After the relaxed, joyful women’s retreat, my Sunday morning at the German Mennonite church was quite a contrast! Everyone was polite, but the faces were very serious—even when the young band started playing. I thought, Great, some lively music! But nobody sang, clapped or even moved. Two young girls three pews ahead gave a tiny…
I arrived at the Brilla Women’s Retreat with an open mind and almost no knowledge of religion or the Bible. It simply wasn’t a path I had ever wandered down. But sometimes the paths we least expect can leave the deepest impression. I couldn’t understand most of the words during the singing, but I didn’t…
We have six adorable little lambs, but one little male gave us quite a scare this week. While Alan was feeding them Sunday night, the enthusiastic little fellow managed to swallow the large rubber teat from the bottle! By Monday afternoon, he was clearly in distress — throwing himself down, rolling and sitting, obviously very…
Alan is a 15-year-old Paraguayan boy whose early life was marked by severe neglect. Raised by a single mother alongside his older sister (then about four years old), he was locked away from a very young age. Rescued at around 18 months old, he and his sister had been left for days or even a…
He disappeared for a couple of months and everyone thought he’d run away. Then I found him happily chomping on a nopal leaf like nothing had happened. Apparently, he hadn’t run away at all… No panic. No explanation. Just turtle business as usual.
Once, the Enlhet, Nivaclé, Guaraní Occidental and Ayoreo depended heavily on the land — hunting, gathering, growing food and following the seasons. Today, most live in urban or peri-urban communities and depend on wages from agriculture, construction, domestic work and other jobs. The forest was once their supermarket. Now they need money to shop in…
Bianca a very talented Paraguayan international singer proudly performs in her local Indigenous dialect, sharing the language, culture and spirit of Paraguay with audiences around the world. Her work has even earned her recognition for promoting Paraguay internationally. But perhaps the most beautiful part of Bianca’s story happens away from the stage. She collects donated…
There are four main Indigenous tribes associated with Filadelfia — the Enlhet, Nivaclé, Guaraní Occidental and Ayoreo — each with their own language, history, traditions and relationship with the Chaco. The Enlhet — the original locals The Enlhet are the traditional people of the central Chaco around what is now Filadelfia. They were here long…
Yesterday Marilyn took Jy and me on a tour of the four Indigenous communities around Filadelfia. I thought we were going to learn about cultures, traditions and ways of life. Instead, I apparently signed up for a little spiritual enlightenment as well. Jy is about 35, from South Korea, and is a Yogi. Like most…
Before I came to Paraguay, I told several friends that I was going to stay with the Mennonites. Their response? “Well, don’t be surprised if you come home as the 63rd wife of a Mennonite!” Apparently they had a very interesting idea of Mennonite culture. I have now done my research and, sadly, I have…