I have just gotten back from A mission trip to Paraguay. I have learnt a lot about them, their culture, myself, and God while there. They are a very interesting people group, they love sugar, and they all have many dogs, there are almost more dogs than people there. It was definitely a great trip.
This is a picture that I took of the Paraguay River. We did ministry there spreading the Good News of God to the people. It is true that they are very poor in Paraguay, but what they need most isn't clothing or food, it's the Gospel.
They have some interesting foods such a fried fish that they fry enough you can eat the whole thing bones and all. And empanadas which are basically an egg roll with a few differences. They also drink Terere and Matte a lot, a cold and a hot type of tea.
The culture is a warm one, where they are very nice and huggy, like other cultures they aren't always like this, but for the most part they are.
But what I learnt most of all, is that it doesn't matter what we did while there for them, it doesn't matter that we build a set of cabinets, and that we chopped large trees town to prevent them from falling on to their power lines. But what matters, is that us, as North Americans were willing to spend our time to go and do ministry with them. We didn't go and go our thing, we went and did their thing. We spent time with them and built relationships with the people. That's what really mattered.
People will ask, "why not just send the money?", the answer is simple, it's the fact that they will always need money, but what they want more is for us to go and be with them. The main missionary was surprised when we asked him what he thought of people asking that question, he thought it was rediculous, obviously he wanted us to go rather than only send money.
This trip thought be as well, that it doesn't matter who anyone is, they are still people, and God loves them the same, So we need to go love them with Him.
Here are some more pictures of the area and some scenery.