Another article I wrote for my home church's news letter, Connections.
Last time I wrote for Connections it had been only 3 weeks since I left home. Now it has been more than 3 months! My team arrived here in Paraguay on September 20th. The time has gone by very fast. It’s hard to believe it’s already December!
The Radical Journey team in Paraguay lives with host families. My host-parents names are Francisco and Mercedes Diaz. I have three siblings here: Janette, Daniel, and Laura. They are all older than me. I could not have hoped for a nicer family. One of the advantages of having older siblings is that they can take you places and do things. A couple weeks ago they got me and the two other guys in my group in on a weekend day trip that included rappelling down a waterfall! Our house is not huge, but it is very nice and very comfortable. Riley, one of the other guys from my team, lives with my host-mom’s sister and her family. (So, he’s kind of like my host-cousin.)
I am currently working at Alto Refugio, an HIV/AIDS hospitality center located across the street from one of the major hospitals in Asuncion. Alto Refugio was started by David and Judy Schmidt. David is Mary Lou Bonham’s brother, and is one of my Dad’s cousins. They continue to serve there today, and I’m glad to have the opportunity to work with them. Andrew from my team is also working there. In the morning I do a variety of things. A common task is batching food such as rice, flour, or beans in the pantry. Alto Refugio receives food donations from a number of area business, which they then distribute to the patients who come in. My job is to repackage the food from the 50 kilogram bags it's packaged in into smaller, individual-sized plastic bags. In the afternoon I have been working on Alto Refugio's website. The website’s purpose is to spread their message and is also a source of some donations to the organization.
Alto Refugio serves the HIV/AIDS community in many ways. Besides giving out the food products that I package, they serve a free breakfast and lunch Monday - Friday. They also give out free medicine. Every other week a dentist comes and see patients for free. They also serve spiritually, with a daily devotional time and a support group that meets on Tuesdays. Aside from all this, Alto Refugio goes into the schools and gives educational talks about HIV/AIDS. These talks promote abstinence and include a first-hand account of what it’s like to live with AIDS. You can find out more about Alto Refugio (and see a little of my work) at their website, altorefugio.org.
Along with David and Judy I have met a few other family members here. I have also discovered the work of other Regiers before me. In some ways I feel like I’m just continuing another old family tradition. My sister Laura came to Paraguay for a year of service directly after high school. My cousin Greg did the same. A few of my other cousins have also been here and volunteered. A couple weeks after I arrived I traveled a few hours out to a town called Lucero. While I was there I found out my Grandpa Edwin Regier helped build a clinic there. The clinic had since gained additions that almost surrounded the original building, but it was still there, the core of the new building. I think it’s a wonderful tradition, and I hope it is continued in the future!
I’ll leave you with a quick story. Alto Refugio is having a Christmas party for the children on Thursday, December 22nd. On a daily basis we usually have anywhere from five to 20 kids at Alto. For these parties, they expect around 150. Since quite a few of the kids would not normally get a Christmas present due to their situation, we ask for toy donations and give them to the kids. Last Thursday, the 15th, we spent all day sorting and wrapping no less than 200 presents. It was quite a task, but seeing the faces of the children opening them will make it all worth it.
Once again, thank you for all the prayers and support. I’m really grateful to have a strong church community behind me at home.
-Tim
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