Saturday Post -- 25/06/11

That's me just back from town, having dropped Amanda off for her trip. If you've read last week's post and are currently double-taking, you read that correctly. The date for the boat trip had been pushed back from the Wednesday till the Saturday some time ago but nobody had gotten in touch with FT to notify us of the switch. It took some Bernstein & Woodward-like digging to get to the bottom of it all and and confirm the switch. Welcome to Bolivia! Anyway, the end date of the trip hasn't changed, meaning she'll only be away for a week now, thus our mutual suffering is somewhat eased.

That said, I have a packed week ahead: preaching tomorrow on the latter verses of John 5; preaching again next Saturday at the youth group; and a busy week at FT, including preparation for the 5-day clubs, which start a week on Monday. She'll be back in no time. And by then, there'll just be a month or so left for us here before our trip to Canada. Where's 2011 going?

As mentioned in the last post, this week was littered with holidays, making for a very stop-start rhythm. We didn't find out about the re-scheduled departure date till Monday, for example. Nonetheless, we had a very relaxed couple of days to ourselves and much reading was caught up on.

Right, apologies for the brevity, but I have a sermon to finish and a band practice to attend, so I'll leave it there for now.

Prayer
• For Amanda, on her journey there today and for the remainder of her trip on the boat.
• For discipline and openness to the Spirit as I prepare preaching material.

Praise
• For a refreshing break this week on our days off.
• For the Lord’s continued growth of our ministry as we reach the halfway stage in 2011.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 18/06/11

Here are some pictures from Día de la Santísima Trinidad, the big annual parade which was held yesterday. A few of these are of students from the school where I teach English on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It was a pleasure to go along and encourage them. More of these on my Facebook page.









Yesterday, everyone in town had tolerancia, i.e., permission to leave work from 10am in order to attend the festivities. Holidays tend to come in all at once here and this week is no exception. Yesterday's festivities kick off a weekend of celebrations, so Monday is a local holiday, nicknamed Día de la Recuperacíon (no Spanish degree required to work that one out). Day off #1. The following day, Tuesday, is not only the winter/summer solstice, depending on where you live, but also Aymara new year (the Aymara being an indigenous race here). Day off #2. And Thursday is the Catholic holiday of Corpus Christi, so, inevitably, that's a holiday too. Day off #3. Must say, accommodating everyone else's belief systems does at times have its upsides.

Adding to the weirdness of the approaching week will be the absence of Amanda from Wednesday morning onwards. Indeed, she won't be back round these here parts for 10 days or so. This week, along with three health colleagues from FT, she'll be joining a team of Canadians and Bolivians on a boat. I've asked her for specifics and, well, she's none the wiser! I've been reliably informed that she'll fly some kind of small plane to the place where the boat will leave and that the boat will go up a river. And that's really all she can tell me right now. I tell you, it's like being married to a CIA operative. Hopefully by next week I'll have more useful information. Anyway, while voyaging on the good ship something-or-other, she'll be putting her audiology skills to good use among the villagers that live in these extremely isolated communities.

I would cook for myself -- I do a mean line in eggs and bacon -- but thankfully our neighbours Kenny & Claudia have stepped in and will be keeping a seat spare at the lunch table. So I'll be nourished, but it'll be a tough old 10 days or so, easily the longest period we'll have spent apart in our marriage, so please pray for us.

On Tuesday past, we both got to go on a trip of a far smaller -- though no less meaningful -- scale, back to San Pedro, where, in our latest afternoon visit in advance of July's 5-day club, we were accompanied by a full team of health workers, including Amanda, who provided a series of check-ups on people in the community. It was the final visit before the club itself and another enthusiastic bunch of kids turned up, a little smaller this time, though the presence of the health team probably contributed to that -- both because of kids attending the check-ups, and the primal fear which exists in such remote communities, and this is no joke, of doctors coming and sticking needles in you. Anyway, the gospel was clearly shared once again and good foundations have been laid for July.

Prayer
• For Amanda as she sets off on her river trip on Wednesday, that she and the rest of the team would be a blessing to all they encounter and that they would be protected in all they do.
• For us as a couple as we spend an extended period apart.

Praise
• For the Lord’s guidance (and personal application) for Craig as he led this weeks meditations in Galatians 6:6-10, on ‘sowing and reaping’.
• For another beneficial visit to San Pedro on Tuesday and the groundwork laid for the 5-day club.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 11/06/11

Yippee -- a symmetrical date!

Will have to be briefer than usual this morning as we have a car mechanic friend coming round shortly to deal with a few issues Pedro has been having recently. However, it's been a good week all round. On Sunday morning the worship band did its first family service at the church. The important thing, as I stressed to the guys over and over again, was gaining the experience. Mistakes would occur; the test was how each musician reacted. And, I have to say, they came through with flying colours. In many ways I was too caught up in the technicalities to gain a balanced perspective on the situation, but many people have commented on the visible lift it was to people to have a group of their own leading them in worship.

Of course, the longer-term issue is our two-month break in August and September, and the work towards that starts this morning, when we'll start practising a batch of relatively simple songs that they can use while we're away.

Hours later, the excitement over the band had died down somewhat, as Amanda picked up a virus and spent Monday in a poor state. However, she was brilliantly attended to by her fellow health workers and by Monday evening the change was visible, such that she felt able to return to work the next day.

Work this week has been dominated by the monthly meetings of the various areas of FT and some important decisions have been made as part of that -- we praise the Lord for his guidance. At Wednesday's Health meeting, it was confirmed that Amanda would be heading off on an Amazon boat trip with three other health workers and a team of Bolivians and Canadians from the 22nd of June till the 2nd of July. More on that next week!

Please accept my apologies once again for a relatively short update, but we hope that, above all, there's enough here to keep you informed in your prayers. For which, many, many thanks.

Prayer
• For the second pre-visit to San Pedro, which takes place this Tuesday, ahead of July’s 5-Day Club there.
• For Amanda as she makes preparations for her impending boat trip.

Praise
• For the Lord’s guidance in our various meetings at work this week.
• For a tremendous first Sunday morning service with the worship group.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 04/06/11

Monday sees the anniversary of the Normandy landings, but for myself and a few young guys in the church, who have been busily rehearsing for the past couple of months, D-Day falls tomorrow as we finally debut what, we hope, will be a staple of the church for some years to come: a worship band. No longer will a lone white missionary with a guitar take sole charge of the church music. Don't get me wrong: as any worship leader will tell you, mine is a privileged task. But one day, we're going to have to leave this place, and it's great to be able to lay a foundation for the future of the church here in Trinidad. Please pray for these young men as they take on these responsibilities, and particularly that they will be suitably equipped to lead the church music in my two-month absence later this year.

One of the guitarists in the band is not only a church regular but also part of the administrative personnel at Fundación Totaí. His name is Wilson and he's a Bolivian male, alright. He laughs like a hyena. Friendly insults positively cascade from him. His favourite form of greeting is a well-aimed punch to the arm. As you can imagine, the banter quotient is high and I've certainly found him entertaining to be around at work.

Yesterday was his birthday and the staff were all invited round for an impromptu bash at his home in the early evening. Much to my surprise, before tucking into the food (a typically Bolivian evening spread of empanadas -- fried pastries which contain meat, chicken or cheese -- and coffee), Wilson, in front of his friends and family, asked me if I'd say grace for the food. It was a moment that really gave me pause. Not because it may have drawn attention to any supposed worthiness on my part to fulfil such an act (I have none) but because I realised that, underneath the several layers of blokiness, Wilson clearly saw me as a positive influence in his Christian walk. And yet, how much deeper our relationship could be if I'd taken the time to engage him in the things that matter now and again.

So I'm resolved this morning to make a greater effort with folk like Wilson -- people who come from difficult, secular backgrounds and who therefore need the few Christian influences in their life to be a friend to them and at the same time, keep the friendship 'stayed upon Jehovah'.

The surgical campaign which ended last Tuesday had yielded something of a mini-break in the afternoons, as the Community classes can't take place during surgery due to the effect of the noise levels on the operating theatres immediately below. This week we were back to the full schedule, with still more new faces turning up in the afternoons. In the last couple of weeks, some children have started coming from the men's prison again, the first time we've had kids from there for a good year or so. While we regret that they have to stay there with their families, we rejoice that they're able to get away for a couple of hours in the week to a safe and positive environment.

Finally, they say that sunrise and sunset are 'the golden hours' for photographers. On Tuesday, I woke up to complete darkness at 5am, in order to drive health volunteer and bird enthusiast Sean into the local countryside. I arrived back at work at 8.30am, simultaneously humming "How Great Thou Art" and wondering why on earth I don't put myself through such blissful sleep-denial more often. Selected highlights on the post below.

Prayer
• For the newly-formed worship band, as we humbly lead the church in the music tomorrow.
• For Amanda’s time with the young women on the youth leadership team this afternoon. It’s the first time she’s done something like this with them. She’s hoping simply to encourage them and pray with them, and to maintain this as a regular activity.
• For energy levels, as we keep ourselves busy in various activities at the church and at FT.

Praise
• For the way God is highlighting to us opportunities we never knew existed in our workplace for evangelism and discipleship, such as Wilson this week and the aforementioned Liria.
• For the exciting opportunity to reach more kids from the men’s prison at the Community classes.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Bird-spotting with Sean Berquist

Bird-spotting with Sean Berquist, a set on Flickr.

It's the last week here in Trinidad of health volunteer and bird lover Sean Berquist. so this morning, we got up at 5.30am to do some pre-work spotting.

Saturday Post -- 28/05/11

These days, I usually get the weekly blog post done and dusted first thing on a Saturday morning, usually in front of a Premier League game (or in today's case, furiously channel-surfing for any scraps of news from Wembley).

That was not so last week, when I had to log the update late afternoon on Friday, in anticipation of a very different start to the weekend. Here in Bolivia, the standard rendez-vous time for church youth groups is Saturday evening, our own group meeting from 7pm till 8.30pm. However, in a recent leaders' meeting, we sensed a need to freshen things up a little. So last Saturday, rather than wait till 7pm, we opted to leave the church at 8.30am and head to the Laguna Suarez for the morning, a local artificial lake resort. The usual clientele there tend to be fairly well-to-do, so we were allowed the freedom of the lake so long as we cleared off by lunchtime. It was a terrific morning and here are a few snaps to help set the scene (picture credit, once again, goes to fellow missionary Kenny Holt).


As is always the case on a Saturday evening, we kicked off things with a brief worship time, led by yours truly.


That was followed by a game and then some Bible teaching, led by Mariana (who can genuinely be classed as a youth leader as, unlike us, she's still relatively youthful). We continued in the series on The Purpose Driven Life, which we've been doing for about a month now, taking the theme for each 'day' as the weekly focus.



This was followed up by some time in small groups, Amanda and I both finding a spot on the dock. As ever, this was an important part of the session, but by this time the sun was climbing ever higher...


...and a couple of hours of this was the inevitable result.

We headed back to Trinidad, where we had a bite to eat for lunch before all going our separate ways again. The programme tweak helped to freshen things up, allowed us as leaders a little more time to get to know the young people, and excitingly for Amanda and me, afforded us our first free Saturday evening for some months.

Additionally, Amanda was able to spend some time with an older member of the group, Liria, someone who's only just started coming along, but who we both know very well due to her work in administration at FT. It's fair to say that Amanda hadn't exactly been actively pursuing a deeper relationship with Liria over the past months, but out of the blue, Liria told Amanda how much her friendship has meant to her. It was really humbling for Amanda and we had her round for lunch one day this week to try and strengthen the bond a little further. As far as we know, she's still seeking, so please pray for her.

The rest of the week saw the surgical campaign continue until Tuesday, so Amanda was on general nursing duties before switching back to Audiology on Wednesday. My work duties centred mostly around the website, creeping ever closer to launch, and the Community classes, which resumed on Wednesday.

Anyway, must dash. I'm teaching at the youth group tonight, so I need to put the finishing touches to that before heading for a big lunch, a big screen and a big game at Kenny's place this afternoon. As a great philosopher of our age once so eloquently put it, it's squeaky bum time!

Prayer
• For Craig as he teaches on the theme of ‘Created to Live Forever’ tonight at the youth group.
• For a deepening relationship between Amanda and Liria, and for opportunities to witness to her.

Praise
• For a great session with the youth group last Saturday and particularly for the opportunity to develop relationships with individuals that the morning provided.
• For continued progress with the new worship band this week.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 21/05/11

Though the school holidays are still a couple of months away, thoughts are steadily turning to July’s Five-Day Holiday Bible Clubs, which, as they did last year, will take place at FT’s headquarters the first week and in the remote village of San Pedro in the second week.

Excitingly, the make-up of the team looks set to have a radical overhaul, with a group of ten young people in the church having been approached to play a part in the running of the clubs, with a particular focus on working with small groups.

Though the Five-Day club in San Pedro took place nearly a year ago, FT has sought to maintain the contact, with three afternoon visits taking place towards the end of last year (though remote and accessible only by dirt road, the village is nonetheless just an hour’s drive from Trinidad). And earlier this week, we made the first of two afternoon visits, the next being in June, ahead of the club in July. Now I personally am relatively uninvolved, the bulk of the planning and preparation being carried out by FT Sports staff. Nonetheless, they’re always in need of someone to play the guitar, and that someone is usually me. However, I also chipped in in various other ways, such as leading a small group – a real eye-opener, I must say, both in terms of Biblical knowledge and literacy levels. Anyway, here are some pictures.


The team, which included four of the ten youth volunteers (the other six are coming next month)


Sing-song time


This is my impromptu small group (the standing kids are the high-schoolers who came to investigate what was going on during their break)

Back in Trinidad, the annual complex ear microsurgery campaign is in full swing, having started on Thursday and finishing this Tuesday. However, this time round, Amanda isn’t at the coal-face, instead covering rudimentary nursing tasks while the other nurses are in theatre, though she’s had a couple of Audiology patients to attend to at the same time. Needless to say, she’s spinning the plates with characteristic. We also got some news on the river trip which Amanda will be embarking on with three other FT health staff and a team from Canada. She’ll now be going on a later trip, from the 22nd of June until the 3rd of July. Though a little later, it still leaves us with plenty of time afterwards to get ready for our trip to Canada the following month. And most importantly, she’ll be back just in time for our anniversary – yes, I may be a bloke but I am fully aware of their existence, thankyouverymuch.

As you’ll be aware, a couple of months ago some younger guys in the church and I began a weekly practice with a view to forming a worship band. Well, at our practice on Monday, in order to prevent lethargy from setting in, we opted to go for broke and set a date for our first Sunday morning service. Sunday 5th of June, then, is the day, and at long last it appears the church congregation will finally be free of boring old me.

Prayer
• For Amanda as she juggles nursing and Audiology work during the surgical campaign.
• For the worship band as we seek to have everything in place for our debut Sunday.

Praise
• For safety and encouragement during Tuesday’s visit to San Pedro.
• For an enjoyable afternoon with Elizabeth (Amanda’s young Sunday School assistant) and her siblings on Sunday.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Sunday Post -- 15/05/11

This was written on Saturday morning, but problems with the website prevented us from posting at the usual time. The sermon went really well, by the way.


Here I am in action at the Friday Community class, attended by children of around 4 to 7 years old. Over 100 different kids have passed through the classroom doors on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays since the classes resumed in February, every time receiving a healthy dose of English and Bible teaching.

The picture was taken by Sean Berquist, a 24-year-old health volunteer from San Francisco, who arrived last Friday and has brought his horizontal West Coast ways to proceedings here. Sean, who is hoping to start medical school later this year, is engaging and ultra-positive, and it’s been good to get to know him this week.

Really not too much to report of note this week, though I’d appreciate your prayers for church tomorrow, where I’ll be preaching on John 3:1-21. Given the fundamental nature of the passage, I’m feeling the very real pressure of not messing it up, particularly when it comes to explaining the gospel. Indeed, I have a good chunk still to write, which I’m aiming to do today, so I trust you’ll understand my brevity this week.

Prayer
• For Craig as he preaches on Sunday.
• For our planned lunch with Elizabeth (Amanda’s Sunday School assistant) and her younger siblings tomorrow.

Praise
• For the Lord’s continued and, at times, unexpected provision, which we have certainly experienced this week.
• For the opportunity Amanda has later today (Saturday) to meet and pray with her female co-leaders from the church youth group.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Estadio Gran Mamoré

Estadio Gran Mamoré, a set on Flickr.

This is a bunch of pictures I took a couple of weeks ago to illustrate the Sports section of the new FT website I'm developing. My friend Kenny's wide-angle lens, as you can probably tell, proved extremely useful.