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