A Day I lived in 2 Worlds in Paraguay

To those who read this remember that this is really a part of my journal so these are lessons I am learning & feelings I am having :)

Today I felt like I lived in 2 different worlds in Paraguay. It was our “Team Day” where we go as a team to relax & bond & enjoy a day together before we all start working very long days together. We traveled   on a bus for about an hour & a half going out to the more “county” area & went to a very nice hotel/resort for the afternoon. The type with small groups of 4 rooms & each has a little patio.There was also a nice pool area. It wasa cute little boutique type resort.  We had a great lunch there & then about 3 hours to relax at the pool. For just a moment I was thinking this would be a nice place to be for the week instead of where we were staying but I reminded myself that I am not here for vacation & can vacation whenever I choose J Because of the travel by the time we got back it was 6 pm.

I had gotten some communication from the President of the LDS Asuncion Mission who I had emailed that they could meet me today at 2 or 8 pm – with the team day I arranged to meet them at 8 pm. About 7:45 the front desk called that I had someone in the lobby so I went down to see Sis. Wilson the missions Presidents wife & 2 missionaries Elder Howard from Wyoming & Elder Poulson from Washington-both of whom spoke English - YAY!!! Despite having some email communication (which was a bit challenging in translation) I wasn’t sure what the plan was & they told me we were going to the Mission office – sounded fine to me! When we got to the van there were 3 girls in the car – Camilla who was 17 & is the mission president’s daughter & Erica who was 16 & Abigail who was 14. My assumption at that time was that these were just 3 cute girls who were friends. We talked on the 30 min drive to the mission office – in my broken Spanish & with the missionaries translating as needed. I told them about Op smile & showed them pics from screening. I asked them about their school & friends etc.

When we got to the Mission office there were 2 women & another young girl there – the DeSanto family with a grandma, Monica the mom & her 2 older daughters (Erica & Abigail) who had been in the car with me & then her younger daughter Julissa. When I emailed that I would be in the area & had friends that would like to help people in this are the mission president fairly quickly emailed me back about this family that he said had a housing need. I initially thought…I emailed back that I didn’t know that I would have the resources to help with housing but maybe other needs. Now here they were & I wasn’t sure what the plan was. The mission president and missionaries started sharing their story with me as we all sat in the office.

There is not a dad in the family & hasn’t been for some time, they have a son/brother who is in jail. Monica the mom supports the 5 of them by cleaning houses & makes about $10-15/day. They had been living in a rented apartment that the landlord still stored things in so they really had no privacy. Here financial challenges are understood & most landlords are relaxed if people fall behind on rent. IN this situation the landlord was not so kind & with a variety of other things going on he evicted them almost 2 months ago. They have since that time asked several other friends/families to store some of their belongings & are living in another families back yard on basically a cement slab with a leaky metal lean to roof that the missionaries put over it. (of course my mind had 1000 questions…aren’t there other places for them to stay, other people to take them in, wouldn’t it be better if they slept at the church etc – none of which I asked as clearly I trusted that they were doing all they could to help this family with the means they had available)

The elders told me that they have been looking for housing fro them & think they can find them a place for $150-$200/month which they could afford but you have to have a 1 month deposit as well & that makes it hard to get into a place. It was then I realized I could help them with housing after all.

I got quite emotional as I explained that some very kind & generous people in my congregation had given me money to use to help others here in Paraguay & we would love to help them get back into a place to live. As I have done in the past I told them this gift is not from me it comes from many  people & I am simply the person who gets to deliver it & what a blessing that is to me & how grateful I was to meet them. They had not idea that this was happening (I don’t know what the mission president told them when he picked them up that night & brought them to the mission office? So they were a little stunned when we started talking & the mom & grandma got a bit emotional too.

The mission president then said – “I want you all to know there are no coincidences. As a mission we have been praying for the De Santos – God knows when we need help & he knows how to answer prayers & this is a manifestation of just that”. I knew what he said was true….I would have never thought this was how I could use the money I had to help someone but that is how it worked out because it wasn’t about me & my plan it was about Gods plan.

The missionaries & mission president said they would help them with the finances of their needs. He also told me that $20 would pretty much cover a week of food for this family & the girls needed school uniforms as school just started in Feb & said anything I could help with would be enough. I had American cash & some Paraguay $$$ & was able to give them what I think will be enough for a deposit & 3- 4 months rent but I felt so compelled to help more so I had the missionaries take me to an ATM & got money for food & uniforms too. Before leaving I told them that we are all Gods children no matter where we live & we are all brothers & sisters & there were people who didn’t know them but who are kind & generous & want to lift and help them. That truly we are just trying to follow the example to the Savior and serve and love one another & that once things are better in their life all we would ask is that they too help someone else & Monica said yes the circle of love will continue.  We took a few photos (that I posted on Instagram & FB) & then hugged & parted ways – the mission president taking home the De Santos & the missionaries & Sis Wilson & Camilla driving me back to the hotel.

On the drive back I did ask a few of those questions in my head…some of which I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear the answers to. I expected that many families here live in humble circumstances but were there many situations like this – the missionaries said no – while there are many who struggle this family was in the worst situation he had seen in the 18 months he had been here & despite all the efforts & resources  of the congregation/ward they could not get them to a better place than what they were in. They also said the amount of money I gave them most people here would never have all at once (while in the states at a minimum wage job people could get in a few weeks).  I asked if they could get hep with food from the church food warehouse & they did say they could get that. I asked if they would be able to move forward & be okay of would they be in a similar situation in a few months & they said that truly they just needed this “jump start” & would be okay.

We got back to the hotel & I thanked the missionaries for coming to get me & helping this night to happen & hugged Sis Wilson & Camilla good bye. The missionaries took my email & said they would update me. I walked to my room & thought about it I was a bit overcome….was part of the reason I was here was that I was sent here to “jump start” people I never met, that thru the generosity of people in California this family of 5 women/girls would now have a place to live, that many people who had been praying & a mission president who got an email aligned us for a “miracle” in both of our lives. There are no coincidences….

How humbled I am when I think of the meager ways people live. Earlier today I wanted a nicer hotel room with a softer bed/pillow & a deluxe bathroom & cable TV….while this sweet family has been living on a patio with a make shift leaky roof in a rainy season in this country…perspective certainly changes when your eyes are opened to ALL that you have & all you the ways you can serve others. I am a different & better person after today & grateful to be a conduit for the goodness of others in ways I would never have imagined.

Tomorrow was to be ½ day for patient announcements & a prep & set up day & then free time with full surgery days Tues-Sat. But earlier today Kim the PC asked if I would mind going in as another mission day. She needed one recovery room nurse in order to get more cases done & she asked a few of us from all specialties if we would go in this one day early  & we will start 1-2 surgical tables & do 10 extra cases. ABSOLUTELY was my answer – I don’t need “free time” I came to serve/work and the more kids we can help the better. So for me it will be 6 days of surgery & I am okay with that J So now its midnight & I need to go to bed for a 5 am wake up call but I wanted to capture my experience tonight while it was fresh in my mind. God knows us & is in the details of our lives – that is a lesson I was reminded of today!