Service in Paraguay

I had a very interesting experience yesterday. I
visited 13 Paraguayan women in a microcredit loan
program by the Paraguayan Foundation. They started 2
hears ago with just a $20 loan. They pay it back at
$7 per week over 6 weeks. They each pay the leader
every week and the leader pays the foundation. After
6 weeks they can apply for another loan, $50. It goes
for a longer period of time. They were applying for
their 3rd loan which could be $180. Their pay back
record was so good that they all decided to take the
bigger loan.

Some of the businesses they had going was selling
milk, 5 cows, making and selling charcoal, candy on
the streets, little stores in their houses, clothing
sales, baked goods. This has really helped their home
income. If one can´t make the payment for the week
then the others help her come up with the money. It
is a team effort and they don´t want their credit hurt
with the foundation. I visited the little store that
one woman has and she had just a few items. She said
that 50% of her profit came from pop and beer sales on
weekends. She was out of pop waiting for the money to
come in so she could buy more goods. It is high
interest but the team effort certainly was impressive.
After the meeting and I was driving away from the
group walking down the street and I stopped to take their
picture. They all waved and seemed like they were in
a wonderful club. The foundation makes money, the
mothers make more money for the family and others are
also employed. Win win win.

The Paraguayan Foundation has really rolled out the
red carpet for us. Yesterday our group helped 400
people. This morning they had over 500. 300 traveled
over 4 hours to be here. The church has put out the
word and they are coming in droves. Our volunteers
work so hard. They are doing a wonderful job. The
plastic surgeon took a boy with 4 fingers and gave him
five. When the boy was born, both hands had the 3rd and
4th fingers were hooked together. Last year the
surgeon did the right hand and then the left hand this
year. The dentists are soooo busy.

We have local professionals that are coming to help.
I am so pleased to see that happen. We hope that they
will do more volunteer work seeing our people doing
it.

Construction has been a disaster. The Padre keeps
telling us that the building materials will show up
but at the end of each day some, but not all, has
arrived. We have done some work, but nothing like we
had wanted. There is always tomorrow down here.

The weather right now is just like Twin in the spring
and fall. Cool nights. Our first day was hot and
muggy but it has rained and cooled off.

Sunday church was interesting. The chapel is very
small. About the size of the relief society room at
home with a small over flow room. 6 of us went. They
made us sit on the stand. The music was interesting.
A member played the piano with one finger and didn´t
know about sharps and flats. It was a different
melody for sure.

Well, I must leave to see how the construction is
going. I eat at 1 and start for the airport at 3. I
am concerned about Brazil. They were not nice to me
or the Ecuadorians. I don´t know why but they treated
us very poorly.

PS. I have caught 12 little frogs, 1.5 inches square
so each family can have 2 frogs each. They are
soooooo cute.

gordon