Oda a Paraguay

This post is a tribute to Paraguay, the beloved country of my missionary service. I have gotten really nostalgic about it lately since I just finished reading a novel by the paraguayan author Augusto Roa Bastos called Hijo de Hombre (Son of Man). Also, my cousin David just received his mission call to the Paraguay Asunción North Mission, the same mission that I returned from just over a year and a half ago. I love the country and especially the people. I would go back in a second if could to visit all of my friends there and to show Tiffani that little piece of my life.

Esto es un tributo a Paraguay, el querido pais de mi misión. He pasado mucho nostalgia recien por dos razones. Primero, hace poco terminé de leer un libro por el autor paraguayo Augusto Roa Bastos que se llama Hijo de Hombre. Tambien, mi primo David apenas recibió su llamamiento misional a la misión Paraguay Asunción Norte, la misma misión en que yo serví. Asi que, al va a poder conocer el lugar, la gente, y el idioma que ya conozco. A mi me encantaría volver para que pudiera visitar a todos mis amigos de allí y mostrar a Tiffani esta pedazito inolvidable de mi vida. Para todos mis amigo de Paraguay, les quiero mucho y espero verlos pronto.

THE PEOPLE (LA GENTE)

Elder Hernandez, Inocencia and her children, Ramona and her 4 children, and me, Elder Lehmitz

Me at a little birthday celebration with Gordo, Osvaldo, Jenny, Jasmin and Cintia

The baptism of Benigno and Irma, accompanied by family and neighborhood friends

PLACES (LUGARES)

The LDS temple in Asunción (el templo)

Difficult, not impossible

Some statue along the highway near barrio Molino, Luque, Paraguay

Just in case you get the hankering for some pool in the middle of the jungle

Coco trees, beautiful

Sugar cane! And check out the cool straw hat and Indian bag. La cana, y mira el sombrero piri y la bolsa
This is one of my favorite places in Paraguay; barrio Salado in Limpio. I love those hats too!

WILDLIFE (LOS ANIMALES)

Toucan (although I don't think it's Sam)

Monkey! Don't worry, he's chained up. Don't tell PITA

Parrot


FOOD (COMIDA)

Empanadas--they come in beef, cheese, ham & cheese, corn, chilean, etc. (carne, queso, jamon y queso, chocla y chileno)

CULTURE (CULTURA)

Paraguay, especially in the town of Luque, is known for its hand-crafted guitars and harps. I never say anyone else wear a poncho, but I thought it was cool anyway. The orange and black centerpiece on our kitchen table below is called nanduti, which translated would be something like "spider lace."

This is a bag made by the indigenous peoples. There are actually a ton of different Indian tribes in Paraguay with lots of different languages and dialects. Thes bags are mostly a tourist souvenir; the people don't hardly ever buy them.

These are some more souvenirs from Paraguay. The three cup things in the middle are called guampas and are used to drink the most common beverage of Paraguay, terere and/or mate. Terere is drunk using ice water, whereas mate is made using hot water and mixing it with yerba, which is a combination of dried herbs that when mixed with water, makes a kind of tea. The guy on the right is a figurine made of a wood called palosanto, which is native only to Paraguay. It smells goods too!

This shot includes some bracelet trinkets and the currency of Paraguay. Their money called guaranies are highly inflated and come in sets of 1000 units. The small bill, similar to the U.S. dollar in its usage is the 1000 bill, which is call a mil. They also have 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000, and 100,000 guarani bills

This is a brick kiln that they use to cook a special kind of bread called chipa, which is similar to a bagel. I can't remember the exact name they use for the oven though.

In this picture I'm sporting my Paraguayan shirt made of a material called aopoi. They do some pretty cool embroidery with them and come in long and short sleeve in a variety of patterns and colors. I'm also showing off Jorge's Mission Fund. I baptized him the last day of my mission and we still maintain contact. We currently donate $10 a month to help fund his mission, which he plans to serve as soon as possible. If anyone else would like to contribute, just contact me.

Well, that gives you a little glimpse of Paraguay and the wonderful treasures that it has. Hopefully someday we'll return to see more.