One more week of vacation!

Paraguay surprised us with one more week of winter vacation! I was thrilled but partially wondered what I could spend another week doing. The weather has suddenly gotten super cold... Dropped many degrees in the span of a couple days. I woke up the other day and just stayed in my bed for another two hours because it was warm.

This break has been fun. There was nothing crazy that happened, but I think I have been learning to appreciate the little things in life more so than the big things.

On Tuesday, one of Howard Shin's (past missionary) old Cerritos students, Rodolfo, took Joe and me to a small town called Nueva Italia, where there is a lot of land used for grazing animals and growing produce such as sugar canes and cotton. A very tranquil and quiet town where people are able to create their own work schedule and take each day slowly. It was a new level of "tranquilo" that we never saw even in our small town of Villa Elisa.

We ate, walked, ate, talked, played some pool (Rodolfo beat the both of us every single game), and ate some more. He is a current medical student, working many hours a day at a hospital. I was able to see his love for his studies and will be praying that he becomes a faithful doctor one day for the glory of God.

Spending time with the jovenes has been fun. One thing that I am convicted to do these last few months here is continue building and deepening relationships with the few that God has allowed me to grow close with. Even simple bus rides are great ways in which God is allowing me to fellowship with them. I praise God that His timing is indeed perfect.

Today at Marangatu, there was a conference for mothers by an organization called, Madres Unidas Para Orar. It was a workshop teaching mothers (and every one else), the importance of praying for their children and our schools. Although I'm not a mother yet, I was blessed by the heart of prayer that these women had. I am convicted all the more to be a future wife and mother that constantly prays for her family.
http://www.momsinprayer.org

The speaker was Michelle Kvandal of Maranatha Chapel in San Diego. A mother of her own, her life is marked by encouraging other women to join her in this prayer movement. We are praying that families in Paraguay would grow in desire to make disciples of their own children. Michelle and her husband founded Su Refugio Ministries in Tobati, Paraguay. Su Refugio is a place where children and women are able to find spiritual healing in various ways.

This is where the story gets a little crazy. Earlier this year, I had reconnected with a friend from high school named Kendra after seeing that she was in Paraguay as well (via facebook hahaha). Turns out that Michelle is Kendra's aunt! Kendra had even told her last night that she had a friend named Yoe Jin in Paraguay...

The conversation went something like this:
me: "Hello Ms. Kvandal! My name is Yoe Jin! Nice to meet you!"
her: "Oh my goodness, you are my niece's friend..."
her & me: OMGSJFKDSLJAFSDKJSLKJ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!JFDLKS!!!!!!!!!!

Pretty crazy... Joe and I are going to try to visit Su Refugio tomorrow.

In other news, Olimpia lost the final Copa Libertador match last night against Brazil's Atletico Mineiro. Quite a sad night for half the nation... But Pastor Cho reminded us that we are more than conquerors in Jesus Christ! So we have peace.

Thank you all again for your support and prayers!

Halftime

Joe here. Our stay in Paraguay has reached the halfway point. We are currently on our winter break and we will have to leave the country for a day to renew our visa. We will be going to Clorinda, Argentina with Carlos Flores, who along with his family also works and lives in the mission center with us. Clorinda is a city where many Paraguayans go to purchase goods because it is so much cheaper due to the weakening of the Argentine Peso. There are people that even take the 2 hour trip to buy gasoline.

Paraguay is going through a period of tremendous economic growth and development. According to reports, Paraguay’s economy expanded 14.8% in the first quarter compared with the same period last year, and the central bank forecasts overall growth this year at 13%, making the country the fastest growing economy in Latin America. The expansion is driven predominately by the growing demand for its agricultural products, especially soy. According to some prognosticators, Paraguay will experience a renaissance of sorts for the next 20 years or so. Wow.  

Sadly, Paraguay’s soccer team has nearly been eliminated from World Cup qualifications. However, the nation, or at least most of it, is celebrating one of its own club teams (Olimpia) making it into the Copa Libertadores Finals against a Brazilian club team (Atletico Mineiro). Aside from the actual World Cup, it is considered to be one of the biggest tournaments in South America. In Paraguay, either you are a fan of Olimpia or a fan of Cerro Porteño. There are other soccer teams in the country, but by and large, people fall into either one of the two main camps. When asked by my students which club I root for, I usually say LA Galaxy, so that I don’t alienate anybody. Anyways, hardcore Cerro fans couldn’t care less about Olimpia making the finals, but because the national team failed to qualify for next year’s World Cup, Olimpia has become a rallying cry of sorts for the nation. The first leg of the finals will take place in Paraguay this Wednesday. I expect sheer pandemonium and fireworks to go off. 

In retrospect, the past 5 and a half months have gone by very quickly. I still remember saying good-bye to friends and family at the airport in February. Pretty soon, I'll be having to say good-bye to many new friends that I have made here. One thing that I have learned has been the importance of making the most of the opportunities God has given me. I hope that I can be faithful with what I have been entrusted with for the remaining 5 months or so. We have already locked down a return date with the purchase of our airlines tickets, so we know that the clock is ticking for us to redeem our time here for the glory of Christ our Savior and King. Please continue to pray for us!

Student Spotlight

Joe here. Every now and then I'm going to highlight one of my students here. Today I would like to introduce to you a 5^th grader named Violeta. I first met her during my summer trip last year. She stood out from everybody else because she was carrying around a trophy that she had won from a dance competition. Turns out she’s pretty phenomenal at dancing. During recess one day, I was talking to her about what she wanted to do in the future with her dancing and she told me that she might go to Spain next year for dance related purposes. I told her that she better remember me when she gets famous. She just smiled. Maybe she already knows that she's going to make it big. I'm rooting for her!

Violeta is the one giving the thumbs up sign

Below is a clip of her dancing at the Father’s Day festivities: