bible and read my favorite scripture, plus a few more he said seemed to go along with it. Way to become the teacher's pet! I was so proud of him that I thought I'd burst. After class, the new married couple told me they'd stayed up late last night reading the Creation story and continuing some in Genesis. One young lady asked if we could read the Bible a bit at the start of class, so next week, I'll be teaching them a "key verse" in English from what we read in Spanish. Except for the youth from the Children's Home, these students are all unchurched. Thank God for opening this door, and thank you for your prayers!

This Monday night was our first English class. I've been informally teaching a little to the younger kids and hope to do more with them in the future, but this class was for the 10-and-up crowd. We'd been expecting several students from the Children's Home and hoped for one or two from the community, but we actually had TWELVE students! The English speakers helped me by answering my questions, "How are you?" and "What is your name?" several times before I called on class members. All seemed to have a good time, participated, and even took notes. Good thing we brought notebooks and pencils!

When the class was over, we invited them to come by our house for a movie. They cackled and howled watching the antics of Jackie Chan in Around the World in 80 Days. The next night, several of them returned to hang out some more. We played UNO and had light conversation (over a pot of chili--thanks, Ken!), at which time I learned that the newly married couple didn't have a Bible. It came up so casually that I knew it was a God-thing. The wife noticed the boxes of the Bibles we just bought, and I explained what they were. She couldn't believe the box was full of Bibles. I asked if they had one in their home, and she said no. "I bought these to give away. Let's get you one, if you want." She was excited (not half as excited as I was at this point) and started reading it immediately.

Well, then the others were asking what she had and wanted to look at it, so I said, "If you don't have a Bible, we have enough to go around." Each took one, sat down, and started thumbing through and reading right away. The youngest (15) asked for one and Antonio (see previous post about our young neighbor Antonio) told him he shouldn't take it if he didn't plan to read it. So Ariel said he'd read it every night. Needless to say, I was practically throwing one his direction after that comment.

So while they're thumbing through, we mentioned how an easy way to start reading is by going through Proverbs according to the day of the month (ex: Today is April 22, read Proverbs 22, and so on.) We also talked about the 4 Gospels being the story of Jesus' life, and shared favorite scriptures from the Psalms. I can't tell you how exciting it was to see them reading those Bibles in our living room. Please pray with us that this living Word will take root in their hearts and grow into a hunger for relationship with the Saviour. Gotta love this job!

We ran into a little "jacket" problem a couple weeks ago. It's a good problem, to be honest. We'd been having a windstorm that brought in really cool temperatures, when several of the neighborhood boys took shelter on our porch. The winds picked up to what must have been hurricane speed (see below) so the kids ended up there for a while, bouncing a ball and goofing off. We were LOVING the cooler air, but these boys were freezing. One in particular was in shorts and a t-shirt, covered in chills. Caroline dug out her winter coat and he gladly put it on. When the time came to go home, he tried to give it back but Caroline asked if he had his own coat. He said no, so she insisted he take that one with him.
In one of my "Bad Mommy" moments, I missed the opportunity to tell her that what she did was kind and good. Instead, I pointed out that it would have been better to get her own coat back (since it had a pink stripe and was lined in pink fleece) and buy him his own coat next time we were in town. Really Bad Mommy. Her face dropped and she said, "I'm sorry. I just wanted to do the right thing." Ugh. After making that right with her, she told me she just wanted to try to make her next coat anyway.

Well, we'd been recently watching the Narnia movies, where the royal children are adorned in the most majestic cloaks and capes. Camille was inspired to make a cloak-type jacket, so we bought some fleece next time we went to the capital (it's called "polar" here) and set about with some free patterns I found online. The result is below.

While the girls were sewing these (with a little help from me), they mentioned that it would be fun to make things for our neighbors, like gloves, scarves, or hats, from fleece. The little light bulb went on over my head as I remembered the Dorcas Club. Any of you old school church folks remember the Dorcas Club? When I was small, the ladies of the church came together weekly (or monthly?) to make craft projects which they sold at fairs and bazaars, and gave the money to missions. I've said many times as an adult woman (whoa--am I an adult woman now?) that I'm sad Dorcas Club is non-functional these days. What a great opportunity it must have been for the ladies to learn from each other, young and old in all stages of life, working for a common goal.

So we've decided that when the teen girls' Bible study starts, we'll be incorporating some fleece projects for the neighborhood children. Not only will it be easier to talk when your fingers are working, but the young ladies will get to contribute to making the little folks warmer this winter. And I get to be a part of the Dorcas Club!

Today I'm typing with a JACKET ON!! YAY! We had heavy rains this morning, and it's been in the 70's-80's the rest of the day. It's cooled back down to around 70 right now and I couldn't be happier about that. I look forward to sleeping with blankets on tonight, rather than kicking them off in my sleep. Haha!

This past weekend, we had service outside because the camp was rented. Sunday morning attendance has been great lately, and this week was no exception. We kept pulling out more chairs and benches as people gathered under the shade tree. Even though it may not be what I'm accustomed to in a Sunday morning service, I sure love worship outdoors.

After service, many hung around to visit and sip terere. I gave several haircuts (word travels fast), the men started a game of soccer, and we women sat in the shade of our porch to chat. I found out in the conversation that one of the young women didn't have a Bible, so we were able to give away our first Bible from the two cases we just got. I'm so thankful that God worked it out for us to have sufficient funds this month to buy them, and that we found someone close who sells them in bulk. What a great feeling to give her that Bible. Thank you for making that possible, Partners!

Several projects are in the works right now. We are beginning free English classes this upcoming week and can't wait to see how God will use those to open doors in the community and help the young people here learn a new language. The teens and young adults are now meeting every Saturday for "youth night" and they're excited about the opportunity to invite their friends to something "just for them." The picture below was of this past weekend, when all watched the Narnia movie, ate popcorn, and drank kool-aid (I've got them all hooked on kool-aid now, which they call JUICE!) I still love that scene in the movie when Aslan comes back to life, and the symbolism was even more obvious when watching it the night before Easter.

Some pen pals have already begun writing back and forth as a result of Project: Puente, and Camille and Caroline have been collecting some more school supplies to deliver. We're still looking into Bibles and blankets for the children living in this neighborhood, and those who are participating in the Friday Bible classes at the public school.

Very soon we'll be starting a weekly young ladies' Bible study, focusing on purity and Godly relationships. The study uses the story of Esther to encourage seeking God's will and following it with a pure heart. The plan of the enemy to destroy the innocence of youth here is obvious, and we're excited to be sharing the Truth about these topics with those girls who'll be attending.

Each of these areas could really use prayer support, so thank you in advance for speaking to our Father about these upcoming efforts.

It's been a while since I've actually posted, but I'm in reality typing up yesterday's, today's, and a few following days right now. Aren't scheduled blogs the greatest invention?! We had a computer crash several days ago, and are quite handicapped on our ability to get online right now, so I am posting ahead a bit until we're back in business. ;)

We had a great Easter weekend, complete with several dozen dyed eggs, an Easter testimony service, dinner-on-the-ground, and a stomach virus. The kids here were so confused by us trying to turn the brown eggs different colors and were most concerned that we were making them inedible. The first thing they all said after finding them Sunday afternoon was, "Can we eat them now?" They have their priorities in line!!! I asked before we sent them out to hunt the eggs if they knew what the eggs symbolized. It was great to see the light come on and hear the "OOOOH!"'s after getting the explanation of new life and the Resurrection.

Camille and I passed the virus back and forth throughout the weekend, although she had the worst of it by far. My poor baby. She was so excited about Easter Sunday morning service, knowing different people would be sharing what Easter means to them, but she was just too weak from a night of vomiting to go. I figure the house-mom next door was happy I kept her home. Nothing like passing a bug around a family of 20!

Click below for pictures of the fun (minus the virus)!

Caroline and Laura are preparing the Easter cake...


The finished product (No laughing--I don't have a decorating kit and made an icing pen from a plastic bag. The kids ate it so fast they had no idea what it looked like anyway!!)

Yep, these are the Easter eggs. These are mostly various shades of blue, because it was the only color that seemed to work.

We attended our first Paraguayan vigilia (vee HEE lee uh) a couple weeks ago, at the home-church of a community about 25 kilometers from us. A vigilia is an all-night service, but we didn't quite make it that long. (We'd brought along a carload of teenagers and couldn't rightfully keep them out all night.)

The whole day had been dark and windy, with intermittent storms. We'd been without electricity since early morning, as had the location of the vigilia. We all wrapped up in hoodies and jackets (what a GREAT feeling, for a change!) and packed a few flashlights for the service. When we got there, we were surprised that more people than had been anticipated were there despite the conditions. In case you don't know, the hint of rain in Paraguay is enough to keep most people indoors all day. The fact that it already had and was threatening to continue seemed like a 100% chance of cancellation, but God's people showed up ready to worship.

After several songs, a few speakers took turns sharing short devotional sermonettes with the crowd, who was packed in a room with no walls (roof and floor only) and a candle placed in a corner rafter. The single candle flickered on and off as the breeze decided whether it was going to settle in and stay or just pass through. Finally, lightening and thunder led to rain--the service continued. Most of it was in Guarani, but we understood the Spirit of worship and praise in the music, the Spirit of adoration apparent in the testimonies and devotionals. What a special night with our brothers and sisters!

(SIDENOTE: This is the same local church that has been meeting in some of the members' front yard, but they are planning to start building their sanctuary next month, should the weather cooperate. This will be the culmination of years of fundraising for this congregation.)

Can I share where we are personally now? We knew what the third world looked like before we came here. We knew that "poor" means something different here than it does at home. We knew that Christian phrases weren't prevalent in everyday vocabulary, and that not everyone knows who Jesus is. We knew that we wanted to share God's love with the people living here. We came with a goal and have worked toward that goal. Along the way, however, we've become more and more aware of the immensity of things we expected to see, and of things we didn't.

We're at one of those places right now where the needs we see are so great, and it's hard to discern where to focus. We obviously still see the mission school as our primary goal for being on the mission field, but real-world opportunities to reach out to people present themselves here quite often. We are trying hard to listen to God's voice so that we don't overload ourselves with shotgun efforts to meet ALL the needs, and render ourselves ineffective at meeting any needs well.

For example, this past week, we've been approached by two different young ladies on two different days, about their education goals. Both have excellent grades and want to continue studying in college, to come back and work in their communities in the field of public health. One is on a full-scholarship but needs a bit more money to be able to live near the school, where she is studying to be a doctor. Her family has been working as hard as they can to afford a shared apartment rental, to the point that she can't afford to buy food while she's there at school during the week. Her mother tries to send enough food back with her when she leaves on Mondays to last her until she makes the bus trip back home. The other young lady is living at home and studying to be a nurse, but her college fees are too expensive to continue. It's hard to see these needs, to know what a benefit the health-care workers would be in this community, to understand what a difference having such a job would make for the futures of these two ladies.

This is just one thing, not to mention the public education system, the sexual promiscuity, the alcoholism, and the list goes on. Our sense of right and wrong gets overwhelmed and we want to DO SOMETHING to fix all these problems. Ken is a great one for keeping me from jumping the gun, but he, too, feels the same pressure to try to make a difference in each of these areas and so many more. It's especially hard when someone comes to you asking for help, I've found. I don't like to say no.

For me, this is also a big issue because I've always struggled with filling my plate too full. Just being a housewife/homeschooling mom here takes a good bit more effort than it did at home, so I'm trying to monitor myself to prevent overkill. We really need clear direction from God on a daily basis to be sure we are focused where HE wants us focused, and not going off on our own sideroads or soapboxes. I am reminded of what Isaiah had to say about hearing from God in chapter 30, verse 21. As you pray for us this week (I hope you do), please pray that this scripture will be strong in our lives right now. We don't want to do anything out of the perfect will of God, and we want to follow Him closely each day, clearly hearing His guiding voice.

"And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, This is the way, walk you in it, when you turn to the right hand, and when you turn to the left."(AKJV)

We experienced a miracle in our family recently. Well, no one's deafened ears were opened or dead body was raised up or anything, but it was a miracle all the same, which we are still thanking God for. We were on our way to a church service in another town, and our SUV was loaded down with youth and both our girls. It was a bit crowded, so I wasn't very surprised when Camille rolled the window down for some air, although it had been storming all day and was a bit cool outside.

She then told me she in a very calm tone that she thought she might have lost her glasses. "What do you mean, LOST? Like you left them home, you dropped them on the floorboard, you can't remember where you last saw them?" She takes the long way around telling me that she stuck her head out the window and they flew off. AAAAA!

We made a fairly immediate U-turn, went back several kilometers (she couldn't remember exactly where this actually happened), and started driving very slowly in the motorcycle/emergency lane. Mind you, a large bus had already been riding in that same emergency lane, but we pulled in behind it and crept along with our eyes peeled. Did I mention it was very dark already?

We hadn't gone a kilometer yet when I saw a sparkle in the distance that could have been glass. The likelihood was that they'd be in the grass, meaning we'd never find them, but we held out hope and sped to the glimmering object. Sure enough, it was her glasses in the middle of the emergency lane. The were sitting there facing us, just like she'd taken them off and gently laid them down. I ran out, grabbed them up, and started fingering where there should have been glass, to see if the lenses were out or just shattered. They were both intact, without a scratch. The only damage was a little scratch in the purple paint on the underside of the lens area, which sits on Camille's cheekbones. You can't even see it when she has them on. Thank you, Lord.

PS--Caroline said right off, "Well, Mom, I WAS back here PRAYING!" and Camille has decided to keep her head inside the moving vehicle at all times.

I love Semana Santa! That's the official name of the week before Easter, aka Spring Break if you're from North America. Except here, no one's packing up their bathing suits or lying in the sun or having wild parties in the wee hours. They're spending time with family, making chipa (CHEEP-uh), and preparing to celebrate our Lord's death and resurrection. I like the feeling the week has here.

School is only closed Wednesday-Friday, but Tuesday was a pretty laid-back day where class time was interspersed with making chipa. Chipa looks like a doughnut but tastes like a smoky rock--unless you eat it fresh out of the outdoor brick oven, called a tatakua. They are the most popular food in Paraguay, in my opinion, and it's very common to see women with large baskets full of chipa balanced on their heads, selling them for about 25 cents each. (Incidentally, those ladies are called chiperas.)

The chipa is the food of choice because it doesn't have yeast, so it's the Paraguayan version of unleavened bread (Passover bread). It's baking in all the ovens around our house as I type this, and my neighbors tell me that tomorrow, the families will pretty much only eat that. Freddy has gone to his parents' house so that he can spend the day tomorrow "in meditation about my life." Well, maybe that means I should be on the hammock all day tommorow, in meditation as well. Yep, I'm going to adore Good Friday this year!

Yesterday, one of our neighbors, Antonio (a haircut victim) came by to show us his cerro (hill). It's part of the land his father owns, and he wanted us to see the views. He had asked during his haircut if we wanted to explore the hill, and when we said yes, he said he and another friend would be here in the morning at 7. After talking him into putting it off till 8, we were ready to go (I'm adventurous, but let's not get crazy here!) I quickly learned why he wanted to go at 7 AM. The sun was baking us in no time.

We drove the truck as far as we could (Thank God for 4x4) and then got out to walk. What magnificent views! We climbed high rocks and trapsed through what looked like jungle. He said they have monkeys, but we were making so much noise clammering through there, I think we scared away any wildlife for miles around. Somewhere in the climbing, Antonio's flip-flops broke. Don't ask me how he hiked another half-hour barefoot, but he didn't seem nearly as upset about the splinters and thorns as I did. The picture below is Ken standing on the edge of the first rock we climbed, which had a terrific overlook.
This is Antonio half-way up a rock. Some of these looked impossible to climb, but he and Ariel made it up every one we came to. We passed on a few, much to the protests of the girls.
In the course of conversation (you know I can't do ANYTHING without lots of conversation, including hiking that made me huff and puff with the exertion), I asked how old Antonio was. He laughed and said he turned 20 today. WHOA! I guess he never would have mentioned it was his birthday had we not stumbled onto that. So as soon as we got home, Ken hurried into town to get me some supplies for baking a cake, and for another pair of flip-flops as a gift.

After the evening soccer game, I had a line of guys wanting haircuts, and a few who wanted me to put decorative lines in the shape of lightening on the side of their heads, like guys did in the 80's. Okay, this barbershop thing is getting more complicated! So Ken pulled out the birthday cake while I was clipping away, and we all had a mini-party. (SIDENOTE: It was my first time EVER venturing into woman world by cooking a cake from scratch. I felt so domestic!)

I was sitting beside a few of the neighborhood kids a couple days ago when I noticed their hair was getting a bit long over the ears. I asked kinda jokingly if they wanted me to cut their hair. To my surprise, they gave me emphatic head-nods of "Yes." A line quickly formed, and over the next two evenings, I managed to buzz-cut (or some variation thereof) 8 of the children and young men! I thought they were just standing around to watch, but everytime someone got up from the chair, another one hopped in!

After the first night, I was in town and had an older woman run up to me, giving me a couple kisses to the cheeks. "I'm the grandmother of the two boys who are always at your house. You cut their hair last night, and their older brother was too scared to get his done. Tonight, I told him he has to get his cut just as short, too." This older brother was about 16 and didn't really want the buzz cut I'd given his little brothers, but grandma said so, and he sure wasn't going to disobey her.

I gave them all fair warning that I'm no professional (how professional do you have to be to run a set of clippers, anyway?) and that it was hard to see clearly from the porch light at night, but no one seemed to mind. I explained that when we women go to the hair salon, we chat a lot. So then I started asking each of them silly questions to give the "hair salon" feel. They responded with laughs and a few silly answers of their own. It was a good time of goofy fun, laughing about my mishaps and the onlookers encouraging the chair guy to "shave it all off" or "get a mohawk" each time. I egged them on by cutting all the top part first, or cutting only one side and making a sling bang before finishing, or whatever funny thing they thought up for me to do to the poor chair guy. Everyone took it in good humor. This morning, two of them came by the house and spent the morning with us. YAY! The Lord works in mysterious ways. I love this life. (Don't click.)

This past Friday, we had the privilege of participating in Bible classes for the local elementary school. What a great opportunity the school is opening up, with pretty much carte blanche as far as teaching. Since this is Holy Week (Semana Santa), the children were asked to draw a picture of what the week represented. Most drew a picture of chipa and a few drew Jesus on the cross.

I asked Saul why chipa is the food of the week, and he explained that when the Catholics first came to this area, they were trying to implement Lent and the observations surrounding Easter. The closest thing here to unleavened bread is chipa, which Paraguayans consume in massive quantities anyway. So they say the last few days of this week, every house will be full of chipa. If the number of people in the grocery store today was any indication, that's pretty accurate.

Back to the Bible study... there are 80 children at this particular school, and seven other schools with open doors to the class in this area. After asking the children to raise their hands if there was a Bible in their homes, we found that basically NONE had a Bible, except those living in the Children's Home nextdoor. So we are now looking for a simple child's Bible with pictures, in storybook format, written in Spanish. Do any of you have any connections/resources here, or ideas of a good one that could maybe be bought from the United States? It's exciting to think that we could use these Bibles in the classes and then let the children take them home and share what they've learned within their homes. Please pray for this to be a successful learning experience for these precious little people and their families, and that the Living Word will take root in their hearts.

Some of the girls nextdoor in the Children's Home have used their Paraguayan ingenuity to work around "the law," but we're reaping the benefits, to be sure! To understand, I'll have to give you a little background to our situation. The younger children were in the habit of sticking their faces against our screen doors or window screens and calling out/singing to us or just "staring" for long periods of time, and the house parents set up a family rule to nip this habit. Granted, we just adore having them pop in and out and coming over for chats or hugs or cookies or drawing time, but we understand what the house parents are trying to teach the children. And it helps us get some school work done without an audience at times.

Now, out of respect for our privacy, they only come in after having been invited, and then only if they have express permission from the house parents. Well, the younger ones still come in and out, and hang out at the screens, but we don't say anything about that because there's no harm done. Admittedly, we ARE a curious bunch to look at. We've gotten used to it enough to no longer feel like we're animals on display at the zoo. It's actually kinda cute to see them plastered to the screen (sometimes licking it--I know, that's gross) or watch them trying to hide from us and still peek in to see what we're doing.

The older kids are extremely diligent about the "family rule," though, and they NEVER enter without their house parents' permission. They are clever, however, and often think up excuses to come over, like volunteering to do housework or needing a splinter removed, or wanting some help on a school assignment. The other day, Camille and the two oldest girls (15 and 13) worked out a plan for some playtime inside under the guise of housework. They asked if they could experiment in the kitchen. Are you serious?! Absolutely!!! Girls of even very young ages here are pros in the kitchen, so we're not talking about making play doh or throwing together a mud pie here. I knew when they said "experiment," it meant we'd have a wonderful meal that night, Paraguayan-style. I also knew it was a chance for Camille to be with her pals and learn some local "tricks of the trade," and for us to get to chat with them about life in general.

The wonderful thing about when REAL Paraguayans cook is that they can look at a basically empty pantry and come out with a feast. These girls are no exception. I was already lamenting what I'd be pulling together to make a meal, and feeling like I needed to make a grocery run. They see a few basic staples, though, and know just what to do.

Of course, before long, the other children noticed these two girls were missing. They kept coming to the door to remind them (as kids do) that they're not supposed to be inside without permission. But those two plus Camille just giggled and mixed and chattered and danced and baked and whispered and cooked for quite a while. And we all enjoyed a wonderful homemade pizza and chipa guazu.

Catching on to this, I had a "volunteer" to braid my hair around dinner time the next night. I'd been asking for corn-rows for a while anyway, so I accepted, thinking the timing was a little suspect. It wasn't long before she was joined by a second girl (these two are the next down in age from the first chefs) and they offered to cook dinner for us since I'd been having my hair done and "probably wouldn't have time to get a meal together." What's a girl to do? WHY, OF COURSE YOU CAN! So these two giggled and shared and sauteed and sang and stirred and diced and talked for quite a while. And we all enjoyed steak and rice and salsa.

And I was just saying that Ken gets the lucky break because his greatest outreach tools have been soccer and fishing. I guess I can't complain either, about getting to spend time with these young girls AND having a good meal to boot, can I? I can't wait to see who catches on to this dinner ploy and drops by tomorrow around that time!

Our local church back home in Greenville, SC has a Hispanic congregation as well. Being a part of their goings-on, becoming friends with their people, and generally hanging out with them were all big stepping stones in finding our call into cross-cultural missions abroad. We ministered with them and to them when possible, and before we left, they certainly ministered to us.

Pastor Cediel, a wonderful, Godly, family-oriented man from Colombia, invited us to be a part of their Wednesday night service just before we left the country. We had no idea we were actually the guests of honor, as was evidenced by our lack of getting "all dressed up" for the occasion. (How embarrassing!) I posted a blog previously about that special night--Click here to read it).

What really happened a few years back is that the Cediel family moved to South Carolina to begin a ministry to the influx of immigrants in our area. I knew how this was needed and was already feeling a pull toward the Latino culture, so I was more than excited to meet and befriend them. Not having a "day job" and knowing a little Spanish meant I was able to spend time with them during the week, when other people were occupied. I had the privilege of accompanying them to schools, appointments, government offices, and even taught la Senora Cediel (aka Martha) how to drive (okay, we had to go to the DMV several times before finally passing ALL the sections of the test, but she didn't know I wasn't the best person to be giving her driving lessons, and I didn't tell). It was such a joy for our family to spend time with them and other families from their congregation. We learned a ton and were thrilled to be included in their special occasions and activities.

So back to the service... we were called up front and anointed, and I remember the fervency of the prayers. I've thought about that service and the prayers they offered us many times recently, as I glance over at the Bible they gave us, or the Paraguayan flag, or the wall hanging of Psalm 91 in Spanish. I remember the looks on their faces when they advised me that God would be there even if we couldn't always feel Him, or that He would stick close to us so not to give in to fear. Little did I REALLY UNDERSTAND then that those words came because they'd been through what we were on the edge of facing, and that they spoke with the voice of experience. How I really value those prayers and their advice now that we've joined the "been there, done that" club!

I want to show you this bag I made for my friend, Zulma. It was her birthday. I thought the girls needed something to keep their pencils and hair barrettes in, so I've started to make a purse for each girl when her birthday comes.

I found the fabric at a local store, cut it out, sewed it, and designed the button patterns. After sewing those on, I decided to add ribbon so the top didn't look so frazzled. Next came the ribbon handle, and ta da! All done, and I did it all myself with a little help from Mommy. I still need help sometimes tying knots in the thread. Do you like it?



(no need to click...)

Several South American friends tried to explain to us what a phenomenon soccer is on this continent, but it's one of those things that just has to be experienced. We are in full swing of soccer season now, it seems, with big games being played every few days on regular tv stations, between the national teams of various South American countries. Paraguay has played two games that I'm aware of--I'm new to this--and we quickly learned that the world shuts down when they're playing. Grocery stores and restaurants fill up with people watching the game, and it can get quite rowdy, I hear!
Today we hoisted our giant Paraguayan flag up to wave on the front porch, demonstrating our support. It was a crowd-pleaser here in the neighborhood, and we had several guys hanging around our porch just before time for the game to start (hint, hint). We were hoping for this, se earlier in the day Ken picked up cola and popcorn in anticipation of possible guests. At one point, 12 people were crammed in our living/dining room. YAY! They came IN THE HOUSE!! Two stuck around for dinner. They had to be coaxed, but this is quite a breakthrough.

PARAGUAYAN SOCCER: Things I've learned but don't necessarily fully understand yet (comments of explanation or correction are welcomed)--
1. You don't call this team an "equipo" like you do community or city teams. It's called instead, "seleccion".
2. This is a big deal--Paraguay is ranked #1 currently in the standings for South American teams. It's a points sort of thing, and the top four will go to the FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa.
3. When you are encouraging someone, you tell them "Fuerza!" which is the equivalent of "Buck up, cowboy," or "Hang in there, girlfriend," or "Peace, bro." Well, you get it. Anyway, people are shouting "Fuerza, Paraguay!" all over the place. SIDENOTE: Here in the interior, where Guarani is the more common language, we use the word "Mbarate" on the cancha (soccer field) in place of "Fuerza," but same meaning.
4. They don't use mascots, like NFL or baseball teams. They do use nicknames, and that of Paraguay is La Albirroja (White and red), referring to the red and white striped jerseys they sport, patterned after the flag. They use this nickname more often than the official team name, so it took me FOREVER to figure out what the announcers and commercials were talking about.
5. Soccer is high-action, fast-paced, and I LOVE IT! I was cheering and fussing (and having my hair braided) while the game was on, and I think I was the loudest one in the house. I may have to venture out to a grocery store next time, so as not to scare our visitors.

If you're reading this through our blogpage, click below for pictures of the practice we attended...


People lined up along the fence (and on top of cars/trucks) to watch the national team practice. We were passing through the area last week and stopped to see what all the fuss was about.
I didn't know at the time who these guys practicing really were. Now that I've watched a couple tv games, I guess that explains all the excitement among the fence crowd, and why all the passing cars slowed down and hung out the windows!

I'd love to tell you that I haven't posted in a couple days because I've been enjoying hammock time, or leading scores of people to the cross, but in reality, it's much less fun than either of those. I've been fighting the war on tiny red ants that have threatened to take over my house.

These are the most resilient, persistent things I've ever seen. We've sprayed, powdered, fumigated, cleaned, cleaned, and cleaned some more, and just about the time I'm wiping the shelves and replacing the dishes, I'll turn around and they're COVERING another area. And when they bite--OH! They sting! The funniest thing is that when we first arrived and were warned about not leaving clothes or food out, we were told that we may know we have these pests by smelling them before we can see them. How true that is. They smell just like a dirty diaper/poo poo/caca/feces--however you put it, they stink.

Not only do they love any speck of food, as do all ants, but these guys live on fabric. So if there's a piece of cloth with human scent on it NOT inside the safety of the closed washing machine, the ants swarm it and eat holes in it faster than I can pick them off. I found them on Caroline's sheets, took the sheets outside to "flick" them and immediately ran a load of laundry to drown the invaders. Well, imagine my surprise when I found them ALIVE after the wash, and spread all over to the other pieces of laundry. Ugh.

So I'm washing laundry more often than I normally would, and things that would regularly have a shelf life now live in the refrigerator. I'm wiping down my counter, table, and sink obsessively, and washing dishes immediately after their use. I can only imagine a day in the life of my neighbors, who have neither fridge nor washer nor access to poisons like we do. I'll bet they're not posting on their blogs lately, either! ;)

Any ideas for fighting this war?