One of the things that was most exciting for me on the trip, was watching Josh interact with the rest of the team and with our friends in Paraguay.  It was a great unknown for me as we went into the trip: how would Josh handling being in a different culture, where he doesn’t know the language, and is expected to interact with adults throughout the week.

The first night that we were there, we met with a group of pastors and elders to talk about the plans for the week.  At that first meeting, one of the pastors referred to Josh as the “pequeño missionario.”  That became a nickname for Josh during much of the week.

Throughout the week, Josh impressed me with how he handled himself.  When he was with the Paraguayan youth, he was just another teenager interacting with friends.  He played soccer, shot baskets into a bucket, juggled, listened to music, and just talked.  When he was with adults, he carried himself with maturity and poise.  When it was time to speak publicly, he did a great job talking about what his faith means to him.  From what I am told, he handled himself very well doing the evangelism.   During the week, he worked side by side with everything from teenagers to pastors, and he handled himself like a champ.

Since we have been home, he has been staying in touch through the internet with some of the people that we got to know.  He has talked about a desire to practice his Spanish.  He definitely wants to go back to Paraguay.  Our hope is that we will be able to go back again next year.  We also hope that we will be able to put together a small team from our church to go with us.  It would be great for our church to develop a relationship with some of the churches in Paraguay.

At the end of the trip, Josh was talking with the same pastor who had called him the “pequeño missionario.”  I commented that I thought he had proven himself to not be the “pequeño missionario” anymore, just the missionario.  The pastor corrected me.  He said that Josh had proven himself to be a “gran missionario.”

I think that I agree.

Josh and I arrived safely home yesterday afternoon.  My parents picked us up at the airport.  They also made dinner for us.

Tonight, Lynn and the girls fly back from Texas, where they have been helping friends pack to move.  I can’t wait to see them again.

There is a lot that I have not had a chance to write about on the blog.  I hope that over the next couple weeks, I will have a chance to fill in some of the gaps, as well as adding a few pictures.  I also expect to upload some more pictures to the flickr account.  So, please check back again to see some more details of the trip

I have been posting photos over at my new Flickr account.  If you look, you can see pictures of Josh playing futbol (soccer to us Estadounidenses), climbing brick walls, and hanging out with his new friends.  Before we came, he was concerned about not be able to communicate with those around him.  He has found the universal languages of fun and love.  He said tonight that he wants to come back next year.  I am glad that he is enjoying it.

He is also doing great things here.  This morning, we visited a Christian school.  They asked Josh to share his testimony with the children. He did a great job!  Afterwards, the principal came to me and said that Josh was a great blessing for her to see.

It has been another long day.  I have been keeping more detail in my paper journal, because I am able to write during lunch time.  After I get back, I will have to add some updates.

Oh, by the way to see the photos on Flickr, just click here.

It has gotten late.  The lobby outside our room as two computer that are free to use, but they have been busy most of the evening.  Josh and I have been journaling, talking, and playing games.  Because it is late, and I am tired, this will be a short post.  I hope that I will have some time to fill in more details of what we are doing, but not tonight.

We have been warned to be careful about drinking the water.  Any time that you travel to another country, there is a risk of getting sick if you drink the water.  It is not because of unclean water most of the time, it is because the bacteria is different than your body is used to fighting.  Of course, there are some places where the water isn´t clean.

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Most of the team is already on the ground in Paraguay.  Josh and I leave today to join them.  We leave Ocala today at noon.  We will arrive in Paraguay around 2:30 tomorrow afternoon.  That is a long trip.

Please pray for safe travel, for effective evangelism, and for God to be glorified.  I hope to post photos and updates at least a couple of times while we are in Paraguay.