We’ve now arrived in Paraguay and are staying again at the cottage owned by Joe and Ramona, the elderly missionary couple. Not bad at all—a cottage with air conditioning and a porch. We’re taking some time to recover from our adventures in Brazil and are getting ready for mid-April, when we’ll be teaching for a week at a mission school here in Paraguay.
Joe and Ramona have fruit trees in the garden, and right now there’s an abundance of citrus fruits and avocados. So we’re feasting on healthy guacamole, avocado milkshakes, grapefruits, and lime pudding. Every now and then a hummingbird flies by to feast on nectar while we sit on the porch with an iced tea.
Here, they call that iced tea “tereré,” and it’s the national drink of Paraguay. Tereré is the cold version of maté, a type of green tea. It’s drunk from an aluminum cup with a bombilla (a small metal straw with a little strainer at the bottom). Loose maté is placed in the cup, often mixed with mint and other fresh herbs, and cold water is then poured over it. By taking a few sips through the straw, you can enjoy a refreshing drink.
Drinking tereré is a very social affair. Often, one person holds a thermos of ice water and repeatedly fills the cup with cold water, passing it around in a circle to those seated.
A common sight in Paraguay is people walking around with a large thermos under their arm, attached to a small cup holder. They take it everywhere with them. You see workers, families, young couples, and in the evenings, people sitting on chairs in front of their homes, enjoying this refreshing drink together.
We are taking this time of rest to fine-tune our antennas to God’s heart and to discern the next steps when we return to the Netherlands for a short visit at the end of May.
Amanda was reading her Bible and came across the history of the prophet Elisha: The miracle of the floating axe head (2 Kings 6:1–7).
Here’s what happened: The disciples of the prophet Elisha were chopping wood on the banks of the Jordan River. A borrowed axe head fell into the water. There was a commotion, and Elisha asked where it had fallen. He then cut off a piece of wood and threw it to the spot where the axe head had disappeared. The axe head floated to the surface, and Elisha told the man to grab it.
This is a wonderful miracle and another gem in the Bible. But since the Bible is also a practical handbook, Amanda asked the Lord how this story can be applied today. After all, Jesus told us: whoever hears My words and DOES them is like a wise man.
Of course, we learn from this story that if you lose something, you should go back to the place where it was last seen. But also that God is willing to help in miraculous ways to find something back. But this time the Lord answered: you can use it to explain the good news.
Indeed! So simple!
The story begins with a complete axe.
Just as the axe head was connected to the handle, so too was humankind connected to God in the beginning. It was complete; there was perfect harmony. But then humankind became separated from God, and there was separation. Humankind fell and was lost in sin, unable to save itself or be restored. But God sent His Son Jesus to us (the wood). He came into our lost condition and died for us to lift us out of that state of separation. And everyone who responds to / believes in this act of Jesus can be reconnected and reconciled with God the Father. Whole again, just as it was intended from the beginning.
Wow, isn’t that beautiful! Just simple. Now you’ll never read this story the same way again. (read it here yourself)
And how wonderful is this! In a few weeks, we’ll be at the mission school in Paraguay, teaching, among other things, how to explain the good news of Jesus. We have a new example to share.
God isn’t complicated, but very pure.
No responses yet