Drink of friendship
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.
Estamos Aqui!
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.
Mission Trip - Leaving Today
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.
Ten Days and Counting . . .
Yesterday marked ten days until departure. The details are all falling into place.
I sent this e-mail out to those who have supported my trip, and to several friends who have encouraged me in taking Josh on this adventure: › Continue reading
Google Sky - Who needs a telescope?
I recently read about Google Sky - a new service from Google to show the stars and other objects in the night sky. Who needs to invest in an expensive telescope? Now you can explore deep space objects any time of the day from the comfort of your own computer.
My only gripe about the service, is its view of constellations. I learned to enjoy stargazing and spotting constellations while on a mission trip to Honduras. My brother and I spent a month on the Island of Roatan. At night, they would literally turn off the electricity. We were living in a rented house, where we happened to find a book about the stars. So, for most of our trip, we spent the evenings out on a dock on the Caribbean, looking at the stars and trying to identify all of the constellations. It is amazing how bright the night sky is when there is no light pollution.
My brother and I have a few other stories about stargazing. Some involve the secret stargazing spot, at least one involves a nice conversation with local law enforcement when we were inadvertently trespassing. But, those stories are better left for another time. In the meanwhile, check out Google Sky and see what the heavens look like.
