RUINED FOR THE ORDINARY

7?... 7x70?... 490?... or even...

2012-01-29T21:36:00.000-05:00

7,777,777,777,777,777,777,777,777,777,777,777,777,777,777,777,777,777,777,777,777,777,777,777?

I read that last one in a Bible study a few months ago--that it's possible that in Matthew 18:22 Jesus was saying "7, 70 times." Really, I don't know Greek or Hebrew, but I do know that Jesus was demanding forgiveness without condition--or limit.

Many times while traveling around the U.S., I was presented with the idea that missionaries are super-human. No one physically gave me a cape, or made a bronze statue of me (thankfully), but many did put me on a pedestal. (And I am the last person that belongs up there!) It was usually inferred by little phrases, meant to be compliments:

"I always wanted to be a missionary, but _(fill in the blank)_."

"I could never leave my family."

"I don't like bugs and I really don't like snakes."

"I could never do what you're doing."

"You're so selfless for doing what you're doing."

One side of a missionary scoffs at this--each one of us has a "but" that could have held us back in our home country; I don't enjoy not being a regular part of my family members lives; bugs--yea, if you've been following me a while, you know how I feel about those--and snakes, not currently an issue, but not on my Top 10 List of Reasons to Live in Paraguay; I can't do what I'm doing either; and lastly--here's the kicker--MISSIONARIES ARE NOT SELFLESS.

Not naturally.

Naturally, we are just other humans. And what drives all of mankind? Self. My comfort, my desires, my goals, my dreams. In every culture around the world, mankind is driven by self-preservation. When I take a look at the last time I was in an argument, or the last time I was offended--too often it is because I am insisting on my way and want everyone else to do what I want. Not really Christ's example, is it?

What sets Christians apart, ought to be the desire to be like a glove. A glove, laying on the shelf in the garage, is completely useless. It's just sitting there, collecting dust. Yet, when put on a hand, it can be an aid to raking leaves, shoveling snow, catching a baseball, or driving a car. It's nothing without the life that gives it purpose. Just like that glove, the actions of a Christian are nothing without the Life that flows through us (2 Corinthians 5:14.)

Since Christmas, I have had the opportunity to go on three weekend trips with friends to visit their family members. It was so humbling to have friends that I've known for less than five months say, "Come be a part of my family for one of our two most important holidays of the year" and "We're going on vacation, come with us." And yet, on two of those trips, I made it painfully clear to my friends that I have a natural, fleshy side--that I am not a super-human. Thankfully, I have been able to go back to those friends, to apologize and explain that I was in the wrong.

Missionaries and Christians are not super-humans. But, more importantly, we are "more than conquerors" (Romans 8:37) because Jesus Christ has fought the ultimate battle for us. He has forgiven us of all our sins.

Read that again.

He has forgiven me of ALL my sins.

This battle we think we're fighting has already been won. Because of Jesus Christ's death on the cross, mankind has a way back to a whole relationship with God. The ultimate forgiveness has already occurred. My task now, is to walk daily in that forgiveness, to continue to forgive others, and to be quick to ask forgiveness as well. I pray that last one gets a break for a long time.

All Roads May Lead to Rome...

2012-01-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

...but all pipes lead to the sewer. I'm convinced of it. Growing up in the '80s & '90s scarred me from things that come out of pipes--think Gremlins & Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (though, really, that second option was soo bad, just a little gross!) Oh, and then there was Ghostbusters, too!

When we moved to Louisiana (I was 11), I learned a new talent--how to kill cockroaches. Only six months before on a visit to Florida I met my first cockroach, and I'm still recovering. Those first 10 1/2 years were fantastic. Every once in a while, a roach would be crawling around my teenage-clothing-covered room, and I'd have to try to find it ::aka, kill it:: in order to sleep peacefully. Occasionally my brother and I would run to each others rooms at 2am--"Get up! Help, I can't find it--and it's BIG this time!" (They're always bigger when you've just woken up!) Some of our best teamwork was searching through each others rooms to kill bugs and get back to sleep as soon as possible.

But. I have been to the other side (no, I didn't go down in a sewer!) I am now south of the Equator. I have a two-sink kitchen, which is AWESOME. But, both drain pipes, and the drain pipe from the washer empty into an uncovered hole in the floor.

UNTIL TONIGHT.

Some good friends here have had worse issues, and covered a MASSIVE hole in their bathroom with a layer (or five) of duct tape. I'd thought of this and various other solutions, but always assumed they brought the Magic Tape with them from the US. Today I discovered that I'd been wrong--they bought it here! I quickly went to visit the hardware store again, and after describing "really strong tape with fibers that's silver colored" the man said "Do you want to fix a pool?" "Something like that..." And he handed me multiple colors of duct tape!! So, after 19,000 guaranies ($4.22) I headed home with a thin roll of duct tape.

And, since it started to rain some today (I learned in LA that rain means the roaches are coming out sooner!), I decided now was the perfect time to tape up the hole.

I washed the dishes, poured a ridiculous amount of bleach down the drain, and turned out the lights. We'll see how the kitchen looks in the morning! I'm hoping I'm done finding cockroaches on my dishes (clean and dirty), in my sink, and just plain where they don't need to be! :-)

Here's hoping I don't have to call the plumber any time soon!

FAQs #1

2012-01-19T10:24:00.000-05:00

F.requently A.sked Q.uestions #1.

What's the weather like?

Answer: Currently, hot. Like, nearing or passing 100* every day, humid, no rain kind of hot. In December we began our official summer season, though I'm not sure the weather has been any hotter since November. So far it appears that there is less rain, since I can't remember the last time it rained (maybe I'll start marking rain on the calendar?) I think technically we are in "rainy-er" season, but like I said, not sure when it rained last. (Thinking back, I think it was Christmas Eve...18 days now.) [Well, that was true when I first wrote this. Thankfully we got rain a week ago.]

Along with the heat, comes the need to drink a lot of water. But there comes a point where water just doesn't seem to cut it. You have sweat beading and rolling off your eyebrows, you can feel the greasy sweat coming out of your pores, and sometimes you just wonder, "Will I ever drink enough water?" The answer is:

Tereré

I succombed. Yesterday, on a nearly 100* day, I walked (yea, I didn't take the bus, and walked uphill the whole way, I was pretty proud of myself!) about 8 blocks to the open market. I mainly walked because I wanted to be able to check prices for kitchen tables & chairs. I got into the open market and started searching around and finally found leather-covered thermoses like I was look for. But I found one even prettier than I expected!

Don't tell anyone, but my real reason for buying this is ICE COLD WATER. It's sitting next to me right now, making cold water colder and waiting for me to drink it. But, on the flip side, it's also a social expectation to have a thermos, or at least the cup and straw for tereré. So, when I'm out and about on my own, it will probably be ice cold water. But when I go to church or out with Paraguayan friends, it will become ice cold water for tereré.

I'm just excited it's pretty! Off to read in the A/C for an hour to cool off, then back to Spanish!

Numbers...

2012-01-12T08:00:00.000-05:00

I've got numbers on the brain--it's tax season again! While we're all starting to think about numbers for the next few months, here is a video with some equally scary numbers:

Statistics - Think Missions from Grant Wright on Vimeo.

Nature in the Chaco

2012-01-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

The Chaco--low shrub-brush with some trees.

Pomelo & grapefruit

An endangered wild pig

Granddaddy Frog

Two goats fighting

Five.Fify-one. A.M. Unbelievable...and I was up for the day. Thank you, Hen.

TURKEY!!

To the Chaco

2012-01-05T13:12:00.001-05:00

Over New Year's weekend I had the opportunity to explore a different part of Paraguay--well outside the city! I couldn't help but think of my dad the entire trip, as it reminded me of the type of land he has always dreamed of. Not only could we not see the closest neighbors, we couldn't hear them either!
Some of my very good friends from church invited me to go with them to visit their grandma. I wasn't really sure what I was getting myself into--but when each one of them replied "Repellant" to my question of what to bring, I should have gotten a vague idea. It was a nice change of pace for three days, and while I was happy to see the city again (and clean water), I really enjoyed my time in the Chaco!

I thought Angier, NC was remote--but we were on a dirt road to Grandma's for over 125 km/77m!

Grandma is 75 and runs a farm with the help of one ranch-hand. She has 80 head of cattle, and here she is feeding an orphaned calf. (She also scaled the fence to get to where she was like it was just a stepping stone!)

In 1999, I went to MissionFUGE and ended up on a work crew where I was elected to scrub out a horse trough in a remote field. Ironically, this weekend, I found myself scrubbing out a very similar water tank! I kept thinking "My mom is going to laugh so hard when she sees this!"

Each afternoon held a short siesta

The Chaco is known for it's arid-ness--we made our own mud in the process of cleaning the water tanks.

I did better at fishing this time than last year when I went fishing with a friend in Missouri. This was my sole fish--a little piranha! Sadly, the other fish just ate my bait, and this one would have been the same. He was just chewing the meat and when I jerked the line out of the water he went flying behind me. I had to go look for the flopping piranha!

We climbed trees to collect pomelos--a local citrus.

And we collected...ahem..."fertilizer" to take back to the city. Here Grandma is showing us how to do it!

This was my room for two nights.

I really enjoyed my visit to the Chaco, and Grandma invited me to come back any time! (I think she's secretly hoping to get her water tanks cleaned again...)

Check back soon for some non-people pictures of the Chaco.

What do you say?

2011-12-27T12:00:00.000-05:00

What do you say when someone gives you a compliment?

What do you say when everyone is telling you Merry Christmas?

What do you say when someone asks if you'll marry a Paraguayan?

What do you say when someone asks when you'll be going to work in a tribe?

What do you say when a man greets you on a street and you don't know him?

What do you say when New Year's comes around?

What do you say when someone is in the hospital?

What do you say when a good friend's mom dies?

These are some of my current questions--and, unfortunately, some are getting answered more quickly than I would like. The mother of one of my really good friends passed away this morning after a two-week downturn, including a heart attack and pneumonia. When I said goodbye to her on Friday, I did not expect to see her again on this side of heaven, but still hoped to see her this week and have another chance to pray with her. She has an amazing testimony of serving the Lord, and has raised her family to serve Him as well. Tonight there is a vigil being held in their home, and tomorrow will be the funeral. It hurts that I will be more of an observer-participant this week than a participant-observer, because I don't know what to say to this family. I understand their pain, but I don't know how to put that into words culturally, in a manner that it will be received well. I don't like that this event, the death of a friend, has to be a part of language and culture study. But I will go and support my friends, observe the actions of those around me, and ask questions another day.

I will hug my friend, share in her tears, and let her know how much I love her.

Please pray for their family, and for the local church as we encourage them through this.

Ahead of the Game?

2011-12-21T12:05:00.000-05:00

Every once in a while, you get a ridiculously true, and sometimes unbelievable recount of my day.

Yesterday, I knew it was going to be hot. Think 100*, hottest day so far this year (summer) hot. I'm still waiting on my A/C, which means lots of showers throughout the day and planning ahead to get things done in the slightly cooler (think 85*) parts of the day.

So yesterday morning at 9:30 (to beat the heat), I headed off to the pharmacy three blocks away, and the supermarket another block farther. I stopped in at the pharmacy, and the usual pharmacist wasn't there--just a teenager [warning sign] tending the store. My ears have been bothering me for a few weeks, and after starting with some dizziness Sunday and Monday, I figured I should do something about it. She gave me three options, two with antibiotics in the drops and one with hydrocortizone. I chose one with a lesser amount of lidocaine but still having antibiotics and set off for the super market.

On the way home from the super market, I bought a newspaper to read, and hiked the 3 blocks up the hill to my little house. I quickly changed clothes to something cooler, put the refrigerated (now lukewarm) grocery items away, and sat down to the internet, only to discover that the girl had sold me eye drops.

So I changed back into street clothes and walked 3 blocks to the pharmacy. Teenager said she would call the doctor to make sure she was selling me ear drops this time. She picks up the phone and says, "Tio..." Tio means uncle in Spanish. So I left the store with ear drops, after reading the directions inside the box to make sure for myself I had the right thing--it's heating up outside, I'm not feeling amazing, and I reeeeally didn't want to walk three blocks again (when really, the coming and going is 6 blocks.)

I got home, quickly changed clothes again to something cooler, and pulled out the ear drops to put them in my ears. I glanced at the bottle and noticed that not only was the seal broken, but the cap itself had been screwed back on so tight the tip popped off. And you know what I did? I considered using it. For about 15 minutes I just sat there staring at this bottle, wondering about the damages of using an open bottle of ear drops with Cipro and Lidocaine, and if something like the Tylenol scare would happen inside my ear. (After all, this is why we're so seal-savvy in the U.S.) Since my life pretty much revolves around language learning and hearing, and I need what little hearing I have left...

...I changed back into street clothes and walked 3 blocks to the pharmacy. Teenager said, "You're not convinced?" I said, "No, I'd really like these, but the cap is broken." She had sold me the last one--which of course is why that one happened to be on the shelf!--so she returned my $5 and told me where there was another pharmacy. A nice, big, shiny, name-brand pharmacy. At the second pharmacy, I took the bottle out and examined it, checked the expiration date, and made sure the bottle matched the box.

I got home and changed into cooler clothes, and settled down for the horribleness known as putting ear drops in your own ears.

Start time: 9:30a.m.

Starting temperature: 85*

Final arrival time at home: 11:15a.m.

Temperature upon arriving home: over 90*

City blocks covered: 24.

Farthest distance from my house: 4 city blocks.

Rest

2011-12-11T07:03:00.000-05:00

This week I have the opportunity to take some rest--physical, emotional, and spiritual. Pray that this will be a productive week spiritually, and that I'll come back refreshed to continue studying language and culture. I'll leave you with a picture, that shows I have a lot to learn:

The Head Tilt

I love these girls dearly; they are all from my church, and we were on our way to a quince (15th birthday party.) I guess part of growing up in each culture is learning the appropriate way to pose for a picture. Personally, I learned through those rough teenage years to not show all 28 teeth in a picture, to try to sit up straight, and to recognize what a "real" smile actually feels like (and the difference between a real smile and a fake smile!) I guess I should practice The Head Tilt this week during the photo ops. :-)

I have friends in Asia who had to learn to do the peace sign with their fingers for nearly every picture. Anything you learned in a different culture about posing for pictures?

Hope you all have a great week!

After "A Day That Will Live in Infamy"...

2011-12-08T10:53:00.001-05:00

Today, December 8th, is a national holiday in Paraguay. It is quiet, with few buses or cars on the street. Everyone seems quieter today, even inside their houses.
Today, around the world, the Catholic church is celebrating the Immaculate Conception of Mary, which has been celebrated now for over 1500 years. The idea is that from conception, Mary herself was free from sin. Scripture teaches us that only One was ever free from sin from conception--Jesus Christ, who is 100% God and 100% man.

But, here in Paraguay, there is a twist--they are celebrating the "Virgin of Miracles" as well. Over the past two months, I have heard many local stories relating miracles. Sadly, each one ends with the worship of a person, place, or thing--not the worship of the one and only God who deserves the worship from all peoples and nations.

(picture from abc.com.py)

This is the story here in Paraguay:

In the sixteenth century (1500s) a converted-to-Catholicism Guaraní indian was out looking for clay for his sculptures. While he was out in the woods alone, a group of hostile indians from a neighboring tribe came past. The now-Catholic indian hid behind a tree and prayed to Mary that she would protect him--and he made a promise to her: if she would protect him from the hostile neighbors, he would sculpt a statue of her out of the tree that was hiding him. He did in fact live, and fulfilled his promise to Mary by carving the statue of her. He placed her statue in a local church, and it was housed there until 1603.

In 1603, a lake near the church flooded, and washed away everything in its path--included the statue of Mary. As the waters receded, the statue miraculously reappeared, and began to be called the "Virgin of Miracles." A carpenter constructed a building to house the statue, and people soon began to make pilgrimages to the Virgin of Miracles. The statue is now housed in the Basilica in Caacupe. For over 400 years, people have been walking to pay homage to the Virgin of Miracles. Throughout the year people make promises to the statue, and say "If you do this__________, I will walk to Caacupe on December 8th." Caacupe is approximately 35 miles outside of the city of Asuncion. People walk, bike, drive, and ride horseback from all over the country to fulfill their promises. I read in a news article that the plaza in front of the Basilica can hold over 300,000 people--and it is always overflowing.

I am reminded of Isaiah 44, where Isaiah prophesies to Israel about their idolatry. A carpenter cuts down a tree, and with half of it he carves an idol to worship, and with the other half he warms himself with a fire. "He makes it into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, 'Deliver me, for you are my god!'" (verse 17)

Please be in prayer for the people of Paraguay. Many are in a fight for their souls, and do not know it. I believe one of the greatest lies of Satan is for someone to believe they are a Christian and saved, when they have never trusted in the blood of Jesus Christ alone to wash away their sins and reunite them with God.

Also today, as I am considering my own life--are there areas of idolatry? Have I placed something in a greater position than God Himself? If the statue-worship of over 300,000 people concerns you, take some time in prayer today to consider if you have put the God of all creation in second place.

Thanksgiving Dinner

2011-12-03T07:33:00.000-05:00

Did you know that Thanksgiving is not a holiday recognized around the world? My friends got up for a normal day at work and school, without once thinking of turkey, stuffing, and pies. Except for a few--I had asked some friends to come over for dinner at 9pm.

I started cooking around 4pm, and my neighbor, A came over soon after to help out. As you can see from the picture, there were chickens (a 10 lb turkey cost 182,000 guaranies--roughly $45!!), stuffing, potatoes, and olives.

A was in charge of cutting the bread from the supermarket. She was amazed with the bread knife, and said "If I learn how to cook, can we ask your mom to send one of these?!" Her own mom later told her--we have a knife like that, why don't you use it?!

The chickens almost done cooking, and ready to eat!

All six of us anxiously waiting to eat. By this point it was about 9pm, and everyone was hungry! The next morning a few people said "My stomach hurts." Welcome to Thanksgiving! :-)

Carrie's Thanksgiving Chicken

In a bowl, mix rosemary, oregano, salt, and enough olive oil to make a little paste. I would have used sage as well, but didn't find any in time. Lift the skin off the chicken breast (without removing it), and evenly spread the paste around. Replace the skin over the paste. Smear butter over the skin of the chicken on the outside, and flip upside down in the pan. In the pan and inside the chicken, I cut up 1 orange, 1 lemon, and one onion per chicken. I squeezed an orange wedge over the chicken. For liquids in the pan, I used a Schweppe's Citrus soda, which reminds me of Fresca, and one cup of chicken broth. Bake 15 minutes at 500*, 15 minutes at 425*, and 15 minutes at 400*, before dropping the temperature to 350* for the rest of the time. It took about an hour to bake until the breast read 165*. (Note--use your own discretion here, chicken should really be baked until it reads 180* on a thermometer. The juices were clear at 165*, so we ate it!)

El Clasico

2011-11-26T09:30:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday afternoon I went to "El Clasico"--a soccer game between the two biggest teams in Paraguay. Traditionally, it can become dangerous, because the fans want to badly for their team to win. So we got the slightly more expensive tickets a little farther away from the danger, and paid close attention to who we were near and when. We planned to go to the stadium an hour early, but got a text from a friend saying the area where our tickets were for was filling up--fast! So we practically ran the 10-12 blocks to the stadium, and in the process of searching for two side-by-side seats, a friend of my friend noticed us and had two seats. (Thank you, Lord!!) We got to sit right at mid-field, and had a great view of the entire game.

The fans for Cerro Porteño, all on one half of the field.

The fans of Olympia, all on the other half of the field.

I was told the tickets across the field from us don't sell as much because if it's sunny, you're in the sun the entire game.

Cerro getting ready to start the game. At the bottom of the picture are a few policemen.

The game ended in a tie: 0-0. That's right.

The first El Clasico (back in August) ended in a tie as well: 1-1.

The reason they can end in a tie, is that this is a months-long tournament with other teams here in the country. If the score is different, the winner gets 3 points, and the loser gets 1 point to add to their tally. If they tie, they each get 1 point to add to their tally. On the positive side, since each team got 1 point added, and no one won the game, there really wasn't any violence at the end of the game.

Manifold Evidence

2011-11-21T10:24:00.000-05:00

         This week, I have seen a lot of evidence, evidence of many different things: a world without Christ, a mouse in the house, a friend placed in my life by God, and a returning Savior.
         This week I began to experience a small beginning of what is called "culture shock." Thankfully, it's not a taser-like sensation. [There are vendors selling tasers on the street here. They walk up and down the street triggering the little device...all the while I can't help giggling and thinking "Don't Taze Me, Bro!"] But nonetheless, culture shock is...well, shocking.
         My pastor here was recently talking about why adolescents struggle--they are in the middle of massive changes: relational, emotional, physical, spiritual, and spreading their wings to leave the house--and I realized THAT is why missionaries struggle when they get to the field! We're basically teenagers again, in all the awkward ways. Our friendships and family members are in another country, and we ache for time with them, at the same time God is placing in our lives new friendships and like-family. We physically are in a new climate; a new house; a new pattern of living; new items in the grocery store (or old items more than twice the cost in the U.S.); and, for some, a new style of dress. We are recognizing more than ever before the spiritual battle with the enemy that goes on for a soul--for the unsaved to never become followers of Christ, and for the saved to be distracted beyond usefulness. And sometimes a spiritual battle within ourselves, as we meet all these changes, and wonder "Did God really send me here? Did I hear Him wrong?" A dear friend of my grandparents, and now of mine, told me a few years ago,

"Never doubt in the dark what God has shown you in the light."

--Dun Gordy

Oh, how comforting to remember those words of wisdom as the "dark" seems to settle in. [Disclaimer: So you can focus on the heart of this post, I am not doubting my presence in Paraguay--but at times, missionaries do wonder if God really wanted them to leave the comforts they knew for everything they don't know.]
         So this week, and really, I guess going back as far as two weeks, I've begun the culture shock process--and so far, the best way for me to continue through it is to remember that what bothers me is evidence of Christ-less lives. And that gives me a more motivation. Motivation to study Spanish more thoroughly, to be able to use it more appropriately.

         On the practical, icky side of culture shock there is evidence ::ahem:: of at least one mouse in my kitchen.
         Where I eat.
                  Where I store my food.
So today, when I got up a little later than normal, I found, waiting to greet me in the kitchen, a little gray mouse. I gave the neighbors great breakfast entertainment--should've charged tickets!--as I tried to keep the mouse in one room of the house...without going anywhere near it. I quickly made plans to go get traps and peanut butter. (I wonder if Eve begged Adam to set the traps for her in their first home? When was "the best mouse trap" made? When will the "better mouse trap" be made?!)
          But I had a God-given friend coming to make cookies. I started praying a while ago that God would give me a really good friend in Paraguay. What I meant (or what I thought I meant) was a Paraguayan friend. I guess what I kept asking for was a good friend in Paraguay. And God answered, with my new friend whom we shall call G, a fellow American. G came to PY for two months, and leaves on Monday. So today was kind of our personal "goodbye" time to visit together, and she wanted to make cookies for her host family. She got here, and started preparing to make cookies--but I warned her about the mouse, which was last seen near the stove (but I had to go answer the door, so who really knows now???) Out of her backpack came a bag, with a brown mouth sticking out of it. I had told her a few weeks ago that 3 years ago in Monterrey, Mexico I wanted to buy myself a souvenir, but was advised not to because there was no room in my suitcase. Really, it was wise advice, but in three years, I always have regretted not buying it.

SHE FOUND ONE IN PARAGUAY AND BOUGHT IT FOR ME.

Friendship is manifested in different ways--

That's right, folks, G bought me a cow head.

And it pretty much made my day.

Considering I had been out of bed for about 30 minutes and 29 of that had been watching a mouse take a self-tour through my kitchen, I realize that's not saying a whole lot.

THEN G superceded my expectations. She started moving things. She started looking for the mouse! If there was any doubt (which I think we would both agree that God totally put our friendship together), this was evidence to me that He loves me: enough to give me mouse-hunting, cow-head-giving friends! We encountered the mouse, but I'm pretty sure we lost him between the wood paneling and concrete wall in my office. I like to think that he took a stroll on the wild side and went out the open door while we weren't looking. But, I'm on the offense now--and I've got traps set in two rooms.

So, that's a brief snapshot of how I'm doing these days. Please do pray for me as I enter this initial time of culture shock. Pray that I'll keep my focus on Christ, and not on myself, or my surroundings. Pray for G as she returns to the US & prays about returning to PY in the upcoming year.

When In Rome...

2011-11-17T19:54:00.000-05:00

Around the time I was leaving the US, I frequently heard "There's an App for that!" Well, here I am hearing "There's a yuyo (sounds like jew-joe) for that!" Paraguayans as a whole seem to really like natural remedies--and I'm willing to try them. Since it generally just means drinking what we might call weed-water, I'm okay with trying things out. (I have a friend in Asia who had a friend scrape her back with a coin...she left with 33 stripes!)

Cola de Caballo=Horsetail

This week I've had a urinary tract infection, and my friend suggested I drink cola de caballo. She gave me some today to try, and said to boil it in a liter of water for 1-2 minutes. I can drink it hot or cold (I'm going with cold tomorrow because it's 74* outside...and I did some research--it's a diuretic. Definitely not drinking it before I go to bed!)

According to Wikipedia, "The plant contains several substances which can be used medicinally. It is rich in the minerals silicon (10%), potassium, and calcium. The buds are eaten as a vegetable in Japan and Korea in spring time." It also came with some long-term use warnings, so despite the many benefits, looks like this is not a daily thing I'll be drinking.

The list of illnesses it treats were quite diverse:

Kidney and bladder stones.
Edema
Weight loss.
Hair loss.
Gout.
Frostbite--definitely not an issue here
Fluid retention.
Urinary tract infections.
Incontinence.
Tuberculosis
Jaundice
Hepatitis
Osteoarthritis and osteoprosis
Use on the skin for wound healing.
Strengthen fingernails
Polish pewter and wood--yikes!
Other conditions.

And my favorite use I found:
It was used by Hurdy-Gurdy players to dress the wheels of their instruments by removing resin build up

Everyone hates a resin-chunked Hurdy-Gurdy.

Please pray--

2011-11-15T09:46:00.000-05:00

Please pray for me this week, I woke up this morning with a UTI & started taking antibiotics late morning. Thankfully, it's an easy "fix"--because of my history with UTIs, I know when I have one (ie--don't have to go to the doctor for a test), and the medicine I'm always prescribed is over-the-counter here.

Please pray that my body will respond quickly and completely to the medicine--thanks! Carrie

Needless to Say...

2011-11-14T07:14:00.000-05:00

...I'm not interested in going anywhere today. It's been raining for the majority of the past 48 hours, so I think I'll curl up with some reading & grammar.

(Picture from abc.com/py)

The Long-Awaited, Likely-Forgotten Answer

2011-11-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

...to this post...

CLICK HERE to know what I'm talking about

The question in the post three months ago, was "What that thing used for?!"

I can't say with complete confidence, but I'm pretty sure drinking "térere" is a national past-time, right up there on the list with soccer, appropriately known as "futbol." This particular cup is hollowed out wood, but there are also silver or cups made out of cow hooves. I don't mind the wooden or silver ones. :-) This particular cup is for some friends back in the U.S.

From the picture above, you can see that the "bombilla" or straw has a filtered end. This is very necessary, as the "yerba" is dried and cut, leaves. The direct translation to English is "weed, herb, grass." The yerba is harvested from the South American holly tree. The flavor is a little bitter, but it grows on you after a while, and I'm getting to where I like it. This is a staged picture, because there is no ice in the water. Generally, when drinking térere, the more ice in the water the better.

Drinking térere is a group activity--using one cup, one straw, and one pitcher of ice water (or more depending on how long they'll be drinking!) It's more of a social activity than anything else, I think. One person is responsible for serving, so they pour the water into the cup, and pass it to the left. After each person drinks all the water in the cup, they hand it back to the server, only to pass it right along to the next person on the left. It's very typical to see a group of Paraguayans sitting in a circle drinking térere.

So, what does térere do? Here's a list I found on line of the benefits (note, this website was trying to sell the yerba, so I'm not sure of the true accuracy!)

•Strengthens the immune system
•Reduces fatigue
•Reduces blood pressure
•Rejuvenation
•Breaks down fat (lipolytic)
•Balances sleep patterns
•Delivers oxygen to the heart and lungs during exercise
•A great diet aid
•Increases focus
•Increases creativity
•Increases strength, energy and endurance
Recent research has shown that Yerba:
•Reduces cholesterol
•Contains antioxidants
•Contains 15 amino acids
•Contains 24 vitamins and minerals
•Is a whole body tonic

The main effect I've noticed in just about everyone, is that soon after drinking a quantity of térere, everyone needs to use the bathroom! It seems to be a diuretic. I'm planning to get a termo (thermos), bombilla (straw) and guampa (cup) in the next few months. I've got my eye out for a really good set!

And the Results are in!

2011-11-07T20:25:00.001-05:00

On September 18th, I had a language evaluation to see how I've progressed (or in this particular case, regressed) in my Spanish. Two weeks ago I got the results of my evaluation, and I was quite surprised at how much I didn't regress. Remember, after studying Spanish in Mexico for 11 months, I left at level 6 of 8...but then I spent 18 months in the U.S. I expected that my language level would have dropped down to level 4, but, it only dropped one level--to 5!

This level is called "Progressing Mid", which basically means that I'm in the middle. (Down south, they call this "fair to middling.") As far as language, it means that I can communicate fairly well in Spanish with people who are accustomed to how foreigners talk. I have a fair amount of vocabulary; know quite a few verb tenses, but don't use most of the regularly in their appropriate time frame; I regularly confuse the articles preceding nouns & adjectives (everything here has a gender); and I need to learn how Paraguayans use prepositions instead of translating in my head from English to Spanish.

The simple explanation: I can frequently understand enough to think I understood but still often misunderstand the meaning behind the words.

The goal for level 8: To understand almost everything, minus the occasional word in a new topic, and even understand why the Paraguay is saying what they are saying.

Simply put, I have a lot of work ahead of me--but I have to remember that I have a lot of work behind me, too. The upcoming levels are some of the hardest to work through, because of the more complicated verbs (remember learning what "I would have eaten was called?) I'm also learning Paraguayan culture, which will take quite a while.

I thank you profusely for your prayers--they are a huge part of what keep me going each day. My next language evaluation should be in January, so in February we should know how much progress I made in my first six months in Paraguay!

Appliances, check.

2011-11-07T18:57:00.000-05:00

Last week I was able to get my final appliance for the kitchen: the washer! It's been thoroughly welcomed to the family (I named her Wanda), and I was so excited to wash clothes (never thought I'd say that!)

Some interesting things about washers here:

-most of the top-load washers, the lid actually folds in half.

-washers are measured by how many kilos of laundry it can do. Due to the type I wanted, mine is 7.5k (16.5lbs); a friend informed me that my washer is "nearly industrial!" Which struck me really funny, because of how small it is. :-)

-until further notice, my washer drains into the right side of the kitchen sink. The plumber was supposed to come at 8am, but for some reason didn't come today.

-next to the washer is a little Rubbermaid(ish) container holding my laundry detergent. I'm hoping this deters critters from living inside of it.

-Wanda likes doing laundry so much, she plays a song at the end of the wash cycle. This makes me happy!

The landlady is loaning me this table and the chairs until I get my own. It's been nice to have a place to eat & have grammar class. The green tray on the table was a necessary purchase. It's ideal here to serve drinks on a tray, so when I have a group over I empty the items off the tray & use it for juice or water. Can you see the little spray bottle next to the sink? It gets used pretty often, because it's 50/50 water/vinegar. I'm trying to get rid of gnats that have decided to take over the kitchen.

The stove hasn't been announced here either, but I got it last month. It's a four burner, but the oven space is a lot smaller than we would normally find in the U.S. It has a little cover over it, and I really don't know why. But it comes in handy since the only place to put it is under the chimney that the bugs come down from. And, yes, that little green bottle peeking around the side is a propane tank...in the house...next to the flaming stove. It still makes me a little nervous, and I usually turn the gas off each time I'm done using the stove "just in case." A few weeks ago I was also able to get my water filter put together. I'm very happy to have this done, and I'm enjoying drinking many liters of rust-free water everyday!

I Wish I Had a Picture...

2011-10-25T10:26:00.000-04:00

I've seen a lot of things on the street here in Paraguay.
Some things I wish I'd never seen, and other make me smile.
There are little kids running around barefoot from car to car asking for "monedas" (coins, the most valuable coin is worth a US quarter.)
An old man regularly begs from money at the corner near my house.
I've seen people dressed up, and people dressed down.
I've learned some of the bus routes while walking, looking to see what buses are passing me.
I've seen taxis cruising for passengers.
I've seen groups in a park, sleeping under plastic tarps while trying to get the government to give them land.
I've seen kids thrilled to ride the bus, and old ladies struggling to get up the steps of the bus.
I've seen four wheelers flying down the road on Sunday afternoons.
I've seen countless motorcycles driven by men in suits.
I've seen motorcycles driven by women in high heels.
I've seen horses with their ribs sticking out pulling carts of trash.
I've seen a person pushing a cart of trash that was twice his height.

But before Friday, I had never, in Paraguay, seen a tractor.

On a busy road.

At rush hour.

I had to laugh a little (inside) when I saw the tractor--and, if you'll remember from a previous post, honking is a way for the guys to acknowledge the presence of a girl on the side of the road. He honked his tractor horn, which made it even harder to keep a straight face as I waited for my bus. And ever since Friday, I can't get Kenny Chesney out of my head, because I'm sure, without knowing the song or English--that's what the tractor driver must have thought. I'm still laughing about the tractor!

Company

2011-10-19T16:15:00.000-04:00

Saturday night I hosted the youth/singles group here at my house. We had a church service, and a "chorizada" with chorizo (a sausage-type meat.) We had around 25 people coming and going through the evening. One friend came early to help me wash, peel, and cook the mandioca (yucca root)--we used the pressure cooker again. (The fear of the pressure cooker is dissipating!) We prepared all the chorizo, and then waited for the rest of the group to arrive.

The pastor presented a very clear & understandable explanation of the cross--how we use it wrong (as a fetish), and how we should view it: EMPTY & CONQUERED!

The "spread" for the chorizada: bread, chorizo, and mandioca

My neighbor Fatima, my friend Hilda, and two girls that came for the first time Saturday night

About half of the group is represented here, they were playing Jenga all evening long!

Doot, Doot, Doot, Lookin' Out My Front Door

2011-10-13T09:37:00.000-04:00

Last Sunday we got home from church, and this mural was being painted across the street from our house. (I go to church with neighbors, hence the "we.") The landlady's daughter eventually went over to see what was going on--and it looks like we're getting a hostel in the neighborhood. They seem to still be working on getting it running, but hopefully this will be a good improvement to the neighborhood! At least it's fun to look at! Reminds me of Mr. Plumbean in one of the best kids' books ever written!

Some Electric Work

2011-10-13T09:32:00.000-04:00

Great news: Thursday I finally bought a fan! It hadn't been too hot in the house just yet, so I was able to wait a while. Here I am, happy with my new fan:

The down side, is that when I was trying to plug it in on Saturday night, the prong on the plug broke. Out of desperation, I figured I would try super glue, but that didn't work--it blocked the connection. So I consulted two friends, and decided I had a new project on my hands...

...change the plug on the fan! I'd never done this before, so it was pretty interesting, but not very difficult.

Trying to get the little wires underneath the little screws

This is what the inside of the new plug looks like:

And this is what a happy Carrie looks like! You can't tell, but the fan is plugged in & running in this picture.

It's been nice to have a fan running while sleeping to block out the music from the bar down the street!

A Frequent Question

2011-10-06T21:18:00.001-04:00

I'm frequently asked, here and in the U.S., if I cook for myself.

The answer is--yes, only when I'm hungry. Generally, I'm hungry.

I'm ashamed to admit that sometimes I forget to eat (I'm getting better at this!) It used to be really bad, and I wouldn't stop what I was doing to eat when I was hungry. Now I've learned that if I don't answer the hunger call right away, I'll pass the hungry stage.

Next in line of frequently asked questions, is when/how did I learn how to cook. Not really sure I've ever "learned"--I just grew up in the kitchen with my mom. I guess you could say I learned how to cook, but I really think I just watched while we talked, and then out of necessity (hunger) started to use my memories to cook.

But, when I do stop to cook, fun things turn out. I have a recipe book, and e-copies of 3 different boxes of recipes from my Grandma Martin, my recipe box, and the amazing Lisa Parker. But, I generally only touch these when I'm desperate or using the pressure cooker (which is occasionally the same thing.) And for baking--definitely can't do that on the fly!

For example, a few weeks ago, I found out that Paraguay has corned beef. So, I bought a can, then I bought potatoes, then the store I was at only had purple cabbage. I grew up on corned beef, (green) cabbage, and potatoes. I figured, since I wasn't planning to serve anyone else, it was worth a try with purple cabbage. It was beyond worth it! It tasted like home, and everything turned purple!!

This week's shopping trip brought with it a LOT of veggies. Remember The Roast Beef Story? Well, since I had so much meat, I figured with the end of it I could make a beef vegetable soup! So tonight, I got all ready to make soup in 85+ degree weather, and I'd like to say it was worth it...but...I don't have a can opener yet, and I really wanted to put my little can of corn in the soup. So I ran up to the landlady's to ask to use her can opener. And she gave me a plate of food: rice & beans--which I absolutely love. So after chopping, frying, salting, boiling, chopping, adding, salting, and waiting...I ate a different meal! But I'm looking forward to this pot of soup lasting me the weekend! :-D

So parents: Let your kids help you in the kitchen!

Carrie's Ishy Beef Vegetable Soup:

4 cloves of garlic, diced

3 medium onions, chopped

*Fry in the soup pot in about 2 Tbs of olive oil

*Add reserved juices from when you cooked the meat (I cooked a roast beef.) I added a beef
bouillon cube and a cereal bowlful of water at this point.

The following items I added as I had them chopped, along with keeping enough water in the pot to cover the veggies:

a lot of tiny baby potatoes, quartered

5ish carrots, chopped

green beans, snapped

4 Roma tomatoes, diced

beef, chopped

small can of corn, opened by the neighbor

salt & pepper to taste

*I brought the soup to a boil, and added about 4 handfuls of little pasta tubes.

I'm really looking forward to trying my soup tomorrow! Let me know if you try some, too!

The Roast Beef Story

2011-10-04T08:00:00.001-04:00

*Warning: This story contains things vegetarians may not like to think about.*

I wanted beef.

Nothing else, just beef.

So, on Monday I went to the grocery store, and waited in line to ask the butcher for beef. Unfortunately, I still don't know what the cuts of beef are called. I pointed to one small chunk of beefy looking product, and said, "I want this." She asked if I wanted lomo; I said yes, figuring that my option must've been lomo. Then the lady proceeded on to the next customer...I stood around the butcher area for about 10 minutes, wondering if I had communicated that I actually wanted to buy that piece of beef. I saw a guy come out of the back freezer with a very large piece of beef...we're talking: bones, fat, meat, the whole thing. So I watched him cut up some beef. Eventually I started to realize he was cutting my lomo off of the former cow. The lady returned and asked me how much lomo I wanted, so I said "one kilo" thinking that was about the size of the little chunk of beef I had pointed at earlier (and wondering why I wasn't just getting the pre-cut chunk; maybe it was display only??) Well. It's not the same size. I walked away with a huge chunk of meat, probably 4 times as much as the little chunk of meat. I walked away with just over 2 1/2 pounds of beef.

Tuesday I resolved to freeze the HCOM (huge chunk of meat), because I didn't want it to go bad, and I didn't have the time to cook it on Tuesday.

Wednesday I wanted to cook HCOM, but it was still frozen, and I figured it would take quite a while to defrost that thing. So I got a bowl & put it in the fridge to cook on Thursday.

By the end of Thursday night, I was realizing that HCOM wasn't going to be cooked that day either. Yet, I still wanted beef.

I actually considered getting up early on Friday to cook HCOM before I was going to be gone about 8 hours. But those of you that know me, know that getting out of bed for me is pretty difficult--even for HCOM So, by 10pm Friday night, HCOM was still uncooked and sitting, defrosted, in the refrigerator.

Saturday is actually a story all on its own, with very few of my plans actually occurring. Including, yes...cooking HCOM. I went out with a friend in torrential rain (not really exaggerating here, the pictures are on her camera, but you'll see soon enough!) and returned at 1:30. Hungry, and ready to cook my HCOM! I was pleasantly surprised that when I plugged my computer in, it finally didn't spark! (I'm apparently tired, because I didn't notice that the lights I had turned on didn't light up either!) The neighbor stuck her head in the window, and asked if I'd eaten yet. I said no, that I was just getting ready to cook.

And I was given the worst news for the day.

The electricity was out again.

See, I'm still using small electric stove. And my aging meat was in the fridge, which can't stay very cold without electricity. And there was no telling when the electricity would be back. So I figured I may as well take a nap since it was raining and the lights were off. The neighbor texted about 20 minutes before we were to leave for church last night, and as soon as I started to get ready to leave the house--the electricity came back on. All I could do was laugh--because if I didn't laugh, I may have cried! I was still hungry, had possibly fermenting meat in my fridge, and no time to cook it. I toyed around with the idea of cooking it after I got home--which ended up being 1AM, but our time changed last night, so the "new time" was 2AM. Obviously, I chose sleep.

Today, Sunday, after church I came home and smelled my HCOM. It still smelled beefy, so I pulled out the pressure cooker, and cooked my first roast beef on my little electric stove. And I must admit, it's got a very satisfying taste!

**"Ironically": Selah's song "Through it All" just played as I was finishing this...

Paraguay in Photos

2011-09-30T22:09:00.000-04:00

Soccer Tournament

2011-09-30T22:00:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I got to go to my first soccer tournament here in Paraguay. All the CMA churches from the area came together to play--seven guys teams, and seven girls teams! It was a very hot day, with a lot of soccer, and a lot of fun! Here are some pictures:

The cheering group, watching one of the matches.

All the youth from the church, and the guys' & girls' team

After the tournament we went back to the church & had empanadas.

The guys got second place!

The Value of a Word: Journal Thoughts

2011-09-23T08:00:00.001-04:00

      "Saturday night was youth/singles group. I was a little bit frustrated by the end because I don't follow well in conversation. I follow, but about a minute behind." [Disclaimer: one-on-one dialogue is better, when more than three people are talking is when I get lost.] "So unless someone directly asks me a question and is willing to wait for the answer, I have nothing to share in the conversation. It's really frustrating for me, because I feel like what I have to say has value. Granted, it's not always important, but sometimes a thought will be so clear--yet one minute late.

Maybe the Lord is teaching me to be silent.

Maybe He's teaching me to listen.

Maybe He's telling me to get to know the people I'm talking to before I share things
    that are culturally inappropriate or just have no need to be said.

       How much eternal value do my words really have? Most of what I wasn't able to say over the weekend would've burned: wood, hay, & straw.

Maybe God is giving me the opportunity to change my wood, hay, & straw in for gold, silver, and precious stones (1 Corinthians 3:12)

--the time to slow my speech,
                  to weigh my words,
                               to test them with fire,
                                             & to speak words useful for eternity.

I'm anxious to speak, Lord; I miss being able to easily communicate truth. Fill me with your love, joy, peace, PATIENCE, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, & self-control."

"Sprechen Sie Deutsches?"

2011-09-21T08:00:00.001-04:00

My family likes words. The funnier they sound, the happier we are. My brother was saying things like "Saskatchewan & Bosnia-Herzegovina" by the age of four.

We also like to say "Sprechen?!" just for fun. "Sprechen Sie Deutsches" means "do you speak German?"

Remember the other day I went to the hardware store? While I was there, an older man came in with a circular light bulb in his hand. The girl nearby asked, "You want another one like that?" "No, I want one that works"--I already liked this guy! She headed to the back to search for a useful light bulb, and the Friendly Neighborhood Hardware Man (FNHM) says to him in Spanish, "She's from Carolina del Norte!" The older man promptly looked at me and said, "Sprechen Sie Deutsches?" I can't tell you how happy I am that I didn't laugh, just to hear the familiar phrase! FNHM told him, "She's Americana; she speaks English."

The following conversation was in English:
Older Man: "You speak English?"
Me: "Yessir."
Older Man: "I need about 3-4 months in the United States to get my English back. I don't speak it like I did 40 years ago."
Me: "Why did you learn English 40 years ago?"
Older Man: "I worked with some good Mennonite boys on the Trans-Chaco Highway."

Me...speechless...because this man had a pretty big part in a pretty big road in Paraguay, 40 years ago. It's the road that I'll likely use if I work in a tribal area in the western half of the country.

He left with his light bulb, I left with my plumbing project and with a greater respect for the neighborhood hardware store.

PS--To make it better, his English had a Dutch accent to it, so I'm honestly not sure if he was one of the "Good Mennonite Boys" or if he retained their accent for 40 years! Maybe I'll see him on the next trip to get nails.

Today, I had a choice

2011-09-19T14:10:00.000-04:00

Today I decided to go to the hardware store to buy supplies for a project. What project? The drain under the kitchen sink is open (well, unless the brick is over it...) and the drain from my future washer will drain into this open hole. I went to the hardware store down the block to get what I thought I needed: 2 1/2 meters of PVC pipe, 2 elbows, plumbery glue, and a saw.

The man that owns the store has helped me before, in buying adapters for plugs & straight razor blades for scraping excessive amounts of paint off the windows. He has a brother living in North Carolina, so he likes to talk to me about NC.

Today I went in mentally prepared with my list, and he showed me some different items. When we both knew that I wanted pipe to drain the washer (not load it...that was my fault!) he showed me some flexible tubing with an elbow built onto the end. We agreed I would need two for the distance, then I asked about glue. My culture says that plumbing needs to be glued in order to keep the water in the pipe.

He pulled out a box with this little connectors, and searched through until he found the size he was looking for. He showed me that this plastic connector would seal off the two pipes.

I immediately had a choice.
Trust the man who has been doing this his entire life

do it my way because I "had plans" already.

I bought the flexible tubing. I bought the little plastic connector. I bought zip-ties to connect the tubing to the other pipes. And laughed at my plans.

Chores: 101

2011-09-15T08:00:00.000-04:00

Some of you ask me what a regular day looks like for me. Well, that doesn't exactly exist. Sometimes a fairly regular week passes by, but, overall, I stay pretty busy. It's pretty nice when "hanging out with people" is basically your "job." So, I thought I'd show you what some chores look like for me. Today you'll get a brief glimpse of laundry. I haven't done laundry much since moving to my own house, because, honestly, I don't like to!

I frequently start out my chores-ritual by making sure I have the Spanish recordings I want to listen to. This way I can wander around the house without losing my focus on the audio coming out of the computer.

Then I download them onto my iPod. I plug myself into the iPod, and I'm ready for the chores!

For laundry, I haul my wash up the stairs to my neighbor's house. She's been really great, and is letting me use her washer until I buy my own. The plus, is that I don't have to scrub my clothes out by hand. After the clothes go through a wash cycle, I wring them out, drain the water out of the washer, and refill it with clean water for the rinse cycle. I try to unwrinkle the clothes a little, and add them back into the washer. After a brief rinse, I wring the clothes out again and drain the water, or add soap for a second load.

Then I go outside to hang up my laundry on the line. After a few hours, I can usually bring it inside & put it away.

I'm looking forward to getting my automatic washer in a few weeks. I'm thankful that they make them here, and my days of wringing out my clothes are short!

The Hardest Question:

2011-09-13T17:52:00.001-04:00

So, what do you do all day?

How do I explain this program? CLAware was created for missionaries learning another language--specifically an unwritten language, as I will be doing when I begin learning my third language. This is one program where I can unite my thoughts/observations on something I have seen or heard, add audio, edit the audio, add photos, unite the photo with the audio, and form a listening collection for reviewing everything.

CLAware does much more than this, these are just the basic things I'm using right now. After I've spent time with Spanish speakers, I usually have some new tidbit of cultural information that I want to remember, and now I'm beginning to have audio to record. Last week I recorded a friend teaching me about fruits, and this picture is a screen-shot of my computer while I was working with the audio and pictures. The list on the left is a group of things I've run across here that someone has told me about or things I've observed.

Guess I'd better get to work with some processing from last night! :-)

Contramano

2011-09-13T17:42:00.003-04:00

Many of the streets here are one way...for now, I'm glad I'm walking and taking the bus!

A Word of Encouragement

2011-09-13T17:37:00.001-04:00

"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

Evaluation

2011-09-13T17:31:00.000-04:00

Every once in a while, it's a good idea to take evaluation. Today I had my first language evaluation in Paraguay. I had two or three when I was in Mexico, and they really help to know how much language I have learned and retained. It also helps to know what I should begin studying next! Today's evaluation is, in a sense, preliminary; now I will know what I need to study, relearn (I've lost a lot of vocabulary & verb usage in the past 18 months), and a general starting point for my Spanish study here in Paraguay.

And, to celebrate, when I got home I ate a celebratory dinner: rice & beans with Guarana.

By far, one of my favorite meals.

PS--I made the beans in my pressure cooker! The fear of the pressure cooker is dissipating. :-)

Visiting the Pony Express

2011-09-09T08:00:00.000-04:00

Asuncion is big. Really big. Think Houston big. About twice as large as Chihuahua, Mexico. Think 4 1/2 times as big as Shreveport. Or 937 times larger than Coats, NC. Or 1089 times larger than Roach, MO.

Suffice to say, this is the biggest place I've lived in...well, ever.

Friday morning I got to go to the post office here in Asuncion to help pick up the mail for all the NTM missionaries in the country. To quote another visitor to the post office, "This is like the Pony Express!" Remember, Asuncion has a population of nearly 2million people. This is the capital of the country, and this is the post office for small mail. The small packages are next door, and the larger packages are a 10-minutes drive away. (Don't ask me why!) With this in mind, continue:

Here's a wall of mailboxes. No one has mail delivered to their door--well, very rarely (and as expensive as it is rare!) Each door has a window & a key, no back to lock the mail in, and the wood reminds me of a hollow door we once had that broke easily. These boxes go about 8 feet up or higher, so if you have a high box, you get a ladder & climb for your mail.

This is our mailbox: #1181. Any mail that comes to me goes through this box first. And I actually got a letter the day I went from my great aunt!

And, yes, I did look through the window & saw desks and post office workers.

A Tour of the House

2011-09-08T19:05:00.000-04:00

I just realized today that I haven't given you a tour of my house since I've moved in. There's still a lot of progress to be made, but this way you can know what life is like right now.

This is my kitchen. Don't judge me by the floor--that's about as clean as it gets.
I'm working on triangular curtains for the window.

Here's the other half of the kitchen, and you can see through the living room & into the study, too. Right now I'm borrowing the landlady's two-burner electric stove, which has been working quite nicely. I'll probably buy a stove in October, and I'd like to get a washer later this month.

This is the living room--it has the highest ceiling in the house. I'm also hoping to get a small sofa & two chairs for this room either this month or next month.

This is my study room/exercise room.

My bedroom, with the orange mattress. :-)

Hope you enjoyed the tour! I'll probably have another tour when I have everything set up--maybe by the New Year you'll see This Old House again!

Did I mention that my mattress is ORANGE?

2011-09-07T08:03:00.001-04:00

'cuz it is.

A Lesson in Confidence

2011-09-05T22:31:00.001-04:00

Friday night I had a huge lesson in confidence: I used my pressure cooker by myself for the first time. Well, mostly by myself--Avi, the neighbor was with me, but she only knows about pressure cookers from hearing them while her grandma is cooking. So, we learned together! I bought a whole chicken at "Supermercado España," with the intentions of cooking it in the pressure cooker that Ms. Beulah bought me before I came. And, with great fear & trembling, the pressure rose (as did my blood pressure for exactly 20 minutes.)

I'm pretty sure my face looked like this the entire time. This is my two-burner electric stove I'm using right now.

When I wasn't staring at my watch, I was trying to guesstimate exactly how much an overweight cut up chicken should take. It ended up coming out perfect, and probably the juiciest chicken I've ever made.

Friday night it was served on fresh bread (from the store--no way did I make that!) with mayonnaise & tomato.
Saturday, brought a similar chicken/bread combo
Sunday I got to "eat out" twice, so I didn't get to eat it.
Monday, I made an Amazing Soup.

Carrie's Amazing Chicken Soup

Ingredients:

cooked rice

1 T olive oil

3 carrots, chopped small

1/2 medium onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, diced

some broccoli (not really sure how much it was, but it wasn't a lot--I think there were things living in it, so I picked through what looked good), cut up small

chunks of chicken pulled off the bone

broth from cooking chicken

water

salt & pepper

fresh spinach

lemon (opt)

Regiano cheese (opt)

1. If you have to make your rice, start it first. 2. Saute the first 5 ingredients in a saucepan. 3. Heat up broth, add water until the broth is the color you like, & add sauteed vegetables. 4. Add cooked chicken. 5. Add cooked rice. 6. Add salt & pepper to taste. 7. A few minutes before you're going to take it off the burner, throw in some cut up fresh spinach. It should still be green when you take it off the burner. 8. I squeezed the juice from 1/2 a lemon into my bowl, and added in some Regiano cheese. Somehow the combo worked tonight.

Enjoy!

Just A Thought

2011-09-02T22:59:00.001-04:00

Moms: If you want to do something with lasting character qualities, teach your son to give his seat to a woman when no other is available.

Dads: If you want to do something that your sons will remember, do the same: by example.

A guy gave me his seat on the bus today, and, I have to admit,
it pretty much made my day.

See, what seems to be the typical response on the street to a girl walking down the street, is what I call the lyrics to the "Street Music." You've already got the sound of tires squealing, cars racing to the next stop light, city buses striving to get ahead of one another (and still deal with their passengers)...then add in the lyrics to the music: car horns, taxi horns, bus horns, and motorcycle horns. They're frequently used to help the person ahead of them go a little faster, but occasionally they are also used to let someone on the street say

"Hey, how you doin'?"

--Joey-style (from Friends.)

So, today, I walked out of the house, bracing myself for the walk to the bus, the "Street Music", and the horns I would likely hear. And when I got on the bus, it was standing room only. I felt a tap on my shoulder, and a man was giving me his seat.

This was special. This is not the cultural norm. And all I could think was:

"He gave me his seat!"

Hey That's New! -----> -------> --------->

2011-08-31T22:49:00.003-04:00

Thought you might like to notice a new feature. If you read the blog, and would like to also get newsletters, here's your chance to sign up! Click the Subscribe button on the side, & you'll start getting newsletters soon!

Here's how it works:
1. Enter your email address in the box & click "Subscribe."
2. Go check the same email for an email from "Carrie Martin" subject "Quarterly List."
3. Click on the button that says "Yes, subscribe me to this list."
         a. if it doesn't work, look for an area near the top of the email that says something similar to
             "Download Content"
         b. click the "Yes, subscribe me to this list" again
4. A window or tab shouldn't open that says "Subscription Confirmed."

From this point on, you'll receive email updates that I send out. Enjoy!

A Rest

2011-08-30T09:04:00.004-04:00

Saturday. Was. Tough.

Sunday I made a short list of things that overwhelmed me on Saturday:

1. Washer I learned--again--how to do laundry. Except this time I had to do it in a non-automatic washer--yes they still exist. I managed to spill water all over the neighbor's kitchen floor. A washer is on my things to buy for the house; it's going to be automatic.

2. Bugs I'm pretty sure all the bugs Saturday night knew that I was new to the church. They weren't biting, just landing. And landing. And landing. On. Me. I was the kid that picked up frogs & worms & brought them home. Bugs really don't bother me on a regular day.

3. The dog slept in my bedroom. Those of you that know me, know that I like dogs. Clean dogs are my favorite. Indoor dogs, or clean outdoor dogs can sleep in my room anytime. I learned this weekend that the mange-y dirty outside dog used to sleep in my bedroom, because the doors were left open all the time. Not a big deal really, till I remembered that this is the only room I haven't been able to get the floor mopped yet. (Definitely getting done today!)

4. Saying the wrong words. This one hurts me. When I left Mexico, I was pretty far along in language, about halfway through the four stages of learning. Now my comprehension is still pretty high, but I can't get the words to come out of my mouth. Not sure if you've ever been with a two-year old who is trying to talk, and you can tell the words are in his head and he's trying to get the words out, but his mouth just won't move fast enough? Yea. I'm that two-year old again.

5. Can't express myself. Saturday night after church, a friend asked how I was doing. I couldn't really explain how I felt, because, honestly, I was too tired to try to figure it out. Someone was showing genuine interest in how I was doing, and I didn't even feel like answering.

Not going to lie, by the end of the night, I was exhausted & just wanted to sleep for all of Sunday. But, as you can see here:

...weekends are not my time off.

Sunday morning I woke up with the word "frustrada" in mind--it was as if after a half night's rest (we had prayer meeting until midnight Saturday), God gave me the peace of mind to be able to think of how I felt.

So, Sunday morning, I woke up and got ready for church. Each Sunday the families at church are taking turns having me over for lunch. This has been a really neat way to get to know them personally. And I've been blessed each Sunday. This week I went with a couple from church, whose daughters go to another church. The whole family got in the car & off we went. It didn't take long before I realized we were going in the opposite direction of their house! I had no idea where we were going, and decided to just sit back and enjoy the ride. We ended up at a restaurant in the country, about 2 small towns away. Then we went to the Strawberry Festival in the same town. (The easiest way to please me is with fresh strawberries, and August is strawberry season here--in winter!) I thought after this we were headed home, though I was pretty sure we were driving in the opposite direction from where we came. We ended up at a lake in San Bernadino, Lake Ypacarai. What a pleasant surprise to get out of the city for a few hours, and visit the countryside!

The lake is pretty big, and we were just at one little part. The breeze was nice, and the air was much cooler--I can see why this is a main attraction for Paraguayans in the summer!

The girls and I at the lake.

Then we walked up a LOT of stairs to the look out point. I didn't count them because I was talking--and trying to breath. There weren't as many as the waterfall in Mexico, but it was still good exercise! (And as you can see above, I was dressed for church--not hiking!)

At the lookout point, this statue (I assume of Mary) was looking out over the city of San Bernadino & over the lake.

I tried to explain to the family that took me Sunday afternoon, what a blessing the day was to me. Hopefully in time, I'll be able to say, "Hey, do you remember that day we went to the strawberry festival, and went to the lake?...Can I tell you what else was going on in my heart that weekend?"

Until then, I'm going to thank God for His continued faithfulness.

And I'll thank Him for:
1. A washer I can borrow so I don't have to do my laundry by hand.
2. Bugs that eat the spiders & other gross things. Along with the geckos that then eat the bugs.
3. A dog that now sleeps outside my bedroom door, like my personal alarm system.
4. The words that I can say.
5. The ways I can express myself.
6. A friend who after three weeks can see that something isn't right, and is willing to sit with me while I search for the words to explain how I feel.

Thank you for your prayers as I continue to adjust to a new life, new culture, new house, new church, new friends...and many more "new"s. Your intercession makes this possible!

...the next person who innocently says "I could never be a missionary, I just hate bugs!" gets a free visa stamped in her passport. Seriously. :-)

A Series of Firsts:

2011-08-30T08:57:00.002-04:00

So, the other day when my refrigerator arrived, I kept thinking of those little ornaments that say "Baby's First Christmas." A little ridiculous, but buying an appliance was a big step for me--I'm not sure I've bought any "appliances" before other than a hair dryer! I anticipated that one of the most overwhelming parts of coming to Paraguay would be truly setting up a house--not a dorm, not a temporary rental, but buying appliances & furniture that will be mine for a long time. And I was right.

My first meal in my new house. My neighbor, who shares the kitchen window with me, had just left & stuck her head back through the window to ask me a question--and caught me taking a picture of my soup! She thought it was funny, but I'm sure in a few years she'll understand.

My baby refrigerator. It's now happily covered in prayer cards & pictures.

My first gecko--well, the first time I've discovered I share a bureau with a gecko. He's probably still in there...guess I'll just have to check my clothes & especially my shoes when I put them on!

Dia De Los Niños

2011-08-30T08:50:00.002-04:00

Two Sundays ago, my church celebrated Kids Day, which had been just a few days earlier. Since I've been here, I've counted about 40 adults (maximum) at a Sunday service, and anywhere from 8-12 kids. This day we had 45 kids!

A sister CMA church came and did a Buzby skit. They did a great job, and it was only the second time they had performed it.

This is part of the jovenes (youth) group. We had a cold spell for about 5 days, now we're back in the 80s again...and it's still winter!

Just a Little Smile

2011-08-20T14:31:00.001-04:00

Click on comic to enlarge

A "Quick" Message

2011-08-17T21:29:00.002-04:00

This is an excerpt from a chat message with my friend. I'm copy-and-pasting for the sake of time, so please, pardon all the lower case and ill-formed grammar.

so this afternoon. i rode the #18 (a bus i'd never taken) to a place i hadn't been to look at stoves, fridges, and washers. then i walked about 8 blocks--the blocks here are rather large in my opinion--to look at a mattress shop. then i walked to the mall which i had passed on the way to the mattresses. i found a department store that some others had said should have an exercise ball. there were some in boxes with chinese characters but said 66 (way to small, I take a 75) and the lady said "this one in the bag is 76". so i bought it and a pump, then went downstairs to the supermarket. i asked the guard if i could take my bag in, and he sent me to the lockers at the front of the store. i got my key to the locker & then went shopping. i finally found q-tips in the baby section (12 days of TP for a q-tip works, but not ideal), hand soap, more granola, passion fruit juice, and two packs of cookies. i paid, went back for the lockered bag. before i went outside i found bus fare, went to the road, asked some ladies if they knew which bus would go down the main street near my house. they said #85, and it was coming. the driver also said he went down my road. come to find out, the LOOONG way to get to my road. i figured i'd ride it out to know where the 85 goes. well, i got off at the end of his route, and asked some ladies if they knew of a bus that went farther than my road, to make sure i could go far enough (85 went to my road, but not as far as i needed to go). they said 23 & 18 passed by there. so i got on an 18, then walked the two blocks home.

AND, today for the first time i saw a bus driver: talk on the cell, pick up a passenger, hand a ticket, recieve money, shift-gas-steer-shift, return change----pretty much in a time frame of 8 seconds or less.

ps--I made the trip alone! The salesman at the mattress store & the saleswoman at the appliance store were both incredibly patient with me and my fumbling Spanish & "circumlocution"--talking around the subject when you don't know how to say what you want. But I got what I needed. :-)

"Chorizada"

2011-08-16T15:23:00.002-04:00

Last night I went over to my future neighbor's house for "chorizada" for Founders' Day. Asuncion was founded 474 years ago! I really didn't know what to expect, so I went mentally prepared for anything! I knew from Mexico that chorizo is a sausage-type food. I had heard from many people that it is a different type of sausage than the chorizo in Mexico.

I stopped along the way and bought a kilo of chorizo and a bottle of Coke. My understanding of what I was to bring was a kilo of chorizo--in fact, I thought everyone was bringing that, which I thought was a bit much & it didn't make sense in my head. But, if I was told to bring a kilo, bring a kilo I would! I later found out as people were arriving that the plan was to pool together our money & send someone to the store to buy the things we would need: bread, chorizo, ketchup.

While two of the guys went to the store, the girls waited, and a few others showed up.

When the guys got back, they started putting all the chorizo on spits to put over the fire. They also pretended to be eating the full spit of chorizo (like a sword-swallower) and also did some minor sword fighting. But I digress.

After the chorizo was finished cooking, it came off the spits, and Hily and a few others took turns slicing most of the chorizo. A few people ate it inside of a small piece of bread that looks like a small loaf of French bread. Most of us used a toothpick to spear a slice of chorizo and a piece of mandioca (yucca root, boiled.)

It was a fun night--lasted until 11:30! Many of my new friends got to see where my new house is, and we even took a tour through the rooms. Hopefully within a week I'll be able to move into my house!

A Look Outside

2011-08-13T11:39:00.002-04:00

Many mornings I go sit on the patio to read (and let my hair dry...) Yesterday I realized these bananas were growing just nearby.

Since 2001, I have always missed the blue skies of South America. It's nice and cloudy today!

4000, 8000, 12000, 16000...

2011-08-13T11:28:00.002-04:00

How quickly can you multiply & divide by 4,000? I'm learning! The currency in Paraguay is the "guarani." The current exchange rate is just below 4,000:1USD. It's not too bad when I can "cut off" the zeros at the end, much like they have on their money:

100 mil, 50 mil, 20 mil, 10 mil, 2mil

Then I can divide by 4! Last night I went grocery shopping, and I believe it will take me a while to see such large numbers on such small items!

For example:
1 liter of milk: 4,710
Oroweat Bread: 15,000
single-serving yogurt: 1,620
Rice: 4,500

I got quite a few more items, but my total at for the trip was 119,478 guaranies. The good news is that I'm a "millionaire!" (The total for the night was about $30USD.)

Pray for me as I become accustomed to new prices & new money!

A Few More NC Pictures

2011-08-13T11:02:00.003-04:00

I found these pictures today when I (finally) got my camera out to take a few pictures. These were mostly all taken back in June.

My uncle & Aunt visiting from Florida

This is an old cabin that is on the property of a lady from church. My understanding is that it was in a different location & she had it moved to her house. It's over 100 years old.

A picture of the waterway between North Carolina & Emerald Isle.
My great-aunt Rosie, my grandpa's younger sister.
Daddy & me at the airport in Raleigh, just a little bit before I flew to Paraguay.

Would You Pray?

2011-08-10T08:33:00.004-04:00

Official house-hunting has begun. Here are just a few pictures of one apartment, to give you an idea of what I'm looking at. This particular apartment has a lot of pluses, but also some parts I'm just not sure about. The pictures I'm showing you are just "interesting" things about the house--not necessarily a plus or a minus. Hope you enjoy seeing what a typical Paraguayan house may have in it! :-)

This is the apartment from the outside.Each room has one door to the patio & one connecting the room on either side of it. It's four rooms long, right to left: kitchen, hallway/future room?, study/living area, and bedroom. The bathroom is off the study room.
This is a "placar" (plah-car). It's built into the wall, and is right across from the bathroom.
This is the showerhead, with the electric water heater built right onto it.
"Pull the plug" has a different connotation here--there's a little string hanging from the tank, and you pull that to gravity-flush the toilet.
The kitchen has a very large hood for over the stove, and a possible hook-up for a washer.
And this, well, honestly, is a plus. :-) The courtyard that all the doors & windows open up to have a gorgeous view of all these plants. Would you believe this is in downtown Asuncion?

Please be praying as I consider this apartment and other options. Contracts here are generally for a year, and breaking the contract can be difficult or costly.

"One of These Things is not Like the Other"

2011-08-09T09:49:00.004-04:00

Every time I open my silverware drawer here at the mission guest house, I find myself singing "One of these things is not like the other!" Can you find the item that probably isn't in your own silverware drawer? Keep checking back, and I'll have a longer post with what this item is actually for.

On another note, I've been practicing my "4,000" times tables. The cost of this loaf is wheat bread is "1729 guaranies." Right now, the exchange rate is 3,925 guaranies:1 USD. I'd rather divide and multiply by 4,000! Needless to say, this will take some getting used to!

"The Baggage Story"

2011-08-06T16:27:00.003-04:00

This is from my journal:
We ended up leaving for the airport even earlier than I had planned, but it worked out fine. We arrived around 3pm, and, thankfully, there were carts outside. Dad & I curb-side loaded a cart, and while he parked, I maneuvered it all inside. I was pretty happy when none of it collapsed. "Trainee" (he had no personal name-tag) couldn't get my reservation to load on the kiosk, so he sent us straight to a person--which I had hoped for to begin with. Renee was a huge help, once she recovered from the initial shock of four bags. She got my boarding passes through to Rio. I realized the bags were tagged for GIG (Rio) and I wouldn't be able to get them because I didn't have a visa for Brasil. She managed to change it, and got them tagged for ASU. Two had already gone down, so she doubled tagged the other two. (Yet another reason for my relief when I saw all four bags headed to the underbelly of the plane tonight!)

There was some confusion when I arrived in Rio de Janeiro. Customs agents passed me around until they handed my documents over to a man who spoke very good English. He told me how to get to my next gate area and told me to get a boarding pass. In the meantime, he would take my baggage claim tickets to make sure all four bags were truly checked through to Asuncion. I was overjoyed to have someone helping & going the extra mile to make sure my bags were right. He said he would meet me upstairs in the lounge area to return my claim tickets to me. I was about halfway to the lounge when fear set in. What if I'd been swindled? How did I know I could trust this guy? I was hungry & had to go to the bathroom, but I had forgotten to ask when (if ever, I wondered?) he would bring my claim tickets back. I spent the next two hours praying that this guy was honest and would actually show back up. I must have looked very relieved when he did finally come around the corner--claim tickets in hand. He was very friendly, and I was very grateful! Even more so when I saw all four bags together, ready to be loaded on the plane!

When I arrived in Asuncion, we were all sent straight to immigration with our passports. That went remarkably smoothly, despite the taped on "FEM" on my visa! [My visa was issued "MASC" so I returned it to the consulate in Miami for the proper gender; we didn't know if this would be a problem.] I then walked about 10 steps to baggage claim, where a man got my luggage & guided me through the customs process. I'm sure he was sore this morning after lifting those bags! (The heaviest was about 68 lbs, the lightest around 54 lbs.) He told me to walk past the customs x-ray machine with my purse & carry-on--those did not get screened. He put three of my four checked bags on the belt & collected them on the other side. The customs agents didn't even blink twice at my bags. As I was greeting everyone out in the terminal (double beso--a kiss on each cheek), he was still heading for the door. I said to someone, "My bags!" in Spanish, and someone stopped him. There were so many people there form the church, which was exciting, but I felt a little bit like I was in a comedy, and someone would soon say "We don't know them, they're not with us!" Thankfully, that didn't happen, so I must've greeted the appropriate people. As we talked outside, the man became Luggage Guard, and watched over the bags for maybe 20-30 minutes. He then realized this curb-side chat could go on a while, and relinquished guard duty to a church member. It was pretty good for $2 a bag, and I was grateful for his help.

On the Way

2011-08-03T11:06:00.001-04:00

Tomorrow I head out for Paraguay. I'll be traveling for 30+ hours, and covet your prayers for the trip! The next update will come from the wintery weather from the southern hemisphere.

My Time in NC

2011-07-27T16:02:00.003-04:00

Last week I got to go to a drag strip in town--we had fun!

A Lexus vs. a Nova

Farewell to Shreveport

2011-07-22T16:23:00.002-04:00

Sunday, my home church in Shreveport had a going-away lunch for me and a couple moving to Arkansas. It was a nice time to get together with my church family and say good-bye.

A Pretty Busy Week

2011-07-16T14:56:00.002-04:00

Last Sunday I was able to share with a Sunday school class of ladies at a nearby church. I really enjoy these ladies, and today (Saturday) was able to go out to lunch with about 20 of them. It was fun to get to see them twice in one trip! They are the precious ladies who have given the money to purchase a stove in a Paraguay. I told them I would hang this picture near the stove, so I would think of them when I used it!

The (almost) Two Year Old had his birthday party on Wednesday night while many of us were still around. He loves his musical cards, and we spent Wednesday evening and all day Thursday dancing around like fools. This boy has rhythm!

It was a pleasure to spend a couple more days with my nephew, and I'll treasure it for the next few years until I see him again! I'm so thankful for pictures, email, and Skype!

One Last Visit

2011-07-13T14:33:00.003-04:00

This week I'm able to spend a few days with my nephew. He's nearly two years old now--and has lots of energy and personality!

We tried a breakfast of Green Eggs and Ham...it didn't go over very well.

"Bye!"

And the morning ended in a final throw down. Literally, he threw down the blanket & fell asleep within 5 minutes!

Can you find my luggage?

2011-07-08T12:06:00.002-04:00

Yesterday a dear friend and I went luggage shopping. We saved over $600 on the luggage! All that is left now is to pack it. Think I'll be able to find it on the turnstile? :-)

"Heal the Wound, But Leave the Scar"

2011-07-08T11:49:00.004-04:00

Last Sunday a lady came and sang "Heal the Wound, but Leave the Scar" in church. The song had a really great message, asking the Lord to heal our wounds, but to leave a scar as a reminder of what He has done.

Yesterday I went to the dermatologist and finally had a mole removed that many people have told me needed attention. So, as gross as it is, here's the wound:

The doctor expects that it was just a blue nevus, which is harmless.

This week I also got my vaccines updated. I'm happy to have two more things off the list of things to do before I go!

My Superhero Brother

2011-07-04T17:57:00.002-04:00

Last week when I flew into Louisiana, my brother came right over after work to see me. It was so fun to see him in uniform for the first time! Despite that he was active duty for 4 years, we never were able to be around each other during that time. He's been in the reserves for nearly a year now, and was called to active duty for a few months this summer. It was fun to see him in uniform.

Lately, my brother has been running 5k races around town. I'm really proud of him, so when I discovered he would be running in Shreveport's Firecracker 5k this morning, I decided I would get up early to come take pictures of him running. Little did I know...he had plans of his own, long before he knew I was coming!

Tim & I on Tuesday when I arrived in Louisiana

The Flash, Venom (Tim), and Spider Man arriving at the race. It was fun to hear people gasp, dads getting their kids attention, and just general shock that these guys planned to run the race!

The guys made me so proud, happily posing with many little kids while waiting for the race to start.

And, of course, I needed a picture with Venom!
Venom finished the race around 30 minutes--running in a full-body spandex suit makes it a little harder to keep your regular time!

Clean Water!

2011-06-23T17:01:00.003-04:00

One of the first things I'll want when getting overseas is clean water! Today I did a practice run here in the States to see how making a water filter will work. I used a ceramic filter, spigot, and two five-gallon buckets, and there is now a steady dripping in the kitchen! I have a feeling that in Paraguay, I'll be filling the bucket up before going to bed, and getting clean water in the morning. It's not the quickest way to get water, but it is clean water in the end!

Hard at Work

2011-06-15T13:30:00.004-04:00

The first thing I remember working on with my dad was my first "big girl" bike. I couldn't have been more than 5 or 6, and the ball bearings always went out. Through the years we've worked together on bikes, cars, furniture, and and airplane. I've learned a lot from my daddy, and I'm so glad he's my dad. This past year he got his pilot license & I'm so proud of him for all the hard work it took to get it.

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

A Thought:

2011-06-09T22:54:00.003-04:00

What if your favorite sports team used 20% of the allowable players against a full team?

Baseball would have 2 players: a catcher & pitcher??
Football would play 2 players: a quarterback & running back??
Soccer would have 2 players: keeper & sweeper?
Basketball would only have 1 player on the court!

More often than not, this is how the Christian church is running according to missions. Only about 20% of the church is functioning in a missiological role. What percentage are you on?

(Borrowed from Bro. Jesse Mooney, Coats Baptist Church)

A Replacement--and so much more!

2011-06-08T10:24:00.002-04:00

Fran & me eating homemade chai tea ice cream

Many times through the last few months, I've asked you to pray for a replacement for my spot in childcare. God answered with my friend, Fran. She'll be one of the new teachers in childcare for the 2011-2012 school year.
Fran was also my neighbor for the past year and a half. We got to be really good friends, and she ended up with a lot of the things I left behind in Missouri. It pleased me to give them to a friend--and to someone I knew would appreciate them!
This summer Fran is working at a summer camp in Arizona--her first time without humidity! I'm making up for it here in North Carolina (and loving every minute of it, so far!)

And Home Again

2011-05-27T11:23:00.002-04:00

Our last day of school was pretty slim, because so many kids were sick. It was sad that they all got sick just at the end, when they'd been healthy for so long!

And what would the end of school be without a cookout & S'mores?

Coming through western North Carolina, I had three tunnels to go through.

I made it home Tuesday afternoon, and hit the ground running. I'm excited to be able to have the time to start working on the things I need to do to get to Paraguay in August. Thanks for you prayers as I balance all these different things!

Typically

2011-05-23T00:32:00.002-04:00

Typically tonight I would post a picture of my overly packed car...

but...

it's gone.

Tonight I handed all the keys over to the new owners of my first car. Do you remember your first car? The first one you bought with your money, paid insurance on, fixed with your money? Yes--it was a little sad walking away.

My things are (mostly) all packed, and ready to go in the morning. Thanks for your prayers as I drive for the next few days. Please pray for my heart as I'm leaving a lot of my friends, and my little house. This is the longest I've lived in one place since I moved out of the house after high school! I'm excited for what God has in store over the next few months and years, but will always look back on "my little house" with love.

The End of An Era

2011-05-20T13:30:00.002-04:00

Today was our last day of class! This week was really slow because many of the kids got sick this week. It was disappointing to not be able to spend the last week with our kids. Over the weekend I'll be packing up & cleaning, then heading out to North Carolina at the beginning of the week. Hope to see many of you soon!

An Update on the Truck

2011-05-12T09:08:00.000-04:00

"My God is so BIG!
So STRONG and so MIGHTY,
There's nothing my God cannot do,
FOR YOU!"

We teach this song to our kids, and sing it quite often, but how often do we really believe it? We say we believe it, we talk like we believe it, but deep down inside, I wonder how many of us expect God to do big, mighty, and strong things for us? We expect Him to work in the lives of others, but our own?--not always.

This is the story of a Big God and a Little Accident:
Two weeks ago, I was in a small accident on wet roads. I tried my best to avoid the car that pulled across my path, but due to the wet roads it wasn't possible. I was very disappointed, because I planned to list my car for sale the very next day.
The next day, I called my insurance company, and they quickly sent me to talk to the other driver's insurance. They promised to send an estimator out as soon as possible. I expected this to take up to a week, especially because of the bad weather & tornadoes within the state of Missouri that week. But two days later the estimator was here! He also expected that the car would be totaled.
Friday (my accident was on the previous Sunday) the insurance company called, and said that they were sending out a check to cover the costs of the damages! They didn't total the car, and were paying me for 63% of what they estimated the car to be worth, which was more than I had thought. I was pretty excited about this, but now I would have to think about selling the car.
A few months ago, some friends offered to buy the car. They have a handful of boys, all mechanically inclined, who could help fix the car. At the time, the car was out of their price range, because it was still in good shape...but after the accident...now the car was in their price range! They decided to buy the car and told me to keep using it until I'm ready to leave Missouri.
"God Things" from this story:
1. God put the car in the price range of my friends.
2. God moved the insurance company to move quickly, since I'm leaving in less
than two weeks.
3. God provided the money I hoped to get out of my car, but didn't expect to
receive as much as I wanted.

Find a way to glorify God today in your own life!

A Few Seconds Later

2011-05-05T18:42:00.002-04:00

Sunday night I was in a car accident. I'm okay, as is my friend that was with me, but it looks like my car may not make it. :( There isn't a lot of damage (relatively speaking) but due to the mileage and age of the car, it will probably be totaled by the insurance company. I'll be finding out tomorrow exactly what to they expect.

This actually doesn't change a lot of my plans--because I was planning to put my car on craigslist on Monday! (In fact, as I was braking & attempting to avoid the accident, I was thinking "No!! I'm selling my car!") So hopefully this can all be dealt with soon, because I only have about 2 weeks left in Missouri.

Please pray that I will make wise decisions regarding my car. I'm praising God that my friend and I were not hurt--just a little sore for a few days.

Carrie

Easter

2011-04-27T14:28:00.005-04:00

I hope you all had a great Easter weekend! A friend and I traveled to Louisiana for the long weekend, and we were able to fit in quite a lot in 5 days!

The dogwoods are out all over Missouri

I was able to see my nephew Cooper for a few days

I hid this egg, and I was surprised at how quickly it was found!

All the kids searching for eggs (Cooper was asleep)

Post #300...And Tribal Training with 2 Year Olds

2011-04-06T14:20:00.009-04:00

Today we took our little MKs (missionary kids) to the soccer field across the road from our classroom. This is Abby and I with all 8 of our kids (one is hiding!)

MKs are usually pretty good at climbing, and here one is starting up the goal post.

They're also usually pretty good at soccer--check out those moves!

And of course, someone has to play keeper (and since they're 2, it's mostly "keep away")
Abby brought her rooster, Tapatio, out to play. The kids were all skittish at first.

Then they got pretty comfortable with him!

And even wanted to feed him grass.

Here's a little video--they were thrilled to be getting dirty!

Once Upon A Time...

2011-04-03T23:26:00.002-04:00

...a little girl cried and cried because she was very sick. She was so sick she could not go with her friends on a youth trip--and they were going to see "Tait" that year. When she found out her youth group was sitting on the ground floor after six years of nosebleed balcony seats, she was very disappointed. She got better, but always hoped that someday she would be able to see Tait.

Well, last night she did! Some friends and I went to WinterJam last night, and we got to see about 8 Christian artists play. To close out the night, Newsboys, with their new lead singer Michael Tait, played a montage of songs including DCTalk & Newsboys songs. It was so fun to watch! In this picture they were all on elevated platforms, some out over the audience.

Jason Castro started out the evening. He was on American Idol a few years back, when I lived in Louisiana with my dear friend, Granny Allen. She'd be disappointed to see he still has his dreadlocks! :-)

Sushi Night!

2011-03-26T15:48:00.003-04:00

My friend YuJung offered to make me sushi a few weeks ago--and last night we finally were able to get together. I'm not able to eat a lot of sushi because it often has seafood in it. But YuJung is from Korea, and they make a non-seafood-y sushi! The sushi she made me had radish, carrot, avocado, cucumber, hot dog, and egg

There were even leftovers for lunch the next day! :-)

Picnicking

2011-03-23T19:41:00.004-04:00

We've been pushing our toddlers to the limit the past few days. Twice this week we've walked them (meaning--they actually walked!) to the playground farthest away from the Toddler classroom. It makes for a very slow walk back, and occasionally cumbersome for Abby & I as we figure out how many kids we can balance on our hips and shoulders. Today we packed our snack & a change of clothes for our potty-trainer and off we went! We had a good time, though I think we'll wait until next week before we try it again!

Bacon, Bacon, Bacon!

2011-03-16T21:53:00.002-04:00

After a couple of days of not feeling very well, I had the very pleasant surprise of visiting with my friend on Wednesday night. Last week I sent her a box with a few special items, and I asked her to wait till we could open it together on Skype. After only a week it arrived! And she waited nearly 24 hours to open it, so sweet of her! About a month ago she mentioned on her blog that she can't find bacon or any other kind of American breakfast meat where she lives--and on my shopping day I found boxed, pre-cooked & preserved bacon! While we were talking her husband went into the kitchen & made her some bacon, and I got to watch them enjoy their breakfast meat.
Bacon. One of the little things we don't think of missing. Something we may not like when we leave the States, but when we recognize it's absence we really miss it!

"Your Baby Can Read"

2011-03-11T20:16:00.002-05:00

Have you seen this infomercial? Maybe it's true, maybe it's not...but I do know of a genius child in the family:

I got my nephew this shirt, and according to my brother, The Amazing 1 Year Old held it up to himself & then laughed hysterically. So this begs the question--are all his shirts funny & he knows the reaction he sees on adults, or can this baby read? I'll let you decide.

A Long Weekend Vacation

2011-03-02T17:26:00.002-05:00

This past weekend I was able to go visit my grandpa in Sanford, FL. It was great to spend a few days with him, and nice to be in warmer weather!

On Saturday we went to the beach for a few hours & got a little pink.

We made the mistake of sitting on a thin towel on wet sand--oops!

It was very nice to get away for a short vacation, but I really enjoyed coming back to my little smiles Tuesday morning!

An Afternoon of Babysitting

2011-02-15T16:38:00.002-05:00

The Younger Brother missed his nap before I got there, so we through the afternoon by watching How to Train Your Dragon. (Mom's idea!)

Eventually, The Younger did pass out asleep. I asked him if he wanted to sit on my lap & he fussed "no!" and moments later he looked like this:

I was trying to keep The Elder from hitting/kicking/wiggling into his brother...his feet just couldn't stop!

When It's 10 Degrees Outside,

2011-02-08T18:54:00.000-05:00

...we stay inside & bundle up! We couldn't get warm enough one day last week, so we kept the kids moving or wrapped them in their blankets. Most of them seemed pretty content to cuddle up!

Yes, She Did This to Herself:

2011-02-08T18:52:00.002-05:00

though, shockingly, couldn't successfully find the camera. She also navigated the room quite well without eyes!

SNOW!

2011-02-02T22:21:00.003-05:00

It all started February 1st...

And kept falling...My boots disappeared around the 12" mark, and the last measurement I took for the snow was 13" in my front yard.

Hope you're staying warm somewhere!

Not much to Update

2011-01-31T13:51:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to let you all know, that while my desire is to update this blog at least once a week...well, sometimes life just seems "boring." Do you run into that, too? My daily routine doesn't have a lot in it that I think you need updated on each week. I go to childcare 5 times a week, and in the afternoons do various things. For example, today I'm taking a friend to take her quilt to a quilter. Hopefully this afternoon I'll catch up with a friend from the training (I was able to give her a tour when she came to check out the campus in 2007!) Tomorrow, "Lord willing and the snow don't fall"--Missouri's take on the creek not rising--I'll get to go visit with my Mexican friend about 30 minutes away. We try to do this once a week for a few hours, to help keep my Spanish up to par. Tuesdays are usually laundry days & I go to a friend's to watch NCIS. Wednesdays are for meeting with the outreach team which goes to the Latino church. Thursday is a back-up laundry day, and by that point in the week I'm ready to rest! This Friday I'm starting a discipleship study with a couple from the Latino church. It will all be in Spanish, so it's a big stretch for me. The goal is for me to learn some tougher language terms ("Christianese" in Spanish?) and for the couple to be able to guide other believers through the book in the future. Saturday evenings are for attending the Latino church, and Sundays are for going to American church & Spanish prayer meeting.

That's a pretty regular week for me...yet the empty times seem to fill up very quickly! :-) I hope to have a newsletter ready in the next couple of weeks--watch your inbox/mailbox!

The End of Vacation

2011-01-19T23:01:00.002-05:00

What a difference a few weeks makes! All 7 puppies together for a few more weeks before being sold.

I realized when I got home that I forgot to "say goodbye" to my cat, Beau. He's pretty easy to find though--just go to the space heater! (Yes, his paws are completely under the heater.)

Daddy drove me to the airport bright & early Tuesday morning.

This looked a lot cooler in person (as usual). The moon was nearly full, just over the wing, and the sun was setting & put a great "early" sunset over the clouds.

Thanks for all your prayers for my trips over the past month! Everything went well, and I enjoyed my visits in NC & Mexico very much!

A Short Trip...to Mexico!

2011-01-14T09:14:00.005-05:00

Last week I was able to go to Mexico for a long weekend to visit friends & "family" there. It was a great time to revisit where I lived, and spend time with my friends. Here are a few pictures:

With my friend Rachel

With Clau & Judit

With Ruben, my "Mexican dad"

Natalia, 3 weeks old, my "Mexican niece"

The girls were keeping their eye on Ariel during church!

Vacation

2011-01-03T13:09:00.002-05:00

I've been in North Carolina the past few weeks, and thought I'd show you a little bit of what I've been doing. It's been nice to be on vacation and just be able to relax. In a few days I'll be flying to Mexico to visit for a week, then will return for one more week in NC & then returning to "the babies" in Missouri. Mom has grown her hair out for the first time in my life--and it looks like mine! (Or maybe mine looks like hers?)

We had about 6" of snow while I was taking care of my brother's dog; he loved romping in it!

Participating in the feeding of the cows

Puppies!! Seven lab puppies were born two weeks before this picture. They're now 3 weeks old & growing fast!

Along with a little help, I've named all seven, though none of them will be mine! :-)
Tank, Yang, Ying, Runny, Skunk, Josie, & Camo

Happy New Year!!

Feliz Navidad!

2010-12-19T11:14:00.002-05:00

Last week we had our Christmas service at the Latino church. The kids got up and sang a few songs, and our youth took turns sharing about what they've learned in class over the past few months. It was a fun time: here's one of the short videos.

Searching for that special Christmas gift?

2010-12-19T10:51:00.002-05:00

Kids don't really need that $100 toy that's all the rage this year--just get them a box!

But be careful around Santa--he's a little suspicious!

A Friendly Visit

2010-12-04T19:50:00.003-05:00

Two of my friends from Bible school came to visit last night! It was a quick surprise, and it was so good to see them again. We hadn't seen each other in 5 years--and we've all covered a lot of ground in that amount of time. Alicia got married a few years ago to a world-renowned jump roper & has traveled around the world, and Amanda is on her first furlough from Thailand. She just finished studying the language a few months ago, and is heading into a tribe when she returns in January. They were only here for the night & half of today before heading out so Amanda could share in church tomorrow. Thanking God for a visit from friends!!

Hope you're doing well--have a great week!

Thanksgiving Turkeys

2010-11-27T18:24:00.003-05:00

You may remember last year's Pablo el Pavo, from Mexico. This year, Tammy the Turkey spent the morning at the spa, and came out nice and juicy! I forgot to take an "after" picture though!

Another "turkey" joined us for dinner this year. Some friends got together at my house this year, including this little guy. He kept us all pretty entertained for the afternoon. He loved getting zerberts, and bent almost completely backwards! It was fun to hear his belly laughs.
His mommy & I went shopping at 9pm at the outlets & found some great sales--the lines weren't even bad yet. And it certainly beat waking up early to go on Friday!

Fishlips

2010-11-27T18:02:00.002-05:00

Hope you enjoy these fishlips!

3 Girls & A Dog

2010-11-09T18:17:00.002-05:00

No, "3 Girls & A Dog" is not a remake of an '80s' movie...it's who I've been helping out lately. I've been spending a few nights a week with three high school girls and their dog. Their younger sister is very sick and is often in the hospital. Mom stays with the younger sister in St. Louis, and when Dad is there also, I stay with the older three girls. It's been fun getting to know them--and nice to have people to cook dinner for! I'm getting used to band practice, football schedules, soccer practices & youth retreats. Please pray for me as I help out this family, and for the family as they go through this hard time. Thanks!!

Campiando

2010-10-31T18:36:00.004-04:00

This weekend the Latinos from the Spanish church wanted to go camping--and camp we did! We had about 8 tents set up, a large bonfire, boiling lard, campfire games, devotions, exploring, and soccer. BOILING LARD? Yes...boiling lard. You'll soon see the picture. Camping was a great way to spend time together, hang out with friends, and get to know a few acquaintances better.

There's a distinct possibility I could've stayed in this tent for months...but I actually stayed in a 2 person tent with a friend. That one was a bit small for two for one night. :-)

Here's that boiling lard: heat it up over the fire, toss a little salt with it, and fry the pork!

I'm not even sure how many layers we had between us, but we certainly weren't cold!

Up early enough to see the fog rise off the lake...in my book, waaaaay too early!

Breakfast was tamales...so good!

This baby basically put herself to sleep last night at 9pm, slept all night, and then woke up happy! What an easy-going baby!

Getting up early had one plus

Emanuel and I had a fun time exploring the woods--the boys were forced to hold hands with an adult, but I think by the end I may have gained a friend. It helps to sing ridiculous songs!

We played "Pato, Pato, Ganso", had a three-legged race, and a foot race.

Then we hit up the playground for all it was worth, and Ronda and I got quite a ride in the barrel! A friend pushed us, and had us going pretty high.

Hope you all had a great weekend, too!

Another Busy Weekend

2010-10-25T22:07:00.003-04:00

Friday night we had a scavenger hunt for the youth at the hispanic church. Here are a few photos:

A creative re-enactment of 'American Gothic'

Help a stranger do their laundry...except these girls are helping someone fold her NEIGHBOR'S laundry!!

Doing "The Worm"

Extra points for your whole team on a rope swing over water (they are at a shallow creek)

A picture of a mustache

Re-enacting a scene from a Disney movie

Hope you enjoyed the pictures as much as we enjoyed our evening!!

Picture Day

2010-10-11T13:59:00.002-04:00

Last week a friend in Louisiana offered to put a table together for me at my home church. So, last week we took a LOT of pictures in childcare! Here's all 9 of our kids, and the three regular teachers:

We also taught the kids hide & seek last week, and this is where these two decided to hide! It was a great spot, until we started calling their names & asking where they were. "I right here!!" So cute, these kids have been a blast to work with!

Sometimes...

2010-10-02T15:19:00.002-04:00

...it's like herding cats

Here are eight of our nine kids. I told them to "come stand up here" to do their memory verse for one of our helpers this week. In my head I briefly envisioned eight cute little toddlers lined up in a neat row in from of the bench I was sitting on. My visions were quickly adapted to "please everyone participate this time!" The kids are learning Psalm 100, and they are into verse three already!

Psalm 100
Shout with joy to the Lord,
all the earth!
Worship the Lord with gladness,
Come before Him with joyful song.
Know that the Lord is God,
He made us and we are His.

Hopefully by the end of the semester they'll have the entire 6 verses memorized, and you can see a video of it! Well, if they choose to participate that is... :-)

Yay, It's the Weekend!

2010-09-20T20:24:00.003-04:00

Many people get excited for the weekend, as a time of rest & relaxation...my favorite day? Tuesday--when my weekend is officially over! So, what went on this weekend? Let me show you:

Thursday night: Local high school volleyball game (one of the girls in my youth group plays)
Friday night: Local high school football game (it was pretty amazing, and worth going to, and the girl in the band from my youth group did great)

On Saturday nights I go to the Spanish church about 30 minutes away. (This week was BikeFest on the lake, which means church was 60 minutes away this week.) This week we recognized the leaders in the church, and established the specific roles each one of them has. It takes many members to make a healthy Body! We also honored our interim pastor for his time leading the church for the past two years. Church finished at 9PM, then we went to go have dinner in the fellowship hall!

Sunday morning, I went to English church at the same building, did Sunday school, church service, & lunched at Pizza Hut (& ran into an old friend from when I was a student here!) I got home just in time to show up late to a surprise birthday party--I figured, "surprise, I showed up!" worked just as well. Then I went home & rested my eyes for 8 minutes (did I mention it was a busy weekend?!) Then I got ready to go to a concert:

Matt Maher opened, & I was waiting for him to play more songs, so I didn't get a picture of him. This is Addison Road.

Tenth Avenue North--these guys were unbelievably hyper (I kept wondering how many CafPows they must have had before going on!) But they had some great things to say, and really spoke truth. We got home from the concert at midnight...

So this morning, I thought I'd try something new in Toddlers. Something I've loved for many years now, and thought maybe the kids would appreciate, too:
NAPTIME!

Yea. Right.

I laid down, and asked for a pillow: I got this blue "bottom of the slide" cushion...
Someone offered up a dolly...
I asked for a blankey...can you see the little piece of material on my feet?
I asked for a bottle, and got a dolly bottle...

Then came the ATTACK OF THE CWOCODILES MISS CARRIE!!! You should be afraid. You can probably tell from my face that the attack actually did hurt a bit--but I was also confused about "Is he red or white?" from one of the kids...and I happen to know that all our cwocodiles are gween...

Monday afternoon I was blessed to be able to spend over 3 hours talking in Spanish...and now...bedtime! A very early, and very welcome, bedtime.

Please Take a Moment

2010-09-15T16:48:00.006-04:00

UPDATE--Hannah won the contest! Praise God! Please continue to pray for her & her family as they go through this difficult time.

Hannah, 12, and her family just moved to the Missionary Training Center here in Missouri over the summer. Just before school began this semester, she was diagnosed with a serious medical condition which requires a bone marrow transplant. The family's medical bills are quickly adding up, and there is a way you can help. (Well, two ways really, because obviously, prayer is the most important way!) Mike's Chair, a Christian band, has decided to do a charity concert, and they are leaving it up to their listeners to decide who of the top three videos should receive the donations. You may have heard about this on Christian radio--it's been talked about for a few weeks now. You can go to this website to vote for the video that Hannah's four sisters made.

CLICK HERE TO VOTE (Scroll down and look along the right side of the page.)

Thanks for your time to vote, and for your prayers for Hannah & her family!

Bragging...

2010-09-07T22:04:00.002-04:00

I want to tell you about one of my students. Each day we go outside to ride bikes (or tractors, or whatever is available to sit-n-scoot!) Today we only had four of our nine students in class. I overheard one of our older ones humming a song that I thought was familiar, and as I hummed along, I recognized "...Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow..." I sang some of the words, and one of the other teachers was singing it, too. Then our little 3 year old joined in on the chorus! We teachers got distracted with other students, and soon I heard the words change: "How wonderful, how marvelous, is my Savior's love for me!" As I was reveling in the well-rounded 3 year old before me, she pedaled off, changing tunes again at the top of her lungs: "OLD MACDONALD HAD AN ELEPHANT, E-I-E-I-OOOO, WITH A PPPPFFFTTTT HERE!!!!"

...I wish I could say I taught her one of the hymns, but, no, I introduced MacDonald's elephant...

Roles in Missions

2010-08-31T16:44:00.002-04:00

What do you think of when you picture "MISSIONS"?

Do you see...
...VBS?
...David Livingstone, whose heart belonged to Africa?
...inner-city ministries?
...a few weeks in another country?
...or someone you know personally?

This week on campus, there is a conference being held: Field Ministries Week. This is a chance for the students, staff, and visitors to hear first hand about New Tribes' mission work around the world. Since I'm in childcare during the mornings, I'm not able to go to most of the meetings, but this afternoon I was able to attend a one hour session. It was great to hear about the work God is doing in Africa and Latin America. I wanted to share two quotes with you from this afternoon.

"You are not Muslims, and you are not Christians--you are men of God!"

-Islamic Leader in Africa

This really struck me, because the leader was speaking to NTM missionaries. I'll let you decide for yourself if it is a good thing or not to be identified as men of God rather than Christians. I thought it was pretty neat, because the leader's impression of a Christian was a Roman Catholic priest who brought religion to Africa. The NTM missionary he spoke to has made it clear that his purpose for being there is to "share the sacred writings with him". The people are trusting this missionary because of his presentation towards them--he has even grown out his beard, because in their culture, teachers and respected men have long beards. Hope this gives you some food for thought--do you want to be identified as men of God?

The second quote has more to do with the roles of missionaries. The list above includes many different types of missions. There is no "correct" answer, so long as all on the list are guided by God. Here is one more aspect to mission work:

"We need finishers. In some cases, the New Testament has been translated. The plea is for fledgling groups to be brought to maturity. They have been taught enough [scripture] to survive, but not enough to thrive."

-Missionary from Latin America

Missions work is not solely about tribal missions, VBS, inner-city kids, translating scripture (the list is long!) Missions work is about bringing people to the point where they can thrive in their relationship with the Lord, which is so much more than just the Gospel presentation.

How can you help people to thrive in their relationship with the Lord? Start praying now about how God wants to use YOU!