CAR TROUBLE and GUESTS

Imagine the contrast: Ginny and I were at a girls’ retreat with her 3 best friends and their moms sipping coffee and eating chocolates from the U.S while Jeff was frantically seeing 21 patients before noon.  I was playing games, laughing and socializing while Jeff prepared lunch, packed the car and 5 kids for three days in the capital, loaded everyone and drove to pick me up.  I was listening to music and painting while 1 hour into Jeff’s trip, the car’s breaks and power steer went out and he coasted into the town where I was by the grace of God.

 

The tow (with our car on top) came to pick me up from the retreat.  Our family then rode in the car, on the tow truck the 3 hours to Asuncion. 

Thankfully, it was a minor repair and we were still able to pick up our friends at the airport the following day.  The couple visiting was a regional rep for SIM in the California area.  We went through SIM orientation together 9 years ago.  They came to Paraguay to see the various ministries here and share with the team. 

 

The day they arrived, we took them to our house.  We also took another family with us which made 15 of us in our Excursion for the 5 hour drive.  We were snug!  There’s nothing like walking into your house with guests from the US and realizing that your cat had been locked up in the house the past 5 days and the place where she chose to do her “business” was, of all places, on the guests’ bed!  I was very embarrassed, but our guests were gracious and put me at ease.  The weather was pretty cold while they were with us; we drank lots of hot beverages and kept putting on more layers.  For 2 nights, we all slept in the same room to escape the cold – that’s 11 of us in the one room with some insulation. 

 

Despite the cold and the cramped car, they had a great time and we enjoyed visiting with them.  The final night of their stay, they took us out to eat in Asuncion.  Our team mates watched all 7 of the kids....I left Josiah for the very first time (a few tears were shed) which was very sweet since Jeff and I only get to go out on a date once a year.

 

Unfortunately when we arrived home, we realized we’d been broken into again.  This time the kids’ money was taken from their wallets (last time it was the goat, the time before a puppy, the time before that various things were disturbed in our house...you get the picture).  We find ourselves traveling every 6 weeks or so to the capital for car repairs, dentist appointments, meetings, picking up guests, etc. which means we leave our house often.  We’ve fortified our front door, added extra locks to windows and redid our front gate hoping to deter thieves, but living in a typical Paraguayan built house, it can never been fully secure.  This time someone came by removing tiles from the roof!  Please pray for security while we are gone.  Pray also for our attitudes.  It’s hard not to begin suspecting everyone and it’s hard on our kids since it is their things being taken.