Jenna Currey Expanding the REACH of the Gospel in Paraguay Reflecting on Christmas
Rebekah and I eating our Christmas Eve dinner
I know that it is the middle of January but I have to admit…I still have my Christmas tree up. As I sit here gazing at the ornaments and now stale popcorn garland, I cannot keep the smile in my heart from showing on my face. My tree is a reminder…an altar if you will…of what the LORD gave me for Christmas this year. I will always remember this Christmas, my first Christmas in Paraguay. The Lord provided opportunities to participate in new traditions as well as still being a part of the old. The week before Christmas was busy with a mission Christmas party, complete with a white elephant exchange, baking Christmas cookies, and driving around town on Christmas Eve with another missionary family to look at all the lights and decorations. The Paraguayans celebrate on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas Day. Rebekah and I spent Christmas Eve with our friend Ruth and her family. It is Paraguayan custom to eat right before midnight. I do not believe I have ever eaten that late before. When the clock struck midnight the whole family hugged and wished one another “Feliz Navidad”. Ruth’s family told us that we were a part of their family and greeted us with hugs too. At midnight, fireworks were set off all over the city. It sounded like a “Grand Finale” for about 20 minutes. They were beautiful and LOUD! What a special time being able to share in a Paraguayan Christmas!
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas!
As I sit here on my couch looking at my tree, gloriously decorated with brilliant lights and ornaments from home, my heart is overwhelmed. The silence is deafening. My heart longs to express in words what is welling up within. Tears trickle down my cheeks…each one holding within a language all its own. God understands the language of tears…each one shed in darkness or in joy.
As I look back on my last year, I am reminded of the LORD’s greatness to me! I have seen the Lord’s goodness in the midst of saying goodbye to my home, moving to Paraguay, learning language, and walking with Him one day at a time. He has provided a family of missionaries and Paraguayan friends that are growing more and more dearer to me.
What a joy it would be to sit on my couch over a cup of hot tea with Mary. Through the pages of scripture, her life demonstrated steadfast trust and willingness to be used of the Lord. She was a kindred spirit. My prayer this Christmas is the same as Mary’s…
“And Mary said: ‘My soul proclaims the greatness of the LORD and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.’” Luke 1:46
While this Christmas is different and in many ways it doesn’t feel like Christmas, it has forced me to remember, meditate, and pause to thank God for His Son, Jesus Christ. Glory!
My First Birthday
My 1st Birthday in Paraguay
Jenna's 1st Birthday
What makes a birthday special? Is it simply growing a year older, a time to eat lots of cake, open presents or is it a bit more?
All through my life I have experienced countless memorable birthdays. Treasure hunts, eating my favorite meal, blowing out my candles, and opening presents are just a few of the “sameness” that I have always looked forward too.
This year I found myself facing a very different birthday. During the days leading up to my birthday, I was constantly aware that it was not going to be the same as all the birthday’s previous. As I sat in my room on my 24th birthday, thinking about all the things that I held dear about my birthday that no amount of wishing could make happen, my heart began to ache. November 2nd in Central New York is grey, cold, rainy and sometimes even snowy. Everyone wears hoodies, and warm socks. Here I am in Paraguay. The sun is shining, it is 85 degrees in the shade, the trees have leaves and the city is decorated with flowers. The sky is blue and there is not a cloud in the sky. How could this day be my birthday?
Then I remembered what another missionary lady told me “You will always remember your first birthday in Paraguay”. In the stillness of that moment I began to think about how I wanted to remember this special day. Being miserable and thinking of what I was lacking was not the way I wanted to reflect on my 1st birthday.
In the inmost part of my heart, I silently prayed…
“Dear God,
I want to thank you for the start of another year. How faithful you have shown yourself to me this last year and I am excited to walk with you each day of the year ahead. God, you understand the longing of my heart. I know that the day you have given me is filled with many blessings. Open my eyes to see the ways that you have blessed this day…my first birthday in Paraguay. I want to rejoice and remember what you have for me today. How are you going to tickle my heart today?
Amen”
I have learned what makes a birthday special? It wasn’t the parties, nor the cake and not even the presents. The weather felt like July, my family was thousands of miles away, and what I had always done did not happen. . What made this birthday special were the people…The people that the Lord gave me to share it with. My eyes were opened to what my heart truly desired…sharing my birthday with those whom I loved and who loved me. With God’s gentle hand, I was able to move my eyes from what I lacked on to the richness of God’s blessings.
My first birthday in Paraguay was the best birthday in Paraguay I have ever had! Is it simply growing a year older, a time to eat lots of cake, open presents or is it a bit more? It is SO much more
Ruth brought me a paraguayan breakfast
Monthly Bible study with other missionary ladies
Opening presents
Sharing my birthday cake with me friends Ana and Juana. They work in a laundry mat near my apartment
Pizza...one of the best birthday meals!
Ruth came and celebrated with us!
Rebekah decorated my cake!
Click here to see more pictures from my birthday week!
We Run Asuncion
Rebekah and I before the race...so excited!
Cinco, cuatro, tres, dos, UNO!!!!! My heart catches in my throat as I hear everyone cheering with arms raised. As one unit, everyone surges forward and begins the 10k run through the city of Asuncion.
For the last 6 weeks, Rebekah and I have been training for this very moment. Every year in Asuncion Nike sponsors a 10k race. Being a runner myself I knew right away that I wanted to participate and was excited when Rebekah said that she would run too! After weeks of training, the day of the race had finally arrived. Being that it was Rebekah’s first race and my first race in another country we did not know what to expect.
What a race! Rebekah and I ran together through the entire race! What made the race extra special was that we ran through our neighborhood and right by our apartment. Rebekah and I finished with a time of 1:04:58. What a day!
Click here to see more pictures of our racing adventure
The Holms and the Smiths, other NTM missionaries, also ran in the race
Everyone wore the same color shirt! There was over 2,000 runners
The river of electric yellow!
We did it!
Snakes in Jars
Seriously???
Ruth, Sonia, Rebekah and I were spending the day together at the zoo here in Asuncion. The first place we visited was a museum of sorts. Each room displayed different types of animals. At first it seemed very similar to the museums in the US…with stuffed animals behind partitions and in glass display cases. As the tour continued my eyes were graced with new sights to behold.
My jaw dropped as evidence of my surprise when I walked through the doorway into another area of the museum. As I took a few steps further into the room, my mind began to understand what was before my eyes. Bottles and bottles were neatly lined up in rows and sitting on shelves. What was inside these bottles? Snakes! My eyes kept looking back to the bottles contents…Am I really seeing this? The snakes were dead and sitting in a concoction of clear liquid. I felt like I was in some sort of weird science lab.
After the snakes in jars experience we had lunch, and then visited the LIVE animals in the zoo. It was a glorious sunny day with a light breeze. A perfect day for friends and the zoo! Each day in Paraguay is an adventure and today was no exception.
Tags: adventure
You ate what?
Yummy
With hungry stomachs as our companion, Rebekah Ruth, Sonya and I went to an outdoor grill to get something to eat. Ruth told us that she was getting “la lengua de vaca” and that we should try some. Being that I understand body parts and animals, I understood completely what she was saying. La “lengua de vaca” is cow tongue. That’s right…the tongue of a COW! And yes…I did eat a piece. Cut into pieces and cooked on a skewer over hot coals I did not see the resemblance of tongue. The “meat” was a little fatty but honestly just tasted like beef. The texture was a little weird but I tried not to think about it. I was somewhat proud of the fact that I had eaten something unique and a little on the scary side. Now I have a good answer for the question “What is the weirdest thing that you have ever eaten”!
A couple of days later I was at the supermarket and looked through the glass at the meat counter and low and behold what did my little eyes see…la lengua de vaca. Let’s just say I will be leaving to the unique and daring eating to someone else!
Click here to view more pictures Paraguay
The Gift of Cold Water
Cold glass of water
Bzzzzzz! The sound of the buzzer alerted us that Estela had arrived. Estela is a small, petite, widow from my church. She is 58 years old and her face is always wearing a smile. As the door was opened her face lit up with a smile and she greeted us with a kiss on each cheek (the traditional Paraguayan greeting). She took a seat on our couch, and unzipping her purse, pulled out her worn Bible. Flipping through the pages, her eyes stopped on Psalm 100. As she read aloud from her Bible, I followed along in my Spanish/English Bible, taking note of the joy in her voice. Estela’s love for the Lord shined in her eyes.
While we were visiting she asked for a glass of cold water. A short time later she asked for another full glass, which she, like the first, drank fully. As she was getting her things together to leave she asked for yet another glass of cold water. “I don’t have a refrigerator and I like cold water. I am poor but I am rich in God’s blessings”.
As I was closing the door behind her and the sound of her little footsteps were fading down the hallway, I was struck in the heart. I felt like I just sat with one of the richest people in the world. In the worlds standards, she is poor but in eternal blessings, she is rich. I began to ponder “When have I ever thanked the Lord for a cold glass of water?” I am grateful to the Lord for another lesson in thankfulness and for a little old lady named Estela.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” – Ephesians 1:3
“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” – 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Tags: water
Late night Chipa
11pm...hard at work studying Spanish!
Words cannot express my gratitude for the friends that God has given me here in Paraguay to help me learn Spanish. Ruth is a single lady from my church who is working and going to college and still makes time to invest in building a friendship with Rebekah and I. Because she works and goes to school, she is only able to come over late at night. Ruth brings a different type of Chipa (cheesy bread) or some other Paraguayan food with her when she comes. We eat together and hang out as friends. She has a heart for the Lord and is patient with me as I stumble through trying to communicate what I want to say with my limited Spanish. Laughter is always in generous supply when the three of us are together. I am so thankful that God has provided someone who I feel safe trying new words and phrases with, and who laughs with me, not at me.
Practicing with Sara
Sara is another blessing that God has placed in my life. She is a Kindergarten teacher at a local Paraguayan school. She does not understand or speak any English. It was difficult to communicate as first but after meeting once a week for 5 weeks, we are now able to talk and understand each other. We have small conversations about our families, the weather, and what we did that particular day.
Please pray for me as I continue to move forward in learning Spanish. Please join me in thanking God for Ruth and Sara. I am truly blessed!
Chipa So'o and Passion Fruit soda
Eating Chipa So'o with Ruth
The red apple…the apple is red…my apple is red…my red apple
Apples!
My red apple and I have never been closer! I am learning how to put different words that I have learned together in phrases and short sentences. It is so exciting to be able to put words together and say longer phrases. The question is, “When am I ever going need to say, “My apple is red.”? I am not sure. My heart’s desire is to be able to speak effortlessly and remember everything I hear. The difficult reality is that language learning is a lot of hard work and hours and hours of practice. Under the Lord’s loving hand, He has been teaching me to tackle each day with diligence, but also to rejoice in the small things. The seemingly small things like being able to say, “My apple is red”.
Tags: Language learning
The Day of Folklore
Paraguayan children performing a traditional dance
“The Day of Folklore” is just as the name suggests. It is a day when the Paraguayans celebrate their folklore history. Rebekah and I attended a celebration at the school attached to our church. Traditional Paraguayan foods were served from vastly decorated tables. Foods like beef on a stick, mandioca (kind of like a potato), Mbeyu (cheesy flat bread), empanadas, etc… Mmmmm! In addition to the food tables there were also carnival-like games for the kids. Little boys and girls all dressed in traditional Paraguayan attire were running here and there, playing all of the games and winning prizes. After the food, there was a folklore program, with dancing, singing and acting. What a great time! The more I understand the history of Paraguay, the more I understand their values and culture today. What a great time eating Paraguayan food, practicing my Spanish and watching the traditional Paraguayan dances.
Beautiful
Beef on a stick with mandioca...Mmmmm
They did a great job!
Playing games
The traditional "Bottle Dance". The ladies dance while balancing a bottle on thier heads. Some can stack them 10 bottles high.
Our pastor's son, who is in Kindergarten, did a great job!