It's not a thing...

I recently was asked by a friend what I liked most about Paraguay.

I always have a hard time answering this question because I just love this country so much, it’s hard to pinpoint a specific answer.

As I started listing one thing after another, not sure which I liked more, I finally came up with the right answer…
 “I honestly don’t know. It’s more of a feeling than a thing. I have peace here.”

You see, the love I have for Paraguay just can’t be put into words.

The love I have for Paraguay reaches deeper than the pretty landscapes, rica comida, and each special friendship I’ve made here. 

It’s a love I feel when I walk down the street everyday to school and think
“Wow, I’m in Paraguay.”

When I’m riding to church in a car packed full of neighbors and think
“Wow, I’m in Paraguay.”

When I stand on the top of a cerro and look out at the beautifully created landscapes and think
“Wow, I’m in Paraguay.”

It’s the love I feel after a week of serving others.
After getting called up to pray for my brothers and sisters at church.
After my students all run up and hug me.

It’s the presence of God in and around me.

A presence unlike anything I’ve ever felt before.

Two weeks ago I spent a week in Yrybucuá, a small town in the interior, to accompany a medical team from the US, and upon returning everyone kept asking how it went.
I literally couldn’t find the words to explain.

“It was fantastic…”
“amazing…”
“wonderful…” I said, but I just couldn’t find all the words to explain why.

It was a week full of my love for Paraguay.
The love that can’t fully be described.

I love Paraguay because it’s where God lives.
It’s where He brought me to fall in love with Him and His beautiful creation.
It’s where I’m needed.
It’s where I feel at home.

Rohayhu Paraguay.

Yisenia and Fatima in Yrybucuá