Saturday Post -- 01/05/10

You’ll remember that last week, as I was typing our weekly entry, Amanda was sitting her exam at the conclusion of the course in primary care of the ear and hearing. And that we’d been really encouraged by her progress in the language as the week had gone on (the course was completely in Spanish). Well, Pine Ridge’s star pupil wasn’t about to let a foreign tongue stand between herself and academic achievement and, sure enough, she came out on top, with her score of 98.5% the best in the group of seven, five of whom are native Spanish speakers. Of course, true to form, frustrations soon surfaced (“what happened to the other one-and-a-half percent?!”). But we can complain not; in the face of difficult questions, Amanda kept her cool. She could teach the Prime Minister a thing or two…

There is not too much to report regarding our work, but there is certainly a palpable feeling of change in the air – and I refer not just to the welcome bout of sursthis week. Firstly, Matt, a volunteer in health and sports this month, left town on Wednesday evening; indeed he should be arriving back home in Texas around about now. Matt’s a Spanish graduate who is currently in medical training, so he was ideally suited to the work here, and equally suited to having someone around to chew the fat with. On Tuesday evening we went out to Estancia, Trinidad’s finest steak restaurant, so that Matt could sample some cut-price carnivory one last time. We wish him well in his studies and hope he’ll come back to the Fundación one day.

Secondly, being May bank holiday weekend (though, alas, the ‘holiday’ here is on Saturday), we’re rolling up our sleeves and upping tools as we prepare our new apartment for inhabitation. We’re hoping to move in within the next couple of weeks and the main challenge is the new kitchen, which is in need of a lick of paint. But calm down there, Dad – not without a good sanding down of the walls. Be still thy beating heart.

And more significantly, next Friday afternoon we’ll be having our meeting with the directors of FT to discuss our future work here, now that our first three months are up. We’re looking forward to having the opportunity to define our roles a little better but we would really appreciate prayer over the coming week, that we would feel a sense of confirmation of these roles, that the directors would be receptive to our desires and that we would be sensitive to theirs. We’ll let you know how things proceed in our next update.

One last thing. Those of you who know me well will be aware that the area of fashion-consciousness is some way down on my list of priorities – wedged between ‘Tidy your room’ and ‘Remember to leave the toilet seat down’, I seem to remember. Perhaps Bolivia is putting an end to that, but only because I’m terrified of the alternatives. Quite simply, Trinidad is devoid of suitable hair styling products for my Barnet Fair. Indeed, rare is day that I don’t look in the mirror and see a missing carwash brush luxuriating atop my head, particularly after a brisk trip on a moto-taxi. And so, it has come to this: if you’re wondering if there’s any way you can practically help us down here in the Amazon basin, you could do a lot worse than send a tub of this stuff down now and again.


Shock Waves Ultimate Effects Matt Clay. It’s just as exciting as it sounds, or for me at least. Happy hunting!

Prayer
• For our meeting next Friday afternoon with the directors.
• For patience as we begin the process of moving house for the fourth time in three years!

Praise
• For Amanda’s really encouraging test result.
• For Matt and the benefit he’s brought to us all, both as a Fundación and as individuals.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda