Bryson and Mindy White Culture/Language Acquisition in Paraguay 
Our Host Church
Many, many months of training. Weeks and weeks of packing. Day after day of final preparations. Hour upon hour of traveling. All leading up to our entrance into Paraguayan culture and lifestyle. This time of studying the national culture and language is called Equipping 2—or E2. This has been some event out in front of us for so long, but now it is a reality. This first week has actually been rather relaxing as we ease into our Paraguayan E2.
Most new missionaries down to Paraguay will be given a host church and a host family from that church to help with adjusting to the culture and setting up a household along with any other questions that come up. Our host church is Iglesia Evangelica Bautista las Buenas Nuevas and we do not have a host family; we have six host families plus the pastor who have all eagerly volunteered to help us!
We were greeted at the airport by the missionary couple in charge of our E2 (Randy and Laurie Steel) and several people from our host church. It is so encouraging just to know that they are excited about us being here, as are we! That night we went straight to the NTM Guest House because we still don’t have a house. We got a taste of some Paraguayan food when we got some Lomito Árabe, which is kind of like a burrito with beef or chicken, but a thicker ‘tortilla’ and different seasonings.
The next day was the first time we ventured out by ourselves. We walked about twelve blocks to a hardware store and bought a llave francesa (crescent wrench) and some pinzas (pliers) to replace those that were confiscated in Santiago. On the way back we stopped in a market to get a look around and bought some water. From there we jumped on a bus (thinking it would take us back in front of the mission) but it ended up turning off the main road right away. So we just got off at the next stop and walked the rest of the way back. But at least I found out how much the bus cost, and that the kids are free (I found that out after having paid for them)!
Buying a grounding rod
On Friday, we met with one of the other missionaries in charge of culture and language study; she and her husband also just happen to be our missionary host couple (Steve and Ithie Jackson). Every Friday, everyone in E2 will be meeting together for some group training, so we joined in with that right away, also. That evening, all the New Tribes missionaries in Asunción came to the mission offices for a bienvenida (welcome party) for us. That way we got to meet them as well as the others that are in E2.
Saturday, Randy drove us out to the neighborhood where our church is to see a couple of the prospective houses for us to rent. We only saw the outsides though and got an idea of their sizes. The main purpose of the drive out there though was to meet the pastor and his wife at our church. They are Pastor Sergio and Josefina.
The next morning, Randy and Laurie drove us back out to our host church. We had a great time meeting many more from there. The church service was about an hour and 45 minutes, with the kids being at Sunday School for an hour and a half. They all went to their classes and did very well with it. Not that they understood anything, but none of them came back crying, so that was a good first step! Elijah said, “Well, I found out that whenever anybody says anything to me I don’t know what they’re saying.” At least he realized that. That evening we went on our first profitable bus trip when we rode back out to church. Someone from in the church gave us a ride back home, though.
The big accomplishment on Monday was getting a javelina, or grounding rod, since Paraguay does not generally have any grounds. I will use that once we’re in our house to ground our computer equipment. Through Saturday, we had been having meals with other missionaries, so we also had to do our first grocery shopping. On Tuesday we went to a fresh fruit and vegetable market where there were quite a few items unfamiliar to the US, but also quite of few things that we are used to. Since we have been living right here at the guest house instead of 45 minutes away by bus, we went ahead and did all our administrative orientation on Monday and Tuesday as well.
Avacados from outside the guest house
Wednesday brings us to the end of our first week. We’ve found that most of the missionaries communicate via cell phones and text messages down here, even some out in the tribal areas. So I went out and got a chip for my phone. I know that looks like an English word, but here it’s pronounced “cheep.” So I do have a cell number now if you ever want to venture into the world of international calling or texting. Go to our Contact page to see how to get a hold of me.
I’m sitting in front of a display board with all the missionaries currently working in Paraguay, those in E2, and those that will soon be coming. I am privileged and humbled to look up and see a picture of our family included. What the board doesn’t show is the large quantity of people and churches standing behind each of the 57 missionaries currently in the country. I know that there must be hundreds of churches represented by this group and thousands of prayers lifted daily, all together for a common purpose: to see the Gospel proclaimed among the tribal nations of Paraguay. It isn’t just a picture on a display board. Thank you for standing behind us and for lifting your prayers up on our behalf and for the sake of the Gospel reaching those without it!!!
In our last newsletter, I told you about the requirement that we know when we are entering Paraguay in order to apply for the visas. That meant, we thought, that we needed to buy our tickets near the beginning of the year.
