The Final Week

Sorry that it has been awhile since my last update! I have been away from internet and traveling, so I have not had a chance to update you all on my last week in Paraguay. Now I am in North Carolina for my SIM debrief and will arrive back in Oregon TONIGHT! =)

On Monday, I visited some public high schools in Villarrica. I wanted to see how a public school compares to the private school where I was teaching English, so the Youth Pastor's wife let me come with her to her science classes that she teaches. I was able to talk to the principal and hear some of what happens. I also introduced myself to some of the students. The Youth Pastor's wife is a traveling teacher...as in she goes from school to school to teach Science. So after the first school, I strapped on my helmet, and jumped on the back of her moto to travel to the next school. Motos on bumpy roads are always exciting =). At the second school, I visited with the seniors in her physics class. Since they didn't want to learn physics, they had lots of different questions for me. Some of them tried to teach me some Guarani, and enjoyed laughing at my horrible pronunciations. One funny thing that happened in the classroom was when the Laura (the youth pastor's wife) gave me a cup of water when I was writing on the chalkboard and told me it was like a cup of terere, to refresh. I had no idea why she was giving it to me, and promptly set it down. When she stepped out of the room for a minute, I didn't want to be rude so I took a small sip. The water tasted a little funky....almost like chalk. I still am not sure what it was for. Was the taste from the fact that it wasn't filtered water? Was it for dipping the chalk in to make it work better? Was it really just to drink? In any case, it was a funny cultural experience, and I didn't die. =)

On Monday afternoon I went to the pastor's house to help his wife learn how to use a computer. I wasn't sure how I would be able to help, because although I know how to use computers, I don't know that much about them. However, I soon realized that the pastor's wife probably has never touched a computer in her life. I showed her how to turn it on, how to work a mouse, how to open and save documents, and how to safely turn the computer back off. I also helped the pastor learn to make calls on his new smartphone. Who knew that God would use me to help with technology?! But it was a blessed time with the pastor and his wife, and hopefully will be a blessing to their ministry as well as they continue to learn to use technology to reach out to the younger generation.

I continued to see a lot of improvement in the classrooms as the teacher took on a lot of new management and teaching strategies. If I had come in as the head teacher and then left, the kids would continue on as normal. However, because I was able to work alongside the teachers and train them with some new skills, my ministry will continue now that I am gone. The kids are learning to respect their teacher, and the teacher is learning to manage the kids. I even got to talk about what I saw at the school and what improvements could occur with the principal. She was desperate for some ideas, so both Karen and I were able to give her some ideas of how to improve the school.

On Wednesday night, the English teachers and I got together again. One of them invited the get together to be at Karen's house, so they came over with pizza. We just talked for awhile and enjoyed time together before I had to leave. It was a good last get together to celebrate our friendship.

On Friday, my last day at the school, a good friend announced to the kids that it was my last day at their weekly chapel service. As I walked to the front, the whole school groaned that I would be leaving. Even the man making the announcement became teary-eyed in having to say good-bye. It was a day of taking pictures with the kids, receiving notes and gifts, and being hugged by kids I have grown to love. It is always hard to say good-bye, but I am so glad I had the experience of getting to be part of the lives of these precious kids and I know God will continue to minister to them in the coming years.

On Saturday morning, the church's kids club started back up after being cancelled for a few months. I am so glad I got to stay around to see it. There were about 9 kids present, mostly older kids. The pastor  sat among them and sang loudly in their midst. He embraced a young, wild boy and gently encouraged him to behave. It is the best I have ever seen that boy behave. The pastor's wife gave the message. Karen led a game. Overall, it was a fun time for the kids and they got to hear about Jesus at their own level. Satan didn't want it to happen because on the way there, the car wouldn't start, and then Karen's computer shut down and we had to wait for it to st art back up with all the kids sitting there. I entertained them with a fun kids' song, and the car eventually started. So Satan lost the battle, again =)

After good-byes to friends and places in Villarrica, Karen and I left to Asuncion. On the way there, we stopped in Caacupe, which is the place claimed to have received the Paraguayan Virgin Mary. Every Catholic country has a version of the Virgin that becomes a source of worship. In this particular city, a huge cathedral is built in her honor and people travel from all over to pay their visit to this "sacred" place. The cathedral was quite impressive, but it was sad to see so many people on their knees in worship to the statue of the Virgin Mary.

Before arriving back in the US, I spent a blessed 3 days with my Compassion sister in Lima, Peru. It was a wonderful, unforgettable time with my Peruvian family.

PRAYER REQUESTS:
*Pray for my re-entry time back home. It is always hard to try to share your experiences with people who weren't there.
*Pray for the people I left behind in Paraguay, that God would continue to encourage them, teach them, and lead them closer to himself.
*Pray for my mentor Karen who is at risk of being sent back home if her funds don't come in. She is only at about 30% and her ministry to the Paraguayans is so important. I know that God has a plan, but I pray that she will be able to remain in the country.

The Week in Pictures

Some of the puppies on the night of their birth

The First Grade Class that I help with at Family Night

Singing at Youth Group to celebrate "Dia de Amistad" (Sorry the video doesn't play!)

Me enjoying Terere at the Church Lunch

Celebrating Friendship and Good Times....and a Dozen Puppies?!

Week Number 7 has come to an end, and I have one more week left! I can't believe how fast the time is coming to an end. I am ready to come home, but I am going to miss it here too, my other home. I feel comfortable here, and I feel at home here....except for that Mark is way too far away! Here is what the last week has looked like:

*ALONE WITH PUPPIES: On Tuesday, my other Short-Term partner Laurel left to go back to the states. Karen took her to Asuncion, so I was home alone for a few days. While I was here alone, Shera (the dog that lives here) started to give birth to her puppies. I was sitting quietly in the living room almost ready to go to bed when I heard little squeaks coming from the other room. When I opened the door, I saw Shera and 2 puppies. I stayed in the room for awhile and watched her give birth to 3 other puppies before I went to bed. When I woke up in the morning....there were TWELVE puppies!!!!

*TEACHING AND TUTORING: This week the teacher I help started using some of my ideas for managing the class and teaching. She is doing a lot better and the kids are starting to respect her more. I even made a little booklet of teaching ideas for her so that she can continue to use the ideas after I leave. I hope that I made her job a little easier, since  trying to teach a crazy class is very tiring and frustrating! I also hope that some of the skills I passed on to her will help the kids pick up some more English. This week I only tutored 2 students, but both are doing a good job. The youngest one is able to have simple conversations with me in English now.

*NO INTERNET: The most frustrating thing about this week was that we had no internet until Friday. Karen never received the bill, so she never paid it. Since she never paid it, they cut the line. When she went down to pay the bill, they said they would get it up and running in 24 hours. It didn't come back in 24 hours. Or 48 hrs. Or 72 hrs. Eventually the internet company came by to check on it only to discover that when it wasn't working, Karen had unplugged it to try to get it to work again and had plugged it into the wrong spot on the wall.....so we thought it was the culture being frustrating, but it was really just user error!

*FAMILY NIGHT: Friday night at the school, it was a special night for families. All the different grades had t-shirts representing their grade, along with some of their parents. They paraded around and had friend competitions. They also sold food to earn money for each class at the school. It was fun to experience, and see some of the families* of my students. Karen called it "organized chaos". Most of the time, we had no idea what was going on, but enjoyed it anyway. Oh Paraguay...

*DIA DE AMISTAD: Here in Paraguay, they celebrate 'Friendship Day' on July 30. However, the whole week has been filled with celebrations of friendship. On the actual day, some of my students gave me candy. That night, a family invited Karen and I to join them for pizza (right after we had finished dinner at the "American time"!) It was a lot of fun to spend time with these friends and get to know them a little better. We also delivered ice cream to a family. At youth group, the lesson was on friendship, and we sang about God's friendship and ate cake and passed out presents to "secret friends". At church this morning, the message was also about friendship, and we had a lunch together to celebrate.

PRAYER REQUESTS:
*That I will h ave energy for my last week. I have many things to do this next week, on top of saying goodbye to many new friends.
*That I will be able to sleep. The last few nights I have had trouble sleeping =(.
*That I will listen to God for anytime I need to share with people in the last moments with them

Crazy Travels VISUALIZED

Sorry that the pictures are out of order! My computer kept dropping my selections and I had to go back and add them in....

Mark and I enjoying Iguazu Falls

A Paraguayan Soccer Game "Dale dale Cerro..."

Mark and I with our friend Manuel

                                         

Jesuit Ruins

Girls Retreat

Market in Ciudad de Este

Iguazu Falls

Iguazu Falls

Iguazu Falls

Crazy Travels

Another week has come and gone!

Although this week ended on a sad note having to say good-bye to Mark, there were many exciting adventures before he left!

After church last Sunday we left for Ciudad de Este, a city on the border of Brazil on the far edge of Paraguay. This is a city known for its black market shopping. When we arrived on Sunday night, we discovered that the city is dead in the evening. We could not find one restaurant open to get dinner. We wandered the streets and saw all the empty market shops. There were few people on the streets. Eventually we gave up and ate dinner at the hotel restaurant, which was very nice. As dead as the city is during the night, it is alive and CRAZY during the day. For as far as the eye can see there are little shops selling "name brand" clothes, shoes, purses, electronics, etc. People were in your face trying to sell their products to you. It was nuts!

That morning we went to Itaipu Dam, the second largest in the world. It was impressive. We drove a bus to take the dam tour, and it took us into Brazil. YES! It was super rainy and stormy that day, which made the dam more active and interesting to see.

*Just a quick note on how sweet Paraguayans are. We got a free ride on a worker transit vehicle because a man invited us on with him since there were 2 spots open. Also, a lady noticed we paid too much for the bus and never received change and made sure we went and asked for our change.*

Later that day we went to "Salto de Monday," which is a whole river pouring down a hillside into a massive waterfall. NOTHING compared to Iguazu though!

We then took a ferry over to Argentina. On the way we were in three countries at the same time, Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. We found our hotel just in time for a downpour that lasted the rest of the night.

The next day we spent the whole day at Iguazu Falls. These are very impressive. Imagine Niagara Falls X 10. The only bad part of the park were the massive crowds that made it hard to get anywhere quickly. But we managed to get it all in, and went back the next morning to enjoy it one more time before leaving.

After a short time back in Villarrica, we headed to Asuncion to visit our friend from our International Student ministry back in Salem. We stayed at his house (a stark contrast to the small shacks in Yuty!). We got to experience a graduation mass at the cathedral, explore a little of downtown Asuncion, meet his family, and attend a soccer game. You know you are in Paraguay when they sell Chipa and Terere at the game!

I then had to bid farewell to my Mark and our friend took me to the SIM director's house to stay the night. I attended church with them this morning. We sang one song in 4 languages--Spanish, English, Portuguese, and Guarani. It was AWESOME! Now I am safely back in Villarrica and preparing for my last 2 weeks of teaching English to the precious kiddos.

You know you are in Paraguay when....
*Everybody carries around thermoses and little cups and straws to drink their mate or terere wherever they go
*They crowd so many people onto the bus you have NO personal space....and they lady selling food STILL makes her way onto the bus and still somehow manages to walk to the back to sell her chipas
*Referees at the soccer game are guarded by police officers to ward off flying chipa and the large truck that sprays water comes prepared to break up fights against opposing fans

PRAYER REQUESTS
-Pray for Mark and I are we separated again for a few weeks
- Pray that I will be able to serve in the best way as I start teaching again
-Pray that I will connect with anybody God still wants me to form relationships with
-Pray for health and safety (this week I will be home alone for a few days and one of the dogs at the house will have puppies any day...I am praying it won't be when I am here by myself!!)

Ruins, a Horse, and a Girl's Retreat

When I wrote my last blog, I was in Yuty, since then, I have visited some historical sights, had an "exciting" adventure with livestock and a tow truck, and served young women back in Villarrica. Here is what the week has looked like:

After leaving Yuty, Karen (my mentor), Laurel and Lucas (other short-termers), and Mark and I headed Southeast to visit some old Jesuit Ruins. In the 1700s, the Jesuits came to evangelize to the Guarani and built churches and mission houses. They got kicked out by the Portuguese slave traders, so most of their work has been left to ruins. One night we heard that they light the ruins up for a special night show, and when we asked about it, they said it was happening that night. However, when we got there, they called in special favors from the tour guide and light artist so that we could have a good show. Their generosity and kindness to us but so sweet. It was interesting to see some of the history of the country I have been living in.

On the way home from the ruins, and almost all the way back to Villarrica, Karen was driving down the highway when suddenly there was a large horse in the middle of her lane. She pressed hard on the brakes and hoped that the horse would move, but he never did. The car rammed into the horse's rear end, in which the horse sat on the hood of the car while we pushed him a few feet until he fell over. At this point, we ran over the horse's body. We pulled over to the side of the road because the car was smoking and the entire front of the hood was smashed in. The horse however, got up and WALKED AWAY! We have no idea HOW the horse survived, but he did, at least for that time. All people that were in the car are also ok, but the car is in the shop. We had to call in favors to get home and we had to contact the SIM office to call in a tow truck to get the car to the shop . Now we are experiencing how to get around without a car, like many Paraguayans.

Once back in Villarrica, we started to prepare for this weekend's girl's retreat to be held at Karen's house. I was asked to teach a lesson, so I taught the youth group girls how to read the Bible and pray during Quiet Time with God, I also shared my testimony. I did a lot of the talking, and also translated for people, God really is showing how to be a leader and giving me the strength to do what is needed of me. About 10 girls from the church and Karen's old neighborhood came. We had worship time, watched Fireproof, had a few lessons, did art and nails, and enjoyed time together. It was a lot of fun and hopefully the girls enjoyed it as well. I wasn't in the room with the girls all night, but apparently they stayed up until 5am talking. Oh girls.... =)

Tomorrow Mark and I get on a bus and head to see Iguazu Falls! Yay!

Prayer Requests:
*That Karen's car will be fixed in a timely manner and will not be too expensive. Also, that she will be able to continue to minister to people far away without her car at the time being.
*That Mark will be able to serve people in his short time here (he has already been asked to help in several ways, and will probably be asked again!)
*That God will keep me focused on continuing  to build relationships for my last few weeks here.

Cultural Notes:
*Paraguayans will go out of their way to make sure you feel welcome
*They carry a thermos and little cup and tea straw around with them everywhere like Americans carry coffee cups

The Adventure Continues in PICTURES

                                              Dinner with the English Teachers

                                                  2 of my Students with Profe Elise

                                 Laurel, me, and Damaris (an English teacher we work with)

                                               Our Fourth of July Party with Friends

                                             Karen with some of the Bible Study Kids

                                              At the Quincenera at the SIM Retreat

                                                           Toucan =)

                                             People lined up on the street for the Pope

                                    The Asuncion Crowd waiting to see and hear the Pope

                                 Christian brothers and sisters in the Campo outside of Yuty