November 2006 Adventures

As we mentioned in October, we had been working on a well at a new settlement called Nuevo Horizonte (New Horizon).  We did finally finish that well – thanks for all the prayers!  The well is 215’ deep and is being used all the time!  This is the site where the future church will be, so we are anxious to get a temporary structure built for the people to use for worship.  And, yes, we did finally finish the Jesus movie PTL!  Denny Bearce came from the states again this year and was with us when we finished the well.

We are always frustrated with the medical system here in Paraguay.  This month we took a very sick 21 day old baby to a hospital here in Santaní, and later transferred him to a hospital in Asunción.  He had several tests done in Asunción, but had to return to have the test results read by a doctor.  It seems the doctors were all on strike, and the hospital was full of sick, crying babies!  A terrible experience for all.  The baby’s name is Junior, and is now on the mend, gaining weight daily. 

We are also always amazed by the different superstitions we hear.  This month we’ve had lots of very fierce thunderstorms.  One day at one of our churches, 10 people were knocked unconscious by ground lightening.  What the locals do is quickly dig a hole the length/width of the person, fill it with water; and lay the person in the hole, with the water up to their nostrils.  Yes, and it worked with 9 of the victims.  The person who died was actually urinating off his front porch and got a direct hit – public urination for men is legal!

We celebrated Thanksgiving Day with the other English speaking missionaries with the Methodist Church.  That day was definitely a day “In God’s Timing”.  We had taken our Hilux into the Toyota dealership earlier that week for some maintenance.  We had planned on traveling to Asunción by bus that morning (to avoid having 2 vehicles to drive home), retrieving our truck, then joining the others for food and fellowship.  However, our refrigerator died, so we drove the Land Cruiser into Asunción to buy a new one (yes, stores are open here on Thanksgiving Day).  We had also planned on spending a short time with the other missionaries since we had lots of errands.  However, we stayed and enjoyed the fellowship.  Next, we stopped by a café for coffee, enjoying the coffee at the café instead of drinking it in the car – which is our usual mode of operation.  We finally started our drive home later in the day than we wanted, but not really concerned.  As we were leaving Asunción, we got a cell phone call from one of our pastors.  It seems Pastor Felipe’s father had been in the hospital, and was discharged that day.  They had planned to take him to a cousin’s house, but the cousin was not home.  After trying several places, Pastor Felipe was at the end of his rope, and called us for help.  Guess what?  We were about 4 miles from him and had both vehicles, the Hilux empty, just waiting for passengers!  God’s Timing is amazing!  Pastor Felipe’s father has since passed away, but had the comfort of being in his own home when he went to his heavenly home.

After Thanksgiving, we managed to get away for a few days to celebrate our 37^th anniversary.  We also started our 2^nd well site in Nuevo Horizonte; this one will be at the site of the future school.  Some information about the new settlements; each homesteader is given about 20 acres, which they clear by hand or with an ox.  The road is partially cleared, there is no electricity, and no running water.  The life is very difficult for these pioneer folks.  Their dedication to bettering the future lives of their families is admirable.

Typical homestead home, with 1 room.  The cooking area is on the left, outside the home.  The barrels in front are to put water in, which they are now getting from the church site.  That’s only a 600 yard walk, but with a full bucket of water!