The other day we were at the kids’ school picnic. As soon as we got there the kids took off to the soccer field. Oscar and I made our way there while meeting other parents, talking with the teachers and showing off Edson. (Last year when we went, Edson was 3 days old!)
We got to the field and saw the kids playing American Football. I laughed with another mom as I saw our kids tackling, with NO PROTECTION. They were just running at each other head on. It looked nothing like the football I saw growing up. I looked at the frustrated teachers sighing and shrugging their shoulders as their Junior High and High School group tried so hard to learn American Football. It was hot and sweaty, but it seemed as if only the teachers were ready to give up. You see, these guys grew up playing soccer. Football is an ALL NEW sport for them. Brandon came home with three scrapes; big and sore ones, but they were out to learn the game and win.
Gaby dreamed of getting a Football for his birthday so we started the search in a factory outlet sports store in Luque…no football! We weren’t going to give up so we went to four more places and realized that there may be NO FOOTBALLS in all of Paraguay. We gave up the search that day and Oscar continued on his own another day. I remembered seeing racks of footballs at Kmart, Wal-Mart, and every other American store I went into last summer, but none in Paraguay.
Finally, Oscar found the one and only one at Unicentro. It was sooooo old that they also gave it to him with a 30% discount. It had a neat feature of lighting up at night, but was so old that the batteries didn’t work. Anyway, it was a FOOTBALL!
Yes, the running and tackling still continue in the back yard, and better yet, there is a group of American/Canadian players who know the game…maybe our coaches at school won’t be so frustrated next football season.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Blessings
Let’s talk about blessings!
Today we (not actually us, but representatives of Colegio Privado Adonai) were invited to participate in a special meeting in Banco Central de Paraguay. The best students from every grade went with the principals with free transportation to the bank and a long table full of snacks. Every couple of years they renew all of their desks, computers, cabinets, etc. A kindergarten girl’s mother from school told us about this project and asked us to consider writing to the authorities and ask for things for our school since all of it was going to be donated to schools around the city…those interested. Oscar and our administrator went and were actually able to see all the things available and pick out what our school needed. We did that about two months ago and we were chosen along with six other schools to receive these donations. It’s one more blessing!
There are several work teams brewing; one from Canada, one from Colorado, and one from Ontario. Hopefully, God will provide funds also to get those two rooms done that we needs so badly. The foundation is done and we are waiting for more funds to continue the construction. Ben’s brother Joel and Eric Steidl are coming in December, also…more blessings to count on.
More wonderful news…we have a baptism planned for Sunday. We are excited to receive these new believers. It’s just as moving to hear their stories and how the Lord has worked miracles in their lives. We are blessed with a full church.
We are blessed with family, health, a house, a beautiful yard, cold-ice water on hot days, fans, (air conditioning in our bedroom), boys, school, work, etc.
We are blessed with salvation and eternal life. We are blessed to have a loving Father. We are blessed with forgiveness and peace. Yes, we are blessed!
Today we (not actually us, but representatives of Colegio Privado Adonai) were invited to participate in a special meeting in Banco Central de Paraguay. The best students from every grade went with the principals with free transportation to the bank and a long table full of snacks. Every couple of years they renew all of their desks, computers, cabinets, etc. A kindergarten girl’s mother from school told us about this project and asked us to consider writing to the authorities and ask for things for our school since all of it was going to be donated to schools around the city…those interested. Oscar and our administrator went and were actually able to see all the things available and pick out what our school needed. We did that about two months ago and we were chosen along with six other schools to receive these donations. It’s one more blessing!
There are several work teams brewing; one from Canada, one from Colorado, and one from Ontario. Hopefully, God will provide funds also to get those two rooms done that we needs so badly. The foundation is done and we are waiting for more funds to continue the construction. Ben’s brother Joel and Eric Steidl are coming in December, also…more blessings to count on.
More wonderful news…we have a baptism planned for Sunday. We are excited to receive these new believers. It’s just as moving to hear their stories and how the Lord has worked miracles in their lives. We are blessed with a full church.
We are blessed with family, health, a house, a beautiful yard, cold-ice water on hot days, fans, (air conditioning in our bedroom), boys, school, work, etc.
We are blessed with salvation and eternal life. We are blessed to have a loving Father. We are blessed with forgiveness and peace. Yes, we are blessed!
Friday, October 26, 2007
Haircuts
Edson got his first real haircut this week. I say…this week…because every day I was cutting a little more off until finally Oscar cut it really short last night. His haircut took about a week to finish completely. He still looks as cute as ever! His big brown eyes are just trying to figure everything out. We had to give him the beard trimmer to keep him occupied, but he still tried to grab for the scissors several times.
My other boys are terrified of the scissors. They don’t even want to talk about haircuts even though they can’t see through their long bangs. Their Canadian friend, Peter, had long, brown curls. I think my boys were a little envious. Ellen cut them neatly off on Saturday…too short according to Peter. My kids couldn’t believe he would do such a thing...you know...cut off that beautiful hair! Oscar has been threatening to take them to the barber’s and they come pleading with me to wait a couple of days. They do well at distracting their dad and the days turn into weeks…to their advantage. Long hair is “cool”.
I have long hair, now and it’s definitely not cool, it’s HOT! The weather is hot. It’s humid! Who wants sticky hair on your neck and forehead? I want to pull it up (or shave it). Why do young guys LOVE long hair while women want it short?
Martha, enjoy the moments you have now…you and Stephen see “eye to eye” on hair lengths, but…in a couple of years…
My other boys are terrified of the scissors. They don’t even want to talk about haircuts even though they can’t see through their long bangs. Their Canadian friend, Peter, had long, brown curls. I think my boys were a little envious. Ellen cut them neatly off on Saturday…too short according to Peter. My kids couldn’t believe he would do such a thing...you know...cut off that beautiful hair! Oscar has been threatening to take them to the barber’s and they come pleading with me to wait a couple of days. They do well at distracting their dad and the days turn into weeks…to their advantage. Long hair is “cool”.
I have long hair, now and it’s definitely not cool, it’s HOT! The weather is hot. It’s humid! Who wants sticky hair on your neck and forehead? I want to pull it up (or shave it). Why do young guys LOVE long hair while women want it short?
Martha, enjoy the moments you have now…you and Stephen see “eye to eye” on hair lengths, but…in a couple of years…
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Fun Things in Life...
1. Watching little Edson reach for something on tippy toes.
2. Bringing home a 30/30 in a difficult subject at school.
3. Feeling good about yourself in a certain outfit.
4. Family dinners and stories.
5. Memories.
6. God's creation and the beautiful spring colors in Paraguay.
7. The baby's giggle while playing "hide and go seek".
8. Christmas preparations.
9. Feeling smaller (and weaker) than your two teenage sons.
10. Having computers (and blogs) to keep us together.
2. Bringing home a 30/30 in a difficult subject at school.
3. Feeling good about yourself in a certain outfit.
4. Family dinners and stories.
5. Memories.
6. God's creation and the beautiful spring colors in Paraguay.
7. The baby's giggle while playing "hide and go seek".
8. Christmas preparations.
9. Feeling smaller (and weaker) than your two teenage sons.
10. Having computers (and blogs) to keep us together.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
More Adventures!
This past weekend Oscar and I went to Ciudad del Este for a baptism, a outdoor evangelistic campaign, and to get to know Rosa’s relatives that live there. It was a very HOT afternoon, but we saw storm clouds on the horizon. I would be cool soon after the rain. We saw Oscar’s sister. She looked wonderful! I have never seen her sober. Since May she has not had a single drink! She looks young and beautiful. Around Mother’s Day she prayed a prayer of faith and healing and she (and we) believes that THE LORD has healed her battered, alcoholic life. It was good to see her.
The rain came very strong at 8 in the morning, the exact time that the baptism service started. There were such strong winds and hard rains that the water poured through the closed windows! The lights went out right after the singing. Ciudad del Este is the worst place to be when it rains. Why? The red, mucky dirt turns into oily, red mud that sticks to your shoes and clothes. Our car almost got stuck in the church’s driveway. All the way home we saw signs, billboards, on the ground, trees broken and even uprooted. It was a wonderful adventure.
Oh, did I mention that we only took Edson (and Rosa, a lady from church). Brandon and Gaby stayed home with Ellen, Jason, Peter, Larissa, and with instructions to eat at Ben and Vivi’s for Sunday lunch. We left Oscar’s cell phone with Jason just in case they had any problems. Thankfully, there were no emergency calls.
As we were leaving Ciudad del Este, I decided to call Brandon and see how everyone was doing. I really started missing them. Little did I know, they were in the middle of another adventure! I called Brandon and asked if it stormed there like in Ciudad del Este. He said, “Yeah…blah, blah, blah…everything’s okay.” He was at the Cerro Lambaré with Peter, Ricardo, Nestor, etc. He climbed up the hill with the guys instead of taking the walkway with Jason and the other girls. Gaby stayed at Ben and Vivi’s. (As we were talking, I heard Ellen talking VERY LOUD in the background.) He assured me that he was fine so we hung up. But, for some silly reason, I called Brandon back about two minutes later and he said, “MOM, THEY JUST ROBBED ELLEN AND JASON!” I got a little more info out of him and hung up, praising God that he was safe along with the rest. (You can read the whole story on Ellen or Jason’s blog. The link is on the side.)
We later found out that Brandon took the cell phone from home even though Jason was in charge of it for the weekend. I wanted to get mad, but had he not done that, It would have been stolen! They guy asked Jason for his cell phone...and he didn't have one (Brandon had it) The cell phone came in handy by calling 911, Pastor Pedro, and the police since Brandon went up a different route. WOW!
I thank God for the constant protection He gives his children. I pray that these Adventures of a Lifetime will be molding Brandon’s tender life and bringing him, over and over again, to the throne of grace.
I thank God for the adventures. I thank Him for the lessons. I thank Him for life!
The rain came very strong at 8 in the morning, the exact time that the baptism service started. There were such strong winds and hard rains that the water poured through the closed windows! The lights went out right after the singing. Ciudad del Este is the worst place to be when it rains. Why? The red, mucky dirt turns into oily, red mud that sticks to your shoes and clothes. Our car almost got stuck in the church’s driveway. All the way home we saw signs, billboards, on the ground, trees broken and even uprooted. It was a wonderful adventure.
Oh, did I mention that we only took Edson (and Rosa, a lady from church). Brandon and Gaby stayed home with Ellen, Jason, Peter, Larissa, and with instructions to eat at Ben and Vivi’s for Sunday lunch. We left Oscar’s cell phone with Jason just in case they had any problems. Thankfully, there were no emergency calls.
As we were leaving Ciudad del Este, I decided to call Brandon and see how everyone was doing. I really started missing them. Little did I know, they were in the middle of another adventure! I called Brandon and asked if it stormed there like in Ciudad del Este. He said, “Yeah…blah, blah, blah…everything’s okay.” He was at the Cerro Lambaré with Peter, Ricardo, Nestor, etc. He climbed up the hill with the guys instead of taking the walkway with Jason and the other girls. Gaby stayed at Ben and Vivi’s. (As we were talking, I heard Ellen talking VERY LOUD in the background.) He assured me that he was fine so we hung up. But, for some silly reason, I called Brandon back about two minutes later and he said, “MOM, THEY JUST ROBBED ELLEN AND JASON!” I got a little more info out of him and hung up, praising God that he was safe along with the rest. (You can read the whole story on Ellen or Jason’s blog. The link is on the side.)
We later found out that Brandon took the cell phone from home even though Jason was in charge of it for the weekend. I wanted to get mad, but had he not done that, It would have been stolen! They guy asked Jason for his cell phone...and he didn't have one (Brandon had it) The cell phone came in handy by calling 911, Pastor Pedro, and the police since Brandon went up a different route. WOW!
I thank God for the constant protection He gives his children. I pray that these Adventures of a Lifetime will be molding Brandon’s tender life and bringing him, over and over again, to the throne of grace.
I thank God for the adventures. I thank Him for the lessons. I thank Him for life!
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
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