Saturday Post -- 3/10/15

No time for a literary masterpiece this week, as it's all systems go for the marriage course. Andrew & Ruth's arrival in Trinidad had 'Welcome to Bolivia' written all over it. We were glad on Wednesday morning to hear that they had arrived safely in Santa Cruz, where they would stay a night before travelling on to Trinidad. But we were then advised by a friend that the airport here might be shut for a few days for runway relaying! We got in touch with the airline, who confirmed it would be next week, mercifully. Andrew & Ruth are certainly on a mission to get their hands dirty, but even they might have found the experience of the overnight bus a little too exotic at this stage.

So, there we were on Thursday morning on the viewing balcony of Trinidad, waiting for the flight to arrive any minute now. Well, it at least appeared. Twice within the space of ten minutes, in fact, it approached only to abort the landing due to visibility (i.e., there was a bit of rain). The flight was eventually diverted to Cochabamba, and it wasn't until mid-afternoon that we finally greeted them. Anyway, they are now safely ensconced in the big T and have been a great help so far, whether visiting orphanages, washing dishes, or fixing electric car windows (no kidding). But the real work begins today as we begin to put the finishing touches to the planning for the course.

Edwin (left) leading a workshop.

That's not really been possible till now as I've had to balance something of a double-booking, but in reality, it's been a double blessing. Edwin Fernández of Langham Preaching Bolivia also arrived on Thursday for the first follow-up visit to Trinidad, with a group meal scheduled for Thursday evening, and a joint escuelita (the groups in which we preach to one another, quite literally) on Friday. On Thursday, Edwin shared an exposition with us on the healing of the deaf and mute man in Mark 7, in which he drew out the notion of the man being able to 'speak well' instantly, and how there is a close link in the passage between his hearing and his speaking (you can get where he was going). And once the two sermons for the month were out of the way at Friday's escuelita, he spent some valuable time reinforcing good preaching practice with the group.

But amongst our busyness, I've also been able to spend some time with him, and he has been attentive in dealing with some questions I had about the course in general, and some issues we are having in the church. He's here till Monday morning, and we're very much looking forward to his sermon this Sunday at our church. 

I'm afraid that's it for this week. Amanda needs groceries, Andrew needs a haircut, and I need my breakfast.

Prayer

• The encouragement of the visits this week has been counterbalanced by some very difficult conversations Amanda and I have had to have with the couple mentioned last week (they both work at FT, and she is a church member). This has been hugely draining and yet we're still not sure the penny has dropped for them in terms of the damage they are doing to both the church and FT as institutions, and their own witness. Please pray for the kind of heart change that only the LORD can bring about.
• For the marriage course, which starts this Monday evening at 19:30 (more details in last week's entry).

Praise

• For the blessing it is to have both Andrew & Ruth, and Edwin, among us right now.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda