Saturday Post -- 18/11/17

Don't try this at home (or you'll get sued).

There's no dressing it up: this year, it's fair to say we didn't so much enjoy camp as endure it. I think it was last year that we asked our supporters to be especially prayerful for us as we were about to run our first camp avec enfant. As it happened, Sam barely raised a peep the whole weekend. It was probably owing to 2016's overall feeling of smugness, then, that I barely gave such concerns a moment's though.

Hah. What do you get when you cross an all-action youth camp with a sleep-dependent toddler navigating the 'terrible twos'? A lesson learned, that's what!

So it's fair to say that, all said and done, our own experience of our first four-day camp (and fifth overall) was somewhat removed. However, by the time we'd gotten our energy-levels back to something resembling normal (about 4pm on Thursday afternoon, by my estimation), we could step back from things and see God's hand in it. The young people were challenged. The church was built up. And no end of hijinks was engaged in, the likes of which would keep health and safety experts up at night. In other words, much to give thanks for.

Not that, on the face of it, there was all that much to be optimistic about upon arrival on the Thursday afternoon. Nothing quite says 'the joys of Bolivian camping' quite like:

• Waterlogged floors.
• A dormitory room with the roof off.
• An auditorium filled with bunk-beds.

I imagine points two and three were in some way connected!

All hands to the pump, then, and within a couple of hours we were able to mop up the floors and completely reconfigure the vast dining hall so that one half of it could be set aside for music and teaching. Still, it was very much a case of, "OK, Lord, you've made this camp possible. We trust you to help us work within these limits, and bring glory to your name." Still, it's fair to say that by the time I finally sat down at the keyboard, about an hour later than scheduled and without any rehearsal time with the other musicians, my head was anywhere but in the moment.

Craig with 'small' group.

For all Sam's difficulties this time around, we at least stuck with last year's approach of commuting to and from the camp site each day, just over an hour's drive. We arrived on Friday morning to overcast skies and reports of excitable teenagers managing as little as 30 minutes' sleep. Things were going to be just fine.

Romon Gore

Things warmed up as the day progressed and we were able to have our first proper teaching session in the morning. This year, the focus was, er, 'Focused' (Enfocado, in Spanish), using the first few chapters of Daniel. Our teachers were Romon (of newly-arrived couple Romon & Melinda -- see previous posts) and Ruddy, whose father is my fellow elder and Fundación Totaí president, Miguel Ángel. The sessions were highly practical, particularly in a Christian context. I was particularly encouraged by Romon's teaching on Daniel 3 and his observation that stories such as those of the young Jews and the fiery furnace are so often used to glibly declare that God will always deliver us from our problems. Perhaps this seems obvious, but in our context here in Bolivia, it's not unusual for pastors to get away with this kind of lazy application; many simply haven't been given the critical thinking skills to question such a statement. I think the youth were encouraged to see that God can deliver us, but that if he does not, it's not a sign of his rejection of us (as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego also affirmed).

Ruddy Arauz

As the day wore on, I snapped away (the 'official photographer' position is a useful one in muck-avoidance!) while Amanda just about held things together while keeping an eye out for Sam. But by about 5pm, the latter had long given up on even trying to behave himself, the fatigue proving too much to bear. We left early that evening, with Amanda resolving to stay in Trinidad the next day with Sam, even though she'd be without the car.

Not that she would have had much freedom anyway. For this was the scene to which we awoke on Saturday morning.

That picture is taken from our garage door. We live about a mile north of the ring-road which surrounds the central area of the city. From our house to the ring-road, I would have been better served by a dinghy. 

My passenger (Elías, who like us had opted to return in the evenings) and I feared the worst, even if the main road to the campsite was more elevated and, therefore, not flooded. Based on the conditions that awaited us on Thursday afternoon (with leaky roofs being a particular problem), we were beginning to wonder if there would even be a camp site by the time we got there. 

Yet the closer we got, the lesser the intensity of the rain, until we eventually arrived to find the camp site undergoing nothing more than a mild sprinkling. Amazing.

So things were able to proceed more or less as planned on Saturday, and Amanda and Sam had sufficiently recovered their energies during their house arrest to be able to come back on Sunday for an exciting final day. As has become the tradition, we had a brief communion service and, beforehand, without any planning, I challenged the young people to confess Jesus' Lordship over their lives (we know that three of them made a commitment that morning). 

An impromptu post-games shower under an overflowing water-tower.
This really happened.

This done, we then headed over to a large pond on the grounds to witness six young people and two adults declare their faith publicly by being baptised. Long-time readers may remember the tragedy of a teenage boy's suicide early in 2016. Four of those baptised are his family members, including his two parents, who had never before darkened the door of the church. Tears were shed.

Father of five, Alberto, with Elías (foreground)
and Miguel Ángel (background).

All that remained was for the rest of the 115-strong party to become fully immersed themselves, having a quick end-of-camp splash before lunch, group pictures and our departure. Just after we'd put Sam down, at around 8 o'clock, Amanda told me she was having a short nap. I wasn't to see her again till the next morning. Likewise, I have have become gladly reacquainted with siestas these past days.

If I may paraphrase the great king Nebuchadnezzar himself, it has been my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for us.

Prayer

• Pray for all in attendance at camp -- leaders and youth -- that they would continue to draw encouragement from what they heard. 
• Pray especially for the new converts, and for older Christians to come alongside them to disciple them.
• Pray for future camp planning. For the first time, the leaders had a debrief meeting last night, in the hope of keeping the areas for improvement fresh in the memory for next year's planning. Based on the weather, a date-change might be priority number one!
• Sam has been a little under the weather since we returned. He has managed fine at nursery and at home, but he's not eating very well and has had bad diarrhea. 

Praise

• Give thanks for safety in the travels of ourselves and the campers, and during the various activities there.
• Give thanks for Romon and Ruddy and their thought-provoking messages.
• Give thanks for those who chose to be baptised, and for the awesome work of God in their lives.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 04/11/17

A well-timed photo of Sam and his pumpkin to placate
those who were expecting a bit more effort from this
blog entry.

I'm just going to go straight to the prayer points today, as we're in the midst of another very busy weekend. There'll be no post next weekend due to camp, but we hope to update you with a full report on this year's activity in two weeks' time.

Prayer

• Pray for abundant supplies of energy, patience and grace in the coming days as we embark on the final preparations for camp. Among other things, Amanda is in charge of making sure all the money and permission slips are in from campers (no small task!), as well as printing of the all-important official camp T-shirt. Craig's main task is organising the musicians for what is always a big undertaking. This year will be our longest camp so far (up to three nights from two), so even more music is required of us. Rehearsals will be taking place in the evenings this week.
• From Thursday, pray for the camp itself. To help Sam sleep well, we will be driving to and from the campsite, just over an hour's drive, every day. This will require us to leave our house at around 6:15 each morning, and arrive back at around eleven o'clock each night. Only Camp Adrenaline™ will get us through all of this safely. Pray that we will be afforded much of this! 
• Pray for the speakers, Romon Gore and Ruddy Araúz, who will be going through the first few chapters of Daniel. The camp theme is Enfocado ('focused'). 
• And, above all, pray for the 100 or so campers who will be in attendance: that the Lord would reveal himself to those who have not yet trusted in him, and that he would renew the strength of those who have.

Praise

• Give thanks for a great film night at the church on Friday, where around 150 people from all over the neighbourhood came to watch the film 'Luther' and hear an evangelistic talk afterwards. A young man publicly confessed Jesus as Lord. Soli Deo Gloria!
• Give thanks for another encouraging meeting of the Langham Trinidad preaching group this morning.
• We've had one or two issues with our car in the last couple of weeks (above all, tyres). Give thanks thanks for safety on the roads amidst all of this.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 28/10/17

Cards on the table: this will likely be the very definition of 'workmanlike'. Another busy Saturday awaits, kicking off with United-Spurs in just over half an hour (as I write)! Essentially, this will cover anything that comes into my head, and will be assembled in no discernible order. So there.

Tomorrow is the 13th anniversary of Fundación Totaí's founding and we marked the event with a special event for staff on Thursday evening at an indoor volleyball complex (no kidding) which also lays on big steak barbecues. The two hours of physical activity which preceded the meal made me all the more determined to eat far too much as ever. 

Friday, meanwhile, was a day off for staff. We've mentioned here before the preponderance of so-called 'Hallmark holidays'. Say it's 'International Day of the Lobotomist'. All such individuals are legally entitled to take the day off. At FT, with a range of staff across several disciplines, observing these would effectively cost us about a week of work across the year. So, instead, everyone gets the anniversary (anniversaries of any number also being a big deal here).

I've had a busy couple of weeks with preaching, Bible teaching and a whole swathe of other administrative jobs for the church. So when I realised I'd also have to prepare a short thought for a prayer meeting last week, I thought to myself, "This isn't exactly building a church free of missionary dependence, is it." So I prayerfully approached Diego, the 15-year-old I'm discipling just now, and he gladly took on the job! He already had a little experience with teaching children, so I knew he would be just fine. He really is a young man with great potential and a great love for the Lord, someone we'd really appreciate prayer for.

The event dominating today is the AWANA Olympics, AWANA being the Bible-memorisation-based children's programme we run in the church, and the Olympics being a cross-town contest between the various AWANA churches based on games and Bible quizzes. Next weekend we have a special film night at the church, showing the film Luther; we're encouraging people to invite as many friends and family members as they can. And the weekend after that...it's camp! This is why we take Mondays off, y'see.

At least we had a somewhat relaxing time of it last weekend (key word there: somewhat) as we drove down to Santa Cruz for three nights. The idea was to have some relaxing family time and, if at all possible, find a way of seeing the much-vaunted Blade Runner 2049 on Saturday evening. We even had a babysitter lined up through a contact of ours. Well, it didn't quite work out -- nor, indeed, did the whole 'relaxing' thing in general, if I'm honest! Sam up till now has proved himself to be immensely adjustable to new environments, but he was not for sleeping in that bed, and a mild fever the first night didn't help things either. At least we got to hit some of our favourite gourmet junk-food eateries, though Sam's inevitable exhaustion manifested itself in ever-more creative ways there too!

Still, it was great to wake up on a Sunday morning with the only key decision being which T-shirt to wear to church. From our perspective, that is a break! We touched base that day with our Latin Link mentors, Graham & Debbie Frith. This was especially good fun as Spurs were hammering Graham's beloved Loserpool when we got back to their place afterwards.

There'll be no such outcome today, of course.

Prayer

• For the big events coming up at church: the cinema night and camp.
• For Craig as he preaches tomorrow.

Praise

• For a break (of sorts!) last weekend.
• For FT's anniversary.
• For the encouragement of seeing young guys like Diego step up to the proverbial plate.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 12/11/16

Expository preachers on tour. Batten down the hatches.

First up, Mrs. C had last week promised some photographs from camp in today's blog post. However, I've taken the executive decision (see also: Ephesians 5:22) to postpone publication. The reason is that most of my evenings this week have been spent editing the now-customary camp video, a compilation to music of the best images from the weekend -- and quite frankly, if I have to upload one more picture of someone bathing in mud, I might go doolally. However, the video is being premiered at the youth group tonight, and several members or leaders in the group have access to our blog. So, in order to preserve some element of surprise, we'll share the video in a separate post over the weekend.

Post-camp, I had just a few days to recover before setting off to Cochabamba for another adventure, albeit one that was conspicuously lacking in team-chants or blocked toilets. This time around, the environs were considerably more civilised (a monastery, no less), as I joined with a group of Bible teachers from around Bolivia for a Langham training weekend.

Regular readers know that Langham Preaching has been a major element of my ministry over these last two years. We meet once a year for an intensive residential training retreat headed up by Langham workers, and then in between, we meet once a month for our escuelita, in which a Bible text is prayed through, a sermon preached on said text, and then the sermon itself is deconstructed by the group (indeed, we had November's escuelita this very morning). 

God is blessing the ministry of Langham Preaching in Bolivia to such an extent that the national workers are finding it increasingly challenging to meet the needs of all the groups in the country. Moreover, the vision has always been to equip local workers with the tools to take on much of the work themselves. For that reason, there is a renewed drive to train key Langham contacts throughout the country such as myself in running the annual workshops, and that was the purpose of the get-together.

The main seminars looked in detail at Langham Preaching's methodology, which would be based on a student-centric teaching model, one which is fairly familiar to people in Europe or North America, but not here; 'learning' in Bolivia at all levels is very much still saddled with the chalk-and-talk approach. Naturally, then, the theory behind such practice was relatively new to most participants, but even white guys like myself and England's Jonny Anderson (based in Sucre) learned much from these sessions.

Cochabamba's Cristo looms large over lunch.

Additionally, I learned that the Trinidad model (annual meeting, monthly escuelitas, annual meeting etc.) is not the only approach taken to the local groups. Indeed, some meet on a weekly basis, and instead of teaching the main material in big, intensive annual chunks, it is spread out over the year in a way that perhaps guards against forgetfulness, as well as the big-event mentality (something that can prove a bit of an obstacle in this region of Bolivia). It's something to chew on for when we return from home assignment, with one or two others having recently asked me about the possibility of starting a new group.

Above all, though, the group was nourished by some tremendous preaching, with three sermons focusing on 'The Spirituality of Jesus'. After a couple of years of email contact, this was my first experience of meeting and sitting under the tremendous preaching ministry of Igor Amestegui, a Bolivian who is based in Cochabamba, but who is Langham's facilitator for the entire region of Latin America. Over the course of the weekend, it was a thrill to get to know people like Igor and other workers throughout Bolivia (including those working in Quechua and Aymara communities); again, I was thankful for the great opportunities for fellowship that have very quickly opened up to Amanda and I within the country over recent months.

Indeed, we're looking forward to receiving more visitors from around Bolivia before we leave Trinidad at the end of December: Edwin from Langham is due back in mid-December, and Brigitte from Latin Link will be here, God-willing, at the end of this month for an overnight visit. Before them, however, we are looking forward to welcoming LAM Canada's Sue Barham, who is due in the big T on Monday for a three-night stay. World: Trinidad welcomes you!

Prayer

• For our time with Sue this week.
• We're due to leave Trinidad for home assignment at the end of December, and the limited time available to tie up loose ends here is being more keenly felt with each week that goes by. Pray for calmness, and the sense to take each day as it comes.

Praise

• For an encouraging visit to Cochabamba last weekend for Craig.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 15/10/16

18 months and already 'going to the toilet'. With assorted
furnishings.

The first happy babbles and head-bumps shatter the silence like a Marrakesh tannoy. It's 6am, Sam is up, and for one lucky parent, all that awaits is a barely decipherable, "Isn't it your turn?" from a couple of feet away.

This morning was more challenging than most, having crashed around midnight (the equivalent of my 21-year-old-self's 3am) after a busy day organising and executing the Marriage Course reunion meeting (the word 'meeting' in Spanish is translated, reunión, just to avoid confusion). Nobody's fault but mine, as Robert Plant once screeched, not least as I had a similarly wild night on Thursday, sitting on the sofa and watching NFL till eleven p.m.! I tell you, Keith Moon had nothing on me.

Still, consolation comes in taking a glance at my watch to see that we're already about halfway through this freakishly busy month of October. Oh, so that's how time disappears.

Amanda can at least look back on the last week with a great deal of satisfaction, as, after many hours waiting around in dusty offices over the past month or so, she finally took receipt of Melissa's one-year residency visa (Melissa being our current short-term worker from the USA). She really deserves a pat on the back, of which Sam, no doubt, will be more than happy to deliver several in some shape or form.

Sam, meanwhile, has discovered the joys of furniture removal. It started with moving his cuddly toys from one end of the stairs to the other, making transporting nappies between their boxes a mere inevitability. By the end of the week, he'd decided to up the ante, ensuring that dining room chairs became toilet seats.

So concentrating on the main task in hand for the week proved something of a challenge, but we just about got there in the end. When we finished the course last year, Andrew & Ruth had mooted the notion of a reunion meeting somewhere down the line, something I had mentally put to one side back then, but had begun thinking more about over the last few months. 

You know how these things end, right. Think back, even, to your camp days. After seven days of intensive physical abuse involving dead legs, mackerel, toothpaste and underpants (often at once), it was only natural that you came out of it pledging to never let a week go by without, say, 'writing a letter' (ask your parents, kids). And with the adrenaline still flowing around this time last year, Amanda and I were keen to keep up the contact with the course participants, particularly those who were not part of the church family. Alas, just like those camp pledges, that one got sidelined, not least as a certain small person was looming on the horizon.

So a couple of months ago, realising to my astonishment that the anniversary was looming large, I put it to Amanda, and then my fellow elders, that perhaps a reunion reunión was worth a stab. Happily, they agreed, and last night was the result.

Just like the course itself, the evening was set up like a date night, with couples sat at individual tables. We kicked off with a 'Mr & Mrs' game, a novel concept to most attendees, which probably explained why they enjoyed it so much (Stuff You Can't Get Away With Any More In The West #37: "What is your wife's favourite hobby?" "Cleaning the house."). This was followed by a delicious meal and then, most excitingly of all, an appearance by 'Andrés y Rut' themselves, albeit via a recorded video. Sort of like one of those "Sorry I couldn't be with you tonight" awards acceptance speeches (usually delivered by a Los Angeles swimming pool; happily, the sense of sorrow at not getting to sit through yet another performance by last year's X Factor winner is duly mitigated), except with a Bible in hand rather than a stupid-looking trophy. Anyway, the group was encouraged.

Andrew & Ruth: in spirit, if not in body.

There was then a little follow-up from the course, with three small discussion tasks for each couple. Firstly, how do they see progress in their marriage from the course. Secondly, in assessing their marriages right now, what areas of the course booklet would be worth revisiting. Thirdly -- and probably most importantly -- each couple had to schedule their next date night, inform Amanda and I of the date and time, and expect a visit from one of us to check they were fulfilling their duty. I may have made most of that last part up (can you tell I'm tired?).

To finish, I gave a short reflection on -- apologies to Whitney Houston -- the greatest love of all, talking about how Jesus' sacrifice challenges us to love in all circumstances, no matter how unworthy the recipient may seem. A quick group photo, and then a casa. 

Anyway, it was a thrill to see most of the group make the effort, and testament to the dedication efforts these people are putting in to their relationships as a result of the course. Our next date night? A week on Wednesday. Fix me another Red Bull please, waiter.

Prayer

• Camp, of course, hangs heaviest over this month of October, and the preparations step up a little this weekend, with Craig overseeing the first of three out-of-hours band practices over the next two weeks. We have potentially eight musicians playing, and a few new songs to get through. Pray for patience and focus.
• Next weekend, we have not one, but two visitors arriving. Edwin from Langham Preaching will be in town from Friday till Monday to touch base with the group here, and then Latin Link's team leader Louis Woodley arrives, God-willing, on Sunday, for an overnight stay, presumably looking to get to know us better. Poor guy.

Praise

• For a great turnout and much fun last night at the Marriage Course reunion.
• For Melissa's visa being processed.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 08/10/16

These days, at times it feels like our ministry life in Trinidad takes place between weekend visits to Santa Cruz. Three weeks ago, I (Craig) was there for a weekend course, and last week we were back for a few days at a hotel resort courtesy of Amanda's mother, before all returning to our respective homes by plane.

While Sam splashed, I surfed (the internet, in a desperate quest for any site that was streaming the Ryder Cup) and Amanda went blonde (sort of). An inaugural visit to the zoo was squeezed in too, a cheeky monkey accompanying us all the way round (bah-doom, and if you will, ching), and one or two favourite eateries were further enriched. Without a doubt, we made the most of our short time in metropolis, ensuring no opportunity for refuelling was wasted.

And with good reason. Because that will almost certainly be our last family break before the year's end. More to the point, October -- always our busiest month -- is looking more jam-packed than ever.

For, in addition to multiple sermons to prepare, 2017 spending-plans to draw up, staff interviews to conduct, a Langham weekend follow-up visit, a Latin Link team leader visit, Fundación Totaí's anniversary celebrations and more...the month ends, as usual, with camp. And this year, camp is bigger than ever, with the whole church invited, as well as interested youth from other churches. Exhaustive and exhausting preparations are required from all concerned and, of course, being camp, the reward is two nights' 'sleep' in the company of hordes of sugar-fuelled teenagers and the best Trinidad has to offer in insectary. 

More immediately, we are preparing for a special, one-off event this coming Friday, a 'Happy Anniversary' reunion evening to mark a year since the Marriage Course. The evening will have a more informal feel than the course itself, with a meal, a little 'Mr & Mrs' action, and even a contribution from Andrew & Ruth, who have kindly recorded a video message. We also reckon the evening is a good opportunity for the couples involved to reflect on progress they've made since, and think about areas in their marriages in the present day where they could benefit from going back to the Marriage Course booklet for counsel. That time will be built in to the evening as well.

God-willing, in about three weeks' time, we too will be afforded a period of reflection on the intensive month gone by -- roughly thirty seconds, before our eyelids finally give up the fight.

Prayer

• We are both doing a little Bible teaching this weekend, Amanda with the youth tonight, and Craig is preaching tomorrow morning at church.
• We've been really challenged recently (Craig in particular) about the need to focus on the task in hand here and not let thoughts about the future distract us. Pray that we would continue to trust God for tomorrow, and have allow ourselves the freedom to serve him as best we can today. And that, especially in this busy spell, that we would take each day as it comes.
• Pray for an encouraging evening for the Marriage Course participants on Friday.
• Pray for the English course participants. The core reading text for the year becomes increasingly gospel-focused as it reaches its conclusion. Pray for receptive hearts.

Praise

• While in Santa Cruz, we also spent a day with our friends Graham & Debbie Frith, who have been paired with us for fellowship and mentoring as part of the Latin Link Bolivia team. We were greatly refreshed by our time with the Friths; a timely visit.
• For safe travels over the last week, both for ourselves and Amanda's mother, who returned to Toronto in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
• We were a little nervous about readjusting to life post-Grandma, both practically and, for Sam, emotionally. However, Sam's doing OK, and the house hasn't collapsed. Just yet.
• Craig started a new mentoring relationship this week with a young leader in the church called Diego. Give thanks for this new opportunity.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post - 17/09/2016

Craig is trying to get back at me for being away two weekends in a row. I mean, who really needs to go to conference on "Communications in Cross Cultural Ministry"? How could that be relevant to us at all? I know it's really about getting to eat a big, juicy Santa Cruz hamburger and getting a frappuccino at Star Bucks. Oh wait, I might be referring to myself. Oops.

So, Craig is in Santa Cruz since Thursday attending a conference on the above mentioned that he learnt about from fellow Latin Link members who are running it. I think he's really enjoying it, and I'm hoping to get all the details when he gets back. Meanwhile, I've been shamelessly abusing my Mom to pretty much do everything regarding Sam, while I try to work a bit more. I get comments from people at work like, "Does your child even recognise you anymore?", or "Child? Amanda has a child?" Ya...thanks for the guilt guys. Didn't you know that it's important to respect a woman's choice to either stay at home or go to work? Everyone at FT are completely joking of course, but the issue does come up in my mind a lot these days. Especially because I think I am the least loved on the totem pole right now. Craig always wins as he can toss Sam the highest in the air, which is the key quality in any popularity contest, but then my Mom comes in second because she's just around a lot more. I was getting so desperate for attention from my own child, that when he fell and bonked his head and hugged me aggressively for comfort, I internally though, "Score!!!" Outside I was calm and repeated, "It's okay, You're okay." Inside I was doing a happy dance. And yet, I know I need to take advantage of my Mom being here to get a lot of pending work done.

Actually, it sounds like my Mom is getting a lot more hands on work with Sam than she does with my nephew back in Canada, who is 7 months younger than Sam. Considering that Pip is now 10 months old and Mom's first attempt at changing Sam's diaper was surprisingly poor, I got the impression that she doesn't do a lot of Pip's diaper changing. All I have to say to my sister is this, "What are you thinking? What is the purpose of grandparents, if not to pass your children off to them while you go and take a nap? Get your act together and take advantage of the gift of a grandparent's presence. I have already trained Mom to put a diaper on correctly, so I'm sure she won't put one on backwards on your child!" For example, my Mom says to me yesterday, "Why don't you give me the baby monitor overnight and you can sleep in tomorrow?" To this I said, "Let's do it!", without a twinge of guilt. You come to Bolivia to visit, we put you to work. See, Jessica? See how it's done? It's easy, I promise. It only means my child has to smack his head off of things for me to get any love; it's not really too big of a price to pay. Right?

Actually, God's timing, as ever, is perfect, because the majority of my work recently has been helping our new volunteer Melissa get her application for a one-year visa together. She plans to be with us for eight months and needs a one-year visa to stay in the country. When we first arrived in Bolivia six and a half years ago we had to do the same thing, but apparently the process was so traumatising that my brain had repressed the experience completely from my subconscious and I am now experiencing like it is the first time all over again. The process involves first going to Immigration where they give you an overly complicated list of requirements to submit the visa. Then you go and try to meet these requirements by going to various other offices for the documentation. Then these offices give you a list of the paperwork you need to get for them, and the process goes on and on until you feel like you have to sign over your firstborn child to get a visa. It took us a week to get all the required documentation together for Melissa's Interpol background check, which we thankfully submitted on Tuesday, and while we're waiting over the next two weeks for that to come back, we can slowly work on the other items on the Immigration checklist. It is frustrating, expensive and time consuming, but it is the right way to go about staying in the country. All I can think about is how blessed I am to have my Mom here to watch Sam while I drive around the city from office to office like a headless chicken. Doing all this with a 17 month-old would not be fun. But then, this isn't fun anyways. I can't wait for her to get her visa so we can start the process all over again with her Identity Card.

We also had a very productive meeting this past week with all the youth leaders as we planned for our yearly camp. I love camp. I love organising it, running it and experiencing it. So as we sat down to plan the meeting that I was chairing (because camp is my thing), my first thought was that I should make sure that no one else wants to direct this year, as a courtesy, because I am nice like that. No one ever offers, which is how I got landed with it three years ago in the first place, a job which I love. However, this year someone says, "I'd like to do it," and internally I shouted, "Nooooooooo!", and continued to throw a two year-old hissy fit in my mind. I was a rock on the outside though. And as the meeting progressed I grudgingly admitted that it was a good thing, as I have no clue how I would direct a camp and Craig would lead music, etc, while someone had to watch Sam. This is just another way in which our lives have changed and we have to embrace that. We both still very much want to be involved in camp, so please pray as we figure out how to do this while being aware of Sam's needs at the same time.

Last night Melissa came over to play a board game with my Mom and I, so we had nice social evening. We decided to play Settlers, and therefore I had to teach both my Mom and Melissa how to play. I had every expectation that I would win, because I was playing against newbies, but I underestimated my Mom again. I did win, but it was close and I was panicking a bit near the end that she would actually beat me. I warned Melissa during our visa-requirement-hunting travels yesterday that my Mom will play the 'I'm just an old, Asian housewife, who doesn't know what she's doing' card, but DO NOT FALL FOR IT. I can't believe I underestimated my Mom for even 10 minutes. At the beginning of the game I explained everything to everyone and Mom listened with laser sharp focus (should have been my first clue), and then as we start she says, "You're going to have to help me as this is my first time." (Okay, that one was blatant manipulation and wasn't subtle enough...you're losing your edge, Mom, you're losing your edge). But as the game went on I forgot that it was all an act and let my guard down...until she stole my Longest Road card from me and shouted, "I beat you!" with that glint in her eye. Ya, there's the Mom we all know and love. Well, Mom that's not the end of the game; and so I actually had to pull up my socks and put in some effort, but victory was oh so sweet when I won by stealing the Longest Road card back from her. Now, who beat who? Okay, so Melissa might have been caught up in some Kearon baggage, but she was gracious about it.

Prayer:

• Craig's travels as he returns to Trinidad tomorrow.
• For Melissa's visa application.
• For camp preparations.
• For some difficult staff issues in the Foundation, again. 
• For a balance between working and spending time with Sam, even though my Mom is here.

Praise:

• Sam's passport arrived and I picked it up yesterday!
• A good camp preparation session on Tuesday night.
• For the rest that I am getting while having my Mom here.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig, Amanda and Sam

Saturday Post - 07/11/2015

Last year Craig and I spent a week at Guelph Bible Youth Camp in Canada where we had air conditioning, a heated pool and powered water slide, and hot showers. This year we went to El Jireh's 3rd Youth Camp... where there was definitely no air conditioning, a muddy pond for swimming and cold showers, but to top it off the girls keep finding a goat in their dorm room. We had a great time!!!!

I am honestly surprised at how I've been able to adapt to some 'rough' conditions, but I really did enjoy camp. My only rule about attending camp in Bolivia is NO TENTS... you never know what kind of creepy crawlies could easily get into a tent. But dorm rooms with bunk beds... I can do that just fine. I also had the added advantage of being half blind without my glasses, so at night when I was lying in my top bunk with my glasses off I couldn't see the bats swooping within inches of my face. I mean, that's what Mariana said happened to her... I couldn't tell you if it happened to me, because I couldn't see. Thank God for small mercies, eh?

In the run-up to camp this year, I found myself quite stressed. Preparation for the marriage course had taken over a lot of free time that we would normally have to organize camp, and as is quite often the case in our church, the same people were in charge of both activities. We were able to organise the reservation of the camp site earlier in the year, and during the craziness of the marriage course prep we were able to make sure permission forms were sent home to parents, but in all honesty, not much else was done until the marriage course finished. Then of course, Craig and I had that week in Santa Cruz with that adoption possibility so we lost another week of camp prep there. We were not as organised as I would have liked to be before a full youth camp. Thankfully, we had much earlier in the year decided to ask an outside speaker to come and teach, so we just had to organise his travel and nothing else. So, with a week to go we were all desperately trying to organise camp fees, camp food, materials, transport to the site, last minute cancellation and confirmations, and get enough leaders together to actually run a camp. It was definitely busy.

The Tuesday before camp we got all the leaders together and had a meeting. It had been decided earlier that I would direct (which suits me fine as I get to boss everyone around and not have to actually participate in any activities that I don't want to, like the tough mudder-esque assault course). So, I talked the leaders through our crazy three day/three night schedule and what would be expected of them. We talked through ideas and generally got a feel for what working with each would be like that coming weekend... one of our leaders was a newer Christian in his early 20s, who kept saying "But I've never been to camp." Poor guy, he didn't want to be a leader, but a camper, but we were completely willing to utilise peer pressure to get what we wanted. Everyone keep saying, "You'll be fine... it's easy... we promise." I.e. "You're doing this and you don't have much say in the matter." :) I was so grateful after that meeting, because I finally felt that we had gotten a handle on the details and that everything would be really great.

And they were! We had 21 campers overall. I think I was a bit discouraged during the run-up, because it would have been nice to have a bigger turn out, but God brought those to camp who He wanted to be there and the dynamics between all the campers were awesome. There was only one fight, and that was between brothers, so that doesn't really count, right? Everyone got on really well and there weren't really any cliques. The majority of campers were between 12 -14, but we had some older ones, 17 +, to balance things out. We had 8 leaders, plus one games coordinator, one speaker and one director (me!)... plus one three year-old running around being absolutely delightful.

Our theme this year was 1 Timothy 4:12 (yes, we totally stole that from Guelph's Youth Camp last year... no shame). "Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity." So every teaching session, Roger (from Cochabamba) explained the importance of being an example and how to be an example in each of these areas of our lives. Roger has 20 years of working in youth and camp ministries and you could tell. He made the teaching sessions interactive with mini games to highlight the points he was trying to make. It was definitely the best teaching we've had at our three church camps so far and the youth themselves were very effusive about how much they appreciated his style and content. After every teaching session we had a time of small groups where one leader and a small group (3-5 youth) talked through the teaching using questions that Roger had prepared before hand. Craig lead us all in worship at the beginning of all of these sessions and he taught four new songs that the youth seemed to really enjoy. It was definitely a huge blessing to all.

And how can we have camp without games!!!!! San, the director of football at FT, ran all the games and they were definitely intense. They ranged from indoor relay course activities, to outdoor field games, to jumping in the muddy pond, to the absolutely massive muddy assault course. And the kids loved every minute of it. We had two teams (green and blue) and they were competitive in all things. It is true that blue won in the end with a small margin, but the participation and energy level was high all the time. One of our campers had recently had his appendix removed and so he was kind of benched for a lot of games... but he kept following his team around encouraging them in everything, to the point where he jumped in the queue during the assault course and insisted on showing some of the girls how to properly pass the obstacle before we could stop him. I said to one of the other leaders, "He is desperate to get muddy too, isn't he?".

Our first night we watched "The Power of the Cross" with popcorn, and we all really enjoyed it. I was crying like a baby by the end and a lot of others were too. Yoselin, with whom I do discipleship, looked at me after it and with tears streaming down her face and shouted, "Where did you find that film?" She's off to find her own copy now. The second night we played group games of "Mafia" and "4-on-the-Couch"; they enjoyed both, but I'm not sure I'm teaching Mafia quite right. I don't know, they didn't seem to care... but I know that after playing it so much at camp I never want to play Mafia again. Ever. 4-on-the-couch, however, I could play everyday... LOVE. And the final night we had a camp talent show that went really well; we even had one girl come up and do a Christian rap. Impressive! One guy told a joke and it was really funny, but more than that I was one of the only people that understood it (despite it being in Spanish) and I was so chuffed with myself. Of course, no one wanted to sleep the last night and I finally gave them a curfew of 12:30 and roped in two younger leaders to stay up and supervise because I had to get to sleep (all the older leaders and some younger than me had already packed it in for the night). And in true camp style... all the camp newbies woke up with toothpaste all over their faces the next morning. Awesome.

God was gracious to each and every one of us in giving us the energy that we needed to make it through on little sleep and demanding activities. It was a lot of fun and everything happened without much of a hitch. I have always felt really passionate about camp ministry, having been involved in it since I was a little girl; but even more so in Bolivia, camp gives us, as a church, an opportunity to get these kids out of their homes and give them some undivided attention for three days. They receive solid Bible teaching, the opportunity to make friendships based on their shared faith with other young people, and they can take any leader aside and talk about bigger things if need be. They get to know that they are loved, cared for and are worth all this effort in organising an activity like this. Camp can be such a formative experience and we are so excited to be able to provide this time to the young people in our church.

Thank you to everyone who supported our Youth Camp this year, prayerfully and financially. We are so grateful for providing this support to us as a church and to the individual campers that benefited from this. We were back at work this week, but this week was also a bit of a catch-up in sleep... but in the not too distant future we will have to start thinking about next year's camp. Can it get even better?

Teaching Time

Apparently Craig says I flap my hands like a bird when I am directing.

Post-Assault Course

Group Pic

Prayer:

• For some massive financial decisions before the FT Board and the Church Leadership due to changes in Bolivian law. 
• The formation of the official FT Budget for 2016 (this is quite a tedious task - I had the nursing department asking for 12 calculators for next year... ya, that's not happening). 
• Craig and I are traveling next weekend for just a three day break, as we're knackered. Wee baby Amanda's baptism is next weekend, which was kindly organised around our desire to see the new Bond film (though her parents, Christian and Analia, don't know that specific detail); so we're off to Santa Cruz for the weekend. We will not be posting a blog next weekend, but please remember us in prayer as we travel. 
• After a month and a half break for the women, and a longer break for the men, the Men's and Women's Ministries are starting again tomorrow. Women are meeting here in our house and the men in the FT Auditorium, with child care being organised for any relevant children. The idea is that having the men's and women's groups meeting at the same time opens up more time in the week for needed family and marriage time. 

Praise:

• A great youth camp!!!!! For safety, provision, energy and great teaching especially; praise that God provided the way to bring all the kids to the camp that He wanted to attend. 
• A great prayer meeting on Thursday where Carlos shared his testimony and was open and honest with his struggles with alcohol. 
• The upcoming chance to rest a bit next weekend!

¡Que Dios les Bendiga!

Craig and Amanda Cunningham

Saturday Post -- 24/10/15

Amanda, at about 11pm last night. In honour of the Blue Jays' towering
achievements this year, so she says.

Fields are a-burning, bedsheets are an irrelevance, and electricity bills are soaring in direct proportion to the mercury. It's October in Trinidad, Bolivia, and temperatures have been in the high-30s all week, with the smoky air (people tend to do maintenance work on their land at this time of year by setting fire to it) only consolidating the oppressiveness. And once again, we're knowingly falling for the same of trick of longing for rainy season in its attendant flash floods and mosquito bites. 

Right now, the five minute walk from here to the Foundation generally requires that I drink two full flasks' worth of water upon arrival, so as not to remain a soaking, stinking mess the rest of the morning. Given all that, then, I'd say we've put in a good shift this week.

As mentioned in previous posts, the church's annual youth camp is now the main focus of our attention. Amanda has largely occupied the unenviable task of debt collector (she learned a few tricks during our years in the east end, I'd vouch). Thankfully, the campsite we use are pretty relaxed about payment; they just need about half of the food budget a couple of days before arrival. And it's a good job because getting the monies together for camp is certainly one of the most wearisome tasks we face each year.

From as early as February (when the school/youth group year tends to get going here) we tell the youth to get saving for camp, and we seek to do this by providing a bank. Camp only costs about £20 ($30 or $40 in Canada), but that's often a lot of money for people to stump up as a one-off. However, our experience is that a lot of parents -- most of whom are not Christians or involved in the church in any way -- tend to use this as a convenient pretext to not let their kids go at all (and we know of several who, when duty calls, are able to get such sums together remarkably quickly for their own, er, extra-curricular activities). 

And really, with a savings scheme, there is no excuse. Most kids here will get a few Bolivianos here to spend each day during their school break. So we say to them, why not set aside one or two Bolivianos each day and bring those to youth group on Saturday night? Even saving one Boliviano each day would yield 50p for the week, enough for a cumulative total of £20 over the course of the year. 

Yet saving is not really ingrained in a culture where many people live hand-to-mouth. And so, as we move into the third quarter of the year and the piggy bank has plenty of rattle-room, we naturally start to get a bit nervous.

Over the years, we have been grateful to a particular individual who provides significant external support to make sure all the young people get to camp; we really couldn't do it without this person. At the same time, some of the kids who have been with us for a few years are clued into these machinations, expecting that they will probably be bailed out anyway, and so the whole thing can become something of a game of 'who blinks first'. To address this, we've attached that support specifically to an incentive scheme this year; the young people are guaranteed money towards camp for each time they learn the memory verse from the weekend before, bring a Bible, bring a friend, or attend church on Sunday. 

And still, we're scrambling. Ah well. We'll figure out next year's hare-brained scheme in January. Right now, we just have to get everything in place for next weekend. So in addition to some sermon preparation this week, I've begun getting some new songs together to learn and sing at camp. With six meeting sessions throughout the weekend, we'll need a fair old arsenal. Meanwhile, Amanda and Mariana have been putting the finishing touches to the design for the all important camp T-shirt, which is now with the printers. 

The campsite we use is very isolated, and a tad spartan for western tastes, but one of the great benefits for the purposes of the camp (in a culture where Whatsapp is the new oxygen) is that there is barely a mobile signal to be found -- and only then if you do a handstand two steps to the right of the flagpole, or something like that. In other words, don't be coming round here checking for an update next weekend. There's more chance of 40 fully-paid-up youth getting to camp than that happening.

Prayer

• For all things camp next weekend. For money, for transport, for safety, for a good old time. And most of all, for the campers themselves. Pray that God would be preparing their hearts even now to receive his word to them (our speaker this year is a guy called Roger, from Cochabamba). The theme is 1 Timothy 4:12: 'Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.' Pray for renewal and recommitment for the Christians in the group, and for those who are not yet Christians to make the most important decisions of their young lives. God-willing, we leave on Friday afternoon and get back to Trinidad by Monday lunchtime (Monday is a local holiday).
• Pray for the adoption process, specifically for the opportunity that re-surfaced last week.
• Pray for wisdom for us both in some weighty matters we are dealing with both in the Foundation and the church.
• Pray for Miguel Ángel and Romina from our church, who are attending Langham Preaching Bolivia's annual weekend in Cochabamba next week.
• Pray for a good time together for the FT staff on Thursday evening as we mark our anniversary with a meal in a local restaurant (and a day off for everyone on Friday!).

Praise

• For an extremely smooth trip back to Trinidad this time last week. No spitting up of radiator caps this time.
• For some important time together as a couple last night, the first opportunity we've had since the marriage course to talk in detail about some of the issues raised there. All in all, we've felt greatly helped by the course in the weeks since.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 17/10/15

“Those who honour me I will honour…” 

"Nice guys finish last," so we're told. As Amanda and I reflect on the truly remarkable week just past, our proverbial mantelpiece may be lacking a shining gold trophy, but to say that playing by the rules has hurt us would be to completely misconstrue recent events.

With Andrew and Ruth in tow, we arrived home from the marriage course’s fifth session on Friday evening to a litany of missed calls from a friend of ours in Trinidad. We made contact, and it turned out that he had a work colleague who knew of a woman in Santa Cruz who was close to giving birth to her fourth child, but who could not afford to raise her and so, with the apparent blessing of her partner, she had decided to give the child up for adoption to a family with greater means. On Saturday, we made contact with the intermediary to register our interest, and also to state our own requirements: namely, that the paperwork be done in Trinidad, not in Santa Cruz.

On Sunday evening, following the marriage course’s conclusion, we learned that the woman had, in fact, given birth on Saturday, to a baby girl, and wished to make contact with us. We called her directly this time and explained those terms again, making it clear that we would be happy to put her and her partner up in Trinidad, and deal with their transport costs. The mother was keen to sort things out as soon as possible, even requesting that we get to the hospital in time for her discharge so that she wouldn’t have to deal with the emotional turmoil of taking a soon-to-be-adopted baby home to her other children. She was initially reluctant to make the trip to Trinidad, but said she and her partner would probably be able to manage by the end of the week. We immediately felt that we were best taking the car there, so as to drive them to Trinidad ourselves.

So, our plans for the week – and those of Andrew and Ruth – changed immediately. Of course they did. This is Bolivia. They were due to be in Trinidad until yesterday, when they would fly to La Paz. However, it became clear that we would all need to make the trip to Santa Cruz, and we could change their travel plans once we arrived in the big smoke. Monday, then, was largely spent quickly tying up loose ends in Trinidad while preparing to travel. Following a scheduled meeting with pastors and leaders in town on Monday evening to promote the marriage course, we set off directly for the bus station, where Amanda and Ruth took an overnight coach to Santa Cruz, with Andrew and I planning on setting off early on Tuesday morning in our car (a not uneventful voyage, by the way; see prayer points for more). The goal for Amanda and Ruth was to be ready to head to the hospital in time for the mother's release later on Tuesday.

Girls on tour.

On a route largely lacking in decent telecommunications reception, I was finally able to make contact with Amanda at a service station halfway on the journey, where Andrew and I had stopped to fill up both ourselves and the car. She had arrived several hours earlier with Ruth, and was positive as to the general direction of things. 

But a few minutes later, she was to receive a message that set the tone for the rest of that strangest of Tuesdays. The father got in touch via Whatsapp and informed Amanda that he had indeed consented to the adoption some months ago, but under false pretences. His partner had lied to him, telling him that a brain tumour had been detected in the ultrasound scans, and they had thus agreed that it was better for the child to go to a family who could afford the necessary care. He arrived at the hospital over the weekend only to find a perfectly healthy baby girl, and immediately felt utterly duped. To his great credit, he told Amanda in his message that he would honour his partner’s word to us, but not without great sadness. 

Looking back with the benefit of a few days’ hindsight, it was from this moment on that we began to understand the unavoidable: this adoption, if it happened, would always be tinged with great regret over the mother’s deception, and the father’s lack of emotional blessing, despite legal approval. 

As this news came through, we were a few hundred miles apart, but we both instinctively realised that, no matter how strong our desires for a child, the rules of the game had just changed completely. And so, though we were perfectly within our rights to say, “Your marital issues are not our problem – deal with it,” we decided to do the right thing by offering to step out of the situation completely. The parents responded to Amanda, saying that they would have a final decision by mid-afternoon.

I was able to re-establish contact with Amanda as we got closer to Santa Cruz over the course of the afternoon. About 4pm, with an hour or so till arrival, Amanda called to say that she had the girl at the hotel, the father and mother having left her with Amanda and Ruth, with the intention of signing the requisite papers in due course. Yet, in truth, nothing had really changed. Both parents were in tears, and the father was particularly distraught. Amanda asked them again and again if they were sure about this and they confirmed their consent, though with obvious reluctance. They left within half an hour, but not before Amanda had told them that, ultimately, she was their daughter, and that we would accept if they changed their minds before any papers were to be signed.

Andrew and I finally arrived at the hotel just after 5pm and as Amanda went over the day’s events in greater detail, our hearts were heavy. Indeed what had happened was not our fault. Yet we stood to profit from a gross deception. As a man, my overriding desire at this moment was to show solidarity with the hoodwinked father; would taking his child without his emotional accord really achieve this?

And so, for the first time, I made contact myself with the woman (we didn’t have a number for her partner), to reiterate what Amanda had already communicated. I said that, much as we desired to adopt a child, we certainly did not wish to deprive a family of their new-born daughter if they wanted her; it was more important for us, I said, to do the right thing.

The girl herself, by the way, was obviously a precious little thing. But during this time, if I’m honest, neither of us fully ‘committed’ to her, emotionally. It was almost as if, in our heart of hearts, we knew where this was going.

Sure enough, after returning from an impromptu supermarket run for nappies, a message awaited me on my phone. The woman told us that her partner had gone home ahead of her after leaving the hotel, packed up his belongings, and left a note saying that he had had enough of her nonsense. 

No conversation was necessary. This was confirmation writ large, and we knew exactly what to do. Amanda immediately called the mother and arranged for her to come and get the baby.

At around 10:30pm, as two would-be parents carried a new-born baby to the entrance of a luxury hotel where her mother was waiting with eagerness, this most unusual day came to a most unusual end. 24 hours earlier, if you had told us we were about to suffer such a reversal, we would have stayed put in Trinidad rather than face such galling disappointment. Yet here’s the surprising thing: bearing in mind the awful domestic situation in which we had unwittingly found ourselves entangled, by close of play on Tuesday night, we felt utterly relieved. In unburdening ourselves of the baby, we had divested ourselves of a creeping sense of doubt that would not have ceased to haunt us until our dying day.

Which is why we were able to get our soundest sleep for weeks that night, and wake up the next day not feeling resentful, but refreshed, relaxed, and thankful to God for providing a way out of this messiest of domestic situations.

Indeed, my only real disappointment was not being able to say more to the mother on the Tuesday evening. I had wondered about using the ‘handover’ (the first time I actually met her face to face) as an opportunity not to settle scores in any way, but to simply share with her the importance of honesty in this life, and to urge her to see the events of the day as a lesson in the damage that lies can wreak. This would not have been vindictive, simply counsel to a young woman four years my junior. In the end, her aunt accompanied her to the hotel, and so I didn’t feel the moment was appropriate. Though we were relieved to have been relieved, we dearly wished that lessons would be learned.  

Late on Wednesday night, we returned to the hotel after our final meal with Andrew and Ruth (who had re-arranged to fly to La Paz a day earlier, on Thursday lunchtime), with a text message awaiting us (we’re getting into something of a rhythm with these late-night-important-text-messages). The father, now back home with his family, had gotten in touch to say how sorry he was for any pain we might be feeling, and how deeply impressed he and his partner were by our attitude over the past few days. He went on to say that, while they would understand completely if we wished nothing to do with the family ever again, they would like us to at least consider becoming the girl’s godparents. He closed by telling us the name they had settled on for their little girl:

Amanda.

Many couples in our situation would not have put up with such games, and would have had every right to demand that the word of these parents be honoured. I say this not to draw attention to ourselves, but to a crude Roman execution device atop a hill outside Jerusalem. It was there two millennia ago that we, the worst of sinners, were saved by an act of amazing grace, and it is this grace alone that empowers us, and other believers, to give others the second chance they most certainly do not deserve, though the very thought is at times an offence to every fibre of our being.

In short, I shudder to think what I would be were I not among the purchased, and I have no idea how I would have gotten through the last few days so relatively unscathed. Call it boasting if you like, but at such times, I love being a Christian. 

Furthermore, I love that my wife is, in reality, a sister. How grateful we are today that we were both given the grace to instinctively make the right calls when required on Tuesday, and that we did so with one voice. What a privilege to know that this week was not in vain. What an honour to be able to jointly share Christ with this humble family over the years to come. 

I have never been prouder to be a member of team Cramandaham. And I have never been more in awe of our great God.

But we never can prove the delights of his love

Until all on the altar we lay;

For the favour he shows, and the joy he bestows,

Are for them who will trust and obey.

Prayer

• Whisper it, but in the last day or two we have been given indications of a possible turnaround in the adoption we mentioned here last month. We would welcome your prayers here.
• Please pray for Andrew and Ruth, who certainly cannot complain that they didn’t get an insight into the turbulence of Bolivian/missionary life during their time with us! They are heading up to Lake Titicaca this weekend from La Paz, before some more sightseeing and relaxation in Peru in the following two weeks.
• Though it now feels like an eternity ago, the marriage course did indeed come to a conclusion on Sunday. Please pray for all the couples involved, especially those who are not yet Christians.
• Pray for safety for ourselves as we travel back to Trinidad by road today.
• Pray for energy as we return to deal with various issues in the church, not least the youth camp, which starts a week on Friday.

Praise

• Give thanks for how well everything went at the marriage course, and for the tremendous feedback we’ve had from the couples involved, who left feeling challenged, yet equipped in moving forward.

No course in Bolivia is complete without the obligatory certificates. Here,
Andrew & Ruth furnish a happy couple with theirs.

• There was a great response to Andrew and Ruth’s meeting with the local pastors and leaders on Monday (Holy Trinity Brompton had requested that they seek to promote the course while here). Please pray that we might see more fruit from this in Trinidad.

100 miles later...

• Give thanks for a safe arrival in Santa Cruz, not least for Craig and Andrew! About halfway to Santa Cruz, they pulled aside for an impromptu visit to the, er, bushes. It was soon clear that something was not right, with some very deep gurgling noises coming from the radiator. After giving it five minutes to ‘cool down’, Andrew unscrewed the lid, which, while he and Craig dived for cover from the torrent of scalding hot water, promptly shot off to who-knows-where. Incredibly, about 100 miles down the road, we were able to source a replacement lid (you can really find anything here). In the meantime, to maintain the pressure, an old pair of Craig’s boxers secured by one of Andrew’s shoelaces sufficed. An audition tape is in the post to Chris Evans as I write.

I could cope with this.

• Andrew and Ruth very kindly arranged for us all to stay in one of our favourite haunts in Santa Cruz, though a hotel we only tend to visit on very special occasions. In truth, our two days there proved to be just what we needed after weeks of a heavy workload and some very difficult issues back in Trinidad. We are rested and thankful.
• Above all, we are so thankful for Andrew and Ruth’s time with us over these past couple of weeks. Of course, they played a blinder with the marriage course, but they were an equally great blessing to us as a couple, helping us in any way necessary during their time with us, and always ready to lend some words of wisdom. As things were looking good for the prospective adoption of the girl earlier in the week, Ruth joked that they hadn’t realised they were coming to Trinidad to be surrogate grandparents. But in reality, they had established themselves as our own surrogate parents from very early on in their time here. We watched on with awe as they tirelessly applied themselves to the work, as they poured out their love on so many grateful couples, and as they approached every situation with prayer. Their example will linger long in the memory and we look forward to seeing them again some day soon.

We couldn't posisbly let them go home empty handed
either!

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda