Edson

Things have been kind of crazy lately with Oscar gone and getting back. Kaylie has been taking ALL of my English classes at school while I juggled other activities and family demands…the most demanding, of course, has been Edson. And then, the look on his peaceful face as he sleeps makes me think that it really wasn’t all that bad just a few hours before.
Saturday night was tough! Oscar was busy with others and I had a “free” moment to change a dirty diaper. Since we don’t have changing tables at church and the bathroom sink is often wet, I took Edson in the Pastor’s office and laid him down on the desk. It’s cold and he had about 3 layers of clothes on. I got the bottom part off, ready to change his diaper just as he reached for a box of pins and completely spilled them all over his face and body and all three layers of sweaters and sweat pants. I tried to pull them all out of his clothes, quickly change him, and bundle him up again. I think I was being tested for patience!
The rest of the night was full of squirming, screaming, scrambling and the rest. After that evening, we were both so exhausted that he came right home to bed. Since I changed him at church, I just laid him down and he instantly fell asleep.
Sunday morning came along. It was my turn to prepare breakfast for 50 kids at Sunday school, get my own kids up and once again, change Edson. Since I changed him so early the night before, he wet through most of his layers. I was taking off the layers one at a time, got to his diaper and found a pin in it…laying flat, but pricking at his stomach! Then another fell out of his sweater! Oh no! Could that have been the reason he was so ornery the night before? He was being pricked by pins and couldn’t be still!
He’s still asleep. It’s warm in those covers. He’s peaceful, cute, and calm. Let’s just blame those wiggly, active moments on the pins!

Oscar's home!

Okay, so what have I been doing this week that kept me from blogging?
Too much!
I was finishing up my last couple of days as a single parent. Oscar flew to Canada for a friends wedding, a visit to our Canadian Mission Organization, a meeting with someone thinking about coming down, and a visit with our relatives from Kitchener. Two weeks made me appreciate Oscar even more than before! He helps me so much with so many things! Running around with Edson to all of my responsibilities at school, church, just wore me out. I was so used to Oscar giving me a hand with Edson. Especially at meal-time when I am working at getting things ready it seems as if Edson needs to be held…just then! Oscar is always there to pick him up and care for him a couple of minutes. I missed Oscar way too much!
I had to drive everywhere, solve strange problems, get Edson up, put him to sleep, spend time with my company, help the kids with homework, cook something for tomorrow, etc. etc. All this without my right hand man!
We had some shocking news on Tuesday morning. A sister in church died. She was an older lady that Oscar cared for, served, and visited on a daily basis. Funerals here in Paraguay usually take place 24 hours after the person dies. There is a 24 hour vigil with the family and then the burial. Oscar was leaving Canada that night and I called him to tell him the sad news making him more homesick wanting to be home to comfort this family. I had to juggle my hours around to spend time with them, while finding someone to care for Edson. By Wednesday morning I was exhausted!
I kept my eyes glued to the clock…Oscar was going to be at the airport at 5.10 pm. There was a Paraguay/Boliva soccer game that the kids wanted to see. Positive that there would be a TV at the airport, all three kids and I went. Brandon and Gaby were standing for an hour watching the game and happy that Oscar’s plane got in an hour late! Tired, anxious mom and squiggly, active Edson were just waiting and waiting trying to entertain ourselves in our seat so we wouldn’t lose it.
Finally he came through, Edson threw himself at Oscar and could not even be pried off. His papá was home! The whole rest of the night he only wanted to be with Oscar…whewww! They both loved it.
Yesterday we were busy with school meetings, studying for final exams. Oscar took me to the dentist all the way in town just to find out that they left a message on the answering machine letting me know that my appointment was cancelled until today, Friday at 4 pm. So, we went all the way in and back…but enjoyed ourselves catching up on everything. Yes, we listened to the message when we got home. Last night we took Kaylie to a Churrasquería restaurant and today…
I am home…catching up on emails, blogs, travel plans, housework, etc. I’m thankful God got me through such a hectic week. We are healthy…even though many at school are sick with colds and the flu. We are happy to be a family again. Ohhh, God is good!

A frightning experience!

I am still a little bit shaky, but I guess I'll write about it.
I think I could consider myself a very ontime, punctual person especially in a culture where punctuality really doesn't matter. I am up and out of bed on time, we get to church or other places on time, my kids like to get to school 1/2 hour early...it's just in our personalities to be where ever...early! It's probably a pride thing, too.
Well, here's the story. Our electricity has been blinking off for about 5 minutes at a time. The first time it happened was Wednesday night at midnight. My OLD, electric clock/alarm got unprogrammed because of those 5 minutes of electrical power we lost. No problem, yesterday we didn't have to wake up early, there was no school (yes, a holiday, again). Then, yesterday morning the same thing happened...the electricity just blinked off for a short time. In the afternoon the kids and I were watching a dvd and the power went off for about 2 minutes. Each time this messes up my 20 year old, digital clock. Before going to bed, I decided to set both cellphones to "alarm" just in case something happened. One was set at 4.30am and one at 5.00am so I would be sure to get up and get the kids ready for school. Pastor Dario was coming to pick them up at 6.00am. I went to bed trusting those two little alarms.
At 6.00am I heard someone clapping outside (Paraguayan doorbell). I JUMPED OUT OF BED AND LOOKED...it was Pastor Dario. What????
I looked at my cellphones...5.58am. I ran downstairs, woke up the kids, ran outside, opened the gate, I ran here and there apologizing to the kids as they got ready for school in 2 minutes. I couldn't believe this was happening. (My heart is still pounding!) They were out the door at 6.05!
I sat down to check my alarms and have no idea why they didn't ring. I was so jolted awake that I went back to my room to pray and calm myself down. Being the "quality time" person that I am, I felt sick to my stomach that I didn't pray WITH them, or talk to them, or fix them breakfast, or hug them. They left...and all we said was a hurried..."bye"!
I AM thankful that Pastor Dario came to take them to school today or else we wouldn't have gotten up on time!
Good thing tomorrow is SATURDAY!

Wasting Time???

Last night I got distracted finding myself on a google map and thought you might like to see where we are...
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?f=q&hl=es&geocode=&ie=UTF8&t=k&msa=0&ll=-25.404108,-57.581964&spn=0.004032,0.004882&z=17&msid=103513512202011473796.00044f5a81704c69a0687 If you make the map smaller, I've added some other places like the school, the churches in Bañado and San Pedro and was trying to get the one near Ciudad del Este on, but had some problems for the time being.
So, instead of blogging, I was playing, but IT WAS FUN.
Take a look!

Kaylie

Last year at Mid West camp Oscar and I were walking toward the dining hall and this really friendly girl stopped us to tell us that she had plans to go to Paraguay after she graduates from high school. She wanted to come to teach English, learn a different culture and help in any area needed. That was nice, but, was it for REAL? We didn’t even know her or her family…could it be true?
We wrote back and forth for a couple of months after camp...and then, her letters started changing a bit. She was talking about her trip down. She was making plans. She set a date and bought her tickets. She was coming! It WAS for real.
May 23rd finally came…for her and for us! We didn’t know WHO the Lord was sending us, but we were definitely excited. We found out that she is a beautiful child of God who is eager to serve Him. She speaks Spanish and her outgoing personality has already won her many Spanish-speaking friends. The students have been supplying her with notes, cards, and gifts…they love her. She is their new “teacher Kaylie”.
We’ve enjoyed a lot in two weeks! Cold weather, early mornings, hectic-school days, holidays, "terere", "máte", visits, bike rides, late night talks, bathing babies, trying Paraguayan foods, a baby shower, “cosido”, citrus fruits off the trees, and much more.
Her love for the Lord is just bubbling over, and she is helpful in every way. She has already substituted for all of our English teachers. She has been a huge blessing to our family, our church and Colegio Privado Adonai. We are enjoying her visit and her exciting attitude, and we are extremely grateful to share part of her young life.
Kaylie, thanks for being a part of our family and ministry. You have BIG plans in life! May God bless you in each one.

CPA – 6

Finally the day arrived, the first day of school in ADONAI...February 9, 2003. With our vision statement in mind…“to educate children, molding their character in order to serve God and the nations.”…we opened the doors to 58 students. It was a miracle! BUT…We still did not have the resolution from the government on the first day of classes...we were “jumping into faith”. We KNEW that God had brought us this far, and He would get the paperwork through the right channels.
We checked, called, and visited the Ministerio de Educación (MEC) almost daily to see how the papers were coming along and our answer was always… “this takes time, you’ll just have to wait”.
We waited and prayed, waited and prayed. Finally, in March the supervisor came with the resolution. Escuela Adonai was accredited by MEC from kindergarten to 6th grade!

Fast, Slow and Steady

I am usually hurrying to do something, talk to someone, work on something, or whatever. I also have my minutes counted. I know what I have to do and when I have to do it. I take two or three steps at a time going up the stairs…you know, to save time and get upstairs faster. I cook large amounts of ground beef and put it in small containers in my freezer to save time and cook FAST meals in a moment’s notice. Sometimes I “drop” at 9 or 10 pm complaining (only to Oscar) that “I’m tired”. Well, I should be! I didn’t stop all day long! But still, I have to keep going and it has to be FAST.
That reminds me of my mom…it must be hereditary! When I am feeling the most tired, I think of how my mom NEVER stops. (It must be hereditary for her, too, considering that Grandpa and Grandma Pavkov had a garden and were still canning food in their 90`s.) I never saw mom tired of life. She was always running here and there. Even after 60 years she is STILL not huffing and puffing after a long walk. She’s always happy! She’s always busy! She just keeps going steady.
Sometimes I’m forced to slow down…like, walking up the stairs with a 1 ½ year old. He takes one step at a time. He stops to play with a sun beam across the wall and then finds a spider to tease and then step on. He plays peak-a-boo a few times through the rails and then goes back down two steps. All the while, I’m in a hurry. I want to get to the top. He is enjoying every slow-step he can take.
I’m a lot busier with Edson, but I am trying to SLOW DOWN and enjoy “the walk upstairs”. When I’m too busy or too tired, special people come to mind…my mom, who never quits and Edson, who takes slow steps while enjoying his surroundings.