I got a new student last week named Pati. She's really great. She hasn't had a lot of English background but she understands a lot if I talk really slow. The other day she came late and we just talked for the rest of the hour and got to know each other a little bit better.

Pati wants to study Psychology, but she told me that when she tells people that they often say that it's not an important field. When she asked me what I am studying (Speech Pathology) I had to explain it to her because they don't have that career here. Specialized careers like mine are not available in this country. She wanted to be a mechanical engineer with an emphasis on automtives but had to settle for psychology since they do not have the other as an option in Paraguay.

About a week ago a woman came off the streets into the church and told me that she lost her job and couldn't find another one. A student who was sitting in the lobby told me that there are jobs in the city, but nobody wants to do them. When you drive around Asuncion there are many people on the streets selling anything from gum and coughdrops to socks and maps of the city. Children enter busses and hand out papers with a bookmark that say "I'm poor and hungry. Would you please buy this bookmark for G1,000?" (about a quarter). This makes me sad because these kids will be doing similar things their whole lives to earn money because they aren't in school learning skills that could help them lead a financially secure life.

There are many people here who have great jobs, work hard, and continue their education. However, it breaks my heart to see kids selling things on the street in order to eat and who, because of this, will be doing this their entire lives.

I keep thinking how great it would be if I came to Paraguay as an adult and started some type of Speech Pathology school. How great would it be if education for more career fields became available to the youth of Paraguay and the next generation was better able to care for themselves. I want to ask that you be in prayer for the government here in Paraguay and that individuals can have better access to jobs, education, and that Christians can bring hope of Jesus to this country.

*In case you didn't see, I put a link to more photos at the bottom of my previous post.