Passion for Paraguay

Timmy's first day of school.  Our big guy started first grade on Thursday.   We are doing something completely different this year.  We are homeschooling him in the morning (primarily Bible, English and Reading) and in the afternoon he attends 8 de Diciembre Elementary School.  It is three blocks from our home and it is a national school.   This is their formation where they salute the flag before the children head to their classrooms. There are 14 first graders, which is an unusually small class.  It is shocking how few resources government schools have.  After two days of school from 1:00-5:00 p.m. the only thing they have done is read two stories and color two pictures.  The books have not yet arrived for the teachers and won't be expected for another month.  The state of education in Paraguay leaves so much to be desired.  Nonetheless, we feel like it is good socialization for Timmy to be in school, and he will get a b...

Our neighbor and friend came to me last week asking if I could spare 13 dollars for Rita, on his daughter 13 th birthday. It was 9:00 am. He wanted to do something special for lunch.   I gave him the money, (which he promised to return) and he went rejoicing, bought some sausages which he grilled and celebrated Ritas birthday.  I don’t know about your idea of a birthday celebration. But this is the reality for the Campanas family. Their daily wages are only enough for putting food on the table. They wake up thinking about getting enough for the next meal. With longing they remember when times were better while working with the construction of the power plant, 10 years ago. We were able to afford meat, Mr Campanas remembers.    This is what ABC, the economic section our national paper published last Sunday: “from every 100 people that live in Paraguay, 35 are in a situation of poverty. From a population of 6.300.000, inhabitants, 2.200.000 are poor, and 1.230.00...

In the midst of a jam packed weekend with the Explorer's campout, hosting a group of Volleyball players from Florida, speaking at a women's breakfast and preparing to teach children's church at night, the unexpected happened. We got a call.  It was another one of those dreaded calls.  The family that asked us for help two weeks ago with the birth of their teenage daughter's baby named Abagail called again to tell us that the baby had died. I had so much to do, but I knew I needed to ask God for strength and drop everything and go to be with the family. I got there and saw their 18 year old daughter, still recuperating after her emergency c-section two weeks before.  It seems like just yesterday we helped sponsor her q uinceaños party.  She was sitting outside staring at the wind.  She looked too young and innocent to have just lost a child. I went to her and touched her shoulder.  She grabbed me and started to heave as she clung to me.  "Why...

We were in bed when we heard the clap at the gate.  This has happened before and it's never good.  We've experienced nights when someone clapped after dark to tell of an accident, domestic violence, and even a suicide.  So, last night when the clap came late, we peeked out the window and saw who it was. That's when we made the decision. It was the family who we've helped many times.  Their teenage daughter got pregnant and was due this week.  They were hoping that she wouldn't need a C-section, because the local health center charges for the surgery.  We've been telling them for the past seven months that they need to save for the unexpected and prepare for the birth. A pregnancy is not an emergency crisis.  It is a planned expense.   So, when the clap came late it was because they needed money for her C-section.  It wasn't easy to ignore the claps and the cell phone calls, but there are times when we have to choose not to help, ...

I just got back from the Public Health Center and am feeling sick to my stomach. It's not that I had some bad meat for lunch, I'm sickened about health care for the poor in Paraguay. Our neighbor had a varicose vein hemorrhage which was squirting out blood like a hose.  Her daughter and husband ran to our house for help and I told her husband that I'd take her to a private clinic.  He insisted that I take her to the public health center.  With the years of (bad) experiences I have had with public health centers , I knew that it would be a waste of time, because they have few supplies and very rarely is the doctor in.  Nonetheless, he wanted to go there because it's very cheap.  I complied and just as was expected, no doctor and no supplies. We ran her into the emergency room and the nurses sat her on the operating table and just looked at each other.  They didn't even have bandages!  They applied pressure to her gushing vein with her own dirty towe...

When I visit the sick in our town's public health clinic, I always bring along a bag of goodies:  I am stocked with Bibles, toiletries and toys for children.  I was chatting with a friendly elderly lady named Petrona.  She smiled brightly and I noticed she had a toothless grin.   After I prayed with her, I reached into my bag and pulled out a tube.  Thinking that it was a hand cream, I handed it to her and told her it was cream and bid her goodbye.   Her daughter-in-law came over to the next room where I was talking with an agnostic man (the first patient this year that has rejected prayer for healing, but changed his mind after conversing a while... if you think about it pray for Claudio).  She asked me if I realized that I had given her toothpaste instead of hand cream and she told me her mother-in-law only had one tooth!  Oh my goodness, I was so embarrassed.  I gave her a bar of soap for her mother-in-law and told her to keep the toothp...

It's been really cold here the last few days and today we woke up to 0 degree Celsius.  We're giving our new wood burning stove a work out; yesterday we kept it burning all day!  While we are thankful for a cozy home, the sad reality is that most Paraguayans do not have the luxury of a source of heat inside their homes.  Many live in small wood houses that have no insulation. Our three little neighbors came over yesterday to sit by the fire (while Norbert taught them a few chords on the guitar) to simply stay dry from the damp cold.  Our blanket campaign from Missionary Ventures' Christmas Catalog is in full force. This year we are giving out 80 blankets (we gave out 46 last year) to those who most need them (children, single mothers and the elderly)! It is important for us to support local artisans.  Last year we bought our blankets from San Miguel.  However, this year our blankets come from Carapegua, four hours northwest of us. They are woven ...

Our church has a children's outreach in the village of Cerro Cora. These are some of the beautiful little ones there.     We took Blue Cruiser (yes, we still have our truck, while we hope it sells, it continues to be God's vehicle!) and completely filled it with clothes to distribute to the families in this area. It was so hot that day, but tons and tons of people came out to receive the blessings.       We gave out tracts and prayed with folks and reminded them about the fall kick off to the children's ministry tomorrow.  We are excited that we have new tables and benches for the children to sit at (some sat on the ground), thanks to the help from our friends at Covenant Community and New Heights churches!

Most of us have had our minds and hearts on Haiti ever since the quake.  We have loved ones there.  God has loved ones there- about 10,000,000.   Those of us who are not on ground zero may feel helpless seeing the horrific images.  While our instant response is to help, we have to know HOW to help in a way that is effective, not just to appease our consciences. It is important to note that Haiti is the most corrupt country in the western hemisphere and ranks 177 out of 179 for transparency according to the Heritage Foundation .  There will be billions of dollars in aid given and well-meaning individuals will do more damage than good by donating blindly to organizations that they do not know and trust. While I believe that large scale humanitarian organizations are generally trustworthy, it has been challenging historically (911 and the tsunami in 2004) to distribute millions of dollars ethically. This is why helping the small scale workers (especially tho...

Aren't we blessed?  It just seems natural that during this time of year we pause and reflect upon God's goodness to us.  We have a God that loves us, a roof over our heads, clothing on our bodies and a big feast to eat tomorrow. As you do your Christmas shopping this season, would you consider giving back by helping the poor? Missionary Ventures has highlighted 35 projects around the globe in this year's Christmas catalog .  Your investment in one of these areas (children, nutrition, agriculture, ministry, education, community development) is changing the landscape of daily life for many people worldwide.    Here are just a few of the ways you can tangibly give back this holiday season to the people of Paraguay... Keep a child warm with a wool blanket this winter, click here . Give the Word of God to someone who doesn't own a Bible, click here .   Impact a family's economy by allowing them to raise and sell chicken, click here or here to help...

Remember Mrs. Rivero? We gave her a blanket a few months ago from our Christmas Projects. This sweet lady is seventy seven years old and still doesn't have any documentation to prove that she's a Paraguayan. She told me that she feels like a "nobody" because she doesn't have her cedula de identidad (identity card). She is basically a shut-in and it seems like the world has forgotten about this woman. But there is someone who hasn't forgotten....Isn't it amazing that God searches us out and shows his love for us as if we were the only one walking the earth. He knows us more intimately than anyone else and He cares for every aspect of our lives, our existence. Yesterday we took her to get her Paraguayan document. It took 2.5 hours and she'll get her card in about three months, just in time for her 78th birthday! Here she is walking into the office with her daughter and granddaughter. All she needed was someone to give her a little help... I told...

It continues to amaze us how Paraguayans live with so little. In fact, it challenges us to live more simply and less selfishly as well. However, blankets are a matter of life or death for some Paraguayans. They don’t have heated homes and it gets into the 30s at winter (May-August). It’s a wet, freezing cold that chills me to the bone. We usually bundle up with three or four blankets at night. Because of your gifts to the MV Christmas Projects, we were able to buy 30 warm blankets to keep people (mainly children and shut ins) cozy this winter. Here are the first of the joyful recipients of the blankets: Mirta Manuel Betty We know each of these folks personally and know that they did not have blankets before this week. Since 2 are not Christians, we are using this gift to try and "warm" their hearts to the Gospel message. When they ask why we chose them, we tell them that "Jesus loves them". "Muchas Gracias" from these precious children!

After spending most of last week near the capital for a leadership conference, we are back home! We wanted to share with you a few of the beautiful children that have recently been added into the Children of Promise program and are needing sponsors. This is Rodrigo. He is 5 years old and lives with his mother. His father is now living in Spain and has abandoned the family. His mother is about ready to give birth to his brother. The family cooks over fire outside their home (pictured). Rodrigo loves to ride bikes and play "futbol" but he doesn't have a ball or a bike! He loves to go to church with his neighbor. Scheila (shAY-la) is nine years old and lives with her grandmother and mother. Her father abandoned the family before she was born. She loves to dance and sing, has a sweet spirit and is a good helper in the house. Sebastian is going to be 5 years old in May. His father committed suicide in December and his mother is working in Buenos Aires, so he lives wi...

Yesterday was one of those days where the weight of poverty was almost too much for me to handle. Our neighbor called us informing that her son Samuel had fallen at school and broken his leg. She went to the state hospital an hour away and they took X-rays and confirmed that the child would need a surgery with pins and plates! She left without one penny in her pocket and she asked if we could help pay the X-ray. I told her NOT to okay the surgery without a second opinion. Since the accident took place at school, surely the school would take the responsibility for paying the medical bills. After calling the superintendent and having to talk to three different people, she told me that no such funds existed, the schools have no medical insurance for their students and to go personally to talk to the school principal because there is no phone in the school. So, I went to visit the school principal. At first, she was on the defensive. "Impossible" was her response to helpin...

Since we don't have a garage we hide our lawn mower in the banana leaves during the day and bring it inside (in our living room) at night. In fact, our living room is our storage place for all our gardening tools, mower, and motorcycle! It is not a big living room, either. When our lawn mower was stolen we had no idea who knew where it was hidden. We were crushed to learn that it was a young man (Luis) that Hubby had been mentoring weekly. He had taken it while we were out and sold it to his neighbor! His mom, who is a Christian, found out and went to the neighbor and threatened to report him to the police (since he knew the lawnmower did not belong to Luis). The man turned over the lawn mower to Luis' mom and she gave it back to us. We've had to pray about how to deal with the situation because we were very hurt by Luis' actions and yet we want to show grace and love. We are thankful that we were able to recover our lawn mower and for the honesty of Luis' mo...

We waited in the Doctor's office after a beautiful summer rain had cooled down our 100 degree temps. The Dr. (let's call him Dr. Depressing) was 30 minutes late. While we were waiting we prayed for God's work in Jorge's life and trusted in God's work in this young man. Apparently, Dr. Depressing had had a long week, because he didn't seem to remember us from our first consultation two days ago. He did an Audiogram and a Tympanogram. I waited outside with my pile of books to entertain Timmy during the exam. He called me in after the testing to tell me gravely that Jorge had not responded positively. He did not hear even the loudest frequency and that he was afraid there was not much hope for him. I started launching my questions: Would he benefit from a hearing aid? What about cochlear implants? Was there a specialized teacher that could help Jorge learn to read and write? Dr. Depressing looked at me without smiling. In fact, he didn't show any kind...

Yesterday I took Jorge to the doctor. When he was 18 months old, a case of meningitis took away his ability to hear. Now, Jorge is 13 and he has NEVER been to an audiologist or had an evaluation to see his level of hearing loss. Unbelievable for our culture, but fairly common here. Last year, I wrote about trying to get Jorge into a special school for the deaf. After one week in school, to my utter disappointment, he dropped out because it was far from home and he missed his family. Tomorrow we are traveling to our state's capital to do an audiogram with the specialist. Thanks to special funds from Children of Promise , we will be able to know if Jorge will benefit from a hearing aid. Jorge was so excited about our doctor's visit yesterday he asked his mom, in their informal sign language, if he was going to hear again. "We'll see," she replied. The doctor told us that since it had been so long after the illness that they are treating the child, the poss...

She came to our home after dark. She didn’t know where else to go and so she timidly applauded at the door. I answered the door and I saw a thin frame behind the night's shadows. Her weak voice made me instantly aware there was a problem. “Simone?” “Si,” she whispered, almost embarrassed. I asked her to come in and tell me what was going on. She was shaking as she told me that her husband and beat her because she had bought a small bottle of coke to drink with her daughter. She asked if she could stay the night, because he was surely still raging. It was the fourth time this year that he’d laid his hands on her delicate body. She was filthy and it tooked like she hadn’t showered in a week. She has no tooth in front; she’s been toothless ever since we met three years ago. Now, her protruding feature wasn’t her missing tooth, it was her black eye. Her husband and mine work out together and are on the same adventure racing team. She thought of us because we’ve showed them ...

We love to garden for various reasons. One important reason we choose to garden is to help three other families who don't have enough food to eat. Our garden is organic and is a great cost-savings for us as well. In Paraguay, the fertile soil and the tropical climate allow almost year round growing. This is just a sampling of what we're harvesting right now. We're experimenting with some new white beans, garbanzos and organic soy as well. Each year our garden gets a little bigger and more diverse.

Yesterday we submitted three proposals for the Google Idea Competition under the categories of: environment, energy and opportunity. The winners will receive $1-2 million to bring their ideas to life. Here’s a very short synopsis of our ideas: 1. Opportunity: GANA Paraguay. Provide Paraguayan youth with a mentor, hands-on training, and an internship so she can learn a trade and make a dignified living within the country. 2. Energy: Sunergía: Alternative Energy for all of Paraguay. Provide alternative energy to the poorest of the Paraguayan population. 3. Environment: Preserve, Protect, Prosper Paraguay. Provide an ecological infrastructure that allows Paraguay to protect its own ecosystem through recycling, legislation, education and tree planting. We know that Google will receive hundreds of thousands of applications, but we can dream a little, can’t we? So badly, we want to do something to make a difference in this nation. We eat, sleep and constantly think about what can be done t...