Saturday Post -- 23/03/13

A few weeks ago, we got word of Shona's visit and, with the house edging towards completion, we asked our builders to ensure it was completed by the weekend of her arrival. With Shona landing in Trinidad on Sunday the 10th, the goal was to be moved in by Friday the 8th, giving us a couple of days to get the house in order. Our builders were all too happy to accommodate our wishes. 

And thus began a very Bolivian house-move. For in the days leading up to our hoped-for move-in, it became clear that the house would not be delivered to us in a completed state. Among the items still to be dealt with when we arrived were:

• Paint splashes all over the floor tiles and windows
• Smudges on the newly-painted walls
• An unpainted exterior wall
• Windows without mosquito nets
• Loose rails in the showers and patio doors
• A back garden littered with builders' equipment
• Lack of electrical socket for our oven in the kitchen
• Bathrooms without lights
• Several windows without curtain rails (we're still waiting on these!)

These have, largely, been dealt with over the past couple of weeks. But it's been yet another pretty alarming eye-opener, as if it were needed, as to the quality of customer service here. We have spent, at times, consecutive days calling the same electrician/carpenter/painter over and over again, being told each time that they are coming "ahorita" ('right now'). This is a very Bolivian tactic: to keep the customer off your back, tell them what they want to hear rather than the truth. Furthermore, pride in the quality of one's handiwork does not seem to take any real precedence. Many of the problems since we moved in have been owing to negligence on the part of the workmen. 

However -- and it's a big 'however' -- we're really delighted with the (almost) finished product and already feeling the benefit of the increased space available to us. Monday (our day off) of this week was the first chance we had to spend the whole day in the house uninterrupted by builders (though, to be honest, we were waiting for them!) and we were struck by the freedom we each had to relax. While our house is not big by any stretch of the imagination, we have much more room than in our apartment which was essentially a series of four consecutive rooms, one following the other. 

We are just so thankful to have such a welcoming, airy place to come home to and looking forward to sharing it with our friends and those we minister to in the coming months.

Additionally, there has been some movement this week on the hoped-for land sale, with a visit from an interested party on Tuesday, with a view to possibly buying both of the plots. The deal would depend on the availability of funds on the prospective purchaser's end. We'd really appreciate your continued prayers as we aim to shift these plots.

All of these housing shenanigans have had to be dealt with against the backdrop of a busy couple of weeks at work. This week saw another ENT surgery campaign take place at FT. Amanda was not involved directly, but there's always a knock-on effect for her as she sees many of the pre- and post-op patients in Audiology. Since taking on the audiology work, she has never had a week quite like this one. 

Meanwhile, there have been some really encouraging developments in my educational work recently. We are now three weeks into the new year of English classes, with over 30 students enrolled in this year's class -- way more than in previous years and so many that I've had to stop new people signing up for the time being. 

We also have a solution to the staffing issues in the Community class. Elizabeth, who has been a huge help in the last year, told us that she may have to leave in mid-April to pursue her career. This left us with the prospect of having nobody to take on this thrice-weekly children's ministry. However, in the past couple of weeks, Elías (pastor of our church and a basketball coach with FT's Sports ministry) expressed an interest in taking on the work and he took up his new post this week, helping Elizabeth and short-term volunteer Deborah. We won't know till mid-April if Elizabeth is staying or not, but we're now in a good position to get help for Elías if need be. We're delighted to have this ministry secured for the year.

And I'm delighted to have another post written for the week. A happy Day of the Sea to you all!

Prayer

• For the youth group this evening, where we're continuing in a short series on the Passover and its significance for us. I'll be speaking on the Lord's Supper. Most of those who come to the youth group have never come to our Communion service at the church, with many being under the impression that it's for a particularly lofty category of Christian! Additionally, due to Catholic teaching, many have misplaced views as to the importance of the sacraments. Please pray that God would speak truth to their hearts tonight. These, like many other such issues (such as not eating meat during Holy Week), are things of which these young people simply accept society's version without question.
• We're due to get our kitchen delivered and installed tomorrow. Please pray that this goes smoothly. 

Praise

• For energy for Amanda during a hectic week. Indeed, give thanks too for the campaign in general, where about 20 patients were given world-class ENT surgery by the visiting doctors and all returned home safe and sound.
• For all the encouraging developments in the education ministries.
• Whoops! I posted this, forgetting to mention that Amanda's permanent residency visa is now here. Give thanks for that and pray that mine will arrive soon. She's not good on her own is our Amanda.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda