Saturday Post -- 13/04/13

When visitors travel all the way from northern Europe to visit the work here at FT, and an unexpected dark cloud passes over Trinidad, we’ll throw in the token line about guests bringing the weather with them. Well, Mum & Dad are due to arrive tomorrow and, the way things have been lately, I’d be glad of even the Scottish stuff. So long as in Scotland it hasn’t rained torrentially for four days straight, only to take a breather in anticipation of this morning’s unseasonably premature south wind, bringing with it yet more heavy rain (which has apparently wreaked havoc in Argentina and Paraguay over the past few days).

Who knows? Perhaps the grass-is-always-greener mentality is setting in after over three years here. I tell you what, it couldn’t be soggier.

Indeed, a couple of weeks ago, with the help of a couple of strapping young lads from the youth group, we started laying down some earth in our front and back gardens, in order to encourage some grass to grow. The job was tantalisingly close to completion last weekend – but instead, it just kept on raining, as Greg Lake might have put it. I’m happy to report that green shoots abound in the spots which aren’t yet under water.

Things aren’t made much easier by the dogs, who naturally have gotten fairly muddy and enjoy no higher pleasure than rubbing themselves furiously against the once-pristine white walls of our new house (we’ll just tell future guests we were going for a cappuccino effect, I suppose).

Anyway, we continue to hear reassuring noises from the northern Atlantic that the weather is not the priority for our guests, so I’m sure we’ll manage. Of course, we’re both terribly excited about seeing my parents, nearly two years since we rendezvoused in the USA, and as a result will not be posting for the next couple of weeks so as to make the most of their short time here. However, there’ll be plenty of details/pictures in a few weeks’ time. And hopefully plenty of sun – the forecast is a lot better.

Oh, and we should be getting our next prayer update out this coming week, so look out for that (and let us know if we can add you to our mailing list).

This week we’ve been getting the house in order for their visit, a bit like last month’s move in miniature. We were inevitably told not to go to any bother but, if anything, it’s incentivised us to organise the stuff we were too tired to deal with on moving weekend. We’ve got a fair few artworks and photographs up now too, definitely increasing the homeliness quotient.

Work for me was a little quieter this week as the school where I teach R.E. in the mornings was staging its school sports week (no mere ‘day’ here, which – and I’m sure this is a complete coincidence – is highly convenient for the teaching staff). Or, at least, they were hoping to stage it; due to the rain, much was cancelled. However, there was just enough of a dry spell on Friday morning for me to stand in the school patio during the closing ceremony and share a thought (interrupted by a brief shower, of course) with staff and students on pursuing prizes of a heavenly nature, based on Paul’s writings in 1 Corinthians, Philippians and 2 Timothy. I reckoned it was pretty amazing that the school approached me to do this and I pray that the message will have taken root in the kids’ hearts.

Right, I’m off to get the car washed. Not going to any bother is one thing, but for my old man, an afternoon in the company of a bucket, chamois and Dirt Devil are as much a part of his Saturday as Gary Lineker’s toe-curling ‘jokes’. An unwashed car truly brings shame upon the household. Well, it’s been a fair few Saturdays since I last washed my car – or, to be more precise, had it washed (the shame is palpable, isn’t it?). 26 of them, I would vouch.

Prayer

• For safety for Craig’s parents whose route today and tomorrow is Glasgow-Heathrow-Miami-La Paz, where they arrive early in the morning and will spend a few hours re-visiting some of their favourite places before catching a short flight to Trinidad in the afternoon.
• For a refreshing couple of weeks with them and insight for Dad, who will also be wearing his FT-UK chair hat.
• For a turnaround in the weather, which, aside from its unpleasantness, is highly impractical (particularly when we’ll have double the usual laundry-load).

Praise

• For a fantastic opportunity this week for Craig to share the gospel with staff and pupils at the local school. 

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda