Saturday Post -- 12/02/11

A mere eight days ago, we were lounging in a café bar just off the central plaza in Santa Cruz, revelling in the high internet speeds and counting down the hours till the bus would arrive to take us on the long, bumpy road back to Trinidad.

And, boy, does Santa Cruz feel half a world away today! As I was anticipating in last week's post, the year really got going this week. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoon, the classes for children in the community resumed for the year. It's been great this week to see all the planning that Samy (my co-worker in the classes) and I have done over the last couple of months paying off. The kids are really embracing the sense of structure in the classes and enjoying no-end the antics of the complete prat leading them in the English songs. That would be me.

However, three afternoons are now wiped off the weekly calendar, making it a little trickier to squeeze in other things. Such as my sermon for this Sunday. I've mentioned in the past that it takes me a good few days to put one of these together in English, let alone Spanish and this week, it's been difficult to find that momentum. As the week progressed, one urgent task after another was foisted upon me, all of which I completed, but not always, I must admit, with the most positive attitude.

My mind went back to something I'd noticed in my Bible reading a few weeks ago, a small detail which we read about between the beheading of John the Baptist and the feeding of the 5,000. Matthew chapter 13 and verses 14 and 15 read:

When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

We have no more than the implication, but we can surely assume that Jesus' reaction to Herod's barbarity was to pray, seeking out that 'solitary place' as a means to achieving this. And yet, it wasn't long before the crowds turned up once again. I was struck by the manner in which he didn't use prayer -- and there can be no higher pursuit -- as an excuse to avoid serving others. Jesus knew that serving others was part and parcel of what it meant to be a prayerful follower of God -- not an optional extra.

In the West, we are actually very well-mannered in certain respects which we are not aware of. We maintain certain inhibitions when it comes to making requests of others, out of respect for each other's 'space'. Here, if the people need you to do something, they will simply ask you and most of the time expect only 'yes' as an answer -- much like those who followed Jesus from town to town. It's quite a transition for one such as I, who prize my personal time and solitude in the workplace to achieve my goals. But it's the way we must operate wherever we are in the world if we are to be true servants.

My sermon, if you're interested, is on 2 Samuel 19, in which David returns to Jerusalem. Quite a bitty chapter with a fair bit of baggage from the past thrown in. Please pray for clarity in my message on Sunday.

Amanda, meanwhile, completed her work on the survey this week and yesterday began working full-time in Audiology. She was encouraged this week by developments in church. Amanda and Jo had been running the teenagers' Sunday School class together. Jo opted to step down when the school holidays arrived and Amanda thought there was an opportunity here for her to work alongside one of the more responsible older teenage girls in the church, whose name is Elizabeth. Elizabeth could fill in for Amanda when her Spanish failed her, while Amanda could use the planning time to develop a closer relationship with Elizabeth and mentor her in her spiritual growth. In advance of this Sunday's meeting on the forthcoming Sunday School year, the church consented to Amanda's proposal, so we're delighted that Amanda now has an important new ministry opportunity here.

The week has been long and I fear I might fall asleep on the keyboard if I keep typoiuuuuuuuuoiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.

Just kidding.

Prayer
• For a restful weekend and focus for Craig as he preaches on Sunday morning.
• For a Christ-like attitude, in all we do.
• For the English classes, due to begin on Wednesday of next week -- for good numbers and good potential for developing relationships with a view to sharing the gospel.

Praise
• For the church's green-lighting of Amanda's Sunday School proposal.
• For an encouraging first week for Craig and all concerned in the Community classes.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda