October 25, 2014

Visitors from a Foreign Land

Okay, technically, from here, the United States is a foreign land. And a few family members from the states visited us for about a week, so we took advantage of that time to show off a bit of the country we've come to love.  Unfortunately, our car is STILL in the shop, so we bused it and walked it and taxied it all over the place.

We saw the zoo that cares for animals indigenous to this area, most of them quite different from what you'd see in good ole' South Carolina. 







                        

Of course, we visited the Jesuit Ruins, taking in the huge buildings that have survived centuries, silent witnesses to the slaughter of the native people who sought refuge in those walls.

                             

We visited the school where I taught English this past year, and the pastor gave us a walk-through of the classrooms, where the children sang "Read Your Bible, Pray Every Day" and then they grew, grew, grew.  We saw land that had been purchased to build a new classroom to satisfy government requirements, and office space that will serve the school and the small church that is adjacent to one classroom. We were privileged to pray over this land, the school, the children, and the community before leaving.

We returned to that school a few days later, as I was asked to judge a cultural festival. Each grade represented a certain country, dressed in typical clothes, performed a song and dance, and sold food at elaborate stands they'd built to showcase their chosen country. It was impressive! The best part was that, as judge, each stand provided me with a sort of sampler platter, so that I could also give appropriate points for the dishes they'd prepared.  I loved that job!


Several church groups have hosted events recently, including a concert for youth to welcome spring and a city-wide rally to pray for the area and urge politicians and families to make good choices. During the city rally, a huge Paraguayan flag was passed over the heads of the crowd while local pastors took turns praying for the city, county and nation.


Camille was asked to be the official photographer for several of these events, and she's sharpening her camera skills more and more each week.  I'll leave you with a picture she recently took of the sunset over the river that runs alongside EncarnaciĆ³n, separating us from Argentina.


4 comments:

  1. Hi,
    Its funny how a guy that was born there hasn't even visited all the beautiful areas of that lovely country i sometimes miss quite a bit. Since I'm a truck driver in Canada now I've been all over north America and had the privilege to see a lot of beautiful areas on this side of the equator. Thank you for All the good work you do there and God bless

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    Replies
    1. I know exactly how you feel! Sometimes I look at tourist information from where I grew up in South Carolina and realize I've missed some great sights. Thanks for stopping by the blog! God bless you.

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  2. Hi, Christie!
    My name is Melissa Johnson (Statesville,NC) and I am helping my 10 year old look for some missions info for a program at church. I don't know if you are familiar with the Awana program that many churches have,but Awana stands for "approved workmen are not ashamed." This program focuses on memorization of scripture. Each week the children have verses to memorize and my daughter is on the section dealing with learning that God loves the world. Her task besides learning John 5:24 is to write to a missionary and find out about children's programs in other countries. Her challenge says, "Find out about Christian kids your age who live outside your country. You could learn about a Sunday school class, an Awana club,or another program for kids." So, could you possibly send us some info on any children's programs? It asks such questions as: Where do the children meet? What are the children learning? Do they have uniforms? If so,
    what do they look like?

    Thank you so much for taking the time to read my message. We will be in prayer for your family.

    Melissa Johnson johnson1340@bellsouth.net

    ReplyDelete

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