God’s perfume

A new year has started. We want to thank everyone for their encouragement, prayers, and donations over the past year. God has done powerful things in many people’s lives. His blessings are new every day and every year. Each of us can move with Him to spread the fragrance of Jesus, wherever we are.

Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. 2 Corinthians 2 verses 14-15

So let us make an impact again this year and live for what we were created for, representing God wherever we go. For it is He who has made us adequate in Christ.

In our case, we were able to make an impact in different countries and make an introductory visit to Paraguay. This visit seems to have a sequel, because we have been invited to come and teach a few classes at the mission school in southern Paraguay during the upcoming school season. As it stands now, we will probably do this in April.

But let’s share a little more about the rest of our beautiful tour through Paraguay.
After visiting the Paraguayan beaches, the trip took us further along to the ruins of an old Jesuit settlement. Naturally, like true tourists, we stopped to take a look at this well-preserved UNESCO monument. This settlement in Trinidad was founded in 1706. Jesuits settled here and started a settlement for the indigenous population. They tried to prevent the Indians from falling prey to slavery and the bad habits of the Spanish colonists.
The settlement was self-sufficient, the people learned to read and write, they were taught a trade, and they did everything together. It flourished, and several settlements were built. Unfortunately, in 1768, the Jesuits were expelled by the Spanish king because of a slave treaty.

But what is typically Paraguayan is that we had the ruins all to ourselves, even in December, the holiday month. There was not a single other tourist in sight. Except that we unexpectedly came face to face with the only inhabitants of the settlement, young owls.
So we were able to quietly explore this large complex and try to imagine what it must have been like 300 years ago. When we left to continue our journey to Ciudad del Este, a few other tourists arrived to keep the loitering workers busy.

Ciudad del Este is a city unto itself. It borders Brazil and Argentina and is the largest tax-free zone in the world after Miami and Hong Kong. It therefore has its own atmosphere and typical visitors.
But we didn’t come here for the bargains, but for the natural beauty that lies 20 kilometers away in Brazil, the world-famous Iguaçu Falls. Since we were so close, we couldn’t pass it up.

The Iguaçu Falls are the largest in South America. In total, the falls are 2,7 kilometers (1,24 miles) wide and drop up to 82 meters (269 ft). Depending on the amount of water flowing through the river, there are between 270 and 300 waterfalls.
In short, water everywhere! Very impressive! You feel very small standing on a platform looking at waterfalls around you and hanging over an edge where the water plunges further down and continues its way through a gorge. What a force of nature. How wonderfully God has made everything!
During the walk, a number of curious coatis also walked along the path. These are raccoon-like animals with long snouts and tails. They showed themselves briefly before disappearing back into the vegetation.

During our last few days in Paraguay, we booked a cottage along the way to relax for a while. Upon arrival, we discovered that the owners are an older missionary couple from America. What a surprise! We hadn’t planned this, but the Lord had. So, in addition to relaxing, we had some wonderful conversations with this lovely couple, Joe and Ramona. Before his conversion, Joe served as a soldier in Vietnam, and the stories he told about the army and warfare were very instructive. Because we are also in an army, an army of God. Not on a physical level, but spiritually, to set people free with the love and truth of God.
For those who are interested, a video has been made about Joe’s life (video).

Our visit to Paraguay came to a close and we are now back in Brazil to spread our fragrance and see what we can do here for the next three months. New encounters and new adventures.