Saturday Post -- 19/01/13

Amanda (left) conducts the children's choir at the Christmas service, a long
time ago in a holiday far, far away.

Feliz año nuevo! Like January football fixtures, the NHL season, and Prime Ministerial keynote addresses on Europe, our return from a self-imposed sojourn into the blogging wilderness is a little delayed but hopefully worth the long, dark hours of three consecutive weekends without our company, which no doubt all of our readers to a man have endured over the last month.

So, what's been happening since we last posted? Too much to detail here (indeed, our web-hosts may not permit us the space) but I'll have a stab at an extended highlights reel.

In the style of an end-of-season cliffhanger, we left you all in a state of unbridled suspense as our last post detailed the forthcoming church Christmas service. Well, you'll be pleased to know that it was a great success, with a whole host of family and friends of the participants turning up to enjoy it. More details are in our latest newsletter, sent out yesterday (send us an email at cramandaham@gmail.com if you'd like a copy).

As usual, Christmas Day itself was a pretty relaxed affair with our missionary friends, tempered by the fact that we had to go back to work the next day. But by then our thoughts were already turning  what was effectively our Christmas present to each other, the upcoming week's break in Santa Cruz, which straddled the end of last year and the beginning of this.

Those who have visited Santa Cruz will know that it's one of the more aesthetically-challenged places in the world, definitely the Glasgow to La Paz's Edinburgh. Indeed, 'sprawl' is a more appropriate monicker than 'city'. Nevertheless, it has, for us, become something of a haven over the last few years as Hollywood blockbusters are caught up on, clothes stocked up on, and good food feasted on; and all in a context of something which comes at a premium in little Trinidad: urbanonymity.

That said, we stepped out of our Santa Cruz comfort zone this time and made contact with acquaintances from our last visit. In August, when Joanne was visiting, we were browsing in a tourist shop in the city. I was doubtless staring at my hundred-and-first set of llama coasters when I heard a familiar brogue. I approached the gentleman and asked where he came from. Sure enough, I'd met my first Ayrshireman in Bolivia. We proceeded to enjoy some hot beverages with Steve Paterson and his wife, Dilys (from Durham), with the invitation extended to get in touch any time we were in town.

Well, we did just that on our second day in the city, partaking of a curry in what an Indian restaurant we would never have found ourselves (Steve has been posted by a British company to Santa Cruz and he and his wife have had plenty of time to sniff out the better eateries). We were then invited to join them, along with some friends of theirs, for a late-night dinner and drinks at their home the following day: December 31st. Technically, Steve and I were the only Scots there, but it was easily the closest that Bolivian Año Nuevo has come to Hogmanay in our time here.

In the two weeks since our return we've been reacquainting ourselves with that strange period of limbo we call January. Here in Bolivia, with the schools still off, and with most people having half an eye on February's upcoming Carnaval festivities, this is a strangely muted time of year. It does, however, provide important opportunities if you know where to find them.

For example, we were not long back when I received a call from one of my English students alerting me to a national convention for English teachers, taking place this year in Trinidad. So on Thursday, Friday and Saturday of last week (hence the lack of the promised blog-post) I attended said convention. The seminars on English teaching were generally pretty basic -- nothing there that will cause me to make sweeping changes to the courses I teach here -- but I did pick up on a few things which will hopefully complement my teaching, not least on the technological side. Among other things, I learnt to design my own class webpage, where I have now posted all of my Powerpoint lessons, hopefully saving precious classroom time which is otherwise devoted to putting files on the flash-drives of the previous week's absentees. In the spirit of 1980s Glasgow Evening Times television commercials, my response to such requests shall henceforth be: 'Get your own!'

More than anything, January is the month to take advantage of the spare time and get ready for the coming year. For example, I've spent much of the past week making purchases for educational needs this year. A similar approach applies to church, where things are quieter in the absence of youth ministry over the school holidays. The members of the youth fellowship leadership, including Amanda and me, have been meeting on Saturday afternoons to draw up a proper, all-singing, all-dancing, year-plan for 2013, including social events, trips and fundraising events (for the end-of-year camp, when our youth always need a little assistance in covering the cost). With a couple more such sessions remaining, including this afternoon, we're excited about how things are already coming together.

Finally, the January weirdness continues this weekend, with a key gubernatorial election in the Beni region tomorrow, meaning all public meetings are cancelled, meaning no church. Politically, that's a fascinating situation, which I was planning to go into here, but I reckon that's quite enough for one day. We do, of course, have all year to talk about it.

Prayer

• For the Lord's continued guidance in our planning for the year both in the Foundation (Craig planning for Education year; Amanda working with her fellow board members) and in the church.
• For our visa situation. It feels like only yesterday that I was last writing about it, but our two-year visas expire in March. This means that we now qualify, at last, for the permanent residency visa (which allows, among other things, for extended periods of travel outside of the country). We have started to get the necessary documentation in order for this year's application. Mercifully, the process seems to have simplified greatly since 2011, but prayers are appreciated nonetheless.

Praise

• For the many new faces present at the church during Christmas.
• For a restful week away from Trinidad for us as a couple.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda