Paraguayan Procrastination

Remember Michely?...the lady I had the baby shower for last week, Well, her water broke this morning and she called me at 7:00 to take her to the med center to have the baby (they only charge $25 for a delivery). We arrived there after a 20 minute drive and they didn’t accept her! They told her she was high risk because she wasn’t dilated yet and they sent her away!

I began to pray and ask God to give us wisdom on what to do. We went to a private clinic and the couple talked to the doctor while i waited in the car. He wasn’t going to accept her because she hadn’t done her prenatal treatment there. When I walked in and talked to him, (he is a personal friend of ours) he softened his tone and told me he’d accept her because of our relationship. Thank God for networking! However, the cost there is a two month’s wages for the couple ($500) becuase she didn't consult there prior. When I called the church to see if they could help pay for some of the expenses, they didn’t even have any cash to loan their youth pastor.

Clock This situation is very typical of Paraguayan culture. People don’t plan ahead. There is no savings for emergency situations (or planned pregnancies) and even the church washes its hands, because they are barely paying the bills. Paraguayans only think about the needs for today and don’t prepare for tomorrow. There are consequences to a lack of planning and we are reminded how important it is to teach Paraguayans a better approach to their finances. We are planning a special course this month (Sept. 21) called, “How to make it ‘til the end of the month” because even simple budgeting is a challenge for most families in our society.

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