A "P.S." to yesterday's story

Oscar and Christian still meet with "Juan's" wife, Lili, from time to time to see how she's doing. She has three boys and the youngest is two months older than Edson - born in September. She is working as a maid while her mom takes care of the boys. A little bit about Lili, she is very religious, but not very committed. There is a group from a different denomination working with her since they have a church just blocks away from her home. She and I talk on the phone often.

Time Waster or Time Filler

Uncle G gave Edson a set of Alphabet Magnets. If you put the letter into the slot, it sings the letter and the sound. Edson thoroughly enjoys it and even does a little dance to the song while its playing. The rest of us big guys get kindda tired of that "musiquita" but at least it keeps him occupied for a couple minutes.
Well, lately, it's been keeping me occupied as well. No, I don't dance to the little song, but since I am in the kitchen usually cooking or cleaning up, it is a good time filler. Sometimes when I am looking for time fillers, I search for food to munch on. NOT GOOD! So, this activity surely does fill THAT gap!
My game is to find how many words I can make out of the alphabet using every letter only once and having the fewest amount of letters leftover. My best score was 6 words with 3 letters left over.
Now, this wonderful time filler certainly becomes a time waster when I HAVE to do something else, and I can't pull away from my word game...trying to use up those last three letters. Sometimes it ends abruptly when I really want a certain letter that Edson thinks he has a right to. Then, I realize that I really should be doing what I should be doing and let the little kid have his way. He is, then, happy to dance to his "musiquita", and I am happy getting back to cooking and cleaning.
Try it! See what YOUR score is.

Here's the story...

Okay! So, out of popular demand…I will write about this dead guy. I am changing his name to Juan just in case someone from the prison ever reads my blogs.
Juan became a Christian leader in jail. He was nicknamed “El Tigre” and had a growling, hungry-looking tiger tattooed on him from head to foot. He looked like a body builder-type and protected our kids like a body-guard. He became a wonderful friend of ours.
He was “free” in the Lord and the people; the guards, and the other “Christian” inmates loved him and trusted him 100%. He was actually so “changed” that they let him out to do errands, etc. even when his pavilion was not out for recess. On one of those days, he was out bringing his brother-in-law from the dungeon to the Christian pavilion and an “enemy” from another pavilion who was out on recess saw that Juan was “off guard” and stabbed him three times.
We met his six month pregnant wife at the hospital. Oscar went in to pray with him, but came out and mentioned…just to me (not the wife)...They are not caring for him like they should, but he could make it, anyway. Why should they care for him? He was a convict…a worthless piece of society…always causing problems. But, to us he was a brother and a friend. Minutes later they came to tell us he died…hummm…suspicious, quick death. Oscar was just in there with him!
The wife was taking it very hard and to worsen the situation, they had NO MONEY. They came from the extremely poor area of town. So, now the question…where do we bury this guy? The jail, the town, just disposes of these kinds of problems. If no one claims their bodies, they just pitch them. Juan’s wife had no money or any way to help. Juan’s family in the country also lived in a primitive lifestyle. So, we decided to help her out, especially because of her physical condition. Someone in our group said that their aunt would “loan” Juan her tomb until a burial site could be purchased and the casket moved legally. So, that’s what happened…a year and a half ago!
Well, now this lady wants her tomb spot again. So, Oscar and Christian started doing the paper work and found out that the hospital did not issue them a death certificate. So, this dead guy did not even die…yet…according to paperwork. We had to get our lawyer friend involved to start searching for any documents (from the jail, the hospital, the funeral home, etc.) and create a new death certificate…1 ½ years later!
Well, we finally bought a new piece of land for Juan’s proper burial, so Oscar has been going back and forth to the lawyer’s, the town hall, the first cemetery, and the new cemetery to get the legal permission to move this dead body and casket to its final resting place.
See, I knew you wouldn’t be able to believe all this! It’s totally crazy. Juan’s been singing praises and rejoicing with our Creator long ago and we’re still trying to find a place for him “to rest” here on earth.

Home with the boys

Spring is settling in with beautiful flowers, colors and smells. We can go outside barefoot and wear shorts now. People are out and about. There are more outdoor activities; barbecues, soccer, and get-togethers. We turn on fans for a cooler night’s sleep. It’s one of my favorite times of year…except for…allergies, colds, runny noses, fever, coughs, and asthma.
Well, today, I’m home with the boys! Gaby has been sick since Saturday and we took him in to the doctor on Monday night since we couldn’t get his fever down. He’s on antibiotics and missing two days of school! He is surely enjoying himself. I am just worried about all the make-up homework he’ll have to do. Edson has had a cold for about 3 weeks. We have been blessed to have such a healthy baby. Since he has never been sick, he absolutely hates taking medicine. Medicine time turns into a major battle. He loves drinking fresh herb teas, though. Oscar, my home-remedy, medicine man, makes the whole family herbal drinks for coughs, runny noses, etc. Oscar, who should also be home resting and nursing his own cold and cough, is running around after this and that for school, the prison ministry, and other errands. (I’m not going to even explain his job with the prison ministry this time. You wouldn’t believe it even if I wrote it up well. It has something to do with a dead guy, a cemetery, and paperwork.)
Anyway, usually we are praising God for our great health, and now we are praying for the Physician’s Hand to touch our family and our ailing bodies so we can enjoy the beauty of springtime.

One more thing about San Pedro...Children's Day

We went to San Pedro last weekend to help out in the new outreach.
The new outreach is in the next village over from Zolabarrieta, the first Apostolic Christian Church in Paraguay. As of now they are meeting in Vivi’s mom’s house. There are approximately 30 people who go there and are active in all the activities. They have a prayer meeting, children’s bible classes, Saturday night services and volley ball for the youth.
Emilia (Vivi’s sister from Asunción) went on Saturday to teach the bible lessons and help with the Children’s Day celebration. She taught the lesson in Guarani even though they memorize the bible verses and sing in Spanish. The ladies made a cute cake, chocolate milk, and lots of candies and cookies were passed out.
That night we had an outdoor movie theatre on the side of their house. It was pretty neat!

Edson especially liked the animals, the out doors, the freedom to get dirty, and finding sticks, blocks, and trucks to play with IN THE DIRT.
I took some pictures of the kids and the activities at Children's Day.

Brandon

Brandon’s Birthday…a beautiful day to remember! Brandon is 16 today! He is tall, cute, and friendly. We have gone through many struggles, failures, AND mountain-top victories together. It’s beautiful to see the image of Christ being formed in him as he makes decisions and matures into “what he wants to be” for the Lord.
A little bit about him: He loves soccer and is an excellent goalie! His hobby is listening to music! He is working with our Praise and Worship team. He has a desire to play the bass guitar and is practicing. He has been doing a baptism course since March and will be baptized in September.
Say a little prayer for him today and write to him if you have time.

Yummy cake!!!!

More on San Pedro

Friday, August 15th was Oscar’s brother’s birthday…José Asunción Caballero. I guess his middle name came after the famous day he was born on …Asunción Day. We went to spend the day with him and Oscar’s family.
Oscar’s mom’s health is failing and her constant worry about her kids, grandkids, the church, the crops, animals, etc. doesn’t help. She has aged considerably in the past year or two, but was well enough to enjoy some family time with the rest.
I took my camera to take pictures of the nieces. They posed as superstars beside my mother-in-law’s orchid.