National Day of Tereré

Since last year, Paraguay celebrates the 23rd of February as the national day of Tereré, which is the official drink of the country and a cultural heritage of the nation. Both Yoe Jin and I went to the reunion de jovenes (a gathering of young adults at Marangatu Church) yesterday and there were so many jovenes carrying the following in celebration of the day:

Tereré is yerba mate prepared with cold water in a vessel called a guampa and is sipped through a bombilla. A thermos is used to carry the cold water.

My eighth grade class at Marangatu! I took a picture of each of them so I could remember their names LOL

Yoe Jin here! Joe and I are almost done with our second week of class... Praise God for amazing grace, love, and faithfulness.

Prayer request: that we would live in the Spirit and not in the flesh.
"For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace." Romans 8:5-6

Truly,
"Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Psalm 73:25-26


During dinner today, Pastor Cho challenged Joe and me to be like the Paraguayans. To be among them and serve them. Missions is standing with those whom we are ministering to. Please continue to pray for us. That we would humbly and willingly love and serve the Paraguayans here :) And thank you all for your support. This post is dedicated to a good friend who messaged me today to update the blog more, because she checks it every day LOL Much love brothers and sisters!

Computer Lab 2.0

Thank you to all of those that helped make this possible! The students are really looking forward to the upgraded computer lab this year. Animation classes will start in March!!!

Wednesday Chapel

Every Wednesday is dedicated to chapel for the students of Colegio Presbiteriano Cerritos. Wednesday is also a day when I don’t have to teach elementary English. But instead of having teaching responsibilities, I’ve been asked to help out with the chapel services. I had originally assumed that I would be integrated into the responsibilities quite gradually, but after the morning teacher meeting, I was asked by Cristian Jara (school chaplain) to join the praise team to play the keyboard that day. You should have seen the look on my face when I was told that. I did not practice once with the team, nor did I know how to play the songs that they sing. But by the sheer grace of God (and knowing how to read the finger positions of the chords that Cristian was playing on his guitar) I was able to get through the 5 services that morning. The praise team is quite small actually; it is comprised of Cristian as lead singer and guitarist, Victor ‘Manucho’ Villalba as the drummer, and myself. ‘Manucho’ is a famous Christian rapper here in Paraguay, and it’s nice to see him helping out with the school even with his various gigs around Paraguay and Argentina. If anything, I’ve realized during my short time here that I just need to be flexible and be willing to do anything that’s thrown at me. My hope is that the Lord will grant me much grace to fulfill whatever is asked of me to do.

During one of the services, Cristian Jara, after preaching the Gospel message, asked if any of the students wanted to accept Jesus as his/her Lord and Savior. The following picture shows the individuals that gave themselves to the Lord that day. It’s my prayer that the conviction of these individuals is genuine and that the Holy Spirit will guide these individuals to grow in the knowledge of Christ and to treasure Him above all else.  

Cristian Jara praying with students who gave their lives to the Lord

Fuerza!

We went to our first Sunday service yesterday at Marangatu. I had forgotten how welcoming the Marangatu church members (or just Paraguayans) were. Pastor Cho and his wife Gina went on stage to say thank you to the congregation and also encourage them. Pastor Cho spoke on the different gifts in his life: 1. his salvation 2. his wife 3. being called to serve in Paraguay as a missionary. Although it was a place that he didn't initially want to go to, God allowed him to grow to love Paraguay.... It was quite an emotional moment for the both of them and I was so encouraged to witness one family's love for the Paraguayan church... A love that has overflown from the deep love of our Father. God's grace indeed runs deep and continues to flow.

Pastor Cho and Gina SMN on the pulpit for the first time in a year and a half.

On Sunday, I was reminded once again that community is so important. We need brothers and sisters to remind us to take heart and have fuerza (Something I have been hearing a lot from the Paraguayans here; literal translation: "Strength!")!!! Not fuerza in our own power, but fuerza in the Lord's unending power! One of the sisters at Marangatu wasn't feeling well after service and sat in the pews, wiping her tears. Another member, who serves as a nurse, was tending to her, speaking soft truths into her ear. FUERZA! One of the pastors, Cristian Jara, welcomed me and reminded me that the Espiritu Santo (Holy Spirit) works powerfully, so to not lose heart while here. FUERZA!

It was pouring last night starting about 7pm and continued up till this morning... It was my first dose of Paraguayan rain. To be honest, I was a little scared being at the house by myself during the thunder and lightening, but I just kept saying to myself "Fuerza!"

It has been a constant struggle not to be able to communicate freely and comfortably with the Paraguayans, but fuerza! Teaching at school today was really difficult but fuerza!... moving around from classroom to classroom with all of our teaching materials was tiring but fuerza! Countless mosquito and spider bites and feeling scared to sleep in our beds in fear of bugs... but fuerza!!!!!!!!

Before I stepped into my second classroom today (first day of class), a brother from church stopped me to say hello, shake my hand, and remind me FUERZA with a fist in the air. Truly a Spirit-filled moment reminding me of Christ's energy which works so powerfully within us.

Yes, Joe and I are struggling, both emotionally and physically, but FUERZA en el nombre de Jesus!!!

In about fifteen minutes, we are about to meet with our Spanish tutor, Marciel, a true man of God who never neglects prayer. Even though it is so easy to grow discouraged with our Spanish improvement, fuerza.

 (Here's a video of Marciel showing us his wonderful Paraguayan guitar skills)

Please continue to pray for us as we teach, serve the Marangatu church, and build relationships with those we encounter! It's easy to complain (so so so easy LOL), but God's will is for us to rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances. For Him. Please pray that we do that!

Happy Birthday Yoe Jin!

After a day of visiting an outdoor farmer's market to buy groceries, lesson planning for our classes, we celebrated Yoejin's 23rd birthday with the Cho family. 

Outdoor market at Mariscal Lopez Shopping Center

                                     Yoe Jin looking really happy at her birthday pastry

First day of many

After hours of safe travelling, we arrived in Paraguay at 12:30am... this morning haha. After waking up around 10am, we went to Colegio Presbyteriano Cerritos to collect our books and meet with the elementary school coordinator, Yolanda. As we were walking, Joe turned and said to me, "Man, we are such newbs..." I laughed but inside, I knew it was true. As we were talking with Yolanda we were both struggling to comprehend all the information she was pouring into our brains. I just kept nodding and looking at Joe to interpret, but at one point, he looked back at me and we were both stumped. That's when we knew that it was going to be a long year. Yolanda handed us our schedule and introduced us to Gabriela, one of the other English teachers who could explain to us about the curriculum in more depth, in English. Praise the Lord! LOL

                                                       Joe and my teaching schedule!

We then travelled to Asuncion with Mrs. Cho and Arah, the Chos' second daughter. Mrs. Cho's mom actually lives in Paraguay as well so she invited us over for a feast of a lunch. Arah's baby cousin was also present, such a cute diva. Honestly, we were not expecting so much good food for our first meal, but we greatly appreciated the effort that Mrs. Cho's mother put in to cook for us. God's grace in the little details make all the difference.

                                       

                           Arah's baby cousin striking a pose with a manzana y durazno.                      

Afterwards, we went grocery shopping at a couple small Korean owned stores and a supermercado (super market) called Stock. Joe and I again looked at each other after checking out and expressed our sense of culture shock.

On our way back to the mission site, Arah pointed to a picture of a man on a billboard and told me that he was a presidential candidate for the Paraguay Presidential Elections, taking place on April 21, 2013. One thing that I remembered a friend sharing with me about Paraguay is that its government leaders can be very corrupt. But let's hope that this presidential candidate is an exception.

                                       
As I reflect back on this day, two things come to mind.

First, even before I arrived to Paraguay, and even before I decided to serve here, my biggest concern and prayer request was the language and cultural barrier between myself and the Paraguayans. I am seeing all the more how much I desperately need the Father and His guidance. How important it is to constantly remind ourselves of the permanent joy that we have in Christ despite our struggles and shortcomings.
"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy spirit who has been given us." Romans 5:1-5

Second, we must pray for our government leaders! Although I am not savvy with understanding politics, both American and Paraguayan, I have been reminded too many times by God that we must pray for the nations.
Please pray with us for the future of Paraguay and its government leaders.
"First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." 1 Timothy 2:1-4

Please continue to pray for us!!!! Joe and I are quite a sight to see right now on one table with both our laptops open, Joe's to edit pictures, mine to write the post, as if we are college students again studying...

Thank you!

Thank you CCSC family and friends for sending us off with love and encouragement! We just arrived in Panama for our layover. We are a bit tired (especially after the stewardess woke us up at 3 am to eat breakfast), but we are renewed and strengthened by the thought of your wonderful send-off and prayers. May the Lord grant you fullness of joy in Him!