Paraguay #16: Adiós mi corazón

"I am leaving a piece of my heart in Paraguay" said Joseph at lunch today. This is the last post from Paraguay but not the last post about Paraguay.  All five of us, Luke Stocking, Maria Castañeda, Helen Russell, Elizabeth Stocking and Joseph Maingot, will board a plane at 7:15am tommorrow morning and head for Canada.

The restuarant owners were impatient for us to leave their establishment today.  We gathered in Asuncion with our friends from all five partners of Development and Peace and shared a last solidarity meal together at lunch.  The thank-yous, gift giving, and warm wishes ran long after the restuarant was supposed to close.  We are so grateful for all our experiences! They call Paraguay the heart of America and today as I thanked our partners I told them I now knew why.

It is one thing to know that Development and Peace is working to improve democractic participation in Paraguay and to promote development alternatives.  It is another thing to know in a personal way the people, our partners, who make these goals a reality. "You are the hands and feet," as one of us said.  My Mother shared at one meeting her belief that, "Solidarity starts with, 'Hello, my name is...'" Through the last few weeks we have come to know eachother by name and become friends in the struggle to create a better world for all.

We are eager to share our experiences at home in Canada, to spread the Good News of what Development and Peace is achieving here in Paraguay. We want to tell you what we saw, what we learned, what we felt and we want to tell you why it is important! Please contact us to arrange for a presentation!

I plan to continue to write here about our trip even after we return. So people may think, if they miss this post, that we are still in the country even after we have left.  In a way they will actually be right.






Campesinos of the MCP play during our stay in San Isidro  - A little piece of Paraguay's heart.