Reflections on Paraguay

I've been in the habit of writing a longer reflection time about each trip I take. I did not do one for India (March 08), just due to being so busy when I was back. But here are some thoughts about my trip to Paraguay. I jotted down most of these ideas while in Paraguay, (To the right is a picture of half of the guest room of Paul and Hildi, my hosts for the last trip).

The following reflections are not in any particular order of importance.

ONE:  It is a little hard to get to Paraguay. You can't fly there directly from the United States, or for that matter, from a lot of places. For this trip I decided to fly through Buenos Aires. I had changes in my schedule going and coming and spent a lot of time waiting in the Buenos Aires airport. That's just a fact of life for those who want to work in Paraguay. There is just not a lot to do in the Buenos Aires airport, so if you are ever going to be spending time there, be sure to take a book along. I also thought it was funny that the Today Show's Matt Lauer was doing his "where in the world is Matt Lauer?" from Buenos Aires right after I left.  So, Matt and I did not cross each other's paths!

TWO:  This was my third trip to Paraguay. The first two times were to teach graduate courses for Londrina/REG/Omar. Both times, I had translation help from a missionary/pastor named Paul Amstutz. The second trip, Hildi Amstutz did translation work as well. They are involved in leadership development ministry of the pastors and church planters in their denomination and have a mentoring process set up. They asked if I would come down to do some training on mentoring and that is the reason for this trip.

THREE: The Mennonite Church has a pretty strong presence in Paraguay. This is due to Mennonites who left Russia and Germany in the World War 2 time and settled in Paraguay. There are Germon speaking churches as well as Spanish speaking churches in Paraguay. Paul and Hildi are pastors of a  Spanish speaking Mennonite church that was planted by the mother church which speaks German. It is always interesting to see which "flavors" of the church are strong in certain areas of the world.  Read here for an article about the immigration of Mennonites into Paraguay.

FOUR:  Paul told me that the World Mennonite movement is having their 2008 conference in Asuncion. He will have a lot of responsibility for some of the translation work for that event. I can imagine that they are going to have some major logistical issues getting all those world delegates into Asuncion!!!!!

FIVE:  Some of the big news while I was there was about the recent elections and the president elect being a Roman Catholic ex-bishop who is/was under discipine from the Vatican because he is a liberation theologian and socialist. Now...he is the president elect of Paraguay. He campaigned on the issue of helping the poor. I talked with a number of people there and there is kind of a "wait and see" attitude.  The issue of corruption is a pretty big one in Paraguay and it seems like the reigime in waiting is going to take a strong stand against it.

SIX: I was struck, again, by the high quality of leaders who were present in the workshop. We had 12 people there and they were all high caliber people who are leading and mentoring. I appreciated their leadership perspectives, I respect the good work they are doing and it was a privilege to spend two days talking about mentoring with them.

SEVEN:  On a more subdued note, I always come away from those times with a bit of sadness. For I meet so many good leaders that I wish I had time to get to know better and with whom it would be wonderful to have a more substantial partnering relationship. One of the themes we talked about in mentoring was the need to have an "incarnational" approach to mentoring. You need to spend considerable time with mentorees. That was the model of Jesus. The mentor and disciples did life together. We have settled for a classroom model that is best designed to pass on ideas. I always find myself wishing that I could just spend some leisurely "life together" to consider the issues that are on our heart.

EIGHT: Many of you know that Becky and I are gardeners and I love flora and fauna of a wide variety. It was lovely being with my hosts - Paul and Hildi, for Hildi especially is a gardener and their place was a little "Garden of Eden."  I really enjoyed their place. It felt restful. The flowers were beautiful. The landscaping was really nice. They also have a variety of orchids growing! The last time I saw a live orchid was down at Longwood Garden in their conservatory.

NINE:  I had a chance to spend a few hours with another friend and leadership development guy - Javier Velasquez. Javier is getting close to finishing his doctorate in leadership and I came away with a much better understanding of the model he is involved with and looking to implement in Paraguay. I also learned a lot more about his own life journey and came away appreciating Javier more than ever. Here is the website for BILD who does a larger picture of theological educational development for leaders. They have some really good approaches.

TEN:  Paul, Hildi and I went out on Friday night to a really good Chinese restaurant that I ate at last time I was there. I REALLY liked the food and jumped at the opportunity to go back. We had a great time sharing a variety of foods and hanging out.

ELEVEN: I think the accomodations that I had were about as ideal as anything I've had on any of my trips. Paul and Hildi had a guest room that is attached to, but not a part of, the main house. So, I was right there to have as much time with them as needed, but also to have some space for preparation and downtime. (And again, the beautiful gardens were right outside my door!)

TWELVE:  I think the church where Paul and Hildi pastor is one of the most unusual church structures that I have every seen. It has beautiful architecture with flowing, curving lines of brick walls, with courtyards, sanctuary, classrooms and offices. For some of you, the name Leonard Ravenhill may ring a bell. If you don't know who he is and want to read a quick note on him - click here. But their church was a ministry center that was built by a son of Ravenhill who lived and ministered in Paraguay. I preached there on Sunday morning. It is always a dilemma for me when I preach and the preaching has to be translated. I really prefer not to do it, but spoke briefly on Standing at the Crossroads theme on Sunday morning.

THIRTEEN:  I came away, once again, seeing that even in the Spanish language, there are just not enough good resources for leaders. And there is not the easy availability of English works for those who are fluent in leadership. I thought it would be nice to have about $2000 to get a leadership lending library set up and make some of the best resources available to a variety of leaders. Go here to read the list of Core Leadership Books recommended by LCI.

Okay, I hope this gives you a little flavor for my last trip. A two-day workshop on mentoring and a little time for connecting with Paul and Hildi and Javier. It was a short trip, but a good one!

Brian Rice