Passion for Paraguay

For the next 5 years Paraguay will be led by Santiago and Leticia Peña. At age 44 Santiago has become the youngest president to take office in the democratic era of Paraguay.  The colorado (red) primaries were very contested between Santiago Pena and Arnoldo Wiens. Both were plausible candidates. Both, I believe would well represent this nation.  Santiago and his team, have lofty goals. Investing in education is high on their agenda. His first public event after asuncion, was visiting a public school, hanging out with students and reading stories to children. I say good for that, since Paraguay needs to invest heavily in education. Since February of 1989 when Alfredo Stroessner, the last and longest dictator in Latin American history was ousted, Paraguay has had a slow and painful journey towards government for the people.  The country celebrates, and hopes these coming years will bring another layer of development and growth to a nation that has been lagging be...

If you missed the speech, president Zelenski spoke to the US congress this past week. He has become a héroe for many, and I am sure a foe to others. When I saw his speech, only a day  and hours before our Christmas holidays, I was moved, and I have to admit, teary eye. Thus writing this short article became important. The meaning of Christmas, is very conflicting to me during wartimes. The idea of not having electricity in the winter, let alone in a modern 2022 world, is also very primitive and middle age. And here someone is using the winter to cause harm on purpose to innocent civilians.  Zelenski said: We are constantly being attacked by missiles. When we hear the sirens, we get into our basements to save our life's from the Russian strikes. They  are attempting to shut Ukraine down, by destroying our cities and electric power plants. He paused for a moment and added: But there is one thing they will never shut out. That is the light within us,...

Picking up the Covid 19 bug does not seem like an unusual experience these days. I tested Covid positive last month. Exactly about one year after the first cases in China appeared and then gradually cascaded around the world.  When I tested positive, I did not know what to expect. Stories of horror abound. I braced for the worst but hoped for the best. As soon as I had the symptoms I retreated into my office and spent ten days in exile. I mean, I still had access to my family from a safe distance. I was given a plate of food three times a day. I drank from my own cup and slept on a mat on the office floor. I was trying to heed my doctors instructions to isolate and protect the rest of the family.  My son also picked up the virus. He was not too upset, since it gave him an excuse to sleep late, binge watch his shows on his TV and relax.  Between days 5-8 I got a little scared. I had some pressure on my chest, and needed to stay still for several hours not to put too much p...

Its been a long wait. First arrival of covid vaccines made headlines in all newspapers this week.   ASUNCION, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Paraguay will on Thursday receive approximately 4,000 doses of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19, its health minister said on Tuesday, allowing it to kick-start its immunization program next week As I drove thru the city of Encarnacion yesterday, most people were wearing masks, and the traditional hand shake, hugging and hospitality have disappeared. Due to covid, this culture of laid back people are becoming more time and task oriented - at least in urban areas. - If you read this thru the eyes of modern western consumer, this is no surprise perhaps . But seeing it happen aqui (here) brings me a sense of loss. The warm connections are disappearing .  There are almost 7 million Paraguayans and residents in this country. As I observe the situation, it will probably be a while until every Paraguayan gets a immunization...

Today, five years ago, Nancy lost her husband. He was working at his farm and died in a work related accident. It devastated Nancy and her two young kids. At the time Mark was 11, totally in love with his dad, Stephen. Nicole was 8, also daddy’s girl.  Why they lost their dad, and then had to go thru so much pain, is something we will probably have to wait to understand until haven. Less than a year later, I lost Julie and Timothy. I could have been the one going home, and this email would never have been written. I can only trust God and continue forward, believing that God is in control.  Nancy held on to her faith. She focused on God and her children and continued moving forward. Her life came to a halt on a day like today. If you have lost someone special, you understand the pain. But as christians we also undertand the hope that awaits us. We will raise again. 

“After finishing seminary, I was invited to direct a newly founded Paraguayan radio station. I spent almost nine years with that ministry, and although I am no longer involved full-time, I still serve on the board of directors. This book is the story of that radio station: Radio Alternativa, 92.7 FM. It was for a long time the only Christian radio station in southern Paraguay." That's a quote from my book, which I finally have in my hands. I am so thrilled. When the Radio station turned a decade old back in 2009, I began plans of writing something to celebrate that moment. But Julie and I soon got involved in the startup of a small Bible school, which became our focus. Then, in 2012, Anahi and I lived through a fatal highway accident that took the lives of Julie and Timothy. I sank into a pit for a few years. Now, as I am crawling back out and living in this new life, I am finishing some of the projects I had previously planned. This book is one of those latent projects t...

I met Nancy towards the end of 2013. We were introduced by a pastor, a mutual friend of ours, who knew about our losses. Nancy lost her husband in September 2011 in an accident at work. I lost Julie and Timothy in April 2012. In the midst of grieving, neither of us was looking to rebuild our families for a long time. So when this pastor said to me, "Norberto, there is a beautiful widow you should meet," I was not really interested. As a favor, I went to his church, and Nancy and I were introduced to each other after the service. We exchanged numbers and agreed to get together sometime. However, neither of us was ready for a relationship at the time. But over the next seven months, we met a few times, our kids played together, and something began to stir in our hearts for each other. That was when I left for my sabbatical, last year in April. During that time, Nancy and I stayed in touch, praying for each other, committing our feelings and each other’s lives to God. Nei...

2014: A Year of Healing Fifteen years ago, in 1999, Julie and I were making wedding plans. We were in seminary, and the big news was about Y2K. Still in school, we wondered what the future would bring after we finished our degrees. In August 2000, Julie and I were married. We were both so excited about beginning a joint future together. A few months later, we embarked on one of the longest possible drives on Earth. We drove for a period of 70 days, crossing 13 countries to arrive in Paraguay, exhausted but excited to begin our lives as full-time missionaries. As I look back, I realize just how much we were able to enjoy and do as a family over this past decade: Between 2002 and 2010, we helped pioneer and direct what was, until recently, the only Christian radio station in southern Paraguay. Today the station is self-supportive and under national leadership, and is now launching into television. Between 2002 and 2012: ·         Dozens of t...

Looking back, these have been the longest two years of my life. On the day of the accident we got up early, like many other mornings before taking a long distance trip. We got in the car, said a short prayer and got on the road. It was a normal start to our day. An in that normal day, everything was about to change. A little over one hour into our trip, on April 18th, 2012, the accident happened. Everything changed dramatically since. The first months were mere survival, struggling between getting up in the morning, asking hundreds of questions, working out all the legal aspects of the accident, and trying to do the job of two. Some days getting thru the next hour seemed overwhelming. Two years have passed since that dark morning. This week I have given myself some space and intentional time to process another layer of what happened. My hope is to bring more closure and healing. I am writing goodbye letters addressing areas that I felt needed closure. I am writing out excerp...

I woke up exactly at 5 am on Friday April 11 th . I go to my office and write this. It was so unique, since I was not planning to be up this early. But I was so awake and ready to get up that I just got started with my day. Usually I sleep until 6 or 7 AM. I realized I woke up at exactly the time the accident happened, one week before the second anniversary. It’s almost like I sense Julie and Timothy saying to me, we are with you and want to walk by your side during this week in a special way Over the past months I have felt the need to stop everything. I have intentionally taken time off to pray, think, grieve, cry, journal, reflect and pause. I have sensed an increasing need to pause this month. I have set aside, delegated and minimized all my responsibilities and duties. I believe this month will bring more healing to my soul and help me move forward. After getting up and having a wonderful time with the Lord, I decided to get up at 5 am every morning until April 18 th. ...

This morning I woke up and could not get going. I was alone in the house while my sister and Anahi were running some errands, and one of Julie’s favorite songs was playing on the radio.  I began to cry. "God, how long? When will I see the other side?" As paradoxical as it may sound, I am actually beginning to long for the next grief surge. It has become the new familiar thing. It’s the one connection I have with my past. It’s the time I have to myself to think of two great loves that enriched my life for 15 years. Thinking about the son I had, who made me a dad and brought fatherhood out of me. Pondering how love grows deeper over the years. Thinking about the incredible wife God gave me, who loved me unconditionally and made me a better person. Now all of that is gone, and I am left with just a quiet house and tears. But I am also aware that life never stops and is constantly moving forward, even if I am moving very slowly right now. People move on. Many of you h...