We have now been in the capital Asuncion since late Saturday evening. The original purpose of this trip was for a three day in-service training/conference at our guest house. Our entire team (those on the field) are here. The kids are having a blast and I dare say so are the parents. We've already celebrated four birthdays in two days...a girls' Little House on the Prairie party and a boys' blast 'em party where you guessed it, they blew things up via fireworks! With Christmas around the corner 'tis the season to blow something up...apparently!
Coming to the city was something I was really looking forward to. A six hour drive in an air conditioned truck with all the kids strapped in? Yeah, not bad. Our kids are great travelers. Better be since at least the day after they're born they're put in a carseat and about a week after that they take their first car trip at least four - six hours! Yes. The life of an MK. I don't think they'd trade it for anything! But besides the air condition, I was looking forward to hanging out with the other women on our team, going shopping, eating ice cream and going to another SIM church where we attended when we first came to Paraguay. I've already done all of those and the week just began!
Church was especially great for me as I am still adjusting to having church "under the trees", completely in Guarani and a method of storying specific for an oral culture, the way it is in San Francisco. A friend and I were talking about how there is something to be said about the first place you live too...it feels familiar and more natural. Maybe that is part of it.
Well, our church here in the city happened to have a Christmas program that they put on last night, Sunday evening. They said it started at 7 pm, we arrived at 7:30 pm and it started at 8 pm.
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This is Isabelina, a Paraguayan who has had the vision/call to go to China to teach English for SIX years! She told us this night that God has finally opened the doors for her to go to the US for five months to earn a certificate to teach English. She leaves for Michigan in February! It took us SIX years to finally get here to PY!
Persevere friends!
If God has called you to do something, don't give up!
His timing is the perfect timing! |
It was so much fun to worship and share in the Christmas spirit. It was like we were at a dinner theater when, at 10 pm, they passed around hamburgers and juice as various people performed special music. At the end we are gathered into a circle, held hands and sang "Noche de Paz" (Silent Night). Then, 11 pmish, as we were driving back to the guest house the kids were wild with excitement spotting all the different Christmas lights on the streets.
It was a great start to the week.
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