Testimonies from Virginia team, July 30-August 11, 2010
      Snapfish       Kean (with pictures!)       John          Drew           Lizzie       Albert      John Evert    Jen
- From Drew:
The trip to Paraguay was an eye opening experience for me. I've always heard people talk about how blessed we are to live in the United States and how poor most other countries are, but to actually see the poverty for yourself is very humbling. God has blessed me so richly with many things that I often don't acknowledge such as food and shelter. Some of the people in Paraguay live in small houses with tin roofs and no doors or windows. I can't imagine living in Paraguay during their summer when temperatures are often over one hundred degrees. Here in America we have air conditioning to solve that problem, but the majority of Paraguayans don't have any way to cool their houses down.
This trip has also changed my attitude towards the Spanish language. Before going to Paraguay, I took two years of Spanish and hated every bit of it. However, after experiencing Paraguayan culture and hearing more of the Spanish language, I am enthusiastic about starting my third year of Spanish. I'm hoping to have a better grasp of the language by the time next summer rolls around. I want to return to Paraguay. I miss everyone there and would love to go back.
I was particularly impacted by a young adult named Enrique. Enrique used to be the leader of a gang in Asuncion. Many of the soccer teams in Paraguay each have their own gangs to represent them. The gangs go to watch the games and cheer on their teams. Oftentimes fights will break out among the gangs after the games are over. Enrique’s path to salvation began when he watched the story of Joseph on television one Sunday morning. He was so enraged by Joseph’s brothers and couldn’t figure out how Joseph could forgive them for selling him into slavery. That morning Enrique’s mom happened to ask him to go to church. Curious to hear more of the story, Enrique accepted his mother’s offer. From that day forward Enrique became more and more interested in the Bible. He was eventually saved. It was so amazing to hear stories of Enrique’s life before he was saved, and to see the changes that God has made in him. They are enormous. He is actually a youth worker in the church and Christ is his life.
Please pray that the church in Paraguay will continue to prosper. Also pray that the church won’t be corrupted with Mormon teaching; while in Paraguay, we saw many Mormon missionaries. Thanks again to everyone who contributed to this trip both financially and spiritually through prayer.