Chris & Alison, Paraguay
Christmas 2007 news
Greetings to all. I shall give two accounts of Christmas, one in the Indian communities we worked in and the second of how it is spent in our local church here in Zeballos Cue ( Asuncion).
Chaco = Indian communities. Having worked amongst Indian communities where the Anglican Church has worked, we have inherited some interesting customs. Christmas time is a real gathering, with a lot of buzz to it. Many people have been working away on ranches to earn a living come back to their villages to celebrate Christmas. The big holidays are Christmas and Easter.
People come back with cash in their pockets and new clothes, some with their squeaky new work boots. They aren't really into exchanging gifts but come back to reestablish and strengthen relationships. That is really great to see. The church had a central role to play in past years, with the churches usually packed to overflowing capacity. It is less so these days but still well attended.
On Christmas Eve there is usually an evening service to welcome in Christmas. Some have taken up the custom of letting off fireworks, but this has been copied from the Latin society.
On Christmas Day there is the morning service, followed by handing out meat from a cow that has been butchered. Each family is given a piece to take home to cook a family meal. Previously, a great big barbecue was put on and people given a portion. Meat used to be cheap, but not anymore. People would sit around socializing whilst eating. Afterwards, the games and sports get underway. Inherited games from past missionaries are: races, three legged races, sack races, egg and spoon. Another entertaining one is a hard bread roll dangling on a string and covered in honey. You can guess what has to be done. Peoples' faces are covered in sticky honey, not to mention their ears and hair. Also, they have a big bowl of water and have the same sort of bread roll floating on the water. They have to fish it out just with their mouths. Coughs and splutters!
The men play football in the hottest time of the day, with everyone watching and cheering. The ladies like their games of volleyball. The young people walk around with their hifi radios with all sorts of music playing. The lads walking around with their sunglasses on, still with the price sticker on one of the lenses, the young ladies with their makeup on. I hope that gives you a glimpse of a Chaco Christmas.
In town, it is quite different. There is usually a Christmas eve service to welcome in Christmas. Then you really hear the fireworks. It can be quite dangerous at midnight as some people take out their revolvers and shoot up into the air to celebrate. But what goes up has to come down. The lead lands somewhere, sometimes fatally. Often roof tiles need changing as well. It is best to stay under a roof around midnight.
Our local church, Christ the Redeemer, doesn't usually have a service on Christmas Day, as people feel they should spend it in their respective families. They are planning an end of year supper with allsorts of sketches, etc. This gets people involved.
We like to go to the English speaking service on Christmas morning. It lifts the heart to sing a few carols and hear the relevant Bible readings, and in English. Christmas puds aren't really a must for our climate, but a good lunch is welcome.
I hope this can bring things to life for you. Thank you for remembering us on a very special day.
With much love in the Lord Jesus Christ, Chris, Alison, Samuel, Hannah and Benjamin.
We hope to be together as a family for Christmas.
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Greetings to all at EDBC. We had a good visit from Steve and Jan. They enjoyed themselves, so did we. I enjoyed their company. (August 2006)
Below is an update of some of our news.
I continue my visits to the Chaco, visiting the communities of La Patria, Makxawaiya, El Estribo, Sombrero Piri and Saria. Last month, we started up small brickworks in La Patria and Saria. Both places have come up against difficulties, but are working through their teething problems. I visited them again this past week, and both groups are determined not to give up. Pastor Robert is in charge of one group.
Their first attempt at firing the bricks didn’t go too well. Their
instructor wasn’t as proficient as he made out. They stacked the bricks too loosely and the clamp collapsed as it was burning. There is another builder who I took in to build a water cistern, who has made a lot of bricks in his life, and he is willing to give them a hand with the next firing. This builder is building a water cistern for rain water collection off the roof of a new church building being constructed in a colony called “La Leona”. This was started by Project Paraguay, and is being continued by local builders, as, the volunteers due to come out and work were hit by the collapse of the Brazilian airline Varig.
We continue to work with requests for wells. Being the dry period the requests become pressures. We have problems with salty water in many places that make the work frustrating. Last week on the trip to La Patria, Esteban ( my extension worker) drilled a well in one of the communities and it turned out ok for drinking.
We hope that it doesn’t become salty. The dry season has really set in and the water tankers are distributing water to the communities. So, a well with good quality water is a big bonus.
It has been encouraging to be able to preach in the communities on the Sundays I have spent with them.
I continue to coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture extension service for courses and other cooperation possibilities.
Alison has just started teaching at the Asunción Christian Academy, on a full time basis in a new programme , ESL (English as a second language).
Please pray for her. She has a student who only speaks Korean, no English or Spanish. It is difficult to communicate.
Hannah flew to the USA in August to university, at Greenville Christian college. Pray for her as she settles into a new
environment. She does have several friends there who studied with her in Py.
Ben is doing well. Enjoys his football.
Yours in Christ,
Chris and Alison Hawksbee
Churches have started raising their own funds in order to supply their needs, starting with a very small sum of cash and increasing it in various ways. With this income they have, for example, been able to pay for the licence of a short wave radio and a new battery for it, providing an important means of communication.
I find it exciting to see this change of mentality as, at last, the dependency on help from outside is beginning to change. The willingness to share each other's experiences has been positive. People realize they have much in common much to be gained by sharing each other's burdens. It is important that local churches and the church as a whole have a clear understanding of integral mission that fits in with their mission statement.
The majority of the communities I work in have had a good agricultural season. The rains have been sufficient to harvest many crops. My great desire is that we can implement a no tillage system of agriculture in this coming season. Please pray that people will see the logic of this and that families will catch the vision, participate in trials and get good results for others to evaluate. Please pray for Esteban Galeano, who works with me, that he will ‘catch the fire’ for this method of farming.
I have also been coordinating with a government institution promoting agricultural development. They have offered me places on various courses they are running. These courses are free and mean that we are helping the government carry out their work in an area of need and promoting contacts with communities.
Alison and I are now helping with marriage counselling in our local church. I am also helping another group understand their projects, analyse proposals and write them up. Within the church, people have enrolled in groups, each with specific areas of responsibilities. This is new and they need considerable help carrying out their roles. I also continue with my share of the preaching and Alison with Bible studies. Thank you all for your continued interest and support of our work.
With greetings from all the family,
Chris and Alison Hawksbee, Samuel, Hannah and Benjamin
