a "typical" week

Whew! It's been a great week and I'm exhausted! That's the way we're supposed to feel at the end of a week, right? I think the best way to give you an idea of this week is just to give a little summary. I already wrote about Monday in my last post (I Love my Life).

Tuesday: school 8:30-1:30. At 3:30 my friend, Noemi, showed up at my door with two of her high school friends because they all wanted help with their English homework. After about an hour, her friends went home but she stayed. Noemi's been pretty sad, lately, because two of her friends are being really mean to her. I'm her small group leader, so she just wanted to spend some time together. I was SO glad that she came over because I love her so much, but I hadn't been planning on any visitors and I REALLY had to go running. I felt bad, but I'm going to Argentina for a marathon in 3 weeks and can't skip my runs, now! Noemi seemed to understand, though, so I gave her a t-shirt and she came to the park, with me! Afterwards, we made dinner, and then the other girls came over for small group. They stayed until about 9.

Wednesday: school 8:30-1:30. At 5:30 another one of my friends/ small group members/ helpers came over. I'll call her Lucy, because I don't want to use her real name. She did my laundry and washed my floor while I went shopping for our dinner. At the supermarket, they had just pulled freshly baked whole wheat bread out of the oven, so I bought a loaf and we ate it for dinner with strawberry jelly and hot chocolate! It was good to spend time with Lucy, but it was sad, too. She's fallen in love with a boy who doesn't love Jesus. In the Bible, God tells us that He wants Christians to marry other Christians, because He loves us and knows that we will be the happiest if the people that we marry love Him, too. But in Paraguay there are a lot more Christian girls than Christian boys, so a lot of my friends often have to choose between disobeying God and marrying non-Christians, and never having boyfriends. Unfortunately, Lucy chose to go out with somebody who isn't a Christian, and now she has to decide whether she wants to lose her relationship with the boy (for now) and keep her close relationship with God, or disobey God and keep her relationship with the boy. It would have been so much easier if she hadn't ever become his girlfriend. But she did, and now she loves him, so both of her options are really painful. I feel so sad for her. But I'm scared, too. She left sometime between 8-9.

Thursday: school 8:30-2. I'd planned on making black beans and rice for lunch, but when I opened my sealed plastic container, I found little black bugs crawling throughout my black beans. I almost threw up. Later, I showed Lucy, and she said that the eggs were probably in my beans when I bought them (in a sealed bag from the supermarket). I guess that's not uncommon. Now I know why my host mom always washed beans before cooking them. Anyway, At 3:45, one of my third graders came over. Her name is Silene. I really wanted her to do well on our test, Friday, so I said she could come over to my apartment to study. As soon as she left, I ran out for a quick run. When I got back, Lucy was sitting on my steps outside my apartment. She did my dishes and washed the floor while I went to the terminal to check the bus schedules, and went to the supermarket to get some more of that freshly baked bread. After supper, Lucy and I studied the Bible, together. We talked about it for 3 hours! Finally, her mom came to pick her up at 10:15! After she left, I baked cookies that I'd promised my 6th and 7th graders, wrote 3 exams, and crawled into bed.

Friday: school 8:30-1:30. After school, one of my student teachers and I got into an argument, but we didn't have time to work it out. So in the afternoon I invited her over to talk more. We talked for 3 whole hours before planning her next lesson! Even though it's hard, Americans usually try to talk about problems in their relationships, but Paraguayans usually keep their feelings inside. So when we finally do talk about our misunderstandings, it takes a long, long time because we have to talk about things that happened 9 months ago. It was exhausting, but very good to work everything out. Getting along with people can be really hard, sometimes, but aren't you glad we get to do it? Can you imagine if we had to be all alone? Sure, we wouldn't have to share and we wouldn't get our feelings hurt, but it would be really lonely and not much fun. After she left, I graded quizzes, had dinner, and talked on the phone to MY boyfriend (who IS a Christian!). We don't really talk during the week, which makes Fridays pretty special.

So what does a missionary do? Lots of stuff, but it's different every day. And it probably depends a lot on their personalities and what they're good at, too. Jeff, for example, is a doctor and spends a lot of his time seeing sick people. Tony can fix anything so he spends a lot of time fixing broken things that people bring him. Fiona is a good writer, teacher, and organizer, so she spends time working at a college. Jeremy is amazing at math and business, so he spends most of his time in the office, organizing our money and working on the computer. Renee, Amy, and Jean spend their time homeschooling their kids and taking care of them. I guess I'm good at English and listening to teenage girls figure out their lives, so I spend a lot of time doing that. Missionaries really do whatever you and your parents do. They just do it in a place where most of the people don't know Jesus. But just like your parents, everything that they do is to help people get to know God.

This one writer, named Soren Kierkegard, once asked, "What is talkativeness? It is doing away with the vital distinction between talking and keeping silent." One time when I went to bed, this week, I thought to myself, "What is laziness? It is doing away with the vital distinction between working and resting." I'm trying to become a better worker and a better rester. When we left class, every Friday afternoon, one of my professors used to tell us to work hard, rest hard, play hard, and pray hard. I'm not very good at it, yet, but it's sure fun to try! I love the feeling that I'm getting to work together with God, and then enjoying resting with Him, too. "So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."

i love my life!

I love my life. It's as simple as that. If God calls you to be a missionary, you're going to love it. And if He calls you to be a teacher, you're going to love it. And if He calls you to be a vet, you're going to love it. And if He calls you to be a police officer, you're going to love it. And if He calls you to be a wife, you're going to love it. And if He calls you to be a mom, you're going to love it. You won't always love it, of course, because it is the times we do what we don't love to do that we really grow and become more like Jesus. But overall, I think you'll love it. Because when your Creator calls you to do something, He's calling you to do exactly what He created you for, so it will feel like you couldn't choose to do anything better than exactly what you're doing, because you were created to do it and it's wonderful, even when it's hard.

Today had both hard times and good times. But between 12 and 1 was my favorite hour of the day (well, skype chat's been pretty great, tonight, too; I can't tell a lie :) Between 12 and 1, I got to teach my 6th and 7th graders about God. All year, we've been memorizing Romans 8, together. It's one of the best chapters in the whole Bible. Each Monday, we write one or two new verses on the board and take some time to talk about them and work on memorizing them. I always have an actual lesson planned, too, but I give myself permission to not get to the lesson if we get into a good discussion, Mondays. So today we talked about Romans 8:24-25. OK. I talked about Romans 8:24-25. It was a very teacher centered day, I'll admit. But oh how I loved it. Verse 24 starts out "FOR in this hope, we were saved." and I always ask them what the "fors" are there for. So we looked back a few verses that let us talk about how the whole creation is spinning towards disaster. Hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, etc. And even humans are out of control! Life isn't fair. We talked about injustice and oppression, AIDS, abuse, economic depressions, and lots of other stuff that's just not fair. So we talked about how bad it all seems, sometimes, but about this hope that God is going to restore creation and bring justice for those who have been treated badly. And that we're going to be freed from all of the stuff we hate about ourselves. Never again will we accidentally hurt people that we love by saying mean things. Someday, we'll be the people we dream of being, and the world will be beautiful and amazing and perfect. My kids asked a lot of questions and were pretty engaged. Granted, their psycho teacher was freaking out over the Bible and God and probably speaking faster English than she should have been for an entire hour and they are only 11 and 12, after all. But still, they were pretty engaged. Pray for my students. Oh, how I have come to love them. Pray for Adri, Diego, Carlos, Raul, Esteban, Giselle, Pauline, Loida, Rocio, Christopher, Laudes, and Mati. We're going to be finishing up with our books, this week, which means that I get the rest of the year to do whatever I want with them, as long as we do it in English!!! I think I'm going to do a unit on writing, and have them write about their hopes, dreams, etc. Pray that something clicks in their minds and hearts before I leave and they decide that they want to follow Jesus with everything that is in them.

OK. So that was the best part of my day (minus skype chat). But the other really good part was when my friend, Josephina, came over to visit! We talked for a really long time, and she promised to help me find a little girl who was taken to an orphanage a few weeks, ago. She used to come to the church, but none of the church people knew which orphanage she's at. But Josephina's a lawyer, so she's going to help me find her, so that I can go and visit her. Please pray for this little girl, too, that God would take good care of her when her mom can't, and that I'd be able to find her and play with her like Jesus would want to.

Companarismo

Hey, guys! How was your Sunday? I heard it's been pretty rainy in Indiana. Did any of you go to the hog roast at St. Mark? Did you have any visitors in your Sunday School classes or new kids in school, this week? If you did, will you write me and tell me about it? You can ask your parents to help you leave a comment on this blog. I'd love to hear about it! Do you remember how I told you how proud I was of Berenice and Silene, last week? Well, this week I was even MORE proud of Bere than before!

Today we had our big "companerismo Sunday" which means "fellowship Sunday." Once a month we have church at somebody's house and then share lunch, together, afterwards. Do you remember how I told you that I'd invited my friends who sell fruits and veggies in the market? Well, the parents couldn't come, but Blanca, Sasha, and Fernando came, along with their 7 year old cousin (whose name I never really mastered)! So this morning I was a single mother of 4. As soon as we got to church, though, Berenice came over to say hi and ended up playing with them all afternoon! They ate lunch together, chased each other around the yard, and had lots and lots of fun! I don't think they talked about Jesus very much, but I'm sure my visitors felt His love for them through Berenice and the other people at the church. One time, though, they made me a little nervous. Blanca was playing volleyball with some of the teenagers, and Bere was playing with Sasha under a big tree. But where were Fernando and their cousin? I walked around the whole house and couldn't find them! Finally, I went over to the tree where the girls were playing, and asked Sasha where her little brother was. She and Bere burst out laughing and pointed straight up. I looked above my head, and there they were up in the tree! I think I'm going to try and tell them more about Jesus, soon, so please pray for them and their parents, that they would understand how much He loves them and ask Him to forgive their sins and be in charge of their lives.

After church, I came home and made a dessert for my small group, changed into my exercise clothes, went running at the park, came home again, wrapped a birthday present in tin foil and decorated it with permanent markers because I forgot to buy wrapping paper, yesterday, and stores are always closed on Sundays, changed into my party clothes, and went to one of my students' birthday parties. It was really fun! A few months ago, I made some of my kids a CD with different songs in English. When I got to the party, the girls were all dancing to my CD! They were SO cute, so I took some video of them to show you. Berenice is the girl in blue, on the right, and Naia is wearing the pink shirt, on the right. We had to leave the party, early, because I the girls were coming over to my apartment for small group, but that was ok, because it was pretty cold. 3 of my friends ended up coming for small group, and they just left. We decided we're going to read Luke 24- Acts 6 for this week.

Whew! What a fun day! I'm so thankful for all of my wonderful friends in Paraguay. Thanks for praying for them. Tonight I'm also feeling very thankful that yesterday was Saturday :)

Rojaiju Paraguay!!!!!

GUESS WHAT???? Since I posted my last blog, I was reading the news and saw an article about PARAGUAY!!!! This is really unusual because some people say that Paraguay is in the middle of nowhere and not really known for anything. But we're in the news, now, because we have a really good soccer team that has beat Brazil, Argentina, and Venezuela! "Rojaiju Paraguay" means "I love you Paraguay!" I don't think that's really how to spell it. But that's how you say it- Row- hi- who- Paraguay. Oh, yeah- also since I posted, last, my water turned off and so my toilet won't flush. Bummer. I hope it's working in the morning so I can take a shower before going to school!

Anyway- check out Paraguay in the news. And Black boys- look at their shirts! I think this is the one I gave to Owen. Kole and Braden have the 2 club shirts- Olimpia and Cerro.

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/SPORT/football/09/09/fanzone.paraguay/index.html

Oh! I can hear my toilet gurgling. Usually that means the water's coming back on. Yippee!!!

"You'd better soak your veggies, young woman!"

Hey, guys! How are you? I don't have a lot to write, tonight, but I promised to write on the noneventful days just like the exciting ones, so here I am. Let's see. Today I got up at 7 and hurried around to clean my apartment and make lunch because I had guests coming over, after school. Then on the way to school I stopped at the veggie market because I was going to fix chicken salads for lunch and you can always get the best veggies early in the morning. So I had all these veggies with me, when I went to school, and decided to "play market" in my 3rd grade class. I was trying to teach them the difference between "how many" and "how much." It's kinda tricky. Do you know the difference? Well, I had each of the kids come up and ask to buy something from my veggie stand. I'd ask "How many do you want?" and they'd tell me. Then they'd ask "How much is it?" and I'd tell them. The kids went crazy over my strawberries, so I had one of my students take a bag of them down to the bathroom and wash them. Then I gave a strawberry to people after they came to my "store." It was pretty fun.

During my break, I ran home to soak my lettuce, tomatoes, green peppers, and strawberries. Did you know that people's stomachs are really amazing and build up resistance to certain things in the ground? So when we go to other parts of the world, we can get sick from things that don't make anybody there sick, because their stomachs have built up defenses against those things all their lives, and ours haven't yet. So I always have to soak my fruits and vegetables in water with a little bit of bleach for 30 minutes! It's kinda a bummer to not be able to eat really good strawberries and grapes as soon as you see them, but I try not to because I don't want to get sick.

Anyway, after soaking and cutting up my veggies, I ran back to school to teach my 6th and 7th graders. Then Paul and Becky came and picked me up in their truck! That was really nice, because it meant I didn't have to walk home, again! It was also great because Paul and Becky have been in the US for a year, and this was the first time I'd seen them since they came back! That's one sad thing about being a missionary, I think. Missionaries usually don't stay in one place their whole lives, because they have families and friends back in their home countries (like the United States, for me). So every 2-4 years, they go back to visit their families for about a year. It's always sad when your best friends go away for a whole year! But it's fun when you get to be together with them, again.

So Paul and Becky and I ate really good chicken salads, and then coffee and strawberry shortcake for dessert. We talked about what God is doing in our lives, and also about the future. My job is going to be over, soon (in November), so I have to decide what God wants me to do next (between Nov '08-June '09). It feels like a really big decision, but Paul and Becky and I talked about some different things that God might want me to do, and it was fun to think about! Please pray that God gives me wisdom to make a good decision!

After Paul and Becky left, I went on a run. When I got back to my apartment, my friend, Lety, was sitting on my front steps! She's 17, and comes over after school, three times a week, to help me clean and study the Bible, together. So she cleaned up my lunch dishes (I'd left EVERYTHING a mess so that I could run before she came), we ate strawberry shortcake for dinner, and then we read Matthew 5, together. She just left, 45 minutes ago. Now, I think I'm going to think and pray about everything that I talked about with Paul and Becky, plan my classes for tomorrow, and then go to sleep. Good night!

FRUIT! FRUIT! FRUIT!

Yesterday I wrote about strawberries. Today I'm going to write about a different kind of fruit. Did you know that the Bible calls the good things that God does in our hearts "fruit"? It says in John 15 that God is like a tree trunk and we Christians are like the tree's branches. If a branch gets cut off from the tree and is lying on the ground, can it grow new fruit? No way! It's not the branch that grows the fruit, at all! Sure, the fruit grows off of the branches, but only when the branches are connected to deep roots and a healthy trunk. The Bible uses this example to teach us that we aren't the ones that make spiritual fruit (good things) grow in anybody's heart, not even our own! Only God can do that. It also teaches us that we need to have a lot of patience when we really, really, really want to taste that juicy fruit and we want to taste it RIGHT NOW! Have you ever eaten a piece of fruit that's not ripe, yet? Pretty sour, huh? Did any of you go out blueberry picking, this year? When did you go? Can you go blueberry picking in October? What about December? March? May? No way! You can only go blueberry picking in June and July. There is NOTHING that blueberry tree branches can do to make the blueberries grow faster than that. Well, we don't have blueberry bushes, here, but we have orange trees. And let me tell you, sometimes being a missionary is like being an orange tree. Or a blueberry bush. You just have to wait and wait and wait and wait and wait to see God do good things in people's hearts. But I'm learning to trust that God is even more faithful than blueberry trees. As long as we don't cut ourselves off from Him, He WILL cause fruit to grow in us and through us, when it's the right time.

This morning when I went to church, I finally got to see some people fruit (remember I'm using this word to mean the good things that God does in people's hearts)! 2 months ago, Sarah, Rachel, and Amy Breuer came down to Paraguay with some other people, and we invited a bunch of my students to go to church with them. Well, three of my 2nd graders came- Camilla, Wanda, and Gerardo. Ever since then, I've been praying that God would be making their parents' hearts lonesome for Him so that they would come back to church. And when I came to church, this morning, I saw Camilla there with her mom! I was SOOOOOO excited. And not only did I see Camilla and her mom there, but 4 of my other students and their parents who don't usually come, too! AND, as if it could even get any better that this- on the way to church I got to pick up 2 little kids from the market and bring THEM to church with me, for the first time ever! Do you remember that picture I posted, yesterday, of the market where I buy my fruits and veggies? Well, I usually buy them from the same woman, and we've become friends. One day a few months ago, I invited her over for lunch and she brought 3 of her kids. Ever since then, I've been praying for her, too, that God would make her feel lonesome for Him, and give me chances to tell her about His love. So two weeks ago I was passing through the market on my way to church and invited her 12 year old daughter to come with me... AND SHE CAME!!! Her name was Blanca. "Blanca" means "white" in Spanish. This morning I passed by and invited her, again. This time she couldn't come because her mom needed her to work, so I asked if I could take Blanca's little brother and sister, Fernando (who's 5) and Sasha (who's 6). They were really dirty, so right there in the middle of the street she used water from a bucket that she'd gotten to wash the fruits off and gave them mini-baths! And then she let me take them to church.

When it was time for the kids to go to Sunday School, I took them down to their class, and 2 of my third graders from school, Berenice and Silene, came over to meet them! I was so proud of Berenice and Silene. They were both wearing skirts, and their hair had pretty ribbons in it. Sasha and Fernando were still wearing their dirty clothes they had been wearing in the market! But Berenice and Silene helped them and made them feel welcome. That showed me that God's fruit of kindness and love is growing in Bere and Silene's hearts, too! Did you know that in the book of James, the Bible says that if 2 people come to church and one is rich and the other is poor, it's really important that we are especially kind to the poor person? The Bible says that if we're nicer to the rich person than the poor person, the love of God isn't really in our hearts. Do you ever have visitors that come to your Sunday School class? This year, maybe God will even send a new kid into your class at school. I hope when He does, you can remember the example of Berenice and Silene, and be extra kind to new people so that they don't feel weird or left out.

After church, Sasha and Fernando and I went back to the market. Next week we're having a special church service outside. Oh yeah! The Breuers know about that. It'll be like the one we had when you were here. Do you remember that, where you guys sat in a circle and learned that game, "Presi, Presi, Vice, Vice, Secre, Secre, and Burra, Burra"? Well, we have those outdoor services and lunch on the second Sunday of every month. I invited Blanca, Sasha, and Fernando's whole family, including their mom. I hope they come! It might be hard for them because they normally sell their fruits and veggies on Sunday mornings, and they need that money to buy their own food, but I told their mom that if they all come, I'll use the money that you guys send me every month to pay for all the fruits and veggies that they don't get to sell, that day. And then maybe instead of selling fruit, God will make some of His fruit grow in their hearts! Thank you so much for praying for the children of Paraguay, you guys! Keep praying for Camilla, Aaron, Isaac, Mati, Gerardo, Wanda, Blanca, Fernando, Sasha, and their moms and dads!

strawberry jam

I love Saturdays! Unless there's something that I absolutely have to do, Saturday is my day of rest. I even try to cook the day before so I don't have to worry about cleaning my kitchen! This morning, though, I went to the market to buy strawberries, and then came home to make fresh strawberry jam while listening to "20 the Countdown Magazine" on Pulse FM. I listen to it through the Internet and it's kind of become a Saturday morning tradition. It was SO fun! I've never made strawberry jam before. I was a little sad that I was doing it for the first time by myself, because I would have rather done it with my mom, sisters, aunts, cousins, and grandmas. But it was still fun. For lunch I ate a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich with JIF PEANUT BUTTER that the Breuers brought down (you guys are so wonderful! I've LOVED that stuff!) and my fresh strawberry jam. Then for dinner, I ate a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich with JIF PEANUT BUTTER and my fresh strawberry jam :) I've been in heaven.

Cooking is one of the really fun parts of being a missionary, for me, but it can also take up a LOT of time, if I let it. Depending on where you live, you can't always buy all of the convenience foods you're used to in the US. And you can't go out to eat as much, either. For me, it's a fun challenge to see if I can use my creativity to make food that reminds me of home. Some people find it frustrating, though, because food preparation does take up a lot of time. So does cleaning. And laundry. Most people wash their clothes, by hand, instead of using a washing machine. And nobody uses clothes dryers. They all hang their clothes out on a line, like the Amish. So just keeping up with the cooking, cleaning, and laundry take a lot of time. That's why most people pay maids to help them. In the US only the rich people have maids. But here, it's very common. The maids don't get paid very much, but since there aren't any other good jobs around, they're thankful just to have a job. But like I said, missionaries are great cooks because they have to learn how to make everything from scratch. Missionary kids are lucky, that way! Another reason that missionaries can spend a lot of time in the kitchen is because we make such good desserts that everybody always asks us to make cakes for their birthdays! Like I said, I love it, but I do have to be careful that it doesn't take up too much time, because I don't think God called me down here just to make strawberry shortcake, all day!

I've also spent a lot of time creating this website, today, and organizing my pictures. That's been a lot of fun. Now I'm getting ready to do a Bible Study that all of us missionary women are doing, together. Then I'll probably play the guitar and sing for a while. Then I'll call a few people on Skype, read, and go to bed.

I love Saturdays!

wonderful suely

It's been a good day. It didn't start out very well because I was lazy and stayed in bed an hour after my alarm rang, so I didn't get to start the day with my devotions. Grrr. I hate it when I do that. So I got up late and french braded my hair so I'd get to school on time. Paraguayans love plain braids, but most people, here, don't know how to french braid! Can you believe it? So when I french braid my own hair, they just think it's the coolest thing ever! Anyway- I got to school just before the bell rang. Since we'd taken our huge exam the day before, we did fun art projects in 2nd and 3rd grades. Then I went on a field trip with the principle, a few other teachers, and the 6th and 7th graders to see our school's dance teacher and my good friend, Suely, in a really amazing dance performance. She's been taking dance classes ever since she was 4 years old! So she did something called a "tesina" where she made up a dance for 15 different people, and designed the costumes and scenery, too (similar to a senior recital or art exhibit, in the US). Suely did an incredible job. I was so proud of her! Oh, I love that girl. She is absolutely beautiful, inside and out. She wants to be a counselor so that she can help other women who are hurting or need advice. She didn't live with either of her parents, when she was a little girl, because they both thought there were other things in life more important than taking care of their daughter. So she was very lonely, growing up. But this helped her come to know God as her loving father and mother, and now she has a very close relationship with God. It's so hard to understand why God lets bad things happen to us. But Suely's example shows me that when we go through hard times we can either get mad at God, and then become bitter and mean, or we can let Him comfort us, and then we will become beautiful, kind, and strong. Suely is like that: beautiful, kind, and strong. I'm so honored to be her friend.

After school, I took long nap and then spent the entire evening in bed! I just sat there for hours, reading, praying, journaling, and talking on the phone to my sister, Danielle, and friend. Eric (via skype). It was so nice. I usually have 2 girls who come over to study English on Friday nights, but they never came. And that was fine with me. I've been feeling a little sad, lately, and I really just wanted to be alone, anyways. I called them and send them text messages, and they never called me back, so I just enjoyed having the night off! I ended up reading through the whole gospel of John! I hadn't meant to- I'd meant to just read one part. But one thing led to the next, and I had the evening free, so why not? It was really good for my soul. Anyway, I think I've just gotten really tired, which has made me not want to do anything, which has led to feeling guilty and badly about myself. But last night I told my sister and Eric that I was a little sad. Sometimes when we're feeling sad it really helps to be honest with people who love us and ask them to pray for us. And tomorrow's Saturday, so I'll get to rest. That's something else that helps when we're sad or grumpy. My mom always told me when I was upset about something, at night, that everything would be better in the morning. She was so smart! So even though I've been a little bit sad, I know that God will help me to feel better.