La tormenta: Dos

This past week we had another strong storm come through similar to the one several weeks ago.  The last time we were in Asuncion, but this time we were here at home.  It came through about 10:30PM and it was quite loud.  There was hail coming down with the rain and we discovered that with our metal roof it was almost impossible to talk to each other.  Holly and I ran outside to try to cover our washing machine with a tarp.  The washing machine is kept outside on the back patio because there is no place for it in the house.  We were began to get worried that the hail was going to break out the window in our car, but God protected it from any damage.  We weathered the storm with nothing more than water coming in around all of our windows and around the edges of several rooms.  Several people in town lost their entire roofs.  There were also  lot of trees down from the wind.  I spent the last couple of days helping to fix the roof at the church.  A large portion of the roof was blown off.  Unfortunately the pain in my shoulder kept me from doing some of the work.  Because of the expense, we were trying to re-use as much of the damaged metal from the roof as possible.  I spent a large chunk of my time using tin snips to cut out the completely unusable parts.

Saint's Day

A little while ago we had the opportunity to observe some of the activities associated with Saint's Day here in Yuty.  One of the things they do is to have a Mass early in the morning at the Catholic church and afterward they bring out the statue of their saint and parade it through the town.  We heard conflicting information concerning who the statue is depicting.  We heard both the Virgin of Caacupe and the Virgin of Natividad. 

What really hit us was seeing the huge crowd of people following this image of clay, crying and reaching out trying to touch it.  It was heartbreaking to see what they are putting their faith in.

Some hard things

“We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered…

We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure…” (2 Cor. 1:8)

I identify with Paul’s words and I was encouraged by his honesty.  Where would I be if the Bible authors had left out the lows and only written about the highs?

So this blog is a little different than our others.  It is a peek into the realities of our life and the struggles we’ve faced as a family.

When it rains, water leaks in through the windows.  When it rains a lot, a lot of water leaks in through the windows.   Around 1am, 3am, and 5am a rooster crows right outside of Rebekah’s window, and the sound ricochets off the cement walls in our house.   Often we don’t have enough water pressure to trigger the shower’s heating mechanism, so either it’s a cold shower or no shower.  Our stove is not insulated which takes twice as long to bake.  If there is a flux of electricity and I have the washing machine running, the washer will stop working and sit unfinished until I go out to hang it up only to realize I actually need to reset it instead. 

Each time we make the seven hour drive into Asuncion to do paperwork it is exhausting and causes disorganization for several days.  When we need to buy something, first we must figure out where the item is sold, and second we must figure out how the item is sold.  For example, at one store she rang me up at one register, I paid at another, and at a third, after producing my “paid” receipt, I was handed my items.  Traffic has different rules here.  I’ll leave it at that.

When we walk down the street, people stare at us because we look, walk, and act differently.  We don’t know when to greet and when to just pass buy.  And at what stage does the relationship need to be before I greet the other ladies with a kiss on the cheek?  When we engage in conversation, we miss the details of what is said, which causes the stress of misunderstanding.  When we attempt small talk we run out of questions quickly and there becomes an awkward silence as we don’t know a culturally appropriate exit.

We have had sick stomachs, diarrhea, aching muscles, colds, a sliced foot, and tired bodies.  And yea, we’ve wanted to go home. 

But here is where we draw our strength.   

“We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered…

We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure…

But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God” (2 Cor. 1:8-9).

To Him be all glory, forever and ever!  For He is faithful and good.

Photos

Some of you may know I enjoy photography.  Not that I'm necessarily good at it, but I do enjoy it.  I tend to follow the rule that if you take enough pictures, one will eventually turn out.  I have created a blog to periodically post some of my photos and I put a link to it on the right hand side of this blog.  You can just click on the picture.

Everyday sights

Here are a few things we see everyday.

Paraguayans are very skilled at carrying  things on a motorcycle.  We have seen a goat, wooden boards, a TV, a fan, a square plastic table, and of course coolers. 

There are always animals (pigs, dogs, cows, chickens) along the road.  Sometimes a cow or horse are staked in a grassy area to eat for the day; other times they are free to roam like you see in this picture.   
 

I know the first rule of blogging is probably to know what your picture is about, but I don't.   We see these trucks filled with wood regularly, but I have no idea what it is used for.   Not knowing has become a significant part of our life and we are learning to handle the stress of uncertainty.

This woman owns this "despensa" or little shop.  She is sweeping the cement in front of her store because having a clean entrance is very important.

Keeping the area clean of the red dust is a constant task, and we see them sweeping everyday.

These two pictures depict a very important aspect of the Paraguayan culture.  The woman on the left is selling herbs (carried on her head) used in the tea, Terere.  On the right, the two men are drinking Terere from their gaumpa, a cow horn.   First, the tea is packed into the bottom of the gaumpa, then the metal straw with tiny holes is slid into the bottom.  Next ice water is poured in and finally the host or hostess takes the first drink to strain out any lose fibers.   Then the gaumpa is passed around the circle to share.

Terere is important because it is their time for visiting.  Conversation can last an hour or two depending on the time and day.

After the storm

We arrived back home in Yuty last Friday afternoon to find that a strong storm had come through the night before.  It actually took some of the paint off of the front of our house and blew down the only tree in our backyard.  We also came in the house to find water in our living room and bedroom.  Fortunately it wasn't much compared to what some other people had to deal with.  Some of the farmers north of here lost most of their crops to the hail.  The internet tower for Yuty also blew down in the storm so we have been without internet for the past week.

On another note, Holly and I have been trying to figure out what exactly life and ministry here in Yuty is supposed to look like.  We had asked our landlord when we moved in, if she knew of anyone in the area who sells milk.  She put us in contact with a family about a quarter of a mile down the road who has several cows.  It isn't really any cheaper and takes a lot more time than buying the ultra pasteurized boxes of milk from the store, because we have to bring it home and strain it and pasteurize it, but it gives us the opportunity for interaction to both work on Spanish and build relationships.  There is no such thing as a quick transaction unless you are in a store in the city.  Any transaction must include time to maintain the relationship before getting to the point.  For us buying milk usually means it takes about an hour just to get the milk.  But this evening that meant we got the opportunity to share the gospel with the family.  The husband asked us why we are here in Paraguay and we told them we are here to teach the Bible.  He then asked what religion we are and that allowed me to go into as much detail as my Spanish would allow, explaining what it is that we believe.  Being a Catholic culture, I did my best to explain that we believe we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross and that there is nothing that we can do to save ourselves.  He brought up that he has seen a lot of hypocrisy in the Catholic church with the priests not always doing what they say.  I was able to explain that we aren't perfect and we still live in a fallen world, but if we have accepted Christ's sacrifice for our sins, then all our sins have been forgiven and we don't have to live in guilt.

It was a good conversation and he was very interested in what we had to say and engaged us in the conversation.  His wife sat by and was visibly uncomfortable, but she listened and heard what we said.  We see the family regularly and we will definitely continue to have opportunities to share more with them.  Please be in prayer because trying to explain some things in Spanish makes things much more difficult.  I don't feel like my Spanish allows me to get across the full force of what I want to say.  Sometimes Holly and I stop and look at each other as we try to figure out how to say the concept we are thinking in English.

Cooking a few things that feel like home

Making cookies with the girls has given us special time to talk.  I'm guessing that by the end of our term, we will have perfected our recipe. 

These pizzas look different, and they taste different, but they were totally tasty.