Jenna Currey Expanding the REACH of the Gospel in Paraguay A Look back…One year in Paraguay
Welcome to Paraguay
“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The LOD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” Lamentations 3:22-23
I close my eyes and I can feel the tears welling up from the depths of my heart. One year…365 days I have lived in Paraguay. As the tears spill over and fall making spots on my shirt, my heart sings a song of praise to the LORD.
I open the box that contains 2010. My two feet firmly planted on the tile floor…luggage stacked at my side, heart pounding, shock in my eyes, but the courage of God as my strength. I can remember those steps…away from my family towards the unknown ahead. As I think back I am met with a smile…not a smile of ease but one of faith. A smile that blooms from within…that starts from the deepest parts and is one that shows hints that it holds a secret. God’s work in me over this last year cannot be expressed with words. There is no word to describe what it is like to see the LORD’s sustaining hand as you struggle in a country where you could not communicate…or the way that He has covered you with His hand…held you still…placed new strength in your heart…whispered in your ear “I am here with you…I am a God who sees you.” I have learned that my God is my center of gravity. He is the one that holds my days…gives me breath and knows the joys and pains of my heart. Each word…each drop in my bucket is a testimony of God’s power and faithfulness in my life. I am not simply talking Spanish now…I am praising God with each word. When I am able to understand and respond correctly it is a moment of rejoicing. My heart sings and my eyes begin to smile. One step of obedience…walking into the unknown…Each and every day of my life…I can walk forward because He gives me strength for today and bright hope of tomorrow. Every day is an opportunity to love the LORD more and to walk with Him. Keeping eternity in focus…the eternal souls of men. Each word and grammar rule is one step closer to moving and working with a indigenes group and after learning the language of the tribal group one day teaching and then dicsipling the believers. Thank you for partnering with me in this task through your prayers and support. Thank you for your faithfulness over this last year.
Glimpses of Paraguay’s Heart
92 year old lady that still makes Ñanduti
“With every new part of Paraguay that I see, the places and the people, it becomes more and more dearer to my heart”
Rebekah and I had the opportunity to go on a tour to three different towns in Paraguay. By the end of the day, my cheeks were hurting from smiling so much. I was able to see different parts of important history and culture. I love meeting new people, hearing their stories, and learning more about their beloved Paraguay, the true heart of South America. During the tour, I had the opportunity to see and learn how to make Ñanduti (Paraguayan lace), eat traditional Paraguayan food and my favorite part…make a clay pot on a potter’s wheel. Paraguay has beauty unique and distinct from anywhere else I have ever been. God is continuing to open my heart to Paraguay and I am growing to love Paraguay as my home.
Spanish Grammar class
Hard at work studying Spanish verbs
Nidia, a Spanish teacher, and has been teaching me Spanish grammar over the last two months. Nidia only speaks Spanish and you can imagine how hard it was for me at first to understand Spanish grammar taught totally in Spanish. I am almost finished with the 60 hour course. Taking this course has made a HUGE difference in my understanding and my ability to speak correctly. I can now speak in 6 different tenses (present, two past forms, future, and two command forms). At times I still mix them up and when I do it is quite humorous. The drops in my bucket are collecting. Some days I even feel like the words are pouring in a steady stream and not one drop at a time. Now the challenge is to keep it from spilling out my ears! I am praising the Lord for Nidia and her patience with me as I am learning. I want to thank you for your prayers. Please continue to pray for me to push ahead in my Spanish every day. What a privilege is it to be serving the Lord. It is important to remember the “why” behind all the work…so that all my know Christ and the power of His resurrection.
A Tickle My Heart Moment
Rebekah, Laura, and I
Moments like these are gifts from the Lord. You know the moments I am referring to…when your heart cannot believe what your eyes are seeing. When my sister came to see me this past March I was speechless…in Spanish and in English! I kept looking at her and thinking, “Is she really here?” I poked her and stared at her for the first day not believing that she was really in Paraguay…with me! Every day I showed Laura a different part of my Paraguay…we had adventures, times of laughter, delicious food, and sister-sister talks. The weeks leading up to when Laura came I prayed that the days would go really slow. God answered my prayer! Even now as I write this, I am struggling with words to be able to express my gratefulness to the Lord and to the people who made it possible for my sister to come and see me. Memories were made that will always be remembered. Click here to see more pictures
“¿Qué hiciste hoy?” (What did you do today?)
Many have asked me, “What is a day in Paraguay like for you?” While there are differences from day to day and week to week. I would like to share with you what an average week involves and includes.
Planning- Each morning I write down a plan for what I want to accomplish during that particular day. What to learn, what to practice, what questions to ask…etc. I am finding that planning is a very important part of language learning. Not only does it give me a goal for the day, but it also helps me see progress.
Practicing- In the mornings and early afternoons I practice my Spanish. First, I record different words and phrases from my Paraguayan friends using my voice recorder. At first it was objects like table, chair, floor, ceiling, etc…and now it is full sentences like “She is washing the dishes”. I file these recordings into a computer program, attaching photos to the audio clips. Each day I practice with my computer, listening and repeating. Throughout the week I also meet with Paraguayans to practice speaking and gathering more words and phrases.
Processing- In the afternoons and evenings I process. This simply means that I take all the words and phrases that I recorded and enter them into my computer. Another aspect of processing is writing up different observations I make about the culture. Things like how they celebrate different holidays, where they get their food, how they apologize, etc. Learning language and culture go hand in hand.
Participating – Just as the title suggest this simply means spending time with Paraguayans. I have many activities at my church throughout the week. I have visited different historical sites and other important places in Paraguay. Rebekah and I have spent time getting to know different families in our church by sharing meals together. It is such a joy to get to know Paraguayans and to be able to call them friends.
All of these different aspects of language and culture study are important. Forty-five hours a week is devoted to study. It is difficult to balance everything at times but I am constantly before the Lord with my days and He is faithful to guide. Thank you so much for your encouragement and prayers. There are no words to describe how grateful I am for your support.
Step by step….word by word
One step at a time
This month I had my first language evaluation. It was an oral test to see how far I had come and how I can function in the language. The week leading up to the evaluation I was nervous. While I was in the midst of the evaluation I found myself encouraged to find that I was talking and communicating entirely in Spanish all by myself! While I knew I was making mistakes left and right, I was communicating none the less. This is a huge leap from where I was when I first arrived. My advisor said that I am progressing well and gave me further direction on areas that I need to focus on and errors to correct. There is still a sea of language to learn. Whenever I feel overwhelmed with the amount still yet to learn, I am reminded to always look back to see where I have come. Please pray that I will continue to have a desire to learn every day. It is wearying at times but God continues to show Himself strong in my life.
“Tennis Shoes on Pizza”
Mmmmmm!
One day while we were having our pastor and his family over for lunch, Rebekah and I made pizza and I was explaining what toppings were on the pizza. Instead of saying “champiñónes” (mushrooms), I said “championes” (Tennis Shoes). Needless to say I was gently corrected and we all had a good laugh together.
Another time I was trying to say that I had been tired the past 4 days but instead of saying “cansada” (exhausted), I said “casada” (married). I said that I had been married for 4 days. Oops!
The last couple of weeks have been filled with language blunders and mistakes. My brain is like one giant blender. I keep adding more and more words into the mix. When I open my mouth there is no telling what word is coming out. While these mistakes are funny and humorous when they happen, in the quietness of my heart it can be difficult and wearying. I am tempted to think, “I don’t want to make any more mistakes. I must sound awful when I talk.” Even when I am trying so hard to keep all my words sorted out I inevitably make mistakes. Some mistakes I am sure I don’t even know about.
Please pray for me as I am continuing to add more words to my blender. Pray for courage to continue talking despite the mistakes and blunders. Pray that I continue to laugh at myself when I find myself blundering along.
Drops in a Bucket
drip, drip, drip
Continuing the journey
While it may at times feel like only a few drops in a bucket…the drops are adding up. I have been studying Spanish full time…45 hours a week for 7 months now. Still many more words to go but I can now hear my drops sloshing around and that is an accomplishment! Thank you so much for your faithful prayers for me. Please continue to pray for courage and for diligence. Word by word, drop by drop, only by God’s strength I will continue!
Tags: Language learning
Stand in awe of the LORD
Iguazu falls
The beauty of God’s creation testifies to His GREATNESS! Iguazu Falls is one of the awe-inspiring places in the world. The falls are over 2 miles wide and the sound of the water tumbling down is deafening. Rebekah, Ruth and I, along with one of Ruth’s co-workers, and Rebekah’s cousin that came to visit, went by bus to Cuidad del Este. Cuidad del Este is a large city close to the waterfalls. Iguazu Falls is one of my top most beautiful places I have ever been.
The whole group
Ruth and I riding on the bus
Beautiful
“Are you for real?”
Laura giving me the best Christmas present!
All throughout the week leading up to Christmas, I was praying that there would be a good internet connection so that I could Skype my family and talk with them on Christmas. Oh how God is good! I was able to talk with them and the web camera was working too! I still missed being home with my family, but it was a blessing being able to see them. After I finished opening the presents my family sent me, my older sister said that she had another gift for me. She told me that she is coming to see me! She is coming to Paraguay! I could not believe what I was hearing. All I could say was “Are you for real?” It is not a dream…my sister is coming in March and I am already counting down the days!
Another blessing of Christmas was being able to spend it with Rebekah. We made new traditions and were able to do some of our family traditions too. What a blessing to have new and the old all mingled together. This truly was a Merry Christmas!