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8/8/2019 Gustavo's Musings (9 of 10) - "Upon Further Reflection: Some Lessons From Our First Term in Paraguay..."

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Gustavos Musings (#9 of 10)

(February 2006)

Upon Further Review

(Some in-depth reflections on our first term in Paraguay)

It has been several short weeks since we returned to Paraguay after our first service leave in the United

States. During that time, away from the intensity of living and working in Paraguay, we had ample timeto reflect upon our first term as missionaries to this little known country.

Our experiences, and the lessons we learned during this first missionary foray could fill a book (and

someday, I may just sit down and write it!) But for now, I just wanted to jot down several thoughts andreflections on these first 16 fraught-filled yet intensely enjoyable months of service.

Before I begin, I should reiterate that all of our work was done in partnership with the Evangelical

Methodist Church of Paraguay in the areas of theological education and leadership development.

And now, without further ado, here are some in-depth reflections on our first term in Paraguay.

Lesson #1 You can never fully prepare for the intensity of cross-cultural adaptation

Before setting out to Paraguay I used to think that Rochelle and I were incredibly durable and flexiblepeople. I grew up in a bi-cultural household, spoke Spanish and had already moved once from L.A. to

Boston (the ultimate cross-cultural experience). Rochelle was a self-professed Army brat and had movedabout 12 times prior to her 18th birthday.

But the onslaught of fully adapting to a new culture was overwhelming, to say the least, and we weresometimes driven to tears by the whole process. It is one thing to see glimpses of Latin America on atwo-week vacation or a short-term trip. It is quite another to have daily encounters with so much

novelty, disorientation, and change. To make matters worse, all of this upheaval was garbed in thethreadbare poverty that characterizes so much of Latin America and creates a culture of hopelessness

and despair. It is sensory overload to the nth degree and it simply never stopped.

We were heartsick for home, trying to meet everyone's expectations, and shooting ourselves in the footevery other day. We were simultaneously happy and depressed, excited yet apprehensive, fearful yet

courageous, full of doubt yet unswerving in our commitment. Dr. Jekyll was driven mad with that kindof existence. More than once we did begin to wonder whether we were supposed to be down here in the

first place. It was a constant mind game, an emotional roller-coaster, and we often found ourselvessaying with all sincerity, This is the greatest place to benow get me the heck out of here!

Our faith in God, and in his will for our lives, ebbed and flowed, like the murky waters of the slow-

moving Parana River. Eventually, we did arrive into the open sea. We had survived the first stages ofintense disequilibrium and we were changed for the better. We became stronger and a little wiser and we

eventually found that we could make a home among the noises, the density, and the edge that definesso many parts of Latin America. As with so many trials that come our way in life, sometimes the only

way around the pain is to go right through it!


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Lesson #2 God wants us to be faithful to the people and to the tasks that he sets before us

Ive already touched on this in great length in my article Coming Full Circle (Mar 2004 - GustavosMusings #7 of 10), but it bears repeating. Much of our early difficulties in Paraguay were the result of us

running away from the ministry context which we had been given: I came seeking to teach in a top-

notch graduate program, but instead found myself at a tiny school with students who had not graduatedfrom high school.

God had given me certain ministry opportunities, but instead of honoring them and valuing them, I kepthoping that something better would eventually turn up. It was in response to all of those other doors

being closed off that I realized that I needed to be faithful to the tasks and to the people that God hadplaced before me.

Would I eventually teach at the graduate level? Perhaps. Was that a worthwhile goal? Probably. But in

ascertaining God's will in this particular situation, it was clear to see that given the circumstances, giventhe commitments we had made, given the guidance we had received to this point, this place and this

ministry had to be it. All that was left was to embrace the opportunity I had been given, and to give it myall. As for teaching at those other places of higher academic learning, well, God would open the way for

me if and when the time was ever right. After all, it was he who had steered me to this bible institute inthe first place. I was looking for ministry in all the wrong places, instead of ministering where I had

been placed!

Lesson #3 Doing great things for God can never be measured from our perspective:

As I alluded to earlier, I landed in Paraguay with visions of grandeur (or illusions anyway). Rochelleoften joked that I had a Billy Graham complex, always wanting to change the world. In some sense, she

was right. I did want to change Paraguay (and still do) and my formula for doing that was to work onlywith the most advance theology students.

But as those dreams quickly gave way to a different context, I came to see that my work at the bible

institute was equally infused with meaning. I didn't accept this because I was somehow "trying to makethe best of a tough situation." Instead, it was truly seeing each ministry opportunity for the value that it

possessed. Somewhere along the way, I had come to consciously (or unconsciously) measure success inministry based on numbers or based on some perceived value that I had placed on higher educational

levels or larger seminaries.

But clearly, all of the work that I did for God was infused with real purpose, and yes, even withgreatness. Every effort made on God's behalf had an impact on people, or structures, or society, or even

just on myself. Some of that impact was great by secular standards; some of it was imperceptible, but allof it had redemptive value, on a grand and eternal scale. Greatness could never be measured from my

perspective alone, for if that were the case, only the Grahams, the Warrens or the Hybels would everexperience it.

Lesson #4 God can work despite inefficient structures:

This was perhaps the hardest lesson to learn and the greatest difficulty to overcome. Upon our arrival in

Paraguay, we perceived that our ministry partner might have some organizational and strategicweaknesses. Some of that was perhaps due to cultural differences in management, but some of that was


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not. Both Rochelle and I had had enough business experience to make an honest assessment of thesituation.

Thus, when Western planning, precision and efficiency ran smack into a culture that doesn't place these

high on the value totem pole, it made for high drama, miscommunication, and more than a little bit of

frustration.

However, as time progressed, and we stopped fighting against the system, we could also see that much

transforming work was occurring as a result of this ministry partner (the Evangelical Methodist Churchof Paraguay). The list of their accomplishments testified to this reality. In operation were three

elementary schools, a daycare center, a mobile medical clinic, a campground, a bible institute, anagricultural technical school, a music & worship institute and 30 local churches. In addition, through the

work of these institutions, Gods Holy Spirit was changing countless individual lives.

God could work through some structural weaknesses because he always rewarded peoples faithfulness,and service, humility of heart, and love for others. This was the driving force of the ministry partners

leaders and of its pastors as they sought to grow Gods kingdom in Paraguay. We were focused onsystems, God was focused on people.

In the end, we were forced to become less critical and more patient with our ministry partner, and to

marvel at how much God had accomplished during our first term.

We look forward to many more lessons over the next few years (hopefully, the next few won't be aspainful as the last ones.)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gustavo Karakey was born in Durango, Mexico and grew up in Southern California. Currently,

he lives in Boston with his wife and three children.From 2004-2008, he served as a missionary to Paraguay, South America teaching at the

Methodist Bible Institute just outside of Asuncin.

In 2011, Gustavo and his family will be moving to Medelln, Colombia, where Gustavo willserve as a professor of New Testament at the Biblical Seminary of Colombia (www.fusbc.edu.co).

Gustavos passion is to help develop pastors and leaders for the church in Colombia and LatinAmerica as well as to prepare missionaries from Colombia for the unfinished task of global missions.

* * * * *

To learn more about this exciting ministry in Colombia visit: http://www.karakey.com

To sample or purchase a copy of Gustavos book Making Sense of the Bible which provides astep-by-step method to better understand the Scriptures visit:http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/22475

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