Saturday Post -- 21/04/2012

Hello again... it's Amanda!!!! Craig has quite the busy weekend in front of him, so I have offered to write the blog this week. This probably means fewer clever references, less humour, and a lot more "..." everywhere. I generally tend to type as I would speak or think... and there are very rarely full stops in my mind... just one long rambling idea, that's connected to another long rambling idea. I actually had a friend once tell me that I had to start using paragraphs in my e-mails because she couldn't follow my train of thought. If there are not a lot of "..." in this post, it means Craig has edited them out.

Moving on to a new paragraph then... I have had lots of comments about our new baby girl Pinky this week. Firstly, I would have chosen to spell it "Pinkie" because I like the "ie" better than the "y", but as Craig and I hadn't discussed this and he went and posted it last week with a "y", there is nothing I can do about it. It is true for my own name as well... if I ever allowed anyone to call me Mandie... I would want it with an "ie", not a "y". But no one is allowed to call me Mandie. Anyways, Pinky has had a rough week... poor girl has been sick. She apparently got bitten by something... possibly a snake or poisonous bug and has been running a fever all week and broke out in a red rash for three days. She's seen the vet three times and has to go back today for a checkup. She is still not eating well... and I am essentially sticking the food in her mouth, though we think she's more active this morning... she still has a fever though. The vet said it's because the venom is still in her system. But on the other hand... the two of us (me and Pinky), walked all the way from the vet's to the bank (7-8 blocks) and she was amazing. I have never had a dog walk next to me, well, ever... keeping up with me, never pulling the lead, perfectly content just to walk with me. She was awesome!!! She loves trips in the car and playing with the other dogs... she's so cute. 

Well, I shall now move on as some people might not think this information is important. I would like all of you to know that we have still managed to keep working effectively in ministry despite the appearance of our new baby girl Pinky... so don't get worried. I do sometimes have to take my work outside and look up frequently wondering, "Has she peed yet?". I know Craig has taught all his English and Religious Studies classes this week... and the classes at the local school have been extended another 20 minutes. Apparently all the classes got let out 45 minutes early this Friday for the funeral of the mother of one of the teachers... all the classes except Craig's, who wouldn't tolerate such laziness. I bet they don't like him too much... hehehe. In the Biblical Application section of the English classes we looked at the Trinity this week... and I learnt a new English work "triune". Okay, I've probably heard it before... but it is definitely not a popular English word. I learnt the Spanish equivalent too... "trino". Probably not going to use that any time soon either... 

Paragraph 4... I know what I did this week a whole lot better though, so let's focus on that, shall we... firstly, the Women's Group met again on Tuesday night and that was really encouraging. We were talking about the goals that the Bible gives to us as Christians... and we were talking about how we are called to not be ashamed of the gospel. One woman, who is a new Christian, talked about how its hard for her to share her new faith with her Catholic family because they harass her constantly and she doesn't have all the answers to give back to them. They were making her feel bad for eating red meat over Easter and she was trying to explain the difference between traditions for tradition's sake and how what God really want for us is to live without sinning, and she used the example of not fighting amongst themselves. The reply she got from her sister was essentially that she has no idea where she gets these ideas from because the Bible clearly says not to eat red meat and doesn't say anything about not fighting with each other! So we as a group had the chance to encourage her in her attempts to witness to her family. We emphasised the importance of reading our Bibles so that we know what it says... and we also emphasised that she's not the only one to have experienced that. We have all let opportunities to share our faith pass us by, or not had an answer to someone's criticism. 

It actually made me think about how much easier to is for me as a "missionary" here... I have this label that I can't get rid of or ignore. I am quite blatantly a Christian, openly stating that my goal here is to share the gospel with whomever I can. But the truth is, when I didn't have this label "missionary" hanging over me, I wasn't nearly so open about my faith. My faith was real and important, but I can't even remember all the times I let opportunities slide by me in the two years I worked at the doctor's office in Scotland... and it had me wondering what I would be like if I went back to that situation now without my missionary label to break the ice for me. Do I really feel more passionate about the gospel now or is it just because it is easier here? I would like to think I have changed... but I want to remember this thought as a challenge to myself when we do go home.

Moving on... I was able to have a really great chat with one of the nurses this week. I learnt a lot more about her and shared my vision for the future ministry here as well. She is not a believer, but she sees the difference in the Foundation as a Christian organisation versus the state run hospitals here and that means a lot to her. Working in Audiology gives me a good metaphor to share with people the importance of the gospel... I sometimes say something along the lines of, "What's the point of giving someone a hearing aid and helping them hear, if we're not then telling them something of value to listen to?" In reality, their hearing aid is not going to much good to them after death. At times, I feel this particular nurse is someone who agrees with you verbally in a conversation without actually stopping and thinking if they really agree with you, however, I was encouraged to have had this conversation.

And on Friday afternoon I made a home visit to a woman whom we've written about before named Mary... she accepted Christ a while ago, but is having a hard time getting to church regularly because her husband is back in town and is concerned she's become a fanatic. I am going to pick her up tomorrow morning with her children as he's just really been denying her money to get to church on a taxi, but please pray that he doesn't put any more barriers in front of her attendance. She wants to go to continue to learn and grow in her faith and is finding life at home right now really stifling. We were going through her answers in the first Emmaus book and while there are some things she accepts so readily on faith, she struggles with the concept of Jesus being the only way to salvation because there are so many other religious faiths out there and how can they all be wrong. We went to John 14:6 and talked about that... and I used the example that if I say and really believe that the yellow flower is red, that doesn't change the fact that the yellow flower is yellow. Please pray for her in her faith right now.

And one more thing... I am starting a morning prayer meeting at the Foundation. I felt that the workers in the Foundation could do a lot more to support the board of directors in a practical way -- and what could be more practical and powerful than prayer. So every morning from 8:15-8:30 we're going to have drop-in prayer meeting. Probably some mornings it'll just be me (I would like to think Craig will come), but I would like to encourage others to understand and tap into the power of prayer. 

So... 

Prayer

• Mary as she works through her faith and as she chooses to be a witness to her husband.
• The new morning prayer meeting at the Foundation.
• Craig as he preaches tomorrow on John 21:1-14.
• Keep praying for our land dealings. This week we are due to both complete the purchase of the plot we agreed to buy last week, and get our refund for the two plots we 'bought' last year. Please pray that everything goes to plan.

Praise

• The chance to speak with América (the nurse) about my faith a bit more this week.
• Pinky's apparent recovery (although, this could still be a prayer item as well).

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda