Paraguayan Visitors (or, The Post My Mom Has Been Waiting For)

My maternal grandmother, nine pairs of aunts and uncles, and loads of cousins and their kids live in the Chaco of Paraguay. A healthy representation of them came to Bolivia to visit us over the long Easter weekend. Two pairs of aunts/uncles, three pairs of cousins, and seven children joined the nine of us (the Neuefeld-Harder-Schrocks). We really enjoyed the time together - lots of visiting, some touring of the Mennonite colonies, a bit of the Good Friday processional downtown, marketing, and lots of tereré drinking and snacking. Here are a few photo highlights:

 Ramont, Jenny Dueck, Patrick Friesen, Hein Dueck, and Willi Toews toured some colonies on "Quiet Friday." They saw exactly three living souls out and about.

On Saturday we visited our mutual cousins in the colony Canadiense II (Morgenland). Our hosts were Peter, Lena, and Helga Fehr and Abram and Anna Falk.

Here we are drinking tereré and visiting at the retirement cottage of Julius and Greta Toews, my great-aunt and -uncle.

The Fehrs have been instrumental in building a new colony hospital in Morgenland. They gave our group a tour of it when we visited. In the foreground are Helga Fehr, Hannah Neufeld, Anna ([not] wearing what we all wanted to be wearing) and me, Lena and Peter Fehr. In the background are Marta and Hein Dueck, a nurse from Germany, and Abram Falk.

The Fehrs had arranged for us to have a churrasco/asado for lunch in the Buena Vista settlement near Morgenland. Here is the new-ish little restaraunt operated by Wullie Detweiler and his family.

And here is Herr Detweiler baking the meat he himself had butchered and prepared.

Our visitors also toured the buildings-in-progress of Guia de Paz, the future drug- and alcohol-rehabilitation center for Low German Mennonites. Left to right: Jenny and Elly Dueck with André, Patrick and Cordelia Friesen, Hein Dueck, Willi Toews, and Marta Dueck.

Our kiddies got better acquainted with their second cousins. Jenny and Elly's kids are both 5 months older than both of ours. Here Ryan gives Anna a few pointers about a body-size volleyball.

We finished off the meals on Saturday night with pacumutos grilled by our co-worker, Marcelo Beltran. Here we are visiting under the hatata beforehand, with our apartment in the background.

 We're grateful that our relatives took the time to make the journey, and very much enjoyed the time spent getting to know them better.

Also, we're really quite thrilled with our new silver and palo santo guampas - thanks!