The Ruins and More

   The morning we left the States I remember having the thought, "goodbye comfort zone."

     When we arrived in Asuncion, after stumbling through purchasing a multi-entry visa and customs in Spanish, a few of us learned our luggage was not going to arrive until the next day. The man who was attempting to help us get our luggage soon realized the ignorance of our plans for the next six weeks.
"Do you know how long you will be in Asuncion?"
 "No, not a clue."
"Do you know where you are staying tonight?"
"Uh..no"
"What about your final destination?"
"Hmm, wherever the McKissicks live...so not really."

   Thankfully one of us had Dr. Jeff's number to give him and we were able to laugh about us being in a foreign country and being pretty much oblivious to what we were going to do for the next six weeks.

   Since then we have been here in Paraguay a little over a month. The days are flying by and I'm certain we've all had many new experiences that we couldn't have possibly anticipated, like grating cheese. Yep, it took a trip to Paraguay for Ryan to have his first taste of grating cheese (pun not intended).


(Ryan grating cheese)

    On a more Paraguayan note, Bailey and I had our first day in a Paraguayan school this past Monday. Both of our host sisters agreed to let us join them for English class and although neither of us ended up going to an English class, we did get to observe an art and a Philosophy class. All of the class reading was done out loud (evidence to the orality of the Paraguayan culture) and work was always done in groups, definitely showcasing how a collective and inclusive society learns.

(Philosophy class with professor Ramon)

   This past weekend as a group along with the McKissicks, the Bakers and Kevin Howell (other SIM missionaries) we traveled to Tirol and visited two Jesuit ruins. The Jesuits created missions throughout Paraguay and other South American countries. As a result of the work Jesuit missionaries did the Guarani language was first written down, Paraguayans received education and were taught various useful skills such as carpentry, crafting world-class musical instruments and stone masonry.


(Bailey at the ruins)


(Claire at the ruins)

   After our morning at the ruins we had some down time and decided to go on a hike. Four large spiders later, it quickly became an abbreviated, fast-paced walk. We were all very glad to get back to the hotel. Part of the purpose for the weekend was to debrief and so it was nice to have a time to relax, hear a lot of English and talk about what each of us have been experiencing. A definite highlight of the weekend was having wifi! We were all able to talk to friends and family back home including time on Sunday to wish each of our Dad's a happy Father's Day:)

   I'm torn between wanting to stay here forever and wanting to come home and tell everyone what Paraguay is like. God is continuing to expand each of our comfort zones. If you can, I would love if you would pray along with me and our teammates that God would use us to show his love to the people of Paraguay (especially our host families), that we would serve the McKissicks well and God would continue to bless and unify our team.


(The team and some of our host siblings at the Mckissicks)