Linn’s Last Newsletter from Paraguay July 2012
This is my final letter from Paraguay. I
give thanks and praise the Lord for all of you who have supported me in so many
ways over the years. May you be richly blessed.
Thank you for all your prayers this month.
The Sosa family is settling in well and they are going to move in behind me
when the Hickmott family move out. They will be six in the house. The Hickmotts
and I seem to be on schedule for leaving, with packing and last minute tasks
falling into place.
The church
Sadly Bishop
Peter’s mother passed away so he and Sally have been back in the UK.
The English
chapel congregation said farewell to several of us last week, with a lovely
shared lunch. It is sad to be leaving our church family here.
The school
School has
been busy. There have been exams taking place in various departments, reports
have been written and Parent interviews have been held. Most people seem happy
with results.
Last weekend
we had an Inter-schools sports event with football and handball competitions. 13
schools took part. The event was held at our Sports ground. The weather
forecast was terrible but we all prayed hard and the Lord answered us by
sending sunshine all day over our event, whilst all around us there were clouds
building. It finally rained after we finished. It was a fantastic event.
Parents and staff worked hard but had a lot of fun, along with the children.
The school
mascot, Andy the Lion was in evidence all day. I don’t know how the person
inside him survived. It was a hot day.
The Country
The month
started with the first ever, wild, “Black Friday” sales in many stores in the
city. These were followed by sales in the local market. It was as if the city
had gone mad, with thousands of people on the streets and for once money seemed
to be no object.
This month has
been full of tension. In Curuguaty, to the north-east of the country, peasant
farmers invaded private land and set up camps. The police went in to remove
them and there was a shoot-out. Seven police and 11 farmers died and more than
a hundred people were injured.
Lugo accepted
the decision, to avoid rioting occurring in the city. Thousands of peasant farmers
had been bussed into Asuncion, in support of Lugo and they were ready to make
trouble. Eventually it all ended peacefully, but there are still threats being
made by Lugo’s supporters in Paraguay.
The countries
in the Mercosur supported Lugo and said that the Senate behaved
unconstitutionally. Next week sees the summit meeting of the Mercosur
countries. Paraguay has been told not to attend as the new government is not
recognised, but ex-president Lugo has been invited. Countries will discuss what
to do about the situation. Some want to impose sanctions, while others do not
want to go that far. There are interesting times ahead.
The Hickmott
family and I have enjoyed several farewell parties given by colleagues and
friends. It is customary in Paraguay for anybody that you have anything to do
with to give you a farewell party, so life becomes one round of farewells. We
have been fortunate that they are all occurring early and they have been spread
out. Some people leave here totally exhausted from all the parties. Hopefully
we will not.
Prayer
points
1. Please
pray for the future of Paraguay. Pray for a peaceful solution to the current
instability. Pray for the Lord to take control and for justice to prevail. Pray
for the meeting of the Mercosur and for a good outcome for the people of Paraguay,
whatever decisions are taken.
2. Please
pray for our Bishop and Sally as they leave their family in UK and resume work
here. There is a very busy time ahead, with a Mission Paraguay team arriving
from UK in July. Pray for the team, that they will be a blessing and will be
blessed by their visit here this year.
3. Please
pray for the pupils and staff of St. Andrew’s School as they take their mid-year
break for two weeks. Pray for good rest, good health and refreshment ready for
the next half of the year and all its demands. Pray for Mags Southern and Gwen
Carlisle, our directors, who are returning to UK for a month of deputation.
Pray that they will have sufficient time for rest and time with their families.
4. Please
pray for the Hickmotts and me as we return to our home countries of Ireland and
England and try to adjust back to the culture and the economy there.
Linn Tedman working for the Church
Mission Society, Watlington Road, Oxford, OX4 6BZ email:- ltedman@hotmail.com
You can read more detail and see lots of photos
on my blog:- http://www.linninpy.blogspot.com