Last Day - Part 1

My words are failing me for this final post from Paraguay. (However, fear not, there are more posts ahead).

A lot happened today... come and take peek into what the Lord did today.  Because there is so much, this is going to be split into two posts.

Part 1 - our last morning here in Paraguay. Part 2 will post while we are flying back (don't you love technology??)

Our mornings have begun each day by bathing - in the Word, in prayer, in hearing from the Holy Spirit, in worshiping together through music, fellowship, and hearing from each other. 

Our time has included one chapter each day from 1 Peter. So many amazing conversations, and mutual edification hearing what the Lord was teaching each of us through our time. 

There are snapshots only taken in our minds of our mornings together. 

They were sacred moments. 

Things not meant to be photographed as to disrupt what the Lord was doing. 

For many of us, those gatherings have been the highlight of our time. Giving us a greater craving for more of the Lord. 

The rest of our morning was spent being tourists and we did pretty well. 

First on the agenda - a drive by the Paraguayan president's residence. Pretty snazzy, eh? 

Paraguay once had a thriving train system and this is the old depot. Beautiful architecture. 

The congress building (I think that is right). 

This picture will make our team laugh. 

See the Paraguayan navy? That's it right there. 

Bob (one of our host missionaries) declared, "Off to your left is the Paraguayan navy. They have two ships." 

Driving along the river also showed us the effects from the recent flooding. 

You can barely see them, but those are homes under water, with the roofs peeking above the water line. 

The families from those homes have been displaced and many of are living in shanties like the one above. 

Then we were off to the tourist market. 

Many on our team were looking for the traditional guampa, a cup used for drinking tea, along with some other interesting things from Paraguay. 

We ended our sight-seeing by visiting the Cacique Lambare statue. This overlooks the city and the river, which is the border to Argentina. 

Some of us thought about swimming over to get another stamp in our passports, but time limited us from doing so. 

Sweet friendships. 

In light of our large dinner planned for the evening, our lunch consisted of the most amazing empanadas de Paraguay. They are dough pockets filled with chicken or beef or cheese and ham or corn. 

Clearly we enjoyed them. 

As we made our way to the San Antonio church for the afternoon, a few in the team were able to stop and see where the Hernandez kids go to school. 

It is a beautiful campus and offers such a great option for their kiddos to receive a fabulous education while their family serves here in Paraguay. 

And this was just the morning...