The Vernoy Pumpkin Carving Challenge

The annual event was founded and hosted by Naomy Vernoy. This year the competition was fierce!

The competitors would like for you to vote for your favorite pumpkin, please!

Goombah

Republican party

Tetris

Badtz Maru

Happy 235th Birthday to the USMC

Freedom is not free, but the U.S. Marine Corps will pay most of your share.
Ned Dolan

USA

I tried to go shopping at Target and was very overwhelmed. 
Walked out with a Candyland game, (shhhh! Don't tell the grand kids!)
kitty litter scooper ( you can tell the cat!)
and hand towels...

Where is Jungle Mom???

This is Junglemom's husband in Paraguay.
Rita was just delivered in a box to the
??th
(my daughter just told me that I am not supposed to say Pam's age is 50) 
birthday party for her sister in Arcadia Florida.

She travelled secretly this week with the help of a dear friend and surprised her.

Nate Saint House Tour

I really enjoyed seeing the Saint House but it was even better to see and hear our friend Dan Whitehead on the video!


Nate Saint House Tour

Have You Ever?

Listened to the sound of rain falling upon a palm roof?

 

Heard the songs of howler monkeys in the jungle?

 

 

Seen a sky only God could paint?

Watched the majestic macaw soar overhead?


 
Fallen asleep to the sound of the river flowing past your window?

Swam beneath the spray of a waterfall that has no name?



 
Listened to the thunder roll across the jungle, and heard the voice of God?

Followed the tracks of a jaguar down to the creek,
hoping to catch a peek?

Walked under a moon so bright, it cast your shadow at mid night?

Stand under the jungle canopy, looking up...and see no sky?
 



Felt the sun beat upon you as you paddle down stream
in a dugout canoe?

Loved a child with dark, black, shiny eyes?

Swam in a current that nearly takes you away?
 

 

Eaten a sun ripened pineapple, straight from the garden?
 



 
Held the hand of a tribesman, and truly felt him to be your brother?
 

Smelled the smoke of a camp fire, hours before you arrive?





Been held in the embrace of an Indian grandmother, 
who "rocks" away your pain?

Eaten a fish that was swimming only moments ago?

 Had your face lovingly painted in onoto, and felt beautiful?

Had to leave it all, not knowing when , or if you would see them again?

I would like to thank  the Venezuelan jungle missionaries who have contributed  these photos. All photos are original to Jungle Mom, Don Arnold, Mike Dawson, Pastor Von, Micah Jank, and Jonathan Reed.

The Things I See

People crossing the border to Brazil on a mototaxi... every single day!

MOTO!MOTO!

(Paraguay en fotografias)

The deer god

One of our concerns in the jungle was making sure we had enough protein in our children's diet. In the early years, before the solar panels, generators and battery powered refrigerator, we were constantly searching and trading with the Indians for fresh meat and fish.

One meat that the Indians were usually interested in trading with us was liver. Deer liver and tapir liver. We were glad to get it! We always pretended it was STEAK! The most yummy, prized, sought after cut of meat in the jungle! OH ,yes, my children, you get to eat LIVER! Poor children in America rarely have this opportunity! Aren't you all lucky! WOO HOO!

Since my kids were really isolated in the jungle...the ruse worked! They all ate liver with gusto! But our favorite was deer liver as it was more tender.

One day, Jorge arrived and asked if we liked liver. My husband assured him that we liked liver very much. Then, dear hubby said, in very clear Ye'kwana, " We love to eat deer liver! Our children all love to eat deer liver. Can we buy or trade for some of your deer liver????"

Jorge, opened his eyes and repeated, "Deer liver?"

Hubby says, "Oh yes! We would be glad to trade whatever you might need, for some of your deer liver for our children."

Unfortunately, the Ye'kwana word for 'DEER' is 'CAWAADI' and the Ye'kwana word for 'GOD' is 'WANAADI'. Very similar to a new language learner.

My husband had been asking to purchase a bit of 'God's' liver for our children to eat!

Wanaadi...Cawaadi.. God ...deer... a big difference

I'm back

Normal road conversation while traveling in Paraguay may include the
following: 

" Is the Ostrich Farm before or after the Totem Pole?" 

"Before the Totem Pole but after the Jockey Club." 

 

 "and where is The Yacht Club?"
 

Oh that's in the middle of all the corn fields." 

 

"Oh LOOK, a man carrying his lawn mower on the back of his bicycle!"

 

"STOP! This is where they have the German Chocolate Cake"

 

"But I wanted to get ice cream and Pecan Pie from the Canadians."

 

I was AQUI !

Click to view the photo album

Tereré

Especially for my friend Gringo... this is a fair reenactment of Jungle Mom's first taste of tereré, but it grows on you!

Help a Missionary!

You can help me win a KINDLE!

 Just go here and follow the rules to enter

• Leave a comment on the post mentioning (and linking to) one of your favorite posts from my blog.   You also must post the country you live in (not the missionary, you).
• If you want to get an extra entry, post the link somewhere else.  If you post it on a blog, you’ll get 3 bonus entries, if you post it on Twitter, Facebook, or somewhere else, you’ll get 1 bonus entry.  But you have to post it and then leave a comment (with a link to where you mentioned it) below.

The contest will be open until 11:59pm Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), October the 16th, 2010.  Contest winners will be announced sometime the following week.

So, can you help a missionary out???????/

The Kitchen

It has been three months and we have been working to get the kitchen functional. I never showed you the pictures of the condition of the kitchen when we moved to this house. I was afraid someone might think I was crazy. We tackled the kitchen with a lot of elbow grease and a budget of $200.00.

What to do?
(The whiskey bottle was on the counter when I came! It's not mine!)

First, I cried! Alot!

We decided the lower cabinets had to go! My husband and son in law scrubbed the upper ones to make them useable. We had a cement  and tile counter put in. We did not have a lot of money nor did we want to invest too much in a rental property. The owner eventually covered the cost of the counter.

I decided to go for color!

I covered the end cabinet, which was grease stained beyond repair, with chalkboard contact paper.

We purchased a second hand cabinet.

I found these orange checkered dish towels in Asuncion
and attached them to the cabinets with velcro.

 Easy to clean.

Easy on, easy off!

My husband painted the walls a light turquoise.
These are our termos y guampas for Tereré .

The ceiling fan is a relic that was left in the house.
Clint cleaned  and painted it for me.

This was made by a dear Venezuelan friend and it is what makes a kitchen feel like it belongs to me!

Since I have no drawers, I use a dish rack and shower caddie for storage.

Hey, it works!

I have hot and cold water in the kitchen...just not out of the same faucet.

The window treatment is made of four napkins.
We painted the 3 light fixtures and a basket the same tangerine color as the fan.

My ONE outlet.
I added the adaptor to make it three in one.

Our water filter

My favorite kitchen appliance.

My 'MR. COFFEE'!

 So...what do you think????