Saturday Post -- 26/03/16

Their first verb. I envy them.

The more I mull it over, the more I warm to Justin Welby's proposal of a fixed date for Easter, not least as the mooted date is in early April, giving us all a little more wiggle room between the two biggest dates on the Christian calendar. It's really snuck up on us this year.

Indeed, even the weather here has strangely resembled March back home, with an unexpected (and unseasonal) sur blowing into town overnight on Thursday. Temperatures have plummeted to a mere 22 celsius. Don't laugh: on a short outing to the plaza yesterday afternoon, there was barely a square-inch of flesh in sight.

Yesterday's day off was a welcome break in a busy week, details of which follow.

Praise

• The English class is progressing well. There is a steady group of around 15 students attending class, and this week was the first in which we were able to have two consecutive lessons (the general strike put paid to that last week; as if Bryan needed any more excuse to despise socialism). For all that the culture here is generally more relaxed, education can be rather po-faced in its delivery, and the students seem to be slowly adjusting to the very relaxed environment I like to foster in the class. Pray for deepening relationships and commitment to the class from the various attendees.
• Speaking of Bryan & Amanda, they finally arrived home on Monday evening. They did very well considering the great disappointment of the general strike on their scheduled departure day, and while it would have been a great burden for them to not see their children as early as they had hoped (something we increasingly appreciate), they certainly didn't show it; we also appreciated the unexpected opportunity to let them see the church in action at the weekend. 
• Give thanks for the discipleship opportunities afforded us. We are currently meeting weekly wth four young people: Amanda with Milly, and Craig with Diego, Daniel and Daniel. All of them are relatively young Christians with leadership responsibilities in the ministries for children and teenagers in the church.
• Give thanks, too, for what appears to be a genuine growth spurt in the church. The last few weeks have seen numbers go up dramatically; we haven't experienced such consistently high attendances on Sunday mornings since arriving here in 2010. That's not only down to the usual increase of children in attendance now that the children's ministry has begun (pretty normal for this time of year), but several adults and couples as well, from a variety of backgrounds. Pray for consolidation and commitment.

Prayer

• Craig is teaching tonight at the youth group; the subject is the Bible as a tool for helping us make correct decisions in life.
• On Monday, we are hoping to submit papers for the adoption proper. The process should last about a month, i.e., we should be done and dusted a couple of weeks after Sam's first birthday.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 28/03/15

There goes another weekend.

I've definitely had worse weeks than the seven days just past. Three points at Anfield on Sunday. Finally conquering the outrageously challenging final level of Super Mario 3D World. And then, in the early hours of Friday morning, a most pleasant surprise: a big, fat, juicy south wind tumbling its way into town.

For the benefit of the relative newcomers, south winds down here are like northerlies in Europe and North America, bringing temperatures down dramatically and generally ruining everyone's day -- except mine! With the vast majority of the year seeing temperatures well over 30 degrees, with a good deal of humidity thrown in, south winds roll in all too infrequently, but are welcomed (in this house at least) with open arms. 

The real surprise was the timing, as the peak sur season is between June and August. Not that we're complaining. With the weather particularly humid at this time of year, the mercury is already beginning to rise again. We shall savour this.

The rest of Trinidad, meanwhile, will have to wrap up well tomorrow, when they will be obliged to stand in line for the local elections, which are taking place across the country, with president Evo Morales' 'MAS' party set to sweep the board once again. Everywhere except here, of course; the Beni region has long been the sole remaining province of Bolivia impervious to Morales' unique charms. Now that we have permanent residency, we would normally be required to vote ourselves, except that no voter registration has taken place this year. So we have been granted a special exemption based on the fact that we were out of the country last year, the last time new voters were registered (to acquire this, we had to submit photocopies of the entry and exit dates on our passports). This is vital as proof of having cast one's ballot is required at a great many everyday junctures here.

Elections here also mean the country is in a state of semi-lockdown, with businesses forbidden to trade, motorists forbidden to, er, motor, and public meetings banned until the polls close at 6pm. That means that we can't have our usual church service tomorrow in the morning; instead, we'll be having our first ever Sunday evening service to mark Palm Sunday. 

Not too much else to report this week, really, so straight on to the prayer points.

Prayer

• The youth group at church are beginning a series in Hebrews 11 tonight, in which they'll be looking closely at the examples of faith cited by Professor Hebrews (as my dear old Cornhill teacher Edward Lobb refers to the New Testament's man of mystery). I will be giving the introductory talk to the whole thing. And, being true to those Cornhill roots, I'll be using it to establish the context of Hebrews 11 in the whole book (because, let's face it, the writer didn't wake up one morning and think to himself, "I'm gonna write the faith chapter to end all faith chapters!") while showing how lack of faith so often takes root when we focus on the things we see. Pray for wisdom for me and understanding for the young people.
• Keep praying for Hernán. He is due to be operated on any day now to receive skin grafts, but surgeons are not yet sure if he is in a fit state to go under the knife.
• Pray for stability in the country in the next couple of days as the polling booths open, and votes are cast and counted.

Praise

• This time last week, we were setting off with the youth group for a day trip to the lake, which, alas, was also affected by the weather, with very heavy rain arriving midway through the morning. Nonetheless, we had an enjoyable time of fellowship together, and the rain dried up later on, allowing everyone a brief swim.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda Cunningham

Saturday Post -- 14/04/12

Say hello to my little friend!

Meet the latest addition to the family. Her name's Pinky and she's...well, we don't really know what she is. She first showed up around our neighbourhood a couple of months ago and a weird pink growth in her eye earned her her monicker. But she's a puppy so, by definition, Amanda took to her.

We came back from Costa Rica to some sad, if not entirely surprising, news: that Gemma, the old rottweiller we'd inherited from Diego & Jo back in December, had passed away. She died at peace and full of years. However, with one less mutt to look after, Amanda was keen to recruit a replacement.

For some time now, we've actually been keen on the idea of a house dog. However, good house dogs here cost a small fortune -- there's no way we could justify shelling out hundreds of dollars on a Yorkie (mmmm, Yorkies!). So, in a rare moment of inspiration, I suggested taking the Pinkster off the street, getting her properly bathed and vaccinated, and giving her a new home. 

Well, one week later, the rest is now history -- just like the mosquito netting on our porch windows, an old ring binder and a sock. Inevitable chewing bad-habits aside, however, she's been largely well-behaved and has carried out her business in appropriate workspaces.

We have a more important development (sorry, Amanda!) to relay to regular readers this week. Two years ago we agreed to buy two plots of land where we intended to build our home. Upon completion of payment, last October, we began what should have been a relatively short process of finalising the paperwork which said it now belongs to us. Alas, due to a smorgasbord of errors on the part of the vendor, combined with a complete unwillingness to do anything about it, we were still waiting, six months on. 

On Monday we decided enough was enough and called the vendor in Santa Cruz to request our money back. Her reaction, alas, was one of relief rather than remorse (most painful of all in this whole process has been the fact that she calls herself a Christian). However, the bottom line is that she was happy to refund us.

We then did what we really should have done a long time ago, and got in touch with our ever-dependable architect, to ask him if he might know of any other land for sale in our part of town. Well, within a day, Edwin turned up, told us to get in the car and follow him. We needn't have driven. The plot was a solid 3-wood from our balcony on a street which, while still largely uninhabited, is fully connected in terms of electricity and water.

So we have made a verbal agreement to buy the plot and the landowner is coming down next week from nearby Santa Ana to process the paperwork with us. And Edwin is going back to the drawing-board to make the requisite tweaks to the plans (for example, our house will have to be rotated 90º due to the street layout, meaning the location of the large porch windows will also have to be adjusted to take advantage of the prevailing north-west wind. You get all that?).

We are, then, grateful that this solution has presented itself so quickly, while trying not to get too excited. We have certainly been burnt in this process by depending on promises which didn't reach their fulfilment. However, we are encouraged that Edwin, who hasn't yet put a foot wrong, can vouch for the landowner. Please keep praying for the housing situation, then, and for the following.

Prayer

• For Craig's schools work. This has been one of those typically Bolivian much-interrupted weeks, with only one of the three classes having a lesson. However, once we get going, we'll be knee-deep in the Gospel of John, so please pray for understanding of the key themes for the students.
• For Amanda and her fellow 'Bible Explorers' (formerly Sunday School) colleagues as they organise a special 'Day of the Child' event at the church this afternoon.

Praise

• For a terrific Easter service at the church last week. The youth group took charge of most of the programme and did a great job. There were a few visitors too, so please pray for the impact of the message on them.
• For a relatively straightforward first week back behind our respective desks.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 07/04/12

Pura vida! So goes the customary greeting/farewell in Costa Rica, where we spent a quite marvellous week or so, living it up on the beach and, of course, attending LAM Canada's 50th anniversary conference.

We had a full two weeks off work and so, with our outward flights not due to depart till the early hours of the Tuesday morning, we opted to take the sleep-depriving overnight bus to Santa Cruz, arriving on the Saturday morning. While there, we touched base with Enoel and Lisa Suárez. Not sure if Enoel's had a mention here before, but he is the key figure in organising the missionary boat river trips in the Beni region, one of which Amanda took part in last June. And Enoel took advantage of our visit to begin the arm-twisting for this year in earnest. Watch this space.

We, on the other hand, took advantage of Santa Cruz, a thoroughly unremarkable city, in our usual manner: making the most of those amenities which Trinidad has none of. We visited one of our favourite restaurants in Bolivia, where 'salad' is not a swearword. We took in a film at the multiplex ('Safe House', Denzel Washington action-thriller-by-numbers, and a grave threat to my ability to hear). And we spent a day hanging out at one of my favourite places in Bolivia, Café 24, just off the main plaza, where we enjoyed high-speed internet, good food and a United victory on the telly, in an establishment with a very European feel to it.

Like Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, we flew through the night to Costa Rica, arriving at 9am in the capital, San José. However, our exhaustion was quickly forgotten as we got to know our chauffeurs, Ken & Sue Vissers, who are currently serving in Honduras but who had a camp ministry in Costa Rica. Think Abernethy Trust in the UK or Pioneer Camp in Canada and you have an idea as to the nature of their ministry. Anyway, the Visserses (?) were keen to touch base there again, so we were whisked in their mini-van to a height of 8,500 feet to La Cumbre (The Summit). In a glorious valley high in the mountains,  we saw what happens when you dream big, pray, and train up local leaders to run with a ministry themselves. It was pretty inspiring. We were also met there by Allan & Rhoda Holt, who lead short-term teams to Latin America and who, like ourselves, had arrived a few days ahead of the conference.

Ken Vissers, back where it all began

A river running through the campsite

Much though we enjoyed the quasi-Scottish hillside setting, there was only one place we wished to visit: a beach, any beach. When you live in a land-locked country for two years, you'll understand why. So we were directed by Ken & Sue to the resort of Manuel Antonio. We travelled there on Wednesday, arriving with in sufficient time ahead of sunset to take advantage of the surf that very day. The town itself was a wee bit on the touristy side for my liking (the sort of place where everyone's initial greeting is in English), but the payoff was vistas like these.

It wasn't all sand, sea and surf. We visited Manuel Antonio
National Park, which housed rare Squirrel Monkeys, such
as this chap.

With all conference participants due on the Friday evening, we boarded the bus to San José that morning and arrived at around 7pm at, in the most literal sense, base camp. Like La Cumbre, our conference centre was a Christian campsite in the hills above San José, and by virtue of not being flat, dusty and hot, made for a perfect getaway from Trinidad. Opportunities to explore the surrounding areas were somewhat limited due to the conference's packed schedule, but we took advantage of what little time was available in the early mornings.

Camp Roblealto, our conference site, situated next to Roblealto children's
home, LAM Canada's first ministry.

So busy was the programme that I would be here till Tuesday were I to write about it in any detail. Suffice it to say that a few key goals were achieved. Firstly, we got to meet our fellow missionaries and establish friendships among them. Most of LAM Canada's missionaries work in Central America and several live not too far from one another. We are, then, relatively isolated, so simply being able to put faces to names was important to us. Secondly, we left the conference with a much greater awareness of what God is doing in Latin America. All participants were given a slot to talk about their ministries, which range from church-planting in a remote mountainous region of Guatemala, to Christian schools in Honduras, to missionary support work. Furthermore, we were given the chance to visit certain key ministries in Costa Rica, including a men's prison ministry (where the raw humanity of the singing sent a chill down our spines) and the Rahab Foundation, where women go to flee the grip of prostitution (for those who have the book, the foundation was mentioned in a testimony in Philip Yancey's 'Prayer').

A conference session. Executive Director Carluci dos Santos is on the right,
 in front of the screen.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, us missionaries left with a greater sense of ownership of LAM Canada's work. This was LAM Canada's first ever such conference in its 51 years of existence. For many of us, the practical reality is that LAM Canada has simply existed as a fund-allocating mechanism for our ministries. Two extremely capable full-time workers based in Ontario keep the administrative side running, but beyond that, their time is limited. Therefore, at one of the last sessions of the conference, we sat down in working groups and set out concrete goals for taking the ministry forward as missionaries in the coming months. And the success of the conference was demonstrated by the fact that everyone was very much in favour of establishing such get-togethers at regular intervals over the coming years.

Having saved a bit of spare change, we splashed out and took the plane back to Trinidad on Thursday evening (though not before the customary visit to another of Santa Cruz's much-vaunted amenities: a supermarket!). So if it's possible to feel tired and refreshed at the same time, that pretty much sums up our current state. We return to the day-to-day grind this week and you'll hear all that's fit to print next week.

A very happy Easter to you all.

Prayer

• For implementation of the shared goals proposed at the conference. We all know how easy it is to let these things slip once we get back into day-to-day life. Pray against that.
• For a smooth re-adjustment back into our ministries this week.

Praise

• For a break which was both relaxing and productive.
• For safe travels to and from Costa Rica.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 17/03/12

Rebecca Chee: teaching some of Trinidad's educational
workers a few lessons

This will be the last post for a while as we have something of a break coming up. On Friday evening, all being well, we will take the overnight bus to Santa Cruz. We’ll be spending a few days there touching base with one or two friends and then, in the early hours of Tuesday morning, we board our flight to Costa Rica, where we are due to attend LAM Canada’s 50^th anniversary conference, which all LAM Canada’s missionaries are expected. We’re excited about what will be our first opportunity to spend time with our fellow workers from the LAM family. The conference takes place from the 31^st till the 4^th, so our early arrival in Costa Rica will allow us to get in a few days of relaxation. I’ll be keeping an eye out for the Andy Roxburgh statue in the main plaza.

We fly back on the 4^th but with two weeks’ leave from ministry, we’ll not be rushing back to Trinidad by any means. Anyway, I will hopefully be able to share plenty of stories and pictures when I next post, probably on Easter weekend. In the meantime, I’ll aim to keep the Facebook page updated.

It’ll be our first time away from Trinidad for nearly six months and we’re really feeling the need of a break. We’re pretty exhausted right now as we prepare for another Saturday afternoon and evening dedicated to church work.

So as we crawl towards the finish line, it’s been terrific to have some energy about the place in the shape of Amanda’s cousin Rebecca, who you’ll remember was due to land in Trinidad last Saturday. Rebecca is expected to report back to her university in early April with 90 hours of educational work under her belt, and she’s so far acquitted herself with aplomb. In the mornings, she’s mostly prepared lessons while accompanying me to my R.E. classes. But the afternoons are where she’s really proving her mettle.

Through one of the FT workers, who teaches afternoon school (schools have two separate sessions here for two different groups of students), we had arranged for Rebecca to teach a 6^th grade class. I accompanied Rebecca on Tuesday, her first day, where, lo and behold, the class teacher, unbeknownst to us, had disappeared to attend a training session. Rebecca was very much in at the end marked ‘deep’. I daren’t even think of how I would cope in such a farcical situation. Alarmed but unfazed, Rebecca simply reached for the chalk and started teaching a maths lesson. Immediately, her positive attitude shone through and the kids, though largely clueless as to what she was teaching them (a reflection on the poor standards of maths teaching here) were very quickly eating out of her hand. With my own classes to teach back at the Foundation, I left Rebecca to it, but she stopped by in the evening to tell us all about her day, which later included taking an impromptu basketball lesson when the P.E. teacher didn’t show up.

She got through the week in much the same vein and today she’ll be taking her educational skills to church, where she’s helping out with a Sunday School class, and leading one of the segments at the youth group tonight (where Amanda is chairing and I’m doing the teaching). Due to our upcoming excursion, we won’t be here to see Rebecca finish her three-week stint, but I have no doubt she’ll do herself proud. We’ve really enjoyed having her around this week in the evenings, Amanda particularly relishing in the chance to catch up on the family gossip. All is well. 

Prayer

•  For safety, rest and encouragement on our upcoming travels.
• For Rebecca’s final two weeks here.

 Praise

• For the positive attitude which Rebecca has demonstrated since arriving.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 30/04/11

After such excitement yesterday, there's an understandable clamour out there for shots of the undisputed wedding of the century. We're only too happy to oblige...

The royal family


That much-anticipated first kiss!


An insider's glimpse of those reception hijinks


The first picture taken on our honeymoon (as we waited for our flight to Italy, though we did end up walking yesterday's parade route -- how prophetic is that!)

Back to the present day and I should start with last weekend's Easter service, for which we had requested much prayer. It all went off without a hitch, the Sunday School and youth group performed their sections with real finesse (not least the choir!) and, most importantly, the church was packed out, with a few new faces in the congregation who, perhaps for the first time, heard the gospel message explained simply and clearly by the church pastor, Elías. Here's a picture of the choir in full-flow, though it's been grabbed from Facebook so, to paraphrase the great Dr. Emmett Brown, please excuse the crudity of this image.



No bank holiday here, so it was back behind our desks on Monday and largely business as usual. I've found myself at times this week having to deal with mounting frustration over the education system here. You'll be aware that I began teaching English to two classes in a local school a couple of months ago. Well, the school has asked me to assess the class on their progress so that we can grade each pupil. And quite right too.

Except that I've been trying for the best part of a month to finally get this initial exam done and dusted. The month of April has not been one to savour in this regard. A couple of weeks ago we referred to the blockades and strikes that had brought everything to a halt, including education. There went two weeks of classes. Then last week I turn up on the Thursday and half of the class are on the football pitch, having opted to make an early exit before the Good Friday holiday. Not an eyelid batted among the staff.

But this week was a corker. Bolivia, for some reason, has a national obsession with what could politely be described in the developed world as Hallmark Holidays. You know, Day of the Nurse, Day of Friendship, Day of the Child...deary-me, there's doubtless a Day of the Day out there somewhere! Here's an illustration: about a month ago, it was Day of the Health Worker. It turned out to be the quietest day at FT in months, because the public all expected we'd all have the day off!

In a way, I can understand it. Folk round here don't have too much to look forward to, so might as well make the most of these little havens of celebration. Yet I hadn't realised till now that the authorities, too, are totally up for these things too.

So, for example, Day of the Child took place a couple of weeks ago when the strikes were taking place. The school had been due to have a celebration for this particular day, which was understandably cancelled. But we can't let an event of such significance pass us by, so the school's event was re-scheduled for Friday past. This meant that I spent our final revision lesson on Thursday trying to keep a track of the swathes of pupils who had just upped and left to practice a dance they were due to perform the next day. Furthermore, this being the May Day weekend, this coming Tuesday will involve a Day of the Worker celebration (though, I have to say, among the teachers, I haven't met too many of them at this particular school), so, despite the head-teacher's assurances, I'm already anticipating the Tuesday class's exam being half-empty.

It's hard to begrudge the locals the opportunity to celebrate. But what really gets me is the blind subservience to these events at the executive level. Nary a week goes by without some such event severely disrupting classroom education. Now don't get me wrong: I'm not saying by any means that the classroom should be the sole base of learning. But in constantly granting such disruptive importance to these events, I believe the school system here is: a) creating yet another generation of Day-slaves; b) deliberately avoiding hard work; and c) denying children a basic education. And when I see some of the work of my 8th-grade class on Tuesdays, I find the last point hard to deny.

Rant over. But I really wanted to get that off my chest and give readers an insight into the struggles that face anyone who aims to do a good job within the educational system here. We'll leave you with our prayer points for the week.

Prayer
• Keep praying for Amanda's visa (we went yesterday afternoon to check on it but Immigration was closed).
• For patience and grace for Craig as he gets to grips with the school system.

Praise
• For a fantastic Easter Sunday service last weekend, particularly for the visitors who came.
• For the chance to watch the Royal Wedding yesterday -- might seem a strange one, but it was really refreshing for us to get an extended glimpse of home (I can say that for both of us as Amanda's a subject too).

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 23/04/11

This is Paul & Helen Burns, with whom we spent some time on Tuesday evening. Paul, from Stockton-on-Tees, has been to Trinidad for two spells over the years as a volunteer and they took advantage of the English school holidays by coming out to visit the work and catch up with old friends. We hadn't met Helen before and we very much enjoyed making her acquaintance.

Trinidad, too, is currently in holiday mode, with everyone enjoying a long Easter weekend. We took advantage of it yesterday for heading out to the lake, the first time we've actually left the Trinidad city limits in a couple of months. Saturdays and Sundays usually entail some kind of church involvement, so we thoroughly enjoyed a day devoid of demands.

But throughout Holy Week we've had plenty of opportunities to reflect on those seismic days. In morning meditations this week we read Luke's account of the Easter story. In the Community classes, we used a Palm Sunday lesson to highlight Jesus' rejection. Last night the church screened 'Jesus' at its monthly Noche del Cine. And, of course, on Sunday morning we're having a special, evangelistically-focused service, to mark the resurrection (the final choir practice is tonight).

For me, however, the highlight of this Easter week has come from a more unlikely source: Trinidad's men's penitentiary. As part of the website development I'm involved in, I've been trying to add to the image portfolio we have available. We didn't really have anything to show for the prison ministry side of FT's work, so I took a trip out there on Tuesday afternoon. In reality, FT's involvement is chiefly supportive. The ministry has been led by a believer called Wilson Soleto for many years, but Sammy, who is my co-worker in the Community classes, accompanies Wilson on Tuesdays and Thursdays to lead the singing.


Wilson (left) and Sammy (centre) at work

To be honest, I'd been planning on turning up, taking a few shots and then heading back to the office. But I was about to see something special. As Wilson did his usual pre-meeting walkabout in the prison, he introduced me to two men who in the past few days had put their trust in the Lord. Shortly afterwards, as the meeting began, another inmate shared that he, too, had in the past few days come to a saving faith. We sang hymns together in the small, but packed, meeting area. Wilson proceeded to teach the men about Palm Sunday, skilfully relating those events in the context of Easter week.

The three of us were about to take our leave of them when we were interrupted by a voice in the opposite corner. Tears streaming down his face, another inmate declared publicly that he wished to put his trust in Jesus. What a humbling experience, and what a wonderful insight into the work that God is doing in this city. And yet, as I looked around at these men, very much at the margins of society (which is some going in a place like Trinidad), I was reminded that, around 2,000 years ago, Jesus made himself lower even than these in order to save us all from sin's chains.

The Lord bless you all this Easter weekend.

Prayer
• For the Easter service tomorrow at the church, that we'd see some new faces and that the gospel would be preached faithfully.
• Continue to pray for Amanda's visa, which we are hoping will be ready soon.

Praise
• For the work at the men's penitentiary.
• For the opportunity to share the Good News with so many this week.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 16/04/11

And a happy Palm Sunday to all our readers. This is a Totaí tree just beside our house. Not quite a palm tree but a decent substitute.

It's not generating anywhere near the international news coverage of last year's proposed fuel hike but the country is very much in the grip of civil unrest once again. Worldwide food prices are rocketing, due in part to the instability in the Middle East and its impact on oil prices. Bolivia has not been immune to this. We've seen our own grocery bills rise considerably over the past few months. Indeed, we reckon we're forking out roughly what we did for our weekly shop back in the UK. But while it means cutting back on other expenses, we at least have the means to cope. For public sector workers who earn around £1.70 per hour, many with several children to attend to, the squeeze is keenly felt.

And it's those workers who have taken to the streets this week in protest over what they consider a derisory wage increase of 10% from the government given the 20% rise in food costs. Their initial demand was 30%, then 20% and it seems they've settled on 15% for now. But after a week in which schools have been closed and the country's main roads have been blocked, the powers that be haven't budged.

So the country has more or less ground to a halt. But we're still standing and the Bible's take on international politics is always a source of reassurance: Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. (Psalm 20:7)

Please keep praying for next weekend's Easter Sunday celebration at the church, to which we're inviting many from our community and family/friends of regular church attenders. I followed somewhat amblingly in my father's footsteps a week ago, leading my first choir practice with the youth group. Amanda certainly spotted a few glaring similarities in our conducting styles. Anyway, most importantly, the young people certainly enjoyed the song (a Spanish version of "Worthy is the Lamb") and we'll continue to iron out the creases later today.

According to our hosts, Blogger, this is our 100th post. I think back ten years ago when I first came to Trinidad. This was back in the days when we were all still working out what to do with this new internet thing -- Napster, for example, was still very much alive and well. I considered it an achievement back then to get a monthly email off to a list of friends and family. So I reckon we've done alright to get at least one post a week done and dusted. Most importantly, it seems lots of people out there are reading and finding out what they can be praying for. And that, as the Hokey-Cokey would tell you, is what it's all about.

Prayer
• For continued preparation for the Easter service.
• For the tense situation in the country.

Praise
• For the Lord's constancy in the midst of uncertain times.
• For the ability to stay so well connected with friends and family in this way -- the internet does have its up-sides.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 09/04/11

Important developments on the visa front this week, though like a big tin of Christmas Celebrations, it’s decidedly mixed. The Galaxy Truffle is that my two-year extension came through, meaning I have permission to stay here till March 2013 and, best of all, I have my passport back in one piece. Meanwhile, Amanda’s news is the Topic lounging desolately at the bottom of the tin around Valentine’s Day. Her visa application was returned to Trinidad due to a perceived inconsistency in her application. Her Bolivian I.D. card states that she’s an administrator, whereas her work letter states that she’s a nurse (in reality, of course, she’s both). So we were initially pretty frustrated, but we are told that we should know within the next couple of weeks whether the re-submitted work letter and judicial statement have done the trick.

But I couldn’t put my feet up quite yet. Upon successfully receiving my new visa, I had 25 days to apply for my new I.D. card, or I would be charged a fine, which would increase on a daily basis. Two of the certificates which were required for this were the same for which we had to provide stacks of paperwork from all sorts of different people and organisations in our visa application. Happily, the chap who produced these for us told me the information he had on file would suffice, and so I was able to submit my I.D. card application at the expense of just a couple of work mornings (a new personal best there). However, I’ve been advised to wait 3-4 months for the plastic itself! Of course, a decade ago, it was produced there and then for you with the help of some cardboard, a passport photo and a laminator. Only in Bolivia could the so-called digital age complicate things even further.

The English classes have brought further encouragement this week, with around half-a-dozen new students turning up for the second modules, which began this week. And crucially, in contrast to last year, we haven’t lost many students. Last week we had been a little concerned that those who didn’t pass the exam would call it a day, but the majority of those have returned and are keen to keep going.

Another key ministry for us as a couple is the young people’s group in the church on Saturday evenings. And this weekend we start a short series focusing on Easter. Last year, if we’re honest, Easter was a little underwhelming. It was simply another regular Sunday service, and it seems it has been this way for several years now. The church are keen to change this and use the Easter service as an evangelistic event. And to encourage families and friends to come along, the young people will be preparing a couple of items. One is a drama set to music told from the perspective of one of the soldiers guarding the tomb. The other is a simple choral performance of the contemporary favourite ‘Worthy is the Lamb’ (Thank you for the Cross) in Spanish. Now the locals here love their music but, truth be told, they’re not too gifted vocally. So I’ve manfully volunteered to take charge of the operation, though we’ll keep ourselves limited to the melody. It’s a great song, however, and I pray that the youth would feel blessed by the opportunity to perform it.

More importantly, we pray that the significance of Easter would become clear to them. And, to that end, we’re focusing on three important aspects of Easter over the next three Saturdays. I’m kicking things off by looking at Jesus’ trial and its importance, e.g., the difference for our lives between Jesus being innocent and guilty. Please pray especially for these next three Saturdays. Rare is the Saturday evening that a new face wanders in (this being Bolivia, usually halfway through the evening!) and we know there are several in the group who have not yet accepted Christ as their saviour. Furthermore, many of the young people who are Christians would struggle to explain what being a Christian means and why, for example, Christ had to die – for most of them, their experience of the Christian faith is strongly tied to their experience of having grown up in the church. Pray that, by thinking about these things for themselves (something which is not encouraged in the educational system here), these young people would develop a firmer faith foundation.

Prayer
• For the Easter series with the young people.
• For Amanda’s re-submitted visa application.

Praise
• For new faces – and new opportunities – at the English classes.
• For the granting of Craig’s two-year extension.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 10/04/10

This week we returned to work after a relaxing Easter weekend. On Saturday morning we went out to the river with Maicol, KC, Chicho and Rachel (accompanied by Chicho and Rachel’s dogs). It had been a scorching weekend -– I’d been reduced to a perspiring wreck at frontón on Good Friday -– so to be immersed in the chocolate-brown river waters rendered us as happy as hippos.

On Sunday morning, KC, Amanda and I made an effort to get up extra early for the sunrise (see picture) and spend some time contemplating Easter morning with the aid of English songs and Bible readings. Such a feat on a Sunday morning demanded our very greatest energies, but we were duly rewarded with a great time together and pancakes for breakfast. Later on we enjoyed a great Easter morning service service with our friends at ‘El Jireh’.

Of course, we didn’t exactly have anywhere to go on Sunday due to the local elections and, five days on, with the pro-government states going with the government and the pro-autonomy states going against the government, the only thing that is clear is that Bolivia is as divided as ever! Adding to the chaos, the candidate for Bolivia’s socialist government here in the Beni region (the reigning ‘Miss Bolivia’ –- yes, you read that correctly), who came in second on Sunday to the ‘Primero el Beni’ candidate, claims to have cast-iron proof of electoral fraud and is demanding a re-count. However, her efforts have hit a not insignificant hurdle: re-counts are banned in Bolivia, a law put in place by…yep, Bolivia’s socialist government!

Note to fellow Brits: relish the next four weeks. We genuinely don't know how blessed we are.

Back behind our desks on Monday, I continued with my class preparation while Amanda, among other things, received training in the new operating theatres, where surgical work will hopefully commence in a couple of weeks’ time. I’ve asked for a shot at the defibrillators but have thus far been rebuffed in my efforts.

There’s been a significant development on the housing front over the last week. Diego and Jo’s house (next door to Kenny and Claudia’s, where we are living just now) is a two-storey with ample space, so much so that they have been planning for some time on constructing a new side entrance and turning the upstairs area into a separate apartment, with kitchen, bathroom and three other rooms to be used as the tenant deems necessary. We have been offered first refusal on the apartment and have opted to take them up on their kind offer, probably moving in by May.

We’re really thankful for this opportunity which has opened up for us. We share Kenny and Claudia’s home with Maicol and KC currently but our main living space is, essentially, our upstairs en-suite bedroom. Our long-term goal is, of course, to build our own house here. Moving into a larger, rented living space allows us to continue working towards that goal, in terms of both saving towards building materials and accumulating the items that make a house a home -- with only two plug sockets in our bedroom, fridge/freezer storage was always going to be a challenge.

That said, we will be sad to leave Kenny and Claudia’s as we have really enjoyed getting to know our work colleagues Maicol and KC better and we had been very much looking forward to sharing a house with our old friends Kenny and Claudia, when they return from Scotland in June. However, maintaining friendships shouldn’t be too much of a challenge when we essentially share the same back garden –- and what's more, I’ve barely made a dent on Kenny’s outstanding book collection!

Prayer
• Continued patience in language learning -- this has been one of those weeks!
• Amanda’s mum is travelling to Uruguay on Monday for a two-week missions trip with a team from Toronto. Please pray for safety and a blessed visit.

Praise
• A refreshing Easter weekend break.
• The opportunity to move into a larger living space, where we can have a little more independence.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 03/04/10

Good evening from Bolivia and a happy Easter to you all. We’re excited to be marking our first Holy Week here and really seeing God’s hand in many aspects, particularly in the church and the Fundación’s morning meditations.

As mentioned last week, I touched on the subject of Holy Week in my sermon last Sunday. OK, ‘touched on’ doesn’t quite do it justice as the whole thing took over an hour. The desperate looks on the faces of the congregation were perhaps an indicator of their thirst for more of the gospel. Or their desperation for the bathroom. In any case, it was an important step to take on the language barrier and, well, not lose! I managed to get my points across clearly enough and I know now for next time that my sermons need not be quite as long. Which, considering how much busier life is going to get in the coming months, is only a good thing.

Excitingly, though – and with no pre-conceived notion on my part – the theme of my sermon seemed to have fit in with a lot that is going on here. Every morning at the Fundación, we have a short meditational time, focusing on a portion of Scripture. Attendance is completely voluntary, but usually by the halfway point, all the morning workers have arrived and sat themselves down. Recently we’ve been working through 1 Corinthians, with people taking it in turns to lead the study. Despite no formal programming, we have somehow managed to end up on 1 Corinthians 15 this week of all weeks, which you may already have realised is Paul’s great explanation of the evidence for, and the importance of, the Resurrection – if anything, the Bible’s ‘last word’ on the subject. The study has provoked fantastic discussions among the workers and, in all honesty, it has been a struggle not to encroach on ‘work time’ given the quality of questions being put forward.

Additionally, our current house-mate, KC, has been leading discipleship groups with the girls who attend her basketball training sessions and, apparently, my sermon answered a lot of burning questions which they had had over the last few weeks.

It’s fair to say, this has been an encouraging week for the church. And nowhere was this encouragement felt more than on Thursday night at the prayer meeting/Bible study. Our church here is like so many around the world in that the prayer meeting, unfortunately, has not been a priority of the members. Over the past couple of months we have been here, an attendance of 10 people would be a genuine cause for celebration – this in a church where you struggle to find a seat on a Sunday morning. Well, on Thursday, Diego began a study in the book of Genesis and no fewer than 25 people attended, the vast majority of them teenagers. The study was stimulating and, again, the questions being put forward for discussion were meaty! We are so thankful for this development and hope you’ll pray that God continues to work in this ministry.

On Sunday morning, unhindered by the elections, we will join with the rest of the worldwide church and mark Easter Sunday. Voting is compulsory here – in itself, that’s nothing overly unusual. But so keen are the government to ensure that nobody slips through the net that all modes of motorised transportation are banned for the entire 24 hours! So we are not anticipating huge numbers, but in our own small way we will mark that triumphant Easter morning, which ensured that one day, there will be a gathering like no other in Heaven – and, mercifully, no elections are planned for that day!

Prayer
• For a continued desire among the church members to meet together for prayer/Bible study.
• For the message of Easter to ring loud and clear amidst the electoral chaos.

Praise
• For the huge encouragement of Thursday evening’s meeting.
• For the perfect timing of the Lord in various aspects of the ministry.

Finally, please be sure to check out our quarterly newsletter, which should be in your email inbox -- feel free to share it with anyone who may be interested.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 26/03/10

Anyone who thinks that optimism no longer has a place in our world could do a lot worse than visit Trinidad on March 23rd. For it is on this date that Bolivia ‘celebrates’ the Day of the Sea.

On March 23rd 1879, a small force of Bolivian troops died while defending the port of Calama from Chilean forces. Chile subsequently settled the area and Bolivia lost its coastline. Thus, every year, the people of Bolivia take to the streets to mark this sad anniversary. Yet the overwhelming mood of the day is always one of defiance rather than defeat, with poems being recited and songs being sung of that glorious day when the country will once more have a beach of its own – intriguingly, Bolivia still maintains its own Navy.

Methinks positive thinking is only to be commended in these cynical days, and yet it rather causes that age-old dictum to spring to mind…

Aye, right then!

For all that Bolivia may lack its own coastline however, it has not wanted for water this week in the shape of rain. And with these storms came the year’s first sur (south wind). Coming from the antarctic circle, these cause temperatures to plummet – lows of 10 degrees Celsius have been recorded in recent years! That said, this week’s wasn’t too harsh and its effects had worn off within a day.

Much like snow in the British winter, surs are a great source of amusement, not least for us chocos. Indeed, nothing brings out the big girl in me like a cold front. “Hello, hoodies!” I squealed as I dived to the nether regions of our wardrobe. The downside of this is that, having hibernated all summer long, your ‘big clothes’ aren’t exactly lacking for must and mould, only adding to one’s social awkwardness. This, however, is quickly tempered by a fleeting glance at the multi-layered locals, festooned like Ernest Shackleton himself.

It is not, however, as if we are lacking for ‘rainy day activities’ and one of these is working through the Emmaus Bible Course. The Fundación has recently become an official Emmaus marking/distribution centre in Bolivia, so we have ready access to our examiners. Furthermore, we are working through the Spanish language version, which can only benefit our linguistic fluency.

On which note, as you’ll remember from last week that I’m giving a sermon on Sunday, my first in Spanish. It’s essentially taken double the time to write due to the language factor. In addition I’ll have to deal with added pressure in the shape of our language teacher, Farid, who decided to come along when I told him I was delivering a full sermon in Spanish. I’ll be looking closely at the Easter story, so our prayer is that he’ll leave with a little bit more than an assessment of my past-tense usage.

Prayer
• For Easter week in Trinidad, particularly with the elections looming, that the locals would not be distracted from the core message.
• For Craig as he gives a gospel message on Sunday.

Praise
• For Amanda’s deepening relationships with the nurses.
• For opportunities to share the gospel message, e.g., with Farid.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda