Skip to main content

Paraguay, land of opportunities

Paraguay is a great land. At the time of this writing the Argentinean economy is going thru major inflation, Bolivia is struggling with peace after Evo Morales term. Chile also has had its share of troubles. The situation in Venezuela is of common knowledge: Maduro and Guaido are in a power struggle for the number one seat.



Since 2014, however, Paraguay’s economy has grown at a 4% average annual rate due to strong production and high global prices, at a time when other countries in the region have contracted. The economy as well as other factors are helping the country recover from what seemed to be a stagnate and very hopeless situation.

Its been a ride, since the late 70s when my parents decided to imigrate when I was a little kid. During that time the country was run by president Stroessner. In February 1989 a cue took out 35 year old ruling Stroessner. Then came, Andres Rodriguez, Juan Wasmosy, Raul Cubas, , Gonzales Machi, Nicanor Frutos, Fernando Lugo, Horacio Cartes and Abdo Benitez. Every president did what they could, some failed miserably while others tried. In the process the people of Paraguay have become stronger and democracy seems to be winning.


Its great to see Paraguay grow and take steps in the right direction. I would almost dare to say that Paraguay is the next Land of opportunities in Latin America, a place where dreams can come true. Every thing needs to be done and the conditions are right. The weather, the prices, the country's stability and a young working force that is hungry to make Paraguay great. Just research a bit and find out for yourself.

As I continue serving as a missionary and raising my family, I see tremendous potential. In several studies its also revealed that Paraguayans are among the happiest people.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Christmas in Paraguay!

If you're wondering what Paraguayans do at Christmastime, they have some great traditions , including the " noche buena " meal on Christmas Eve at midnight.  They eat lots chipa guasu (a type of corn casserole, stay tuned for a recipe), asado or grilled meat (some eat it cold), salads, especially fruit salad, watermelon and drink mucho terere . Families travel from all over the country, many even return from working in other countries like Brazil, Argentina, and Spain, to celebrate with loved ones. This is us at last year's Kurrle celebration in Asuncion. Festivities are anything but a silent night with fireworks, loud music and drinking cidra (hard cider).  Most Paraguayans do not decorate Christmas trees (we decorate ours in shorts!) or emphasize Santa Claus.  Instead, they put beautiful nativities " pesebres " in their yards and in store fronts.  Kind of novel to focus on Christ at Christmas, isn't it! To beat the heat, many Paraguayans g

Paraguayan Weddings

On Valentine’s Day, we had the joy of attending the wedding of Sandra and Anastacio, young leaders in the church. Sandra is my assistant with Children of Promise and Anastacio, apart from his carpentry job, has a popular youth-focused radio program every night at 8:00 on our station. We’ve been to quite a few weddings, and these are some of the uniquenesses of southern Paraguayan wedding celebrations from our North American culture: 1. Nothing is fancy. Emphasis is placed on the act of marriage and not on the decorations or food. 2. It is not an expectation that parents help pay for expenses. Most families just make it each month with regular expenses and cannot afford to pay for eleborate feasts. Most couples have to spend months saving for their own wedding. 3. Borrow as much as possible. Many times wedding dresses are borrowed 5-10 times, because few women can afford their own. Flowers, decorations, shoes and ties (Norb loans out his ties often...since he never wears them!

Fighting Discouragement in the Busyness of Life

Hubby and I have made an agreement not to talk about sensitive issues after 10:00 p.m. It’s a rule in our household because when we were first married our late night talks would turn into fights and we would say hurtful things, because we were tired and our reasoning senses were shot. We eliminated almost all arguments with that simple rule. Exhaustion takes the best out of a person. Another new book on the market,talks about the high burnout rate among pastors. In reading reviews of the book, the author says that lack of sleep is one of the main causes of burnout. I’m reading this book that also deals with the correlation of sleep deprivation and discouragement. It’s a book for overactive people who are seeking to strengthen a love relationship with the Lord. Being in the ministry, I feel the demands of people’s needs constantly. Daily, we hear claps at the door to pray, to chauffeur people around, to do weddings, funerals, to lead Bible studies, to counsel just about any pro