These last few weeks have been one of the most interesting parts of my time here in Paraguay. Shastin and I had the opportunity to help with a mission trip that ADRA is directing twice a year. The trip began with a flight in an old troop plane that took us from the military air base in Asuncion to Fuerte Olimpo, a small provincial capital in the north of Paraguay that is located directly on the “Rio Paraguay.” The Paraguay River transects Paraguay and also forms a part of the border with Brazil. Our mission consisted of going up and down the river carrying out a sort of roving clinic. We had with us five doctors (many of which were still doing their internship or residency), two dentists, and a variety of other people that served as nurses, translators, or assistants (that’s where I fit in). The original plan was to fly farther north to a town called Bahia Negra (Black Bay) but rain made it impossible to land on the airstrip. So, after attending to hundreds of people in Fuerte Olimpo (Fort Olimpo) we headed upstream to Bahia Negra, doing clinics as we went. Bahia Negra is only about 15 miles from the Bolivian border to the North and the other (eastern) side of the river is Brazilian territory. From there we went south again, passing Fuerte Olimpo and heading towards Concepcion, where we took a bus back to Asuncion.

The clinics themselves and the time on the boat just getting to know the 20 or so other volunteers were amazing. It was truly like entering another world. There is a complete lack of hygiene in most of the native population. A good number have lice in their hair and almost all of them suffer from some kind of intestinal parasite. We also saw parasites that enter the skin and lay their eggs, which later hatch and cause all kinds of problems. The dentists were always running full tilt, as it seems that the toothbrush is a little-known novelty in these areas. I don’t think I’ve seen so many rotten teeth in my life! I helped a good friend of mine, Julio Portilla, with his consultations for part of the time and the last few days helped a radiologist who had somehow ended working with a branch of the World Health Organization to do AIDS and Sifilis testing in that region. Fortunately there was only one person that tested positive for AIDS. It depended on the village, but the people were usually really thankful for the care that they received and the free medications that we offered as well. The kids were the ones that really got me. They were all so cheerful and inquisitive. Whenever I would take my camera they would mob me to see what the picture looked like and if they were in it.

I also learned a lot from the doctors that volunteered for the trip: Julio P., Julio Lopez, Eggy (a nickname) and Miguel. They would all take the opportunity to explain different illnesses and there pathologies to us. The two Julio’s in particular were really good at starting to hammer some of the common infections, their symptoms, and medications into our heads. Overall we all had a blast and worked really hard as well. I don’t think I’ve experienced such hot and humid weather in my life! We would be sitting on the boat doing nothing, and I’d be sweating like a pig! One of the biggest things for us was to jump off of the top of the boat into the water when we docked (I guess “beached” would be a better word). You have no idea how good that water felt.

This Saturday we went to a little church about an hour and a half out of Asuncion to play our instruments for church. It was really nice to get out of the city and spend time in the country again. I think that’s one of the big things that I miss; the open air and ability to roam around if I want to. We spent the afternoon there and attended their Pathfinder meeting as well. We’re just about to head out today to the little hill that overlooks Asuncion. We’ve never been there and a friend that is about to leave for Argentina is going to take us. God bless all of you and keep Shastin and I in your prayers!

Sorry, these pics are in reverse order!

Si...sigo vivo.

It’s really been a long time since I have written anything in my blog…and there’s a reason for that: This past month has been amazingly full. As some of you know, Shastin and I took a trip to Peru at the beginning of October. Every 90 days we have to leave the country to renew our visas because, even though the government knows what we are doing here, we are here on tourist visas. This time we decided to complete a dream that both of us have had for a while: to go to Peru and see the classic sites there. The weeks before our trip were also fairly full. The Sanitarium held a series of meetings in the weeks before we left with which we were involved. Our job involved greeting the people as they came in and asking for their names so that we could record their attendance. This was always interesting as the Paraguayan accent is notoriously difficult to understand…at lest in my book. They never seem to move their lips! But overall the meetings seemed to be a success. We had about 100 people each night that attended the meetings and about 30 people that came to every single meeting. The meetings were about healthy living and incorporated many spiritual concepts as well. It had more of a feeling of a seminar than an evangelistic meeting, and I think that is how they planned it. It was a unique, and I think effective, way to reach the community. One funny experience that happened to both Shastin and I involved a misunderstanding about our relationship status. Near the end of one of the meetings the pastor that had been speaking for the week had Shastin and I come up to be involved in a prayer. I didn’t think much of it because this particular pastor is always having people come up front for some reason or another. But as we were getting ready to pray, I realized that the pastor had come to a very mistaken conclusion: that we were married! He referred to me several times as “marido,” or husband. Fortunately, we got off pretty easy. This pastor is known to have couples kiss in front of large groups of people, but decided against it this time. Afterwards, he was thoroughly amazed and embarrassed to find out that not only were we not married, but not even dating!

About a week after the meetings ended Shastin headed out on our much anticipated trip to Peru, which proved to be every bit as exciting and interesting as we had expected. The only downside to the trip was also a benefit: half of the trip was spent getting to and from Peru by public bus. Now most of you probably conjure up the horrible image of a Greyhound bus when you think of traveling long distances by bus, but the pleasant truth about most South American busses is that they are actually very nicely made and the seats are nicer than airplane seats. Many busses even have a section below that is the equivalent of the first class which has seats that recline fully called “coche-cama.” I guess I should explain why we were leaving the country in the first place. Our visas are valid until our passports expire but they have a nifty little rule that says you can only be in the country for 90 days at a time and they you have to leave and come back again. We decided that, at least for this one time, we would take advantage of the opportunity to do some traveling. On Friday the 3rd of October, we crossed the Rio Paraguay and arrived in the town of Clorinda, Argentina. From there we caught the first of many busses to Salta, a city in the northwestern portion of Argentina. Arriving Saturday morning, we found out that the bus that we needed did not leave until the next morning. So, finding a hostel to spend the night, we wondered around the city. You have no idea how good a feeling it was to be somewhere other than Asuncion! As we were leaving Asuncion, it felt like we had been inside the city for years! I guess that’s probably one of the hardest parts for me: not living in the country. I’ve gotten so used to it living in Berrien Springs for so long. We were actually able to do a little bit of hiking in Salta. We climbed a little lookout mountain that is located just to one side of the bus terminal. I guess it’s quite the tourist attraction because it even had a gondola going to the top. The city itself was quite nice as well. It had large plazas and roads that had been blocked off to all but pedestrians. The next leg of our trip took us through the heights of the Altiplano into Chile and then north to the border with Peru. Beginning Sunday morning, we arrived in Arica (the border town with Peru) on Monday morning. The trip was an amazing study in contrast. Leaving Salta, we entered desert-like terrain almost immediately. The road kept climbing from there on out, sometimes with switch-backs and sometimes just gradually rising. Finally we reached the peak of our accent and were greeted by the sight of the largest salt flat that I have ever seen. The view was almost other-worldly: stark white terrain contrasting with the surrounding mountains and at times the strangely green pool of standing water. Then it was down the other side of the mountains into Chile. We spent some time in Calama waiting for a connecting bus and randomly ran into someone that as a friend at Andrews. Shastin just happened to be wearing her Pre-Med Society sweatshirt as we were spending some time in a mall (the bus company that we were on had it’s headquarters in the mall) and this guy saw the name and called her over and asked her if she knew a Chilean who was studying conducting at Andrews. It just happens that we both know who he is because he has conducted the band at times. What a small world! From there we took an overnight bus to Arica. The rest of our trip to Cuzco is kind of a blur because we just kept on going….and going. Crossing the border into Peru we took a bus immediately to Arequipa and then from Arequipa overnight to Cuzco. We arrived in Cuzco Tuesday afternoon after traveling straight for two and a half days, including nights! Actually, we were going to arrive in Cuzco earlier but we ran into a little problem: protests. It seems that the Peruvians in that area of the country weren’t happy with something about water management and the price of goods. So they proceeded to fill the roads with large rocks to prevent any traffic from passing. At first I thought it was some kind of landslide but then it just started looking too intentional. We would stop and all the guys would get out and move the rocks and then we would move a little bit and then have to stop again for another batch of rocks. Eventually we came into a small village were they had blocked a bridge with logs, rocks, and, for a little bit more fun, people. That’s where we knew for sure that it wasn’t by chance that the rocks were falling into the road! The police, of course, didn’t do anything useful except perhaps keeping the passengers (mostly Peruvians from other areas) from starting a fight with the locals. So we waited…and waited…and waited. Five hours later the protesters must have decided it was time for their afternoon siesta and let us pass. This is actually not anything strange in Peru and protests and strikes happen as often as once a week at times in Cuzco. Fortunately, other than this experience, we weren’t hindered by any more protesting. If we thought that Salta was beautiful Cuzco was a sight to behold. The main city is nestled in the mountains and a significant portion of the city is built on a slope. Cobble-stoned streets, ruins, and remains of Inca walls combined with the normal hustle and bustle of a South American city lend it a charm hard to achieve. Of course, it’s difficult to escape the tourists that roam this area (as if I weren’t a tourist) but that was kind of refreshing for me, not having been around many non-South Americans lately. We spent two days in the city and the surrounding ruins. There seem to be ruins scattered everywhere in the countryside and only the largest and most impressive ones are visited by tourists. On the day that we went out to see the ruins further out from Cuzco, we met up with a nice Chilean couple that was spending their vacation in Peru. We were amazed by how friendly they were. They kind of took us in as family and we spent most of the afternoon together exploring the ruins at Pisaq. That is one thing that has become very clear in the time that I’ve been here: South Americans in general are amazingly hospitable and gracious. The next leg of our trip took us to the well-known ruins of Machu Pichu. We decided to do it on the cheap and instead of taking the expensive train, took a back route. This route took more than twice the time but really gave us a good look at the country around Machu Pichu. We took a bus from Cuzco to a small town called Santa Maria. From there we took a combination of two public vans to arrive at the far end of the railroad tracks. We then walked the two hours to the small town of Aguas Calientes (right below Machu Pichu). The trip in the public vans was an experience not to be forgotten. The roads that they traveled looked like they were literally carved out of the mountains. They were incredibly narrow. On one side there was rock and on the other side…a cliff. When the driver would approach a blind corner in the road, he would honk a couple times and then go around the corner. There just wasn’t enough room for two cars in the same corner! The hike on the tracks was a good warm up for the next day when we would climb up to Machu Pichu. Unfortunately, I had forgotten the bug spray in one of our hostels. Machu Pichu is a lot lower than Cuzco and has more of a jungle feel. I had been wearing a winter coat in Cuzco, but here I was sweating up a storm and the gnats loved it. Shastin probably wanted to kill me for forgetting the bug spray. We both got eaten pretty good! About four o’clock the next morning, we started up the mountain for Machu Pichu. We got there early and were able to eat a little bit of breakfast while we waited for the gate to open. They don’t open the gate until the first busload of tourists arrives so we weren’t able to get in way before anyone, but I was able to run up to the classic lookout spot and shoot a few pictures before the site got inundated with tourists. It was a great experience. We wondered around the ruins for the better part of the day and, being Sabbath, spent an hour or so in worship. We had worship on the top of Waynu Pichu with its amazing view of the ruins and the surrounding countryside. I wish that all of you could have spent that time with me. It was amazing!

Returning to Cuzco the next day, we immediately took a night bus to the city of Puno on the banks of Lake Titicaca. When we arrived about five in the morning, it was bitterly cold so we first found a place that we could put our things and shower and then headed out to see the city a few hours later. We spent most of that day just relaxing and setting up a tour of the islands the next few days. Puno isn’t as nice as Cuzco but isn’t terrible either. The next day (Monday) we headed out on a tour of the lake. We saw the floating islands, which are unfortunately over-commercialized and spent the night on one of the real islands. This part of the tour was the best part because we could explore the island and really get a good look at the lake. We spent the night in somebody’s home with a Swiss girl a little older than us. They put all of the tourists up in houses because there are no hotels and it gives the families a little extra money.

From Puno we began our trip back to Asuncion, through Chile and Argentina. We took this route (however circuitous it may appear) because of the lack of good roads in Bolivia and the current political situation there. We thought that everything was running smoothly until we got to Arica and found out that the bus we needed to take to Salta was full for both companies that run that route. We could either wait in Arica for two more days or take an even more circuitous route. We chose the circuitous route. So we took a bus all the way south to Santiago, Chile and immediately got a connection to Mendoza, Argentina. You can’t imagine how tired and stinky we were at that point. We hadn’t showered since the day we had started our tour of the islands four days earlier. So after buying our tickets to Asuncion for that evening we took showers in the public showers in the terminal and I immediately felt better. Then, being Sabbath, we thought it would be fun to go to an Adventist church in Mendoza. The only problem was that nobody knew where it was. Then, out of the blue, an elderly gentleman came up to us and asked us what we were looking for. We told him that we were looking for the nearest Adventist church in Mendoza. Amazingly, he thought that he knew where it was and even offered to walk us there. He ended up being a retired businessman that was still working a little bit to keep himself busy. I was amazed that he took so much interest in helping us, and would have been rather suspicious had he been a little bit younger. He even drove us part way there. When we got there, we found out that, in fact, it was not an Adventist church but a Baptist church. Fortunately, the pastor was there for a wedding that day and just happened to know where the competition was. We got to the church in time for sabbath school (which in this church happens to be after church) and met a few kids our age afterwards. They invited us to the requisite Saturday night meeting and we accepted because our bus to Asuncion didn’t leave until ten that night. Both of us still being exhausted, we spent much of the afternoon lazing around the Plaza de Armas and wondering a little bit of the city. It was really a great afternoon! Mendoza is the cleanest, and most beautiful city that I have seen in South America. The city center has a very European feel. The only glitch to our little side trip to Mendoza was our bus to Asuncion. Both Shastin and I thought that our bus was leaving at 10 p.m. Saturday night and we arrived in plenty of time to make the bus. But when we walked into the office of the bus company, the man that had sold us the tickets gave us the most dumbfounded look I’ve ever seen. It turns out that our bus had left more than an hour before, at 8 o’clock. My problem had been that I had heard 20 (they use the military time format here) and for some reason had thought that it was 10. I even remember asking the man if it was ok if we came back around 9:30, and he said yes. He must not have been thinking either. Anyway, we had to buy one leg of our trip again and rearrange the other part. Needless to say, neither one of us was very happy and I was the most culpable because I had our tickets and hadn’t double checked them. That night we ended up staying in an “hospedaje” which in this case was a room inside of a house in the middle of a residential district. The proprietor was a very friendly and talkative math teacher who did this business on the side to make some extra money. He offered to take us to the city center to eat and pick us up later but we were both pretty exhausted and went to sleep early. The next day (Sunday) we got to the terminal, in time this time, after walking around the city center a little bit more and eating. After two more days of travel, we arrived in Asuncion Tuesday morning. Although the obvious and drastic change in conditions could have been a little bit depressing I was just happy to be back in our home away from home!

I’ve been working since then and recently have been working in the operating rooms at the hospital here. To tell the truth, it doesn’t really feel like work. I’ve really enjoyed being able to observe all of the surgeries. I’ve already seen arthroscopies, gallbladder surgeries, a kidney transplant, and as of today a c-section. As always, I’m praying for you all back at home. Keep me in your prayers.

Siguiendo a Aprender

These last few weeks have been interesting as far as my language skills are concerned. I’ve gotten to the point where I can communicate almost everything that I need to and can understand much more. This, of course, is exciting but can also be very exasperating. I’ll be in the middle of a conversation and realize I don’t know how to say a phrase that I would usually use in English and that would fit the situation perfectly! My vocabulary is lacking greatly as well. So I am able to communicate much better but I am also realizing how much I lack. These past few weeks I have been working the morning shift, which begins at 6:45. This has taken a little getting used to, and I’ve had to keep reminding myself to pay attention to the conversation around me and not let my mind go back to sleep. I’m also working on the first floor now which is always busier than the second floor because it receives most of those that are received in the walk-in clinic area that need immediate care. There are also a lot of people that are recovering from surgery. I’m slowly becoming more useful; mostly as my language skills increase but also because I’m beginning to understand the hospital system better as well.

Two weekends ago we had the opportunity to be involved in a continent-wide evangelistic effort called “Impacto Esperanza.” The plan is to pass out millions of small magazines with topics about problems in daily life such as failure, problems with money, marital problems, and of course the impact that our faith has on these situations. Thus the title, which roughly translates “The Effect of Hope.” Our work on this particular Sabbath was to pass out these magazines in an area around the Sanatorium. Shastin and I helped a small church that usually meets in the Sanatorium on Sabbath afternoons. We met that morning for a short worship service and to listen to a message recorded by the president of the South American Division about the evangelistic effort. We then spread out to areas that had been assigned to us. Shastin and I were alone in one area, which made things interesting, but we managed pretty well. There weren’t many people at home, or at least that answered their doors, so we began handing them out to people on the street. It felt a lot like Benton Harbor Street Ministries at Andrews. But the most interesting thing happened during the afternoon. One thing that happens here in Asuncion that I don’t think I’ve ever seen before (at least not on such a large scale) is begging, selling, and washing of car windows at stoplights. At almost every intersection of at lest moderate size, there will be people hawking food or washing your car windows without being asked in exchange for a few cents. The food vendors will even get up in the public transportation busses to try to sell their wares before jumping out of the moving bus as it rushes off. Some have even taken to performing impromptu circus acts. The people that resort to doing this are the poor of the poor. It’s not surprising to see seven, six, or even five year olds out working the streets with their parents. I once saw a very pregnant woman with three children out washing windows in the street at 9:00 in the evening. This group decided to utilize this sad reality to spread the good news of Christ. So we took one of the major intersections of the city (Pettirosi and Peru) and did the same thing but instead of asking for money, we handed out our magazines. It was a weird feeling being on the end of things, dodging cars and motorcycles. Some people were really open and would actually start looking at the magazines while they waited for light to change. Others would take them grudgingly or ignore us. There is an evangelistic series this coming week. We pray that God moves in a mighty way throughout South America.

The next day we had plans to go on an antique train that runs on steam with Rafael Zambelli and family (an amazing Argentinean family that have taken Shastin and I in many times on the weekends) as well as the Biaggi family (another Argentinean family), but when we got there we found out that there were no tickets left. Of course we were all disappointed and were talking about what else we could do but then we found out that the new president of Paraguay was going to be riding on the train. We waited for maybe 30 minutes for him to arrive. When he did get there, he arrived with even more security than was already stalking around: the “not so secret service” you might say. When he got out of the car he was fairly mobbed by the people and the press. He talked with the conductor of the train for a second and then was hustled over to help plant a tree and then had a quick photo op on the front of the train. It was all a big race! But what was really amazing was that we were able to give him one of our Viva con Esperanza magazines! Carlos Biaggi positioned himself with his little daughter Julie where the president would have to pass by to board the train. When Lugo (the president) did pass by, Julie (his 2-year-old daughter) gave him one of the magazines. We even have a somewhat grainy photo to prove it. Who knows where that magazine will end up. It was amazing that he even took it.

This past weekend I had one of the most “exciting” experiences of my life. I got off of work on Friday around 2 p.m. as usual, though a little bit late because we were absolutely packed that day. From Wednesday until Friday the hospital was full beyond capacity and was even turning patients away. This Sabbath we played special music for Sabbath school in the church and Jan and Kevin are both gone (Jan to the states on business and Kevin to UAP to visit a friend) so I asked another person named Addis to accompany us. I took the music to her at a revival meeting that was being held at the church. I actually didn’t know what the meeting was until I got there but it turned out to be very good (another fun result of not understanding everything that is said). The pastor was talking about living in the end times and what that means for us. It really mad me think about the way I live my life. But when the end of the meeting ended no one offered me a ride to the Sanatorium so I decided that I was fine walking the streets at night. I sent off a quick message to Shastin as I started out letting her know that I would be back soon so that we could practice the music. The night was brisk and I was enjoying the walk. The streets are fairly deserted at night in Asuncion and I passed only a few people. As I was walking along, maybe ten minutes away from the Sanatorium, a man on a motorcycle slowed down and politely asked me what time I had. Being the gullible person I am, I stopped and looked down at my watch. “It’s 9:30,” I said. He then asked me how far it was to a certain street. I didn’t hear the street name very well so I moved closer to the motorcycle to hear him better. It was then when he thrust his hand into the dark space inside a duffle bag he had on his lap while at the same time ordering me in a low voice to give him my cell phone. I was so surprised that it took me a second to realize what was happening. I was being mugged! Looking down, I saw that something was pressed closely against the fabric of the bag. The realization that I was being held at gunpoint gave me a start and I must have jumped a bit because the man reiterated his demand, this time saying “tranquilito, tranquilito, saca tu cellular” (Take it easy, take out your cell phone). This I did without really considering doing anything else. I wasn’t about to risk my life for a $30 phone. He asked me how much money I had as well but fortunately I didn’t have any at all and he didn’t take notice of my watch, which I had neglected to take off before leaving the church. With that, he was gone. And I was left with nothing else to do but to walk back to the Sanatorium. I’ve been through the whole process of a police report and blocking the line. Fortunately the night guard at the Sanatorium helped me a lot and told me everything that I had to do and where I needed to go to report the robbery. So there you have it, I’ve been mugged for the very first time. I thank God for His continual protection! With God as my protector I have no reason to fear…anything. I do, however, believe that God gave us brains for a reason and I won’t be walking on that street alone after dark anymore!

Prayers and Blessings!

Well, I never thought I’d be saying this…but I’ve dealt with being homesick this these past few weeks. I think what started it was that I was not feeling useful in my job. I still have problems understanding a lot of what is being said, so my usefulness is limited. We also found out that we won’t be able to learn how to put in IV’s (one of my dreams) or give injections, so I think I was just feeling let down. I began to wonder if I had made the wrong decision in coming here. Am I really going to be able to be a force for God, be able to do anything for Him at all? Why am I here? These were the kinds of questions that were running through my mind. Combine that with not being able to communicate effectively with anyone and that gives one a pretty dark outlook on life. But there is a reason for trials in life. Each morning during my devotions I had to hash it out with God. It took a while, but eventually I came to peace with the situation. I realized that if God has put me here, and I know He has, he has a plan. And with God, the journey is never a downward journey. It is always a path to greater heights: heights of faith, heights of friendship and a deeper relationship with God, and at times heights of achievement. Realizing that there was no reason to fret over whether or not I had made a bad decision in coming here, realizing that God is there constantly guiding me, realizing that all I have to do is pursue God with all of my heart, gave me peace. That peace didn’t immediately make me see the world through rose-colored glasses but it gave me the strength to keep going. It was absolutely amazing to me the hunger and thirst that I’ve had for God in these past few weeks. It’s something that I’ve never experienced before. I pray daily that this hunger and thirst for God does not leave me.
Fortunately things have gotten a lot better for me lately. God blessed me in the area of language this past week and something clicked. I’ve been able to communicate a lot better. Still on the level of a small child but it’s a step in the right direction! It’s coming easier to think of how to organize sentences. This increase in comprehension and ability to speak a little bit better has made it easier for me to be useful in the nurses’ station. I am starting to understand more of what is said by the patients and thus am able to take care of some of there calls without having to call another nurse to help. This is an entirely new feeling for me, essentially having a job and not having any studying that absolutely has to get done. But I’ve found something about myself, I actually really like to study when I don’t have to! Go figure! Not that I that absolutely hate studying normally, but when I can pick something that really interests me and applies to what I want to do. I enjoy discovering new things. In this case it’s the Spanish language, which applies very directly to my life here. I’ve been trying to study as much as possible. It’s become very clear to me that I am a visual learner. If I can write a word down and see it a couple times I can usually remember it fairly well; but if I just hear it, it takes a lot longer.
This last weekend was interesting because we helped a couple, Jan and Kevin Nick, to lead out in Sabbath school in the “Iglesia Central.” Jan teaches at Loma Linda in the School of Nursing and Kevin works in the Geology department. It’s kind of funny, because I’ve actually heard of Kevin before in one of my classes at Andrews University because of some work he did in Peru. They are here because Jan is helping with some of the nursing programs here in Paraguay. Anyway, I said my first prayer in Spanish, which was interesting. I had to write it all out beforehand because I definitely didn’t trust myself to make something up on the spot! We also read the mission story. And guess what, it was about the United States. Yep, this quarter’s offerings are going to help missions in the U.S.! We also did a special music, which went surprisingly well for the amount of time we had to practice it. That evening we went to Sociedad de Jovenes (a vespers type meeting that happens every Saturday night) as usual but this time we stayed afterward because there was a group of people going to the Chaco region of Paraguay to hand out clothing and bring a bit of food as well. We left at midnight and drove through the night in a rattletrap old bus; one of the “collectivos,” or public transportation buses that they have here. We got there around six in the morning and got to look around a little bit at a school that ADRA had built. The woman that organized the trip is a truly amazing woman that seems to have gotten the school off the ground mostly by her shear willpower. She showed us all of the buildings that she had had built while she was there and the improvements that had been made. Soon we were off once again, further into the interior and away from the main road. The phrase “eating dust” became very real to us as the bus began to pick it’s we around and, yes, through gigantic potholes on a dirt road. One of the biggest problems for the people living in the Chaco is the lack of water. It only rains two or three months out of the year and the rest of the year is completely dry. The water table there is also extremely saline, meaning the people cannot access water via a well either. There are also very few rivers, and these dry up to hardly nothing during the dry season. They have to have water brought in by truck, which causes even more problems. You can imagine what happens to water that sits in big plastic containers for weeks on end. The indigenous people that live there all look a lot older than they are; a combination of extremes in weather and untreated medical problems. It was good to be able to do something for them, even if it wasn’t that much. Many of them have no hope of raising their status in life because they do not have ready access to education. The trip back was enlivened by the youth director, named Alejandro, who decided it would be funny to put toothpaste on people that were sleeping. Everybody ended up with some of the stuff on them…I got my glasses and stomach pasted while I was asleep. However, what goes around comes around. Alejandro ended up with minty fresh hair, not my doing I might add!
Thank you all for your prayers and well wishes. I am in constant need of prayer as I learn more of the language here and try to let God work through me in whatever ways possible!

New and Shocking Experiences!

The soccer stadium

This section was crazy. It turned into a mosh pit...on an incline.

Rafael and his family

I tried but I just couldn't get it to fall on Shastin

This is at the Paraguayan equivalent of the white house.

There have been so many things that I have experienced in the last few weeks that it is hard to know where to start. First of all, I'm still completely overwhelmed by the Spanish language but slowly I'm starting to be able to understand bits and pieces of conversations around me and more of what is said to me directly. I still only catch a little bit, which makes work interesting, but it's exciting to be able to understand even just a bit. This last week both Shastin and I started work full time. We each have our own schedule of hours that we work. She is working during the mornings and I'm working during the evenings, so we don't see each other that much. It's good for learning Spanish though. I use working in the loosest sense of the word (at least in my case) because right now it is hard enough to understand what needs to be done, let alone do it. The whole nursing system is completely new to me as well. I can truly say that these first few weeks have been very humbling. I find myself feeling useless at times, but I know that comprehension will come (with God's help). All of the people here are extremely kind and hospitable. There is not a Sabbath that Shastin and I have not been invited to lunch by two or three people. God has blessed us with many new friends here. One particular circumstance that I count as a blessing from God happened last Friday evening. I was in my room (which was dubbed "the place where batman lives" by the people that work here because it is perched up on the third floor all by itself) studying something in Spanish grammar (probably one of the myriad of verb tenses!) and getting ready to have my own little Friday night vespers. I'll be honest, I was missing home and all of the Friday night traditions that we have there and being with family and friends. I suppose you could call it homesickness but I prefer to call it nostalgia :). Anyway, right then one of the guys that works as a physical therapist showed up at my door and invited me to his house that evening. God had provided for me even before I asked anything of him. The evening was great! He and his wife are both Argentinian and both have a sense of humor that remains hilarious even through my blundered translation. They have two beautiful girls, one around 8 and the other just over one. The one year old is quite the character. She is constantly on the move; pulling CD's and cassettes out of drawers, moving car keys so that leaving the house becomes a treasure hunt, and even getting on the wrong side of the stair railing and giving us all a scare. We had worship and then had a supper of the perennial Paraguayan food: pizza. Who would have guessed?
My next new experience came the next morning as I was showering. My bathroom is an interesting contraption. I estimate it to be about 3 feet by 6 feet and includes a toilet sink and shower. It's quite functional if a bit cozy. As I was taking my shower Sabbath morning, minding my own business, I was suddenly jolted out of my musings over the correct conjugation of some Spanish word by a loud popping and sizzling. I looked up to see that some wires in the wall above me where shorting out and showering sparks downwards. You wouldn't believe how fast I jumped out of that shower (hoping not to be the latest testimony to the affects of massive electric shock to the heart). Fortunately it stopped almost immediately and the wires settled down to a nice comforting reddish orange color. Fortunately that is fixed now.
I also had my first experience with South American soccer this week. One of the people that came down with the doctors from the states is a med student from Loma Linda named Victor. He has family here and is staying here for a total of about 3 weeks. He's been an amazing help, taking us to his aunt's and uncle's houses for meals and this last Sunday he invited us to a soccer game: Olimpia vs. Sol de America. It was a really new experience. It's somewhat like a football or baseball game in the states but the fans are incredibly devoted. Most of the fans at the stadium were fans of team Olimpia. One side of the stadium kept up a constant round of fight songs and chants the entire game, except when the other team made a goal. Whenever Olimpia made a goal, the whole stadium would spontaneously erupt in a chant. Unfortunately for them Olimpia lost. There were a lot of unhappy Paraguayans that night.
They other mildly amusing thing that happened this week involves my absent-mindedness. I still don't trust tap water so I've been drinking the filtered water that they have in the hospital. One evening I went to get some water and I left my keys in my room. That would be fine because my doors were unlocked but there is another door that always stays locked that I have to go through on my way out. I left it open but the wind closed it while I was gone. I ended up having to climb onto the roof and then find my way to the right part of the building and let myself down. It actually turned out to be pretty fun!
Please keep me in your prayers as I will keep you in mine!

My front porch

The front of the Sanitorium

The way up to my room

The infamous bathroom...

The little round black spot in the wall is the culprit of my electricity run in.

The First Two Weeks

Well, I've successfully made it through almost the first two weeks here in Paraguay. I guess that doesn't sound quite right. It's been a blast and full of challenges. There has been plenty of interesting foods, people, and places. The only thing there hasn't been a lot of is sleep! Shastin and I arrived in Asuncion after about 30 hours of travel following my departure from Chicago. I've decided that there is one skill I need to work on, and that is sleeping in planes and buses. When we arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina we had to switch airports. This seems to be one of the joys of flying Aerolineas Argentinas. It turned out fine though, and we were able to get all of our stuff and ourselves into one taxi. We were even able to rest in a little park across from the local airport that we were departing from. All told there were three connections in my flight: Miama, Buenos Aires, and a little tiny airport that was little more than a landing pad named Corrientes Camba Punta. When we arrived, we were greeted warmly and effusively. We arrived mid-day so they showed us around the Sanatorium, which is much larger than I thought it would be. They actually do kidney transplants here. I live in a room above the Adventist health insurance offices (called SAMAP, I can't remember what it stands for) and Shastin lives in the part of the hospital that is used for mental health. A good place for her! Just kidding.

We were only here for a few days before a group of doctors came to do surgeries and roving clinics in Asuncion and the surrounding area. But in those few days I have been amazed by the hospitality of the people that live here. I've never had a spare moment until now because Shastin and I are constantly being invited to peoples homes. I've also been thrown in over my head in Spanish, or as they call it here Castellano. I'm beginning to learn a little bit but I'm still not speaking much. Spending time with English speaking people this last week didn't help very much. But it was amazing to be able to watch surgeries. I saw at least 4 cleft palate repairs, a rhinoplastie, an ear reconstruction and many others. I got to scrub in for a bone graft, cyst removal, polytactyly, and a hernia repair. I also found out that it is a lot easier to get queasy when you are scrubbed in because you have the surgical gown holding all the heat in. After the first time I was fine but had to bow out near the end of the hernia repair (the first surgery I scrubbed in for). The clinics were interesting as well, if not so dramatic. The first one I went on saw over 200 patients. My main job for two of the days that I was there was to help translate for the doctors. Now don't take that the wrong way, it wasn't because my Spanish was in any way spectacular. It was because they didn't have enough translators. I worked with a Paraguayan who spoke a little English and together we usually were able to get the point across.
More than anything in these few weeks, I have learned what it is like to feel helpless. Not being able to understand conversation fully and not being able convey what you are thinking is hard. Shastin says she likes it because I can't make fun of her any more. We're trying not to talk to each other in English so that we learn faster. We should start getting trained in this week to work like nurses in the Sanatorium. We have a lot of learning to do. Please keep both of us in your prayers, that we might have quick minds and be able to learn easily.

Estella, she was the a translator for the clinics (she speaks Spanish, English and Guarani)

A program the group from the states put on at the Sanatorium

There was a guy that did this painting during the program at each clinic.

The pastor (Dave) that came with the doctors and one of the doctors that works at the Sanatorium (Guillermo) along with his family. We ate supper with them on Friday night.

The view from my room.

Ditto

Beginning triage for the surgeries.

Shastin already found a boyfriend! lol

Victor, a student from Loma Linda

A picture of my room, it looks bigger than it is but it actually is pretty large, especially compared to Shastin's room.

A park outside the airport in Buenos Aires

Bored in Miami

I don't know who this stranger is.