Episode 2: Igor to Please

Amanda and her fellow teachers at the Sunday School launch party.

Sam giving his presentation at school.

Here's the poster for Craig's gig. It's official!

Igor in teaching mode at the Langham Level 1 workshop.

Here is Freddy, Igor's wingman for the four days, with an escuelita.

The obligatory end-of-event group photo.

Prayer Points

• Give thanks for Sam's improved behaviour on Sundays!
• Give thanks for a great Langham Level 1 workshop, and pray against eventitis -- i.e., for perseverance for all of the new participants.
• Pray for us as we head to the Latin Link team retreat in La Paz next week: Pray that we will be reinvigorated physically and spiritually. Pray for Sam's health at altitude. Pray that it will be a special time for us as a team.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 30/12/17

First things first: the Christmas Day barbecue was a roaring success! After the traditional midnight-on-Christmas-Eve celebrations, over 30 friends staggered out of their beds and joined us in mid-afternoon for a couple of hours of beef and banter. If it were up to me alone, we'd make it an annual fixture. Amanda's not quite made her mind up on that one; please pray for a prompt decision on that, as the next one is a mere 51 weeks away.

By about 5:30pm, our last guests had left, the last plastic plates had been dumped, and the barbecue had been reduced to mere embers. Time, then, to continue the Christmas traditions by putting our feet up and enjoy a well-earned evening's rest. 

Well, not quite. In fact, it was time to go to church.

You'll remember that on the afternoon of Christmas Eve, we had been due to have our big annual Christmas celebration service, an event for which around 100 different children and young people had put in weeks of preparation in terms of dance, singing and drama. Furthermore, an array of lights, tin foil and tinsel was on display; the hall had been well and truly decked. The stage, as it were, was set.

Until this happened.

From around noon on Sunday, well into the night, the heavens rained themselves dry. And Trinidad's geography means that it doesn't take the most prolonged of storms to turn the streets into rivers. Meaning that by as early as 2pm, with the church by now essentially reduced to an island, the WhatApp group was abuzz with concern for the service. 

And so, we took two steps we've never taken before as a leadership. On the one hand, we called off the service. This would never have happened in the case of a usual Sunday morning, where we always manage to get a faithful core, come rain or shine. The difference here was that a whole host of children and parents with little church contact outside of the holiday Bible club ministry were due to attend. It takes the merest spit of rain to send people here running for their houses; they were hardly likely to make it out in these conditions.

This was taken at the Foundation on the morning of Christmas Day, i.e.,
some hours after the waters had begun to recede!

On the other hand, we postponed the service. Recognising the uniqueness of this service -- not only in terms of its overtly evangelistic focus, but also the huge time and effort that had gone into its preparation -- we felt we owed it to those involved to reschedule it and hope for better weather. And so we did, for 6pm on Christmas Day; which, to be fair, was harder on us than for most people, given that Christmas is effectively over by around 6am on the 25th here. 

Still, after all the effort of the barbecue, we weren't exactly pining for two hours sat on our backsides in an overcrowded room. An Evening with John McClane this most certainly was not. 

And yet, you know what? We wouldn't necessarily keep it as a permanent Christmas Day fixture. But while the Christmas Eve service usually serves as a nice little official launch to the annual celebrations, this was an equally special way to bring the curtain down. I think that for many believers,  if we're honest, the 'spiritual' side of Christmas is pretty much over and done with by the time Great Aunt Agatha arrives, the Brussels sprouts are served and the crackers are, er, cracked. This way, before setting it aside for another year, we had the chance to come back to the very essence of it. 

I also felt helped as I gave a short talk at the conclusion on Jesus being the Light of the world, to which people seemed very attentive; not bad, given the general exhaustion.

This weekend, like many other churches around the world, we'll have an event for New Year's Eve on Sunday night. Our thoughts then turn to Santa Cruz, where we're going for a few days on Tuesday morning for a short break with Amanda's mother, Selene. We will likely be travelling home next Saturday, meaning the first post of 2018 will likely have to wait a week.

Thanks to all of you for your prayerful support over these past 12 months. It was a joy to see so many of you earlier this year, and your prayers have certainly carried us as we have settled in here again since June, a transition that has not always been without its struggles. We look forward to sharing our lives and ministry with you again in 2018.

Sam: meet train sets.

Prayer

• Pray for safe travels and a relaxing time in Santa Cruz this coming week.

Praise

• For a surprisingly wonderful, blessed experience on Christmas Day.
• For God's great faithfulness to us as a family in 2017. We have so much to be thankful for.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 09/12/17

Daddy & Sam on chairlift, Cochabamba.

We have had an unintended blogpost holiday, and it wasn’t until we got  message from someone mentioning how they missed our updates that we noticed. Oops. Sorry. The truth is that last weekend we were in Cochabamba for our 18-month Latin Link review and the weekend before that, well, I have no idea. It was too long ago, but apparently, we were busy. 

I (Amanda) can’t report on our activities from two weeks ago (as I can’t remember), but I can tell you that Cochabamba was fun. It involved good food, Man U football (for Craig) and late-night chats with friends (and a soft play adventure for Sam). We stayed with Jimmy and Brigitte Fernandez, fellow Latin Linkers, and Brigitte completed our review with us on the Friday. For those of you who don’t know, to fully join Latin Link you have to complete their two-year Stride program first. Essentially, it’s a two-year short-term program where you are supervised by the in-country Latin Link short term coordinator (Brigitte). So even though Craig and I have been in Bolivia for almost eight years now, we are technically short-termers with Latin Link. Once we complete our two years (next September), we will then be classed as full-term. One of the responsibilities of the short-term coordinator is to do six-monthly reviews with those under their care, hence our 18-month review. The review was intensive, and it was refreshing to go over all the good and bad of the last six months with someone who understands. 

We have horses in the streets in Trinidad, too; they can
usually be found rummaging around the garbage
at the end of our street.

The truth is that we have so many filters that we consciously or subconsciously apply to ourselves when we have conversations with anyone. The filters can be multi-layered with some people, or completely different with others. I guess as Christians, we sometimes use the phrase ‘the Sunday mask’ to kind of start talking about the topic of authenticity, but I think ‘filters’ goes further than that, and I think we do it with everyone. I choose to deepen conversations or not depending on who I am talking to and my past experiences with this person. I choose to share things or not with people depending on the person’s background and personal experiences. I choose to be vulnerable or not with friends and family based on how I think they are going to react. I filter. The person that anybody is the most unfiltered with is usually the person they are closest to, but even then, there are filters. I am definitely the most unfiltered with Craig, but I still have to filter. Maybe I present information or a scenario to him in a considered way that will most appeal to him, or I choose a moment to share bad news that I know would be better than another. This is still filtering. 

Why am I talking about filtering? Because missionaries to have filter a lot. I don’t know if we have to filter more than other people, as I have not been a lawyer, doctor, investment banker, teacher, etc. However, I definitely feel like I have to filter more than I did before I became a missionary and its exhausting. We filter what we say and how we say it to the people we are working with here in Bolivia. We have to constantly be aware of being culturally sensitive, and yet be assertive and authoritative in what we say. We have to know when to show vulnerability to build relationships, but when to hold back so as to not negatively affect the ministry. We have to live a Christian life that reflects what we’re teaching and yet show that it’s OK to struggle in this life sometimes (but not too much, because certain sins get higher eyebrow-lifts than others, which would affect our credibility, which in itself is filtering). We have to constantly give advice, care, affection, time etc, and filter out our needs for advice, care, affection, time etc if we feel that the other person is unreceptive to this (which happens a lot). Our job is filtering. 

Cochabamba's Cristo de la Concordia towers over Sam.

Then we have to filter how we interact with our supporters and prayer partners. I think as far as accountability goes, Craig and I try to be as open as we can and limit the number of filters we put into place. We want people to have a genuine idea of our life, which includes struggles. We don’t want to hide the bad. However, that doesn’t mean that our blog posts and emails are not carefully considered, with wording changed, paragraphs deleted and sometimes heated discussions as to content. Sometimes I just want to post a GIF of someone banging their head against a wall, but I choose to apply a filter to that decision (mainly because I don’t know how to post GIFs). And the filters that we need to consider and apply when the ‘M’ word is involved?!?! Money is a touchy subject. And there is no manual written for missionaries that works for everyone on how to deal with fundraising. The way someone can address funding needs in one place is completely different to someone in another place. Sometimes Craig and I have to send separate emails to our North American supporters and our UK supporters because the issue is dealt with in such varied ways. All of this is filtering. 

Then there are the ways that we filter with friends and family. We all do this, but maybe some more than others. What and how I share something with Craig is different than what and how I share something with my Mom, based on how important the information is and how I think the information is going to be received. 

We're not in Cochabamba any more: the scene we woke up to on Tuesday
morning. Rainy season has started here in earnest.

I think the art of filtering is something the majority of us learn to do from an early age and we generally do it subconsciously. However, recently it has started to be something I am noticing more and more and it has begun to be a bit of a strain. I don’t think it is something we can just stop doing, but sometimes I want to rip the filters off and spout off verbal musings to the world and say, “Hah, take that!” So, (going all the way back to the beginning) it was really refreshing to talk to Brigitte about life in general and current struggles because I could remove a lot of the filters. She understands our context, understands the culture, has been to see us in Trinidad and knows our surroundings, and she is our friend. I ripped off a whole pile of the filters that I feel have been constraining me for a while and it felt good. I think we apply a lot of filters to escape judgment from others, and it was so liberating to be listened to and not judged. 

Sam. You'll find him in the club.

Since coming back from Cochabamba, the school holidays have started. For the first time in our lives the school holidays are not quite as exciting as they have been. Sam’s home for two months!!! The church has a kids’ club three days a week for two hours and Craig is helping with that and takes Sam along. He’s also going to a friend’s house one morning a week so he has time with friends. Now we get to participate in the age-old problem: how do we entertain our child for two months without going crazy? It is going to be good times! 

Oh, Christmas decorations went up this week as well!

Sam makes a (sadly inedible) candy cane at said club.

Prayer

• Preparation for Christmas programmes both in the Foundation and in the church.
• The local kids’ time in the Kid’s Program, that they would respond to the gospel message.
• Sam’s time at home with us for the next two months; that we would be blessed by it and not find it stressful.

Praise

• Time with friends in Cochabamba last weekend.
• The end of many of FT’s yearly programs and the blessing they have been to people.
• A visit from Latin Link’s Bolivia Director Louis Woodley Friday evening.

¡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 -- 20/08/16

Have you ever stopped to wondering how much you've changed over time? Do you think your former self would recognise who you are now? I (Amanda) had a week which really highlighted to me how much I've changed, not in good or bad ways, but I saw how I was now different.

Instance 1

On this week fell Day of the OANSA Leader -- OANSA is the Bolivian version of the AWANA children's and youth programmes, which originated some years ago in the USA. I'm not sure about which day specifically because I don't actually care about these things, but being the OANSA youth ministry coordinator in our church, I was supposed to be celebrated at some point this past week. The OANSA ministerial team for Trinidad organised a dinner for all OANSA leaders on Wednesday night at 8pm. Craig and I looked at each other, and I decided to bite the bullet and go on our behalf, thus allowing him to stay in, because he might die a slow death if forced to actually celebrate a Hallmark holiday (he made an exception for Mother's day this year, me being a new Mom and all, but we've become quite unromantic with Valentine's Day, it being overly corporate). 

So a whole pile of leaders from our church went to this organised dinner, where we arrived on time, and proceeded to wait for almost another hour before anybody else showed up from any other church. Even, our own church members were getting antsy about this time. And then there was still a whole programme to get through before we could eat. The food came out about 10:40. I don't think we left until 11:30, and we still had to drive some of the youth home to the village of Maná, about 20 minutes away. 

The most revelatory aspect of this evening to me, however, was the fact that I had fun. I suddenly remembered that when I was younger I liked going out and being in large groups, laughing and joking, but that due to business, tiredness, and a lack of a social group in our stage of life [you can start playing your violins around now, folks -- Craig] we just don't do that any more. And I had fun! It was fun! And I got dropped off at my door in a large carpool, just like when I was at Uni coming back from a youth event. I felt young again... until I realised it was past midnight and I was about to turn into a pumpkin. Seriously, I remembered why I had changed: my body is falling apart and I am old. Okay, I'm only 30, but it is true -- my body is falling apart and I am old. So, great to be reminded of who I was in my glory days, but I think I get more excited now about early bedtimes than a long night out on a the town. But thank you, Trinidad OANSA Ministerial Team: the chicken was lovely!

Instance 2

This week we finally organised another FT staff training morning. The Board had been meaning to organise one since June, but people kept scheduling surgery over the mornings I had fenced off, apparently thinking that emergency surgery was more important. As if. Okay, maybe it is. But finally on Thursday morning we got all the staff together in one place and made them say nice things to each other. In all seriousness, that was the first activity Mariana pulled out of her bag of tricks. Everyone had to say something positive or something they were thankful for about the person sitting on their right. The activity was supposed to highlight how much easier it is for us to think of negative things to say about each other, and to really force us to try and be positive. It was generally a success, with a few minor hiccups. One person ended her positive comment by saying, "But I would also advise her to try harder with her personality." Someone else started by saying, "Well, he's a lot better now than he was at the beginning." And finally, someone said, "I like how she wants to do everything right. People may think she has an ugly and hard personality, but it's because she wants to do everything right." My jaw hit the floor when that was said. Obviously the PC brigade never got this far into the Amazon jungle.

But being the HR Director, these staff mornings are generally my show, so I chaired the morning and led people through the activities. Our morning GP, Dr. Vargas, organised a seminar on the purpose of and how to properly put together a Procedures Manual, because FT doesn't have an updated one. We need to get it organised by the end of the year and most staff looked at me funny when I asked people to write in point form how they go about their jobs. So, we had a training morning. And Dr. Vargas did a really good job. Even I feel more confident about sitting down and writing out the details of my job (which I haven't started to do yet).

But as I was sitting through the seminar and my mind started to wander to other things (hey, I said Dr. Vargas did a good job, I didn't say the material was gripping), I kind of thought about how I would never have dreamed of being able to do my job when I was in University. My insecurity always killed my confidence, and while I never shied away from standing up in front of people, I always had intense nerves. Now, I just do it and move on to the next thing, and sometimes I look at myself in the mirror and say, "Who are you? And where were you in grade 7 when I was supposed to be Patty in Charlie Brown's Christmas play?"

Instance 3

Our new volunteer arrived this week, Roseanne Sanders from England. And she's really nice. We're going to be friends. And right there is another change. I have never made friends really easily. I have always been too insecure and worried about what people thought to really give myself to friendships easily. It has always taken time with me to really becomes friends with someone. But it has become easier and easier to just give myself to people and make friends in recent years.

So, Rosie and I are going to be buddies for the next three weeks. I mean, she brought shortbread for everyone to share at FT. Who doesn't want to be friends with someone like that? And she is up for anything. I'm sure there are some things that she didn't come out her to do, like intense manual labor, but she hasn't said no to me yet...I wonder what else I could get her to do. I wonder how she feels about babysitting. Can you say 'Date Night'?

And I have never seen anyone less stressed and polite after losing their suitcase, which did not leave Brazil when she did. Thankfully, she has her suitcase again. I'm pretty sure I would have lost my cool at some point, but she was really relaxed about the whole experience.

We're all looking forward to spending more time with her over the next three weeks and I know that Odalys and Maye, in our Speech Therapy and Audiology Department, are especially excited to have the extra help.

Conclusion

Craig mentioned that we had attended a one day conference on mentoring while in Sucre by Rick Lewis. Rick highlighted that the purpose of mentoring is identifying and promoting the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. And he asked us all to think of the ways that we knew that the Lord was currently working in our lives, possibly convicting us of specific sin or challenging us in certain circumstances. Yet he said that mentoring had to do with all the ways in which God was working in us, but that we couldn't specifically identify. That's why we need the help of mentors. Because the reality is that God is doing so much more than we are actually conscious of at any given moment. God is changing us, moulding as, and growing us and the truth is that when I look back on my life, I can see some evidence of specific change, but the rest has just kind of happened slowly over time. And for this I am grateful: that God knows and me and loves me enough to want to change me where I need to most, without me even noticing sometimes. I like being more confident. I like being able to come alongside people without a lot of insecurities getting in the way. I like making friends. And, while getting excited about early bedtimes might not be an overly spiritual change, I know that I know myself more now than I did before, and I know how I need to take care of myself...and sometimes it is an early bedtime. And I am sure that in another 15 years I am going to be a completely different person again, and that's kind of exciting.

Prayer

• For Rosie and her three weeks with us at FT.
• Craig is preaching on Sunday from 2 Kings 2; please pray for him as he shares God's word.
• We tried to apply for Sam's passport this week, after successfully applying for his Bolivian ID Card, and we hit some obstacles. So, please pray that we get his application submitted on Monday.
• For some delicate pastoral care situations that Craig and the other church leaders are involved in right now.

Praise

• For Sam's ID card and updated birth certificate being processed
• For Rosie's safe arrival and the arrival of her bag two days later.
• For a really beneficial staff training morning
• For a good time out with the other OANSA leaders on Wednesday night

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig, Amanda & Sam

Saturday Post -- 19/03/16

BLOG UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT

Hello there!  The blog is being hijacked, shanghai-ed, commandeered, "liberated" and in every way buccaneered this week by Bryan and (la otra) Amanda.

Lucky you, we're brilliant!

We're so great that Craig and Amanda have put up with us for the last nine or so years since we met back in Glasgow.  That's no small feat!

And since it had been the better part of a decade since they left the Auld Country, we figured it was just about time to go see what this whole "Bolivia" thing was about.

The view on the way from La Paz to Trinidad was ok, I guess... 

Well, maybe since this is a missionary blog I should tell the truth: Craig and Amanda are nice, and Bolivia is great and all, but there was a small matter of a wee Sam we had to see to.  Yeah.  Like you wouldn't fly across the world to pinch his cute little cheeks.  You've seen him, right?  Irresistible.

But coming here did afford a number of wonderful opportunities to see our dear friends and the important work that they do here in the Beni.  (I'm not sure if that is even appropriate phraseology, but I heard Craig once refer to the region thusly and I thought it sounded rad.)  It was really strange for us to both experience this radically foreign culture for the first time and at the same time see how well Craig and Amanda have adapted to their environment here.  

This is us "fitting in."  Ohioans are duty bound to do this wherever we go, because there were only two of us we had to enlist the Cunninghams' help—dance puppets, DANCE!

It has been an exciting time to be here.  On Monday, we went to court!  Yay, Bryan (future lawyer) loves court!  The occasion was the expiration of the statutory period of appeal for Sam's biological parents to appeal termination of parental rights.  As no such appeal had been made, the judge was able to enter a final judgment of termination for Sam.  Craig and Amanda hope to start the work for formally requesting adoption this week and after papers are submitted the court will have no more than thirty days to act on them.  We pray to the Almighty that this time passes quickly and uneventfully!

We also have been able to see Craig and Amanda engaged in many of the various ministries they perform here.  On Tuesday we went and saw the Foundation where Amanda is very much in her element.  Working at the very nerve center, she oversees the various cogs, gears and whizz-bits with a maestro's aplomb!  On Tuesday night, we saw Craig in action kicking off another series of English classes.  That was a hoot.  To get the "J" sound as in "jacket"—which doesn't exist in Spanish—the class were literally screaming JACK-et JACK-et!!!!!!

"No, not 'JACKET!!!'" Craig explained calmly, just, "jacket."

"In America they would say 'wadder' whereas we say 'waTer.' See the difference?" [Blank stares].

One of Amanda's highlights was attending Bible study on Thursday night where families gathered together not just to read the Bible, but to learn about how to read the Bible.  One of Bryan's highlights was traveling out to Maná, a small village outside Trinidad which is home to many of the families of the men in a nearby prison.  Needless to say, neither of us had seen anything quite like it.  We went to Maná to catch some of the OANSA program—Bible study/memorisation for children. 

Kids in Maná getting their Jesus on!

There were probably sixty or so children there, most of them traveling the dark streets on their own to get there.  It was held in a school courtyard where the electric lights brought in hordes of of insects that would have impressed even Moses which the children warded off by burning cardboard egg crates and whirling around t-shirts like horsetails.  "Let the little children come to me" I could hear deep in my mind as the children sang and recited verses from memory.  Later we would learn that several of the children gave their lives to Christ that night.  God be praised!  We pray that they will be filled with the Spirit and that the love of Christ sustains them in the difficult years they have ahead.

We've also had a "taste" of life in Bolivia.  Where to start on that...  We could tell you about the family of five we saw all crammed onto one moto scooter, the general disregard for traffic laws, common sense or human dignity on the roads.  We could tell you about the wonderful food that seems to be everywhere (google "salteñas" and then wish you had smell-o-vision).  We could tell you about the western women in La Paz with their great, voluminous skirts and funny little top hats hawking dubious drinks in plastic bags on the roadside.  We could tell you about the heat (ugh) and humidity (UGH!).  Or about the cow's head that was left in the middle of the street being devoured by stray dogs.  But none of that would be it.  None of that can capture Bolivia.  I guess you'll just have to come and see for yourself.  

Speaking of cows in the road, MOOOOOve it, already!

You're lucky, you know.  We're not even supposed to be here writing this.  You could be reading Craig if it wasn't for a general strike that was called on Thursday to protest, um... I don't know, it's Bolivia.  We were supposed to fly out to La Paz on Thursday, you see, but these kindly folks blockaded all the roads early in the morning.  We couldn't make it to the airport and even if we had, we would have been the only ones there.  That's when we took this vacay to the bonus round!

And despite the hefty surcharge for rebooking, we're kind of glad it all happened that way.  Every day here with the Cunninghams is such a blessing and we're very happy to get to worship with the church on Sunday.

Prayer

• OANSA program in Maná
• The completion of Sam's adoption process
• Bryan & Amanda make it back to the States on Sunday/Monday

Praise

• Decisions for Christ made this week
• Great time of fellowship and encouragement this week
• Salteñas!

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig Bryan & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 16/01/16

Before I (Craig) say my piece, Amanda will do what, in my humble opinion, she does best: be appealing.

We would like to make you all aware of a need that has arisen at the Foundation. The Bolivian government has decided to change/update the way they organise and receive purchase receipts and, therefore, the way goods and services taxes are calculated. The Foundation depends very heavily on its accounting software to organise all things financial, but unfortunately our accounting software is not compatible with the new system. Ideally, then, we would like to update our accounting software to meet these new requirements. We have priced this and it will cost us a minimum of $1500 (USD). This is an unforeseen expenditure, one that has not been provided for in our annual budget. It is a genuine need of the Foundation’s to be able to run all of its other programs and ministries. If anyone feels lead to inquire more about this need and help in any way, please feel free to contact us in a private message. We would appreciate prayers from everyone for the provision of these funds.

*            *            *

One prayer meeting too many.

This morning, I have dragged myself out of bed against my better judgement on a Saturday at 6am to talk about, er, rest.

Rest is one of the core aspects of my faith. Upon the completion of the creation, God rested, and the Sabbath principle is an unmissable thread running throughout the remainder of Scripture; it later becomes the sign of the covenant between God and his people at Sinai, and Judah’s failure to observe it is cited as the clincher in its exile to Babylon (2 Chronicles 36:20-21), as promised by God at Sinai some 800 years earlier (Leviticus 26:34). In the New Testament, the writer to the Hebrews declares that ‘there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God’ in the laying aside of a works-based doctrine of salvation. Jesus tells his disciples to go and put their feet up at the conclusion of a gruelling evangelistic campaign (Mark 6:30-32), while promising to give rest to all who labour and who are heavy laden (Matthew 11:28). So we have been blessed with no lack of instruction on this great subject.

But, my goodness, as evangelical Christians, in this area we are among the worst offenders. ‘Busyness’ has become a synonym for ‘holiness’ as we drive ourselves and our people to greater heights of activity. A particular issue for people with families is that evenings are often the only time most people can spare; in the average week here, for example, if I so choose, I can be ‘in the Lord’s service’ on no fewer than four evenings, oftentimes rising to five.

The issue is not busyness per se, as we serve no worthier cause, and the old adage about the devil making work for idle hands is well supported by Scripture. The problem is that many of our people are continuously running on empty. And if that is the case, then no matter how many events we put on, they will be all sound and fury, signifying precisely nothing.

Much of this I realised while growing up in such circles, but it would be a mistake to think that we are free from these shackles here in the supposedly more chilled-out developing world. Indeed, if anything, it’s worse.

Because in Trinidad, Bolivia, whether driven by education or by societal norms, people say “yes” to things all the time. Without even thinking. You get it from the plumber who tells you he’s free this afternoon to fix your leak, knowing he is not, but assuming you will be more gratified to believe he’s coming than to actually have him turn up. You get it from friends who, trying to be nice, repeatedly tell you, “I’ll be there on Sunday morning to hear you preach!,” only to never show. And worst of all, you most definitely get it from Christians who commit themselves to important kingdom work for which they themselves know they have no time – or, admittedly, drive!

And this only serves to leave a small number of their brothers and sisters continually picking up the tab. For they, too, say “yes” to everything, but with an important, and at times soul-destroying, caveat: they mean it.

I’d been given pause to consider all these matters this past week. The school holidays will soon be over and the new session of our children and youth programmes is looming ever larger. In recent weeks, as elders, our permission has been sought with regard to something of a re-configuring of the youth ministry. Over the past couple of years, our biggest ‘success story’ as a church (though I use such phrases carefully) has been our AWANA children’s programme which, for the benefit of the uninitiated, is a ministry with a big emphasis on Scripture memorisation. The church has been packed out every Saturday afternoon and the word of God has come alive to this little army. Well, AWANA has a follow-on youth ministry, and given the pleasingly high numbers of 11-to-13-year-olds who attend the programme, its implementation has been seen as a logical step forward.

And, in theory, I couldn’t have been more in agreement. But a couple of factors concerned me. Firstly, we had already given permission for AWANA to expand to two separate sessions: the usual one at our own church on Saturday afternoons, and a new venture on Tuesday evenings in a village called Maná (I’ve mentioned it here before; many of our children and young people come from the village). This in itself will prove a big challenge, as the single Saturday programme last year saw the inevitable disappearance of the empty-yes crowd on leadership as the year progressed. The youth ministry up until now has been well-run, but does not really depend on too many leaders being present; the new programme depends on a low ratio of teenagers-to-leaders. Essentially then, in one fell swoop, we’re going from one programme with a high dependence on human resources, to three.

My second concern was related to rest, and our biblical duty as a church to be upholding this principle. The same small core of dependable people was looking to be involved in all three of these ministries: when would they get the opportunity to recover their energies? And as for the others, assuming they would fulfil their commitment to a year’s labour (a big ‘if’!), how could we ensure they were getting fed? Amanda disciples a young woman who is very active in teaching ministries around children and young people, yet recently confessed she didn’t know how many tribes there were in Israel.

Those were the considerations I brought to the table at our meeting earlier this week with the proponents of the new youth programme, though I was wary about being seen as the overly-pernickety white missionary (my fellow elders don’t say “no” to much themselves).

And so, bearing all of that in mind, it was particularly pleasing to me to discover that the main proponents had considered these issues themselves (perhaps this grumpy foreigner’s on to a good thing after all!). Firstly, they had already asked around to see who could commit to each of these programmes. Encouragingly, numbers were sufficient that relatively few people would have to be involved in more than one per week. Secondly, these numbers were boosted by getting more of the responsible older teenagers involved in supporting the children’s ministry; no harm in getting them started young. Thirdly, and most encouragingly for me, an earlier proposal to switch AWANA to Sunday afternoons had been shelved, with the proponents having considered the men’s and women’s discipleship groups on alternate Sunday afternoons too important to miss.

Amanda and I had prayed about it the night before and had a sense that the meeting was probably not going to be as big a clash of methodologies as we had feared, and that turned out to be the case. It’s good to see the church membership coming to the realisation that we are nothing if we are not fed.

But, thankful though I am, I won’t be resting on my laurels; I’ve been part of churches for too long! Slowly but surely, as our church comes to fuller maturity (and as our own domestic priorities shift), Amanda and I are withdrawing from the front line. But, beyond a doubt, God certainly still has important work to do through us as members of the backbench awkward squad. We pray that he will give us the grace to be able to do so in love.

Prayer

• Pray for provision with regard to the above-mentioned accounting software.
• Pray for Amanda over the next couple of weeks, as she effectively runs the Foundation in the absence of our main administrative worker.
• Pray for Craig as he preaches on 1 Kings 17 tomorrow.
• And, of course, pray for Sam’s adoption, and that there would be no hurdles on the termination of parental rights.

Praise

• For an encouraging meeting with the youth coordinators during the week.
• For a pretty smooth adjustment (so far!) to our new work/childcare arrangements.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 28/11/15

You know things are bad here when even the locals are complaining about it. Over the last week we've been in the grip of a ferocious heatwave, taking temperatures to a supposed 36 degrees, but with searing humidity thrown in, it has felt like a lot, lot more. Sleep has at times been hard to come by, with even our co-workers (Benians could sleep through an Iron Maiden concert) turning up bleary-eyed and groggy most mornings. Our air conditioning units in the house, meanwhile, have been working overtime, with every pressing of the 'on' button evoking ever greater dread over next month's electricity bills. 

Mercifully, we woke up yesterday morning to the slightest of south winds, yet it has been enough to make living conditions significantly more comfortable. More wind and showers are expected over the weekend as we anticipate the first throes of rainy season.

The week's lowpoint came on Tuesday lunchtime. I'll be careful how I put this (this is a family blog, after all), but in times of such humidity, when clothes practically have to be removed with a wallpaper stripping tool, the privacy of lunchtime in one's own home often affords one the opportunity to shed any (though not all!) unnecessary, er...ballast. Gallingly, our cleaner, Julia -- who gives the house a go-over on Saturday mornings and Tuesday afternoons, though usually from about 3pm onwards -- had turned up a whole three hours early so as to get away for an appointment. Never have I been less delighted to see such punctuality in a Bolivian!

Julia, truth be told, is the most reliable cleaner we've had so far, and proved her mettle last weekend by summoning me from this here computer keyboard and pointing out several evidences around the house of a rodent problem, which we First Worlders would have completely missed otherwise. Thus warned, we armed ourselves to the teeth with cheese and the most humane execution devices conceivable (humane as in you'd be gone before you could even say 'Red Leicester') -- I almost lost a hand just arming the things. Sure enough, Mickey bought it late on Wednesday night. In fairness, he had as much chance of survival as AFC Bournemouth.

If you're a seasoned reader of the blog by this point, you'll probably aware that the hearty servings of extraneous waffle mean only one thing: it's been a slow week. Indeed, for Amanda and most others at the Foundation, the real focus has been the coming week, when Fundación Totaí hosts another ENT surgical campaign, once again aided by Dr. Richard Wagner from the USA, and other visiting specialists (though on Wednesday of this week, weekly surgery resumed, with our new ENT doctor  -- trained in Argentina -- overseeing his first case since his approval to operate here in Bolivia was confirmed). With the year's end looming ever larger, Amanda and her fellow board members have also been going over 2016's budgets with a fine toothcomb. 

As for me, my time's mostly been taken up with one-on-one discipleship sessions, church administration, and preparation for sermons. It's looking like we're going to be in La Paz for ten days or so in late December (a Bolivian white Christmas???) for a wedding and a conference, so that's pushed several things forward as well. 

Without further ado, then, this week's prayer points.

Prayer

• For the surgical campaign. Pray for the various health professionals involved and for those going under the knife. Craig and Elías (the church pastor) will also be giving evangelistic talks to the many family members who will be gathered in the waiting area. 
• For the adoption process, of course. We are currently awaiting a key decision.
• For the family of Miguel Ángel (FT president, church elder) and Ruth; Miguel Ángel's mother died earlier this week.
• For our friends Carlos & Carla. You may remember Carlos had his motorcycle stolen back in September. We meet with them regularly and continue to be bowled over by their maturity in some challenging economic circumstances -- if anything, their involvement in ministry has only increased in recent weeks. Please pray for continued sustaining.

Praise

• November sees the end of both the school year and several activities at FT. This last week has seen end-of-year celebrations for the afternoon community classes, the football and basketball teams, and the mother-and-toddler group. Give thanks for the many young people who have come to a saving faith through these activities, and pray for continued encouragement during the long (and often boring!) summer holidays.
• OANSA (the church's children's ministry) also wraps up today. As above.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 15/08/15

Amanda in mid-potato-peel last night, getting ready for the big food-sale
fundraiser for the church's AWANA children's group this lunchtime.

As iron sharpens iron,

    so one person sharpens another.

Proverbs 27:17

Looking back over the last seven days, iron-sharpening has certainly been the order of the week for me (Craig), both in my formal and informal ministry.

Having not managed to meet up with any of my discipleship charges the first couple of weeks back (in the first week Amanda and I were finding our feet again; in the second the independence day holiday and its attendant festivities got in the way), it was a joy to start where I'd left off with all four guys: Diego (19), Daniel (16), Yonatán (18) and Daniel (26). You may remember that the younger Daniel and Yonatán are serving in the youth group this year, Diego is Daniel's older brother and the erstwhile piano-player in the church music group, and the elder Daniel hails from Cuba, and is married to FT doctor Romina. All four guys face a varied set of challenges in their day-to-day lives, so it's important that they get a wider perspective on things once a week. To do that, I've been working through Vaughan Roberts' God's Big Picture with all four, a book that certainly raises the affections to things of God.

These days, I have a couple of bonus one-on-one appointments in my working week owing to the presence of volunteers Tom and Josh. Now about halfway into their two-month stint here, the brothers have demonstrated real maturity in their servant-like attitudes and the time they are taking while here to go deeper into God's word. Though usually (indeed, inevitably!) younger than ourselves, it's amazing how often God uses visiting volunteers to challenge our own way of doing things, and that's certainly been the case with the brothers Pike.

Last night (Friday), I made an appearance at the church men's group, and at the previous meeting, one of the guys had randomly asked when we could get together to watch The Godfather (a picture for which, if you've known me for five minutes, you'll be aware I have abiding affection). So an impromptu screening was arranged at our house mid-week, and I looked on with no shortage of envy as five blokes were acquainted for the first time with equine heads, taking the cannoli, and another invaluable contribution to the infant baptism debate. 

Just as pleasing -- and almost certainly more edifying -- was my FaceTime session the following evening with Alex Wann, our old friend from Wyoming who was here a couple of years ago with Samaritan's Purse, and is now based out in La Paz. In the end, our time in Trinidad overlapped by only four months, but he arrived at a point where I was seriously lacking male fellowship. He and I have kept in regular contact since, including those occasional -- but really valuable -- audio sessions. Alex is due to be in Bolivia for at least another year, and we'd love to get out and see him before he moves on.

Quite a catch.

And as if things couldn't have got any more testosterone-fuelled...I even managed to sneak in a few hours' fishing on my birthday (Monday) with my younger friends from Cochabamba, who are visiting for the university break. Being my birthday, Amanda even made an appearance. A good job, too; that was about the last time I saw her this week. And I suppose things will be necessarily equalised this week. I'm guessing next week's movie night will be more along the lines of Pride & Prejudice (the BBC one, naturally). Brood, Colin. Brood.

Prayer

• A potential adoption lead fell through this week. We continue to hear rumours and counter-rumours. Pray for patience, and for readiness when the moment comes.
• Amanda has had a fairly testing week in her HR role at the Foundation. Pray for abundant supplies of grace there.
• We had the opportunity to touch base with Andrew and Ruth Richards (UK), who will be joining us in October to run a marriage course (watch this space). Please pray for us as we prepare for that important week from both sides of the Atlantic.
• For increased maturity and love for the Lord for the various men with whom Craig is working -- and, indeed, for Craig himself!
• Craig is preaching again on 1 Kings 8:22-53 tomorrow morning...
• ...and Amanda is taking the youth meeting tonight, where they've recently begun a new series working through The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (a relatively unknown text here).
• The American trio of volunteers leave Trinidad on Monday evening; pray for safe travels back to Seattle.

Praise

• For many opportunities for mutual encouragement this week, for both of us.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda