Saturday Post -- 10/04/10

This week we returned to work after a relaxing Easter weekend. On Saturday morning we went out to the river with Maicol, KC, Chicho and Rachel (accompanied by Chicho and Rachel’s dogs). It had been a scorching weekend -– I’d been reduced to a perspiring wreck at frontón on Good Friday -– so to be immersed in the chocolate-brown river waters rendered us as happy as hippos.

On Sunday morning, KC, Amanda and I made an effort to get up extra early for the sunrise (see picture) and spend some time contemplating Easter morning with the aid of English songs and Bible readings. Such a feat on a Sunday morning demanded our very greatest energies, but we were duly rewarded with a great time together and pancakes for breakfast. Later on we enjoyed a great Easter morning service service with our friends at ‘El Jireh’.

Of course, we didn’t exactly have anywhere to go on Sunday due to the local elections and, five days on, with the pro-government states going with the government and the pro-autonomy states going against the government, the only thing that is clear is that Bolivia is as divided as ever! Adding to the chaos, the candidate for Bolivia’s socialist government here in the Beni region (the reigning ‘Miss Bolivia’ –- yes, you read that correctly), who came in second on Sunday to the ‘Primero el Beni’ candidate, claims to have cast-iron proof of electoral fraud and is demanding a re-count. However, her efforts have hit a not insignificant hurdle: re-counts are banned in Bolivia, a law put in place by…yep, Bolivia’s socialist government!

Note to fellow Brits: relish the next four weeks. We genuinely don't know how blessed we are.

Back behind our desks on Monday, I continued with my class preparation while Amanda, among other things, received training in the new operating theatres, where surgical work will hopefully commence in a couple of weeks’ time. I’ve asked for a shot at the defibrillators but have thus far been rebuffed in my efforts.

There’s been a significant development on the housing front over the last week. Diego and Jo’s house (next door to Kenny and Claudia’s, where we are living just now) is a two-storey with ample space, so much so that they have been planning for some time on constructing a new side entrance and turning the upstairs area into a separate apartment, with kitchen, bathroom and three other rooms to be used as the tenant deems necessary. We have been offered first refusal on the apartment and have opted to take them up on their kind offer, probably moving in by May.

We’re really thankful for this opportunity which has opened up for us. We share Kenny and Claudia’s home with Maicol and KC currently but our main living space is, essentially, our upstairs en-suite bedroom. Our long-term goal is, of course, to build our own house here. Moving into a larger, rented living space allows us to continue working towards that goal, in terms of both saving towards building materials and accumulating the items that make a house a home -- with only two plug sockets in our bedroom, fridge/freezer storage was always going to be a challenge.

That said, we will be sad to leave Kenny and Claudia’s as we have really enjoyed getting to know our work colleagues Maicol and KC better and we had been very much looking forward to sharing a house with our old friends Kenny and Claudia, when they return from Scotland in June. However, maintaining friendships shouldn’t be too much of a challenge when we essentially share the same back garden –- and what's more, I’ve barely made a dent on Kenny’s outstanding book collection!

Prayer
• Continued patience in language learning -- this has been one of those weeks!
• Amanda’s mum is travelling to Uruguay on Monday for a two-week missions trip with a team from Toronto. Please pray for safety and a blessed visit.

Praise
• A refreshing Easter weekend break.
• The opportunity to move into a larger living space, where we can have a little more independence.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 20/2/10

To date, these blogs have tended to focus on day-to-day activities more than our leisure time. We may be boring, but we’re not so boring that we don’t let our hair down come the weekend (alas, a purely figurative statement in my case)!

On Saturdays, Amanda will leave the house with KC around 9 to go and do the grocery shopping for the week (see previous entry). I, meanwhile, join Dr. Santana and about 6 others for a frontón session. Frontón is like squash without the mid-life crisis. You play it on an outdoor court which is about the same height and width of a squash court, but twice as long. You play it in teams of two, one at the front and one at the back, with racquetball equipment. It’s fast, unpredictable and utterly addictive – so much so that we play on Wednesday evenings too.

Our only other ‘engagements’ at the weekend are church-related. I meet the other band members for a practice at 3pm on Saturday and then, at 10.30am on Sundays, we have our main service, which is followed by a communion service and usually finishes around 12.15pm. The church’s music situation is in need of something of an overhaul. We have a small, but eager band of 3 guitarists and a keyboard player. However, the vast majority of music at present comes from a theologically-sound, though somewhat antiquated, hymnbook of about 50 songs. Chicho (Rachel Peebles’ husband) and I are endeavouring to expand the range. This week we photocopied ten new worship songs for use, though hopefully we’ll have use of a projector in the days to come. Add to all this the fact that Bolivian singing voices tend to be about as pure and unblemished as Paul Gascoigne’s criminal record and it is clear that music is an area of crucial importance.

These aside, we tend to spend our weekends in a perpetual state of elegant slumber, reading, snoozing and watching sports. And the Winter Olympics.

As mentioned last week, Carnavál, while providing Bolivia with an unrivalled opportunity to celebrate its culture in all its drunkenness (22 deaths nationwide and counting), gave those of us at FT a much-appreciated two-day holiday on Monday and Tuesday. On Monday, we helped the young people (Jóvenes) of the church out with their programme of outdoor games. Some 50 young people turned out for this event, which included a time of worship and gospel presentation in the morning and evening sessions. Our main involvement, however, was throwing water balloons at unsuspecting teenagers and photographing them in all their mania. A good time had by all.

Tuesday was scheduled to be our ‘day out’ but unfortunately, we were not able to see as much of the surrounding countryside as we would have liked as there had been severe flooding all day Sunday and throughout Tuesday morning. We therefore drove about 10 miles out of town to a fish restaurant near the river and this proved to be a most sobering journey. On either side of the road, all one could see besides acres of water was treetops and rooftops of houses, with only the electricity pylons standing strong above it all. At the immediate roadside were hundreds of makeshift tarpaulin tents – in other words, the temporary homes of those who had to evacuate (no joke: on Monday, for one of the water games, we were generously donated the ‘roof’ of one of the participating girl’s bedrooms – a single tarpaulin sheet).







We arrived at the fish restaurant and you can see from the first picture how precarious the flooding had rendered the entrance. We sat down and enjoyed a fantastic meal together (pictured are Craig, Amanda, Maicol, KC and Chicho). But while we were enjoying ourselves, the third photograph demonstrates the fragility of life for the restaurant’s neighbours.

On Wednesday, we were back at work, enjoying the fact that another weekend was none too far away. Amanda’s Spanish is picking up (she’s now telling the moto drivers what to do – know the feeling, guys!) and on Thursday evening I was able to give a brief, three-point talk in Spanish at the prayer meeting.

Finally, a brief ‘hello’ to a Mr. K. Fisher, none too impressed by the mixing of first- and third-person in previous posts. Trust you’ve enjoyed this post, Kenneth. And get a life.

Praise
• A relaxing, rejuvenating two-day holiday.
• Encouraging signs of progress in language-learning.
• Safety during Carnavál.

Prayer
• Craig is giving a sermon in church next Sunday (28th). Pray for preparation.
• Amanda’s development of relationships with co-workers.
• The people of Trinidad who have had to desert their homes during the flooding, and FT’s ability to deal with the health/community needs arising from this.

Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 13/2/10

Well, our first week here was always going to be a little different and it's fair to say that this week we were brought down to earth with a bump. On our knees. With a wrenching stomach.

Amanda went to her first session at the clinic on Monday afternoon, reporting mild nausea but otherwise looking forward to getting started at last. Within half an hour, she was desperately trying to remember the word for "toilet" and, having managed to locate aforementioned excrementary recepticle in the nick of time, she promptly emptied herself of all but love.

As first impressions go, it takes some beating.

Not content to keep it all to herself, Amanda proceeded to pass said virus on to Craig as he was attempting to nurse her back to health that evening. I'd expected long, agonising nights in a posture of prostration as I set off for the mission field, but this I had not bargained for.

Needless to say, we took Tuesday off, but what we lost in work hours we more than made up for in Doctor Who episodes. By Wednesday morning we were able to nibble again and were back behind our respective 'desks'.

Amanda was attended the clinics this week and paid a visit to the local maternity/paediatric hospital. This was the first week of a new study into hearing deficiencies of children who are in the accident & emergency facility there, as part of the foundation's ongoing ¡Oye, Bolivia! ('Hear, Bolivia!') programme. She's enjoying being back at work and already, despite her lack of Spanish, feels part of the team. The other day she was pointing out to one of the nurses the differences between the English verbs 'to kiss' and 'to kill'. A beneficial distinction, you'll no doubt agree.

I've spent a half-day every day this week working through my online TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course. Though a lot of the reading is fairly theoretical, most of the assignments have a really practical basis. Just like being back in the classroom, then.

And speaking of classrooms, we've commenced our Spanish classes with our teacher, Farid. Amanda attends on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and I on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Farid is a Chelsea fan, so he's not had the best of weeks (he should be used to those) but his footballing knowledge does have its linguistic benefits. When I was trying to remember the meaning of the Spanish work 'puente', he said 'bridge...Wayne Bridge!'. I think it's best we leave it at that...

As you can see from the photograph, Trinidad is once again feeling the negative effects of rainy season. This is a typical scene, particularly in the southern outskirts of the town, which sit nearer the river. It is at times like these, of course, that the Foundation's assistance is most required. And yet, while many thousands struggle to keep their houses in order (in an all too literal sense) the citizens are preoccupied with Carnavál, i.e., the traditional Latin American festivities in the days preceding Lent. Lent, of course, is a season of abstinence, of inward contemplation and renunciation. It thereby follows that Carnavál is the perfect time to get your vices out of your system! You've got to love the logic. If Lent was observed half as enthusiastically as Carnavál, Trinidad would be experiencing true revival!

Needless to say, it's not the best time for Christian missionaries to be in town (chocos are a particular target of youths with super-soakers!). So instead, we're helping the young people of the church out with a programme of activities all day on Monday. And on that same note, we had a meeting with the church elders on Sunday to look into possible roles. Amanda's going to be helping out at the Sunday school and I'm going to be helping the praise band, though I made a head-start on this, guitar in hand, last Sunday. And I'm going to be put on the teaching rota, probably speaking about once a month. I've been asked to share something at the Communion service this Sunday. I think they want to check that I'm not a heretic...

Praise
• For Amanda’s increasing confidence in Spanish (see previous post)
• For a speedy recovery from our bout of sickness.
• For a quick adjustment to our new schedules.

Prayer
• For the people of the town who are worse affected by the floods.
• For Craig as he gives a brief message on Sunday.
• That our relationships with the people of the community would develop.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 6/2/10

Dear friends,

It's now a week since we landed here in Trinidad and while so much is still so new to us, we feel very settled.

With five hours' difference from Glasgow to Toronto and only a single hour's deficit between Toronto and Trinidad (FYI, we're four hours behind GMT and they don't change the clocks here in the Northern Spring), we naturally assumed the worst of the jet-lag was behind us. Yes and no. While we have enjoyed an hour's extra sleep in the morning, our sense of exhaustion has been palpable. In many ways we're just recovering from the hectic last few weeks and (in Craig's case, anyway) retrieving the evening's snooze lost on the way down here.

Of course, at the same time, the heat is a not inconsiderable factor in this. We're not sure exactly what the temperature is – probably mid-to-late thirties – but let's just say we had our first (dreaded though hardly unexpected – this is Trinidad) power-cut on Wednesday and, with the ceiling fans out of action, probably between us produced enough perspiration to cause embarrassment to the East German women’s hammer-throwing team.

Acclimatisation has been required, additionally, to our new surroundings. Fundación Totaí is based in a part of town which didn’t even exist a few years ago. Indeed, when the foundation stone was laid for Casa Margaret (the main building here), the project was effectively based in the middle of nowhere. Since then the town’s (city's?) outward spread has been so rapid that it now sits in the suburbs.

This seismic change is visible in the town itself, which has increased in population by one-third. This, added to a growing upper-working-class, has sparked a major upsurge in traffic. Those of you who saw our presentation towards the end of 2009 will remember those images of transportation in Trinidad – the odd moto-taxi, a horse-and-cart here or there. These days, the roads are practically gridlocked wherever you look, with a major increase in motos but also the appearance of a hitherto unknown entity in Trinidad: the car.

Though it's a little strange for us to effectively move in with another couple (with the Holts returning to their home in June, there may well be three of us here), we could not have felt more welcome. K.C. (a volunteer from Seattle) and her husband Maicol (a native) have gone to great lengths to help us settle in, with K.C. dealing with most of our induction business. In K.C., Amanda has someone with whom she can go shopping and watch girly movies; in Maicol, Craig has someone who can mock him for being a “choco” (white guy) and whom Craig can bore to tears with his ramblings concerning the financial instability at Old Trafford.

Around us are great friends, some new and many old, not least Diego & Jo Santana and the many natives with whom Craig already has a deep friendship and for whom Amanda will some day be able to say the same.

Though we were advised to use this week to settle in, on Thursday afternoon we had a meeting with the Board of Directors to discuss our roles here. The next three months will be somewhat dominated by language learning. We've been able to enrol in classes with the local language institute which complement our individual levels in Spanish. Our weekdays will appear thus: for half a day, we will concentrate on our Spanish and in the for the other half, we will focus on our specialist areas. Amanda will be getting her hands dirty in healthcare – job shadowing the nurses in the clinic, helping with health checks for children in the local schools and newborn hearing assessments – while Craig will sit his online TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course, in order to gain the internationally recognised qualification. Additionally we will help out in various ways across the different areas, with Craig, for example, supporting sports ministry discipleship and, in the church, getting involved with the praise band and teaching schedule (first sermon is Sunday 21st!).

Beyond the next three months, we can envisage Amanda’s main focus being healthcare with a little church work, with Craig’s being more of a 50/50 split between church and education. But, as we know all too well, it is the Lord alone who knows what will transpire, and so we will endeavour to hear his voice in the midst of all of this.

We aim to post this update every week, probably around the weekend (if you are a church secretary, you may wish to visit on a Saturday evening in order to pass on updates to your congregation). We have no idea what sort of format it will take, but we can guarantee that it will always close with a few main points of prayer and praise:

Praise
• A safe arrival here in Trinidad.
• A genuine feeling of being at home among the volunteers and workers here.
• Following Thursday’s meeting, having a clear idea of our schedule over the next few months.

Prayer
• That we would adjust mentally and physically to our new climate and timetable.
• That we would be disciplined in our language learning – particularly Amanda, who is effectively starting from scratch.
• That we would find time in our busy schedules for personal Christian growth and for each other.

Que Dios te bendiga!

Craig & Amanda