CHICKS

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

We got our car back last night and although it cost an arm and a leg to repair it, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel…just a few more days before we can wash our hands of it.

Zulma’s son, Francisco has a winning smile which he flashes often. He comes over to play at least once a week, usually toting 2 or 3 of his siblings behind him. He is always polite and always gives me a hearty hand shake upon entering and leaving my house. I have heard his school teachers brag about how smart he is and I am not surprised. If allowed, I think he would answer every question thrown out for discussion at the Bible studies.

Francisco will finish 5th grade this year and I was saddened to hear that he was not planning to go back to school. Many families do not send their children to school past 5th grade because of the added expenses in Jr. High and High School. Zulma told me, “We’d have to buy a uniform, more notebooks and there are more tests.” (Each kid has to pay for their test to be photocopied.) My first thought: We could just give Zulma the money to keep Francisco in school, I mean, to me, a uniform, notebooks, and photocopies are nothing to pay for an education. But I have lived here long enough and read enough books on missions to know that just to throw money at a situation usually isn’t the best way. So, I began thinking and talking to my Paraguayan friends.

My house help, Nilsa, had a great idea (it is how Nilsa’s mother put her through school). Nilsa and I went to talk to Zulma and her sister, Rosi, who also has a bright son Francisco’s age and explained the idea. We asked them to pray about it (both these families are Christian which makes helping them even more special) and let us know. Days later they visited and said that they were interested.

Yesterday as we headed home we stopped at Granja Kim (Kim’s Farm) and bought 160 chicks. We proposed that if they (Zulma and Rosi) made a chicken coop, we would provide them with chicks to get them started. These chickens are bred to get big (and ready to eat) at 6 months, so the idea is that they can start breeding some and selling others at 20mil ($4) a piece. Unfortunately for us, the timing of our “gift” is bad since we are leaving, but Nilsa has agreed to help them, check in on them and hold them accountable.

On the way home, these chicks provided a lot of entertainment. Ginny and Joshua made a house for their chicks and Tyler and Micah’s chicks were constantly forced into a wrestling match. However, after riding 4 hours, I would have gladly traded the kids’ usual loud noise level for the peeping sound of those chicks!