Are you listening?

I was going to start this post with an apology for not having posted very much recently. Then I realised I’d be sounding like the proverbial broken record.

When first we came out to Bolivia nearly a decade ago, we were on the lookout for an easy way to keep our friends and supporters appraised as to our news. And so, we surfed the blogging wave, very much in vogue at that time. It was fresh. It was instant. And we had the self-discipline to ensure that it was regular.

That was certainly the case for the first five years or so. However, parenthood, as it is in the habit of doing, altered things somewhat. Looking at the blog archive (on the right-hand side here), I’m somewhat amazed to note that we managed 44 posts with a baby in tow in 2016: not far off a post per week. But that was to plummet to 18 in 2017, a mere ten last year (we had our reasons, mind) and an as-it-stands total for 2019 of…six!

Now given our experiences in recent years, we probably have a healthier outlook on time-management and supporter accountability; we know that supporters can cope if they don’t hear from us every week, and to be honest, if you look back at some of those earlier posts, they barely get beyond a functional list of accomplishments for the week. We can certainly live without that, and doubtless so can you.

Nevertheless, even given the new and more balanced status quo, our friends and supporters ought to be able to hear more from us than just the occasional email news update. And wasn’t this whole blogging thing supposed to be fun too?

Well, we think we might have just come upon a solution. And we’re not too proud to admit that it’s a total rip-off!

Something I (Craig) enjoy doing in my spare time, particularly in the car or when exercising, is listening to podcasts. For all my interest in these, it had never crossed my mind to start one myself; I assumed you needed a significant investment in gear, for one thing, and what on earth did I have to say anyway?

That was till a couple of months ago, when some missionary friends of ours launched their own podcast, primarily as a method to update their friends and supporters – just as we had set out to do with the blog all those years ago. They did so with the most basic of equipment and with minimal preparation and recording time – unlike those blog-posts, which were sometimes taking us up to half a day to produce.

Moreover, it was conversational in tone, as close to being ‘in the room’ with them as it was possible to be; hearing their voices rather than seeing their written words made a huge difference. And, yes, on occasion, it was fun too!

And so, for better or worse, we have decided to go down a similar path. We hope to upload new episodes about once every couple of weeks at least, at an appropriate length to give you a decent update without overstaying our welcome. At the same time, we’d like to use the new format to maintain something we always wished to achieve with the blog: namely, give people something of a backstage pass to the world of missions and its assorted quirks. 

We hope to keep the format of each episode fairly simple. We will open with a little bit of our personal and ministry news, and we will close with some relevant prayer points. 

In between these bookends, we hope in the longer-term to bring something different to the table each week; for example, something of our personal testimony, or an interview with some fellow worker, or a conversation about a particular aspect of missionary life (e.g., what is Christmas like when you’re so far from home all the time?). The possibilities seem endless, and we’d be particularly keen to receive any suggestions or questions for possible conversation topics.

So is this the end of the blog then? No way! We aim to use the blog to complement the content generated by the podcast, and vice-versa. We would still hope to post about once a month to that end.

Furthermore, we will upload each new podcast episode to this very website. And on that note, if you still want to get our news but have no interest in listening to yet another podcast, we will post a written bullet-pointed summary of our prayer points with each episode uploaded here.

And so, without further ado, please give the ‘Los Cunningham’ podcast a listen whether here or through your usual podcast provider. And if you can’t quite manage that right now, please keep in mind the points listed below for prayer in the coming days and weeks.

Here goes nothing! 

Prayer Points

• Give thanks for our three weeks in Canada. It was a little crazy, but we were encouraged to see friends and family, to visit churches, and that we didn't collapse in the process!
• Give thanks for how well Sam is doing at his new school, which is an English-language Christian school.
• Please pray for Sam (and by extension, for the two of us) on Sunday mornings at church, which he is finding challenging just now.
• Pray for the preparations for the Langham Preaching Level 1 workshop in Santa Cruz, which is taking place from the 21st till the 24th of September. Pray for Craig as he leads this effort.
• Pray for us as a family as we adjust to a slightly busier pace of life.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Cunningham

Saturday Post -- 16/12/17

Mother and conjunctivitis-riddled son, washing dishes
together, Wednesday morning. With hindsight, maybe
not the brightest of ideas.

Freak. Demon-eyes. Pinko. Alien spawn. Watermelon woman.

At this time of year, with its great emphasis upon giving and receiving among loved ones, the above is a mere sampling of the good-natured insults that Amanda and I have exchanged. Yep, you've probably already guessed it. This week, we were given the gift of conjunctivitis.

Trinidad has been in the midst of something of an epidemic these past weeks. For most of the last month, a good number of our friends in the community have been struck down by the highly contagious pink fiend; albeit, to varying degrees. By last weekend, we had somehow managed to steer clear of it, and assumed we were home and dry.

That was until Sunday night, when I felt some low-level itching and throbbing in the middle of the night, and struggled to get back to sleep. Sure enough, the mirror confirmed the worst, and Sam was next in the firing line. Still, for us lads, said mirror and Amanda's barbs were the only reminders of our ocular abnormality; the pain and irritation were minimal. Any pink remaining was of a decidedly Financial Times hue.

So we were glad that the worst seemed to have passed, and especially that Amanda had somehow kept out of its path of destruction.

That was until I woke up on Thursday morning next to an extra from a Star Trek episode set on Planet Zug-Zug. Overnight, Amanda's eyes had swollen to the size of small rugby balls (and more league than union, I might add). Not that I could see them, as it took vast quantities of chamomile tea (supposedly the best solution) just to be able to open the eyelids, stuck together with no end of gunge and gloop. Dynamite wouldn't have gone amiss. The eyes themselves were blood-red and highly painful. A few hours later, she was gripped by a fever. 

Sam shows off a little stable decoration he made at the club
this week.

All this, and Sam's tearing around the house like Hurricane Humphrey. Did this have to happen during the school holidays?

Anyway, with a little help from good friends, we were able to subcontract Sam's care, and I was freed up a little to attend to Amanda, whose eyes haven't shaken off that redness, but the pain is significantly reduced and they have reverted to their normal, beautiful, shape.

Working, as we do, in a health institute, meant we were necessarily based at home for the whole week, and that enabled me to work on end-of-year updates for FT sponsors and our own supporters, as well as starting to prepare for next weekend's Christmas Eve service, where I'll be giving a short evangelistic talk.

On that note, Sam's been able to get along to holiday club again this week, where much of the activity is building towards that same Christmas Eve service. And on Monday, he had his little end-of-year show with his class from school, in which he more than held his own in the much sought-after part of Bunny Rabbit #3. 

Sam with one of his teachers, Valeria,
on Monday evening.

Oh, and Amanda's Mum is arriving on Tuesday for an extended visit. I do hope she packs her goggles. 

Prayer

• That Amanda recovers soon from her conjunctivitis.
• For Amanda's mother's (Selene) travels over the next few days.

Praise

• For Sam's largely cooperative behaviour during these difficult days.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 07/03/15

Last night at around a quarter past eleven, some seventeen hours since horizontality, and as I applied a little more elbow grease to the last plate's pizza residue, I thought to myself, "Back in Scotland, when visualising what this new stage in Bolivia would look like, it would have looked awfully like today."

In the morning, I met with Daniel and Yonatán for their weekly discipleship session, half an hour earlier than planned, at 8:30am, to accommodate some last-minute changes to Daniel's diary. A couple of years ago, we would have had to scrap the whole thing due to the fact that I would have had to attend Fundación Totaí's morning staff meeting, which takes place around the same time. And while I do still try to make it there most days, the fact that my only real work for FT now is in supporter communications means that I am under no obligation to attend, and can be much more flexible in the mornings. And as anyone who's read this blog with any frequency can attest, flexibility is an important commodity in Bolivia.

It was another terrific session with the boys, during which we worked through the next part of our Spanish translation of 'God's Big Picture' by Vaughan Roberts -- a text I strongly recommend, by the way, if you struggle in your Bible reading to see the macro for the micro; so easy to read, too. Resources of the calibre of 'God's Big Picture' just don't exist here, and naturally, the boys are lapping it up. It's a joy to guide them through these vitally important concepts for understanding Scripture.

Finished by 10am, I was free to head over to FT (just a five-minute walk from our house) and the office which has kindly been lent to me in the mornings. There, I took care of some more church business, writing out music for a new song, preparing for the men's ministry launch that evening, and sitting down with a church member and FT worker to discuss something that had come up in the church leadership meeting the night before.

With everything pretty much in place for the evening's activity, and having worked morning, afternoon and evening since Tuesday (Monday being our day off), I was able to afford myself a few hours of relaxation in the afternoon, during which I touched base with a former Cornhill colleague via Skype. Since coming back, I have set up a network of four friends from the UK, who vary in age and background but who also share a passion for the gospel. They have each agreed to meet online for about an hour once a month, which in turn means that I can get a bit of encouragement most weeks. I hope they can too. The effort it took for me to set all of this up has already paid great dividends.

Weather permitting, Friday late-afternoon usually sees me running podcast-assisted laps on the track at the nearby stadium (I try to do the same time on Mondays and Wednesdays too). Exercise is another important tool I have in maintaining personal sanity, and Fridays are particularly anticipated, what with the Guardian Football Weekly/Kermode & Mayo double-bill.

I then had a couple of hours to make myself socially acceptable again, before the first motorcycles revved up the driveway for the church's first official men's ministry meeting (the front garden soon resembled a two-wheeler garage). We enjoyed some Wii U, the half-dozen pizzas that one of the group had specially made with his wife, and a whole lot of blokey banter, before I gave a short talk I'd prepared about how the world's perceptions of manhood conflict with what God has to say on the topic, prompting a short discussion before we wound things up at around 10:30pm. There was a general acceptance among the group that strong male spiritual leadership both in the home and in church (with the latter's activities all too often encroaching on the former) too easily becomes something for which we eschew our God-given responsibility. I'm very excited to see where this ministry takes our church.

But just to keep our feet on the ground, Amanda's afternoon yesterday could hardly have been more deflating. As has been mentioned here before, she's now in charge of Human Resources at FT and just needs a bit of assurance now and again that she's doing her job well, particularly as she's not been trained in it. Anyone who knows Amanda will know that she most certainly is; the discouragement comes when positive results are not all that forthcoming. 

What with Google translate and other such tools, this is not the place to go into details about what happened yesterday, but I'll try to hit the main notes. Essentially, she had a long-arranged meeting with members of the health staff, most of whom were not Christians. And for most of the meeting she had to walk a tightrope: laying down discipline where required, due to some grumbling about the working conditions; but endeavouring at all times to do this in a way which maintained her own, and FT's, Christian witness. 

The meeting was made particularly difficult by the fact that one of the participants was asked by Amanda to adapt their working method a little to help the others and staunchly refused. This was especially hard to take from the one member of the group who is a believer; indeed, the person in question plays an active role in our church and is someone we would generally consider to be a good friend. The loneliness of leadership, in a nutshell.

A great contrast in experiences, then, yesterday, and not in any way untypical of an average day here; Amanda has had to support me through some challenging days too. As individuals who are not always the most stable, emotionally and mentally, we in no way take for granted the great gift that God has given us to stand strong when such circumstances arise: each other.

Prayer

• It's been mentioned here before, but particularly in the light of experiences like yesterday's, please keep Amanda and this new work of hers in your prayers. The FT board (on which Amanda sits) are also dealing with a few weighty matters just now and have their monthly meeting this coming week. Wisdom required by the bucketful!

Praise

• We had a really encouraging members' meeting at the church on Wednesday night, where the leaders (including Craig) put forward proposals to alter the programme. It is possible for a church member at the moment to attend up to six meetings a week, and while we're glad that such a range of services are available, most people quite understandably can't make it out to everything, and attendance has taken a hit. So we've dropped one of the two midweek meetings -- we'll now alternate the prayer meeting and the Bible study on Thursday nights -- and are going to drop the communion service the first Sunday of the month to incorporate it into the family service. There was a generally positive response, and some constructive discussion too as to the overall direction of the church.
• For the men's meeting last night; an encouraging start.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 14/02/15

The best image I could find online of the below-mentioned jigsaw.
Deary me. McCartney's left nostril alone must've contained the 'Help' film
poster, the 'Revolver' album cover, and a Gretsch Duo Jet.

There haven't been too many ministry developments to report this week, but to be honest, it's just a relief that I'm even able to upload this week's scribblings. 

With many hundreds, or even thousands, of miles separating the overseas worker and loved ones back home, the importance of communications can be keenly felt. One of the fascinating aspects of the on-off relationship I've had with this unique country over 15 years has been to witness developments in this area.

Of course, back in September 2000, I didn't exactly set off for Bolivia on a cargo ship from Southampton, waving a handkerchief to a family whom I never knew when I'd see again. Things weren't that bad (though it wasn't too long ago, of course, that such a scene was perfectly normal). But the adjustments required for an 18-year-old, well into the internet age, were not insignificant. The postal service was sluggish and unreliable. My Mum sent me a Beatles jigsaw for Christmas that year, opting for land mail given the bulk of the package. It arrived some time in mid-April. My Dad kindly bought me a subscription to a weekly digest of a British newspaper, specially put together for ex-pats. The enjoyment of reading this was largely dictated by how much of the past three weeks' news I was able to forget.

Not that that was too hard, given that the only 'international' TV news source here was CNN, and the internet had only just got off to a sluggish start. A five-minute wait for pages to load was pretty much par for the course. The phrase, 'I'm going to check my email' was never so accurate (one email was about as much as you could cover in a session!).

As for phones, forget about it. Calls cost a small fortune and the line was beset with a five-second delay as standard, which proved particularly problematic one December day. That same Christmas as Jigsawgate, Dad (they really do mean well, my parents!) brought a conference phone home from his office so that the 20 or so family members jammed into my parents' house could take it in turns to wish me a happy Christmas. I got the distinct impression that Dad's good cheer extended only so far when it came to the phone bill, and I'll forever have in my head the imaginary image of him standing there by the phone, in Alex-Ferguson-pointing-at-watch mode, while I asked my Grandma what she reckoned to her new games console, and my aunt Ruth what she reckoned to United's chances of silverware. 

Two years later (the summer of Amandagate), things were picking up a little, with internet cafes more prominent and dial-up speeds picking up. It was therefore something of a surprise, when we returned seven years later in January 2010, to see just how little things had come on. The postal service was worse than ever, and broadband hadn't even taken off yet.

So it was with no small delight that we came back a few weeks ago to something of a communications revolution, with internet speeds now so fast that we could stream Netflix in high definition, and I could even watch Match of the Day on iPlayer (though like the aforementioned newspaper, the thrill in this depends greatly on staying well away from sports websites till Monday night -- ouch).

It was surely too good to be true. Wasn't it? Well, while the internet speeds have shown no sign of a decline, alas the same cannot be said of customer service, which has remained reassuringly average.

I spent half of Monday (our day off) in the offices of our service provider, as our internet had cut off around lunchtime. We assumed this was down to us using up our monthly data quota, which was surprising considering we'd arranged only a week earlier for it to be doubled. In fact, I was informed that we had almost all of our allocation remaining for the month (surprising after a week's heavy use).  The problem, they suggested, was with the modem itself. Feeling like I was trapped in a pinball machine, I then made a tour of the offices, as one person after another suggested it was the-guy-over-at-that-desk's problem.

Eventually, the problem was identified, but with a slight hitch: the repair to the modem could only be authorised by Miguel-Ángel (Fundación Totaí's president) as our modem was bought in the foundation's name, at the same time as the foundation's own unit. With closing time fast approaching, I'd have to wait till the next day to get it sorted.

On Tuesday morning, the repair was authorised, and I got the modem back. So far, so good. Except that around lunchtime of that day, FT's own modem started playing up. The next morning (Wednesday), they sent that in for a repair. Amazingly, it was the same issue!

But on Wednesday afternoon, our modem started playing up again, so I had to go back in, and was told that the line hadn't been re-registered after the repair. They apologised for this, fixed the problem, and we, at least, haven't had a problem since. But FT then came down with the same issue the following day. Having thought they'd got it fixed, their internet went down completely yesterday, and no-one has any clue what's going on any more -- least of all, the service provider, it would seem! What's more, we've been poring over the monthly receipts for the past few months, and it's looking like we were charged twice for the same period. We all now suspect there has been a mix-up in the modem payments somewhere.

So the issue needs dealt with quickly in order for FT to get its communications back up and running. The only problem is: a) everything has to be done in tow with Miguel-Ángel who, as well as being the FT president, is also the dentist -- he's busy enough as it is; and b) this weekend is Carnaval, meaning no businesses are open again till Wednesday. 

I think all concern for the quality of my writing went out of the window about three paragraphs ago. Ultimately, I think the purpose of the blog this week has been to get these frustrations off my chest, in any way possible. I guess we can only hope that, like a Christmas present from Mum, fully-functioning internet will surface some day in the future. Only please let it be more straightforward than that Beatles jigsaw. It was a photo mosaic. Those things are murder.

Prayer

• Carnaval, for the uninitiated, is the pre-Lent long weekend celebrated throughout Latin America, though it makes no attempt at all to hide its distinctly non-religious activities; the very name alludes to a celebration of all things fleshly. And all things fleshly will most certainly be indulged to the max this weekend in Trinidad. Prayer appreciated.
• As ever, the youth group will be staging their special Carnaval event this Monday, a 12-hour marathon of messy games and solid Bible teaching, with a special guest speaker coming to talk about the attributes of God, and what they mean for us. Simply for getting them out of Carnaval, the event is important, but pray for encouragement in all that the young people hear.

Praise

• We're now both into our one-on-one discipleship routine, with Amanda meeting with Adriana during the week. Give thanks for the progress already being made there.
• Craig spoke to two groups of pastors and church leaders during the week about the Langham Preaching course, and there seems to be a lot of interest in the course, which we're hoping will take place later this year.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Home Comforts -- Number 8: Functional Internet

Dolph Lundgren's Rocky IV 'do: about as relevant as
computer keyboards, and, er, the Soviet Union.

NEEEEEEEE-nooooo-nee-nooooo-NEEEEEEE.

That, as I’m sure you worked out right away, is not a malfunctioning police siren, but the unmistakable soundtrack to dialup internet, an invention synonymous with other antiquated inventions such as keyboards, ‘email’ and flat-top haircuts.

High-speed internet is now such an integral part of ‘Global North’ citizens’ lives that the days of dialup are an increasingly fading memory. Yet Amanda and I had to very quickly reacquaint ourselves with the old way of doing things back in January 2010, when dialup was still the only form of internet available. In some respects, this was a good thing, not least in saving us from the pitfalls of procrastination while going about the Lord’s work.

Still, when the opportunity surfaced to switch to a faster connection (and broadband this was not) some months later, we jumped at the chance. And it certainly made the adjustment to life here significantly easier. Skype (for my money, in a photo-finish with e-readers for ‘Greatest ever invention for missionaries’) was now operational, bringing updates on my parents’ gardening progress at the press of a button. It was once again possible to download podcasts, so that Mark Kermode could tell me what films to go and see at my local multiplex (in Santa Cruz, 300 miles south of Trinidad). Not to mention those YouTube videos showing people performing slam-dunks with their hands tied behind their backs whilst trying to escape a car embedded in shark-infested waters (blindfolded)…all of a sudden, we were once again plugged in to real life!

Since then, we have switched to yet another plan and our internet has gone up a further notch, i.e., my email inbox will take a mere ten seconds to load rather than 20. Other improvements have hardly brought us up to speed, if you’ll excuse the pun, with the developed world. Indeed, said velocity itself varies drastically, usually being pretty rapid in the mornings and slowing down to a couple of kilobytes a second by bedtime. Rare is the Skype conversation that does not require us to hang up, disconnect from/reconnect to the internet, and then call again about half a dozen times. Have you ever seen the ‘Your message failed to send’ message in Facebook? Well, put it this way: we have!

Yep, the divide that exists between the developed and developing worlds is frequently couched in economic terms, but it certainly extends to communications. So it’s no understatement to say that during furlough, I’m rather looking forward to plonking myself in front of a computer screen, googling ‘masonic giraffe skateboards in space’ and enjoying the instantaneous, and no doubt hilarious, results. 

Saturday Post -- 29/09/12

Football school coach Luis Savaraín "San" Oniava at work this week. 

Another week of civil action by educational workers (a three-day walkout to show solidarity with the country’s striking miners – how very noble) put paid to much of the schools work this week. Plenty of time freed up, then, to attend to other matters, such as the latest update for FT’s supporters, which I wrote and sent out this week – on which note, if you’d like a copy of the newsletter, or to add your name to the e-mailing list, get in touch.

As missionaries we also took advantage of the quieter working week by meeting together as a team, something which, regrettably, had fallen by the wayside over recent months. Indeed, we had made a commitment in the new year to meet every couple of weeks to pray together, so it really was high time we convened. Over the past few years, as its separate volumes have been published, I’ve been delving into Alastair Campbell’s intriguing diaries of his time working under Tony Blair, and something that frequently comes to the surface is a sense of cabinet ministers – who, through the media lens, appear largely united behind the Prime Minister and his agenda – in practice becoming increasingly lost in the business and bureaucracy of their individual departments and attendant Sir-Humphreys. Funnily enough, our experience here as missionaries is not without parallels (minus the Sir-Humphreys, thanks goodness). Though we are, in theory, united by a sense of purpose which many of our fellow workers at FT lack – particularly our non-Christian colleagues – we are, at the same time, deeply embedded in FT’s four main areas of service. In that respect, one can very quickly lose sight of that united purpose if one is not careful – and it is therefore of vital importance that we meet as regularly as possible to bear one another’s burdens.

So it was great this week to dedicate a morning to just that purpose, giving equal weight in our discussions to our roles in the church. Indeed, speaking of church, Amanda came away from the meeting with a whole new job! KC and she had been discussing the need for greater co-ordination of the youth programme. The church’s youth meetings largely go off without a hitch. However, with all of us on the youth committee deeply committed elsewhere (not unlike the missionary team situation, truth be told) there is a sense in which we fly by the seat of our pants, getting from one Saturday to the next.

For a long time, we’ve sensed a need for enhanced strategic planning, particularly when it comes to special events and fundraisers for the end-of-year camp (run jointly with other youth groups in town). One idea knocked around earlier this year, to give an illustrative example, was to make and sell a meal (a very common way of raising money here) every two to three months, with the proceeds going towards helping the young people, many from poor families, pay for camp. We managed one such fundraiser early this year but quickly lost sight of the long-term goal.

What KC and Amanda will do in the next few months, then, is look at next year’s calendar and plan the group’s activities accordingly, not only around fundraising events, but also special, one-off meetings and trips. The Olympics-themed activity, which came to a close last week, highlighted the boost that an incentive-based scheme can bring to proceedings (the young people were divided into three teams and competed for the gold, silver and bronze ‘medals’ – in reality, three exceedingly good cakes baked by Amanda and co-leader Mariana) and they’ll be looking into taking a similar tack, but over a full year rather than a few weeks.

Returning to the present, we start a new, four-week series with the youth tonight in Daniel, a book whose relevance to youth ministry is, to me, blindingly obvious, as we read of these exiles in a foreign land, the at times suffocating pressures they came under to conform, and, through it all, the awesome robustness of their faith – the three rebels’ cry of defiance in verses 17 and 18 of chapter three a sobering inspiration to all of us who count the cost. The lessons of Daniel have especial relevance in this culture, where, alas, peer and familial pressure to follow the crowd are largely indistinguishable. It will be a particular privilege to introduce this book to the several teenagers in attendance who have never had meaningful Sunday School contact. In any case, I’ll be kicking things off tonight with a focus on chapter one and the episode not otherwise known as Diet-gate.

Here's our house as it stood on Thursday, with work beginning on the,
sadly necessary, surrounding wall. Work on the roof should hopefully
begin soon -- recent blockades have frustrated progress on that front.

Prayer

• For improved time-management and self-discipline from ourselves as missionaries as we seek to meet more regularly to support one another.
• For Amanda and KC, that God would infuse them with a vision for 2013’s youth programme.
• For the young people as they begin to reflect upon the challenges of Daniel tonight. 

Praise

• For our meeting this week as missionaries.
• For the Lord’s faithfulness in protecting the youth group – indeed, our numbers have grown considerably in recent weeks – when we’ve been distracted.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 21/04/2012

Hello again... it's Amanda!!!! Craig has quite the busy weekend in front of him, so I have offered to write the blog this week. This probably means fewer clever references, less humour, and a lot more "..." everywhere. I generally tend to type as I would speak or think... and there are very rarely full stops in my mind... just one long rambling idea, that's connected to another long rambling idea. I actually had a friend once tell me that I had to start using paragraphs in my e-mails because she couldn't follow my train of thought. If there are not a lot of "..." in this post, it means Craig has edited them out.

Moving on to a new paragraph then... I have had lots of comments about our new baby girl Pinky this week. Firstly, I would have chosen to spell it "Pinkie" because I like the "ie" better than the "y", but as Craig and I hadn't discussed this and he went and posted it last week with a "y", there is nothing I can do about it. It is true for my own name as well... if I ever allowed anyone to call me Mandie... I would want it with an "ie", not a "y". But no one is allowed to call me Mandie. Anyways, Pinky has had a rough week... poor girl has been sick. She apparently got bitten by something... possibly a snake or poisonous bug and has been running a fever all week and broke out in a red rash for three days. She's seen the vet three times and has to go back today for a checkup. She is still not eating well... and I am essentially sticking the food in her mouth, though we think she's more active this morning... she still has a fever though. The vet said it's because the venom is still in her system. But on the other hand... the two of us (me and Pinky), walked all the way from the vet's to the bank (7-8 blocks) and she was amazing. I have never had a dog walk next to me, well, ever... keeping up with me, never pulling the lead, perfectly content just to walk with me. She was awesome!!! She loves trips in the car and playing with the other dogs... she's so cute. 

Well, I shall now move on as some people might not think this information is important. I would like all of you to know that we have still managed to keep working effectively in ministry despite the appearance of our new baby girl Pinky... so don't get worried. I do sometimes have to take my work outside and look up frequently wondering, "Has she peed yet?". I know Craig has taught all his English and Religious Studies classes this week... and the classes at the local school have been extended another 20 minutes. Apparently all the classes got let out 45 minutes early this Friday for the funeral of the mother of one of the teachers... all the classes except Craig's, who wouldn't tolerate such laziness. I bet they don't like him too much... hehehe. In the Biblical Application section of the English classes we looked at the Trinity this week... and I learnt a new English work "triune". Okay, I've probably heard it before... but it is definitely not a popular English word. I learnt the Spanish equivalent too... "trino". Probably not going to use that any time soon either... 

Paragraph 4... I know what I did this week a whole lot better though, so let's focus on that, shall we... firstly, the Women's Group met again on Tuesday night and that was really encouraging. We were talking about the goals that the Bible gives to us as Christians... and we were talking about how we are called to not be ashamed of the gospel. One woman, who is a new Christian, talked about how its hard for her to share her new faith with her Catholic family because they harass her constantly and she doesn't have all the answers to give back to them. They were making her feel bad for eating red meat over Easter and she was trying to explain the difference between traditions for tradition's sake and how what God really want for us is to live without sinning, and she used the example of not fighting amongst themselves. The reply she got from her sister was essentially that she has no idea where she gets these ideas from because the Bible clearly says not to eat red meat and doesn't say anything about not fighting with each other! So we as a group had the chance to encourage her in her attempts to witness to her family. We emphasised the importance of reading our Bibles so that we know what it says... and we also emphasised that she's not the only one to have experienced that. We have all let opportunities to share our faith pass us by, or not had an answer to someone's criticism. 

It actually made me think about how much easier to is for me as a "missionary" here... I have this label that I can't get rid of or ignore. I am quite blatantly a Christian, openly stating that my goal here is to share the gospel with whomever I can. But the truth is, when I didn't have this label "missionary" hanging over me, I wasn't nearly so open about my faith. My faith was real and important, but I can't even remember all the times I let opportunities slide by me in the two years I worked at the doctor's office in Scotland... and it had me wondering what I would be like if I went back to that situation now without my missionary label to break the ice for me. Do I really feel more passionate about the gospel now or is it just because it is easier here? I would like to think I have changed... but I want to remember this thought as a challenge to myself when we do go home.

Moving on... I was able to have a really great chat with one of the nurses this week. I learnt a lot more about her and shared my vision for the future ministry here as well. She is not a believer, but she sees the difference in the Foundation as a Christian organisation versus the state run hospitals here and that means a lot to her. Working in Audiology gives me a good metaphor to share with people the importance of the gospel... I sometimes say something along the lines of, "What's the point of giving someone a hearing aid and helping them hear, if we're not then telling them something of value to listen to?" In reality, their hearing aid is not going to much good to them after death. At times, I feel this particular nurse is someone who agrees with you verbally in a conversation without actually stopping and thinking if they really agree with you, however, I was encouraged to have had this conversation.

And on Friday afternoon I made a home visit to a woman whom we've written about before named Mary... she accepted Christ a while ago, but is having a hard time getting to church regularly because her husband is back in town and is concerned she's become a fanatic. I am going to pick her up tomorrow morning with her children as he's just really been denying her money to get to church on a taxi, but please pray that he doesn't put any more barriers in front of her attendance. She wants to go to continue to learn and grow in her faith and is finding life at home right now really stifling. We were going through her answers in the first Emmaus book and while there are some things she accepts so readily on faith, she struggles with the concept of Jesus being the only way to salvation because there are so many other religious faiths out there and how can they all be wrong. We went to John 14:6 and talked about that... and I used the example that if I say and really believe that the yellow flower is red, that doesn't change the fact that the yellow flower is yellow. Please pray for her in her faith right now.

And one more thing... I am starting a morning prayer meeting at the Foundation. I felt that the workers in the Foundation could do a lot more to support the board of directors in a practical way -- and what could be more practical and powerful than prayer. So every morning from 8:15-8:30 we're going to have drop-in prayer meeting. Probably some mornings it'll just be me (I would like to think Craig will come), but I would like to encourage others to understand and tap into the power of prayer. 

So... 

Prayer

• Mary as she works through her faith and as she chooses to be a witness to her husband.
• The new morning prayer meeting at the Foundation.
• Craig as he preaches tomorrow on John 21:1-14.
• Keep praying for our land dealings. This week we are due to both complete the purchase of the plot we agreed to buy last week, and get our refund for the two plots we 'bought' last year. Please pray that everything goes to plan.

Praise

• The chance to speak with América (the nurse) about my faith a bit more this week.
• Pinky's apparent recovery (although, this could still be a prayer item as well).

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 24/12/11

Most Sunday afternoons, we have the pleasure of conversing with our parents via Skype, as we hope to do at some point on Christmas Day. Every now and then, Mum says she’s been speaking to someone who knows us, and they will often ask her “Is it really as easy as they make it look on the blog?” Making it look easy hasn’t exactly been our intention, but to a certain extent, we certainly use the blog as an opportunity to look back on the week past and count our blessings.

However, I am not about to dress up this time of year as “easy”. Christmas is a very different holiday here, in many senses, just one of several big festival dates throughout the year. The biggest frustration, though, is, of course, being so far from family and friends at this most sociable time of the year. And that frustration is exacerbated when those people whom we have travelled so far to try to help seem to go to extraordinary lengths to mess up. Of course, their slip-ups are nothing personal against ourselves, but when set against our distance from home, it rubs salt into the wound somewhat.

A pretty horrendous situation has arisen this week for a parent of a group of children who come to FT’s Community Class ministries and to the church. It would be remiss of me to go into details here, but let’s just say this particular person, through their children and through occasional visits to FT and the church, had plenty of exposure to the truth of the gospel, and the predicament this person now finds him/herself in is a completely avoidable one. And the result is potential disaster, on many levels, for the family.

It makes for a sobering reminder this Christmas of the challenges we are faced with as missionaries. Nevertheless, as I mentioned in the newsletter, when we realise that Christ chose to step into such a messed-up world, it gives us an even greater appreciation of his love for us, and what he gave up that very first Christmas.

We will be celebrating that very sacrifice this afternoon at 4pm, when as a church we will gather for our Christmas Eve celebration. Over the past month, the youth group and the kids’ Christmas holiday club have been working on various songs and dances to present, in between the newly-learnt Christmas carols, readings, and reflections on ‘Immanuel’ by fellow missionary Kenny Holt. There are probably around 100 young people involved in total, which makes for great outreach potential, especially if they are accompanied by their families and friends. This year, we’re laying on extra transport so that more such guests, many of whom live outside of town, may be able to join them and hear the Christmas message. Please pray that many would take advantage of the improved access!

We are both heavily involved in the running of that service and will be on our feet most of the day, so the relaxation of Christmas Day will be particularly welcome. This year’s festivities will be a little smaller than last year’s block party, with just the three missionary families sharing the meal, which will include a monster-turkey which is of such high quality that Amanda had to go all the way to Cochabamba to get it (well, alright, she was there anyway), and is so substantial that it was part of her checked baggage on the way home!

I shan’t witter on, as our readers doubtless have a long list of last-minute touches they need to make to their own meal. Needless to say, have a wonderful, Christ-centred Christmas, and enjoy the time off work – you (probably) earned it!

Prayer

• For that family who are now in dire straits. Pray particularly that as a church we can provide adequate support to them. They are a well-known family and this avoidable predicament is one that many around them run the risk of walking themselves into all the time. Pray that lessons would be learned.
• For today’s outreach event at the church, that those who come would be left in no doubt as to what Christmas is really all about.

Praise

• For a great time yesterday afternoon with our FT colleagues as we celebrated Christmas and reflected on the past year, with the aid of some prime (though tough – my jaws are still aching!) Bolivian steak.
• For the gift of God’s son at Christmas and, in spite of everything, the great pleasure it is to share him with others all year round.

¡Feliz Navidad!

Craig & Amanda