September 12, 2025
Susan Hoover
Dear family and friends,
It's time to connect again! Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits. He supplies us with what we need, and so much more. Best of all is the peace and joy with which He fills our hearts when we yield our lives to Him. He is worthy of all our praise!
At the end of my last letter, I added a PS about our new grandson who had just arrived! And I didn't have many details yet to share, but later that same day, Peter and I were privileged to go to the hospital to visit them! Ariel Seth was added to Justin and Cheryl's family on September 4. He has four sisters! We had a nice visit with Justin and Cheryl, and I cuddled little Ariel the whole time. So sweet, and precious! I have so rarely gotten to hold one of my grandchildren when they were newborn. I thanked the Lord for this opportunity!
Another story which was developing in my last letter, was the problem with Peter's eyesight. We finally told the Lord that if Peter was to spend the rest of his life, being blind, then we would accept it, with the grace that He would give for that. And we really meant it. It was hard, yes, to honestly come to that point.
As I had mentioned, he had an appointment at the Vision centre again that Monday. (This past Monday.) Erdmann and Gertude Giesbrecht had offered to drive us out to Coronel Oviedo for that appointment, which offer we gratefully accepted! It was so nice of them. We enjoyed the hour-long ride with them in the early morning darkness -- we left here a bit before 6.
We did not have any idea how long the waiting period would be, so we told the Giesbrechts they were free to go home if they chose to, and we would go home by bus. So that is what they did. We stood in line at the desk to pay for our appointment, then took our seats in the waiting area. After we had a preliminary eye check, we were ushered to another waiting area and sat there for awhile, but not really long either, until Peter was called in. The lady in there knew what she was doing, for sure! She looked at the scans, which we had brought along, then got to business checking out Peter's eyes with their machinery. In a short time she had figured out that the artificial lens was stuck to the eyeball, and there was also a bit of dirt in there. She said it could be fixed with laser surgery. She said they do laser surgery right there, in that building. We asked if it could possibly be done that day yet, and she said we should ask the receptionist at the front desk. So we did! She made a phone call, then she told us that yes, they would book him in to do it at 1:00 that afternoon! So we had a few hours to fill in between. Peter checked on his phone for an eating place close by. The only way we would have to get there was to walk, so we hoped we could find something relatively close. It seemed like the one place was pretty close, so we set out walking. And we walked, and walked, and walked! Somehow the promised restaurant never appeared. Did we miss a turn?? I still don't know. Here we were, walking on the shoulder of a busy four-lane highway, with traffic whizzing by us all the time. (I almost have to laugh now, to think how it must have looked!🙂) To make matters worse, the nurse at the Vision centre had put drops into Peter's eyes to dilate them, and Peter could hardly see! The sun was hot and bright ... needless to say it was not exactly a walk in the park! Finally we were getting somewhere -- a little side street that looked hopeful. Sure enough, there was, not a restaurant, but a little grocery store (dispensa). We were hungry enough after our long walk, that everything looked good! We bought water and a number of food items, and the elderly couple that ran the store said we could sit out on the porch to eat our meal. They were so kind! They put out two chairs and a little stand where we could set things on. And we ate! Peter said we will not walk back to the clinic but will call a taxi. While we were eating I got a call from the Vision clinic, saying they had an opening sooner than they had thought, and if we would come back, they could do Peter's laser surgery right away. That was good news! This was like 11:00 or so. Peter asked the elderly couple if it was possible to call a taxi, and the man right away said he will take us back to the clinic. So many kindnesses! May God bless them! He took us back on a dirt road through the field, but it was short and soon we were there. He even insisted he didn't want any pay, but we gave him some anyway. We appreciated it so much!
We waited just a short time till they called Peter in. The actual laser surgery took only a few minutes. It was amazing! We did not know if this would solve the problem or not. But soon after Peter came back to the waiting area, after the first eye was done, he said he can see much better already! And this was the left eye, which was almost totally blind before. Soon they called him in to do the second eye. Improvement was almost immediate!! Once more, it is so amazing what laser can do. He had some pain in the eyes for the first few days, which is understandable because of the work that was done and also the eye drops. But, praise God, his sight has been fully restored. We just never dreamed, when we went there in the morning, that by late afternoon he would be able to see! We had no idea what the problem was, but we were thinking it would probably take surgery (not laser) in Asuncion, or something like that. Here we discovered the problem and got it fixed, all in one day! Right there in Coronel!
A man by the name of Elias took us to the bus station. He makes a business of picking people up at the Vision centre (because many don't have their own vehicles) and takes them back to their homes or to the bus station. Peter and Elias enjoyed each other's company, and we discovered that Elias is a pastor of an Evangelical church there in the city. It was a blessing to meet him! When he dropped us off at the bus station, he gave us his phone number and told us if we ever come to the city by bus, we should call him and he'll take us wherever we need to go. Again -- an act of kindness! Kindness in attitude, words, and deeds is such a blessing, and it is definitely pleasing to God! Let's take every opportunity to show kindness to others! Joel from the Home here, picked us up at the bus station in Campo 9.
I'm not sure if we'll go back to Coronel Oviedo or not -- Peter was supposed to go back in a week or two for a check-up. Now that we've been there once, we would probably drive ourselves. But Peter says why go back just to hear that everything is okay? Well, we'll see what we decide. Maybe we will go back, or maybe we won't.
So, our lives have settled down a bit again. There are still a few things "up in the air" that we are praying about. God is faithful. We are trusting Him. He will not fail us. And we don't need to worry about the future, because God is already there! What a comforting thought.
On Sunday, Jacob and Ella Hildebrand came to visit us for awhile. And last week one day, Abie and Anna Buehler, and her parents, came to visit. What a treat! Both couples were celebrating their wedding anniversaries! The Buehlers were married 34 years, and her parents (I'm sorry, I forgot their names!!) were married 57 years. Mrs Buehler said that every year, they celebrate their anniversary together and go out to eat lunch together. That day, they were planning to go eat at Las Tilapias. We have learned to know the Buehlers at the Missionsgemeinde -- he is one of the deacons there. Anna's parents live in the Mennonite home for the aged in Sommerfeld. They (her parents) both use walkers but can still get around fairly well. We enjoyed the visit.
Wednesday evening of this week, Peter and I went to listen to a men's chorus from Germany, who had come to give a singing program in a number of different churches here in Paraguay. That evening they were at the Missionsgemeinde. We took two of our resident, old men from here, along! Porfirio, and Concepcion. It was all in German, but they really enjoyed it nevertheless. They also enjoyed the snacks that were served after the service was over!! Besides the singing, which was great, there was also a Gospel message. Porfirio said he really enjoyed the message. Was there a miracle of tongues?? Did God make it so that Porfirio, who speaks only Spanish and Guarani, understood the German message? We may never know. But we were glad to have them along with us. It was something different for them, from the everyday and ordinary!
And now it is bedtime, so I will sign off. Blessings to one and all!
Susan for the Hoovers