Our "Despedida" or Going Away Party in Paraguay

This could be called "the blog that never ends" because I have so much to share about this special night. I was overwhelmed by all of our church family that worked so hard to put this night together for us and for so many friends that joined them to bid us farewell. I would have loved to put all 200+ pictures in here, but that might just be more than anyone would ever have the desire to look at. So, I did my best to include as many of our friends and family as I could who attended and all of the special little details that various members put into this night to make it a night that will be with us forever. And, I also want to tell how some of the church's members came into our lives and a little about them.

 Many members worked a big part of the day to set-up for this night. Alba and Brittnea seemed to enjoy making our last name with the silverware! I am glad a picture was taken, because this seems to have been rearranged before we actually made it to the party!

There was a centerpiece on the table that had all 5 of our names on it, plus Toby, our cocker spaniel. Too bad he wasn't invited. The sign under it says "Gracias por todo" (Thank you for everything). Many of our favorite foods were prepared. If you notice the sign to the right of the centerpiece, you will see "Mbeju, "Walker"". Mbeju is one of Walker's favorite foods. Walker is a very picky eater, so the Paraguayans were always very proud of the fact that several of the few foods that he will eat are traditional Paraguayan foods. Mbeju is a type of cheese bread. It is made of mandioca flour, Paraguayan farm cheese, butter or lard, milk and salt. It is then cooked on a griddle just like a pancake.

All of the kids had little pictures drawn of them with their names on them and then they were on little sticks, stuck into the ground next to their chairs. It was such a neat little touch that made the kids feel special.

Andres and Angela had to leave early, but traveled by bus for about an hour to just to be a part of our going away party. They are newer members. Andres is from Argentina and Angela has been in Paraguay most of her life, but is from a german family. Andres teaches Greek at a local school.

This is Romina, Karina and Brittnea! Romi is one of the 5 Yegros "kids" (they are now practically all adults themselves). Their family was in the church long before we arrived. However, we were blessed to see all of the 5 Yegros kids baptized during our time here. Karina is a cousin to the Yegros siblings and her mom, Lina, is also a member of the congregation. Karina became a Christian last year. Brittnea, our teammate, married Ale Yegros last year too! So, the Yegros family just keeps growing!

Romina was taking her turn in signing our frame. Everyone signed a matt that was later framed with a picture of the entire congregation to give to us. We can’t wait to find a special place to hang it when we get moved into our house in the states!

This is Ale Yegros with Adolfo. Adolfo has an interesting story. He was reading the newspaper one day and saw an advertisement for a ladies seminar at our congregation. He told his wife “You need to go to this!” She did and within two days, she decided that she needed to be a Christian and so she was baptized! It took Adolfo months before he attended with her. And then it took him much longer to make the decision to become a Christian himself. He said that he wanted to make sure it was his decision and that he wasn’t just following his wife. He has grown so much over the last few years and has even preached several sermons to our congregation!

This is Gustavo with Chris. I will tell about Gustavo and his wife, Elva a little later. Gustavo would probably tell you that Chris is one of her very best friends. They spent a lot of time together over the past few years. Gustavo is holding up his “equipo” (thermos set). It is a thermos holding water and then his “guampa” (mate cup) is belted to the side. The Paraguayans continuously, throughout the day, drink a tea called terrere when it is hot outside (a cold drink) and yerba mate when it is cold outside (a hot drink). It consists of tea leaves chopped up and put into the guampa. Then a metal straw is used that has a filter on the end of it. You pour the water over the leaves and drink it. You have to pour water over it repeatedly because not much water can fit inside the cups since they are partially full with tea leaves. The Paraguayans enjoy sitting around and passing their guampas around among their friends while they visit and try to keep cool during the VERY hot months! Chris fits into the culture very well in this sense, he is still drinking his terrere every morning even now that he is in the states!

Here are some of the teens acting silly. Tiago, Luana, Alma, Pati and Gricela are posing for the camera.

Nora, Susi and Raquel were working hard in the kitchen to get the food ready.  These three women are all so precious to me!  They have hearts of servants, as you can see.

Chiara and Carlos became very dear friends of ours while in Paraguay. They previously ran a gift delivery service on the internet. Mechi, a daughter of one of the members at the central congregation, lives in the U.S. She often used Chiara and Carlos’s business to send gifts to her family and friends in Paraguay on special occasions. Mechi quickly became good friends with them as well and one year when she was visiting in Paraguay for a ladies conference, she invited Chiara. Since then, Chiara and Carlos have been regular visitors to our services, couples meetings and various church events. Chiara designs purses and jewelry and has become a very popular designer in the Paraguay fashion world. Carlos designs websites. They are currently members at another church, but we hope that one day they decide to become members at Sacramento Church of Christ because we need a few more families like them! They are such a great couple!

Gina, Natalia, Brittnea and Alba got all “decked out” to serve everyone for dinner. I love the tablecloth skirts and funky little plastic hats! They are so funny! We loved the food that all of the ladies worked together to prepare. We had beef slices with gravy, several Paraguayan tranditional dishes such as mbeju, and sopa paraguaya (a corn bread). The ladies also used fruits from the back yard of the church building to decorate, make a punch and even homemade mango icecream! They knew that mango was my favorite fruit and that I had talked about various times how much I was going to miss having mango falling from the trees all around me.

The Vera sisters, Mirta and Pochi. Mirta Vera has been the church secretary since the congregation started. She has been such a blessing to our family and to the congregation! Since we arrived, she has adopted two children, Leticia, now 15 and Luis Fernando, now 3 (and Walker’s best friend). Pochi and her husband, Pedro, had been in the church in Paraguay long before we arrived. They were one of the key couples who were asking for help from missionaries in the U.S. years before we were able to get there. They have been fabulous servants and examples in the congregation for many years.

The teens also served the drinks. Here is Andres, Ramon and Diego working hard.

Our American friends, the Kesslers also came. I blogged about them in my “saying goodbye is never easy” post. Steve works at the American school as a guidance counselor and Carole and I loved getting our kids together since they are very close in ages. Carole worked for a time at a nonprofit organization that helped the children of Paraguay who had cleft palates. She organized campaigns with doctors from all over the world to come to Paraguay and do corrective surgeries for free on kids who would otherwise not have the opportunity.

I mentioned Ike and Nora Yegros earlier. They are also one of the key couples in getting missionaries from the U.S. to come and help the church in Paraguay. They have been such a blessing to us and the congregation throughout our entire 7 ½ years in Paraguay.

Here are Gina, Natalia, Alba and Diego serving Chris his food.

Rosalba (on left) presented Chris and I with a cross-stitch frame that she made. It was a Bible verse that she said she searched for hours to find and when she saw it, she knew it was the perfect verse. Rosalba was a Christian prior to our arrival, but we have seen two of her three children, Leticia and Marcelo baptized over our years in Paraguay. She has one special-needs child, Ale who she adopted. Her husband has still not become a Christian, but we pray that he one day decides to.

This is Luana, Carolina, Tiago and Rene! Carolina, a long-time single mom, was one of our first members at Sacramento. Her mom, Alicia, was the very first baptism in our congregation and through her; a huge part of her family is now a part of the church. Carolina met Rene because his family owned a grocery store in her neighborhood. They started dating, he became a Christian and then they were married just a few years ago. Their family also presented us with a beautiful poster of pictures of our family together throughout the years.

Troy, who is a former professional country music singer, played the guitar and sang us several songs. The kids were his “groupies”! It was fun to hear some country songs from our past in the U.S.

This is Elva and Gustavo. Elva and Gustavo came to the church through Laura, our former teammate, Enoch’s wife. They had been longtime family friends of Laura’s. Elva was baptized first and Gustavo followed. They left the church for almost a year, but just within the last few months, they decided that they needed God and the church and wanted to return. What a blessing! We were so happy to have them back in the family again!

Anjara, Emma, Vivian, Walker, Josiah and Louis Fernando were enjoying listening to the various singers. I am amazed that we actually got a picture of most of them sitting down. I think they ran in circles most of the night.

Alicia (on the left) was the first person baptized at the Sacramanto congregation! She then started bringing the rest of her family and especially her grandchildren to church with her. Carolina is her daughter and Rene, Carolina’s husband.

Emma and Vivian (our teammates’ daughter) are the best of friends. They are really going to miss each other! Most people think that they are sisters. I had to practically argue with a salesclerk one day when I took both of them to the mall with me to look at fabric. The lady was convinced that they were related and could not grasp the fact that they were just friends.

The couples group presented us with a certificate of appreciation. It was very sweet. And very touching- I got very emotional.

Chris spoke for a few minutes and of course, it made me cry too. He talked about it not really mattering where we lived here on earth because we are all part of one big family and we will live together in heaven one day anyway.

Diego, one of our members and a member at the Centro congregation who is a professional opera singer, sang several songs and dedicated many of them to us. They did an incredible job!

Romina, Evelyn, Elva, Natalia and Gina worked hard in the kitchen to clean up from the party.

This is of me and Delci. Delci was a member of the church long before we arrived, but we were blessed to see her daughter Natalia baptized. They are very precious sisters to our family!

This is of me and Zuni. Zuni’s husband was a Christian before we arrived, but Zuni and her two children, Evelyn and Maria Jose, became Christians while we were in Paraguay. Zuni loves to serve by cooking yummy food for the members of the congregation.

This is of Franci, me and Elva. Franci and her husband, Jackson were also some of the first members of the Sacramento congregation. Franci’s mother-in-law is Alicia, who I mentioned earlier. Franci has a little boy, Jay, who is Emma’s age. They are just a few months apart. We bonded the first year of the congregation through pregnancy together! She now has her own beauty shop and it has been amazing to watch her and her family grow spiritually!

This is our family with Odila. She is the wife of a Uruguayan missionary who helped in getting the church started in Paraguay.

This is us with Rita, our travel agent. She helped us out so much throughout our time in Paraguay.

This is Gina and Natalia playing with Olivia.

Susi is a precious lady of the church. She was a Christian before we arrived and she is a very wise and faithful woman. She is a single mom of Manuel. If there is an event at church, you can bet that Susi will be there!

This is Gina with her arm on Jay (Franci’s son), Diego, Natalia (Delci’s daughter) with her hand on Emma, me with Olivia and Diego.

And last, but not least, here is Walker sporting this awesome orange plastic hat. He looks rather mischievous if you ask me!  Our going away party was so special in every way.  We feel so blessed to have been a part of such a loving and giving congregation!  And now- this is finally the blog that ends!