April 24, 2009

The Wild, Wild South

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.


2 comments:

  1. May God continue to protect and bless you every single day of your life there in Paraguay. I have so many stories of how God protected us. . . you inspire me to start sharing them.

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  2. I´m glad Ken is ok! That sounded scary!
    About the driving....it´s really beyond me how people get their licenses like that! Here too!

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