Parque SAMM

Today marks my last day here at the Parque SAMM. Its crazy how quickly the past month and a half has gone by here. Being here at the Parque was definitely met with many obstacles and a few rough patches as my experiences from the time before carried over and then of course the language barrier. But since being here I have seen how God can grow and change you and has really allowed for some great friendships to form.  

  

It’s always difficult being away from family and friends over the holidays. However for the moment the people here at the Parque fill both of those slots and as Independence Day was soon approaching, I wanted to invite those at the parque and a few friends from the city for a Fourth of July party.

Milka and Yamilla helped me turn our normal mess hall into a fun United States oasis. We made Potato salad, deviled eggs, sweet tea and brownies and Miguel manned the grill as he cooked over 60 burgers for the night!

We rounded out the night with FIREWORKS! (I was a little excited for that part) As the rocket would go into the sky the whole group would yell “Happy Fourth” as it exploded into the cool night sky. It was borderline perfect J

When I first received the email that I was going to be an English teacher to adults, I panicked. My comfort zone is miles away from a task such as this but yet here I was. Over the past 7 weeks I have taught two different levels of English using a great program that I was given when I worked in Ukraine.

I actually really enjoyed this whole process and seeing how my students became more confident in using their English (in the classroom). For my final class I had both my beginner and advanced classes come together for a “final exam” of watching Antman (in English but with subtitles) and enjoying popcorn and coke.

Before coming to Paraguay I had to do a crazy amount of research over the History of Christian Missions in Paraguay (which was actually really interesting) The Jesuits played a huge role in that. This past Thursday I went on a little adventure to visit the Jesuit Ruins that are about an hour outside of Bogado. A friend from the church wanted to go with me since my plan was just to take a bus and go alone. Well we ended up on different buses and I had to wait for 40 mins  for hers to get there… and since I didn’t have wifi connection or a way to get a hold of her I just had to hope she came. Thankfully she did and all though the adventures kept coming on this journey (like doing twister trying to get from the back of the bus to the front, since it’s a charter bus but people stand in the aisles. It’s nearly impossible and extremely awkward… but they don’t tend to mind getting uncomfortably close.)  The ruins were completely worth it <3  and it was a beautiful (but extremely hot ) day.

After returning back to the parque (another adventure since my friend and I split up in Encarnation, and my bus driver stopped to get ice and pick up his laundry before we left the city making it dark by the time I came back and couldn’t remember where to tell the bus driver to stop.) I had to rush to get ready for that night’s dinner. I thought our final dinner was going to be a small group of people but it turned into quite the event. The group of students had to present themselves and give a quick testimony, I was also thrown into this mix. Although my speech was extremely short and I surely made some mistakes, I did it all in Spanish! (PROGRESS) The night was so much fun saying goodbye to this community, to this place, and praying for each other as we set out on this next chapter.

I was always surprised when they included me in these group events as part of the team, since I came so late to the group and I wasn’t technically doing the program. But they let me in despite that and it was so wonderful being accepted and a part of something, especially in light of my first month here.

But that time is coming to an end, tomorrow morning I will be heading with the team to Cuidad de Este where I will be participating in a 2 week program for working among Muslim peoples. After those two weeks I have to separate for this team (as they will be heading on to their own practical works) I have to leave the country in order to reset my visa. And do to some changes (and the other option of being alone in one place) I will take about a week and a half to travel to a few places in S. America to visit churches and a few of the popular sites that are close by. So although I will still be alone during these two weeks, I will at least be busy!

There hasn’t been a lot of planning for this upcoming trip due to my lack of internet connection and just the lack of info available for me to find. So it’s really going to be a stepping out in faith wing it kind of trip, but I know from past experiences that a lot of times these are the times God really does wonders.

I am officially over halfway through my time here in Paraguay! I know I still have quite a trip ahead of me, and time tends to be crazy (going from feeling like an eternity to feeling like it’s flying by) But I am excited to see what God is going to do in me and through me over the next two and a half months. Last night I was reminded that no one can extinguish this fire that Christ has put in us when we are his!

Please be praying

-For the students here at the Parque as they prepare to go out and start their practical portions.

-For the next two weeks at the Manarah conference. I believe it’s going to be a pretty intense 2 weeks talking about really deep things. Be praying for those who attend, and also those who we will be working with while we are there.

- For safe travels, it gets a little crazy here and I am getting ready to start a 2 week period where there will be a lot of travels.

-For the connections I am going to be making over the next 4 to 5 weeks.

-That I take every opportunity that God puts in front of me, to love his people, to show them his love.