"I Like to Move It!"

I'm not sure how I continue to be in charge of dances for my students, but somehow it keeps happening! :) First, it was teaching the Spanish flamenco to 5th grade for International Night. This time it was teaching "I Like to Move It!" from the movie Madagascar to 1st grade for the school assembly on November 6. At each month's assembly, every holiday that was celebrated that month receives a special presentation of some sort. For instance, Cassidy was in charge of teaching 2nd grade a dance that paid tribute to National Teacher Day. 1st grade was given National Animal Day. I immediately thought of zoo animals, which lead me to think of Madagascar, one of my favorite animated movies! As you can see in the pictures, the students went ALL OUT with their costumes!! They were some of the most adorable sheep, lions, bears, tigers, elephants, horses, etc. I've ever seen!! I even wore some sort of animal hat to ensure that I at least somewhat followed the dress code...lol. Obviously, I didn't have a full costume like the students did because I didn't bring anything like that from the U.S and they don't make animal costumes in my size here! :) The 1st graders learned all the movements in about two class periods, so I was impressed!! A few of them had more fun than others, breaking into some pretty funky dance moves on stage!! These kids and I really do know how to have fun. The classrom just isn't always one of those places...LOL! I really appreciate all of the help that the students' mothers provided, as they arrived early to help me dress the students in their costumes. I definitely couldn't have done it alone!

1st grade jamming away at the school assembly

These kids went all out!!! :)

LOVE them :)

1st grade - tribute to Animal Day

On November 7 and 8, Cassidy and I attended the annual national women's conference for Methodists. The conference theme was "Unidas en Cristo" ("United in Christ"). As you can see from the photos, there was a great turnout of women! Each year, a photo is taken of all the attendees with the group's banner. We had two Brazilian women as our guest speakers for the weekend, and I really enjoyed meeting them and being able to listen to them speak Portuguese to each other. On Friday evening, the 7th, we listened to a message, ate dinner, watched a video of women's conferences throughout the years, and finished with a long session of playing games, with the intent of getting to know one another better. We were asked to form groups where we had to discover what we ALL had in common, such as the fact that we all like chocolate, for example. Every group member had to be in agreement. We also had to form 3 teams for a relay race, where we had to blow up balloons, run up to a chair to sit down and burst the balloon, and then get back in line. The final person on each team to pop her balloon had to read a Bible verse aloud. My favorite activity was when we had a list of phrases such as "someone who has 7 grandchildren" and we had to find a woman in the room who matched the description. We had to try to find a different woman for each item on the list and write her name beside it. The following day, we had devotions, breakfast, praise and worship, two more messages, lunch, a craft time, and free time. The message about three ways we can bless others was my favorite! This women's conference was lots of fun because I was with some of my closest friends here in Paraguay and also had the opportunity to meet many women for the first time! :)

annual national Methodist women's conference

all of the women in attendance

game time - pop the balloon by sitting on it! :)

some of the women on game night

praying for one of the guest Brazilian speakers

Our host dad, Andrés, turned 46 on November 10. We had an asado as a church family after church on Sunday morning, the 9th, for him. As you can see, the youth and young adults made a sign for him and signed it. Andrés is such a wonderful example of a Christian man, and Cassidy and I are extremely grateful to be living with his family this year!!! :)

Andrés turns 46!!!

celebrating as a church family with an asado

Wesley, missionary Mary's oldest son, turned 15 on November 9. We celebrated with a large, and I mean LARGE, birthday party at his house that evening. There were literally 100+ people there, and I was beginning to feel a bit claustrophobic by the end of the night...LOL. Wesley invited many of his friends from his school, ACA (Asuncion Christian Academy); family members; church members; and family friends, such as Cassidy and me. Cassidy and I enjoyed going shopping for his gifts and being creative in wrapping them. We got him food because that's what every 15-year-old boy likes, right? He plays lots of video games, so we figured it could be his "gaming stash" :) Alcides, Mary's husband, fixed the asado (traditional Paraguayan birthday meal), and then we ate cake afterward. Wesley opened his gifts later after everyone left. I enjoyed visiting with MANY people whom I already knew and meeting people I had never seen before (particularly Wesley's school friends). It was a well-organized party, and I'm glad that Wesley had a memorable 15th birthday! :)

panaramic of one of the tables of people present at Wesley's 15th birthday party

Wesley and me at his party :)

Well...the schol year is just about finished. I teach this coming week (the week of the 17th) and one day the following the week. The final day of school is Thanksgiving Day, the 27th. I gave my final oral exam to my 1st graders this past week and graded all of their books. I have grades ready to turn in on Monday, the 17th. The teaching that I do after that isn't for a grade, but rather to continue with topics we didn't get to throughout the year and lead into next year. I have to say that I am super happy to be finishing with 1st grade, though it has been a positive learning experience for me this year!!!

I can't believe that in 3.5 short weeks I'll be on a plane to the U.S!!!!! Cassidy and I went Christmas shopping today, but it sure was weird buying gifts in 85 degree weather!!! :) I had a successful day, starting and finishing my gift buying in one morning. As we head into summer here in Paraguay, I hope all of you are staying warm in the frigid temps and snow back home. Unfortunately, I have join the "cold weather/fluffy white stuff" club in just a few weeks...LOL. I will write again before I leave. Until then, God bless! :)

Ways you can be praying...
1) my students, as they finish this school year and prepare for the next, and their families
2) my host family and roommate Cassidy (She is currently raising funds in order to return a second year. She'll be home for Christmas and comes back to Paraguay late January.)
3) my daily spiritual life
4) the flooding in Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina
5) the spiritual bondage in Paraguay
6) the young people of Paraguay
7) our school, as it is passing through some VERY tough times right now!!!
8) Cassidy and me, as we prepare to deal with lots of reverse culture shock upon our arrival to the U.S. in a few weeks!!!

A Visit from my Parents, Argentina, AND Brazil?!?! :)

ready for adventure!

Cassidy and I journeyed to Argentina for the third and final time this year the weekend of October 10-12. This time: Córdoba, in the north central section of the country. In addition to having our Visas renewed (our 90 days were up again), we took advantage of the opportunity that we had to go to the national youth conference for the Methodist church! We traveled with Perla, one of our family members, and everyone had a wonderful time! It was very similar to our first two trips to Argentina in that the journey there and back was longer than the time spent in the country itself! The theme of the conference was "Made for Mission", and we had worship time, messages given in a large group setting, and also workshops where we broke into groups of about 20 people. The two sessions I attended discussed addictions and discipling. We arrived late to the conference because of travel issues (explained later), stayed in a hotel the one night we were there, and left early the final day of the conference because of having such a long journey back and having to be at school the following day for classes.

Our journey to Córdoba...
We had several different bus rides. We missed the bus that we were supposed to take with all the Argentines to the conference because our previous bus from Paraguay had run late. So...we had to walk the streets near the bus terminal at the wee hours of the morning to try to find a place that would let us use a room for just a few hours in order to shower and rest. We finally found a room on the 3rd floor of a sketchy hostel. The only problem was that the shower water would not turn off. We told maintenance, but they said they'd come in and fix it once we left that morning. So...we left with our shower running! A Methodist pastor drove all the way to that hostel to pick us up and drive us the several hours we still had on the road in order to arrive at the conference site. To say that we had an entertaining time would be an understatement, as this guy told jokes and life stories and played Christmas music in English (yes, strange, but awesome!) the entire journey!! We had the most fun time riding through the countryside that looked just like Van Wert, OH. Who would have thought?! It sure was a taste of home.

funny how Argentina can look just like Van Wert, Ohio...

conference theme: Made for Mission

the hotel where we stayed for the conference

After the conference was officially over, we walked down to a BEAUTIFUL lake where there was jet skiing, horse riding, etc. The woods nearby and the lake water are absolutely stunning, and I could have stayed there a long time and meditated on God's creation. We met friends and sang worship songs with then under a tree. The Spanish accent as you go toward central Argentina (especially from the Buenos Aires area) is SO different and hard to adjust to! Everything is "ch". For instance, the word for "key" is "llave." A double "l" is usually a "y" sound, but Argentines say "ch" ("chave").

Our journey home was even more adventerous. I won't go into detail, but let's just say that the approximately 17 hours it should have taken turned into 24-26! Nearly every bus was delayed somehow (or we weren't able to find 3 seats on the same bus). By the time we got back to Clorinda (close to the Argentina/Paraguay border), our taxi driver dropped us off on one side and said, "You'll have to walk across the border with your bags and get your ID checked on the other side." Talk about weird. We grabbed our bags and WALKED across the bridge with all this traffic zooming by, after being checked by security. I can't say I've ever been asked to walk back into the country. LOL!

just walking through the woods...

What a GORGEOUS lake!

WOW!

worshipping outdoors with new and old friends :)

MY PARENTS VISITED ME IN PARAGUAY!!! :) October 26-November 2 was a special time for me because our family was re-united for the first time in 2014!!! As you can see from the pictures, the airport greeting was full of tears, smiles, and many other emotions! It took my parents quite awhile to get their Visas at the airport because so many people were in line, but they eventually got through. Sue took me to the airport to pick them up, and we got tired (and a little worried) waiting for them to walk through those doors so that we could hug them. That's all I wanted -- a hug :)

What a happy moment! :)

tears, smiles, the picture says it all...

awww <3

I hadn't seen them in a long time!

I planned many special events throughout their week-long stay! The day the arrived was a bit overwhelming because I had planned a surprise lunch for them with all of the missionaries at a German restaurant in town. The surprise worked because I don't think they were expecting to walk in and have 20 people waiting for them! It was a great way for them to meet everyone I interact with here in Paraguay, some of my very closest friends!!! That evening, the three of us sang a cappella "The Old Rugged Cross" at my missionary friend Mary's church. I think the congregation was very blessed by our special music! It was lovely to be able to sing as a family trio after so long! :)

singing as a family at Trinidad church

dinner out with Mary :)

The following day, Mary and her husband Alcides took my parents and me on a city tour for a few hours. We went to the national hero's museum, the independence museum (where Paraguay signed to be free from Spain), an outdoor market called Colón, the coastline, and the railroad museum. After all of this, we ate a very nice buffet lunch at Hotel Guarani. It was a beautiful (but very hot!) day spent with family and friends!!

On Wednesday that week, my host family had an asado (a typical Paraguayan pork and sausage meal) dinner with our family, Cassidy, and Sue. We actually hosted the meal at Sue's house, since that's where my parents stayed for the week. Everyone enjoyed meeting one another, even though there was a language barrier because of my dad only speaking English and most of them only speaking Spanish.

On Thursday, the three of us journeyed across town (about an hour) to attend Mary's Bible study that she hosts at a house by her church. We then went to her house so my parents could have a tour, and we finally went out to eat at a sandwich place for dinner. We had a LOVELY evening together!!

My parents went to school with me to see my classes on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. They were able to finally meet all the little kiddos I had talked about all year (some good and some bad...LOL)! They thought the discipline issues were very interesting, even though I had warned them that the classroom is very difficult to control!

                                                  

my afternoon 1st grade class

What did we do their final weekend here?? WE WENT TO IGAZU FALLS IN BRAZIL!!! :) That Wonder of the World had been on my bucket list for quite awhile, ever since I first saw the movie The Mission, which was filmed at those exact falls on the Brazil/Argentina border! That is one of my all-time favorite movies, by the way. We took a bus from Asunción to Ciudad del Este (5 hours east across Paraguay) and then caught a taxi at the border. We arrived around 5 a.m. that day and left by 4 p.m, but we saw what we wanted to see -- the SPECTACULAR waterfalls and the nearby bird park.

our taxi in Brazil

downtown Foz de Iguazu, Brazil

Our taxi driver took us through downtown Foz de Iguau, showing us important landmarks and even the street where he lives. He took us to 3 Corners, the location where Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay meet. SO COOL! :) It was neat to stand in Brazil and see the other two countries off to the sides, something I never thought I'd see!

It was an overcast day (about to rain the entire time), but the Falls were still beautiful as ever. We just weren't able to see a rainbow over them because of the clouds. My dad and I walked over halfway out on the plank and got wet. Mom stayed back near the gift shop. The power and noise coming from the water is UNBELIEVEABLE! You have to be standing there yourself. It put Niagara to shame, in my opinion :) We took a bus past some of the smaller falls, and then we returned downhill to see the real deal! It was a great family vacation...and who would have thought...South America!!!

We're standing in Brazil, Paraguay's on the right, and Argentina's on the left.

family photo at 3 corners

Iguazu National Park

a smaller waterfall

THE REAL DEAL :)

Look at that beauty!!!

my parents by the Falls :)

father/daughter photo :)

a Wonder of the World!

The bird park nearby was stunning, too! We saw species of birds and creatures (like snakes) that I had never seen anywhere else before! There were several moments where we were nearly attacked by incoming birds (especially the macaws), but it was all good! :) My favorite types were the toucan, the flamingo, and the hummingbird. It was well worth the extra money for the afternoon, being one of the largest bird parks in the world! I would definitely go back and do everything again! I especially enjoyed seeing and hearing all the Portuguese around me in Brazil! Since I've been studying ithe language, so it was awesome practice for me! :)

bird park near the Falls

We packed a lot of activities into seven days, and I wouldn't trade my time with my parents for anything in the world! The goodbye was difficult, but I'll be back in their arms in only about 4 WEEKS now...in the U.S.A!!! :)

a goodbye for only a short time :)

 Sue and me at the airport :)