Update: April, 2021

At our language school

Update:

It's only been a few weeks since our last update, but a lot has happened. Paraguay does not have the vaccine yet, so unfortunately as the corona clouds seem to be finally parting in many countries, the cases here have been rising lately. This has led to some measures to keep the virus from getting out of hand, including holding services virtually during Semana Santa (Holy Week). You can click here to see Stephen's Palm Sunday sermon (in English, translated into Spanish).

In other big news, the kids' school has begun a hybrid model for bringing the kids back to school, while complying with the very strict local school guidelines. The kids are now in class for 3

days out of every two weeks, and virtual for the remaining days. Anna Belle, Simmy and Grace have each had their in-person first class, and loved it!

Also, we now have a great vehicle in our driveway! Getting it has been a process and has

highlighted how things just happen differently in different countries. To start with, "cost of living" for an area is a lot more complicated than the single number you will get if you google it. For example, in Paraguay bread is extremely cheap. I recently watched the lady in front of me at the grocery store purchase a large bag full of bread that could feed several people, if they were only eating bread. Her bill was under a dollar. However, used cars here are very expensive. This is because Paraguay does not produce cars, so every car has to be imported (and taxed). Also, cars with low clearance will frequently bottom out on the speed bumps and potholes that you find on every street, and will also stall out when the roads flood when it rains. So even though in many ways the cost of living here really is low, it took a while to find a vehicle that we can fit our family in, that won't bottom or stall out, within our budget. However, we finally found a great 2014 Kia Sorento. Unfortunately, it took several weeks after finding it to get the paperwork done to get it, because in Paraguay the seller has to prove that they don't owe any back taxes before the sale can go through (or else the money will be garnished to pay the taxes). However, after a long wait, we are very happy to have a reliable vehicle in our driveway that handles the cobblestones like a champ. We are all very excited to have it!