Hello All!
First of all, I would like to say how sorry I am for how long it's been since I wrote last. Many things have happened but it's always felt hard to think of what to say in a blog post. Anyway, the last month or two have been very good. I have settled in pretty well and I am generally very happy about where I am and what I am doing.
Work at Alto Refugio continues to be very good. Usually I am either upstairs with the kids, helping in the kitchen/food storage room, running around town with Beto, one of the leaders, to pick up food donations, or working at a bed-and-breakfast that Alto Refugio owns to support its work. Playing with the kids in the daycare can be meaningful work that I enjoy a lot. While it is usually exhausting and the kids can be straight-up annoying, I know that we are showing love to children that often don't receive much love elsewhere and often have very tough home environments. I used to not have much patience for the children of the employees who are sometimes the only kids we have because I thought that they were well off and didn't need my "help." But I've realized that their home lives are often just as difficult as the others. Very few of the kids we work with have fathers, so just having an older male figure in their lives can be very special for them.
Working in the kitchen is fun because you get to work with the three older ladies who always joke around and teach you how to say things like "you're an old, ugly monkey" in Guarani. Going around on errands with Beto is always exciting and scary as he is a huge fan of the Trans-Chaco rally and tries to bring these driving styles to the streets of Asuncion like a real Paraguayan. I go to the Bed-and-Breakfast once a week and do yard work or painting or things like that. That can be fun working outside, being with the young family that lives there, and swimming in the pool before going home (this will be even nicer when its 105 degrees every day this summer.) Plus, the wife, who's a German Mennonite sometimes makes Zwiebach.
My favorite parts of work, though, are when I can get to know the patients that come in when we're eating during meal times times or sitting in on the daily devotionals that David usually leads. Hearing about their lives is often very eye-opening for me and their kindness in spite of their difficulties is always inspiring. I also am often inspired by the way David and others engage the people in songs and prayers and messages during the devotionals. They have found a way of worship and spiritual input that is very life- and hope-giving to the people, and I like that a lot.
Our coworkers are also generally great, and it has been very fun getting to know all of them well. I also feel so lucky to have Austin working there too, although we are usually doing different things.
Now... on to home, social, and church life. Sorry this is getting long...
During the week after work, there usually isn't too much going on, so I spend quite a bit of time just doing whatever my family is doing. I have gotten to know most of the people in my family pretty well and I like them a lot. A common activity that I enjoy is just sitting outside, drinking Tereré, and talking. What has gotten old sometimes, as I mentioned last time is the TV which is on a lot of the time. I like watching things like soccer and the news (when it's not just about ghost sightings...don't ask me why those are on national news), and I can even tolerate the Soap Operas because they're set in scenic areas of Mexico, but the risqué dancing shows just about make me gag and everyone takes them so seriously.
Also, birthday parties (including mine back in October) are fun as family and friends come over, they make a bunch of meat, and just have a good time. We've somehow had like 5 birthday parties in our family, so it's kind of a regular thing. In fact, just yesterday we had one for my older brother, and it was a great time even though a storm left us in the dark and the rain forced the ginormous grill to be moved inside the house to prepare the meat. It was quite a scene. Here was the conversation: me, worried about the possibility of a dozen people being knocked out by carbon-monoxide poisoning: "won't there be too much smoke?" Brother: "smoke or no smoke: we need our Asado!" We all lived, and it was actually more fun because there wasn't electricity for the TV - ha!
I have done some things with from friends from church during the week. I have had a few guitar lessons from Javier and in return I have taught him some cello. Fransisco has taught me some electric bass, and there has been a choir class led by someone at church that I have been to a few times. Also several people run a few times a week in the Jardín Botánico and I join them sometimes. Us four volunteers used to have spanish lessons twice a week, but then they stopped because the teacher thought we were good to go. Now we might find some people to tutor us one-on-one as there will be a lot of teachers and students out of school for the summer with a lot of time on their hands. Us four also sometimes do stuff like walk through the park or down to the river and talk. When there is nothing else going on I read, listen to podcasts, or practice guitar (Javier fixed up an old guitar my family had that we found my 1-year-old brother jumping on one day.)
The weekends are usually more occupied with social and church events. We spend more time with other youth from church on the weekend. We usually just sit and talk and drink tereré (seeing a pattern?) or occasionally play games, like Dutch Blitz which we have taught people. On Saturday, us volunteers usually find something to do in the day. We've gone to the market to eat chinese food, gone to an art museum, and done stuff around home. Saturday night is a youth church service, which usually is some loud rock music and a speaker. After this we usually hang out with youth people and eat hamburgers at a Hamburguesaría across the street. On Sunday, there is a church service for everyone in the morning, a soccer game in the park in the early afternoon for a bunch of guys from the church and neighborhood, small youth group at 5, and volleyball at 7. I have been involved in the worship service a few times when I played cello on some of the slower, quieter songs. The combination of rock band and cello isn't ideal, but it can work for some things. My sisters and other people from church often walk around the park on Sunday as well. There are tons of people in the park on Sunday, along with Guarani people selling hand crafts, and Churro vendors (so delicious). Sundays are usually very fun days and great for getting to know other people from church.
Special things that have happened section:
A long time ago Austin and I went with David and Judy Schmidt to beautiful Lucero and Tres Palmas in the interior of the country to visit their son, Anton and his family that live there. Tres Palmas is a Mennonite Colony (3000 people?) and Lucero is a Mennonite village a little ways away which just consists of a street with 20 houses on it. Anton is the Doctor and Pastor for the area. We spent this fun weekend getting to know his family and playing with his kids, who are my third cousins. Their family, like all good Mennonites in Paraguay, knows a ton of languages - English, Low German, High German, Spanish, and whatever they speak in the Philippines, as the mom, Faith is from there. And maybe Guaraní.
On the way back from this trip, we stopped in at the Mennonite Hospital Km. 81, which was started by David's dad, John Schmidt. It was originally created as a leprosy hospital that treated lepers so much better than was the norm back then. Now it deals with a lot of things, but it is still known for the quality it offers. It is on a beautiful large property with housing for the volunteers, doctors and some patients, the hospital, fruit and nut groves, pastures for cattle, etc. When we got there, another one of my dad's second cousins, the grounds keeper was butchering the weekly cow.
A few weeks ago, we also went to David and Judy's 60th and 65th birthday party. They had a lot of people over and we ate a lot of food. The next day on Saturday, they took us to the wedding of Jonathan Schmidt and Helena Arrechea (I think that was her name). Jonathan Schmidt is the son of Wesley and Esther Schmidt, who also live in Asuncion, and a nephew of David and Judy. It was a very nice outdoor wedding on land adjacent to the Rio Paraguay. There was a very fancy reception and meal, which left us very full and wondering who is rolling in the dough. It was also fun to meet even more second cousins of my dad.
Also a few weeks ago, I heard that Isaiah and Allison Goertz were coming to Asuncion from their small town of Yuty where they are serving as Peace Corps Volunteers. Isaiah and Allison used to go to our church in Goshen and Allison was one of the leaders of our middle school youth group. We went together to a Korean Restaurant in Mercado Cuatro (a crazy bustling place full of an odd assortment of items all at an awesome, contraband price) and walked around the market. It was so fun to meet up with people that I had known before coming here and compare notes about our experiences, the culture, etc. Sometime this year I am going to try to make it to their town to see what they are up to, meet their friends, and get out of the city a bit. There are busses that can take you to most places in the country for pretty cheap.
First of all, I would like to say how sorry I am for how long it's been since I wrote last. Many things have happened but it's always felt hard to think of what to say in a blog post. Anyway, the last month or two have been very good. I have settled in pretty well and I am generally very happy about where I am and what I am doing.
Work at Alto Refugio continues to be very good. Usually I am either upstairs with the kids, helping in the kitchen/food storage room, running around town with Beto, one of the leaders, to pick up food donations, or working at a bed-and-breakfast that Alto Refugio owns to support its work. Playing with the kids in the daycare can be meaningful work that I enjoy a lot. While it is usually exhausting and the kids can be straight-up annoying, I know that we are showing love to children that often don't receive much love elsewhere and often have very tough home environments. I used to not have much patience for the children of the employees who are sometimes the only kids we have because I thought that they were well off and didn't need my "help." But I've realized that their home lives are often just as difficult as the others. Very few of the kids we work with have fathers, so just having an older male figure in their lives can be very special for them.
Working in the kitchen is fun because you get to work with the three older ladies who always joke around and teach you how to say things like "you're an old, ugly monkey" in Guarani. Going around on errands with Beto is always exciting and scary as he is a huge fan of the Trans-Chaco rally and tries to bring these driving styles to the streets of Asuncion like a real Paraguayan. I go to the Bed-and-Breakfast once a week and do yard work or painting or things like that. That can be fun working outside, being with the young family that lives there, and swimming in the pool before going home (this will be even nicer when its 105 degrees every day this summer.) Plus, the wife, who's a German Mennonite sometimes makes Zwiebach.
My favorite parts of work, though, are when I can get to know the patients that come in when we're eating during meal times times or sitting in on the daily devotionals that David usually leads. Hearing about their lives is often very eye-opening for me and their kindness in spite of their difficulties is always inspiring. I also am often inspired by the way David and others engage the people in songs and prayers and messages during the devotionals. They have found a way of worship and spiritual input that is very life- and hope-giving to the people, and I like that a lot.
Our coworkers are also generally great, and it has been very fun getting to know all of them well. I also feel so lucky to have Austin working there too, although we are usually doing different things.
Now... on to home, social, and church life. Sorry this is getting long...
During the week after work, there usually isn't too much going on, so I spend quite a bit of time just doing whatever my family is doing. I have gotten to know most of the people in my family pretty well and I like them a lot. A common activity that I enjoy is just sitting outside, drinking Tereré, and talking. What has gotten old sometimes, as I mentioned last time is the TV which is on a lot of the time. I like watching things like soccer and the news (when it's not just about ghost sightings...don't ask me why those are on national news), and I can even tolerate the Soap Operas because they're set in scenic areas of Mexico, but the risqué dancing shows just about make me gag and everyone takes them so seriously.
Also, birthday parties (including mine back in October) are fun as family and friends come over, they make a bunch of meat, and just have a good time. We've somehow had like 5 birthday parties in our family, so it's kind of a regular thing. In fact, just yesterday we had one for my older brother, and it was a great time even though a storm left us in the dark and the rain forced the ginormous grill to be moved inside the house to prepare the meat. It was quite a scene. Here was the conversation: me, worried about the possibility of a dozen people being knocked out by carbon-monoxide poisoning: "won't there be too much smoke?" Brother: "smoke or no smoke: we need our Asado!" We all lived, and it was actually more fun because there wasn't electricity for the TV - ha!
I have done some things with from friends from church during the week. I have had a few guitar lessons from Javier and in return I have taught him some cello. Fransisco has taught me some electric bass, and there has been a choir class led by someone at church that I have been to a few times. Also several people run a few times a week in the Jardín Botánico and I join them sometimes. Us four volunteers used to have spanish lessons twice a week, but then they stopped because the teacher thought we were good to go. Now we might find some people to tutor us one-on-one as there will be a lot of teachers and students out of school for the summer with a lot of time on their hands. Us four also sometimes do stuff like walk through the park or down to the river and talk. When there is nothing else going on I read, listen to podcasts, or practice guitar (Javier fixed up an old guitar my family had that we found my 1-year-old brother jumping on one day.)
The weekends are usually more occupied with social and church events. We spend more time with other youth from church on the weekend. We usually just sit and talk and drink tereré (seeing a pattern?) or occasionally play games, like Dutch Blitz which we have taught people. On Saturday, us volunteers usually find something to do in the day. We've gone to the market to eat chinese food, gone to an art museum, and done stuff around home. Saturday night is a youth church service, which usually is some loud rock music and a speaker. After this we usually hang out with youth people and eat hamburgers at a Hamburguesaría across the street. On Sunday, there is a church service for everyone in the morning, a soccer game in the park in the early afternoon for a bunch of guys from the church and neighborhood, small youth group at 5, and volleyball at 7. I have been involved in the worship service a few times when I played cello on some of the slower, quieter songs. The combination of rock band and cello isn't ideal, but it can work for some things. My sisters and other people from church often walk around the park on Sunday as well. There are tons of people in the park on Sunday, along with Guarani people selling hand crafts, and Churro vendors (so delicious). Sundays are usually very fun days and great for getting to know other people from church.
Special things that have happened section:
A long time ago Austin and I went with David and Judy Schmidt to beautiful Lucero and Tres Palmas in the interior of the country to visit their son, Anton and his family that live there. Tres Palmas is a Mennonite Colony (3000 people?) and Lucero is a Mennonite village a little ways away which just consists of a street with 20 houses on it. Anton is the Doctor and Pastor for the area. We spent this fun weekend getting to know his family and playing with his kids, who are my third cousins. Their family, like all good Mennonites in Paraguay, knows a ton of languages - English, Low German, High German, Spanish, and whatever they speak in the Philippines, as the mom, Faith is from there. And maybe Guaraní.
On the way back from this trip, we stopped in at the Mennonite Hospital Km. 81, which was started by David's dad, John Schmidt. It was originally created as a leprosy hospital that treated lepers so much better than was the norm back then. Now it deals with a lot of things, but it is still known for the quality it offers. It is on a beautiful large property with housing for the volunteers, doctors and some patients, the hospital, fruit and nut groves, pastures for cattle, etc. When we got there, another one of my dad's second cousins, the grounds keeper was butchering the weekly cow.
A few weeks ago, we also went to David and Judy's 60th and 65th birthday party. They had a lot of people over and we ate a lot of food. The next day on Saturday, they took us to the wedding of Jonathan Schmidt and Helena Arrechea (I think that was her name). Jonathan Schmidt is the son of Wesley and Esther Schmidt, who also live in Asuncion, and a nephew of David and Judy. It was a very nice outdoor wedding on land adjacent to the Rio Paraguay. There was a very fancy reception and meal, which left us very full and wondering who is rolling in the dough. It was also fun to meet even more second cousins of my dad.
Also a few weeks ago, I heard that Isaiah and Allison Goertz were coming to Asuncion from their small town of Yuty where they are serving as Peace Corps Volunteers. Isaiah and Allison used to go to our church in Goshen and Allison was one of the leaders of our middle school youth group. We went together to a Korean Restaurant in Mercado Cuatro (a crazy bustling place full of an odd assortment of items all at an awesome, contraband price) and walked around the market. It was so fun to meet up with people that I had known before coming here and compare notes about our experiences, the culture, etc. Sometime this year I am going to try to make it to their town to see what they are up to, meet their friends, and get out of the city a bit. There are busses that can take you to most places in the country for pretty cheap.
So that's about all I can think of right now. We've definitely had some great times and learned a lot. There are times when our work does not seem too meaningful, such as when we are just helping watch a few kids or sweeping a patio that is not that dirty, but there are other times where it feels like we are responding to a great need that is in Paraguay. At times it also feels like we don't know that many people that well when we should after 2.5 months. But we have made many great friendships with more people than I sometimes remember. Likewise, it sometimes feels like our Spanish is great and sometimes it feels like it sucks. I suppose all of these conflicting emotions and views are bound to be present in an experience like this, and it can still be a great experience in spite of them, but living through them can be tough.
In these couple weeks we have two visitors from Mennonite Mission Network. First, Linda Shelly is visiting for a bit as she is traveling all around South America connecting with MMN's partners. We spent some time with her today and will eat dinner with her tomorrow at Paul and Hildi Amstutz's house. Next, Dani Klotz will come and spend some time with our team. She is the Radical Journey intern this year and she is in charge of our team. It has and will be great to see these two people and talk about our experiences, hear their suggestions, etc.
Also, in the next week or so we might have to leave the country and come back in to be legal with our Visas, which were only for 3 months. We might try to visit the Yguazu Falls on the Argentina side, but we'll see.
Thanks to everyone who has read this far and to everyone who has supported me in this experience. I really appreciate it! I hope all is well in the US, and feel free to contact me.
Bendiciones,
Benjamin
Here is an assortment of pictures to give you an idea of what we see everyday.
Our work, Alto Refugio:
Most of my family and some friends at my house for my birthday:
A church service:
Some of the youth in the church. This is our small group that gets together every sunday to talk and do bible studies.
Some of the beautiful land around Km. 81:
And here are some fricken awesome trees:
(The first one is all one tree, and the third is not my picture but it's the tree we're enjoying right now)
Hi Ben,
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear that you're doing well. I'll be thinking of you as you celebrate Christmas in Paraguay. I'd imagine there will be some feelings of missing home...but also joy at seeing Christmas celebrated in a new context!
Jenna