Saturday Post -- 13/08/16

Plenty of horses in Trinidad; it's just that they're usually eating our garbage
at the end of the street.

Back in the summer of 2003, I was wandering through the local park with a friend. Tall trees shaded us from a strong sun as we watched children float across the pond on pedalos, parents sharing quiet jokes as they pushed their various baby transportation devices and cyclists gently meander by around the vicinity. So far, so ordinary. Well, if you're from the west, that is. For this was in the heart of Bolivia. And I'd never seen anything quite so, er, civilised in this extraordinary country. I resolved to return to Sucre...and preferably with a family.

Well, after several years of talking about it, a few months ago we were presented with compelling professional reasons to make the trip to the white city, and so we decided to make a holiday of it.

If, like me, you're one of those endless founts of utterly useless information, you will surely not have tired of those dinner-party opportunities to remind people that Australia's capital is not Sydney but Canberra, Brazil's is not Sao Paulo but Brasilia, and, of course, Bolivia's is not La Paz but Sucre (I'm looking at you, Andrew Craig). La Paz, with a population of 2.3 million, has the parliament and the governmental offices, but Sucre retains the high court. Yet in effect, Sucre is, to all intents and purposes, not a city, but a town. And all the better for it.

Sucre is the cradle of Bolivian history. It was founded in 1538 by the Spanish, and was to become a major city of their Latin American empire. In the early 19th century, Bolivia's independence was declared here. In the town centre, Sucre's colonial roots are in evidence on every block, with gargantuan churches gracing most street corners, and classical architecture as far as the eye can see. Moreover, buildings are required by law to be whitewashed once every year. Combined with the perennial sun, it makes for quite a sight. I say 'perennial', not punishing; the high altitude means temperatures rarely push past 25 Celsius, and the night-times are fresh to say the least. Put it this way: Amanda hasn't had so little laundry to do for a long time!

It gets better. Bolivia's oldest (and best) seat of learning is located in Sucre, and so a sophisticated vibe prevails. The many fine and varied restaurants flog their own craft beers. Music festivals come and go (a Beatles-fest was due to take place this week). A French institute shows nightly films en français in a small screening room. It all sounds very pretentious, doesn't it? You can see why I love it!

Our home-from home for the week.

As a family, then, we spent much time simply climbing up church bell towers, sampling great food, and wandering around aforementioned park. When not out and about, we made the most of our hotel, which was also in the colonial fashion, and which boasted a stunning roof terrace. Sam was never happier than when he was playing his game of throw-the-Duplo-piece-and-then-bum-shuffle-in-hot-pursuit.

We were in Sucre primarily for two reasons. Firstly, we were invited by some friends of ours in Santa Cruz to a mentoring day-conference they had organised, with a guest speaker (Rick Lewis) having come all the way over from Sydney (not the capital of Australia, apparently). The conference itself was highly practical, and really got us thinking about how we approach mentoring relationships here in Trinidad, and how we can manage these more efficiently. We've been talking a lot since coming back about how to implement these strategies.

Secondly, and most importantly, we had been invited by Latin Link Bolivia's board to an interview, with a view to us joining Latin Link on the field. If you support us financially from the UK, you will be aware that our UK support comes through Latin Link's office in Reading. However, we are not commended by Latin Link, but by Latin America Mission Canada. Latin Link have simply very kindly offered this service on our behalf, with LAM Canada in overall charge. 

But over the last few years, as close missionary friends have gradually left Trinidad, we have become increasingly aware of our need for greater on-field fellowship and accountability. We are pretty isolated in Bolivia -- where there are no LAM Canada missionaries -- and in Trinidad, there are no real opportunities for us to be 'fed' and encouraged by others. So over the last 18 months, with LAM Canada's support, we have been exploring the possibility of Latin Link on-field membership. In the weeks prior to our time in Sucre, LAM Canada and Latin Link had drawn up an agreement regarding the nature of our relationship. The proposal was essentially that Latin Link would provide us with these on-field services, while we remained LAM Canada workers.

Casa de la Libertad, where Bolivia went all indie.

Essentially then, the heavy lifting had been done prior to Sucre, and our interview proved to be more a chance to get to know the board members themselves, the nature of the Latin Link Bolivia operation, and what we could expect to receive and contribute as members. We will be expected to attend two annual meetings (a conference and a retreat), and have been paired with a couple in Santa Cruz, with whom we will be required to meet twice a year. We can also expect to receive visits from Latin Link Bolivia's team leader, and Latin Link will begin exploring the possibility of sending short-term volunteers to Trinidad to work under us. Officially, we join on the 1st of September, and we're excited to see what comes of this new partnership.

All in all, then, a capital trip! 

Prayer

• Pray for wisdom as we seek to implement these mentoring strategies in our work here and pray for discernment as we work out whom else God might want us to be meeting with.
• Pray for Roseanne Mackay, a volunteer from the UK who arrives this week for three weeks supporting the speech therapy work at Fundación Totaí. Pray also for Amanda who will be overseeing Roseanne's time here, and that of another volunteer who arrives for a longer spell at the end of August.
• Elías, our church pastor, has announced he will be standing down at the end of this year. Pray for wisdom for Craig and his fellow elders as they seek to know the way ahead for the church.

Praise

• For a truly refreshing break in Sucre, and some much-needed concentrated family time to boot.
• For our acceptance on to the Latin Link Bolivia team.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda