When we got here the first thing that hit us was the heat - 42 deg ! And this is the spring season!! We are assured that in the summer it only gets a little warmer...
At the airport we were met by three officers who are kindly looking after us while we here. Catherine and I and Derek and Susan Jinesare staying with Majors Cesar and Shirley and their three sons.
Our drive through Ascuncion to Cesar and Shirley's home is interesting and gives us a first glimpse of what life is like - there appears to be much poverty on the streets: small groups sit, stand an lie on street corners and on the steps of buildings; at every road junction street traders offer fruit, drunk, cigarettes, car washing and the like - the queue of traffic behind the car being washed just took it in their stride waiting patiently. Many cars have no number plates!
The house we are staying in is the Army presence here - it is opposite a shanty town of plywood and cardboard dwellings with a mass of humanity moving around and through it.
Cesar and Shirley's warm welcome is very kind and we feel at home immediately although language is a challenge as between us all there is very little of each other's language. But patience means we understand what is going on.
In the evening, after some rest, we went as a group to Rayita da Luz children's home and. Villa Morra Corps. It is an example of a campus approach to integrated mission. Most of the 35 children that stay there go home at the weekend leaving a small group of teenage girls who are part of a life skills programme. They had prepared for yes a traditional meal if meat in breadcrumbs, potatoes and salad. It was good!
Before the meal, however, we shared with the officers of Paraguay in an introductory meeting - there are ten of them - five couples. I think that we will see their work in the next few days.
As the meal concludes we are shown a demonstration of Paraguayan dancing by one of the officers and her sister which shows tremendous ability to dance while balancing various objects on their heads!
By the time we arrive back to our billet we noted that it has been 40 hours since we last properly slept.
Time for bed!
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1 comment:
Very interesting learning how things are in that country. We don't appreciate what we have in this country. What an experience for each one of the team. We pray that God will use each one of you to be a Blessing to the people you will encounter in His name.
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