Diego & Jo: An Appreciation

Trinidad has lost a couple of great servants this week in the shape of Diego and Jo Santana, who on Friday set off with their three daughters for Santa Cruz, a few days ahead of their departure for Diego’s native Tenerife on Monday, bringing to an end a combined 28 years of missionary service in this corner of the globe. In their most recent guises, they served as president and administrative director of Fundación Totaí and it has been our pleasure to work alongside them over the past couple of years. Trinidad will be without a couple of rare vision, who have, with the Lord’s help, established an Ear and Hearing Care service which is unrivalled throughout Bolivia; we, meanwhile, say goodbye to a family who have made a great impact upon us as individuals and as a couple.

I first got to know Diego & Jo during my gap-year at a project called La Palmera in 2000/1. The Santanas arrived in October 2000 for the first time as a married couple and got down to business in typically speedy fashion. Diego took charge of the fledgling health centre, while Jo resumed her duties as the school’s headteacher.

Professionally, I learned much from Jo, who imbued me with the confidence I needed to stand in front of thirty unintelligible teenagers and teach English. It proved to be the first step along my education-centric career path, even if I wasn’t to know it at the time. Though I had no medical interest, Diego was a particularly powerful example to me as a young Christian. He’d come to Bolivia as a highly-skilled ENT surgeon but his work that year – and for a few more later on – would be limited to general practitioner shifts with the schoolchildren and their families, as he endured a seemingly endless wait for his papers to come through from the government. Years later, his wait would, in the end, be rewarded, as thousands of ENT patients can now testify. But his patience and grace as he went about his day-to-day work impacted me greatly.

Diego and Jo’s influence was, if anything, even more keenly felt outside of work hours. Though conversation in the home often took in our shared sporting and cultural interests, it was never too long before spiritual concerns came to the fore. With their vast array of apologetics texts, Diego and Jo were the first Christians I’d met who challenged me to be a critical thinker when it came to my faith, and brought to my attention aspects of my faith I hadn’t even yet considered. Furthermore, I saw at first-hand a fine personification of Biblical teaching on the roles of husband and wife. To be in their home in the build-up to one of Diego’s sermons or Bible studies was to witness not simply a marriage, but a partnership, with Diego busily scribbling notes to the sound of pages being sifted, as Jo plucked out one supporting verse after another.

In summer 2008, a year into our own marriage, Amanda and I were feeling a lack of satisfaction about our professional and personal lives, and sensed that God might be calling us to full-time service – though exactly how, we were not then aware. That same summer, the Santanas (now with three bonny daughters in tow) arrived in Scotland for their latest furlough and when we got round to meeting them, we were left in no doubt as to the need for people with our skills at Fundación Totaí (which they had since set up in 2004). Though keen on a change of direction, we were somewhat unprepared for such a big one. Jo, in typically brusque fashion, encouraged us to take the decision in prayer and the doors would open. And as many of you know, they did and some!

Since January of last year, we’ve been glad of the opportunity to renew our acquaintance with the Santanas. I’m not really sure that white guys like us can truly adapt to life here, but to the extent to which it’s possible, Jo has been of seismic importance, whether pointing us in the direction of the best TV repair guy, waiting for hours with us in queues (or melees as they so often become), recommending the best place for ice cream, or providing us with transportation in those first six months when we were sans voiture. And this time around, they have opened their home to us in the most literal sense, effectively converting their upstairs into a separate apartment and thus giving us a place to call ‘home’.

But this is no eulogy. The family is moving on to pastures new but their passions will not go unpursued. Indeed, Diego is taking on a high-profile Senior Global Advisor role with CBM (Christian Blind Mission) and will, in fact, be able to return to Trinidad a couple of times a year to carry out ENT surgery, as part of his remit. And with the girls continually growing stature and independence, Jo will be freer to pursue her own career, whether that be in health or education (she’s supremely gifted in both). So we look forward to seeing them all some day in the future – Diego, God-willing, in 2012. But until then, we will, as the writer to the Hebrews urges, ‘remember…those who spoke to [us] the Word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.’

Saturday Post -- 03/12/11

Partying it up with the Friday Community class kids!

First up, a big thank-you to all who got in touch, from Scotland and farther afield, with their expressions of sympathy and memories of Grandpa C. For me, the initial sadness soon gave way last weekend to joy as the great tapestry of those whose lives had been touched by him became ever clearer in my mind. Such reflections only confirmed my suspicions, that his was a life well lived.

Not being home for the burial and thanksgiving service wasn't ideal (our Virginia-based relatives, a single Newark layover away from Glasgow, may as well live in Edinburgh compared with us!) but we got a pretty decent substitute, my cousin uploading the audio from the service online, and we were able to listen to it last night.

Most of all, though, given his passion for world missions, we knew that pressing on with our work here would be something of a tribute in itself, and this week has once again provided opportunities to serve others.

The Bolivian school year came to an end this week and with it have ended several church- and Foundation-based activities. One of these is the classes for needy children in the community which Craig teaches (for newer readers, kids from poorer backgrounds -- some from local prisons -- come to the Foundation to receive a weekly diet of English and Bible teaching). Thanks to a generous donation from one of Amanda's relatives, we were able to mark the week with a party for each class. Cake was devoured, games were played, party bags distributed. These bags contained, among other things, a New Testament. A lot of the children already have Bibles, so we encouraged them to use their NT to share the Word with friends and family.

Thrillingly, one of the kids received the best present of all. Yoselin, (pictured here) approached Amanda last Sunday morning at the Sunday school's very own end-of-year celebration, telling her that she hadn't yet accepted Christ as her saviour and wanted to talk to her about it. Amanda eventually guided her through the sinner's prayer and we gained a new (much younger) sister in Christ. Yoselin comes from a very needy and extremely fragile family situation. Both of her parents are drug dealers and she and her sisters come under a lot of pressure to take part in the 'family business'. She needs a lot of prayer.

Personal relationships are key in this work and Amanda has been nurturing another friendship with Mary, a mother of two in her early-30s, who first made contact with us through the English classes. Mary came to the church a few weeks ago and announced at the communion service that she too had given her life to Christ. She is another with very little domestic support, and Amanda has been in touch with her this week with some discipleship materials, in the hope of meeting regularly. It was especially encouraging for us to know that people were getting more than present-tense-conjugations from the English classes.

Amanda managed to fit all of this into a week in which she also received minor surgery for some moles that we have felt for some time should be removed, just to be on the safe side. Diego wielded the knife in what proved to be his last surgical procedure here at the Foundation, and judging by how the scars are healing, did a typically excellent job.

A busy week, then, and more to come, now that we're three days into December. Last weekend, we were able to get the show on the road in terms of carols, as the band had its first Christmas rehearsal and we began to sing some of the music in church -- perhaps a little early compared to other churches, but, as alluded to a couple of weeks back, last year we sang a single carol on Christmas Eve. A little musical acclimatisation, therefore, is required. The church's theme for the month is 'Immanuel' and we pray that the music and various other elements will help the locals to see past the cutesy stable pictures and appreciate (to the extent that it's humanly possible) the meaning of Christ's incarnation.

Prayer

• For new believers such as Yoselin and Mary, that we would be well-equipped to support them as they set off on this journey of faith.
• For safety over the holidays for kids who attend the Community classes, Sunday school and various other activities.
• For the message of 'Immanuel' to take root in the hearts of all those -- believers and otherwise -- who darken the church door this month.

Praise

• For a real sense of comfort this week despite Grandpa being buried many miles away.
• For the visible growth of Christ's church in Trinidad, as seen in cases such as Mary and Yoselin.
• For safety for Amanda as she underwent surgery.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 26/11/11

For as long as we are based out here in Bolivia, the miles that separate us from friends and family will always irk, but this week the strain of distance has been most acutely felt. For the past four days, my family have maintained a vigil around my Grandpa Cunningham's care home bedside, lending some company as the final release from his toils awaits. His once full frame is a distant memory; a skeletal face buried in a pillow occasionally, briefly, probably with an effort beyond our comprehension, acknowledges the presence of visitors. Alzheimer's' grip will soon, mercifully, be loosened.

It is natural to wish to be near loved ones at such a time. But I draw comfort from the fact that the old friend I effectively lost many years ago would understand -- indeed, probably approve of -- our absence.

Like his equivalent on my mother's side, my Grandpa Cunningham made the most of his time in this life, but by no means in promotion of it. They both knew where the action was really at. And I never knew how good I had it.

If there was one secular maxim he lived by, it was a categorical 'No nonsense'. Suffering fools gladly never quite caught on with him. A sign on the door of his study read 'Lack of preparation on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine'. When married with his mischievous sense of humour, the results of this intolerance of the idle often became part of Cunningham lore. Pity those poor souls sat beside him on the train to work who would attempt to steal a glimpse of his beloved Glasgow Herald -- and duly prompt him to start reading it upside-down.

But the occasional 'life-lessons' he imparted should not be confused with a coldness of heart. If anything, they reflected a sense of urgency, that life was too precious an opportunity to do things by half, that there was too great a story to share with his fellow man. A very generous early retirement offer from British Rail was accepted in the mid-80s, but in reality, retiring was the last thing on his mind. Immediately he invested in a personal computer (in days when they cost a small fortune) and set about re-training himself. We can learn much from older generations, though with technology it usually works the other way round. Not so with the Cunninghams.

Indeed, one of my earliest memories is of a rainy school holiday when I was around five or six years-old, sat in Grandpa's office chair and, key by hidden key, typing out the words for a church hymn book he was compiling. I can well reflect now on this voracious reader's passion in that moment both for my own personal literacy and for the building of the Kingdom.

And if that meant family sacrifices, then so be it. He was delighted about my gap-year opportunity in 2000 when I first came to Bolivia and proud that a family member was taking such a step; befitting of a man who used his retirement to twice visit missionaries in Brazil and sat on the board of Scottish missionary agency Interlink for the best part of a decade, effectively becoming the resident IT guy in the process. Here, as everywhere else, the 'personal' pursuits really had a higher purpose in mind.

Indeed, so healthy was his perspective that I would go so far as to vouch that, were he today in full charge of his capacities, he would wish his current state to serve as a reminder to those who do not yet know the Lord as their saviour, both of our utter helplessness as fallen creatures, and of the urgency of the day.

For me, the most agonising of all farewells as we left Scotland back in January 2010 took place at my grandparents' home in Hamilton, when Grandpa Cunningham was just about recognising us and no more. Kirsty had joined us and the five of us spent perhaps the best part of an hour shooting the breeze together, doing our best to ignore the elephant in the room: that whether by death or by Alzheimers' continued draining of the memory, he would never again know Amanda and me by name in this life. I did my best to hold it together for Grandma's sake, but as I lay down that night, I cried like never before in my adult life and for the first time, wished that awful wish, that it could somehow, soon, all be over. The thought of returning home to an old friend who didn't know me was terrifying.

And now the moment of release is at hand, and all, but Grandpa's very breath, is past tense. Right now, I long to be there, as family beckon him home with his favourite hymns and Psalms. But I know too that some day soon I will be reunited in heaven with my resurrected Grandpa Cunningham, free of Alzheimer's, indeed, free of any blemish, and reunited with the Lord and saviour he so loved. Somewhere deep within him, inaccessible to all but himself, I am sure the spirit of Paul's words to the Philippians is very much alive. In truth, it always was.

For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labour for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.


Prayer

• For my Grandpa Cunningham as he takes his leave of this world and for my family as they seek to support him and each other. Pray particularly for my Grandma Cunningham.

Praise

• For the life well lived, and the sobering example it is to Amanda and I as we too seek to make Christ's name known.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda


P.S. Barely an hour after having written this entry, my Grandpa died, at 12.55pm UK time. The pain is over and as I cannot best sum up what this moment means for us, I will leave it to Professor Lewis. 'Now at last [he is] beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.'

Saturday Post -- 19/11/11

Yet another holiday weekend is being enjoyed in the Cunningham household, particularly after a busy few days. Visits to, among other destinations, the river, Wimbledon, Augusta National and a Soviet military silo (not all of them via the Wii!) made for some good times. Amanda especially was run off her feet at times this week in her audiology work and enjoyed the hectic nature of her working week. In the photograph, above, are two of Amanda's nursing colleagues, América (left) and Kleider (right), with caretaker Maribel in the centre. The three were among the latest recipients of Bibles from our recent supply. Every morning at the Foundation we have a time of meditation upon a particular passage of Scripture, but not all staff members even own a Bible. So our prayer is that they'll get good use out of them and that they'll be read as much in leisure time as in work time.

As for me, I've been gamefully engaged in church duties. This weekend, the youth group are away on their annual camp, which is run by another church, which on one hand deprives me of two key band members, but on the other hand means no rehearsals and allows me a chance to get things together for the next few weeks and, most of all, Christmas. December at church last year was particularly hard-going for this fuzzy traditionalist. The only tangible nod to the season was an afternoon Christmas Eve service. As the church's sole band member, I had no idea if Spanish Christmas carols even existed and, even then, they are not sung widely here at all. If it weren't for my 'Carols at King's' album, I'm not quite sure how I would have survived.

I was determined not to let that happen this year, so I took to iTunes and found some good traditional and contemporary tracks, one of which has a heavily evangelistic edge, which could serve us well on Christmas Eve, when usually a lot of family members come out. Hopefully we can start singing these over the next few weeks, so that something of a crescendo is reached on Christmas Eve, as opposed to Bolivians looking around at each other in search of a melody.

My other church work this week has been preparing a sermon for tomorrow's service, and it has been a passage of solace to us as yet more hurdles have arisen concerning our land transfer. I won't go into details but we are beginning to wonder if this whole exhausting process will ever end!

My allotted section was the second half of John chapter 13, a passage in which, at first glance, the odds appear to be heavily weighted against Jesus. As Good Friday approaches, one of his disciples is on the verge of effectively handing him over to the authorities, while the rest of them aren't much use themselves, with self-appointed hard-man Peter making big promises that won't be kept. Things appear to be very much beyond Christ's control. And yet taking a closer look this week brought home to me a new truth: that the disciples' misdemeanours are not only prophesied by Jesus, but they are in many cases commanded. Indeed, Judas himself is commanded by Jesus to 'do what he must' both at the Passover feast and at the moment of betrayal.

It has all brought home a renewed sense of God's sovereignty. If the son of God was imbued with such authority on what was clearly the most difficult 24 hours of his time on earth, how much more is he able to do 'more than we ask or imagine' from his seat at the right hand of the Father! God has a soul-stirring purpose for every believer, and nothing can stop its accomplishment.

Prayer

• For Craig as he preaches tomorrow at church.
• For those at work and in the church who have recently received Bibles, that those who know God would grow closer to him, and that those who don't would find him.

Praise

• For a productive week at work.
• For a renewed sense of the Lord's hand at work in the difficult times, and for his speaking to me before I have the opportunity to share with the congregation.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 12/11/11

The above pictured are four girls from the Wednesday Community class at FT, which Craig runs along with a fellow Bolivian worker (from left to right, Tirza, Ailin, Litzi and Joselin). Shortly before we left here for Canada, we received word that our missionary organisation, LAM Canada, had received a substantial donation specifically earmarked for the purchase of Bibles. We were able to tap into the funds ourselves and bought 50 of them in Santa Cruz upon our return to Bolivia. These four children are the first recipients of them. Two of them, Ailin and Joselin, are also regular church attenders at El Jireh, so having Bibles to hand should be of use to them at church services. But more than anything, please pray with us that they would grow to study and know God's Word, that they would be changed by it, and that they would hold fast to it. They come from a very poor village just outside of Trinidad, where some pretty desperate domestic situations are played out on a daily basis. They are in particular need of the unshakeable foundations of Scripture.

On the same note, last week I blogged on my impending session with the youth group on the necessity of regular Bible reading. They seemed to appreciate what I had to say, particularly when I used the anecdote of finding Irn-Bru in La Paz to illustrate the precious nature of Scripture. Furthermore, they all made a firm commitment to read their Bibles every day. Pray for them as they undertake this endeavour, which certainly requires discipline in the early days.

Our FT work this week continued to be dominated by planning for 2012, with various departmental meetings taking place to discern God's will and hammer out solid targets for the next 12 months. I'm particularly excited about a potential new endeavour as part of the Education programme. Amanda and I certainly enjoy teaching English classes here. It's been a great way of establishing relationships with people in the community. However, of late we had been questioning the long-term value of the classes when it came to reaching people with the Gospel -- it had not immediately appeared to be the most natural avenue.

However, while we were in Canada, Amanda's aunt Dorothy (who herself is an ESL teacher) encouraged us to get online and seek out materials which use English to teach Scripture (and vice-versa). I had not quite realised the sheer abundance of useful materials out there, and the extent of their use throughout churches, particularly in North America. A visitor from Scotland is due to land in Trinidad today, and she should have with her a couple of textbooks I ordered on the subject. Our hope is that, by next year, through the use of such materials the English classes will have a significantly greater evangelism and discipleship focus.

Finally, an update on our building plans. The landowner was in town this week and we managed to conclude the lion's share of the land transfer documentation which pertains to her. Indeed, in order to start building, we just need to take care of a few small details ourselves. So having been so galled by events a fortnight ago, this really was a huge encouragement for us. Thank you for your prayers.

Prayer

• For a series of seminars which are taking place at El Jireh this weekend, chaired by Pastor Juan Antonio Maldonado, on Christian family life. Juan Antonio, from La Paz, is an old friend of the church's (he helped me immensely in acquiring the band equipment earlier this year) and gave his first talk last night, where a number of new faces appeared. Pray for more of them!
• For all the young people we work with, that the Bible would become a key tool in their daily struggles.

Praise

• For progress in planning for 2012 this week.
• For significant advances in the last few days as we have sought to finalise the land transfer.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 05/11/11

These are some pictures from last weekend's 7th anniversary barbecue. Here I am swimming in a giant vat of hot chocolate...I wish! Still, the copious mud at the lake's surface made for a very pleasant water temperature.

Amanda, like many, wisely stayed in or around the shade of the car most of the time. It was a hot one!

A decidedly quieter week, this one, after the endless travel and meetings of the one before. Another holiday, Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) allowed us a day's excursion to a remote lake a good 45 minutes' drive out of town. I took my zoom lens in the hope of snapping some monkeys, which friends of ours have witnessed out there in the past. Alas, even they appeared to have recoiled from the sheer heat of what was a suffocating day, temperature-wise. 

We also enjoyed a relaxing day at the FT staff barbecue, marking the 7th anniversary since its founding. An ENT surgery patient had very kindly offered his sizeable chunk of land to us for the day, which included two huge mud-lakes. Wherever there's a body of water to be found, I'm often first in, and this was no exception. It makes me wonder if I've got something of my late grandmother in me, who was said to be a born swimmer. Until I start swimming...

But the undoubted highlight of the week for us came on Tuesday evening when, for the first time in nearly two years, we conversed with our old friends Bryan & Amanda Dove, via Skype. Amanda and I met the Doves (from Ohio) at a newbies lunch at St George's Tron when we were engaged in our post-marriage, Glasgow-wide church-hunt. They had just arrived in town for Bryan's post-graduate studies at Glasgow University and, like ourselves, were certainly on the lookout for some Christian companionship. Well, from the moment Bryan revealed his fellow United sympathies (and a happy 25th anniversary to you, Sir Alex) our friendship was simply an inevitability and over our two-and-a-half-years in the city, we shared many a Thanksgiving, Christmas dinner, hill-walk, chick-flick night, Old Trafford visit and so many more special times. When we left for Bolivia, Amanda was due any day now with their first child, Saoirse.

Well, we finally got our first live glimpse of the 22-month-old Saoirse and the more recent addition, Reuben, on Tuesday evening. Moreover, we had a great conversation. Bryan & Amanda are now based out in San Diego, where Bryan is serving as a Navy Chaplain. It was exciting to hear what God is doing in their lives and really beneficial to be better informed as to how we can pray for them. Like us, they keep up a fairly active web presence, but there is just no substitute for a good, face-to-face conversation. We really enjoyed it, and there are so many others out there we'd love to speak with in person once again. So if you have Skype and you're up for a chat, please get in touch!

There have been some interesting developments in my own ministry this week. While in Canada, we were really convicted of the need for us to be focused on personally discipling younger believers and we prayed that God would reveal 'disciples' to us. On Thursday, I had the privilege of meeting a 16-year-old church and youth group regular called Nino. We're going to be working through a discipleship book together for an indefinite period and I used Thursday to introduce the material and establish some ground rules in terms of accountability. Today I'm due to meet with Paulo, another teenage boy who is our next-door neighbour, with loads of leadership potential, but somewhat lacking at the moment in terms of Christian friendships.

Tonight at the youth group, as part of our year-long study of 'The Purpose Driven Life' we're due to look at the Word of God, and I'm down to give the talk. However, it has become clear to us as leaders that the vast majority of the youth group aren't picking up their Bibles at all between Monday and Friday. So, with much prayer, I've decided it's time for a challenge. I'm going to outline the benefits of regular Bible reading -- indeed, the necessity of it -- and show them how they can practically go about establishing a regular reading time. Not only that, but I'm going to issue each of the young people with a contract, signed by themselves and their small-group leader, which commits them to a daily time of Bible reading.

In all honesty, we have no idea how 'successful' the enterprise will be, as commitment is a major weakness in this culture. However, we're keen not to just let the teenagers leave with vague hopes of getting into daily Bible reading, only to forget about it the next day. We want them to think seriously upon how to go about this truly fundamental practice in the Christian life.

One last thing before we sign off: now that 2011 is slowly but surely drawing to close, our thoughts are turning to designing our brand, spanking new prayer-cards for 2012. If you received one in the mail this year, then you can expect one in the coming months. If you didn't and you would like us to post you one for 2012, please get in touch at our email address, cramandaham@gmail.com. Ta!

Prayer

• For Craig's discipleship work with Nino and Paulo. Amanda is also looking to establish a regular discipleship slot with a girl called Adriana in the coming weeks.
• For Craig's talk with the young people tonight, and for a group-wide commitment to a daily devotional time.

Praise

• For some relaxing excursions over the past week, particularly the chance last Saturday to spend time socially with our fellow workers at FT.
• For our Skype chat with our friends Bryan & Amanda. 

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 29/10/11

Energy and patience were the two buzzwords I left with blog visitors last week as I prepared to head for Santa Cruz. Well, I received just about enough of the former to get by, while the latter, I'm afraid, was forcibly drained by the recipient of my visit.

That would be the (now former) landowner of our plots, where we had been hoping to start building our home in the next few weeks. That is now not looking likely, due to a combination of the rapid disappearance of 'dry time' to get the foundations laid down before rainy season and, alas, the devil-may-care attitude of the landowner.

When I called her a week past on Friday, to propose meeting her in Santa Cruz, and thereby hastening the building process, her effusive reaction was akin to that of someone being told 'You've just won a million dollars. Would you mind if I pop round with it to your house?' "Oh, but of course! Come! Come!"

And go I did. On Monday morning, I arrive at her palace home at the appointed time. All the signs of unfettered opulence. And, without wishing to dust down me old red flag, that's a warning sign in itself. There is no middle class in Bolivia, and so people of her income bracket more or less run the show, are unacquainted with the word 'no' and often tend to have a stupendously obnoxious attitude to those further down the societal rungs. For more on this, see Psalm 10.

Strangely, she isn't there. 45 minutes later, her gleaming SUV appears. She'd been at the gym when she noticed some random person kept calling her. I wonder who that could have been?

Nevertheless, we quickly get down to numbers and she sees that we've covered our end of the bargain fairly and squarely, meaning that we can meet later at her lawyer's to process the necessary documentation. An upturn in fortunes, it seems. Only I take my leave of her with an ominous warning ringing in my ears: most of her relevant paperwork is in Trinidad!!!

And sure enough, that afternoon, I secure from her just one of four documents I'd required from her and which she knew I had come to draw up with her. Without these documents, Amanda and I cannot legally proceed with construction. I didn't hear a word of apology from her the whole afternoon -- not a hint of it -- but, then again, perhaps I should have shown more contrition. After all, wasn't I the one inconveniencing her?

And as I trudged back to the bus terminal that evening, unrested, unwashed and unhappy, it was hard not to come to the conclusion that the whole trip had been the biggest waste of time since Neville Chamberlain took a trip to Munich and decided that chap with the ridiculous moustache wasn't so nasty after all. I had well and truly been taken for a ride.

We met with our architect the following day and he confirmed that we were out of options until we could secure the rest of the paperwork from the heroine of the piece. She will, in fact, be in Trinidad for the whole of November -- unfortunately, too late to break ground before rainy season. However, we will certainly keep pestering her until she decides she can't take any more of us plebs and hands over the documents.

Furthermore, when all is said and done, we can be thankful that we have a guaranteed roof over our heads for the time being -- indeed, the terms of our stay in our current apartment are entirely up to us. So we're obviously disappointed and frustrated over the week's events, but so thankful that our need to build is not urgent.

Today is the seventh anniversary of Fundación Totaí, one of the two ministries we work for here in Trinidad (the other being our church 'El Jireh'). To mark the occasion, the whole staff is leaving in about an hour's time for a family day by the river. Which doesn't leave me with a lot of time, but I'll briefly mention the other event we left with you last week, the planning meeting which took place on Wednesday and Thursday. There, as a staff, and as individual areas (i.e. Amanda with health and I with education), we assessed where we are now and the kinds of long-term goals we can be committing to in the coming years. And from that, we then began to plan in earnest our day-to-day work in 2012.

It's always good to pause and take stock, and as a staff we all feel the benefit of having done so, with an eye on what awaits us. I'm particularly excited about the potential of the educational work; more than anything, I'm hoping to expand and diversify the range of evangelistic activities in the community, be they religious education classes, support activities for local churches, or English classes which use the Bible as the basis for learning (or, indeed, vice-versa!). Over the coming weeks and months, I'll hopefully be able to share in a lot more detail. Until then, we love you and leave you.

Prayer

• For continued patience and grace as we seek to conclude our land dealings in the coming weeks.
• For wisdom and discernment as we seek to implement the changes discussed over the past few days as a foundation.

Praise

• For God's provision for us. We wish we could build soon, but the need is not a pressing one.
• For safety during Craig's travels, and a little rest too (four hours' sleep on the overnight trip home is a new record!).

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 22/10/11

One obvious way in which we've seen God's hand at work over the last couple of years is our never wanting for shelter. Our missionary colleagues have graciously opened their doors to us from the start, with Kenny & Claudia affording us an en-suite bedroom at the beginning of 2010; a few months later, Diego & Jo vacated their whole upstairs area, allowing us to move into an 'apartment' of our own. We have been here ever since.

All the while, however, we've been keenly aware of our need to get a first footing on the property ladder. Last year, when some neighbouring plots went up for sale, we decided to put a deposit down for some land, though we had no immediate plans to build (which is the significantly cheaper option here). But earlier this year, our hand was somewhat forced, as Diego & Jo made the decision that they and their three children would leave Bolivia by December. Reassuringly, the home's future owners have said we can stay here as long as we like. Nonetheless, we reckoned it might be time to speak to an architect.

Edwin, highly recommended by all and sundry, came on board in July, and has been sketching away ever since to design a simple three-bedroom home, which we hope to populate with local visitors, foreign visitors and, if God wills it, our own family. If you've read the blog much, you'll have noted the recurring theme of our knocking doors and the Lord flinging them open, and naturally, we see this house as something of a leap of faith, taking our long-term commitment here to a new level. Well if the speed of this process is anything to go by, we are clearly meant to be here -- three months after contacting Edwin, we're all set to break ground.

The only significant hurdle which remains is the transfer of documents of land ownership. Now that the land belongs to us, we need to meet with the former landowner to transfer the paperwork to our name. Though resident in Santa Cruz, she is planning on coming to Trinidad in November. However, with rainy season looming large, Edwin is keen to get the foundations down ASAP. So we've taken the decision that I will travel to Santa Cruz via overnight bus on Sunday night, meet with the former landowner on Monday morning, and head back to Trinidad that night. While the thought of getting this process out of the way is appealing, I am a light sleeper at the best of times, and am anticipating a rough couple of days as a result. Please pray for energy and patience.

And pray that we'll both be rested up for the remainder of the week, as the Foundation is closing for a couple of days so that we can sit down and plan our future strategy as an organisation. We need a sense of the Lord's guidance in a big way throughout this process.

I've been challenged this week about what it means for the Christian to listen to the Lord and discern his will. Tomorrow I'll have the opportunity to give my first sermon since our break on John 12:1-19. The first chunk of this passage is taken from Jesus' visit to Lazarus, Mary and Martha's home in Bethany the day before Palm Sunday, and Mary's anointing of his feet. I was struck by the contrast between Mary and the disciples in this scene (albeit the only disciple in John's account to kick up a fuss is Judas). They consider Mary's use of this expensive ointment as wasteful. Jesus, of course, defends Mary, explaining that she's simply preparing his body for burial.

I thought about how it could be that such a gulf of foresight existed between the disciples and Mary. How many times had Jesus forewarned the disciples as to the events of that coming week? Yet on as many, if not more occasions, we know the disciples ignored these forewarnings, sometimes even attempting to convince him not to pursue such a path. What privileged access they had for three full years, and yet what glaring lack of belief.

What did Mary have that even the disciples didn't? As I meditated, I remembered that Mary had a previous connection with the Lord's feet. In Luke 10:39 we read '[Mary] sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching.' No protestations. No niggling doubts. Just a willingness to humble oneself and hear what the Lord had to say.

Secondly, and briefly, I read Daniel 6 as part of my readings yesterday, which recounts the great Sunday School tale of Daniel's 'disobedience' and relatively uneventful night in the lion's den. I had read the passage so often in the past, but the Lord drew my attention in a new way to a simple narrative aspect of the narrative in verse 10: 'he had windows open toward Jerusalem'. God had granted Daniel with such wisdom that fame and fortune had followed him wherever he so much as breathed in the great ancient city of Babylon. He had been taken as a captive from a spiritually-destitute Judah and within years had had bestowed on him the highest titles outside monarchy itself. He doubtless had full access to the greatest pleasures of the world at that time. Yet, above all, he had windows open toward Jerusalem. Daniel knew that the real glory was on the horizon, and he was in no mood to miss out on it.

And so we pray for ourselves and for others that we too would learn to humble ourselves in a status-driven world, to keep our own eyes on the Lord when there is so much to distract us, and to listen to him when our every fibre of our frail beings says 'no'.

Prayer

• For safety and energy for Craig as he travels to Santa Cruz, and success in the transferral of documentation.
• For the Lord's wisdom during the planning days for the Foundation later this week.

Praise

• For the Lord's blessing of our home plans thus far, and therein, his clear instruction to us to remain in Trinidad.
• For all that God continues to teach us through his Word.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 15/10/11

We all know the feeling. You’ve quietly gone about and provided assistance in some important, sacrificial way. You set out not to draw too much attention to yourself. You hear others commenting positively on your efforts and battle with yourself not to say anything. But most of the time, you end up ‘confessing’ to your kindness – quietly, subtly, but leaving no doubt in the listeners’ minds. Being thanked en masse isn’t exactly the least awkward of outcomes, but it doesn’t stop you from doing it over and over again.

If you, like most of us, are the kind of person who thrives on a little dose of recognition for your hard work now and again, then for goodness’ sake, stay out of Bolivia!

Last week I alluded a little to certain facets of our culture-shock. This week, the big challenge has been switching back into full service mode. I used to think I was fairly resilient in this sense. I’d thrown myself into a number of such endeavours back in the UK and had been quite sure that I wasn’t looking for any praise. But the thing is, in Western culture, it seems there’s always someone out there who appreciates what you’re doing, be it your church pastor/elder or the recipient of the action itself.

Now you may be aware that I’m not someone who takes compliments very well. Verbally, at least, I’ll sooner deflect the attention from myself than lap up the attention. But I hadn’t realised just how attention-seeking I was till I came here. Some of the locals, upon getting the gist of what Amanda and I do down here, quickly assume that we will drop everything at any moment to provide assistance. This includes the evenings, which we tend to guard as family time. There was one situation in particular this week when this happened and we quite happily met one need after another. And you should have seen me. I was mentally hanging on this person’s every word for that ‘thank-you’ that seemed like it was never coming.

I assume such situations will become easier as the weeks and months go by. But it’s definitely another way in which spending time back in a Western context hasn’t necessarily helped me. ‘You deserve…’ is a common refrain in advertising. Church bulletins aren’t exactly awash with opportunities to sacrifice one’s time on behalf of others. Shopkeepers virtually fall over themselves to help you (consumer rights haven’t quite taken root down here).

It’s a tough adjustment. But we press on, sounding no trumpet and forbidding our left hand from knowing the right’s whereabouts. Because the one who so commanded us didn’t anticipate a single utterance of gratitude for the greatest sacrifice of all.

In our 9-to-5, we’ve been hard at it. We’ve arrived back in Bolivia just in time for another surgical campaign at the foundation, and so Amanda has been (wo)manfully covering the day-to-day nursing work single-handedly while the other nurses support the surgeons. As for me, most of my educational activities are back in full swing now, with the first English classes taking place, both at the foundation and in the local secondary school.

Additionally, the Community classes have resumed, though with a subtle twist. Although there is no shortage of kids in our immediate neighbourhood, the majority of children who come to the classes come from far enough afield that the foundation has paid for a minibus to pick them up, with most of those coming from a small village called Maná, which sits about four miles outside Trinidad. For a while, we had been discussing the possibility of taking the class ‘on the road’ as a possible template for the future. Well, an opportunity has presented itself this month. With four weeks of surgical campaigns taking place at the foundation, the Community classes were faced with a potential month-long shutdown.

So, instead, we decided to give the experiment a try. On Wednesday and Friday, in Maná’s main school building, we taught the same familiar faces while making some new acquaintances at the same time. The usual format of the class when at the foundation is a short English lesson followed by a short Bible story. This month, aware that not all of the kids might ‘come back’ with us to the foundation when the programme of classes is over, we’ve opted to simply give ’em the gospel! This week the children responded positively to what we had to say about heaven and eternity – pray that they’ll grasp the significance in the coming weeks of what it cost Jesus to open heaven’s door to them.

Prayer

• For our attitudes as we continue to deal with change in ways we hadn’t always expected.
• For a positive response to the message we’re sharing at the Community classes.

Praise

• For a successful resumption of the educational work.
• For the privilege of serving others here in Trinidad and having very opportunities to put God’s Word into practice.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 08/10/11

Well, here we are again, back in Bolivia, and a warm welcome back to our blog readers. I must apologise for falling short of our promise to post sporadically during our time away, however, hopefully our recent newsletter gives a decent overview of our time in North America.

Last Friday we touched down in Santa Cruz following our overnight flight from Miami. You can probably imagine our feelings upon returning to Bolivia. Joyfully skipping through the arrivals area. Heading straight to a restaurant for some much-missed Bolivian cuisine. Rejoicing in a dose of overpowering heat after a few weeks of the Canadian autumn.

All of the above are things which certainly did not take place last weekend. Much as I'd love to tell you we came back here with a spring in our step, it was in fact one of the most difficult few days we've had to endure here. In our taxi from the airport, as we whittled past one scene of chaos after another, I silently, and repeatedly, posed a fundamental question to the Lord: what on earth are we doing here?

The following day we awaited our departing bus for Trinidad, leaving that evening -- again, an overnight trip. The reality that we would at least soon be 'home' certainly gave us cheer. And yet, if anything, coming back to Trinidad -- a strange place even by Bolivian standards -- was even more of an emotional juggernaut. Within hours, we were catching up on the local news, with much to be encouraged by, but also a fair few stories of fellow believers in the church who simply weren't getting their act together spiritually. The questions that surfaced in Santa Cruz only intensified as I had what can only be described as a 'Jonah moment': What was the point in leaving behind our comfortable, Western lifestyles just to come back here and put in all the effort of ministering to people who routinely ignore what the Bible has to say to them anyway?

Neither of us could take much more and, following a couple of Skype calls to the parents we'd so recently bid farewell, we both broke down.

Well, it's amazing what a combination of a good night's sleep and the word of God can do. As I came to the next morning, I reached for my Bible. My daily readings follow Robert Murray M'Cheyne's calendar, allowing me to read, in an annual cycle, the Old Testament once and the New Testament and Psalms twice. My Psalm for that morning, as it happened, was Psalm 23, a lyric well known to believers and non-believers alike. This Psalm, which begins 'The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want' speaks plainly of the Lord's protection of, and provision for, those who trust in him. It is a Psalm which is read and sung at many occasions of importance for Christians as a reminder of the Lord's faithfulness. It is an overwhelmingly positive Psalm, and is often sung or read with appropriate joy.

Yet as I considered the Psalm again that morning for the umpteenth time in my life, one phrase, from the third verse, wedged itself into my consciousness: 'He guides me in paths of righteousness For His name's sake'. It is possible to read this verse, as I have done many times in the past, and amidst the Psalm's generally upbeat tone, ignore the gravity of what is said here. The Lord does not promise to lead his faithful servants down paths of prosperity, nor paths of popularity, nor paths of peace. Rather he will lead us down paths of righteousness. And, all clichés aside, we know how difficult it can be to do the right thing. Slowly but surely, a blessed reassurance came over me that, though our path had taken us out of a 'civilised' context and into the utter confusion of Bolivia, we could at the very least be sure that, by leaving those comforts behind, we had followed what is perhaps the Lord's 'path of righteousness' for our lives right now.

Not that we are so naive as to believe that we've left a 'better' existence behind. We'd danced the culture-shift tango enough times in the past to consider ourselves well prepared for what would await us in Canada. Nevertheless, we frequently found ourselves caught out over those two months, particularly when it came to discerning the difference between necessities and luxuries, something we suspect is a growing problem for those in developed societies. There are few clothes shops of any real quality here (those that are charge eye-watering prices) and so there was a practical need, on our part, to stock up. But we soon found ourselves browsing other 'essentials'. Early on in the trip, we noticed the rubber skins which people had attached to their laptops, in order to give them an extra layer of protection. We quickly resolved that we, too, needed these accessories, at a price tag of around $60 each. It was only when we had a sit-down in the shopping mall and reflected that we had not at any point in our time in Bolivia thought to ourselves 'What my computer really could so with is a new skin!' that we realised our misguidedness.

It's the oldest trick in the advertising book: to convince someone they have a need of something. But the convenience culture appears to be taking ever-deeper roots and we had to be careful not to fall victim to it. I sometimes wonder if people look at Amanda and I and think to themselves 'boy, they must be great people to be able to live and work in such a poor place as Bolivia'. If anything, I wonder at times if God put us here precisely to save us from ourselves!

I have rambled long enough. Back at the ranch, we're now settled and have been working a few days. Amanda has pretty much gone straight back into her old healthcare tasks, while I decided to start my teaching duties next week in order to give myself a week to get my educational materials and lesson plans in order. More on our work next week.

For now, our main item of prayer that we would wish to share with you is for a nurse at the foundation called Asalia, with whom Amanda is particularly close. A couple of weeks ago, with just weeks remaining in her first pregnancy, she went to hospital with high blood pressure. One thing led to another and, in the end, she tragically lost her baby, a girl. Unfortunately, while Asalia and her husband were in the hospital, someone stole their motorcycle, their only means of transport.

Amanda has been meeting with Asalia over the past week to provide comfort and a listening ear, and will continue to do so. Please pray especially for Asalia and her husband, who are not believers, as they come to terms with their loss, and for Amanda, that she'll be given the right words when the time is right to speak, and self-discipline when it isn't.

Prayer
• For our friend and colleague, Asalia, and for her family.
• For patience and grace as we settle back into a very different culture.

Praise
• For a restful couple of months in North America, and particularly the chance to be reunited with loved ones again.
• For safe travels back to Bolivia.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda