Just keeping in touch...

History of the Jesuits

The picture is ours but the info is from Encarta...

The most famous work of the Jesuit missionaries in the New World, however, was the establishment in the order's South American provinces of reductions, or village communities of native peoples under the spiritual and temporal direction of the priests. The most successful were the reductions of Paraguay. In that country for almost 200 years the Jesuits governed a communal nation of Native Americans, founding 32 villages with a total population of about 160,000; they taught the Native Americans agriculture, mechanical arts, and commerce and trained a small army for defense of the settlements.© 1993-2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

A Two Day Family Trip...

Oscar’s nephew, Fernando, was graduating this past weekend and we went as a family to Encarnacion (280 km southeast near Misiones, Argentina) for his graduation. We took advantage of the family time and spent a wonderful weekend together. He graduated from a Bible School called “Parque de las Naciones”.
Gaby wanted to see the Jesuit Ruins. Brandon, Oscar and I went when Brandon was in sixth grade. Since other nephews and a niece wanted to go, Brandon and I gave up our seats. I stayed back at Parque de las Naciones with Edson and my sister in law.
Here are some pictures of the sight.

It smells like Christmas!

It’s December…well, things have been getting hotter, in Paraguay, anyway. People will say (funny) things like…ummmm, it smells like Christmas! How strange! I smell sweaty bodies mixed with an aroma of flowers, food, exhaust. WHAT smells like Christmas?
When we talk about Christmas smells, I imagine cinnamon, peppermint, chocolate, cookies baking in the oven, evergreens, etc. I think of pies or bread baking and can even “smell” that in my mind. I picture oranges and nuts in the bags we used to make for the Sunday school program and smell the different scents in my mind…THAT is what Christmas smells like to me. What about the crisp smell of new fallen snow or the smell of gloves or scarves that have been tucked away for a year? Smelling fireword, sitting by a fireplace with a cup of hot chocolate milk…ummm…that smells like Christmas!
Here in Paraguay the sign or smell of Christmas is the aroma of coconut flowers. People even bring one into their home carefully placing it under their Christmas tree or by their Nativity scene…ahh…the smell of Christmas! Little firecrackers and the smell of sulphur it leaves behind…that’s the smell of Christmas! Barbeques (asado), outdoor grilling, fruit salad…this is the smell of Christmas!
My senses are all mixed up! It doesn’t feel like Christmas…its 100º. It doesn’t look like Christmas…there are trees full in bloom and everything is ripe with colors. It doesn’t taste like Christmas…the flavors are all different! Chocolate even melts at room temperature. It doesn’t sound like Christmas…it’s too loud, full of firecrackers, different music. Sorry…it just DOESN’T smell like Christmas…

Those 1st steps!

Finally…our little slow poke started taking those first steps. Why do I say slow poke? Because comparing Edson to his brothers (I know, you should never do that, but…) he was slow at walking. He had been taking forced steps all along, but didn’t like it. He cried when we tried to MAKE him walk. We tried everything, but it always ended up in frustration, for all of us. So we just stopped trying and so did he!
Saturday, December 1, Vivi came running over and said…”Karen, did you see him walk? He is walking all by himself” Yeah, yeah, that’s what everyone says. Everyone else in the whole church saw Edson walk months ago…everyone but ME! So, it was hard to believe. Well, she went and got Edson to prove it. AND…YES, Edson stripped away his fears and started walking LONG strides not just little steps. Now it’s non-stop WALKING, climbing, and reaching for anything that he can get his hands on.
So, Brandon started walking at 10 months, Gabriel at 11 and Edson at 12 months,15 days. Edson seems to glow at his newly earned freedom. Even a couple falls now and then don’t seem to discourage him. He’s bruised and crying, but wiggles himself right back up. I wish we could all be like him! Sometimes when WE fall…we just don’t want to get back up!
Our prayer for little Edson…”The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. Psalm 37:23 and 24.

No more school

No more school till February! The kids have been off for a week and have become totally bored! (Note Brandon’s new picture on the side.) They finished the first semester and have a two month break, probably because of the summer heat. I think that I am the one that will soon go crazy.
Yes, Things have been especially hot lately. We take a shower three times a day…three new outfits to change into and three new loads of wash to do. It is impossible to reuse the same shirt, shorts or underclothes. They could be wrung out…and it's just sweat! This humid heat has been especially hard on my teenagers. Edson is quite uncomfortable at night with just a diaper on…he gets heat rash to prove it.
To ease our hot, uncomfortable, sweaty bodies we set up our canvas pool. We enjoyed it the first day. The next day we had so much rain that the pool was full again…with rain water! The coolness of today’s weather doesn’t make the water attractive.
Keep tuned…there’re more blogs coming!

Backing up to Thanksgiving

Backing up a couple of weeks…wow…time flies. We had a great visit with Ben and Vivi, Jason, a friend of Jason’s from Georgetown (Pilar), and two of her friends from Paraguay (Katie and Maggie). We had turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet corn, stuffed squash and pies. It was so beautiful. (You can see a picture on Jason’s blog.)
I realized while I was cooking that this is not a meal that should be planned for our hot summer. I would be so nice and cozy up in your North American homes, but down here, I seemed to be the one baking! Everything turned out so nice. We were able to visit with these new friends and enjoy some English conversation.
We were grateful for FRIENDSHIP, for being able to SHARE together even though we didn’t really know each other. We were grateful for the ABUNDANCE of blessings the Lord showered on us. We were grateful for having a purpose to live for. We were grateful to be working here and accepted in a different culture.
And, as one of the girls kept saying…I am SO thankful…that means I can keep eating!