Too Young To Lie

Super sad news everyone...

I turned 29 last week. I know what you are thinking...how can someone so vibrant and full of energy (and immature) be so old? I have no answer to that other than...time flies when you are having fun and the more fun you have the younger you seem. But what does my birthday have to do with that horrible picture of my sunburned leg posted above? Well, last Friday, the day after my 29th birthday, I went to the beach with a whole bunch of the Young Single Adults here in Brazil. Friday was a big holiday here in Fortaleza...I think it is in honor of a Saint or something...and so the YSAs invited me to come with them. I decided that I still qualified as a YSA and so I was legit to go. We had a super fun day at Futuro Beach. The weather was perfect and the water was warm. We ate crabs and drank coconut milk on the beach. (I would love to share some pictures with you all but I didn't take my camera that day...I know, bad blogger.) During the course of the day however as I got to know the other YSAs I found out that they were mostly between 20 and 23 and the oldest one in the group besides me was probably 24...maybe 25, and there were probably some in the group that were only 18 or 19.

This is where I get off on a tangent: I don't know why but for some reason I had forgotten that usually where there are fewer members of The Church people get married younger and faster. (So the Young Adults that are still Single are usually younger.) I won't go into this in too much detail because I could write a whole book about this phenomenon, but in areas where there are many choices for a Mormon spouse (such as in Utah, Idaho, California, Arizona, big East Coast cities, etc) there are more people who take their sweet time in getting married (not everyone...some get married super fast but there are plenty who wait). Because why hurry and settle down when there are a million choices of people to marry and there just might be someone prettier, smarter, richer, more talented, more like your mom(or dad I guess), etc. who might show up later on? But when you live somewhere where there aren't what feels like an unlimited choice of active LDS spouses...people just seem to find someone active, good, nice and fun and they fall in love and get married and make lots of little Mormon babies. Kind of how our grandparents did it before the days of Internet dating, Singles Wards, and commercial airplanes...just find someone near you with similar beliefs that you enjoy being with, fall in love and get married. Easy. End of tangent So there I am feeling like a GRANDMA as I'm basically hanging out with kids my youngest brother's age when one of them asks me how old I am. Here's the little conversation that transpired with myself as I processed the question... 'You're 28 Becca' 'Wait, wait, wait, no, you're 29...remember your birthday yesterday?' 'Oh, yeah, I am 29...but I can't tell them that I'm 29...I'm already so much older than these kids.' 'Well your birthday was just yesterday and you don't need to seem any older to them.' So, I totally lied and answered "I'm 28," in my Sportuguese (Spanish+Portuguese) that I speak here. It just sounded so much less worse than 29. Why am I lying already? Aren't people supposed to lie and say that they ARE 29? So, not a great start to my new year. But I did have a great birthday here in Brazil with my parents. It wasn't hard to beat last year's bawling on my long drive back to SLC from Idaho...not wanting to go back and not wanting to be 28. But this year was better. Even though I am one year older and am still going back to SLC in a few days I am happy as ever. A few months ago I chose an apathetic approach to life and it is really helping me be more happy. You should try it sometime. Just stop caring. Anyway, here are a few pics from my B-day. Oh yeah, and the sunburn picture is my attempt to get a little tan on my legs so that they wouldn't remain the bluish purplish white hue I've been sporting all summer. But I can never seem to tan my legs and not burn some places and not still be totally white in others. I should just give up, but NO, I just keep trying every summer. So instead of getting tan legs I got burned ankles and knees and nothing else in between. And the burn was pretty bad. I didn't peel or anything but on my right ankle I had some weird reaction to the sunburn and now I look like I have a skin disease...you know the one where all your pigment clumps up? Yeah, I look like I have that. I hope it isn't permanent. A cute picture of my mom at the mission offices. She totally looks like she's faking that smile but it was real.

On the morning of my birthday my parents had four missionaries that finished their missions that were going home so they had a brunch for them at the mission office. Normally they have dinner the night before at the mission home but these missionaries were leaving on an odd transfer (because they needed to get back before school started) and flying out at a different time of day so they did a brunch for them instead. I made banana bread because that was always such a hit with the Argentines and my mom made some cinnamon rolls. Then we had stuff for little sandwiches and fruit with fruit dip (my mom even found marshmallow cream here to make her dip although it is expensive and weird like most the other food here), and fruit juices. It turned out pretty nice I think.

Just enjoying brunch.

Me and my mom and dad on my B-day. Oh, and Elder Coelho hopped in the picture to give my dad bunny ears. Coelho is the Portuguese word for rabbit so I guess it is fitting that he hopped in the picture to give my dad bunny ears.

Later that night my parents took me out to a Churrascaria for dinner. It is just a place like Rodizio Grill but had way more choices for food and was really nice. They even had a sushi bar so I had a little. I'm not a huge lover of sushi but it does just seem so much less disgusting when you are actually really close to the ocean so you know the fish is fresh...so I figured I'd rather eat some there than in Utah or something.

Me and the padres at dinner. The wine wasn't ours (of course). It was just on the table I swear. After dinner we walked down on the boardwalk area by the beach and had ice cream. I had tapioca ice cream with acai berry ice cream. It wasn't my favorite but both acai and tapioca are huge in Northeastern Brazil so I had to try the traditional flavors.

Anyway, I had a great birthday thanks to my mom and dad. And I've decided that from now on (at least the rest of the year) I'll tell the truth about my age. Then I'll start lying after this year like everybody else does so that I can stay 29 forever. Yay for 29!

A Proud Daughter

Shortly after my parents got their mission call I was in bed trying to go to sleep but thinking about all of the changes this mission call would mean for my family. All of a sudden though a thought came to me that made me laugh out loud even though I was all alone. It was late but I had to share the thought with someone so I went downstairs and sent an email to my mom. The subject line said "The four funniest words I can think of right now," and the text of the email said "DAD DRIVING IN BRAZIL!" Those of you who know my dad well will know that he doesn't like to drive in big cities. And prior to this mission my dad's view of a big city to drive in was Salt Lake City. I guess it is understandable. My dad was born and raised in a community of probably less than 500 people. It is the kind of place where you can park your car in the middle of the road and talk to your neighbor. And going to the big city of Idaho Falls meant venturing into a city of about 50,000. So no wonder my dad got stressed driving in SLC...the huge city of a million people. But my mom was raised in a tiny town where everybody knows your name (and is probably related to you too) and she has always done just fine driving in SLC and other somewhat large and unfamiliar cities. She even drove us around Sydney, Australia...and they drive on the wrong side of the road there! So because of this we all (me and my brothers and sometimes my mom too) have always made fun of my dad for being such a wimp when it comes to driving. But now, after spending a couple of weeks here in Fortaleza with my parents, I have to eat my words...because my dad is doing a GREAT job driving around this crazy country. And so is my mom. And I am such the proud daughter. The picture above is just one of the views out my dad's office window...so the city is even bigger than that picture makes it look. It is actually one of the biggest cities in Brazil...and has a population of 2.5 to 3.5 million depending on which Internet site you look on. I don't know how those estimates differ by a million people, but Wikipedia says it is 3.4 million and so I'm just going to go with that since Wikipedia is never wrong. And although my dad grunts and groans and sucks air through his teeth a lot when he drives here...as well as saying "stupid" and "donut brain" and "por favor" and other minor (and missionary approved) expletives, he is doing quite well really...all things considered. First of all, Fortaleza is a big city. Secondly, nearly every street in the city is a one way road. And not only are they mostly one way roads but they aren't labeled very well so you kind of have to just look at how the cars are parked on the street to know which way it goes. And then there are two way streets that turn into one way streets too. So, already a crazy, big, one-way street city...and then you add to that, pedestrians walking everywhere, motorbikes swerving in and out of the traffic, cars without functioning headlights, huge potholes large enough to send you flying, horse-drawn carts, taxi drivers making left turns from the far right lane (happened to us today), wide loads on bicycles (they even deliver 5 gallon water bottles 3 or 4 at a time on bike...amazing), whole families on a bike going against the flow of traffic, beggars walking in between cars to beg off people waiting at stoplights, people selling things to you while you wait at a stoplight, cars parked in the road (due to the lack of parking places in the city), missing stop signs, etc, etc. I think you get the idea. When you get even a little way out of the city there are animals everywhere on the roads. Mostly donkeys, goats, and cows. They just graze them right on the sides of the highways.

They have these little "trains" that drive around the city on weekends and holidays...and they play super cheesy music and have people dressed up like Popeye, Hello Kitty, Donald Duck, etc. that jump on and off the "train" and do tricks and stuff to amuse the kids I guess. It is actually pretty hilarious to watch although I would never insult a child's intelligence by taking them on something like that.

Men walk with these little carts in the middle of the road picking up bottles and stuff to recycle. It is really great when all of a sudden you are speeding along and then you get behind one of these.

City elections are coming up here in October and there are also cars driving slowly in the streets playing super loud songs to advertize for the candidates. Their elections seem like a pretty big deal here...I hear the songs so much I can sing them in my sleep.

There are also guys on bikes carrying HUGE, LOUD speakers advertizing various things.

And every time there is a wreck in this crazy city (and I have seen a lot just in two weeks) they draw lines on the pavement to outline the wreck...and they aren't in chalk or something washable but are in white spray paint. So the roads themselves are a testament to their own danger. I guess it is a warning to all to be careful. So pray for Al and Mil as they maneuver this crazy town!

Meus Pais (That means "My Parents" for those of you who don't "FALAR PORTUGUESE"...at least I think it does!)

As my loyal blog readers and leeches already know, I am in Brazil right now visiting my parents who are in the Brazil Fortaleza Mission. Over half of my visit with them is already over and I haven't even blogged yet about Brazil. Time flies when you are having fun and staying busy I guess. But I finally decided today that I'd better get with it and blog because when I get back to the "real world" I'm pretty sure I won't have as much time as I do now. But ahhhhhhhhhhh I do not want to go back to the "real world." I'm going to try not to think about going back right now as it is making me sad. So here are some pics for you...

My parents are pretty much the same...they still think they are SO hilarious. They had this frog greeting me in my room at their place. They also had a little ceramic frog in my bathroom to welcome me as well. As if I hadn't had enough frogs in Paraguay! Anyway, it is fine with me that all they have to tease me with is fake frogs. It is SO nice to be staying in a nice bug and frog and animal free place. Wow...I feel like I am in heaven now that I don't have to share my bathroom time with 20 frogs!

This is my dad giving me his "I'd better not see this picture on your blog" speech while making a Vitamina (that's what they call smoothies here...I think). He gives me such mixed signals about this whole blog think though because then he is always telling me stuff like "hey you should blog about that" or "that would be a great picture for your blog." So maybe he secretly wants to be a blogstar on my blog but just can't admit it...I don't know.

Anyway...things are still pretty much the same in that he makes smoothies almost every day...just like he did back in Idaho. The only thing that's changed are his smoothie fruits...now instead of strawberry, blueberry, banana, and orange...he has guava, mango, passion fruit, super delicious South American bananas, pineapple, mandarins, and green oranges. And he doesn't put weird stuff in his smoothies like he used to at home in Idaho...stuff like tofu, oatmeal, and various wheat products. He's all fruit now...all the time.

But...my dad has changed a lot too. For example he is wearing short sleeved shirts now...something I never witnessed in Idaho (except for that one time we caught him in his Superman shirt). He and my mom go walking along the beach almost every night and we even somehow amazingly got him to wear real workout clothes (like the ones in this picture)...I guess working out in Wranglers just doesn't feel as great in a tropical climate as it always did in Idaho. And in his defense...in the picture above was taken after he got back from the beach so he might be a little sweaty...but I think he looks pretty buff in his new work out clothes. Truly, getting him to wear something like that, at home or in public, is a miracle that maybe only my immediate family will really understand, but let me tell you, it is a HUGE change for my dad.

Another day, a little better dressed, but still making smoothies.

My mom in front of their front door where they have this lovely piece of furniture and flowers. It is kind of weird because they live in an apartment so this furniture is just out in the hall.

However...it is much more normal than their next door neighbor's fabulous collection of dolls, bunnies, and even a Keebler Elf looking thing...with a great big mirror behind to set off the collection. Not the greatest pic, but you get the idea. My mom has been willing to make some changes too in her life as a missionary. I even got her to take a bite of a banana...and she hates bananas. I told her that she should give South American bananas a chance because they are so much more delicious, sweet, and less slimy than the bananas we get in the US...which probably come from Ecuador anyway but just aren't that good probably due to a long journey to America as a young green banana.

So she tried it...but she still didn't really like it. She did admit though that it was better than any other banana she had ever had.

Anyway, I'll be sure to post more soon (if my dad doesn't kill me or ground me from the computer).

La Escuela Agricola San Fransisco de Asis

For the past five weeks I have been living in Paraguay and have been volunteering at La Escuela Agricola San Fransisco de Asis. All I've really shared so far is my struggle against nature (frogs, dogs, snakes, centipedes, etc) at the school. So I thought I'd better tell a little more about where I've been and what I've been doing this summer. So here are a ton of pictures with some explanations of the school in between. Let me tell a little about the school first though. It is an agricultural school about an hour outside of Asuncion, Paraguay. I think that they claim to be the first self-sustaining school in the world...or at least one of the first. I think they are the first to actually make the idea work. So basically a self-sustaining school is just like what it sounds. A school that doesn't rely on outside money to be able to run. The students at the school work in a trade in this case agriculture and running a hotel and store and their work for the school pays for their school to survive as well as helping them train in useful skills. They have one week of traditional high school classes and one week working on the farm, in the hotel, or in the store. They switch back and forth every week. The school was purchased by La Fundacion Paraguaya (an NGO) five years ago from some Catholic Monks. They purchased it, got it up and running and now it requires no financial help from outside sources. The kids do have to pay tuition of about 20 dollars a month which also includes housing and food but those who can't afford that either can get scholarships or can work off that 20 dollars by volunteering to work on weekends. So anyway I have been volunteering at the school teaching health classes as part of my practicum experience for my Public Health graduate program. Despite all the run ins with wild animals and other trials it has, in the end, been a wonderful experience. The students at the school (there are about 150 of them) for the most part are fantastic, hard working kids. The school is meant to serve kids from lower income agricultural families and help them learn to make their family farms more productive. But not all the kids are from agricultural backgrounds or are planning on working in agriculture. Some are just there to get a better education. They say that the education there is more like what the kids would receive at a typical private school which tend to be much better then the public schools here...but these kids wouldn't normally be able to afford a private school education. It is a pretty great idea actually because you get students who really want to learn and better their lives because they have to work for it. It is such a great way to help people help themselves. The beautiful gardens. They grow produce to use in the food that the students eat as well as to sell in Asuncion.

I love the evenings at the school. It is such a beautiful time of night.

Because they bought the school from some Catholic Monks there is all this funky Catholic artwork on and in the buildings. The school was built I think in the 1960's which should help explain the style. I actually think that the murals and statues and stuff are cool.

This is what I like to call Tim Burton's Jesus statue. I think it is weird and yet cool.

One of my favorite students milking the cows. They don't do it by hand but it isn't as automated as I'm sure it is in the US...actually I don't know for sure as I don't frequent dairies in the US, but it didn't seem fast and efficient enough for the American way. Watching cows get milked makes me like milk even less...there are just too many different substances coming from the cow in too close of a proximity for me.

Some of the boys getting the food ready for the cows. They don't grow hay here instead they have Cameroon grass which they have to chop up so that the cows can eat it as it is really big and tough. We do feed cows hay in the States, right?...hay and grain and corn and stuff, yes?...I don't know, I'm a sheep girl. Whatever.

Some of the students just relaxing before lunch.

Okay, okay, I couldn't have a post about the school and not have a frog picture. I didn't do this to this poor frog...it was just a freak accident. I just happened to see it a few days later and thought it was gruesomely funny. Wrong place, wrong time I guess.

The kids prepare all the food too. They only have one lady that helps them. They actually do a good job considering that they are high school kids, have a limited kitchen (like they don't have an oven), and that they have a very limited food budget.

Some of the second year students and I after class. I'm the blond one. A couple of my favorite kids...they are fun kids.

Just a pretty lane at the school.

Me with some of the first year students. Obviously the person taking the picture did not have a lot of picture taking experience as they cut off half of the class.

Doing an activity in my class.

Tomas, the boy at the right in the front is a first year student although he is 20 years old. Even though the school can be basically free to attend some of the families, like his family, can't afford to have the students away because these kids are supporting (at least in part) their families...so it isn't just the cost of going to school...it is also sometimes the cost of not having the student bringing in money for the family. That's why Tomas had to wait until he was older until something changed in his family situation so he could go to school.

Making cocido at like 6 in the morning. It is a smoky and complicated process but it tastes delicious so I'm glad they do it. I think it is made with milk, yerba mate, sugar, and a little charcol. Sounds gross but it is pretty dang good. Try it sometime if you can...but it is only good if it is pretty hot.

The courtyard on campus.

One last pretty picture of sunset at the school.

Somebody Give Me A Gold Star!

My roommate's (as in Intern roommate in Paraguay) parents and sister and uncle are here visiting from Spain. That is why I decided to start blogging right now. Because...first of all the mom is either blowing in or licking the dad's ear (I'm not sure as I saw it out of the corner of my eye and didn't dare look closer), and second of all...I can't stand the Spain Spanish accent and need to block it out (lo siento cousin Katie). For those of you unfamiliar with the Spain Spanish accent it basically sounds like Spanish with a lisp...it's like the whole country has a speech impediment. It is ugly and annoying sounding. Weird too that the Spanish are the ones who ended up with the ugly Spanish as they are the parents of Spanish...but somehow along the way all of the countries they conquered did better with Spanish then they did (except for the Mexicans of course, but can we really count that as Spanish anymore anyway?). Okay, okay, I know their accent isn't their fault (the ear licking however, COME ON!)...I'm just saying that is why I decided to choose right now as the moment to start my blogging marathon. SO ANYWAY... Give me a gold star because I survived Paraguay! There lots of lasts in life. Some are good and some are bad. Some make us sad and some make us glad. (Wow, what a poet!) Overall I have had a great experience here. The Paraguayan people are great...especially the students at the school I've been teaching at. Some of the food is good. It has been great to hear and speak Spanish again. It has been fun to live in and learn about a new place. There are a lot of things I am sad to see end and I will miss. This post however is dedicated to things you say "phew" to when they end...things you survived but didn't necessarily enjoy...things that didn't make you totally miserable but that you are glad to be done with. So here we go... Dances. Total torture. I somehow got suckered into two of them during my time here...both of them church dances because they disguise dances by using the word "Party" instead. They say "Hey, do you want to go to a YSA party?" And you're like, "Sure, I have nothing else to do." So you go and then you get there only to realize that here Party=Dance. It took me two times to learn that lesson. I should have been smarter. I liked dances in high school but Ricks College dances sort of ruined dances for me. I guess it was just all those times I'd be fast dancing with my roommates and then it would switch to a slow song and one by one they'd all get asked to dance and I would suddenly find myself standing in the middle of a whole bunch of couples. I guess that is pretty much a metaphor for my life. I should have seen the foreshadowing. Anyway, the trauma of those dances pretty much ruined the fun in dancing for me...although I still love to dance if it is on my turf...my friends, my parents' gym, and my disco ball and absolutely NO SLOW dances. But I survived the dances here...mostly by finding someone to talk to and by offering to take pictures of everyone dancing...and they love that...they go crazy for pictures. No more walking out in the pitch black moonless nights to my little frog infested casita. Those of you who know what a wimp I am outside in the dark will know how glad I am to be done with that. It's just all those stupid Bigfoot and mass murderer and unsolved mystery stories that have to come to my mind when I'm outside in the dark.

Yay for being done having to use this frog infested by night and frog poop infested by day bathroom. It was pretty disgusting.

No more school cafeteria food. And yes, that is a big chunk of bone with a little meat boiled with spaghetti. You're probably thinking, "Wow, did she lose a bunch of weight because the food at the school was so gross?" Unfortunately the answer is no. All that unsatisfying food just made me want to snack and eat everything in sight when I was in Asuncion each weekend. But amazingly the food never made me sick...I even got brave and ate lettuce, strawberries and drank the water here in Paraguay. Thank you to swimming in the canals of Idaho as a child!

Done riding Paraguayan busses. I love how SaraJoy can't even fit her knees all the way into the seat. We asked a lady that we knew on the bus to take the picture of us. We wanted it to show how SaraJoy couldn't fit all the way in the seat so we asked the lady if she could see SaraJoy's knees. She said "no" and came over and lifted up SaraJoy's dress a bit and then said, "now I can see her knees." We couldn't stop laughing.

South American Sidewalks...use at your own caution! Luckily I didn't sprain my ankle.

I won't miss animals trying to come into my house. Actually I thought this was pretty cute when I opened the door to find this little calf at the front door. I like useful animals though like cows, horses, sheep and chickens. It was all the animals without purpose like the dogs, snakes and frogs that I have had enough of!

Okay, and overall this has to be the thing that I am most glad to see end...frogs in the bathroom. Now if I was in a zoo or animal park I would think that this little froggy was adorable. But hanging out above your toilet or shower...not fun. DONE...no more. Other things I'm glad to be done with and glad I don't have a picture of. (Audrey you may not want to read this part.)

I won't miss...

The teacher at the school who would blow his nose into his hands and then simply rinse them off with water (no soap). I guess I should be glad he didn't just wipe it somewhere.

The bus driver hocking loogies out the bus window.

The gross guys in the streets making chi chi chi noises, etc.

Having to check my bed each night for tarantulas, centipedes, frogs, and snakes.

Blog Fans...Prepare Yourselves!

WARNING Blog Fans (and Leeches, of course)...Big Time Blogging Ahead. Prepare your fingers (to type comments)...Prepare your eyes (to read long posts and look at lots of pictures)...Prepare your minds to be entertained (okay, maybe not entertained, but at least occupied)!

So I have a whole free day tomorrow and although I will probably won't spend the whole day blogging as that is pretty lame and as there are a few cool things to see here in Asuncion I will be blogging a lot. I decided that I need to finish doing all of my Paraguay blogs that I want to do because when I get to Brazil I will have all new material and when I get back to the USA I will have to do normal people things like: finding a place to live, going to school and working. Yuck! Anyway, so I decided that since I don't scrapbook and don't really keep a journal that I'd better get it down here. So here we go...



This picture is because every blog post needs a picture to capture the attention of blog fans, blog leeches and blog stalkers. I don't know why...maybe I am just bored and weird, but when I saw this sign the first thing I thought of was that it was a J Dubb (JW or Jehovah's Witness) Crossing sign. Anybody else see it?

A Few Pics From Paraguay...

This weekend I talked my roommate Sarah Joy into going into Asuncion. She doesn't like to leave the school much and I have to leave at least once a week to re-group so I can come back all refreshed and ready for a new week of fighting the wild here. And since this was my last weekend in Paraguay and there were a few places we wanted to go to we decided to leave the school and have a little mini-break.

I realize that in my writing so much about all my freaky animal experiences here I have neglected to write much about the school where I'm working or anything else for that matter. I will later this week though, I promise. Here's just a few pics with commentary to keep my blog fans and leeches fed though until I can get more time and a better Internet connection.


There are all these pinky purple flowering trees here that are in bloom right now...yeah, I don't get it because it is the middle of the winter but I won't complain because they are gorgeous trees.

Mercado Cuatro in downtown Asuncion...it is huge and you can buy everything from undies to lettuce to fake DVDs...whatever you want and a bunch of stuff you probably don't want too.

I'm thinking of getting this frog for my yard to remind me of my visit to Paraguay...that is if I ever get a yard or a place to live for that matter!

Sarah Joy and I at the Temple again. The Temple is right next to the chapel where we attended church so we decided to get a picture together since everybody thinks we look like Sister Missionaries. I guess we are tall and blond and white and walking two by two, but HELLO I was wearing flip flops (or as my dad would say "thongs"). I know, I know...flip flops to church? I normally never ever would but we had to walk like 45 minutes or an hour to get there and I just didn't want to carry any dressier shoes to change into and I didn't even want to attempt to wear dress shoes with how the sidewalks are here. I know, LAZY. In my defense however, they are nice flip flops with leather straps...and I'm in Paraguay.

Me with some members of the church from Asuncion. Sarah and I met the brother at a YSA party we went to this weekend and then we ended up at his ward today for church. We got talking and one of the sisters asked me where I was from and I said Idaho. She then said, "which part?" which surprised me because usually I have to repeat just the name of the state like 10 times and then people still think that I'm from Ohio because Idaho is just hard for them to say or understand in Spanish. So anyway I told her that I was from the Idaho Falls area. She said that she and her family had been there and had stayed with some friends that live north of Idaho Falls. And I'm like "Hey I am from just north of Idaho Falls." So I named every little town I could think of (because she couldn't remember exactly where her friends were from) and we finally figured out that the friends of her family were from Hamer. Their last name is Ball and I think she said that their first names are Robert and Debbie or something like that. So if any of you Mud Lakers know them you can tell them that I met their Paraguayan friends and you can show them this picture on my blog. Anyway, it is a small world...especially in the church. I guess the Ball guy taught their grandparents the gospel or something. So there you go.