Saturday Post -- 21/02/15

Last January, the Beni region -- which is flat, vast, and susceptible to rain-related hazards at the best of times -- was hit by the worst flooding it had witnessed in 60 years. Dozens lost their lives and around 60,000 families were displaced. The floods had a devastating impact on agriculture too, with 150,000 cattle killed and 43,000 hectares of cultivated land destroyed.

Of course, we were not actually in Trinidad when this happened; indeed, having arrived here in 2010 just after some similarly bad flooding, we seem to have an uncanny knack of avoiding the worst of it. We're probably due one.

It's not likely to happen this rainy season (which tends to run from December to early April), but the last couple of weeks have seen a spate of prolonged and heavy rainstorms. We reckoned we'd got off the hook again this year when we made it to the end of January with nothing worse than a daily half-hour sprinkling. But February -- often the peak month -- has been a different story altogether, with the streets around us often completely submerged in water. No-one is having to leave their home or anything, but when we look around us, we're thankful for that council regulation we followed somewhat begrudgingly a few years back when building the house, that required us to raise the height of our land by a metre or so. Good call. 

Just about the only day we haven't seen such downpours over the last fortnight was Monday, which was a particular bonus given that it was the day of the annual Carnaval youth event. This year, the youth committee invited a guest speaker, a youth leader from a local church, having (probably rightly!) come to the conclusion that the young people are probably bored of hearing from the same people every week. He did a couple of talks -- one in the morning and one in the evening -- on the attributes of God, and did so in a way that the young people could really relate to. As is tradition, the afternoon was spent outdoors playing games mostly involving oversized water balloons. No avoiding a good soaking here even on sunny days.

The Carnaval weekend takes in Tuesday as well; if you're new to the blog, you'll soon find out that bank holidays are a national pastime round these here parts. So it's been a pretty compressed 'working week' (whatever that means in ministry), with the usual mix of HR and one-on-one work for Amanda, and sermon preparation and church leadership meetings for me. Due to the weather and other factors, I wasn't able to touch base with my own discipleship charges. Some Carnaval-like conditions, then, would be most welcome in the coming week.

This is a bit shorter than normal, but I think perfectly fair, given that we've just sent out our latest update. If you'd like a copy sent to your inbox every three months or so, just send us an email at cramandaham@gmail.com.

Prayer

• Tomorrow, Craig will be preaching his first sermon of 2015 -- and his first Spanish sermon in over a year -- as he begins a three-week stint in the pulpit, picking up the 1 Peter baton from Elías. Pray especially for clarity in communication.
• We have had to deal with a very difficult domestic situation this week involving some people we know from the church, and will probably be knee-deep in it for some time to come. This is not the place to go into details, but needless to say, we need love, patience, and a lot of wisdom. Pray for a gracious bestowal of all of these.
• This coming Friday sees the visit from Cochabamba of Eduardo Rojas from Langham Bolivia, who is coming to give information about a proposed Langham Preaching course here in Trinidad. Over the next few days, Craig will be reminding the various Bible teachers he's touched base with over the last few weeks. Please pray for a really good turnout at the meeting.

Praise

• For a great Carnaval event with the young people, and particularly for a conspicuous lack of rain!

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 08/01/11

Last weekend I mentioned that the outdoor Christmas Eve service a couple of weeks back had been something of a test for the fingernails as storm clouds lurked overhead throughout. The worst of it, in fact, had been a mild sprinkling early on, followed by the rainbow, of which I included a photo last week. Indeed Christmas Day was, weather-wise, one of the most pleasant I can remember. The rain never came but the temperatures stayed cool with some pleasant sunshine to boot.

Oh, but doesn't Christmas seem a mere relic of the dim and distant past today! Rainy season well and truly began this week with two major deluges wreaking havoc. We live in one of the higher parts of town, but the FT headquarters got a slight mediaeval spin with their very own moat protecting the portcu--sorry, front door. And as for altitude, we reckoned we'd got it made, living in an upstairs apartment and all. Not so! Yesterday lunchtime we came back from work to discover a giant puddle on the surface of our bedroom floor. Water had managed to come in from the balcony, entering under the patio doors. So we did full justice to the phrase 'working lunch' while making the pleasant discovery that our balcony has a drain, which blockage had caused the water trappage in the first place. Shows what careful homeowners we are. Anyway, that made quite a difference and we were able to deal with the consequences without any major damage.

Of course, our minor annoyance was as nothing compared to what will face many homes around Trinidad, many of which are simply made from sticks and often built on stilts so as to avoid the worst of it. For many, it's a losing battle and FT's healthcare team will deal with a fair few cases who have endured its ill-effects over the coming months.

The other main development this week is that we woke up one day and realised that it was time to start making headway on our next visa application. Regular readers may be forgiven for thinking we only just finished off our last one -- and yes, it feels like that to us as well. But the one-year visa will be up in early March and so we need to start getting together the mountains of documentation required for the new two-year visa application (this is the maximum visa we can obtain at the moment and then in 2013, we can apply for permanent residence), particularly as there is a hefty daily fine for each day we stay in the country sans visa. So this week we made a start on our Interpol administration, just one of several certifications required for the two-year visa but one that will take at least a few weeks to process. When we have that and everything else in place, our passports will then be sent to La Paz to be granted the new visas. Clearly a good drenching of prayer would be welcomed, not only for the process itself but our attitudes throughout. I particularly find my patience draining in these many hours of sitting around in offices, most of the time being told that the last guy sent us to the wrong place. Nevertheless, having started the process last year in early February, we've made something of a head start this time, so that's a little encouragement.

Work has been busy for both of us, Amanda ploughing away at the survey results and audiology; I preparing meditations for next week and my sermon for this Sunday, which will be on 2 Samuel 7 -- those of you who know the passage will realise what a challenge it is to limit oneself to a 40-minute sermon. We're also looking beyond the weekend, however. On Monday Amanda will begin taking a two-week audiology training course at FT and then on Thursday it's off to the airport to, God-willing, collect Amanda's sister, Jessica, who will be flying down from Toronto via Miami on Wednesday/Thursday. The final leg of the trip, as for all international travellers to Trinidad, is from Santa Cruz to Trinidad on a 12-seater plane. She needs to get from one airport to the other within Santa Cruz in order to do this and Spanish is by no means her forté. However, our friend and co-worker Maicol has a brother in Santa Cruz who is going to do us a big favour and transport her between the airports and on to her flight. Prayer, nonetheless, would be much appreciated.

Prayer
• For patience and the Lord’s guidance as we begin the long and winding visa road.
• For Craig as he preaches this Sunday and takes the morning mediations at FT next week.
• For Jessica’s travels to Trinidad and our time with her over the following few weeks.

Praise
• For a full recovery for Craig from a very brief stomach upset on Sunday/Monday.
• For the arrival of a key computer hardware package from Canada this week (it was sent in November so we’d been growing a little concerned).

¡Qué Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 20/2/10

To date, these blogs have tended to focus on day-to-day activities more than our leisure time. We may be boring, but we’re not so boring that we don’t let our hair down come the weekend (alas, a purely figurative statement in my case)!

On Saturdays, Amanda will leave the house with KC around 9 to go and do the grocery shopping for the week (see previous entry). I, meanwhile, join Dr. Santana and about 6 others for a frontón session. Frontón is like squash without the mid-life crisis. You play it on an outdoor court which is about the same height and width of a squash court, but twice as long. You play it in teams of two, one at the front and one at the back, with racquetball equipment. It’s fast, unpredictable and utterly addictive – so much so that we play on Wednesday evenings too.

Our only other ‘engagements’ at the weekend are church-related. I meet the other band members for a practice at 3pm on Saturday and then, at 10.30am on Sundays, we have our main service, which is followed by a communion service and usually finishes around 12.15pm. The church’s music situation is in need of something of an overhaul. We have a small, but eager band of 3 guitarists and a keyboard player. However, the vast majority of music at present comes from a theologically-sound, though somewhat antiquated, hymnbook of about 50 songs. Chicho (Rachel Peebles’ husband) and I are endeavouring to expand the range. This week we photocopied ten new worship songs for use, though hopefully we’ll have use of a projector in the days to come. Add to all this the fact that Bolivian singing voices tend to be about as pure and unblemished as Paul Gascoigne’s criminal record and it is clear that music is an area of crucial importance.

These aside, we tend to spend our weekends in a perpetual state of elegant slumber, reading, snoozing and watching sports. And the Winter Olympics.

As mentioned last week, Carnavál, while providing Bolivia with an unrivalled opportunity to celebrate its culture in all its drunkenness (22 deaths nationwide and counting), gave those of us at FT a much-appreciated two-day holiday on Monday and Tuesday. On Monday, we helped the young people (Jóvenes) of the church out with their programme of outdoor games. Some 50 young people turned out for this event, which included a time of worship and gospel presentation in the morning and evening sessions. Our main involvement, however, was throwing water balloons at unsuspecting teenagers and photographing them in all their mania. A good time had by all.

Tuesday was scheduled to be our ‘day out’ but unfortunately, we were not able to see as much of the surrounding countryside as we would have liked as there had been severe flooding all day Sunday and throughout Tuesday morning. We therefore drove about 10 miles out of town to a fish restaurant near the river and this proved to be a most sobering journey. On either side of the road, all one could see besides acres of water was treetops and rooftops of houses, with only the electricity pylons standing strong above it all. At the immediate roadside were hundreds of makeshift tarpaulin tents – in other words, the temporary homes of those who had to evacuate (no joke: on Monday, for one of the water games, we were generously donated the ‘roof’ of one of the participating girl’s bedrooms – a single tarpaulin sheet).







We arrived at the fish restaurant and you can see from the first picture how precarious the flooding had rendered the entrance. We sat down and enjoyed a fantastic meal together (pictured are Craig, Amanda, Maicol, KC and Chicho). But while we were enjoying ourselves, the third photograph demonstrates the fragility of life for the restaurant’s neighbours.

On Wednesday, we were back at work, enjoying the fact that another weekend was none too far away. Amanda’s Spanish is picking up (she’s now telling the moto drivers what to do – know the feeling, guys!) and on Thursday evening I was able to give a brief, three-point talk in Spanish at the prayer meeting.

Finally, a brief ‘hello’ to a Mr. K. Fisher, none too impressed by the mixing of first- and third-person in previous posts. Trust you’ve enjoyed this post, Kenneth. And get a life.

Praise
• A relaxing, rejuvenating two-day holiday.
• Encouraging signs of progress in language-learning.
• Safety during Carnavál.

Prayer
• Craig is giving a sermon in church next Sunday (28th). Pray for preparation.
• Amanda’s development of relationships with co-workers.
• The people of Trinidad who have had to desert their homes during the flooding, and FT’s ability to deal with the health/community needs arising from this.

Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 13/2/10

Well, our first week here was always going to be a little different and it's fair to say that this week we were brought down to earth with a bump. On our knees. With a wrenching stomach.

Amanda went to her first session at the clinic on Monday afternoon, reporting mild nausea but otherwise looking forward to getting started at last. Within half an hour, she was desperately trying to remember the word for "toilet" and, having managed to locate aforementioned excrementary recepticle in the nick of time, she promptly emptied herself of all but love.

As first impressions go, it takes some beating.

Not content to keep it all to herself, Amanda proceeded to pass said virus on to Craig as he was attempting to nurse her back to health that evening. I'd expected long, agonising nights in a posture of prostration as I set off for the mission field, but this I had not bargained for.

Needless to say, we took Tuesday off, but what we lost in work hours we more than made up for in Doctor Who episodes. By Wednesday morning we were able to nibble again and were back behind our respective 'desks'.

Amanda was attended the clinics this week and paid a visit to the local maternity/paediatric hospital. This was the first week of a new study into hearing deficiencies of children who are in the accident & emergency facility there, as part of the foundation's ongoing ¡Oye, Bolivia! ('Hear, Bolivia!') programme. She's enjoying being back at work and already, despite her lack of Spanish, feels part of the team. The other day she was pointing out to one of the nurses the differences between the English verbs 'to kiss' and 'to kill'. A beneficial distinction, you'll no doubt agree.

I've spent a half-day every day this week working through my online TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course. Though a lot of the reading is fairly theoretical, most of the assignments have a really practical basis. Just like being back in the classroom, then.

And speaking of classrooms, we've commenced our Spanish classes with our teacher, Farid. Amanda attends on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and I on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Farid is a Chelsea fan, so he's not had the best of weeks (he should be used to those) but his footballing knowledge does have its linguistic benefits. When I was trying to remember the meaning of the Spanish work 'puente', he said 'bridge...Wayne Bridge!'. I think it's best we leave it at that...

As you can see from the photograph, Trinidad is once again feeling the negative effects of rainy season. This is a typical scene, particularly in the southern outskirts of the town, which sit nearer the river. It is at times like these, of course, that the Foundation's assistance is most required. And yet, while many thousands struggle to keep their houses in order (in an all too literal sense) the citizens are preoccupied with Carnavál, i.e., the traditional Latin American festivities in the days preceding Lent. Lent, of course, is a season of abstinence, of inward contemplation and renunciation. It thereby follows that Carnavál is the perfect time to get your vices out of your system! You've got to love the logic. If Lent was observed half as enthusiastically as Carnavál, Trinidad would be experiencing true revival!

Needless to say, it's not the best time for Christian missionaries to be in town (chocos are a particular target of youths with super-soakers!). So instead, we're helping the young people of the church out with a programme of activities all day on Monday. And on that same note, we had a meeting with the church elders on Sunday to look into possible roles. Amanda's going to be helping out at the Sunday school and I'm going to be helping the praise band, though I made a head-start on this, guitar in hand, last Sunday. And I'm going to be put on the teaching rota, probably speaking about once a month. I've been asked to share something at the Communion service this Sunday. I think they want to check that I'm not a heretic...

Praise
• For Amanda’s increasing confidence in Spanish (see previous post)
• For a speedy recovery from our bout of sickness.
• For a quick adjustment to our new schedules.

Prayer
• For the people of the town who are worse affected by the floods.
• For Craig as he gives a brief message on Sunday.
• That our relationships with the people of the community would develop.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda