Last day at habitat

Today was the last day with Habitat for Humanity here in Paraguay. After a heavy rain during the night, we went to work on the site in the mud that we have all come to enjoy in the three days at the house. The bricks arrived this morning, which was an answer to prayer because we weren't sure whether or not we would have them because the past several weeks of rain had stopped brick production. After unloading the bricks, we spent a large portion of the day moving piles of materials around. We worked as a large group, and it was a blessing to spend this time together, getting to know each other. Tonight we are going out to dinner as a group at a Brazilian BBQ. We are all very excited for this and will continue to look forward to our evening as we catch the 3am flight to Peru. cya Paraguay.

-Darian

Risk More...

Risk More than others think is safe.
Care more than others think is practical.
Expect more than others think is safe.

This is just a small portion of a quote that hangs on my wall at home. As many of us have stated that as we packed and prepared to leave home, we were not sure what to expect. We knew few or no one else that we would be traveling with, but we were willing to take the challenge, that God set before us and experience a new culture. Then a group that has very little experience in construction, got signed up to help Habitat for humanity build a house. As we have two days complete working on the house, we have successfully helped the master masons, build the foundation, mix mortar, place the floor, and finished digging and placing bricks in the septic tank. We have moved rocks that seemed to weigh more than some of us, and we supported each other as we did these tasked. We have worked with the people and have learned to appreciate the culture that is here in Paraguay.

As we have been here just over a week, I have looked back and am thankful for the safety this we have experienced thus far as we have traveled and worked each day on the work site. Looking back on this past 8 days and realize that it was not chance that the 24 of us were brought together, but it was good, and through this experience, I am reminded of a question that I've been asked in the past. How has these experiences, affected you, your world, and your God?? I'm not sure that I can fully explain the answers to this question(s) just yet, but this trip has already begun and will continue to change my view of myself, my world view, and my relationship with my savior in a very meaningful and powerful way. As we plan to begin to travel yet again tomorrow, I pray that we will continue to have a safe and awesome experience here, and that you all will continue to remeber us as we find ourselves in yet a new country and a new culture.


Ashley

Habitat for Humanity, Day 1

Good evening, everybody!

Today we had the opportunity to experience plenty of fantastic food AND plenty grueling work. We have arrived at our accommodations for our stay at Habitat for Humanity. It is at a agricultural college about an hour outside of Asuncion which runs a small hotel. The college is beautiful, the food is outstanding and we are treated like royalty. It is a lovely place to walk and run, and we are able to meet our food before it appears on our plates (aka, they raise livestock as well as fruits and vegetables).

At about seven thirty in the morning, we loaded up in a mini van owned by our tour guide, Alveroni. The worksite is about a mile away, situated on a swampish-field-thing. Our group of 24 as well as about 6 masons are working on a 500 square foot house (which is considered rather large). The main job for today was to finish the foundation of the house. We all carried rocks, dug trenches, created huge assembly lines to transport sand to create cement, and got stuck in the mud.

Plenty of delicious food was delivered to us throughout the day. Entertainment was offered by Carl attempting to pet a cow and we were amazed by the exclusiveness exhibited by the male gender as they refused to permit females to work on the septic tank that they were digging. We also collected an audience, which was comprised of a bunch of teenage boys watching us work all afternoon.Our group displayed their excellent Swiss German work ethic throughout the day. Overall, we had a great time doing hard manual labor in the name of Christ.

Katrina and Liz.

Global Village

Global Village at MWC is sort of like a outdoor fair. There are tents set up for each continent (excluding Antarctica) for people to set up displays about their homelands. Paraguay obviously had the biggest display (it encompassed 3 tents), mostly with information about the Mennonite Colonies and they had samples of food. There were always Mennonite women serving baked goods to people. Other tents included pictures from different countries, books about the people who live there, crafts for sale, traditional clothing and a few interactive displays. There was even a display about Pennsylvania which mostly had books about the Amish. There was also a small stage set up in the middle where people could share their native songs and dances. Global Village was a great place to spend an afternoon, especially when the weather was nice, and learn things about different cultures.

Today was the last day of the Conference and it ended with a worship service that was full of music. We are now at our accomodations that we will stay at while we work with Habitat for Humanity. We are relaxing tonight and trying to catch up on some rest. Thank you for everyone who is praying for us, everyone is doing well, just a few sniffly noses and tired bones.


- Renee Shenk and Jason Harnish

So its been almost a week since we've left for Paraguay. The conference has not been what I expected but then again, I am not sure what I expected. I have really enjoyed the humbling experience that accompanies so many people from different places interacting and praising God.
The days seem to all blur together and I am not sure what has happened during which day. The thing that has stuck out the most to me did not actually happen at the conference. On Friday we took a tour of the Mennonite colonies in the surrounding area and learned about the work they are doing.
We visited Kilometer 81 which is a mennonite founded and funded hospital. The name Kilometer 81 is significant both because it is the distance between Asuncion and the hospital and also because it is a leprosy hospital. In most parts of the world leprosy has been eradicated. In paraguay, this preventable disease still exists as well as the stigma that accompanies it. Many men and women live behind the hospital in a little "colony". Some have been living with the disease for 15 years, others came to the hospital after a couple months; all are welcomed, all are cared for.
However, they are usually not welcomed when they go back home. The spots of the affected areas are still visible. The hands and feet of some are so deformed that the stigma will follow them the rest of their lives. The hospital to make it a little easier, provides them with shoes. Each shoe is made in a building by the hospital, specific and unique to each foot. They make them with great care and with material that will not harm their feet as leprosy numbs the nerves of the affected areas.
As we were taking our tour I met Mateo and Valentino. They were excited to meet new people and even demanded a picture. We talked for a while but I had to go catch up with the rest of our group who went on a head. But as I was leaving Valentino called me over to him. Another man asked me to laugh for him. After a lot of confusion finally figured out what they wanted me to do. I told them I couldn't laugh without something funny. The man said that he would make a face and then I should laugh. I couldn't help laughing between the face he made and the ridiculousness of the situation. They were all excited to hear my laugh and exclaimed over it for awhile. After saying good-bye I walked away from our conversation with a heavy heart. Their longing for relationship, for joy, even for just a little bit of attention contrasted with my earlier conversation with Valentino. He asked me if I would remember them. All I could think about was how lonely they must be.
I do not want to forget Valentino or his story. But I know as I come home my more immediate concerns will push this experience to the back burner. I hope not to forget but to pray continually for not only the people of paraguay but especially for those with leprosy. After all Jesus' ministry was to the poor, the outcasts. Who is more poor than those who cannot prevent leprosy? Who more outcast by society?

posted by Alyse Haldeman

Day 4 at MWC

Amidst the clusters of ecstatic Argentinians and Brazilians cheering for their home country's soccer teams, four of our group's finest had the marvelous idea of taking a late night swim in the frigid waters of a questionably sanitized pool at the camp. Hotel. Camp? The suspicious looking foursome of Solomon, Kaela, Jonathan and Heidi (plus bystanders) made their way outside to the chilly waters, all the way second-guessing the decision though none would back down. The water was freezing, yet the experience somehow as worthwhile and fun as it was cold.


After that experience, I have a feeling that the rest of today seemed rather mundane in comparison. Everything followed the regular schedule of wake up, bus, worship, lunch, afternoon activities, evening worship, supper, more bus, and finally back for much-desired bed. Things are starting to fall into a routine, even though there is much room for personal... exploration, shall we say? ...I had my first experience today outside of the church compound, making the trip to the market discovered by the brave explorers yesterday. It was exciting to finally get a chance to see a little more of the Paraguayan culture firsthand.

This morning during worship, we also got to experience our first power outage. In the middle of one of the speaker's talks, the power flickered before it shut off entirely. But it was fine, because it gave us another chance to sing together while we waited for the problem to be corrected. I have yet to be concerned about extra singing, because I absolutely LOVE (yes, I meant that with all caps) the musical segments of worship here. It is such an empowering and unifying experience to come together as a body of Christ, praising our Creator in song. There is something intoxicating, I think, about melody and rhythm that gives wings to my heart. And when it is giving glory to the One who is worthy, it's even better. And when it's coming from thousands of sincere Mennonites from around the world, it's even better than that, I promise.

P.S. --- To all the moms, including my own, we're doing great, no one is really sick, and we're remembering to wash our hands and wear our jackets in the cold. You can turn your worrying knob down a notch or two. :)

Okay, I'll end the book now. Thanks for your prayers. We miss you. (At least a little bit when we're not too busy with each other.)

Heidi y Amy

Comida!

So what is a typical breakfast here in Paraguay...? Bread.
You can liven it up with jelly, butter, and maybe some coffee, but breakfast consists of bread. This is considered a typical South American breakfast. We eat cafeteria style at our hostel. Bread starts at 7am. Humor aside, we are completely thankful that we have breakfast and it definitely started "day 3" out right!

Lunch, tea time, and dinner is provided by the conference at the Centro Familiar de Adoracion (CFA) facility. It remarkable the planning, execution, and speed at which ~6000 hungry Mennonites are fed. Following the morning and evening worship services the attendees (us included) are herded downstairs for local Paraguay meals. You have 20 minutes to eat before you seat is needed by someone else. Seriously.

Yesterday's lunch was white rice, chicken with red sauce, bread, and water. Tea time was empenadas, white bread sandwiches, and pound-like cake. Last night's dinner consisted of noodle-like pasta, pork in orange sauce, bread, orange, and water. Today's lunch was rice, chickin in orage sauce, bread, and water. Tea time had excellent jelly-filled (almost apple butter) croissants. The dinner menu was cucumber cole-slaw, beef hunk, local potato (potential yucca), orange, and water.

A few of us (Peter, Carl, Dale, Soloman, Heidi, Katrina, Ashley, & Liz) navigated our way to the local market. Here are the items we could not find:

• Frosted Mini Wheates
• Chocolate Chips
• Raisins (...later we found a small container of suger-coated raisins which sufficed)

The trip however was not in vain; they had ice cream! We all shared a frozen ice cream cake which was a welcomed change in pace (compared to the complete lack of sweets in our diet)!

...bedtime! ...while we write this twenty or so locals are enthusiastically cheering for either Brazil or Argentina. Brazil and Argentina are playing in a televised soccer final and not letting any of us sleep! Enough said! =)

Until the next post - God Bless! Everyone is OK, healthy, and absorbing whatever God has in store!

Later, Dale & Carl

I always love flying into a new country at night because when I wake up, I feel as though I'm discovering the country for the first time. As if I was transported there and am now opening a new door to my experience. The third and final leg of our exhausting 12 hour flights and connections ended at 2:30am as we finally touched down in Asencion. We then boarded a bus that took us to our sleeping dormitories. The rooms we are staying in have bunks with 4-6 people per room. Darian and I shared a room with two natives of Paraguay and a Canadian who spoke fluent spanish. That was most welcome as both Darian and I were Spanish inept. Some of our group got paired oddly. Cedric, Dale, and Carl were put in a room with seven Brazillian women (which we all thought was hilarious). Apparently one of them snores quite loudly. Fortunately our (Darian and I) were moved to a different location so the males of our company can move in with us.

We got up at the bright and early hour of 10am (most of us) and got freshened up. We gathered together downstaris at 12 to wait for the bus that was to take us to the church. As we waited we chatted with other groups who were also part of conference. And we waited. A game of frisbee started up. And we waited. Finally the buses came, after around two and a half hours. It was a good lesson in patience. Sometimes in life we need to chill out and just wait for the bus. Getting uptight wont make it come any faster.

The church that is holding the conference is HUGE! One of the largest, if not the largest mega church in Paraguay, the building can hold at least 10,000 people if not more. It is a great space for the gathering and I am in utter awe of the immensity in organization and dedication it took to pull this all together.

The opening ceremony and the message were quite long. It was mostly all in Spanish, but translator headsets were provided. It reminded me of the U.N and the translators there.

Over all, the first day was exciting and adventuresome. Waiking up to see Paraguay for the first time was probably one of the best parts. The land and people are beautiful and the culture is rich. I look foreward to the rest of the week, speaking and interacting with natives of Paraguay as well as Mennonites from all over the world.

Please pray for us as we continue our week! God bless.

Solomon Rudy

Arrival!

Greetings from Paraguay! We're here safely. The travel went perfectly smoothly. We'll try to update you with more details soon. We've gotten a good night's sleep from about 3:30am- 10:30. Now we're gathered with others from Mennonite World Conference listening to harp and guitar music by two men from Columbia. We'll try to write you again soon. Thanks for your prayers.