Amy in Paraguay

Amy was kind enough to put together a journal of her mission trip to Paraguay.

Friday, November 9 – The team departed from Dalton FUMC at 2:00 pm EST for Atlanta. Our departure followed a wonderful communion send-off service conducted by our Associate Pastor, Rev. Billy Beard.

It was really hard to keep myself together saying ‘bye’ to my boys (Pete and Pepper before heading to the church; and Christopher after the service. When we got on the bus, I headed to a seat in the back (so no one would see me cry). I pulled out my crochet and worked on that to keep busy.

We arrived at Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport in plenty of time to make check in and grab a bite (I had Arby’s). Our flight left at 7:35 pm EST. We flew all night – I didn’t sleep a wink, but I did a bunch of sewing and watched a couple of movies (License to Wed, Mr. Bean’s Holiday – stupid!) and television shows (Friday Night Lights, How I Met Your Mother). We had an unhappy child behind us – kicking our seats and crying/screaming, so sleeping wasn’t really possible for me.

Saturday, November 10 – We landed in Sao Paulo, Brazil around 10:00 am Brazil time (I think that would be 7:00 am EST). Our flight from Sao Paulo to Asuncion, Paraguay was delayed a bit, but not too much. We landed in Asuncion around lunchtime.

Ed and Linda met us at baggage claim. We loaded all our bags onto the van, praised God for the safe journey, and headed to the local mall for lunch. I had a chicken sandwich (of sorts) and a Coca-Cola Lite (diet Coke in Paraguay). I also bought a phone card so I could call Christopher.

After lunch, we set off for the long bus ride to Ciudad del Este (City in the East) – the other side of the country. Again, I was able to crochet. I also took in the scenery and visited with some of the other team members.

We arrived at our hotel in Ciudad del Este around 7:30 pm Paraguay time (5:30 pm EST). We checked in and then enjoyed chicken fried chicken and Coca-Lite for supper. I then peeled my contacts out (they’d been in my eyes since Friday morning). After supper, Ann and I headed to our room and settled in for a good night’s rest.

Sunday, November 11 – Jim gave a devotional before we had breakfast (fruit, breads, yogurt — don’t drink the water). Then we set off for Foz de Iguazu (falls). We took our bus to the ticket office, then another bus to a drop-off point, then we walked the rest of the way. Honestly, I believe the Falls at Iguazu were the most amazing, beautiful display of God’s power and majesty I’ve ever seen. The closer I walked to the Falls, the more energy I had, the clearer my head became. It was as if my senses were heightened. I found myself saying ‘God is good all the time, all the time God is good.’ As I stood out there taking in the sights, sounds, and tastes, I pledged to live every day as a thank you note to God for allowing me to be part of this trip.

We stopped for lunch at a churazcaria (an outdoor café were they bring meat to your table on a skewer and carve off pieces for you). It was good food and a really interesting and new experience for me.

We then went to our work site in Yrybucua (pronounced oo-da-be-qua). We had supper prepared by Ana and Estella at the residencia. Work starts tomorrow morning.

Monday, November 12 – I woke up early to get a shower before the rest of the crowd woke up, but I failed to recognize that we didn’t have power. No hot water when we don’t have power. It was the coldest shower ever. Linda Baker loaned me a sweater, so I warmed up in no time. I had scrambled eggs and peach nectar (yum!) for breakfast. Frank gave the devotional after breakfast. Everyone went their separate ways for the work day. Ann, Linda, Emi, Ubaldina, and I headed to Central Church (about a ½ mile from the residencia) to begin sewing classes. Ann and I took a moment to pray before class started. Then the women all gathered in a circle and held hands to pray. One woman began the prayer in Guarni and the others would begin their own prayers. It was so very powerful – clear the Holy Spirit was in the room with us.

We taught the ladies how to thread the sewing machines – and they were off and running! It was phenomenal to watch these ladies take scraps and make clothing for their children with no measurements, no patterns. We broke for lunch at 12:00 and drove back to the residencia for soup and chicken salad.

When we reconvened at 2:00, we began cutting out skirts for the ladies using patterns Ann had brought with us. Two of the ladies finished their skirts today (they won’t be back for tomorrow’s class).

Dr. Bill treated a young man named Philemon who was very ill – so ill that Ed and Linda had to drive him to a hospital in Limpio (outside of Asuncion).

My observation – I don’t see the hopelessness that others have talked about. The ladies were so joyful – laughing, praying. They seem happy to me. The situation is not what we would be comfortable with, but they seem to make the most with what they have – even the very little. That was a real lesson for me. I overcomplicate my life with the stuff that doesn’t matter at all.

Tuesday, November 13 – As I listened last night to the ‘de-briefing’, I felt so silly. My happiness and enthusiasm seemed out of place. Bill, Maryanne, and Joy (nurse and missionary from Holland) treated 31 patients – some of whom were very sick. Frank and Christian worked on the generator until lunchtime because they had no power at the Agrimissions site all morning. So no work could be done on the cabinets. We had it so easy. After breakfast this morning, Ann offered a devotional and we went our separate ways to work.

We had a great work day! The ladies finished their skirts. All of them received a cross necklace, a pair of scissors, a gift bag (containing pincushions, seam rippers, sewing kits, etc.), and a certificate of completion. We took photos of our graduates. We wrapped up at lunch.

After lunch, we drove out to the Agrimissions site to visit the others. We saw Bill, Maryanne, and Joy at the mobile medical unit and the rest of the team working on cabinets for the Agrimissions kitchen. We also saw the Susanna Wesley school (where Dalton FUMC teams had worked in the past). Awesome school complex!!!

Wednesday, November 14 – It looked like rain as we ate breakfast. After we ate, Doug gave a devotional and we attempted to get to our worksites before it started raining. We jammed 7 people into the blue Toyota truck – 5 in the back seat! It started raining – sheets of rain coming down. It has been so long since I’ve seen rain because of the drought back home, it was fantastic. We lost power at Central Church. It took some time to get the generators up and running. Once they were up, we had power for the sewing machines, but not for lights or fans. We started cutting fabric for pants or skirts for the more advanced class. The ladies wanted to learn to make clothing with zippers and buttons.

Because of the rain, we couldn’t drive back to the residence for lunch – so we walked. We took our shoes off and rolled up our pant legs. Lunch was well worth to walk – as were all our meals. The walk back was a bit more eventful – I started up the wrong side of the hill (not the side with the grass that was easier to get my footing). Mud squished between my toes – all the way to my ankles. It reminded me of making mud pies as a kid. I’m still getting mud stains off my feet!

It wasn’t raining when class ended, so Ann and I rode in the back of the truck with a couple of ladies from class. Before we could drop anyone off, we picked up a young mother with her child. So it was 6 of us in the truck bed, 3 in the back seat, plus Ed and Linda up front. Full house! After we dropped everyone off, Ann and I decided to stay in the back to enjoy the view – but a few minutes in, it started raining. So Ed stopped and we transitioned to the back seat. The ride back to residencia was eventful – scary actually. Linda, Ann, Emi, and I were all fine to park the truck and walk back to the residencia, but Ed was convinced that we could make it in the truck. We had to wait for a truck that couldn’t make it up the hill to get out of the way before we could attempt to get down the hill. I closed my eyes and prayed as hard as I ever have as we slid sideways down the wet red clay road. We made it and I was so very grateful.

Because of the rain, we could not have the dedication of the well. We’ll try again tomorrow night.

After supper, I asked Emi, Joy, Ana, and Estella to help translate a prayer for me to say to the ladies in Spanish on our last work day. I also asked them to teach me a blessing in Guarani. It took some practice, but I think I have it!!!

Nande jara tande rovasa.

Thursday, November 15 – Our last work day. I offered the devotional after breakfast. It was the first time I’ve ever done anything like that before – I was a little nervous, but I think it went ok. We headed to our final sewing class – to work on blouses. All of the ladies were able to finish their blouses (we did much of the cutting yesterday) and we wrapped up at 4:00 pm. I read the prayer the ladies had helped me with last night. And then I said the short blessing in Guarani. That was truly something special – all of the ladies came up afterward and hugged me and kissed both cheeks (the traditional Paraguayan greeting). Ann and I were able to catch a ride back to the residencia on Viviana’s ox cart. Viviana is due to have a baby in a couple of weeks (Nov. 29) and she got into the ox cart much more gracefully than either of us did!

We had supper at the residencia and changed clothes for the well dedication. Our Associate Pastor, Billy Beard wrote a dedication service that Jim delivered. Doug and Frank each paid beautiful tribute to Becky Kenney (a fellow DFUMC member who was instrumental in our missions focus who passed away several years ago). I did not know her, but through the stories everyone has shared, I can’t wait to meet her in heaven. Dr. Bill sang an a capella version of “Balm in Gilead” – so beautiful – gave me goosebumps. Joy (the Dutch missionary nurse) translated the entire service (including the lyrics of Dr. Bill’s solo) into Guarani, and there were no dry eyes to be found. The entire evening (such a fitting end to the work week) was so touching and beautiful. The pastor of Central Church gave a wonderful blessing in Guarani (which Joy and Linda translated into English for us) and two of their church members sang several songs (one of which they wrote for this dedication). We ended the service by singing “This is the Day” in Guarani, Spanish, Dutch, and English. Absolutely amazing.

We said our goodbyes to the folks from the village and returned to the residencia to finish packing and get a good night’s rest. We will head to Asuncion after breakfast tomorrow.

Friday, November 16 – We all rose early to load our bags onto the trucks and have breakfast (cereal). Ana and Estella (our wonderful cooks) had to leave right after breakfast to the Women’s Conference in Asuncion, so we ate early to help them out. We gathered as a team and said the Lord’s Prayer as our devotional today. On our way out of the village, we stopped at the pastor’s house (Viviana’s husband and Philemon’s father-in-law) – Philemon is still in the hospital, so we had to stop at the hospital to drop off some money. About 10 minutes after we pulled away, Ed radioed us from his car to say that Viviana had delivered her baby – a girl. That was fast! But I think that was number 8 or 9. We stopped in Santani to pick up some crates to bring back to the U.S. for Ed and Linda.

Then we were on our way. We stopped at the seminary where a team had worked a few years ago. It was great to see their faces as they saw the tremendous progress that had been done since they were last here. We saw Emi again as she was preparing for the Women’s Conference (she was sewing!!!). It was great to see her again.

Then we went to the hotel to check in – the Hotel Bavaria. It was so beautiful. We ordered pizza for lunch (Pizza Hut delivers!).

Then the team loaded up to visit New Horizon school. I did not initially want to go – I was ready for a nap, but since everyone else was going, I went along. What a blessing! Amazing work being done there – it was like culture shock from the village where we had been all week. One of the ladies from our church, Lisa, sponsors one of the little girls (Leticia) at this school and had sent a Barbie doll for the team to deliver to Leticia.

We saw the classrooms, the library, the computer lab, and playgrounds. My favorite memory was witnessing one of the classes sing “4 Little Monkeys Jumping on a Bed” to our team – IN ENGLISH! Truly amazing.

They teach Guarani, Spanish, English, and God’s Word (in addition to normal studies) in every class. Their dream is to add a grade level each year – right now they have K – 6. They are also planning to build a ‘deportivo’ – like a big indoor multi-purpose area – for sports and other activities. I didn’t want to go, but God wanted me to. And I was blessed when I did what He wanted.

The larger team (Wilson – the Spanish translator, Christian – missionary from Atlanta, his wife Angelica, and daughters, Camilla and AnaBelen) reunited for dinner at a very nice churascaria (meat-on-a-skewer place). I sat next to Angelica and had a fantastic visit with their family. They will be coming stateside for Christmas and New Years – hopefully we will reconnect then. Camilla reminded me so much of McKenna – loves Hannah Montana, High School Musical, etc.

I was able to use a calling card to call Chris from the hotel. I had spoken with him several other days, but somehow this time meant more – the work week was over and I had time to realize how much I missed him – and home. I had a great visit with Doug and Frank as they recounted stories of past mission trips and Becky Kenney. When I got back to the room, Ann was sleeping, but I was able to find a NBA game on T.V. – in Spanish.

Saturday, November 16 – I had a very quiet breakfast – no one else was up yet. I had yogurt and toast (and a Coca-Lite!) and did some reading. When I got back to the room, Ann was up and ready for breakfast. I finished consolidating my bags so we could maximize space after our shopping trip today.

The team met around 9:00 am to head out for shopping. We went to some fantastic shops – crafts, leather, clothing, etc. Everyone bought gifts for their prayer partners and family members back home. I think our team really boosted the Paraguayan economy! After shopping we had lunch at a nice buffet (Chinese/Japanese) and went back to the hotel to load up bags for the trip to the airport. Ed made a ‘coffee run’ – for those who wanted to take Brazilian coffee home – while we loaded up the trucks. We made it to the airport in plenty of time to get checked in.

The trip home was relatively uneventful. The team ran into Pastor Pablo (head of UMC in Paraguay) and some other missionaries. Ann thought she lost her carry-on in Sao Paulo, but we found it as we were boarding the plane – whew! The movies going home were ok – Transformers and Hot Rod, and I watched two episodes of Two and a Half Men, an episode of Ugly Betty and an episode of Men in Trees. I did some sewing and was able to doze some – no baby behind me kicking my seat and screaming this trip.

We landed in Atlanta, and I called Christopher right after touchdown (5:30 am on the nose – right on time). If all went well, we’d be in Dalton before the end of the 8:30 service. It took us about an hour and a half to get through immigrations and customs. But we were on our way home just after 7:00 am. We stopped at a Waffle House outside of Atlanta for breakfast. Really good breakfast! We had a nice group prayer before that last stretch of driving. We arrived at church just before 10:00, so we missed the close of the 8:30 service and too early for the 11:00 service. Our families greeted us outside and it was fantastic to have Christopher’s arms wrapped around me again. I forgot how much I missed that – and how much I love it. I was never unsafe on this trip, but I felt so safe and at peace when he wrapped his arms around me. Some other church members were there to greet us as well. It was good to see familiar faces. Christopher loaded my bags and we went home. I thought about staying for Sunday School and church, but on the bus ride, I realized how tired (and stinky) I was.

When we arrived at home, Christopher let the boys inside and I received another wonderful greeting from them. Whining, crying, jumping, tails wagging, kisses to go around! After a much needed hot shower and lunch, we (all 4 of us) took a nap – probably the best any of us had slept in over a week. I’m glad I went, and I’m glad I’m home.

I’ve been home over a week now and I can say that I feel changed – others on the trip said, “You will go home changed” – they were right.

Here are some other photos from the trip.