Saturday Post -- 22/09/12

Amanda with one of the puppies, now two months old. This week
we bid farewell to two of the litter and the remainder will be heading
for kennels new in the next few days.

I may have mentioned in the past that birthdays play a lot bigger here than they do in Western cultures. In Bolivia, they have the big milestones like everywhere else – 15, for example, is a huge deal for girls. But it’s not unusual to receive an invitation to a fairly lavish bash for, say, someone’s 37^th birthday.

We have tended to steer clear of big celebrations ourselves, preferring to keep things quiet (and, as the years pile up, we have good reason to do so!). Nevertheless, it’s been nearly three years since we arrived in Trinidad and this year, realising it had been some time since we’d marked either of our birthdays with friends, both of us had an inkling to stage festivities of some sort. Alas, the more obvious occasion, my 30^th birthday, coincided with Amanda’s time in Santa Cruz – maybe next year – but Amanda turned 27 on the 4^th of September, by which time we had been back for some time, and set about testing the water for an event among friends and colleagues (as if we expected them to say no).

Well, it turns out Fundación Totaí has something of a September issue. For Amanda was quickly to discover that she is one of four female workers here whose birthday falls on the ninth month. Consequently, she felt it incumbent upon herself to organise an evening of revelry not only for herself but for those three colleagues (and the wife of another FT worker), which took place last night. The list of invitees consisted solely of those of the fairer sex. Luckily for me, however, Maicol needed a hand on the barbecue and let’s say that, having enjoyed more than my fair share of steak, I more than took advantage of my, ahem, ‘prime’ position. More to the point, though, after a week of rigorous preparation, Amanda was able to sit back and enjoy the company of her friends here.

It was a busy week, too, at work, where Amanda took sole charge of Audiology in the absence of co-worker Odalys, who spent the week in the outer reaches of the Beni region providing ear & hearing care to remote communities. It was, of course, a privilege for Amanda to provide cover so that Odalys could go about such valuable work.

Meanwhile, I’m growing increasingly appreciative of my week out west as I’ve had hardly a moment to myself since returning. Firstly, I’ve had a sermon to write for this weekend on Psalm 112. Our recent schedules have prevented me from doing much preaching lately and, having had a couple of months away from the pulpit, it’s taken me a while this week to get back into a rhythm. Secondly, the community classes continue to grow, with around 30 kids in attendance on both Wednesdays and Fridays. Elizabeth and I are embracing the new challenges which such high numbers present us with. And thirdly, the new Basic English class kicked off this week, where we have a keen, but small, group of students, with just five in attendance at Thursday’s class. Please pray for more attendees there.

Finally, I should make mention of something which took place a few weeks ago but which I’ve not been able to share due to my time away: I received a letter inviting me on to the eldership of our church, ‘El Jireh’, and I’ve prayerfully accepted that invitation. Amanda and I feel there is still so much the church could be doing to impact our local community for Christ and ‘make disciples’ of those already in our congregation. So perhaps there is an opportunity here to help influence the church in these directions. But before I can even begin to think on such things, I am all too aware of the immense responsibility which now falls on my shoulders and the higher standard to which I will, one day, be held accountable. More than anything else, I would ask you as friends to pray that I would live up to the benchmarks set by the Lord through Paul in 1 Timothy 3:1-7.

Prayer

• For Craig as he begins his service as an elder at ‘El Jireh’ church and as he preaches on Sunday.
•  For growth in the new English class.
• For my travelling companion, Dan, who should be on the final leg of his journey back home to Scotland later today.

 Praise

• For the special time Amanda was able to share with her female friends and colleagues last night.
• For the many new faces who have come to the Community classes in recent weeks.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda