I am still reeling from the whirlwind trip through Paraguay! We were in six different churches in one day and taught a conference that evening. I'd like to say that I've rested since I've been home, but that is not the case. There are so many things that happened and so many stories to tell, but I don't want to bore anyone.
This one I have to share though, because it affected me deeply. The day that we visited the six churches is a day I will never forget. We were all really tired, doing our final preperations on our lessons and trying to decompress for a few minutes. Gnats were swarming around us and we had the prospect of sleeping in a church ahead of us. I don't know about the rest of the team, but I was a little apprehensive about this part of the trip. We were at the church in Ciudad del Este and from what I remembered this was not a very safe city. So, sleeping in a room with four other guys, seperated from my wife, in a place that I did not feel comfortable in was not putting me in a very servant like attitude. Anyways, back to the gnats! They were everywhere, flying in our ears, eyes, trying to go up my nose and they were driving me crazy! So, I go and get the 100% deet out of my bag, thinking surely this will take care of these stinking bugs. Emily was being swarmed as well, so I began to spray the Deet on her pants and the back of her shirt. What I did not realize was the nozzle rotated while you were squirting it. In my haste, I did not check the nozzle to see where it was pointed and took a full shot right to the eyes! I do not recommend that to anyone. If pepper spray hurts a tenth of what the Deet did, then I feel bad for Police Officers who get shot with that while training. So, Mark Shaner guides me to the restroom where I flush my eyes, they get to feeling better, so I go and sit down. About five minutes later they start burning again, so Emily takes me to flush out my eyes again. What I was unaware of was that one of the sisters form the church had been watching this go on for a few minutes. I came back from the restroom after flushing the eyes and sat down, well this lady comes over and starts rubbing her hands over my eyes. Little strange I thought, but if it helps, Praise God. Well, she did this for a few minutes and then went back to sit down. The eyes started burning again, and my thought was more on, how am I going to teach my part of the conference if I can't see? Emily and Vickie Shaner take me outside and start pouring water over my eyes. Here I sit, head tilted back, in a plastic chair, them pouring water over my eyes, when this lady comes walking out to where we are. She puts her hands over my eyes and begins to pray. I don't mean casually either. She is cryinng and it feels like she is experiencing the pain tht I was in, she was living the fear that I had in that moment. The thought of going to a Paraguayan hospital was not very comforting to me, so i was really hoping for God's intervention. So, this lady is praying, deep, intercessory prayer stuff and she is praying in Guarani, which is the native language of Paraguay, and God moved in an amazing way. The burning stopped, my eyes began to clear up and I felt a piece wash over me. I will forever be linked to this sister in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, because of her willingness to pray for an impatient, tired gringo.
That's just one of the many encounters that we had and I would like to encourage you to pray for our Missionaries and pastor's, not just in Paraguay, but all over the world. They NEED our prayer support and coverage.
This picture is of a soccer program that Planeta Joven operates in Asuncion, Paraguay every Saturday morning. They use this as an outreach to the kids in their communities. Pray for Marcos and his leaders as they reach out to the young people that surround them.
God Bless!
