When we got to the orphanage, Po and I went to our same respective rooms as last time, and I was glad that I already kind of knew the names of the kids in my room and the workers I would be with. It seemed much less difficult since I knew what was expected of the children and what semblance of a schedule we would attempt to hold.
The workers recognized me and said hello when I came in the room, and one of the girls, whose name I couldn't get out of anyone, came running up to me, saying, "Tia, Tia, Tia, Tia!" I was so happy that they remembered me. My cuddler, Daniel, found me quickly as well, and spent more than half the class in my lap, handing plastic puzzle pieces to me to put together and then taking them apart once he had them back in his hands. He and another girl, Tati, traded me back and forth fairly often. Halfway through the morning, we took the boys to the bathroom, and went through almost the same procedure as last time. The difference this time was that we had them brush their teeth, and we didn't put diapers on them. I guess these kids are little enough that it's not a big deal that they don't wear underwear, but it still came as a shock that no one really minded leaving them without. Po said later that they might have been doing a form of potty training in which the ones who peed in their pants just had to live with the wet/cold, but the kids were taken as group to the bathroom. So there wasn't really any opportunity for them to choose between going to the bathroom early or peeing in their pants.
We fed them sweet rice with sausage for breakfast, and they played in the play room together until it was time to take naps. Po and I had to leave during nap time, because we were scheduled to be waiting at the church for Lisa Sappia (the pastor's wife) to pick us up at 11:45. [[By the by, I am slowly mastering the bus. I discovered this morning (Monday) on the way home from staff meeting, that it's all in the hips. If you plant your feet about shoulder-width apart and hold on tight to whichever greasy piece of bus-metal that you're currently holding, then your center of gravity is fluid enough that it can move with the momentum of the bus and you don't necessarily have to fall into the very-good-smelling guy with wonderful hair who is holding the bar in front of you. But that is another story: Latin men smell wonderful.]]
Lunch with the Sappia family was exactly what I needed. John gave us sheets of paper with all kinds of responsibilities, and we talked almost all the way through the lists before the tears began. I was doing a really really good job of keeping them in, until John said, "Now, Lula, I don't know you. Are you alright? I feel like you're shutting down on me, but I don't know you yet. How are you doing?" Firstly, I was amazed that he stopped what he was doing to address my partial emotional deterioration. Secondly, I was shocked that he cared that I was stressed out (about--you guessed it--the home visits). Thirdly and finally, it didn't make sense to me that it was okay for me to be stressed out as long as I was still committed to challenging myself and to getting the most out of my time here relationship-wise. But. All of those things were true. John told me that they weren't having Po and I do home visits because they couldn't do them or didn't want to. They (both John and Forest) wanted Po and I to be doing home visits so that we would be in the lives of the people we were working with. In Latin American countries in general, relationships are the most important things that anyone can have, and home visits are one of the ways that the missionaries here connect with the people to become parts of their everyday lives, so that the church is more like a body than a gathering. John and Forest want Po and I to be a part of that relationship link so that (in John's words) we don't leave here and say, "Oh, yes. Paraguay. That was nice. They had pretty good food," but instead that, when it comes time for us to leave, we have people to say goodbye to and relationships to miss. So that we know that we have built something in the time we were here.
At the end of this meeting/lunch/conversation, John asked if we had any questions, and at first, I didn't. But I thought for a moment about why I felt so overwhelmed and I realized that since I had arrived, I had been given lists of tasks and appointments, but never had I caught on to the vision that the missionaries here were working towards. This was due to many things, one of which being that the Orientation class that interns/short term workers here normally take their first or second day had been postponed for me so many times that I had been here a week before I had an idea of why. It wasn't anyone's fault, but it was a problem for me. So I asked John what he saw the Lord doing here, and what their purpose in ministry was, and what end goal they were working towards.
John told me about two miraculous healings that had occurred in the church, one last month(ish) and one five or six months ago. He told me about a man that had finally, after being in the church more than 8 years, accepted Christ as both his king and his redeemer. He told me about kids who loved the children's ministry so much that they were attracting other family members to the congregation. He told me how the children who come to Oansa (Awana, on Saturday mornings) and the teens who attend iPraise (guitar/keyboard lessons combined with youth group-like atmosphere and a bible lesson on Saturday nights) have no other Godly influence in their lives, and almost certainly no positive father figure.
(Sunday night) I learned how the war that Paraguay had with Uruguay, Brazil, and Argentina in the 1800's took the lives of 8 out of every 10 men of fighting age, destroyed the institution and cultural importance of marriage, and created a matriarchal family structure. I learned that Machis (manliness) is characterized by having multiple sexual relationships outside of marriage, abusing those under your power, being able to handle large amounts of alcohol, and being unpredictable. Marianis (femininity) means being soft and gentle, a virgin, submissive to every man, strong, the spiritual leader of your family, and reliable, since you'll have to run just about everything in your house.
John told me that their purpose is to raise up a new generation and to disciple the ones who are already adults. They want to foster Godly attitudes and character in a culture that calls them weak and useless. When I caught wind of what the Lord is doing here in Paraguay, all my tasks made sense. They all had meaning. I understand how each is important, and I know what I'm working towards.
I am still praying about what the Lord's purpose is in me specifically being here, and what he'd like to teach me in my life through this experience, but I have caught the other vision, the long term one. When I told John why I asked what I asked, and about how I'd been given all tasks and no vision, He wrote on his paper to remind him, "Vision before tasks." After some of the experiences I've had in my life, it's incredible to be under the leadership of people who want to work with each other, to forgive each other, to talk about problems, out loud, together, and to fix what they can and forgive what they can't.
After lunch, Po and I an Lo went with the Schell's to one of Sarah's friend's houses for dinner, and we were there until almost 11pm. It was wonderful to be in the presence of all english-speakers, and to understand each other's jokes, and to play board games together and (for Forest and I) to win! (: Also, there was a fireplace in this lady's house. And for the first time in about a week, I felt my toes.
We fed them sweet rice with sausage for breakfast, and they played in the play room together until it was time to take naps. Po and I had to leave during nap time, because we were scheduled to be waiting at the church for Lisa Sappia (the pastor's wife) to pick us up at 11:45. [[By the by, I am slowly mastering the bus. I discovered this morning (Monday) on the way home from staff meeting, that it's all in the hips. If you plant your feet about shoulder-width apart and hold on tight to whichever greasy piece of bus-metal that you're currently holding, then your center of gravity is fluid enough that it can move with the momentum of the bus and you don't necessarily have to fall into the very-good-smelling guy with wonderful hair who is holding the bar in front of you. But that is another story: Latin men smell wonderful.]]
Lunch with the Sappia family was exactly what I needed. John gave us sheets of paper with all kinds of responsibilities, and we talked almost all the way through the lists before the tears began. I was doing a really really good job of keeping them in, until John said, "Now, Lula, I don't know you. Are you alright? I feel like you're shutting down on me, but I don't know you yet. How are you doing?" Firstly, I was amazed that he stopped what he was doing to address my partial emotional deterioration. Secondly, I was shocked that he cared that I was stressed out (about--you guessed it--the home visits). Thirdly and finally, it didn't make sense to me that it was okay for me to be stressed out as long as I was still committed to challenging myself and to getting the most out of my time here relationship-wise. But. All of those things were true. John told me that they weren't having Po and I do home visits because they couldn't do them or didn't want to. They (both John and Forest) wanted Po and I to be doing home visits so that we would be in the lives of the people we were working with. In Latin American countries in general, relationships are the most important things that anyone can have, and home visits are one of the ways that the missionaries here connect with the people to become parts of their everyday lives, so that the church is more like a body than a gathering. John and Forest want Po and I to be a part of that relationship link so that (in John's words) we don't leave here and say, "Oh, yes. Paraguay. That was nice. They had pretty good food," but instead that, when it comes time for us to leave, we have people to say goodbye to and relationships to miss. So that we know that we have built something in the time we were here.
At the end of this meeting/lunch/conversation, John asked if we had any questions, and at first, I didn't. But I thought for a moment about why I felt so overwhelmed and I realized that since I had arrived, I had been given lists of tasks and appointments, but never had I caught on to the vision that the missionaries here were working towards. This was due to many things, one of which being that the Orientation class that interns/short term workers here normally take their first or second day had been postponed for me so many times that I had been here a week before I had an idea of why. It wasn't anyone's fault, but it was a problem for me. So I asked John what he saw the Lord doing here, and what their purpose in ministry was, and what end goal they were working towards.
John told me about two miraculous healings that had occurred in the church, one last month(ish) and one five or six months ago. He told me about a man that had finally, after being in the church more than 8 years, accepted Christ as both his king and his redeemer. He told me about kids who loved the children's ministry so much that they were attracting other family members to the congregation. He told me how the children who come to Oansa (Awana, on Saturday mornings) and the teens who attend iPraise (guitar/keyboard lessons combined with youth group-like atmosphere and a bible lesson on Saturday nights) have no other Godly influence in their lives, and almost certainly no positive father figure.
(Sunday night) I learned how the war that Paraguay had with Uruguay, Brazil, and Argentina in the 1800's took the lives of 8 out of every 10 men of fighting age, destroyed the institution and cultural importance of marriage, and created a matriarchal family structure. I learned that Machis (manliness) is characterized by having multiple sexual relationships outside of marriage, abusing those under your power, being able to handle large amounts of alcohol, and being unpredictable. Marianis (femininity) means being soft and gentle, a virgin, submissive to every man, strong, the spiritual leader of your family, and reliable, since you'll have to run just about everything in your house.
John told me that their purpose is to raise up a new generation and to disciple the ones who are already adults. They want to foster Godly attitudes and character in a culture that calls them weak and useless. When I caught wind of what the Lord is doing here in Paraguay, all my tasks made sense. They all had meaning. I understand how each is important, and I know what I'm working towards.
I am still praying about what the Lord's purpose is in me specifically being here, and what he'd like to teach me in my life through this experience, but I have caught the other vision, the long term one. When I told John why I asked what I asked, and about how I'd been given all tasks and no vision, He wrote on his paper to remind him, "Vision before tasks." After some of the experiences I've had in my life, it's incredible to be under the leadership of people who want to work with each other, to forgive each other, to talk about problems, out loud, together, and to fix what they can and forgive what they can't.
After lunch, Po and I an Lo went with the Schell's to one of Sarah's friend's houses for dinner, and we were there until almost 11pm. It was wonderful to be in the presence of all english-speakers, and to understand each other's jokes, and to play board games together and (for Forest and I) to win! (: Also, there was a fireplace in this lady's house. And for the first time in about a week, I felt my toes.
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