My departure date of January 21
is rapidly approaching (as in five days from now!), and I am now able to inform everyone in more detail about
my upcoming eleven-month stay in Paraguay. Early morning on the 21st, I will be flying
from Columbus to Miami, FL. From there,
I will take a non-stop flight to Asunción, the capital, arriving on January 22. Right now it is in the 90s and 100s as far as temperature goes in Lambaré, the city just
outside Asunción where I will live. Because Paraguay is in the southern
hemisphere, it is in the midst of its summer and will have “winter” when it is
summer in the United States. The temperature will remain warm even through the
“winter” months, so I won’t be definitely needing heavy clothing or a heavy
coat! The time in Lambaré is two hours ahead of the time in Ohio. For example,
when it is 5:00 p.m. here, it is 7:00 p.m. there. Spanish is one of the two official languages
in Paraguay. The other is Guarani, which
is spoken by the majority of the population.
It is an indigenous language which was used by the Guarani Indians, the
original inhabitants of most of southeastern South America. Guarani is also the name of the national
currency in Paraguay, and one guarani is equal to .00022 of one U.S. dollar.
I
will be living with Pastor Andrés, his wife Felicia, and their three daughters,
as well as a roommate named Cassidy Lancaster. Cassidy is a recent college
graduate like myself, and she resides in Lakeland, FL. She studied elementary
education at Olivet Nazerne University. I have communicated with both Felicia
and Cassidy several times over the past couple of months, which has helped to
calm my nerves. I will be teaching
English to 4&5 year olds a few days a week, and I may also assist with other
classes or activities that occur at the school. John and Colleen Eisenberg, whom our church
currently supports, will serve as my missionary mentors in 2014. I will be teaching at the same school as
Colleen, New Horizon, which administers to children from low income families. Sue Givens is the director of New Horizon,
and I have contacted her with many questions about the program.
I want
to leave my contact information with all of you so that you don’t feel too
disconnected from me in the coming year. Feel free to reach me or to follow
along with all of my adventures by any of these means:
Skype: natalie.collins3
Phone #:
I am not yet sure what type of phone I
will have in Paraguay.
Ways you can be praying...
1) that I would have an open heart
and mind to everything God is revealing to me
2) that the peace of God, which
surpasses all understanding, would fill my heart
3) for
the children to whom I will be teaching English
4) for my host family and roommate
5) for
my roommate’s financial support
Praises...
1) that
I am fully funded (and then some) because of your immense generosity!!!
Talk to you next from Paraguay! :)
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