Saturday Post -- 05/02/11

I write, safe and sound in the comforts of our Trinidad home at the end of a fantastic week’s holiday. We really are so very blessed.

A couple of months ago, when Jessica first notified us of her dates, we reckoned it might be a good idea to go without a break over the Christmas period (which is fairly muted here anyway) and take some time off to travel with her to Santa Cruz, see her off, and enjoy some quality time together in the process.

Thanks to the kindness of both sets of parents at Christmas, we were able to live it up a little for five nights at Hotel Buganvillas, a fairly swanky establishment, replete with swimming pools, health spa and the kind of breakfast buffet that causes cardiologists to lie awake at night. I have to say, I’m more used to roughing it for holidays, but then again, living in Trinidad effectively means roughing it all year round, so the opportunity to do as little as necessary was warmly welcomed. Even better, FT gets good discounts as they’ve sent them a fair bit of business over the years, so we got a great deal in the process.

Unlike our visit to La Paz last year, I didn’t really feel the need to resort to a travel log. La Paz is the picture-postcard ideal of Bolivia; colourful ladies in bowler-hats hobbling up and down the streets, llama-strewn landscapes just a short drive out of town. But Santa Cruz is very much the gritty industrial centre. Not much to look at and hardly brimming with cultural reference points. But certainly brimming with the sort of amenities we used to take for granted at home and which are sorely lacking in Trinidad. I certainly can’t remember being so excited about a visit to the supermarket. In Trinidad, customers are generally treated as if they should be grateful just to be getting any kind of service at all. In Santa Cruz, I had to pinch myself on more than one occasion as I was asked how I could be assisted.


We were also able to spend some time out of town. On the Sunday, we visited a huge tropical wildlife park owned by a local German family. Though, fascinating though the bird and butterfly sanctuaries were, we inevitably ended up crashing by the big swimming pool there. And we got used to such lounging as the week progressed, making the most of the hotel pool.

But, most importantly, we just savoured the time together outside of the usual work context. We had a great few days with Jessica, Amanda getting the chance to catch up with her sister, I getting the chance to deepen our friendship. After Jessica left on Tuesday morning, sad though we were to see her go, we got the chance to spend time together as a couple for the first time in a few weeks.


We got back this (Friday) morning and will hit the ground running again tomorrow, with the youth group back up and running again in the evening, and an exam at our sign language class in the afternoon. On Monday, my responsibilities with the Community classes resume for the year. And over the coming weeks, we’ll be re-launching the English classes and attempting to make further inroads on our two-year visas. The break was great, but it certainly feels like 2011’s about to begin in earnest.

Prayer
• For the church’s youth group as it kicks off again and our roles there as assistants and (we hope) as an example of a young, faithful, Christian couple – surprisingly lacking here and therefore an important witness in itself.
• For focus as we resume our tasks at work this week.

Praise
• For a terrific few days away from the hustle and bustle of Trinidad.
• For Jessica’s safe arrival back in Canada on Tuesday evening.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda