The Retreat- First Days in Paraguay

Wow, two days have passed.  The teachers, assistants, and everyone involved in the New Horizon School have been a blessing to me.  I definitely feel the language barrier but I can sense the Holy Spirit in a powerful way within them.

By the way... it is sooooooo hot here. I have joked with a few folks that I am sweating out any impurities that I may have in my body.

My first day or so here I just kept feeling like I wanted to go home. The hardest part for me is that I can't converse with the teachers and the people that we are working with. It has felt lonely at times because I feel separated from the group even though Sue, Tim, and Carol all speak English. The challenge is that I don't want them to have to stay with me all the time or have them translate all the time either. But we have had a few good conversations.  I believe this feeling will decrease over time.

Sue, the director of the school, is an amazingly genuine follower of Christ. It's great to see all of the ways she demonstrates God's love by having families stay in her house when they are repairing their house, by leading prayer groups, by giving money to families that are struggling, to hosting missionaries, and more, all on top of leading the New Horizon School. Which by the way, she has been leading for over 10 years now.

At the camp they had a beautiful pool with a tinglada over it. That is like a huge metal awning over the entire pool. The water was very cool which was the only real escape from the heat. We played some pool volleyball with a huge beach ball, maybe 6 feet in diameter. It was a lot of fun. My first day at camp I was soo tired. I am staying in Tim's apartment which is above the church and I am thankful for a room of my own but it is very hot. So my first night in Paraguay, before we left for the camp, was not a very restful one. Then, I was very nervous about sharing with the group so I was emotionally tired the next day, and I sweat so much that I go a headache from dehydration. This is not to say that it wasn't an excellent first day but it was a challenge at times. So at about 8 pm, after dinner, I went to our room and went to bed. But I think I was like an over tired child so... I did not fall asleep until around midnight. I am so thankful for about 6 and a half hours of sleep, in a semi air conditioned room, though. My first good sleep in a few days.

Tim was the translater for my times with the teachers and he was outstanding. I think that he did an amazing job of conveying what I was trying to share. It was fun to share the candy left over from Trunks and Treats with the teachers, give out my mom's flower cards, and give out the bookmarks from Debbie Hardin. I made friends with the son of one of the teachers. The boy's name is Alan. I have a video of him sharing some of his likes and dislikes. I also had the chance to toss him in the air in the pool and make big splashes. I could understand more of what he said because he used simpler words in his conversations. He was a great helper in giving all of the staff the bookmarks.

Overall the retreat was excellent with time in the pool, time for singing and worshipping, time for folks to just hang out with each other, and I believe God was able to use me to share something of benefit to me and the staff. Little things that I am thankful for include:  lots of access to clean water, salad and other vegetables to eat, ceiling fans to cool things down, and food to eat. 

I also tried something new this time.  I tried their Terere.  It is a kind of tea you drink.  So you bring a cooler of water and a special cup.  In the cup you put this kind of tea called yerba mate, that has large pieces of the leaves of the tea.  Then you have a special straw that has a built in filter at the bottom.  You let the water sit in the yerba mate for a while and then drink it.  Whenever you run out of liquid you just add more water.  Drinking terere is a very social thing.  While one person may bring the water, cup, and straw, that person will share their drink with many people.  According to the CDC report I read before coming to Paraguay, it is not a good choices to drink the terere because so many germs can be on the straw and it is difficult to know how clean the water is; however, sharing the terere is a great way to make friends and enter the culture.  So this time I drank terere.  It tastes a little bitter but nevertheless it was good.   Because I drink plain tea so much already, I think that it made it easier to drink this. 

So far my schedule looks like this: I know that I will be sharing with the children at a church on Saturday, making balloon animals and talking about the significance of communion. Also, I will be preaching in one of the churches on Tuesday night. During next week Sue wants me to go to the teachers and pray with them individually and help any way that I can. 

Also, the pastor of the church I will be helping at is the father of a young man who goes to fairview. The father's name is Roberto and I cannot remember the son's name now.

Even on my first day here, several folks have asked me to take things back to the US for them. They don't trust the mail, so sending it with a person is much better. So I have a little list of things that I need to do when I return. I am thankful to be useful in this way.

Tomorrow I will go to the Asemblea which is similar to annual conference in the Methodist church. The pastors will cover the necessary business and will have a time of worship as well. I'm not sure what to expect but I know that I will be able to witness more of the culture and faith here as well.

Until some time soon... I am thankful for you all.  More pictures will be coming.