Saturday Post -- 18/02/12

I bet this guy's looking forward to Carnaval!

I suppose when most people from our necks of the woods think of Carnaval, images from Rio de Janeiro’s festivities would come to mind, glamorous ladies in ostentatious swimwear (though I doubt it’s all that practical for the doggy paddle) strutting their stuff on monumental floats. It certainly puts international arch-rival Strathaven Gala Day in its place.

Lowly Trinidad has its own, altogether smaller parade, as well as its own Carnaval traditions, one of them being to lamp the nearest white person with a ‘water’ balloon (though with open sewers on every street, alternatives are widely available).

Alas, here, as in Rio de Janeiro, that’s pretty much as far as the ‘fun’ goes. Carnaval as its name suggests, is all about indulging the desires of the flesh and as a result, the coming few days will see an alcohol-drenched populace brawling, passing out in the street and engaging in wanton bed-hopping (the last of which is implicitly endorsed by the state in Brazil).

It is not a pleasant state of affairs and as missionaries, we’ll be steering well clear of the centre of town over the next few days. But at least we’ll go home tonight to families who fully support our desire not to get involved. Unfortunately, the majority of teenagers in the church youth group will come under huge pressure from both friends and family over the next few days to do real damage to their testimony.

And that’s why, as a church, the annual Carnaval all-day youth meeting has taken place over the last few years. We want to give the teenagers a day away from such pressures and welcome them into an environment where they are surrounded by people who love them in Christ and who want to see them grow in his will, and where they can be armed with Biblical truth to face the days ahead. This year there’ll be the usual diet of food, games, music and water-fights. And the main thrust of the teaching comes from myself. I’ve opted to go with Psalm 1, which sets out in a clear and direct fashion the dividing lines between those who follow Christ and the rest. I’ve called it ‘Two Ways to Live’ and I’m really praying that it will help the youth to grasp the truth of it all on a weekend when they’ll be bombarded with lies.

Must dash, as the band are due to rehearse in a few minutes, but here are the usual prayer points to close.

Prayer

• For Craig as he speaks on the theme of Psalm 1 to the church youth group today.
• For divine strength for all the youth group members as they seek not to fall into temptation this week.
• For Amanda as she prepares her Bible study on Esther for young adult women in the church. It begins on Sunday the 4^th of March and we’re really excited about it.

Praise

• For Nicole’s speedy recovery. She is now back home, though the school are threatening to put her back a year. Please pray for that.
• For Elisabet, Amanda’s former Sunday school assistant, who has started working in Education this week at the Foundation and is brim-full of ideas and energy. Just what we’ve been looking for. 

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda