Right Here, Right Now

holaaaaa

just a small snippet of what occurred in the past 3 weeks:

Arah left for UCLA! praying for your transition!
see you in December for UCLA dorm food :)

went to a student's dance recital!

two girls balanced 10 bottles on their head...
apparently the world record is 26!

freshly painted- CPC

shopping at the supermarket

Joseph's favorite section: PAN (bread)

our neighbor, Nemi, made a little fort 

he invited me inside but I immediately left
after I found a spider on my arm!

dinner with jovenes
Karen, Amilcar, Ruth

it was SMN's birthday!

hung out with Tito

ate some bomb Japanese food

made some pizza at home!
Ades (pronounced A-des)

our neighbor, Carolina, came over to teach
us how to make tallarin!

Debora & Teo's wedding

with Eva & Edith at the wedding

it was Lea's birthday on the same day!

been helping students practice shapes with art projects

The Very Hungry Caterpillar
La Oruga Muy Hambrienta

practicing parts of the face and colors!

teaching sentimientos (emotions) to my English Club
and random clothes...

finally put up my pictures!
i also started putting up prayer requests next to the
photos so please share if you would like to :)

had dinner with Ruth

only the BEST hamburger in the world
beef patty, ham, cheese, egg, lettuce, tomatoes, and i added corn!

at Escuela Dominical
Sunday School!

i've been helping out with 3rd/4th grade :)

went to a birthday party for Jose
he turned 18- apparently the 18th birthday is a BIG deal

Luis is an amazing cook and made us BORI BORI!
and his son, Luis Fernandez, always always makes that face

the Ytororo team!

have to add a picture of Toby!
it was his 1st birthday this past Saturday :)

Joe, Yoej, and I decided to go to the mall in the city and go bowling!

HAD TO.

Quattro D! best gelato!

there was a HUGE school-wide competition called OLIMPIADA
blanco vs. bordo (white vs. maroon)
BLANCO WON!

As you can see, we've been pretty busy but having lots of fun!

I'm still teaching every morning (7-11:45 AM) and on Tuesdays and Fridays, I have English Club for an hour with 7th-9th graders. There are only 6 students in my club, but I really enjoy it! I always leave with a smile on my face and I usually learn a new word from them, too! It's crazy because I thought this club was going to get canceled because of a lack of interest and busy schedules, but at the last minute, students started to sign-up! Also, I started joining the English professor on Monday afternoons to help with her 7th grade class. 

On the weekends, we get to rest on Saturday or spend time with the Paraguayans! Very thankful that we've had these moments to hang out with them and know them better. Sundays are pretty busy...I go to church around 8 for Escuela Dominical (Sunday School) to help with the 3rd/4th grade class. Then, we have our own service for adults and then grab some lunch! Then around 3, we head over to the church plant in Ytororo for their service. 

Although life has been busy, I want to be able to enjoy the present. During training, CK shared that during her 1.5 year long trip here, she wanted to be "all in". I'm starting to find myself thinking and feeling the same way. In every moment, I wanted to devote all of myself to the ministry and people here in Paraguay. I don't want to be distracted by things back at home or anxious about my future, but I want to be invested and dedicated to the present. I want to focus on what's right here, right now. 

With that said, Joe, Yoej, and I have been feeling a strong sense of urgency knowing that we only have about 2 more months with our students.

If you could continue to pray for us:

• to be faithful everyday as we teach. We all want to be able to love the students, be patient with them,  and share God's love AND truth with them. We want our lasting impression to be about Christ- who He is and what He has done.
• to take advantage of our remaining time here! Please pray that we would be bold and courageous in sharing the gospel with them and just being more intentional and purposeful. 

What's even CRAZIER, is that God has already started answering our prayers! We prayed for these things last night and God has shown us today how He is sovereign, good, and faithful! 

Today, Yoej decided that she wanted to tell the girls in her informal English club that she didn't want it to only be about English or just to hang out but to be a time for them to share with one another. We thought that they wouldn't come because of the cold weather, but they did! Yoej was able to ask them about their faith and even had the opportunity to share a passage with them (Psalm 63)! Very encouraged by them and excited for what's to come!

&

Joe taught his high school class today. He shared with us that his students asked him about what he believes in. He had the opportunity to share about his faith and the class was able to have a discussion about Jesus and who He is. It seems that some students were still unsure of what they believed. After class, a few students came up to Joseph and wanted to pray for him to encourage him! They also talked about how important it is to encourage their fellow classmates to have faith in the only One who saves!

I'm seriously just so amazed by how God continues to work.

HE is SO GOOD!

This week, we're inviting 3 girls to come over to our house to eat some tuna kimbap! I met 2 of them during my previous trip in 2011 and kept in touch through Facebook. Now that I'm here, I want to try meeting with them once a week or every other week just to talk, share, and perhaps disciple them. I have some fears that are holding me back...but I already have so much love for them and want to do my best to be available to them and just simply share life together :) Please pray for me!

and to end with this...

don't judge me.