September 2007 Adventures
September began just as dry as August, it’s been a difficult time for the
farmers here in Paraguay. We haven’t had any measurable rain since June. A lot
of the hand dug wells are now dry, and many folks are drinking and using creek
water.
To make
matters worse, spring is when the country burns all of the fields. The smoke
has been so bad that the President declared a state of emergency. We heard that
he obtained a Russian water plane from Venezuela to fly over the country to help
douse some of the flames. We can’t see that it helped up in our region. There
have been a couple of reports of real tragedies; a farm manager was burning his
field, and accidentally his truck, with him inside, exploded. Going outside we
would find that it was literally raining ashes. In the evening, the sun is a
strange orange color as the smoke covers the sky. Driving over hills at night
is spooky, as we turn a bend and a tall tree is on fire, with all the brush
around it burning. We’re just hoping the road bends and doesn’t go through the
flames. We’ll have a personal story posted on the web site under Stories to
Tell, “Heavenly Chuckle” that will recount some of our own personal issues
with no water. It should be ready to read by October 15th.
During
September, we had a great team work with us from Ed’s father’s church, The
Memorial UMC in Fernandina Beach, FL. This is the group that began the footings
at the Susannah Wesley School in Quinta Linea 2 years ago. They were back at
the site again doing various catch up projects. This project has had to take a
hiatus for several months due to lack of funds. We’ve started back up again,
and hopefully will finish the original 6 classroom portion by the end of the
year. We have also started the revamping of the old building, to incorporate it
with the new construction.
|
It
was a small team of only 7 folks, but mighty workers they were. We were
also joined for part of the week by Christian, Angelica, Camilla, and
AnnaBelen Dickson. It was fun to have them share the “team experience” with
us. |
|
What we always enjoy is
when a team is exposed to some really local culture. This group had the
opportunity to share a 1st birthday with a precious local
Paraguayan girl. The 1st and 15th birthdays, for
girls, are the most important here. The family prepared a meal for each of
us including grilled meat, local cornbread, and a rice dish. The team
enjoyed being part of the local community. |
 |
On the left is
little Jessica, take a look at her cake – it was made in the above oven! |
 In
the district where we are currently working, the government is about to give
out land for homesteaders. But in order to receive the land, a person must
be “waiting in line” when the land announcements are made. How long?
Nobody really knows, so the locals camp out at the entrance to the new
property until “things” are decided. We have young men from 3 of our local
church families waiting in line. They take turns sleeping in the tents they
bring, not wanting to loose their places. They have been waiting for 3
months now, and hope to receive about 20 acres of land in 2 or 3 months
more. Keep praying for them and their diligence.
Thank
you again for all your prayers and support. All things can be accomplished
together as one body in Christ.
|
|