We met a sweet little abuela (the respectful term for elderly women, which literally means "grandma") who lives a few houses down. She walks each day to the store across from our house, to buy a candle since she doesn't have electricity. Because we're in a cold snap, we thought she'd be a good recipient of a warm blanket.

So we walked down with the blanket and a pack of candles, and found her home in pretty bad shape. It is a one room home with a decent structure, but she definitely gets wet any time it rains, like so many of the homes out in the country. But the sad part was the amount of trash everywhere. The Paraguayans in general are the most diligent house cleaners I've ever seen. And considering that their immediate yard is often part of their living space, it gets swept and maintained (yes, the dirt) just like we take care of our living room and kitchen INSIDE the walls.

This little lady in her 70's has a heart condition, though, and can't do physical labor. She also seems to have some mental problems, as she kept telling me she had to go get milk for her little children, because she's the mother. We saw dolls and parts of dolls all around the yard.

We returned a few days later, armed with our rake and broom, buckets, trash bags, and cleaning supplies. Bless her heart, she said she'd been saving all the trash because someone told her they buy it at the recycling center. She had no idea how she'd GET it to the recycling center, but she was saving it just in case. The truth is that they do pay a very tiny amount for plastic bottles, glass, metal, etc., but not enough that I'd want to save a year's worth of garbage in hopes I could get there. To keep her happy, we separated the glass bottles andbagged them together, and Ken came up with the idea to "buy" them from her.

So we raked and bagged and raked and bagged. We found some of the most interesting bottles. I thought of my grandmother and how she would have LOVED the different colors, designs, and print on the bottles. It was a collector's dream, but we're not collectors. Thank God, the only injuries we sustained were a spider bite for me and some bug bites for Amber, but the girls and Ken came out without a scratch. Oh, yeah, there was one thing worse than the bites... We found MANY containers--cups, pots, bottles, etc.--that needed to be emptied of the standing water before we put them into the trash bag (mosquitoes are a big issue here, so I can't imagine the plague she must have had from all that water). Anyway, Amber emptied a pot and then realized it was the abuela's toilet. In true missionary form, she kept a smile. It took her quite a while to recover and a lot of work to hold back vomiting, but the little lady never knew that poor Amber was on the verge of a meltdown.

As we worked, several people came out and joined in. Some of the little fellas Camille and Caroline have befriended helped carry the trashbags to the road and into our truck (the "landfill" and the people we saw digging in the trash there are a different story for a different day). The folks living in the house in front of hers came out to rake the adjoining area and tell us they'd burn her leaves after we piled them. It turned into a sort of community day, and we had the chance to meet more neighbors. Of course, they always ask why we live here and what our plans are, so it's one more opportunity to share the love of the Lord and thank Him for the doors He opens to us.

This past week, our new friend Denise's grandmother passed away. Amber and Denise have grown close, so they have been talking about the traditional funeral arrangements for Catholic families Paraguay, and I've been spending time with Denise's mother. The girls are also buddies with Denise's younger brother, Ever.

The grandmother (a small lady in her 70's, with complications from Parkinson's Disease) passed away Sunday, and she was buried Monday morning. The night before her burial (she wasn't embalmed, of course), the family sat up with her body all night, receiving guests. Each day for nine days after her death, the family and friends from the neighborhood gather for about an hour, to perform rezas (prayers). There is a sort-of staircase set up in the room where the body was, and each of the 9 stairs has a lit candle and some cut flowers on it. On the ninth day, the prayers last all day and a meal is served to the community, mostly the children.

For 1 year and nine-months, the children of the deceased mother wear black. This is because she carried the child for nine-months before birth, and then in her arms approximately one year before the child could walk on his own. Grandchildren wear black for 6 months. The clothing doesn't have to be head-to-toe black, just the shirt or the pants/skirt, although many daughters choose to wear total black. Forbidden colors are those that signify happiness (red, purple, pink, or green). Denise told me today that it's very important to show the public how much you respect your family members, by demonstrating your grief by this sort of outward showing.

This particular neighborhood (a neighborhood is considered a couple of blocks) has experienced several deaths in just the past two months, so there are lots of people wearing black now.

The family is open in explaining the traditions to us, and in sensitivity, we are curiously learning without refuting the beliefs we don't agree with. However, several doors have opened when they question us about our own beliefs in death and the afterlife, and why we DON'T think our prayers after death will usher the deceased person from purgatory into heaven, and also why we don't have saints and altars to them in our homes. Please pray for us to be salt and light without offending these dear people in their grief.

If you've been reading this blog for any time, you probably already know Saul (pronounced "sah-OOL"). If you've visited here EVER, you definitely already know him. He's that kind of guy. Saul is a little famous around these parts because for several years, he worked at the campground as a community evangelist. This meant he walked all over the woods and hills and dirt roads of Arazaty, making house visits and having services/Bible studies in people's homes. He also drove around selling chickens from his motorcycle, when the camp was operating a sort of mini-farm. So he's well-known, even if folks can't remember his actual name. (My dad called him Raul the whole time he was here. We still call him that sometimes just for fun...)

Anyway, he'd moved back home (over an hour away) until he "heard from the Lord" that He wanted Saul to come help us out. Phwew. What a relief! He, of course, speaks Guarani, and knows the people of this town and the community very well. So when we'd show up to visit and Saul was at our side, this was a sign to them that we were not government spies or humanitarians in search of information for a study about poor people (this came up more than once).

Fast forward to now, and we can't imagine Paraguayan life without him. Poor fella. He stands in as our legal counsel, our translator, our grammar teacher, our cultural and social etiquette advisor, our "don't try to cheat them--you know that's not the normal price you'd charge a local" guy--you name it.

And a few weeks ago, he started a weekly radio program on the local station, every Saturday evening for an hour. He and Adolfo (remember him from a past post) do a little talking in between Christian music aimed at the youth, on a secular station. So not only are they talking about cutting-edge youth topics, but they're taking call-ins (well, text-ins) and exposing the listeners to good music. It also opens the door to advertising events we may be hosting. The past topics have been very informative, and very needed, and the youth are responding well. People have lots of comments and questions, and Saul and Adolfo are giving solid Biblical advice.

Because the station is right here in this town, he's become a little "famous" (although we won't let that go to his head!), and his cell phone is constantly receiving texts. Thank God for the slot that opened up for his show, at a perfect time and an affordable price, and for partners who believe in sponsoring things like this!

I've had my first official birthday overseas, and it was great. I really enjoyed all the email, facebook, and text message well-wishers. 79 of my facebook pals dropped messages--what fun to read them all! I really wanted to plan a little party, but the painter is still pretty much taking over the house, and we're still in a state of semi-chaos. We expected a few people who said they'd drop by, though, so I asked Ken and Saul if they'd make their now famous pizza, and the girls and Amber hooked me up with a double batch of brownies in place of a cake. "A few" turned into a total of 16, so it was a good thing they made that double batch. What fun to have an unexpected houseful of fun, though!

Our parents and the girls' godparents from Charleston sent a little mad money (THANK YOU!!) and I put it together to get patio chairs for our upstairs balcony. These chairs (picture below) are very common in Paraguay--quite ingenious, too. Each chair is an iron frame with rubber-coated wire wrapped around it enough times to make a back and a seat. Kinda like those old-timey lawn chairs made of the nylon-weave sort of ribbon. The kind my parents used when I was very small, and my Granny (the original frugal woman) rewrapped when they'd finally give out. Well, these are the Paraguayan equivalent of those lawn chairs, except they don't fold up and I think they're a bit more weather-proof. The openness of the design lets a little air flow through--a must in these here parts. (Doesn't the tile on our upstairs wall make you dizzy?)
The set comes with four chairs and a little table (wherein one puts his terere when one is seated on the patio). If we start school early enough, we can get out there and have "outdoor" class before the sun is baking us. I'm really enjoying being able to sit outside and enjoy the breeze in the evening, and Ken has made it his favorite spot for morning devotions. And if Caroline or Camille go missing, they are most likely up there reading. I think this'll turn out to be a birthday gift we'll all enjoy!!

The girls (Amber included) have been quite hospitable and friendly, already meeting a ton of children and youth in our new neighborhood. Ken and I have been working our way around the block, too, and have found the people to be very amicable and welcoming here. There's a group of kids and young teens who gather on our front stoop now in the afternoons, waiting for the girls to finish their schoolwork and chores so they can get a game of soccer going.

Night before last, after the soccer "tournament," as they called it, and a foot race back to our house, about 15-20 of them gathered in the front room (they call it a salon here--like a big room, but don't say SALOON!!) to watch a movie and eat popcorn. Well, that was the premise for getting them inside, but once there, they just chattered and cut up and pulled out the UNO cards. What is it about that game?

We enjoyed having a house full again, and the girls are much more content here now that they're making friends. Amber is meeting with a young lady today, to help her with her English while she helps Amber with Spanish. We've had a few neighbors come by to ask about our "religion," and one who is requesting prayer for her mother, who sounds like she may be dying from Parkinson's-related heart complications. We're glad to know that God goes before us opening doors, and excited about what He has planned for us here.

This was our second Sunday to attend church in Arazaty after moving a few miles away, and I have to admit that we'd enjoyed being able to roll out of bed and walk to the service. It's still only about 10 minutes away (because it's almost all a dirt road), but I'm having to retrain myself to be on time.

After service this week, we visited with a man in the neighborhood who had asked us to come by. This is an elderly gentleman, who made the request while he was quite intoxicated at a recent soccer game. He lives alone about 15 minutes walk from the campground, and we'd never have found him without our pal Ariel to guide us. I try to liken it to us knowing the shortcuts through our hometown--little backroads and side streets. But the locals always amaze me knowing how to turn past this tree, or in the middle of this field, or behind that ditch, to find someone's house.

We arrived to find the man lying down in his bed, talking with a visiting friend. Herein lies the difference with visiting a home where a woman lives, or just a man. The man got up immediately and got us chairs (the cultural invitation for us to stay a bit), and we sat in TOTAL silence. We tried to make conversation--about the weather, his family, his recently-passed-away mother (he cared for her until she died, just a few months before her 100th birthday), whatever we could think of. Ariel was our translator, going from Spanish to Guarani, but the man did speak some Spanish. So they say. We got a couple grunts and what might have been "Gracias" when we gave him a blanket, but that was the extent of the talking. It was just a bit uncomfortable for a while there, with everyone in the group looking to me (Well, I AM the talker), and me fresh out of ideas to spark the conversation.

He shook his head that he'd like to have us visit again, when Ken asked about that before our awkward departure. He was sooo talkative when he was drunk.... ???? Anyway, it was good to be walking around our familiar stomping grounds, and good to find out where this man lives, even if we'd never be able to find him again on our own!!

It's a cold rainy day today, so I'm taking this time to catch up on the business side of our life. We had what could be considered a successful visit with a lawyer yesterday, and if all goes well, she will be serving the seller and the original owner of our vehicle with papers that say they MUST come through with our title, or else refund the purchase price plus what we've spent to work on it. My guess is that they'll pay off the liens that supposedly didn't exist, thus freeing our title and putting us in the clear again legally. We'd appreciate any prayer in this area. I don't have much experience with legal conflicts and don't particularly care for that sort of thing. I like it when life flows along at a smooth pace, like a generic episode of Little House on the Prairie. Granted, I don't want to get up at the crack of dawn and milk a cow, but you get it.

We also are working out the details with a bank back home concerning a theft issue, wherein someone stole money from an account we thought we'd closed out about 14 years ago. There's no record of that account even existing, but the thief found it somehow and extracted hundreds of dollars, and we've been wrestling with sorting out the mess from it. Again, where is Laura Ingalls Wilder when you need her?

I would much rather be spending my time (and money) passing out blankets and clothes and planning youth events and talking to people about Jesus and cooking meals for visiting neighbors and just about anything that doesn't involve the stress of what generally happens in a sin-stricken world. What WAS Eve thinking when she took that bite? (Short post, don't click below...)

We're enjoying the first week in our new home (see picture at the end of this post). The weather suddenly went from the hot 90's to down in the 50's and 60's, with a cool south wind bringing in clouds and on-and-off electrical storms. It was a bit strange to have such heat in the official winter anyway, so at least it feels a little more normal now. It's still odd to think about it being September and the flowers and trees are blooming for SPRING. I am imagining the leaves changing color on the foothills around Greenville. Here's a tree in front of our house...


This past week, we got together with some friends in town who have begun a ministry called Metamorphosis. Adolfo and Silvia already host a weekly television show on a local cable channel, dedicated to issues concerning youth and families. They are going into a new phase of their ministry and looking for ways to attract youth. We took the projector to the street where they live and shot the national soccer game up on a giant white screen, and Silvia served pizza at half-time. That made for a nice turnout attendance-wise, as you can imagine.

We'll be having English class this evening in our old neighborhood, Arazaty (Ah-rah-sah-TOO), and then broadcasting the game in similar fashion for the young people there. Already, neighbors here have been asking when we'll be opening up the front room for English classes and youth events. It's good that word has spread so quickly--we've only been here a week!

As for now, there's a painter downstairs doing some touch-up work at the owner's request, and we're still living out of boxes until he's done. Hopefully we'll be able to get some things going here soon after. We've had several visitors drop by and today our nextdoor neighbor brought by homemade tortillas. Yep, we're liking it here. (Okay, I realize this picture doesn't give you much to go on, but it's a start. More to come.)

...although we still have lots of bags and boxes. I didn't think there'd be that much to move, since we've lived here less than a year, and we only brought to Paraguay what could fit in our suitcases. Man, how we pile up the junk!

Our new neighborhood is quite different than anything I've ever experienced. I've always lived out in the fresh air of the country, so being in town is all new. Our neighbors are VERY close and they don't keep the same hours we Americans do. They think we're weird because we don't have all our doors open. (There are 3 doors on the side of the house that face our nearest neighbors, who are about 10 feet away.) The heat almost necessitates opening every door and window, but this home doesn't have ceiling fans. That means that we fill up with mosquitos pretty instantly. Ken slept through the first night here without a hitch (he was worn out from the move), but he awoke covered in bites. Thankfully, we'd put our one and only floor fan in the girls' room that night. Needless to say, the next purchase was a fan for OUR room. I think ceiling fans will probably be on the list of "have to haves" soon, even if we don't get an air conditioner. A little air flow seems to send the mosquitos packing.

Our new neighbors are all very friendly, offering cooking lessons and advice on home remedies. Most people here think we're Germans because we're fair-skinned, and because there are really more Germans than Americans in Paraguay. The Germans come and buy large parcels of land for farming. So a couple ladies have come and offered to sell us farm animals. We're missing our old neighbors already, though, and anxious to get back over there and sit down for some terere.

Most of our neighbors here can speak Spanish, so that's a little different. We still hear Guarani when they speak to each other, but they converse with us in perfect Spanish. A couple of the nearby teens have already expressed interest in English classes.

The home is huge and has SO much room inside, and for that we're very thankful. It's enclosed, which isn't very common here. Most Paraguayan living is done outside, with the cooking and clothes washing areas on what we'd call a porch, or in the front yard. So we feel very blessed to find a home that has a layout we're more accustomed to. Now, the fact that there's no screen on the windows (and there are LOTS of windows and doors) and no ventilation is taking some adjusting to.

A typical Paraguayan bathroom is what you'd see in an RV. The door opens just enough to let you squeeze through, and in one corner is a showerhead. You empty the bathroom out and turn on the water for showering, then squeegie the water on the floor into a drain in the center of the tiny room when you're done. The whole room is the shower. It's smaller than most closets in the U.S., but it works. Thank the Lord. We'd been watching folks bathe from buckets in their yards, so we're not going to complain that our INDOOR shower is tiny. It's a quirky little benefit of living in the third-world, and it's kinda neat in a strange way.

Keep us in your prayers as we deal with the dust, mold, and mildew we're cleaning in the move-in process. The weather is going from intensely hot to rain storms and cold, so our bodies aren't at their best anyway. Couple that with the cleaning, and it makes for some sniffles and sneezes. And forgive us if the posts are few right now, or if we don't respond to your emails right away.... We're probably going through boxes!!