The last moment we shared together I was retelling my Paraguayan Christmas which happens to be an excellent starting point since the New Years festivities, from my experience, are very similar. New Years Eve day about 15 young from the church and neighborhood congregated at the Molina's household. We talked, made food, ate and lit fireworks at midnight similar to Christmas except this time I was more experienced with native explosives. After 2009 arrived we past the night away chatting, munching on the leftovers and watching movies until daybreak making New Years Day more like a lazy day at the beach.
While we are on the topic of beaches, I was able to dawn, for the first time in Paraguay, my swimming suit on the sand swept coast of the Rio Paraguay just a few hours from my house in Formosa, Argentina. Dorothea, René (the son of one of the Pastors of our church) and I headed there so that we could renew our visas. We stayed at René’s cousin’s house where we enjoyed close to a week of Argentine experience. This included a few days at the beach and local pool, meeting René’s cousins, meeting missionaries from the States that are working with local indigenous tribes and staying out every night until 3 like, from what it seemed, the rest of the city does.
I returned from this vacation feeling refreshed and eager to pick up on the English classes. As of right now I’m responsible for teaching 4 classes, 3 in my congregation and 1 at a sister church 10 minutes down the road. The mainly consist of first time beginners with a very limited knowledge of English but I also have the privilege of teaching an ‘Adolescente’ class with kids 12-14 years old and an advanced class with those who have already have conversation skills. For the most part classes are flowing pretty smoothly for me. There are always the few obstacles that reveal themselves now and then; my lack of teaching experience and training, the inconsistent nature of Paraguayan culture and clear direction or goals for the classes. But with these obstacles come student’s patience, straightforward class coordinators, advice and support from teachers, hostfamily and leaders, and, the sometimes unnoticed, sustentation by God’s strength.
The last moment we shared together I was retelling my Paraguayan Christmas which happens to be an excellent starting point since the New Years festivities, from my experience, are very similar. New Years Eve day about 15 young from the church and neighborhood congregated at the Molina's household. We talked, made food, ate and lit fireworks at midnight similar to Christmas except this time I was more experienced with native explosives. After 2009 arrived we past the night away chatting, munching on the leftovers and watching movies until daybreak making New Years Day more like a lazy day at the beach.
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