(Armando, Camilla, Myself, Grandma Martina, Nathalia, Lourdes,
Alejandra, and Alejandro)
Buenas Dias!
So here I am in my second week in Paraguay and things are still going great. I love my Paraguayan family and I feel as though I have been learning a lot of Spanish. I can understand some conversations now, which is a plus and my ability to speak Spanish has improved a lot! Unfortunately I haven’t had many opportunities to speak Spanish with others as most people revert to speaking to me in English as it is easier because they know more English then I know Spanish but when I do speak Spanish I sometimes surprise myself at how much I have learnt.
This past week I had the opportunity to go to Camilla’s (one of my sister’s) soccer tournament with some other jr high youth which was a blast. I have enjoyed getting to know some jr. high girls and guys through my Paraguayan family. The family I am staying with has a lot of relatives nearby that come over every weekend so it’s nice to see some familiar faces and many of the cousins are either my age or in jr. high so I get to see them quite often along with their friends, which is fantastic. Last weekend we got to go to Xmen and tonight the youth group met at our house for a Bible study so that has been fun. I received one of the biggest compliments this week as Camilla phoned Lourdes during school asking to come home. When Lourdes asked her what for she said she wanted to be at home with me. That definitely made my week right there. I love hanging out with the jr. high girls as they enjoy talking to me in broken Spanish and English as they find me fascinating unlike most adults who probably find me incompetent haha!
I also had the opportunity to attend a Christian concert at one of the huge Christian churches in Asuncion. It was fun to watch even though I had no idea what the performer was singing about other then Jesus (I would assume). Our fitness instructor Deborah is a Christian woman so she invited us to go. It was a good time to meet more people and hang out with the extended family. It was the first time they agreed to let Grandma Martina go so it was pretty exciting to take her. The photos above are from the concert.
Other then that, another highlight of my week was going on a bus for the first time. Hanis and I were told to meet Tom (my mentor) at SIM headquarters by bus so we went there with one of Hanis’ friends and then after our meeting we had to find the way back to our house without help. I’m glad Hanis is good at directions because I would have been so lost! Going back home was an adventure as the bus was so crowded with people and I have been warned several times to keep my eyes on my purse so it was interesting to hang onto the bars on the bus for dear life while watching my purse and where the bus was heading. Let me tell you, it was an interesting and strangely fun experience to be stuck there in the middle of the aisle back to back with some random man on a bus when it is 28 degrees outside was quite the experience. I have never been on such a crowded bus before but it was fun to get out and do something new!
For prayer requests, I would like to ask for prayer as I have been getting quite homesick lately. It’s been a rough week. Typically when I go somewhere new the first month or two are rough as I am getting used to the swing of things away from family and friends and this trip is no exception. I do love South America but homesickness has been slowly chipping away at exciting new experiences and making them become dull. I am so thankful for skype as it has helped a lot but during the days I am usually alone at the house and needing to find things to do which leaves more time to get homesick. Please pray that I would be able to look to God during these times of homesickness and find my strength is in Him.
Daneille
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