That was not so last week, when I had to log the update late afternoon on Friday, in anticipation of a very different start to the weekend. Here in Bolivia, the standard rendez-vous time for church youth groups is Saturday evening, our own group meeting from 7pm till 8.30pm. However, in a recent leaders' meeting, we sensed a need to freshen things up a little. So last Saturday, rather than wait till 7pm, we opted to leave the church at 8.30am and head to the Laguna Suarez for the morning, a local artificial lake resort. The usual clientele there tend to be fairly well-to-do, so we were allowed the freedom of the lake so long as we cleared off by lunchtime. It was a terrific morning and here are a few snaps to help set the scene (picture credit, once again, goes to fellow missionary Kenny Holt).
As is always the case on a Saturday evening, we kicked off things with a brief worship time, led by yours truly.
That was followed by a game and then some Bible teaching, led by Mariana (who can genuinely be classed as a youth leader as, unlike us, she's still relatively youthful). We continued in the series on The Purpose Driven Life, which we've been doing for about a month now, taking the theme for each 'day' as the weekly focus.
This was followed up by some time in small groups, Amanda and I both finding a spot on the dock. As ever, this was an important part of the session, but by this time the sun was climbing ever higher...
...and a couple of hours of this was the inevitable result.
We headed back to Trinidad, where we had a bite to eat for lunch before all going our separate ways again. The programme tweak helped to freshen things up, allowed us as leaders a little more time to get to know the young people, and excitingly for Amanda and me, afforded us our first free Saturday evening for some months.
Additionally, Amanda was able to spend some time with an older member of the group, Liria, someone who's only just started coming along, but who we both know very well due to her work in administration at FT. It's fair to say that Amanda hadn't exactly been actively pursuing a deeper relationship with Liria over the past months, but out of the blue, Liria told Amanda how much her friendship has meant to her. It was really humbling for Amanda and we had her round for lunch one day this week to try and strengthen the bond a little further. As far as we know, she's still seeking, so please pray for her.
The rest of the week saw the surgical campaign continue until Tuesday, so Amanda was on general nursing duties before switching back to Audiology on Wednesday. My work duties centred mostly around the website, creeping ever closer to launch, and the Community classes, which resumed on Wednesday.
Anyway, must dash. I'm teaching at the youth group tonight, so I need to put the finishing touches to that before heading for a big lunch, a big screen and a big game at Kenny's place this afternoon. As a great philosopher of our age once so eloquently put it, it's squeaky bum time!
Prayer
• For Craig as he teaches on the theme of ‘Created to Live Forever’ tonight at the youth group.
• For a deepening relationship between Amanda and Liria, and for opportunities to witness to her.
Praise
• For a great session with the youth group last Saturday and particularly for the opportunity to develop relationships with individuals that the morning provided.
• For continued progress with the new worship band this week.
¡Que Dios les bendiga!
Craig & Amanda
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.