Starbucks

After dinner, Fran, Jenn and Dominique had to test one of the many Starbucks kiosks at the Miami airport. I was happy with just the cafe con leche at the Crown Room in Brazil. Susan said the hot chocolate there was delicious. Lisa was the only one smart enough to partake in the hot chocolate at the hotel in Brazil. All of us that tried Bob's iced coffee were pleased with it, but I suspect the greatest pleasure will be sleeping in our own beds tomorrow morning. Flight now showing a 9:40 departure and 12:30 SFO arrival. At least we've already cleared customs.

Sleeping Beauty

We all have different spiritual gifts.

We have one team member that loves to sleep and can sleep anytime,


anywhere,


even with bright sun shining on her face.


Of course, you miss things like this sunrise.


Imagine my surprise when half way through our 8 hour flight from Sao Paulo to Miami, she and I were the only two team members awake. Imagine my further surprise when she said "Joe, I wrote a blog entry."

Here it is:

As I'm leaving Paraguay, I leave with a new vision, a new understanding. I've been playing the words of 1 John 4 in my mind.

V. 7 "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God."

V. 11-12 "Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us."

I am learning that it's okay, it's encouraged to receive love, because God is love. When I receive love from someone, I am actually accepting them as meeting a need I have, as they are empowered by God.

I have always prided myself on being independent. I am learning that is more of a rejection of the love God wants to offer through others.

These weeks, I have needed people as never before. I have needed people's prayers. I have needed help understanding language. I have needed people to keep me from getting lost in the markets. I have needed provision of communication with people at home. I have needed instruction on how to work. I have needed people to encourage me, comfort me, feed me, laugh with me, and cry with me. I have needed much.

All of these needs were met by our host missionaries, teammates, friends, Paraguayans and family. Each of you has stepped up to use the gifts God has given you to show His love.

And just as I have this deep need for, in essence, love, so do many in this world. And just as others had gifts to show me God's love by meeting my needs; so too, have I the ability to love people in the world and in God's love and grace, meet their needs.

So I guess, what I am challenging myself to do daily, every moment really, is to ask God how do I love people better and can you help me to allow myself to need others and be loved by You, Father God, in their actions. Mt final thought will be directed to you dearest, how will you love this world of needy people?

Dominique

Miami

Basically on time arrival from Brazil, easy immigration and customs process and all our luggage made it. Now we are having food, since we have an extra hour with a flight delay to SFO.

Heading Home

We left the Bostons' around 2:30 am, got to the airport before the ticket agents arrived, and were first in line. We got through immigration quickly, and waited for our 4:40 boarding time, enjoying the oversweet complementary coffee, water and peanuts. Fran decided on a shopping excursion 5 minutes before boarding just to liven things up. It didn't work, with nearly everyone quickly falling into a slumber as the plane left for Brazil. The flight was smooth and uneventful. We're now in Sao Paulo, with Lisa, Susan and I enjoying a light snack at the Delta Crown room while Dominique, Jenn and Fran are wandering terminal 2, waiting for gate agents who are due at our gate around 9:30 to issue us boarding passes. I'm amazed that I can check my luggage all the way through in one step, yet it takes two steps for me to check myself in, once with the Brazilian airline to get those boarding passes, and a second time with the American flag airline.

Ciao Paraguay....

Just guess who is up at 1:45 a.m. on this Wednesday doin' a blog?  Our bags are packed, but I'm not sure we are ready to go, though we are certainly excited to come home and share our experiences here in more detail.  I sit for a final time at this computer, I don't think Julio will be greeting us this a.m. as we'll be leaving in the dark.  I will miss that funny guy!

 

I will miss a lot about Paraguay---the Bostons, San Lorenzo church and it's people, so much--what a blessed, an amazing, an anointed time we have had here.  We hope that many of you have followed it every day---Joe has done an amazing job for us.

 

Please be in prayer for us as we take to the air again--it's a long, long day!  That all our connections would be made and that all our luggage would make it back home, safe and sound (not to mention, ourselves!)

 

We come home fired up to fire all of you up for the cause of Christ in Paraguay.  The Bostons are Matthew 10:37-39.  They have taken up the cross and are bringing the gospel that gives life, to Paraguay.  We will sooooo miss them.

Lisa

Monte Libano

Tonight we had wraps (chawarmas) for dinner at Monte Libano. During dinner, we did a debrief with Brenda. Bob was off at church, so we haven't seen him since before the trip to Brazil. Brenda looks forward to another CBNC team next year, but has asked us to bring another laptop, a pastor and a youth, but not a pastor that acts like a youth. If we can find a pastor without ADHD, great, but it would probably be the first one she's met.

Are we there yet?

It's 4:30 and we're beginning to wonder if we'll ever get there. We left Big at 10 am.. Brenda fell asleep during Night of the Museum, so we drove by our lunch stop, but it's nearly dinner time, the drive has taken so long. She'll take us to a restaurant tonight for some pita like pockets. So much for a seven hour trip back.