Faces of Paraguay

Paraguay started for each of us on the team as a place we had heard of, but maybe weren't even sure where it was located.

It was an unknown.

A place that required stamps for a visa in our passports. 

A country on a globe we once studied in school. 

And then is became a city listed on our boarding passes. 

A place still 2-dimensional until we arrived. 

And then...

Paraguay became faces.

People. 

Laughter.

Wondering eyes. 

Enthusiasm.

Smiles.

Joy. 

A place to grow our understanding of the world outside of our own corner.

A place to experience life in a way unknown to us.

To be reminded that the Gospel is a whole lot bigger than we think. 

For the faces of Paraguay to become etched on our hearts. 

To find joy in the simple.

To ignite within our hearts a greater fervor in praying for the church in Paraguay and for those who are daily living the Gospel in that place.

To see life lived in a way starkly contrasted with our own.

To gain a compassion for others.

To see leaders being trained for the church in Paraguay.

To stir a love within us for those we met. 

To pray for the continued growth of the church in San Antonio.

For our hearts to ache knowing our time would end and the goodbyes would come. 

To learn names we had never heard of become sweetness. 

For 1 Thessalonians 2:8 to take on flesh - "So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the Gospel of God but also our very selves, because you had become very dear to us."

For the beauty of music to transcend language. 

To see the world-wide church in action.

To experience hospitality and love. Simply because we were Jesus family. 

To be humbled by these faces. 

To see how we could cover others in Jesus' love.

We learned how to greater entrust those we love to the care of our Savior.

Our lives have glimpsed the joy that awaits in heaven...

...longing to be reunited with our Jesus family we have met...

...and there now resides a greater anticipation for the forever. 

To one day worship alongside this family together. Forever. 

At the foot of our Savior. 

This is Paraguay. 

More than a place on a map. 

It has become the faces that captured our very hearts.