First 3 weeks in Paraguay!

I cannot believe that I have already been in Paraguay for 23 days!  I am so sorry that I have not updated since I arrived- I have just been so busy getting settled in and beginning teaching!

There is so much to share about what I have already experienced, but seeing as I need to get up for a school day that starts at 6:40, I will have to hit just a few highlights…

First I have wonderful living arrangements and am fairly settled in. I love my apartment! It has so much character, is fairly spacious, and just a minutes walk from my classroom door!  I am sharing it with another teacher at ACA, Courtney.  She has already been living and teaching in Paraguay for a year and has been very kind in helping me get adjusted and settled in.

The living room of our apartment.

The apartment is set up as a townhouse; on our first floor there is the common living area with a half bath, kitchen, living area, and dining area.  There is a balcony going off of the dinning area and another balcony going off our kitchen.   Upstairs Courtney and I each have our own room with a balcony joining them and we share a bathroom.

Except for a small wall by my desk, all of the walls in my room are brick; very South American.  Housing in Paraguay is built for hot summers and so typically buildings do not have any insulation, thus inside can be as colder or colder than outside.  Thankfully my AC unit doubles as a heater! 

Along with getting settled in my apartment, I have been adjusting to the rhythm of life in Paraguay!  The bus systems here are so different!  Bus lines run all over town but there are no bus stops- anytime you see the line that you want to get on you just hold out your hand and wave for it to stop and hope that it will pull over for you to get on!  Then whenever you want off you hit the buzzer in the back of the bus and hope it slows down enough for you jump off.  So far all of my experiences have been pretty good though- believe it or not the system has a way of working!

I am getting by with my limited Spanish but hope to begin taking classes soon.   People are usually very friendly and patient with you for trying to speak in Spanish; but I have made my share of mistakes in my pitiful attempts at trying.  As I get around and explore Asuncion more I am sure I will learn even more!

Since being in Paraguay I think that I have eaten more Chinese and Korean food than Paraguayan food!  What I can tell you though is that Paraguayan’s love meat and empanadas.  So far I have not had anything that surprised me too much or been inedible.  

Key-lime tarts the first dish I made in Paraguay!

I am blessed to have so easily found a church to be a part of.  My ACA “board buddy” Rose and her husband David are Assembly of God missionaries who have been working in Paraguay for the last 27 years.  Currently they are the pastors at a small, very informal, English speaking, non-denominational church known as the "Embassy Church" that meets in a hotel.  It is a wonderful mix of people from all around the world who have been drawn to Paraguay through working for their country’s embassy, teaching English, and being missionaries.

Between adjusting to a new culture and getting settled I have also began my first year of teaching!  I am teaching 5 classes: 9^th grade Biology, 8^th grade Physical Science and Honors Algebra, and 7^th grade Life Science and Math.  Also I am the 7^th grade class sponsor!  I am only in the third week- but so far everything is going great!  I have great students and am enjoying getting to know them more and more.  It is such a privilege to teach at a Christian school where I can share my beliefs with the students and discuss science with a Christian perspective!  Also, I love having my own classroom and getting to make my own decisions- it is so much better than student teaching! I am already getting a reputation for being a hard teacher- however I just think that my students complain too much about the words test and quiz.

Besides the students, the administration, other teachers, and additional staff at ACA are incredible!  The ladies in the office have been so wonderful in helping me learn the in and outs of the school and getting my residency documents in order.  I am in a group of 4 other new teachers; which has been a blessing as I am not alone in adjusting to Paraguay and going through my first year of teaching!  Everyone has been very helpful and kind in helping me to adjust and get everything that I need! 

We have a three day weekend and so on Friday night some of the other teachers and I are planning on taking an overnight bus to visit the Jesuit ruins in Southern Paraguay next to the boarder of Argentina.  It should be a fun time! Then when we go back to school on Tuesday, Paraguay will be celebrating Children’s day- a celebration of children that includes games, toys, and lots of candy.

Please be patient with me as I get used to having a blog and I will try to not wait so long to update again! 

Praises: Between traveling, eating new food, and drinking the water I have not been sick at all- that is blessing of reassurance that I am in the right place!  God’s provision of the wonderful people that I am getting to know here- especially the new teachers!

Prayer Requests:  I am still figuring out what to do for funding and finding a sending organization, I would greatly appreciate if you could keep that in your prayers.  Pray for my classes and that I will have even more opportunities to witness to my students through my teaching.  Also please keep the school in your prayers; we have a brand new Academic Director, pray for him as he adjusts and leads the school, and ACA is still looking for a permanent middle school English and Social Studies teacher.    

Thank you all so much for everything! I appreciate any comments or encouragement that you want to share with me!  I am enjoying being here so much, but it does not replace missing home!

On my way to Paraguay!

I am sorry that it has taken me so long to post!  I have been very busy getting settled in Paraguay and it took me a few days to get my computer set up...  The following post was actually written before arrived and is just getting up loaded now.

Friday July 15^th 2011- 

I missed my first flight to Paraguay!  Remember in my last post how I mentioned that I was still waiting on my visa to arrive, well basically I didn't have my visa on Wednesday when I was supposed to be getting on the plane.  So let me explain the whole situation...

On Thursday last week my visa was priority mailed to Ulm, MT.  I had been planning on leaving Montana to go to Seattle (where my flight would depart from) on Monday, so that I would be able to spend Tuesday with my little sister Lena.  On Monday my visa had still not arrived but everyone was sure that it would come on Tuesday and encouraged me to still go through with my plans to leave Monday and have my visa express mailed to me in Seattle the next day. 

Morgan and I before I left

So Morgan (my twin) and I left for Seattle without my visa.  On Tuesday my visa arrived in Ulm, MT and my aunt Peggy express mailed it to my friend's house in Seattle with a guaranteed arrival by 12 noon on Wednesday.  Meanwhile, Morgan and I had a great time visiting my little sister and taking her shopping for ear rings (she just turned thirteen and got her ears priced for her birthday)!  On Wednesday morning I was a little worried when my visa had not arrived by 11, but Morgan and I decided to go to the Pike Place Market and enjoy our time in Seattle before I left…  However, when it had still not arrived by 1 that afternoon I was pretty worried. After making a few calls I received the very disappointing news that my visa was lost in route and would not arrive at least until the next morning...  

After recovering from the disappointment and realigning my mindset to focus on still getting to Paraguay, I was able to find a new flight for the next day!  So now everything has worked out and I can reflect on the situation much better!

On Wednesday morning (before the chaos) I was reading a devotional on gratefulness.  The devotional was about finding something to be thankful for despite our circumstances; for example instead of focusing on a loved one who is ill be thankful for having the loved one in first place.  As I was reading this devotional I thought to myself; "hmm, how can I apply this today? I couldn't imagine finding anything to be grateful about if my visa did not come today..."  Well, that was exactly what happened and I was challenged to find things to be grateful despite the disappointment!  Here is a list of only a few of the many things I found to be grateful for in the midst of not receiving my visa on time and having to reschedule my flight:

1.       When I bought my ticket I had purchased trip insurance- which saved me money when I made the change!

2.       Everyone that I spoke to in figuring out something else was very kind and helpful in quickly helping me make new plans.

3.       My new flight had a five hour layover in Miami, FL; so I was able to see my Dad and little brother before leaving!

4.       I got to spend one more night in Seattle! We went out to eat at a Thai restaurant where we sat on pillows on the floor to eat! It was a fun experience!

5.       ACA was very understanding and flexible with me needing to make changes and arrive a day latter.

6.       I had one more day to prepare to leave- it was so nice to make a few more phone calls and say goodbye to people I had not yet gotten to talk to.

7.       I was able to spend more time with my friend Emily from high school and she and her apartment mates were so kind in letting me stay with them!

So besides learning that there really is something to be thankful for in every situation, I learned to never boast of my own plans! Everything is "Lord willing" and God has his own plan and time for everything.

Now I am on the plane to Peru (although I will probably not be able to post until after I have arrived).

Preparing for Paraguay

In 7 days, 1 hour, and 19 minutes, I will be leaving for Paraguay!  I have over a 24 hour flight and will stop in El Salvador and Peru before finally making it to Asuncion, Paraguay.  With so little time left there is still so much to do to prepare!  I still need my Visa! It is in the process of being processed- but then still has to mailed back to me!  It has been somewhat of a hectic experience to say the least... 

Besides getting my visa, I still need to pack and get a few last minute things in order for the trip...  However, none of this really guarantees that I am really prepared... I am not sure exactly what to expect, other than that my life will be changed and I will need to adjust!  

The change that I am anticipating is the very aspect that makes me both very excited and nervous.  On one hand I am only nervous about a long flight and customs, but even more than that I confess that I am nervous about the frustrations of a language barrier, my first full year of teaching, and being so far away from home.  However, on the other hand I am so excited about experiencing a new culture, being part of the community at ACA, the ministry I will have with my students, and how God will use all of these experiences to deepen my faith and relationship with Him.  I am praying that as God works on changing my life I will be used to change the lives of others for His glory. 

I would greatly appreciate your prayers as I finish up all of the little preparations for my trip and get things in order for leaving and my arrival.  Also please pray for me to have strength and patience in dealing with the adjustments of living in a new culture.  

I am so thankful for all of the support and encouragement that I have been blessed with from friends and family!  I will do my best to keep you all updated and informed about my experiences.  God Bless,

Kelsey          

Serving God at Asuncion Christian Academy

As you may already now, I recently graduated from Northwest Nazarene University with a degree in Biology Education.  I was drawn to teaching because I knew that there would be many opportunities to make a difference in the lives of students.  As I began sharing with my friends and professors about my desire to reach students both academically and spiritually, they encouraged me to consider options of serving God in the teaching field abroad.  Thus, I set up a profile on Mission Teach and began sifting through the different opportunities.

As I sought the Lord’s leading I began to more seriously search through positions in Central and South America that fit with teaching science in a school that was passionate about both ministry and academics.  Thus in April, I discovered Asuncion Christian Academy and began communicating with ACA about an open Math and Science position at their middle school. 

It was not long before I decided that even if I was not offered a position at the school, I would love just to meet the people who had been so passionate in sharing their vision for the school with me. From what the directors had already shared with me, I felt that I would love to be a part of the community at ACA and partner with them in their passion for ministry.  It was clear to me that if it was God’s will for me to go, I would be more than willing to accept a position if it was offered.  I was blessed to be offered the middle school Math and Science position and happily accepted.          

Asuncion Christian Academy is an international Christian school that aims to provide students with a quality faith-based education from a biblical worldview.  ACA is a very diverse school serving students from all over the world with around 50% of students being the children of missionary families.  Although Paraguay is a Spanish-speaking country, fortunately I will be teaching in English!  The position that I have accepted is a two year contract for teaching Math and Science at the middle school level.  I am excited to be partnering with ACA in their goal of helping students to achieve their potential academically, physically, socially, spiritually and morally.

Every morning I will join with the faculty in devotions and prayer, weekly attend and help with chapel services, and daily seek ways to share my faith with students in and out of the classroom.  I will be living in the school’s on-campus apartments with other teachers at ACA.  It is very reassuring to me that as I adjust to living in another country and begin my first year of teaching, I will have the support of a Christian community that understands what I am going through.      

While I will receive a salary from ACA that will be sufficient for meeting my basic living expenses, ACA encourages their teachers to raise additional support.  I specifically will need support to be able to stay current on my student loans, afford to come home on occasion, and meet other unforeseen expenses.  At this time I am seeking to raise an additional $300-$400 a month.  Raising support not only helps me to meet my financial needs, but really helps me take on a missionary mindset.  I am beginning my teaching career, but more importantly I am beginning a teaching ministry. 

God has blessed me with so much and I am very excited with the opportunity to serve Him in Paraguay! I am passionate about teaching, but am even more passionate about sharing God’s grace with people in Paraguay! Please pray that as friends and family invest in me, that I will have opportunities to invest in the lives of my students and have a ministry in Paraguay.