Oscar's Mom, Sergia Acuña

Some of you may have already been informed, if so, sorry for the repeated details...
This past weekend we rushed to San Pedro (a four hour drive) after hearing that my mother-in-law, Sergia Acuña, was hospitalized. She was visiting her son, Friday evening, and after arriving back home, crumpled over, barely breathing. Oscar went right away that night, the kids and I went in the morning. The doctors put her on oxygen the whole night and she slowly recovered her skin color and seemed alert. When we got there, Saturday morning, she recognized all of us and even asked Edson to sing to her his song. We were with her most of the day, and the other brothers and sisters (ten of the eleven were there) were also arriving and taking turns by her side at the hospital. She died at 11 pm after a prayer. She repeated “Gracias, Señor, Gracias, Señor” and “fell asleep”.
In Paraguay things happen fast. The burial has to be within 24 hours. Oscar and his brothers started working on the paperwork and otherdetails…at midnight! Calling hours or viewing is usually at the person’s own home, and the death is announced on the local radio. As soon as the body is taken home, people start coming to be with the family. She was buried at 4 pm on Sunday.
Please pray especially for Oscar and the rest of his brothers and sisters. Only four are Christians, even though most of them have gone to church most of their lives. It’s a hard time for all of us to go through, but we are thankful that she went in peace with her Savior.
She became a Christian 18 years ago. Four years earlier she sent Oscar from her home because he "changed religions". After seeing Oscar's radical changes and faith, she also desired the happiness and peace that she saw in him. The Lord transformed her her life, full of bitterness and resentment from being abandoned by her husband after the last baby was born, and the Holy Spirit started helping her understand the way of salvation and new life in Christ. She didn’t know how to read, but enjoyed a prayer ministry with all of herbrothers and sisters in the Lord and many of her neighbors. She couldn’t read the Word to her neighbors, but showed them Christ’s love through good works and a strong faith. She would walk for miles just to visit a good friend and say a prayer with them. Everyone could see Christ shining in her transformed life.She will be greatly missed by all of us!
Thanks for your constant prayers...in times like these we need them the most!

Bañado

At school this year the 12th graders (along with their homeroom teacher) organized an institutional project in the area of our church in Bañado. Money for the project was raised on Mission Night at school. Their plan was to work with the people in this community involving every subject and teacher in their program this year. In several visits the moms, as well as some of our missionary visitors, went to wash hair, comb out lice, braid hair, and clean and cut nails. The students asked some dentists to go...they pulled teeth! (Oscar told me later that there was a half a bucket of pulled teeth after that visit!)

I went with the group last week . They served breakfast, had 4 different workshops and presented a bible-related puppet show.

Lily, Maci, and Oscar

My sister called last night. It reminded us of Oscar's visit to her house in July/August. Here are some cute pictures.

I love to wake up some mornings and find these tiny, but beautiful flowers peaking out of our grass. I sadly have to step on them while I hang up my clothes. They are just weeds - insignificant beauty! Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. Matthew 6.28,29 (NLT)

Orchids

Every year they are so much more beautiful. Isn't this amazing?

Another Paraguayan Favorite...

We went to San Pedro yesterday morning. It was a quickie just to visit Oscar's mom and connect with the family a bit. What used to be a 7 hour drive with about 50 miles of dirt road is now a 4 hour, smooth, all-paved ride! Wonderful!
I have been here 18 years! BUT, I have NEVER tried this Paraguayan favorite that I am going to write about!
While Oscar was talking with his brother-in-law about cows, crops and other stuff, I wandered off with Edson and our little niece to crack coconuts. Here there are two kinds of coconuts: the big ones with the coconut milk in them and the small ones about the size of jawbreakers. These coconuts flower, grow into little balls, fall off, the skin crunches off, they dry out, and then this is the hard NUT that you want to crack open to get the actual coconut.
My brother asked me how to open them and I said...caveman style...between two rocks!
Well, my little 7 year old niece (who only speaks Guarani) took me to a cute spot. There was a tree stump with a cupped out space in the middle full of these now, marble sized coconuts. On one side of the "hole" there was a tiny, dug out section. She quickly slipped the coconut in and picked up an axe head and wacked it hard. The shell cracked open and she had her coconut out. There were probably one-hundred, so we started cracking coconuts and saving them in a baggie (for me to take home!)
Every once in a while, we would crack one open and a HUGE COCONUT WORM would be in it. I was grossing out...but then kind of noticed that she would pick them up off the ground and it seemed to me that she would eat it. Finally, I asked her if she was eating the grubs and she said...YES!
I asked her why and she said..."They are good! It tastes like coconut milk!" I said..."That's gross!" I was horrified. She laughed and said..."no it's not. Try one, Tía Karen!" I said. "no way, never!" She laughed at me not wanting to try it and I laughed at her enjoying her grub so much.
I told Oscar about it and he said..."oh, they are sooo good cooked, toasted over the fire!" (What, like some sort of marshmellows or something?)
Okay, so I find out that my husband also eats these things! Wow, eighteen years later I find out that many Paraguayans sneak outback to enjoy these coconut bug delicacies...hmmmm!
Last word...to my brother...
So, if they offer you any, just remember, don't worry, they say that they taste like coconut milk!

A Paraguayan Favorite...Leche Crema

I worked with a lady once who had us (my sisters and me) make cornstarch pudding all the time. We thought it was kind of weird and bland. But we did it anyway. We NEVER made it at home! We thought it was kind of ... old fashion...mind you, Angela was 95 at the time!
I never made it again until I was here in Paraguay. Here, everyone seemed to make it. Everyone seemed to love it. My family LOVES it!
Recently we had some visitors who complemented my "Leche Crema" saying that it tasted like Creme Bruleé...Ohhh, if it could only, really be that fancy...No, this recipe is a lot easier.
Try it girls! It really IS easy. It's one of our family's favorites, and it's not so old-fashion after all.

Leche Crema

1 qt. milk
1 egg
1/2 c. cornstarch
3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla, raspberry flavoring, or (dulce de leche liquor)

Combine sugar, cornstarch and egg and milk in a blender. Blend for about 1 minute. Pour in a pan and start to cook it on low. Stir constantly until pudding thickens. Finish by adding vanilla or flavoring.

Heat 3/4 cup of sugar in a sauce pan. Stir frequently so the sugar doesn't burn. It should be a carmel color and melted. Pour on top of pudding.

Place pudding in dish and cool in refrigerator.

ENJOY