Saturday Post -- 02/02/13

First up today, some pictures taken yesterday of the house, which, like their subject, have been a while in coming. 

The new entrance-way being added to the front of the house.

The kitchen, post-tiling, pre-fitting. No idea what our friend in the baseball
cap is up to.

A view from upstairs, outside the large window.

Unfortunately, the project has been beset for some time by a chronic lack of workers. People in the Beni region have something of a national reputation for sloth, and the traditional Christmas/January twilight zone has seen our contractor struggle to assemble enough guys to make headway.

Amanda and I hadn’t initially been too concerned about deadlines, but with our first visitors for the year – my parents – arriving in mid-April, we began to get a little anxious. So I spoke with the project manager a few weeks ago and, voila, the last couple of weeks have seen a major increase in workers and a hastening in progress. Indeed, it was nigh-on impossible to take pictures yesterday without workers in them.

More recently, we’ve put pen to ink on a couple of important contracts for the installation of the kitchen and security fencing – a necessary evil in this culture. Hopefully we’ll be able to report a moving-in date sooner rather than later.

One date we can point to with certainty is the official start of the school year this Monday coming. Well, theoretically at least. Because of course, here in Bolivia, and indeed throughout Latin America, there’s an unwritten rule that nothing really gets going till that granddaddy of all festivals, Carnavál, is out the way. This year’s celebration takes place relatively early – the 11^th and 12^th of February – and so it is fair to say that this week will be something of a write-off. Besides, many schools don’t even have their timetables in place by the time they return from the holidays. However, at least it’ll be out of the way fairly soon and my FT Education colleagues and I can begin the year’s R.E. teaching by mid-February (Carnavál can fall as late as early March, virtually wiping out a month of classes).

At the Foundation this week the main focus has been preparing for the latest surgical campaign, taking place next week in our operating theatres. Once again, we’ll be assisted by visiting ENT surgeons from Paraguay, who have brought a really positive attitude to the place in their recent visits. Like the Germans, Amanda doesn’t tend to get involved in campaigns these days, but she will again make an indirect contribution by taking sole charge of the audiology wheel in the absence of her colleague, Odalys. Indeed, Odalys has agreed to take on the role of nurse-in-charge at FT, meaning Amanda will be increasingly on her own.

Not so in the youth work, where we have both been involved with the youth committee in getting ready for the new year, which kicks off this evening, with just one ‘normal’ Saturday before next week’s traditional Carnavál extravaganza, which promises to be bigger, better and significantly wetter than anything we’ve done yet. More on that next week.

Prayer

• Since writing this entry yesterday afternoon, something of an emergency has arisen. On a shopping excursion, Amanda misplaced her wallet and turned around a few seconds later only to discover that said wallet had disappeared. Thankfully, I had her main bank card but all the rest of her major Canadian, British and Bolivian cards were all in there. So we need prayer, firstly, that a kind soul out there would return the wallet to us. And secondly, if that doesn't happen, that the road to replacing these cards is a smooth one, particularly here in Bolivia. As mentioned in the last couple of posts, we're in the process of renewing our visas. Once you have your visa, you are then expected to apply for a new I.D. card, which reflects your new visa dates. In other words, we are now so close to applying for our new I.D. cards that for Amanda to be asked to apply for a replacement for her current card would be pretty preposterous -- but stranger things have happened to us here. So please pray for understanding from the authorities. 
• For safety for patients and energy for staff during next week’s surgical campaign.
• For FT staff as the school year begins and for preparation of the hearts of those children and young people who will hear the Good News in their classrooms this year.
• For the new year at youth group, that the Lord would equip us to raise up a generation of disciples. 

Praise

• For an increased pace, after a long period of relative inactivity, in our building project.
• For the relative freedom we enjoy here in Bolivia to teach the Word of God in schools. 

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda