|
|
Paraguay Diary 2005
UK Time: Wednesday 20th July 2005 0:12 am
Paraguay Time: Tuesday 19th July 2005 19:12 pm
|
|
Job progressing much better. Columns now being cast, walls will begin later in week. Also been doing some work in community. Architect a nice chap, says he has been worrying about the job. Hope I haven't been on his back too much. Children's afternoon went well yesterday and another this afternoon and tomorrow. Medical day Mon. Phil and Helen, a Doctor in the Irish group, saw 72 people. Large majority children with worms.
Calendar sent is still correct for next week. Going to Chaco again on Sat. 30th and will be visiting Yatnatta. Will be accompanying Paul Harcourt, vicar from Woodford Wells, somewhere near London. Apparently big church, 3 from there will be travelling out with you. They were at Walsall when you went. Back on Mon 1st. Wed 3rd in meetings with Bishop and various others and in pm will be going to San Lorenzo to see situation for the work there next yr.
Please tell group from Burscough / Skemelersdale that change in arrangements for visit to Yatnatta. There will only be the 9 of us going. There is a big service there on the Sunday, 25th Anniversary of the community there, also a thanksgiving service for Paster Pancho who died recently. They want us to put a roof up for his family at Yatnalla - similar to what Ken and I did last yr. So I will see it on 30th when I go, and make arrangements for the locals to cut wood necessary. Please ask Derek and Ken will they help me with this. Tell group that there is no problem with transport into Asuncion from Z Cue, they can go as often as they want in evening and taxi back is approx £3.
Have got photos on CD and Sam and Rupert have agreed to send some to you. Hope you can open them. Tonight the group from Z Cue have been asked for supper to Bishops house.
Will try to ring in next couple of days. |
|
UK Time: Saturday 23rd July 2005 22:21 pm
Paraguay Time: Saturday 23rd July 2005 17:21 pm
|
|
Now 5pm Sat and back in Asuncion.
15th August is national Children's day so I think that there will be all sorts arranged at the church in Z Cue. The three afternoons arranged for children this week by the Irish group went down very well.
When we were working in some of houses in community some of the women went and enjoyed just being with locals, took knitting and other crafts. Phil is now in Concepcion. Thursday and Friday I was at Z cue all day, the work is progressing slowly but the Architect assured me earlier today that all would be finished by end August. On Thursday when I was going to look at the work we finished where the home had burnt down, a woman stopped me at a house and asked could we help. She lives in one room made of timber, plastic sheets and a corrugated roof. When it rains the rain runs off roof down walls and floods the earth floor - where do you start? Yesterday took 2 others and dug a trench along side of house to channel rainwater away. Fortunately the house is along a tributary of main Rio Paraguay so the water could be channelled there. Should solve problem but only real solution is a new house. She told me she had lived there 10 years and makes living by selling little bags of herbs. She has an external bathroom - corrugated sheets and plastic bags to 4ft high and a few corrugated sheets for roof. At least she has electric and piped water so has a primitive shower, which runs onto earth floor - probably creates mud when in use. Toilet is a wc pan washed down with bucket of water down pipe which empties into river. River full of terrible rubbish. Many homes like this but amongst them you find a few fairly affluent (by comparison) houses. Woman gave me an orange and a small yogurt pot cup of coffee when I had finished.
Last night we were all invited to the Architect Jose's home for a BBQ. All his brothers and families were there. They put on a lovely spread. He gave speech expressing gratitude that we were there he was nearly crying. We went there in a bus that Alberto arranged, cost £10 pounds for hire of the bus there and back, and to wait for us there, we didn't get back to Z cue until 1am.
Going out with Sam and Rupert for a meal then back to Z Cue for night. Farewell church service tomorrow at 9am then pack up and back to cathedral at approx. 5pm, sort out their luggage (Irish group) and passports etc, meet up with the other group from Concepcion, have meal together then coach to Iguazu.
David |
|
|
UK Time: Tuesday 2nd August 2005 13:17 pm
Paraguay Time: Tuesday 2nd August 2005 8:17 am
|
|
Arrived back from the Chaco today. very hot, sticky with flies, but good to go to Yatnatta and see some of the Indians we met last year. Been with Paul Harcourt - a vicar from London, his church about 6oo people. He is on sabbatical (mainly in USA) looking at ways of increasing his congregation.. He is coming to Zebellos Cue tomorrow, so hope to have good chat with him.
Left Chaco 6pm last night with intention of arriving Asuncion about 10pm but after about 30 km the headlights packed in - pitch black no lights. We had to drive with Chris Hawksby hanging out of the window with my torch shining on the road. At one place we stopped and a giant ant eater walked across road about 10ft in front of us - picked up in light of torch - great - very rare. Eventually got to a garage, had a meal - rough but Phil says the best place to eat in Chaco, don’t know what worst is like! Thought that we would have to sleep in our vehicle but the garage had a room for us to use. 3 or us in 1 room - had about 3 hrs sleep. Dogs barking outside door all night. Left at 6am to get back to Asuncion.
David |
|
|
UK Time: Monday 8th August 2005 19:39 pm
Paraguay Time: Monday 8th August 2005 14:39 pm
|
|
Postcard from Paraguay
Sun, Cement, Sand & Water - this is Paraguay!
Arrived safely in Asuncion on 4th August after 11 hours of the Varig ´red eye´ flight from Heathrow to Sao Paulo, the wait in the airport lounge and the relatively short hop of 2 hours from Sao Paulo to Asuncion.
After the usual passenger and luggage checks, we were overjoyed to see David, Phil, Bishop John & Judie waiting for us with a real WELCOME (it was an especially precious moment for Jean after 6 weeks away from David! More of that later!!)
We were then taken to the cathedral for the usual functions of passport and finance and we were also reunited with Hannah (Sayle), Judith, Sergio and Neil (Brice) who we were with in the Chaco last year. Fantastic to see them all - was it really a year since we bid them farewell? How time flies! Lunch had been prepared for us which was much appreciated after the Varig ´food´. After a couple of hours we said goodbye to those going to the Chaco and shortly afterwards set off for Zebellos Cue.
What of Z.Cue? It must be said that it is pretty much 5 star luzury when compared to the Chaco! We have 24 hour electricity, a fridge, a flushable loo and less dust. Downside is that there is 1 loo and 1 shower - a slight challenge for 13 people especially in the morning.
At this point there needs to be mention of the weather, a mere 37 degrees C, and this is winter. On a more serious note we have learnt that there is a hugh water shortage out in the Chaco and that the alijebes are dry. This has led to the Indians drinking from swamps which in turn has resulted in sever diorrohea and people dying. In Asuncion, water appears to be in supply, we have even seen them watering the little football pitch near the church. What a country of contrasts it is! We were shown the site of the building work on Thursday and work began on Friday 5th August. It was hot heavy work and not helped by mosquitoes and the usual South American approach to work!
David has done an excellent job out here but even he, despite his skills and knowledge, can´t turn around the cultural norms of the Paraguayans! Work practices and medieval health and safefy policies still exist (was there really a 10 foot hole in the middle of the site with no fence around it!) Despite the problems David has encountered with the project, it is now well on its way - the vision is very much a reality.
We joined Pastor Alberto and members of the church for a prayer meeting on Friday evening. Saturday 6th saw us working again in the morning. In the afternoon a number of us decided to take David´s advice to get a No.23 bus to the centre. They all go to the city centre says Mr. Orritt - huh! after 1 hour and 20 minutes tour of the suburbs of Asuncion, we at last doubted the word of our esteemed leader! Still, we got a brilliant tour for 20p each! Having survived our bus tour and reunited with the rest of the team in the evening we went for a fantastic meal in one of Asuncions fantastic restaurants. Sitting eating good food in pleasant surroundings does seem a stark contrast to Z.Cue with its mixture dwellings in the shanty style, rutted streets with open sewers, chickens, cows, dogs, and the odd horse not to mention the vast refuse problem and certain noxious aromas.
Sunday 7th August - Cold - jumpers and coats needed! Joined the local community for a 9am church service. Lovely building, well maintained and excellent music. We were asked to sing a few hymns in English which we did but we really cannot compete with the sheer vibrance and rhythmn of the music here. What a testimony to the faith of the followers here. During the word given by Chris Hawksby (one of the missionary´s here), he made mention to sand, cement and water. Sand being us, dry cement being the word of God and water being the Holy Spirit which binds it altogether. How appropriate - we may be physically mixing concrete for a building, but the ´concrete´ God is laying for us all here is what matters.
Sunday being the day of rest we enjoyed a quiet restful afternoon followed by the Youth service at the Spanish speaking church near the cathedral in the evening. Great to see so many teenagers getting involved. After the service - here we have to confess another bite to eat and a glass of wine!
P.S. Remember the reunion of David & Jean. Well it must be said that they enjoyed a romatic evening for 2 in Asuncion, but to David´s disappointment Jean was so tired after her journey that she fell asleep!
Sheila Martland |
|
UK Time: Thursday 11th August 2005 0:47 am
Paraguay Time: Wednesday 10th August 2005 19:47 pm
|
|
Postcard from Paraguay
Monday, 8th August
Should have been an early start today but for most of us (me included) it wasn´t. We got down to the building site at about 8 am. David "Health & Safety" Orritt also known as "sprig bit" stood in a big hole while we all chucked soil on him. Not a very good example. Later on Ken, Sue, Laurie and Sheila went off to the house of a family in the community to sort out a flooding problem they had in their bedroom room (sewage coming up through the floor). The rest of us stayed behind to lug some concrete about and got really shattered. But although it has been really tiring work I´ve loved every minute of it. The builders here are really friendly and I´m starting to be able to communicate with then a bit more. Everyone we meet has a huge smile on their face which is surprising considering they have so little, but nevertheless it makes for a great place to be in. It was the same in Eqypt, the people have barely anything but were happy, yet in the West we´re never content. I´m starting to think that we have too much back home for our own good.
After a good feed we finished the day with some prayer, a devotion and worship around the dinner table. This was a great time to recharge and think about what I´m doing here in Paraguay, and I´m glad to say we´re going to continue doing this every night. I think thats everything for now. Sorry this isn´t as long as Shelia´s book she wrote the other day!
Tuesday, 9th August
I´m sitting here writing this at about 10 pm in the evening but it feels like midnight at least. I´m pretty shattered and even fell asleep in the lunch break today! No-one else seems that tired though which is pretty shameful considering I´m the youngest here by at least one generation in most cases! Last night me, Derek, Laurie and Ken were entertained by poor Brian trying to get into his sleeping bag. It was such a pityful attempt that Derek had to get out of bed and zip him in! Then I had to endure the snoring of all four of them which sugests why I´m so tired! We did some more concrete lugging while Ken and Co. finished off the work in the home down the road (successfully). I´m glad to say that most of the concreting is finished now (I hate concrete) and tomorrow a few of us are going to do some work in another house in the community. Had some more discussion and worship around the table after dinner folled by Ken´s "Joke for the Day". Anyway I´m off to bed to see if I can get to sleep before the others start snoring.
Tom Petty
|
|
UK Time: Tuesday 16th August 2005 23:18 pm
Paraguay Time: Tuesday 16th August 2005 18:18 pm
|
|
Return to the Chaco Friday, 12th August
Everyone is looking forward to visiting the Chaco, those who have been before to see the people we met last year and those who didn´t because of the stories they have heard. After a long 5 hour coach trip, which is not quite Holmeswood, we arrive in darkness at Rio Verde. It is just like coming home for David, Shelia, Ken, Brian and myself. Even though the cafe staff had changed at the garage, the food and the service are just the same - Empandas (pasties) and cafe con lecha are consumed and then off to the Anglican compound to find a bunk bed for the night.
Saturday - After breakfast we split up - Sue & Laurie from Aldridge, Toni from Cheltenham with Jenny & Fay from St. Johns go off to Maklawhya to see a previous project. David, Jean, Tom, Ken & Osvaldo go to Karanda to see the other project. Shelia and myself get to do some fencing around the compound to keep the cows out. We are having to drink plenty of water as the weather is very hot and dusty. There is a water shortage out here in the Chaco - no piped water here so we brought bottled water. In the afternoon David, Ken and myself constructed a roof in readiness to form a new family home.
Sunday - Time to visit the Yatnatta community where we worked last year so off down the Trans Chaco highway, down a dirt track, and after about a mile the church comes into view. It has got a nice white fence around it and there are lots of people there in brightly coloured clothes. We meet Juan & Roberto who we worked with last year and Pastor Elvio plus lots of children. After they get the generator going, the music starts in a packed church - 3 keyboards which is a surprise to us, drums and other instruments with children singing at the top of their voices. There must have been 200 in the church and 100 outside looking in through the open windows and doors. The women sit on the right and the men on the left. After a long sermon by Bishop John, we take communion administered by 3 of the local congregation. We made our presentation of Mary´s wall hanging during the service, linking St.John´s with Sombrero Piri. David thanked the people for their welcome of us and prayed that God would continue to work in their community.
During the service Brian took the children to play football which he loves doing. The rest of us mix with the locals giving out some toys to the children. We wish we had brought more but we couldn´t carry much on public transport. The music played mainly by the young people is still going to in church but we have to leave for our 5 hour coach drive back to Ascuncion. It has been a great visit, well worth the effort. We are all tired but happy.
Love and kisses to everyone in Burscough.
Derek Huyton |
|
UK Time: Tuesday 16th August 2005 23:36 pm
Paraguay Time: Tuesday 16th August 2005 18:36 pm
|
|
Children´s Day Monday, 15th August
Children´s Day is a Paraguayan tradition. It is a public holiday when work stops and schools are closed. Events are organised focussing on children who are given presents on the day.
It was no different here in Zeballos Cue, our temporary home over the last few weeks. So far, we have not seen much of the children for a very good reason. Regular attendance at school, admittedly based on a shift system, is the norm here and it shows in the brightness, altertness and motivation of the children. Some, for instance, use a limited vocabulary of English with real confidence. There seems little doubt this developing country is on the move. It may be locked in a time warp equivalent to the inter-war years in the UK but genuine progress is being made.
The activities organised here proved to be a wonderful experience enjoyed by over 150 children from the local area. The main focus was provided by a team from St. Andrew´s School in Asuncion led by Samantha Parsons. They organised a toy fair in the church giving the children badly needed experience in a variety of play situations. They were able to use a variety of dressing up costumes we had been able to buy with your support. Spider Man and Tigger the Tiger were sights to behold and some of the girls looked absolute knock outs in their dressing up outfits. It is not difficult to fall in love with these children on first sight, big brown eyes and lustrous black hair.
The Toy Fair was complemented by an art and painting group to which our members made a significant contribution and we were able to put to good use the parachutes bought with funds raised by local schools. The event was concluded with every child being given a gift derived either from what we had brought out or paid for with contributions we had collected. Almost as an afterthought, some impromptu games of 5-a-side football was played - toddlers, 12-14 boys and girls - given an authenticity by the wearing of shirts donated by a number of local clubs. All the games were characterised by enjoyment and enthusiasm and no little skill. Some of the older boys passing and dribbling was stunning, all performed in bare feet on a small fenced pitch. 3 lookalike Maradonnas were spotted, small, squat, almost fat but with the touch of a feather on the ball. The tournament we are organising this Saturday with medals, prizes and a cup to be awarded could prove to be quite something.
And, in the meantime, back to the building!
Brian Donnelly |
|
UK Time: Saturday 20th August 2005 20:51 pm
Paraguay Time: Saturday 20th August 2005 15:51 pm
|
|
I may not be a celebrity but get me out of here!
Thursday, 18th August 2005
Only joking folks!! I am well and truly settled in now and Paraguay is beginning to feel like my second home. I must admit that it did take me a few days to become accustomed to 13 of us sharing one bathroom and loo - felt like as St. John´s take on "Big Brother" - wonder who will be evicted first?
Fay and I have teemed up to do some of the cooking duties which we both enjoy - I love meeting the locals in our nearest supermercado - they are so friendly and helpful, the language barrier (or my lack of it) doesn´t matter at all - smiling and gesticulating is all that is needed for communication.
The project is going pretty well on the whole, David seems to have had the usual problems of late deliveries e.g. Paraguay builders merchant time doesn´t not come up to Firwood delivery time nevertheless, lots of work on the new church facilities has been completed. The builders are a lovely bunch of lads and there is plenty of fun and banter which all makes for good teamwork.
Yesterday was my best building day. I got up early (well 7.15 am take note Mr. Flower Style Laurie) and was down on site by 7.45 am shovelling barrow loads of rubble for the new floors, I then went on the roof to catch loads of bricks being thrown up and stack them. I was only allowed on the roof because David was in Ascuncion. Had a shower at 5 pm before getting the local bus into Ascucion and heading for the nearest Cyber cafe. Met up with Fay, Toni and Brian for all you can eat and drink for five pounds at my favourite restaurant. Fell into my top bunk at 11.45 pm - ahh! - what a treat.
Thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the Chaco where our team from St.John´s helped build a church for the indegious Indian people last year. We all stayed at Rio Verde which is nearby. Life in the Chaco is very basic but we were given a tremendous welcome by the local people which consisted of a long church service which included HOly Communion. Lots of smiling, handshaking and coming and going of the local people all interspersed by some amazing music performed by some proficient muscians - wow! Afterwards the locals gave us lunch which, I have to say, I managed to share with the local dogs (all of which are very skinny) when no-one was looking.
All this and a magical bird safari when some of us were lucky enough to visit Makelathwya - a remote village where the first ever church was built in 1906 - lovely memories.
I am looking forward to tomorrow when some of us are going to help a local family improve their living accommodation which is really dire - earth floor, plastic/rusty tinned walls and roof - hopefully we will have enough money in the kitty to provide bricks and new tin to construct new walls and a new roof.
For me, that is what my faith is about really, just meeting with the people and doing what I am able to do to meet their needs - ´nuff said.
Footnote - special love to Lu and Bob - miss you lots and counting the days xxx
Really looking forward to seeing all my friends and church family on Sunday, 4th September.
Love to all,
Jenny Rushton |
|
UK Time: Saturday 20th August 2005 21:01 pm
Paraguay Time: Saturday 20th August 2005 16:01 pm
|
|
Thursday, 18th August 2005
Los Regalos - Distribution of gifts - Christian Stockings
Distributed gifts from All-Stars to local children - proved to be a great success if a little hectic, as children and mothers streamed in from all corners since the word got around. Started with some children we knew particularly well and it was a delight to see the joy on their faces when they saw the contents of the bags. Not surprisingly, the queue of eager faces of the small room which, for us, doubled up as a lunch time dining room, grew rapidly. Shelia was having to work overtime with her Polaroid camera to take photographs for the children to put on their reply cards and, at one point, there was so much happening, it was difficult to keep control of events. But "Father Christmas" enjoyed himself thoroughly and there is no doubt that the event brought pleasure to the local children. They had their photographs taken, did their best with their reply cards, and were really interested in the cards and photographs from our children. We hope the advice to "love thy neighbour" will have taken on a whole new meaning to all concerned. We are constantly surrounded by warmth and friendliness, smiles and happiness making such an effort worthwhile. There are also surprises, three full grown cows have just taken a stroll down the unfenced road outside of our accommodation. All part of the rich tapestry of experience to be found here.
Brian Donnelly |
|
UK Time: Sunday 4th September 2005 1:31 am
Paraguay Time: Saturday 3rd September 2005 20:31 pm
|
|
Final diary entry from Paraguay 2005
Returning home after 10½ weeks in Paraguay I would like to share a few of my memories.
For two weeks I worked with Jackie a retired electrician who was part of the group from Northern Ireland who were at Zeballos Cue in July. Many of the homes of the poorer people near the church had dangerous electrical wiring. It was often a DIY job, they could not afford anything else and sometimes they connected cables directly to the live overhead power lines. Soon after our arrival, one home was destroyed by fire caused by faulty wiring. Jackie agreed to provide safe installations in some of these homes but quickly expressed his concern that the Regulations he was used to were not being followed. There were no Regulations. He quickly devised a method of installing safe wiring. He said to me ‘I wish God had called me here when I retired 6 years ago.’ During his time in Paraguay Jackie was able to provide safe electrical wiring in 5 local houses.
Soon after I arrived in Paraguay I visited La Patria, a community located in the Chaco about 120km from the nearest road. I was greeted by smiling faces and handshakes. A large proportion of the population was children. I saw twin girls of about three years. It is unusual that twins survive in the inhospitable conditions in the Chaco where I am told that life expectancy is about 45 years. They had had twin brothers who didn’t survive. I met their father who was the local pastor. In similar vein to other young pastors in the Chaco who we met last year, he was a man of vision. He was encouraging his community to grow their own produce such as sweet potatoes and mandioca (a root vegetable). I saw a young boy of about 3 years. His mother looked to be about 16 years old. He had a bad skin disease resulting in pus running down from open sores around his ears. It is hoped that a church building will be built at La Patria in summer 2006. This will provide a necessary focus for community development. Please pray for the community of La Patria and for the planning of the new church building.
One family near the church at Zeballos Cue was given some of the old corrugated roofing sheets which were removed from a building we demolished to make way for the new building to be erected behind the church. Using these they had erected a roof for a much-needed extension to their small home. The extension walls were of polythene sheets. Ken from Skelmersdale led a team who erected new walls of timber. The husband of one of the two families who lived there helped him. He told Ken: ‘We will never forget what you have done for us’.
After a weekend visit to the Chaco with Chris Hawksbee, an associate missionary and Phil Grainger, the Project Paraguay leader we set out as night was falling, to drive the 450km back to Asuncion. After about an hour the lights on the vehicle failed – there is no road lighting in the Chaco, it is pitch black. We drove about another 30km guided by Chris holding a torch from the car window before we found a garage. During the journey a giant anteater crossed in front of us. If we had been travelling at normal speed we would have hit it. Luckily the garage had some accommodation so we shared a room but slept little owing to barking dogs outside the door and other noisy, unknown, wild creatures of the night. After about 4 hours sleep we got an early start for our return to Asuncion.
One of the projects was at Karanda in the Chaco where there is a desperate shortage of water. The Indigenous Indian people have no piped water and the stored rainwater in Aljibes having run out they were forced to drink the unwholesome, discoloured water from the local open reservoir of sorts. Despite this, they retained the contents of one aljibe for use by the team from the UK working on the project and insisted that they use it for washing purposes. The team had bottled water for drinking. Please pray for an end to the serious drought situation in the Chaco.
As was expected, Brian did a brilliant job working with the children at Zeballos Cue. His reputation from last year must have gone before him because, prior to his arrival, the small football ground near the church was well watered and turf removed for the building work was used to patch up the holes in the pitch. It was great to see how the parachute, dressing up clothes, toys and craft activities delighted the local children who normally have little of this nature to stimulate them. Caroline and Samantha who are associate missionaries with SAMS were delighted with the educational toys and other items donated by St. Johns and they will be well used in the toy library which they take to some of the poorest areas of the country. Please pray for them and the student teachers from FEISA (Formaãion en Educaãion Initial San Andreas) who are involved in this work. Please also pray for Samantha and Marie Brice as they plan for the training of Sunday School teachers in the Chaco. You can find out more about the work of FEISA on the SAMS web site.
Adequate drainage systems are non-existent in Zeballos Cue and effluent usually empties into the street. One of the homes near the church was at a lower level than the street and the effluent was oozing up through the earth/ partially tiled bedroom floor. It was so bad that when it rained it flooded the room and had to be bucketed out. The family had very little but when we provided them with a new drain they insisted that they bake cakes for us and brought them to our accommodation. This family took in washing to provide an income. One benefit of us working in local homes was that it often motivated the families to continue with some basic home improvements after we had finished.
Rubbish, particularly plastic bags, is everywhere in Zeballos Cue. The local stream is choked and there are piles of rubbish along some roads. On occasions I saw people picking through the rubbish to retrieve cardboard and bottles to sell for recycling.
In Zeballos Cue male unemployment is about 80%. It is high throughout the whole of Asuncion yet despite this there are few beggars. People scratch a living by a variety of means such as selling sweets or fruit on buses, cleaning the windscreens of stationary cars at traffic lights or singing or playing a musical instrument on a bus. Families tend to support one another with the money from those in employment. Of the few beggars I saw, two stay in my memory. The first a disabled girl of about 12 years being wheeled by her mother? between rows of stationary traffic to beg at car windows. The second was when I was looking out of a bus window to see a barefooted girl of about 5 years dressed in rags begging at car windows.
Working with the builders on the main project at the church was an education in 1920's UK building methods. It was frustrating on occasions, we seemed to dig holes, to then fill them in only to re-excavate a couple of days later but the highlight for us all occurred on our last working day. After some preliminary work, at 10am we began to concrete the roof of the new building. No ready-mix here, it was all by hand. Silvio and his team of 5 builders, members of the local community, Pastor Alberto and his family, even the Architect (for a short while) and ourselves formed a human chain to move approx. 35 tonnes of sand, cement and gravel up a timber scaffold to be mixed by two small concrete mixers tied by rope to the top of the scaffold. We finished the job at 10.40pm. It was a real community effort. The building will be finished in about one month. Please pray that it will be fully used to benefit the community of Zeballos Cue.
Services in the Church and the youth service on Sunday evenings at the ‘Spanish Church’ which is part of the Anglican Cathedral complex in Asuncion were very special. Wonderful worship times. Many of the songs we sing at St. Johns were sung in Spanish. On Friday evenings most of us attended the prayer meeting at Zeballos Cue and it was a privilege to be part of a group praying in Spanish, Guarani and English. It just emphasises that we are all one in Christ Jesus. Please pray for our Christian brothers and sisters at Zeballos Cue and for the work of Pastor Alberto.
One of the electrical installation jobs which Jackie completed was at a home in one of the poorest parts of Zeballos Cue where about 8 people from various generations of a family lived. Rocio, her husband and one year old daughter Belén were part of the family. A few months before we arrived in Paraguay a team from another English church had begun to build them their own small home. Fortunately we had sufficient funds to complete the house for them. It consisted of a single room about 8 feet square and a lean-to toilet / shower area. The toilet pan was washed down using a bucket of water to a pipe which emptied into a constantly running open drain passing a few yards from the house. The drain entered a tributary of the Rio Paraguay which was about 50 metres behind their home. In common with other waterways it was lined with rubbish. Rocio was so grateful to us that she wrote me a letter thanking us for ‘enabling me to fulfil my dream of having my own home’. Rocio’s husband had only casual work and wages are very low. There is no such thing as state handouts for the unemployed, sick or disabled in Paraguay. The builders who worked on the Church project earned between £3.50 and £5.50 per day depending upon their skill level. Please pray for Rocio and her family and for all those families in whose homes we were privileged to work this summer.
David Orritt
|
|
UK Time: Monday 5th September 2005 22:57 pm
Paraguay Time: Monday 5th September 2005 17:57 pm
|
|
|
|
UK Time: Monday 5th September 2005 23:03 pm
Paraguay Time: Monday 5th September 2005 18:03 pm
|
|
Concreting the roof of the building on our last full working day.
|
|
UK Time: Monday 5th September 2005 23:11 pm
Paraguay Time: Monday 5th September 2005 18:11 pm
|
|
Work in the community - a new home for Rocio and her family.
|
|
UK Time: Monday 5th September 2005 23:14 pm
Paraguay Time: Monday 5th September 2005 18:14 pm
|
|
Work in the community - new walls for a home.
|
|
UK Time: Monday 5th September 2005 23:22 pm
Paraguay Time: Monday 5th September 2005 18:22 pm
|
|
Work in the community - the home were we installed drains to overcome problems of effluent rising up through the bedroom floor.
|
|
UK Time: Monday 5th September 2005 23:26 pm
Paraguay Time: Monday 5th September 2005 18:26 pm
|
|
|
|
UK Time: Monday 5th September 2005 23:32 pm
Paraguay Time: Monday 5th September 2005 18:32 pm
|
|
Other homes we worked in.
|
|
UK Time: Monday 5th September 2005 23:38 pm
Paraguay Time: Monday 5th September 2005 18:38 pm
|
|
Jenny at work!
Brian at work!
|
|
UK Time: Monday 5th September 2005 23:42 pm
Paraguay Time: Monday 5th September 2005 18:42 pm
|
|
A roof for a new home for an indigenous Indian family in the Chaco.
|
|
UK Time: Monday 5th September 2005 23:54 pm
Paraguay Time: Monday 5th September 2005 18:54 pm
|
|
Relaxation time
Evening meal together
|
|
UK Time: Tuesday 6th September 2005 0:00 am
Paraguay Time: Monday 5th September 2005 19:00 pm
|
|
Thank you to everyone who has supported the work in Paraguay this year. Your prayers and other contributions were greatly valued.
If you would like any further information about St. John's work in South America please email David Orritt via: office@stjohns-burscough.org.
|
|
Back to the Paraguay welcome page
............... .................................... ................. ...................... ...................................... .................
|
Top