San What?

Hi all, this is Tyler writing this week’s blog post! I’ve had almost 5 weeks to prepare for this and nothing to show for it, so bear with me! It’s hard to believe that we have less than a week left in Jataity! It seems such a short time since we all were worried about how we would get along with our host families. Now with only a few days left, our worries have shifted to how we are supposed to thank and say farewell to these wonderful families that so graciously opened their homes, shared their meals, and gave us their time to make us feel welcome here in the campña.

                This past week was a busy one for all of us! It seems like more and more people come for consults in the clinic the longer that this warm weather sticks around. We’ve consistently had 10-15 people per day and with all of those patients have come lots of new experiences and learning opportunities for the team. On Thursday Jon, Megan, and I had the opportunity to go with Chris Baker, a member of the SIM team with the McKissick’s, to visit an indigenous community near the town of Dolores. The Mby’a Guarani in this area of the country are primarily semi-nomadic and settle in new areas every few years. With the chief’s permission, we gave a few consults for some of the infants in the community suffering from what we assumed was a type of fungal rash. Before leaving, we talked with some families about their lifestyle, shared terere with the chief and his family, and took pictures with some members of the community.

                Then, on Friday night, our families took us to the town’s San Juan festival, which is in celebration of the winter solstice. As a part of the festival, the young men in town make their own “camba” or “clown” costumes, which resemble scarecrows more than what we would consider clowns. The cambas entertain the crowd by climbing a greased pole, jumping through flaming hoops, and running in sack races, and playing soccer with flaming rags. I can safely speak for the rest of the group when I say that the festival foods that were offered by some local families were the best part of the celebration.

                The whole team has been incredibly encouraged by the messages of support that we have received from home during our time here. As our time in Paraguay draws to a close, prayers for patience, and energy to love our host families and leave them with a desire to host students again in the future, and to build a deeper relationship with the McKissick’s as well. We all appreciate your prayers and encouragement, and look forward to telling you all more about our time here once we return!