August 2005 Adventures

Wow – the weather in Paraguay sure is crazy.  During the last week of August we hit 100ºF.  That may sound normal for the US but remember that in Paraguay our seasons are reversed – August for us is like February for the States.  Imagine hitting 100ºF the last week of February!  What struck us as odd is that no one here thought that 100ºF was odd – they said that it gets like that in August.  We can’t wait until summer!  The day following the 100º, we had to get the electric blanket back out as it went down to 45º, which seemed COLD to us!

August has been a month of getting our various chores done.  Our favorite project was exchanging our faithful white 1991 Toyota Hilux for a 2001 Hilux!  Our new family member is dark blue and a dream to drive!  Downtown Asunción driving never was so good!

August has 2 special days for Paraguay.  August 15^th is Independence Day.  This is celebrated by just closing businesses; much calmer than our July 4^th celebrations.  August 16^th is “Día de los Niños” which is Children’s Day.  Much celebration is had as each church and school provides some type of snack for the children.  We were given funds from the children at the Methodist school in Lambaré to help provide a good Children’s Day for the school at Y’Apy.  We bought milk, chocolate, suckers, & cookies for the teachers to distribute.  The day may have been hot, but the children enjoyed their warm chocolate milk.

We also had a North District youth rally on August 20^th.  Eight of our 9 churches had youth represented.  The morning was full of worship, singing, and games. 

One thing that makes a youth gathering very different here is the mode of transportation; which is usually via cachape (horse drawn cart).  The advantage is that you can get lots of youth on just 1 cachape!

The remainder of our month has been driving materials up to the 2 construction sites in Quinta Linea – Susannah Wesley School and Agrimissions Center.  These projects have been a pleasure to work with, but they keep us very busy! 

We have a member in Yrybucua who has tuberculosis, along with other infections.  We have spent several days transporting him to/from Asunción to receive medical attention.  It has been a blessing to be able to help this man and his family; he has almost died several times this past month.

We would like to add a few “street scenes” to this newsletter.  We are always taking photos and have a difficult time deciding which ones to share with you.  Hope you enjoy these.