One of the concerns that Josh and I spoke about at length before coming on this trip was the language barrier.  In Paraguay, they have two official languages: Spanish and Guaraní.  Josh was concerned because he doesn´t speak either.  I had some concern because, while I once was fairly good at Spanish, I had not used the language much in a long time.

Happily, both Josh and I have been able to communicate.  On our first morning here, Josh learned that sports is a great language to communicate.  Marcelo, who has become Josh´s friend and personal translator, got Josh playing soccer with some of the boys.  Since then, he has had friends with him regularly.  He is frequently seen laughing and playing with other boys, some his age, some younger and some older.  He has done incredibly well at learning some basic phrases to communicate, and at using Marcelo to help him speak to others.  He has also been great at blending into the group dynamics of our team.

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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.

Today has been a long day.  We got up around 6:15 to get ready for breakfast.  We had a quick team meeting around 7:45, and then headed to the site.  Once there we gathered everyone and had some introductions and prayer.  Then we went in groups of 3 to pray for the neighborhood and invite people to the evening´s activities.  Each group was assigned one block.  We had a chance to share the gospel with one girl while we were handing out invitations. Rebecca said she had to go to school in the afternoon, so she wouldn´t be there when we came back.  At the end, she prayed for Christ to forgive her sins.

After lunch and a relaxing siesta, we went out in groups of 3 to share the gospel and invite people.  We spoke with people at 8 houses.  We were able to share the gospel at 7 houses.   In all, a couple of people were not interested, one said that he already agreed with us, and 4 adults and 6 kids asked Christ for forgiveness.

I am wiped out.  We got back to the hotel around 10pm.  Then, we ate dinner.  It is almost midnight, and I need sleep.  We need to be up earlier tomorrow because we are going to a Christian school.

I will have to just give quick reports while I am here in Paraguay, and then fill in more details when I get back.  I am trying to journal more details, so I don´t forget.  I will probably not even journal fully tonight, so I can get some sleep.

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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Josh and I arrived safely in Asuncion yesterday morning. The trip was very long, but it all went smoothly. We were able to meet up with the mission team without a hitch, and we are settling in.

Yesterday was mostly orientation meetings with the team, learning about the goals for the week, and the tools that we will use. We also met some of the people that will be working along side us. We will have translators as well as some local christians who will work with us. Finally, we met some of the pastors and elders at the local churches. The pastor who coordinates these trips seems to really like Josh. He has nicknamed Josh the ¨pequeño missionario.¨

We also went to a church service in our honor last night at one of the churches. Their worship is very passionate and fun to participate in.
This morning we will attend a different church. Then, this afternoon we will be at an event for children in the area where we will be helping to start a new church. We will also hae a little bit of free time.

I will post more later.