Mild Winter Days

The past couple of weeks have been full of such mixed emotions. Alex Mitchell, the third missionary who arrived right before Cassidy and me in January, left on June 11. The day before he left (June 10), we had a service dedicated to him at his church, followed by going out for pizza with friends. The day he flew out, we enjoyed a special breakfast for him at school during devotion time and a lunch at Sue Given's (the director of our school) house. He received several nice gifts from the school staff and other loved ones here in Paraguay. Though we miss Alex like crazy, we know that he must begin college in August and discover the plans God has for the remainder of his life. His heart is definitely in Paraguay, so we are simply awaiting a confirmation from God as to whether he will return here to be a full-time missionary or stay in the States.Sue's mom passed away on Monday, June 16. Though death is always a sad occasion because the person is no longer with us physically, it is so exciting when the person is a Christian! Sue is at peace knowing that her mom is now walking hand in hand with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! She is pain-free. Sue hopped on a plane for the States the evening of June 18 and will return to Paraguay on July 4. She is definitely missed once again while she is away, but she needs this time to be with her family.

praying over Alex the night before he left

Alex's farewell at school the morning of his departure

last day with Alex :(

In addition to Alex leaving on June 11, we had our June assembly, Calendario Escolar - Junio.  This particular calendario was a tribute to all the fathers for Father's Day on Sunday, June 15. Cassidy, Alex, and I helped pass out chipa (a type of bread) and cocido (a hot tea) to the dads during the assembly. At these monthly assemblies, each grade level always does its own performance, whether that be through acting, dancing, or singing. I am always amazed at the amount of time and effort the students put into these assemblies. The sound and visuals are top-notch, with creative costuming, makeup, props, and music. I may be a bit biased since they are my students, but my favorite part of this month's Calendario Escolar was the pre-school students dancing to "The Glory of God" in ballerina outfits with streamers. Those kids are cute even when they aren't dressed up, but they were all the more adorable in those particular outfits. I was nearly brought to tears watching them, mostly because that song is very emotional, as it speaks of how glorious our Creator truly is. Below, you can see pictures of the third grade students, posing with Cassidy and in the midst of their dance. They were gorgeous!
We treated our very own Paraguayan Papá to a buffet lunch on Father's Day, with each person contributing 5 mil guaranis so that he didn't pay for anything. He received many nice gifts, both from family and church congregation members.

Cassidy with some of her students at Calendario Escolar - Junio

3rd graders dancing

some of my pre-school ballerinas

the package I recently received from my parents

helping my first graders with their family worksheet

collecting scissors after cutting a puzzle into pieces

I recently received another package from my parents, this time with only healthy food (minus the brownie mix...haha!). The only problem is that the fruit snacks are rock hard. I bit into one and about broke my tooth off! Everything else inside was wonderful (or is wonderful...we're not done eating the contents yet!). As you can see, the lady at the Van Wert post office was trying to use up all of her George Washington stamps on my package! Isn't that funny?! :)

The past few days (June 19-21), Cassidy and I have enjoyed getting to know and interpreting for a mission team from Dallas, Texas who is visiting Paraguay for a week. They leave Wednesday, June 25. We met the team members at New Horizon during the school day because they came to visit some classes and tour the school. The next day, we met at the school and then split up into small groups to visit homes of students who attend New Horizon. I served as the interpreter for our group. We got to know the families and prayed with them before we left. It was a very touching experience! That night we all went to Mary's (another missionary in Paraguay) house for a BBQ. All of the missionaries and the mission team, as well as the Paraguayans who helped with the mission team, were invited. The last day that we saw the team, we visited homes again, but this time they were near the daycare where Mary works. These home visits were much different because they were in the slums. The houses we entered consisted of basically one room and were simply boards nailed together. The flooding is so bad in Paraguay right now that many of the people who live in that neighborhood are having to move location at this moment. It broke my heart to see humans in such horrible living conditions! The one lady we prayed with wanted us to lay hands on the new house she is building, that everyone who enters would be blessed. By visiting the daycare, we were also able to see the painting that the team had done in the classrooms and offices.As you can see, I have been been busy lately. The routine activities haven't changed, such as teaching pre-school and kindergarten twice a week and first grade twice a week, attending the weekly prayer meeting and Bible study, and helping with the weekly youth group meeting. Next week officially marks my halfway point in Paraguay. Can you believe I am that far into my year here already?!?! I sure can't! My dear college friend Tanya will be flying here to visit me from July 1-7. I didn't expect to have visitors from the U.S. during the year, and I am so thankful that she was willing to spend the money on a plane ticket and Visa. I absolutely cannot WAIT to spend time with her again...and in Paraguay, of all places! :) Many fun stories and pictures are to come in my next post!
Until then, God bless!

Ways you can be praying...
1) my health (I have now been sick 3 times.)
2) my classes
3) my students and their families
4) my daily walk with God
5) the spiritual darkness in Paraguay
6) the young people of Paraguay
7) Alex's re-adjustment to the U.S.
8) the flood victims in Paraguay
9) my host family and roommate Cassidy (especially for her finances, as she is not yet completely funded for     this year)

This is the Life :)

I think it is safe to say that the past two weeks have been two of the most tiring, but amazing weeks since I've been in Paraguay!!! I have gotten to experience some really neat things with friends and family, and I realize how blessed I truly am. God has been present at the center of it all!

Last Sunday, some of the men of the church came over to our house to make and eat fish soup. YUCK! They mixed it all up in a giant pan and then dug in, each with a different spoon. Let's just say that that is not my idea of a fun evening, but whatever floats their boat. I am definitely not a picky eater, but when it comes to seafood, no thank you! I, of course, declined the offer to eat a bowl and instead became the photographer who simply helped herself to a small piece of bread :)

church men eating the fish soup they made

Cassidy eating a very large fish bone??

We were off school both Tuesday and Thursday this past week for protests against gay marriage and abortion and the celebration of the anniversary of Lambaré.  Colleen and I taught our pre-school and kindergarten classes on Monday since we were going to miss both days that we see those students. It was odd teaching on my usual day off.
Thursday morning, there was a parade with 50 or 60 different schools represented. New Horizon was toward the very end of the lineup. Cassidy and I don't own any part of the formal gala school uniform, so we couldn't march as part of the parade. Instead, we wore our polo shirts with jeans and walked along the side taking pictures for the school Facebook page. John and Colleen also walked and took pictures with us. The students were dressed very fancily and looked awesome marching to the beat of the drums. A group of boys played the drums, a group of girls twirled batons, and another group of students carried flags of various nations, representing the fact that New Horizon wants to reach the nations around the world. The younger grades walked behind the older ones with their various assignments, and the littlest students didn't march at all. The parade is already long enough, so pre-school through third grade was asked to simply spectate. The staff also walked in their gala uniform toward the back of our school's lineup. It was so neat to see all of the different schools in the entire city in one location - the school uniforms, the students, the staff, the banners, and the talented drummers and baton twirlers. It was an awfully warm day for a winter parade - about 85 degrees! The good news is that the rain held off the entire day. The bad news is that I was robbed toward the end of the parade route. Someone stole my Paraguayan cell phone out of the front zip pocket of my purse. Now I have to buy a new chip. Fortunately, I can use Cassidy's old Nokia phone she was using before she bought a smartphone to use here in Paraguay. I have learned to be super careful with my purse in public, especially in large crowds.

some of the student drummers in the parade

some of the baton girls

our school banner

marching on a "hot" winter day

The sashes represent students with straight "A's."

flags representing the nations that we want to reach

Thursday night, Cassidy and I joined many of the students and staff from school to go see God's Not Dead in a movie theater in Fernando de la Mora, a city about 25-30 minutes away. It was my second time seeing the movie because I watched it online before going to the theater (cheating, I know). The movie challenged me even more the second time (which was entirely in Spanish): would I truly stand up for my belief in God if my faith were tested in such a situation as the college student in the movie? Would I be in the minority for God? It's something on which to meditate.

Friday evening we were supposed to have our monthly prayer vigil at church, but it was suspended until this coming Friday night. So...Cassidy and I used the evening to relax and watch a couple of movies in our room! :) Saturday was an especially busy day! We had been up super late Friday night and then had to get up at 7:00 a.m. for a garage sale at the school. Cassidy and I worked the cantina (snack table). We sold hot dogs and pop during the three-hour sale. Each grade level had its own table with items for sale, and there were several large tables in the middle of the building with random clothes items that people had donated. I put a couple of things in the sale, things that I don't want to take back to the States with me in December. Many parents and community members came; it appeared as if the school made good money. We saw lots and lots of bags of stuff being carried out! Sue invited Colleen, Cassidy, Alex, and me out to Pizza Hut for lunch afterward, so we enjoyed a nice pepperoni pizza with the new cheesy volcano crust! Yum...but a little too much cheese for me! We came home and stayed for only a short while before leaving again for youth group. I had the opening prayer, another youth did a short lesson, and Johnny (our host sister Ruth's boyfriend) had the closing prayer. After youth group, we returned home again for a short while before attending a concert at a church in the center of town. When we left around 10:00, it wasn't over yet. The concert was very refreshing overall, with great artists and great music! It was still a struggle to stay awake after such a long weekend.

the concert we attended Sunday evening

praising God!

Are you tired yet just reading about my schedule? :)

The routine activities haven't changed: Tuesday night prayer meeting, Wednesday night Bible study, and Thursday night adult English class. We won't have any days off school this coming week, but we shouldn't be constantly on the move due to activities outside of school. Life in Paraguay is FABULOUS, but certainly tiring!

Classes are about the same. I have had a few wonderful first grade class sessions lately, probably only due to the fact that Profe Zulma has stayed in the classroom as I teach. Still, I am thankful that I have been able to get things done lately instead of wasting half the class time yelling at the students for misbehaving. We were thrown a surprise a couple weeks ago when we were told that the school switched from trimesters to semesters mid-year. So...now I have until the end of June to collect grades for this first semester. We are upset that this change was made mid-year and not made effective next school year, but it is what it is.

The extremely sad news is that Alex, the third missionary who has been here since January, leaves this Wednesday, June 11 :( We will be having a special lunch and a send-off for him at his church on Tuesday. He has become such a dear friend to Cassidy and me, and we can't really imagine life in Paraguay without him right now. From weekly trips to the supermarket, to going out for lomitos (Alex's favorite food of all time!), to spending time at school together, to American nights at his house...we will miss it all! However, we know that Alex needs to start his college career in August and discover the plans that God has for his future. It will be a very difficult transition back to life in the States, and he realizes this. His heart is definitely in Paraguay, and we are all awaiting an answer from God as to whether he will be a full-time missionary here or not. Blessings on your life, Alex, as you return to the States this week! May you continue to be a light to Christ and not forget what He has taught you throughout these five months in Paraguay!!

Until my next post, take care and God bless! :)

Ways you can be praying...
1) my health
2) my roommate and host family
3) my students and their families
4) the spiritual darkness in Paraguay
5) the young people of Paraguay
6) my classes
7) my walk with God
8) Alex's upcoming return and adaptation to the States