Caroline Gilmour-White.  November 2011 News

 

Now that I’ve lived in my new flat, in the ‘U’ at the back of a U-shaped supermarket, for nearly a year, I can tell you more about my Paraguayan neighbours. The area is one of old, narrow streets and market stalls. I was apprehensive before I moved in but God had a purpose in putting me here.

 

My upstairs neighbours are a young couple with three children under six. Families in Paraguay are often de-stabilised by absentee fathers. There was suffering and shouting when Dad came home too late. However, prayer and some seasonable words brought him back. It helped that I reminded him of someone in his family. About once a month there is an upheaval and I depend on God every minute for wisdom.

 

The supermarket has a security man called Adolfo. Unfailingly cheerful, always smiling, he has a greeting for everyone who passes. No matter what kind of day I have had, Adolfo is there ready to talk. The excitements in his day are when his daughter from Argentina has visited, bringing him a present, or when his family will be together on a Sunday.

 

 

Across the road from my flat two women run a stall on a shoe-string budget. They’re from a country town two hours away and rise at 4am to get to their pitch in the city. Once a month they take the overnight bus to a town just over the Brazilian border. They arrive at 11am, buy new stock at a warehouse and are back on the return bus at 3pm. Twenty four hours later they will be at their stall, setting out their eye-catching wares. It helps start my day well when I meet Adolfo and these girls who are so humble and happy.

 

In very hot weather, it’s useful having ice cream in the freezer. Once, when two sewing workshops for beginners were imminent, I urgently had to find an attractive shoulder bag that they could easily make; the next day I was meeting a seamstress, Francisca, who could make a pattern from a drawing. Chocolate ice cream at 3am inspired me and I found the ideal bag on the internet – a bag that has been a hit most of the year. The ice cream parlour, called Doctorcito, often ask me: “What’s the challenge this time?” They are the subsidiary of a larger company and were keen that their name and products be on the web. Perhaps courtesy of CMS they will be!