Saturday, February 26, 2011

Saying Goodbye is Never Easy!

The last month for us in Paraguay, was full of goodbyes. We had many bittersweet emotions. We are very happy to be heading to Dyersburg to work with the West Dyersburg church of Christ and we are very excited to be returning back to our friends and family in the states. However, we are sad because it is very hard to leave behind so many people that we have grown to love and appreciate. And to leave behind the work that we played a role in getting started. 
Everything we read about reentering your home culture (the U.S.) said to make sure to have closure with the people and places of the host country (Paraguay). So, that we did. During our last month, we visited all of the places that we had frequented over the years and said our goodbyes to both the people and the actual places. I highly recommend to all missionaries leaving the field to take a whole month before they leave (after they have finished packing and/or shipping a container) to finish out everything- including closing out relationships, paperwork, accounts, etc. It helped us so much! We loved our last month in Paraguay because we had that time to just enjoy it. Everyone kept asking us if our heads were already in the states and I felt like I could honestly tell them "no". We set aside our last month to be in Paraguay and to have our minds on Paraguay and the people of Paraguay. And I am so thankful that we did. I will always cherish that special time that we had in our host country.

The first thing we did was say goodbye to our things as they left to get on the boat to be shipped to the states. Of course, that was pretty easy since we knew we would see it all again in a few months and they were just things. Then, a few days later, we said goodbye to our house of 7 1/2 years and moved into the SIM housing, which was the best decision we could have ever made! It was furnished housing that gave us so much freedom and a lot of fun opportunities to visit with other missionaries as well as lots of fun activities for the kids. There were many, many goodbyes that followed, although I did not get to include them all:





I had breakfast with one of my American friends, Gabriela, whom I met the first year that we were on the field through the U.S. Embassy.  We ate at "Cafe de Aca" (The Coffee from Here), which is a newer, hip coffee shop that I just went to for my first time a few weeks ago.  I am obviously not as hip as I once was! It was great to have that time with her to reminisce fun times in the mom play groups we met in.
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Our family had dinner at Delci and Natalia's house.  Delci has been a member of the church in Paraguay for years and Nati was baptized during our time in Paraguay.  They fixed us a yummy chicken milanesa dinner (it is similar to a breaded chicken parmesan, but without the spaghetti sauce and cheese), feijoada (a brazilian black bean and rice) and some fabulous fresh mango and guava juice.   Gricela, another teen from church also joined us.  This family is one of the many that have grown so close to our hearts and many tears were shed as we said goodbye to them. 
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We said goodbye to the busy streets of Asuncion.  I am still trying to decide if I will miss the traffic of Paraguay.  Probably not, but it has certainly been a one-of-a-kind cultural experience!

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We said goodbye to our teammates, Brittnea and Ale.  They live next door to the Spradlins and while we were having our goodbye dinner with them (which I did not take a picture of!), the kids went next door and played with Brittnea and Ale. Apparently there was some pretty high hammock swinging going on!

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We had our last team lunch together at one of our favorite hamburger/milanesa/ice cream joints, 4D. We have been so blessed to work with Cara and Josh Blackmer, Troy and Andrea Spradlin, Perry and Alba Hardin and Ale and Brittnea Yegros.  We left behind a powerful team of servants in the church of Christ on Sacramento!  God is going to do great things through them, and I can't wait to continue hearing about it! 


I can't believe I caught this on camera, but yes, this is Walker standing in his chair licking his ice cream plate clean.  He got in a little bit of trouble after I took the picture!


Emma and Walker said goodbye to 4D ice cream.  This was some of the best ice cream in Paraguay!  Can you tell by Walker's face?

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We went to one of our favorite indoor playgrounds at Feria Asuncion (one of the few giant department stores in Paraguay) and let the kids play one last time.  I once lost Walker in this store and it terrified me!  The guard put out an alert on his walkie talkie for me and within a few minutes, I was brought a terrified and crying little boy.  I also once got on the escalator going down with Emma, but Walker did not grab my hand in time to make it on.  He got left at the top of the escalator screaming for me.  He was so scared that I didn't have time to get on the elevator and go up, so I just ran back up the escalator that was coming down.  It took me a few minutes to get to him, but I made it.  I got a lot of strange looks and I was very tired when I got the top!  That store holds some funny memories for me!


Emma and Olivia enjoying their little rocking toys.


And Walker too.

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We had our last playdate with Anjara and Sarai Kessler.


This is Carole Kessler and myself.  We met the Kessler family through a mutual American friend.  She introduced us because we have two kids the same age and because Carole and her family were moving to Paraguay after my family had already been there for many years. We instantly became friends and enjoyed lots of play dates with our kids.   Her girls also took ballet and jazz classes with Emma.

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We said goodbye to our missionary friends, the McKissicks.  This is Amy and me.


We met the McKissick family in our spanish studies our first year with Berlitz language school.  They are medical missionaries in a small town about 5 hours outside of Asuncion.  They now have 6 kids and were getting ready to take two new interns out into the "campo" for a few months in this picture.  Our kids loved having a week at the SIM house to play with the McKissick kids and we enjoyed getting to visit with Amy and Jeff one last time.  They became very special friends to us while in Paraguay. 

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On our last Saturday morning in Paraguay, we took the whole family to one of our favorite coffee shops, M.L. Calentitas (Hot "Medialunas" or Croissants).  They serve some of the most delicious croissants that I have ever put in my mouth.  They are comparable to Krispy Kreme donoughts!  Walker ate four of them along with a giant chocolate milk.  He was fairly active for a few hours after that!

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I led my last ladies small group at the home of Nora Yegros.  Nora prepared a fabulous "merienda" (afternoon snack) and I talked about the difficulties and blessings of moving to a new culture as a missionary.  It was a very special time to share with Alba Hardin, Nora Yegros, Pochi Vera, Andrea Spradlin and Brittnea Dye (not pictured because she took the picture!).  I love these women and am going to miss them greatly!

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We spent the night at the Blackmers house (our teammates) their last two nights in Paraguay so that the kids  (and us adults) could have that time together.  The Blackmers left for furlough to the states about a week before we left Paraguay.  Troy and Andrea Spradlin, our teammates also joined us and the kids got to wrestle with Troy.  I wanted pictures of all of us together, but Olivia refused to go to sleep without a crib, so I was upstairs with her.  I tried to leave the room several times and she would just get up and follow me out!  We may face some challenges as we settle in Dyersburg and try to get her used to a big girl bed.  We might just have to find someone to let us borrow a crib! 

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The Yegros family, a family that has been a key family for the Asuncion church for many years, had us over for lunch.  Nora is an excellent cook and we always enjoy eating her food and having the company of the many Yegros!  Nora and Ike have 5 kids- Ale (who recently married our teammate Brittnea), Luis and Romina.  And Helena and Mauri are away at school in the states at our alma mater, Freed-Hardeman University.  We hope to get to spend some more time with them while we are in Dyersburg, which is just an hour and 15 minutes away.


It seems that when the Yegros have visitors in their home, there always seems to be a photo very similar to this one taken.  So, we are now a part of the famous "group shots" taken in the Yegros home.  We will miss this family dearly!


And our kids absolutely love playing with the Yegros kids' legos collection (although their kids are not really kids anymore).  With 5 kids who mostly asked for legos on birthdays and special holidays as gifts, they have a mighty fine legos collection!

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We had a merienda at Rocio's house and the kids loved playing with her two kittens.  I promise that no kittens were injured during the taking of these pictures, although it may appear so from the way Walker is holding his kitten!


Rocio worked in our home for almost three years, helping me with cleaning, cooking and taking care of the kids.  Whenever we needed a babysitter- Rocio was the one!  We all think of her as part of our family and we are really going to miss her!  When the kids say their prayers for our family at night, Rocio is always included.  This picture is of Rocio with Olivia, her sweet grandmother and her sister, and then me with Emma and Walker.  We were so thankful to have gotten to meet her entire family before we left.  Chris said when we left their house that her grandmother was the sweetest little lady he had ever met in Paraguay.

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Luis Fernando, the son of Mirta, the church secretary and member of the church, quickly became Walker's best friend.  They are the same age and they both love what most little boys their age love- cars and trains and planes. 

Fernando and his sister, Leti, came over to the SIM house several times to visit and play.  Walker and Fernando loved playing with the toy trucks in the dirt!  Fernando was convinced that he was going to get on the airplane with Walker and go to "los estados unidos" (the united states).


Leti and Emma posed for a picture too!  We have watched Leti grow over the years and she has become such a beautiful and sweet Christian young lady.  Mirta was always like an aunt to our kids. She taught Emma some of her first spanish words. And helped plant her love for "palitos" (bread sticks).  We will miss their whole family!

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In the condominium where we lived, we had some great neighbors over the years!  One of those was families was Cynthia and Alvaro and their kids Joaquina and Regina.  Our kids played almost daily with Joaquina and Regina on the condominium playground.  As soon as Emma and Walker would hear them playing outside, they just had to get ready to go outside and play too. They had us over for dinner one night before we left.  It was great to visit with them, see the condominium and let the kids play together one last time.  And it was very tempting to go peek in the windows of our old house to see what it looks like with new habitants (okay, so Chris really did). 

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Emma made a great friend from her dance class, Mikah.  Mikah's family worked with the U.S. embassy and they lived just one block from our house!  We visited their house before we left so the girls could say goodbye. 

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Josiah and Vivian, our teammates' kids came over and spent the night at the SIM house. They had a fun time playing in the pool, creating a waterslide on the playground, doing puppet shows and just spending time together.  They all piled on our bed at the end of the night to watch a movie.



Toby even got in on the action while they were in the pool!

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I was blessed to get to spend an afternoon with the ladies from church, talking about the importance of and how to teach children the Bible.


We took a look at the children's classrooms and I showed them where all of the Bible class resources are and how to use them. 



And we even practiced several of the children's songs so that they couldn't say they didn't at least know some of them!  If you have ever visited Paraguay, you have probably heard the "Mis coditos Dios me dio" song.  (God gave me my elbows)  We actually had a great time singing together and being silly.  And afterwards, enjoyed a great mixture of Paraguayan and American snacks for "merienda" (tea time).

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We visited one of the kids' favorite outdoor parks and playgrounds, Parque de Salud (Health Park).


Olivia enjoyed rolling in the sand!  All three of the kids were covered from head to toe with sand by the time we left.  That is always fun to clean up!

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We took the kids to their pediatrician, Dr. Juan Max Boettner, one last time and let them get caught up on vaccines and say goodbye.  He also took Walker's stitches out that he had in his chin from falling off of the bed at the SIM house.  Dr. Boettner gave them candy for being good, their favorite part of going to the doctor. 

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And definately our hardest goodbye of all was saying goodbye to our church family.  What beautiful people, inside and out, we were blessed to serve with in Paraguay!


Our last Sunday the congregation presented us with the previous group picture, framed and matted with all of their signatures on the matting.  We had to quickly go to the next room after the presentation because Chris and I got very emotional.  God has truly blessed our lives over the past 7 1/2 years and we will never forget our family and friends that became a part of our lives while in Paraguay.  They will be a huge part of us forever!  And words can not describe how much love we feel for them.  People in the U.S. keep saying to us "you are finally coming home"!  It makes us feel good that they are excited to have us returning, but at the same time, we don't really feel like the U.S. is home to us anymore.  We made our home in Paraguay.  And to us, it feels like we are leaving home.  And our kids have never known the U.S. as home.  Only as the place where we go to visit grandparents, family and friends.  I pray that one day soon we can feel at "home" again in the U.S.  But I think first we need a little time to grieve leaving our "home" in Paraguay and saying goodbye to everyone and everything that has been our life for 7 1/2 years.  But one of the many blessings of being a missionary is having more than one "home".  So, we are fine with having two, in very different countries.  Both that we love!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Saying Goobye to the Beauty Shop

One of the things that I truly love about Paraguayan culture is going to the beauty shop!  I love it for many reasons- number one being the prices. 

When we first moved here, we didn't have a car.  So, I picked a beauty shop purely based on proximity to my house so that I could walk to it.  It was called Romy's.  It was a small little beauty shop on the corner near my house.  It was a very nice shop and I remember well the entertainment and embarrassment of trying to explain how I wanted my hair to be cut in the few broken spanish words that I knew when we arrived.  But, I eventually succeeded in at least making myself somewhat understood.  I got to know one of the girls there, Zuny.  So, when I would go in, I would always ask for her to cut my hair.  She was very good and even if I didn't make myself understood and she cut my hair completely different than what I attempted to explain, I was always happy with the way she cut it.  So, when Zuny decided that her and one of her workmates were going to open up their own business, I followed them there.  And then a year or so later when Zuny decided to open up her own business, I also followed her there.  So, now she owns her own beauty shop, in a great little (and pretty fancy) mall, that is just about 2 doors down from the original Romy's where I met her. 





Being located in a fancy little mall in an "higher class" area of town, her prices are a little higher than some of the smaller neighborhood beauty shops.  However, since I liked how she cut my hair, she was my friend and a potential church member, I stuck with her wherever she went.  And I really didn't mind the slightly higher prices, knowing how much I would be paying if I were in the US.  And if you look below at her prices, you will know what I mean!  (And these are the prices at our current exchange rate, which is 4.500guarnies to the dollar.  When we first moved here it was around 7.000guaranies to the dollar and so these were all about half these prices.  I miss those days!)

Hair cuts: $8.80
Brushings: $4.40
Washing: $2.00
Hair Coloring: $14.50
Highlights:  $15
Manicure: $3.30
Pedicure: $5.50
Waxing- $2.20- $16.50 (from eyebrows to practically your whole body!)
1 Hour Massage: $11.00

Going to the beauty shop in Paraguay is a slightly different concept than going to the beauty shop in the states.  Here, people go all the time!  If you have a wedding, dinner or a party to go to on a Saturday night, you go and get a "brushing" (which is pronounced the same in spanish as it is in english since it is adapted from the english word).  A "brushing" is getting your hair dried straight and then styled.  Many people in Paraguay, don't do their own hair and don't know how to do it.  They go and get it done at the beauty shop.  And manicures and pedicures are not as much of a special treat- they are the norm.  Many ladies go to the beauty shop every week to get their "mani y pedi" and some even go several different times during the week to get their "brushing" !  You would think that in a third world country, your toenails and fingernails would not be the highest of priority, but in the city of Asuncion, it is!

After years of going to the same beauty shop, I became really good friends with Zuny.  When I went to the states, I always brought her back a couple of hair styling/cutting magazines.  And each time I had a new baby, she would come to my house and cut my hair when I needed it so that I didn't have to get out and so that I could be at home with nursing babies.  It was really nice!  And everytime I got birthday or Christmas money, I saved part of it for visits to Zuny.  She knew all of my kids from coming by the house and from me bringing them with me to the shop.  I often took the kids to get their hair cut and on a few special occasions, Emma and I even treated ourselves to manicures together for girl time.  When we started selling our stuff this year, Zuny was one of the first in line!  She bought tons of our stuff.  My living room set is now in her living room.  And she brought us tons of customers.  Every day or say she would call and say "Can I bring one of my clients by to look at your stuff?" 

So, when it came time to start saying goodbye to people and places, we had to include Zuny and the beauty shop.  I took all three of the kids to get hair cuts and let them say "goodbye" to Zuny and the girls in the shop. 


Emma was brave and decided she should go first. 



While Emma was getting her cut, Walker and Olivia enjoyed eating "chipa", a Paraguayan cheese bread and staple for any and all Paraguayan households.



Walker was not too fond of getting his hair cut, but he did a pretty good job of sitting still (in my lap) and letting Zuny cut it.  Zuny gave Walker his first hair cut several years ago, but since then Chris and I have cut it at home with our electric razor.  However, that has been packed up and sent on the boat to the U.S. 



It was Olivia's first hair cut!  She was not a big fan of any of it.  Even sitting in my lap, she cried through the entire thing.



Much cuddling was needed afterwards!  But she sure did look cute!

We are going to miss Zuny and our friends at the beauty shop.  As well as the affordability of visiting such places often!


Saying Goodbye to Preschool

When Emma and Walker each were around 2 1/2 years old, we started taking them to a wonderful little preschool called MiniGente.  It means "little people".  And they were definately little!  If we had been in the states, I don't think I would have sent them that young since I did not have to work full-time.  But, we felt it was really important to have them in a spanish speaking environment at least a few days a week to learn the language and to be immersed into the Paraguayan culture.  We realized that with Emma, when she hit this age, she really was not able to play with Paraguayan kids her age because she could not speak the language very well. (We have always spoken english in our home)  We weren't sure how well she was going to adapt or if it was even the best solution for her, but we wanted to try.  Within just a few days, we knew it was the right thing to do.  She started feeling more comfortable when we were at church, she became less shy around spanish speakers, she started playing more with the kids in our condominium and she just seemed all around happier.  So, when Walker was at the same age, even though he seemed so young, we started taking him too.  We loved their little school from the beginning.  The owners were so attentive and helpful.  The teachers were so sweet and kind and loved on all of the kids every chance they got.  All of the teachers knew mine and Chris's names, they knew Emma, Walker and Olivia's names even though once Walker started, Emma stayed at home with me to homeschool.  They even knew our dog's name!  They always knew when it was someone in our family's birthday and even made cards or crafts for us.  Once when we went on furlough and Emma was still in school, they made her a going away card and then they helped her paint a card for each set of grandparents!  It was so neat to mine and Chris's parents to receive cards in spanish from their grandkids!The kids made new little Paraguayan friends and I got to know and love lots of Paraguayan moms.  The kids even learned lots of new spanish songs that I had never heard of.  The only problem was when they tried to ask me for help on remembering all of the words!  (because I had no clue!)

So, as we are preparing to leave the country, saying goodbye to their school and teachers, was pretty important.  Both Emma and Walker still call it their "school".  I took them by one day a few weeks ago and they got to play and say "goodbye" to many of the teachers.  I am going to take them back by once school actually starts and let them say "goobye" again while some of their friends are there and their specific classroom teachers are there too.  We felt very blessed to have a place that we felt comfortable sending them and knowing that they would be safe, well taken care of and loved.  As I look back on our time here in Paraguay, I am often amazed at the many blessings that we have received.

Walker playing on the sand playground with a giant dumptruck.  He could not have been happier!

Emma and Walker swinging in the outside walkway.  This is not the normal location of the swingset- they were cleaning and preparing the school for classes to start back-up so everything was out of the way so they could work.


Emma with the owners, Tania and Achi and the two main helpers.



Me, Walker and Emma with Tania and Achi.  Walker was not very cooperative in getting his picture made that day!


Emma and Walker out front with the sign.  This school holds lots of precious memories for the kids and our family.