What amazing people and places we’ve encountered over the past three weeks! The team building relationships here with Muslims from the Middle East and Asia consists of five nationalities, all from Spanish-speaking countries in the Americas. This was Marco’s third visit here, but for Marjolein, it was wonderful to finally put names and stories to the people she met. The little Spanish Marjolein knows came in handy. It was a bit of a shock to realize that almost the entire team is younger than our own children :-).

The team wanted to explore whether they could expand their work to include various indigenous groups living in the area. So, we spent quite a few days driving around to visit different communities. The first few days were in the vicinity (about a 3-hour drive) of where we were staying.

The following week, we drove to the Chaco, the province where a group of Mennonite families moved from Canada over a hundred years ago. We stayed with a young couple of Mennonite descent. It was easiest for us to speak with them in German, since our Spanish isn’t great yet and their English didn’t really keep the conversation going either. That required a bit of digging into our memories, but it got better every day. After five days and quite a few visits to indigenous villages of various tribes, it was a real shame to drive back. Fortunately, we were able to do that in two stages, because driving straight through for 12 hours is quite a challenge for Marjolein.

During the third week, we spent a few more days with the team doing training in evangelism. It was fun to do and to discover how much great material there is to help us engage in conversation together. Even after so many years of experience, we came away with some fresh ideas.

On the last Sunday of our visit, we were invited to attend the ordination of two new pastors in a church in the capital, Asunción, so on Saturday we spent another five hours in the car and arrived just in time for a fantastic barbecue—they’re good at that here. Everything was delicious, but Marjolein did miss the vegetables, salad, and fruit. They were nowhere to be found. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

Now the process begins for World Team to pray and discover whether and how God wants to use the team in Paraguay to reach out to one or more tribes.