Saturday Post -- 12/08/17

Lunch-avoidance for beginners.

This coming Monday marks four weeks since the Strathaven team set off for home at the end of their stint here. Their legacy continues to be felt, not least in the shape of the expertly-crafted mural and banner that festoon the church walls, though it pains me to say that the last embers of their Obligatory British Chocolate Package ran out during the week.

This also means, though, that we've now had roughly one month, since returning, of living a 'normal' existence here (teams, while always welcome, present their own unique challenges every day, and even the two weeks we had here before their arrival was largely taken up with team preparation or sorting out the house). In other words, it's as good an opportunity as any to reflect, and give an update, on the targets we set ourselves for life and ministry earlier this year. I'm delighted to say that, by and large, we see progress here, and are feeling the benefits immensely.

Working from a place of rest

Following a year of essentially juggling two full-time jobs and parenthood (and paying a heavy price for this!), we knew as we left Bolivia in early January that something had to give. This year, as happened during our 2014 furlough, we sought the Lord's guidance as to which ministries it would be best to leave in the Bolivians' hands. But unlike 2014, this time we made the Bolivians aware of these changes some time before we even arrived back in the country, meaning they were both well prepared and less likely to cajole us to change our minds (which, by and large, in January 2015, we did!). 

For Amanda, this has meant scaling back her HR responsibilities at work a little in order to better attend to the practical needs of her 'boys'. The Lord really provided in this respect, as the administrator who started with FT in December was quite happy to take on much of this work, and has continued to do so with aplomb. For a couple of mornings a week, then, Amanda has not only been able to get through mountains of ironing, but also have uninterrupted time with the Lord in prayer and Bible reading. As an onlooker, I'm encouraged.

One of the tasks I stepped down from myself was youth ministry, which takes place on Saturday evenings. This was certainly a case of mind over matter, as the youth group has grown considerably since we left, and more male leaders would be welcome, making it all the more tempting for me to backtrack and play the knight in shining armour (after all, the Lord's work depends solely on us anyway, right?). But I've kept to the original plan, and this has given me the time and space on Saturday evenings to continue in an online theological training course I began on furlough. I've found this not only to be great nourishment for myself, but also of great benefit, already, in church leadership. All in all: good move.

Putting family first

With a slightly reduced workload, we now have increased flexibility to adapt to situations as they arise. During the week, for example, Amanda might ask me to take Sam out for a couple of hours just to get a break, or I might ask her to give me the chance to go out and get some exercise. We are now much better equipped to help each other in this respect.

However, the three of us do still hang out together (occasionally!) and these times have been all the more special for the lack of exhaustion. Additionally, I have begun leading family devotions every day just before Sam's bedtime, and we're delighted by how much he's already embracing this. For Amanda and I, date nights (or 'mornings', in the case of Mondays), have been re-prioritised, and we feel we are working so much better together during the week as a result, both as parents and as spouses. 

Craig's pastoral work

By and large, I'm enjoying my increased role now in the church leadership. I've set aside one evening a week for visits -- an area that had been neglected for many years -- and I've had some great conversations, not only with members, but also with parents of some of the children and young people who attend at weekends. Part of my aim is to make them feel comfortable in the church on those rare occasions when they accompany their children -- and, indeed, encourage them to come more.

My Bible teaching workload has increased significantly. I'm preaching at least three times a month, I take turns with another guy to lead the bi-monthly Bible study, and I'm also making the usual contributions to Communion services and prayer meetings. However, this area is a strength, and so I know my energies are not being wasted in any way. 

Staying with preaching, the Langham group are looking forward to the Level 3 workshop at the end of this month, and I'm praying about starting a new group. There is a lot of interest among people from the churches currently involved, including our own. I'll be looking to get a little more guidance on this when the Langham workers arrive here in late August.

Finally, I'm getting back into some one-on-one discipleship and just this week I had a great time with one of our young people in the church, Diego, who supports the children's ministry. I'm hoping to start this soon with a young man who became a Christian just a couple of weeks ago.

Amanda's work

Though she's cut back on her hours a little, with the delegation of her HR duties, Amanda has had a lot more time to sit down with staff and find out how they are getting on; this pastoral side to her work was something she was looking to improve on, so this is a great start for her. She's also enjoyed being back on the board of directors at the Foundation and has driven a couple of key initiatives just in the last month. The prayer room is still a work in progress; please pray! 

Sam's schooling

Sam continues to thrive in his new environment in the mornings. The only issue we're having is that he arrives home so exhausted that lunch -- the main meal of the day here -- is, well, challenging! It's essentially a race to see how much food we can get in him before he raises his white flag with 'BED! NOW!' written on it. His Spanish is really starting to come along now too; he even addressed me with an 'Hola' at the school gates yesterday. 

Prayer

• Pray for the preparations for Langham Level 3, taking place from the 31st of August till the 3rd of September. 
• We're beginning a new series in Galatians this week in the church to mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation (it was Mr. Luther's favourite book). Pray for Craig tomorrow and next Sunday as he preaches, and on Thursday as he takes a session of the Revelation Bible study.

Praise

• Amanda and the youth committee were finally able to meet this week to start planning for this year's camp. 
• Give thanks for the great time of discipleship this week with Diego.
• Give thanks for the many ways we are seeing God bless us in life and ministry when we simply follow his guidance.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday post -- 24/06/17

After a full week back in Trinidad, we’re enjoying being home and having a more settled family life again (how many people have to come all the way to Bolivia to do that?!). The house increasingly resembles our home (i.e., the mess is ours and not someone else’s) and we’ve been able to catch up with a good number of friends and colleagues, with some very initial conversations about ministry thrown in. Furthermore, Craig was able to tie up the paperwork on the car’s registration yesterday, after a week spent mostly driving from one office to the next; we sure haven’t missed Bolivian bureaucracy.

More on the present-day in the prayer points, below. For now, time to pick up where I left off last week, with a little more detail as to our prospects this time around.

Craig: Building a Church

As 2016 drew to a close, we were making our preparations to leave Trinidad and begin our journey back to Scotland for home assignment. Meanwhile, our former pastor, Elías, was preparing to step down from his position, according to a timetable agreed some months earlier. So I have known for some time now that this new term in Bolivia is likely to see my church commitments increase and intensify.

Elías was preaching about twice a month and teaching Bible studies every other Thursday. He was also at the forefront of visitation and represented the church at a local level. My workload in all of these areas was somewhat lighter, and is now likely to pick up considerably. This will be particularly pronounced in the first few months, as the other elder, Miguel Ángel, has asked to step back himself from the pulpit until the end of the year.

Though I will be taking on a lot more of the pastoral load, I will not be assuming the title of ‘pastor’ any time soon. Our vision, as ever, is for the Bolivians to gradually assume the work that the missionaries began – not just ourselves, but those other couples who have gone before us. Having a foreigner take on the role of pastor would surely hinder such progress, especially in a culture which is at times has no qualms about putting its feet up while other people get their hands dirty.

Moreover, our church has always been a very collaborative enterprise, and we have been delighted in the past week or so to hear about the great strides that have been made in gospel ministry, driven primarily by the laity. We may come to a point where we wish to appoint a pastor again, but for now (not least in a church with strong Brethren roots), we are happy to see how things progress, and I will be delighted to play my own part in this.

However, along with the additions will have to come subtractions, particularly if we are to live by the principles mentioned here last weekend. I have prayerfully decided to step back from youth ministry for the time being (though I will continue to disciple individuals in the group), and I will be winding down my responsibilities in the music ministry, with the aim of stepping down in January. Against my better instincts, I resurrected the English classes last year as a way of raising funds for Fundación Totaí. Well, by and large, it turned out my instincts were on to something; they, too, will be shelved.

Other jobs will continue for now, including my supporter communications work for FT and overseeing Langham Trinidad, which has also made great strides in my absence – a recurring, and humbling, theme developing there.

Amanda: Becoming more of a people person

As long-time readers will be aware, Amanda’s main role for her first few years here was as an audiologist at FT. She loved the work, but felt the door was closing on it by the time we had our first home assignment in 2014. During that year, God directed her towards the work of human resources in the Foundation, to which she dedicated a great deal of time and energy.

Above all, though, Amanda had planned on using the HR position as a way of getting alongside staff members on a pastoral level, and deepening relationships with them; several of our health staff are not yet believers, and most face challenging circumstances at home. While there were occasional opportunities in this area, Amanda largely found that it was hard to make great headway due to the copious paperwork that her role also entailed; naturally, Sam’s arrival complicated things here too.

Well our last home assignment saw FT’s new Director of Administration, Hernán, take on the HR role as part of his own work, and we prayed that there might be scope upon our return for Amanda to leave that with him permanently with a view to a greater pastoral care focus. Hernán and FT’s board members feel the need for this too, and they have been delighted to let Amanda go ahead with this.

She will essentially be making up her role as she goes along, but her goal is to be a presence in the Foundation as much as possible and to spend meaningful time with staff and patients; a ‘prayer room’ for patients has been a dream of ours for some time, and Amanda will finally be free to get this up and running at the Foundation with those patients who wish to be prayed for.

Like me, Amanda hopes to do some more discipleship work with youngsters in the church, and she will continue to support the work of the youth ministry – though this is, again, an area where she has been able to relinquish the role of leader since we have been away.

Sam: “Ring ring” goes the bell

“Hang about!,” I hear you cry, “I thought you guys had no time these days because of that Energizer Bunny also known as your son.” And in this you would be right: indeed we did not.

However, the decibel levels round here are about to take something of a downturn, as Sam sets off on his latest adventure: Day Care.

If you’ve met Sam, you will know just what a sociable little boy he is, and we’ve long felt his need of companionship, particularly of children his own age. Not least as Mummy & Daddy are running out of ideas fast: there are really only so many times you can play chucking-toys-up-the-stairs-then-back-down-again before even Sam starts looking at his watch.

The day care Sam will be attending feeds into a local school, and takes place on weekday mornings. In other words, by sheer coincidence, Sam will be otherwise occupied at the time of the week when we are generally at our busiest (this also paves the way for the aforementioned Monday morning ‘date nights’).

In all seriousness, while we are a touch nervous about dropping His Lordship back into the Spanish-language deep end, we are delighted to afford him the opportunity to spend more time with other little people, and get to grips with the accompanying social skills. We’re sure he’ll have a great time.

Meanwhile, of course, we hope to see him cement already-existing relationships with our friends and our church community here. Last Sunday morning, in church, he danced incessantly while the band played, and we pray that his joy in the Lord would only grow in the coming years.

Prayer

• For patience, wisdom and self-discipline as we seek to put these plans into action.
• Next weekend sees the wedding of a young woman who has grown up in the church and is well known and loved by many who are associated with this place. Consequently, a veritable horde is making its way here over the coming week, including several ex-missionaries. Pray for safe travels for all.
• Said horde will also include a seven-strong team from Strathaven Evangelical Church (including Craig’s Mum), who are due to arrive here next Saturday morning for two weeks. Pray for preparations for this visit, for the team and for ourselves.

Praise

• For progress this week on little jobs like the car documentation and the house.
• For great encouragement in catching up with old friends and learning of so many positive developments over the last six months, both at institutional and individual levels.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 27/08/16

"YOU'RE FORGETTING ABOUT THE BANK-SLIP!"

It's Saturday morning and Amanda has a flight to catch. In a few hours, she sets off for Cochabamba, where she is due to attend the wedding of a fellow Latin Linker this afternoon. Meanwhile, back home, cue mis-matched clothes, dirty-bottle-backlogs and bathtime shortcuts -- or, as it's otherwise known, 'father-son bonding time'.

Amanda returns tomorrow afternoon. But Sam and I aren't going to get too comfortable. Because before we know it, it will be Friday morning...and Amanda will have a flight to catch! This time, her mother's jetting in for an extended visit, and requires picking-up in Santa Cruz. Meanwhile, back home...oh, you get the drift. Please pray!

Still, at least we're in something of an adversity-overcoming frame of mind these days, not least having finally submitted Sam's Bolivian passport application this week. Here are the highlights, otherwise known as How Bolivian Officialdom Works.

A week past on Monday, we processed Sam's Bolivian I.D. card, a pre-requisite for a passport application here and so, thus armed, we swung by the immigration office. We did this, not to submit the application there and then, but to be given what I've come to call our Scavenger Hunt List. In the west these days, you tend to go online, print the forms, fill them in, send them in with a photo and your bank details, and a few weeks down the line a passport is delivered to your door. 

Not so here. Not for passports, not for I.D. card applications, and definitely not for visa applications (Amanda and I spent around 43% of our first three years here in the immigration office). Here you are given a slip of paper with several items you'd better present before you even think about getting a passport. Sunshine. As well as photocopies of various documents of our own as parents, they included:

• A bank slip, proving that you have deposited the money into the required account. This was introduced some years ago here, as a way of clamping down on government workers requesting, say, 'something for the wife's Christmas' in order to hasten applications.
• An original birth certificate, which you don't get back. Here, photocopied birth certificates are about as useful as a freezer in the North Pole. On the flipside, they will print a new 'original' for you there and then, for the required fee.
• Most curiously, a 'permission to travel' document (isn't that what a passport is?). Now that we live with a Bolivian, we've discovered that it's necessary to submit a separate document for the trip in question. Which, of course, is somewhat perplexing for us, as the only reason we needed the document was to get the passport, not to travel any time soon.

The problem is that there is always at least one document that, itself, generates its own Scavenger Hunt List. This time, that proved to be the permission to travel document. In the past, we had actually filled in a couple of domestic permission to travel documents in order that Sam could travel within Bolivia (a requirement here for travelling with children: they are valid for 30 days). Assuming that this was what they required -- as we could not currently leave the country without a passport -- we swung by the bus station (they are available there and at the airport) and picked one up. No, silly, we were told on our third visit to the immigration office, it's a permission to travel internationally. 

Off we went, then, to that office, and sure enough, another bundle of paperwork was required. It would take a full week for us to assemble this and then get the document.

So, on Monday past, with a spring in our step, off we went to immigration, brandishing said document, slamming it on the guy's desk and singing in unison, 'Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now' to the requisite dance-steps (I may have exaggerated parts of the last sentence). Billy Bureaucrat simply had to admit defeat. He couldn't send us away for the umpteenth time for a document he'd forgotten to mention (that did happen). We had met all the requirements and there was nothing he could do about it but process that application. 

Nothing he could do, that is, until, a couple of minutes into his entering our details into the system...there was a power-cut. "There's been a power-cut," he informed us, barely able to contain a grin (the nefarious so-and-so) and completely powerless, in a quite literal sense, to do much about it. 

As lacking in aesthetic qualities as it was, I can assure you that a pan-pipe-wielding llama chewing coca leaves with an Andean backdrop could not have made for a more Bolivian scene.

Untypically, however, the power surged back into life about fifteen minutes later, and our decision to hang around instead of coming back in the afternoon was vindicated. However, the immigration office in Trinidad is just the start. The application should now be in La Paz, and it won't be another couple of weeks, probably, until we see the passport.

While we wait for that, there's a fair amount of homework for us to do as we try to work out what is required for visas for the UK and Canada (and, further down the line, the USA) for next year. Only one problem with that strategy: my wife never seems to be here.

Prayer

• For no more bumps in the road for Sam's passport application (another quirk of the system here is that, because things get sent to La Paz, if the people there find any seeming inconsistencies, the documents get sent back, and we have to make the changes, re-submit, and wait another two weeks; hoping we can avoid that).
• Every two or three years, we spend a little time with the youth in the church addressing the topic of sex and relationships. Craig is speaking tonight on what the Bible has to say on the subject. Pray for Craig, for the other leaders as they discuss these issues with the young people in small groups afterwards, and for the young people themselves. A huge, highly sensitive topic.
• A new volunteer, Melissa Olmstead, arrives on Monday from Oregon, for an eight-month stint in Trinidad. Pray for her and for Amanda as she supervises her time here.
• For safe travels for Amanda both today and Friday, and an encouraging time in Cochabamba in the next 24 hours.
• For Craig and Sam as they hold the fort back in Trinidad. Pray that this would be a special time for them both.

Praise

• Amanda had an unexpected (and unexpectedly deep) chat with a member of staff at FT yesterday. Give thanks for the opportunity to minister to that staff member.
• For all the frustration, we are making good progress on Sam's documentation. Give thanks for that.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 28/5/16

"Goanae no dae that?"

This is likely to be fairly short, as a busy Saturday awaits, due not so much to ministry as a certain football match. Every year, the guys from church and their families used to get together to watch the Champions League final, always a big deal down here no matter who is playing. And when the final was moved to Saturday evenings in Europe a few years back – mid-afternoon here – that very conveniently paved the way for the Champions League barbecue. 

Today, we resurrect that tradition at Casa Cunningham, not that I personally am too excited about the game. Real Madrid’s Francoist past, imperialist bluster and inability to operate fax machines means I’m dead-set against Los Merengues, but Atlético aren’t exactly easy on the eye. Still, given that I might have to get very used to such football fairly soon, I’ll reluctantly back the bus-parkers, not least as most of the guys in attendance are hardline Blancos, and I'd love them to stick it to Ronaldo after that simply appalling 'It's all about me' moment following his only meaningful contribution in 2014.

This week has been one of those extremely bitty weeks in which two public holidays magically collide (the profusion of such holidays here always reminds me of the debate over giving St Andrews day such status back home, and the agonising over the damage a single day away from the desk could do to the economy). Furthermore, yesterday was Mother’s Day (a very big deal), and, of course, mothers were free to take a half-day off work in order to see their kids perform a ditty or two at school. Something of a write-off, then.

In between all that, we have done what we can. If you get our email updates, you’ll have read/skimmed about Amanda’s appraisal interviews with staff. When she started out in HR here, her goal was to disciple/evangelise to personnel. That has somewhat been marginalised due to the administration, the disciplinary meetings, and, oh yeah, a one-year-old boy to look after. So a formal opportunity to speak one-on-one with staff and talk more about their personal situations has been a blessing.

Sermon-free this week, I’ve largely been taking care of church administrative matters. Not much to report there.

We also bid farewell to the Brass Tacks guys on Tuesday morning following their Herculean efforts here over the past couple of months. More on that, hopefully, in the Fundación Totaí email update, due next month (let me know if you would like to receive a copy of that).

There’s a steak with my name on it, so…

Prayer

• Remember Amanda’s staff interviews. Not all of those we work alongside are Christians (especially in the health work); pray for further opportunities to evangelise and show Jesus’ love.
• Keep praying for the adoption. I referred last week to some major issues at local level; these are holding up progress on this front as well (legally, it should have been completed within 30 days of the termination of parental rights, not that we’re expecting that to be enforced in a city where most motorists have no driver’s licence).

Praise

• Give thanks for the work that is going on in the youth group. As mentioned in our email update, we’re getting a lot more time with the young people in small groups this year, and several have made a confession of faith.
• For increased (and most welcome) time together as a family as a result of the holidays this week.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 15/08/15

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

As iron sharpens iron,

    so one person sharpens another.

Proverbs 27:17

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

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

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

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

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

Quite a catch.

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

Prayer

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

Praise

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

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 09/05/15

A group photo featuring many of last Sunday evening's participants.
That's Diego standing behind me as I do my 'human-tyrannosaurus-rex'
impersonation. Gotta love those wide-angle lenses.

A very busy week here for both of us, but plenty of positives to be mined from it as we look back.

Last Sunday evening saw the church mark its tenth anniversary with a meal and a time of thanksgiving for the Lord’s faithfulness over the last decade. We were somewhat forced into the timing (we don’t usually have services on a Sunday evening) by the by-election that day, having originally planned for a lunch, which is the big meal of the day here. However, with a day-long curfew imposed here for non-ballot-related activities until 6pm, people’s desperation to get out of the house probably helped us in the end, with a good number of church attenders’ relatives coming along too. Free food isn’t too much of a hard-sell either.

This week also saw the beginning of the church’s new programme, words which all too often spell doom for one’s family and social life, except in our case, it meant fewer meetings and activities, with the Tuesday evening meeting dropped, and a single midweek meeting on Thursday; it will alternate between a prayer meeting and a Bible study. We’d also opted to push the start-time back by 30 minutes to give people more time to get themselves ready (with the siesta splitting the work-day, and many schools open only in the afternoons, a lot of people don’t get home till around 7pm).

I’m very cautious of the numbers game in church – the most important things for us, indeed, are invisible – but I don’t think it’s unfair to say that prayer meeting attendance is a telling indicator as to the seriousness with which a church body takes its faith. And so, we were greatly encouraged to see a much higher turnout than usual, as we prayed for each other and for post-earthquake Nepal.

I took on a new discipleship case this week, albeit an old face. Long-time readers may remember Diego who, with his brother Daniel, have been a part of the music ministry here with me since their early-teens. Diego takes his piano-playing seriously, and he was one of the first faces we saw when we returned in January, having moved to Santa Cruz to begin a music degree at university. Sadly, about a month ago, he was forced to return to Trinidad due to some quite stunning ineptitude on the university’s part. 

Bloodied, but unbowed, Diego has enrolled in a similar (if lesser) course here in the last few weeks, while he has been around the church once again with his family. Diego has great potential (he even preached a couple of times last year) and so I thought it would be of help to him to offer discipleship for a couple of hours each week as he seeks the Lord’s will for his life. As with others I’m discipling right now, we’ll be working through Vaughan Roberts’ tremendous ‘God’s Big Picture’.

Such ‘one-on-one’ time is an increasingly prominent part of our work here as we seek to establish a mature church, and it’s played a big part in Amanda’s FT work over the past few weeks as well, as part of her HR director role. Every six months, the staff here are required to complete a fairly thorough appraisal, either of the Foundation itself or of their own work. Amanda has then been tasked with sitting down with each member of staff to talk in more depth about their responses. This time, the focus was the Foundation, and so Amanda’s been able to go back to the other board members with some revealing insights from staff members as to the way things are done. But, in a fair few cases, it has also proven a great opportunity for Amanda to simply get to know the individuals better, and even, in the case of one or two, explain the gospel message in more detail than is usually possible in the morning devotional time.

And keeping the Foundation’s eyes on the eternal picture has increasingly been a concern of the board, with a number of big decisions over the last few weeks reminding Amanda and her colleagues of the need for greater prayerfulness. With that in mind, a ‘Prayer for FT’ evening was scheduled for Friday evening. My own involvement with FT is now limited to communication with supporters, with church work really my main focus since the turn of the year; essentially, I get office-space there, and that’s about it. But I am all too aware of the needs that exist, and so I was thrilled – for Amanda and for FT as a whole – to see so many staff and family members come last night simply to pray. I doubt we were the only ones who left last night consumed by a thought that is often uppermost in my mind whenever I dust off my knees after some quality time before the throne of grace: why don’t we do this more often?

Prayer

• This Thursday sees the first Bible study of the new programme, where we're going to be working through the Spanish translation of 'Dig Deeper', a terrific little book that helps people understand how to read and teach the Bible better. We have asked that anyone in any kind of teaching role in the church be present, and of course it will be open to anyone else who is interested. Please pray that the church would see the importance of taking the time to understand what God has revealed to us.
• One of the big issues the FT board are facing is the resignation of our ENT specialist, who will be leaving at the end of the month. Pray for wisdom as they seek a replacement.
• Please pray also for the planning for the proposed Langham preaching course at the beginning of June. Craig met with the other members of the planning committee this week, having received word of another (much bigger) event that has recently been organised for Trinidad's pastors over the same weekend. We've opted to go ahead with our preparation nonetheless, as the arrangements are already in place, and our numbers will likely pale in comparison with those of the other event anyway; please pray for understanding from others, that we would not be seen to be 'rocking the boat' in any way.

Praise

• For the spirit of prayerfulness that has come about in recently -- and particularly in the last week -- at FT.
• For the Lord's faithfulness to the church over the last ten years.

¡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 -- 28/02/15

Eduardo Rojas, from Langham Bolivia, presenting Langham's hopes for a
course in Trinidad to the locals, last night. See prayer points, below.

My gap year here in Trinidad was instructive on several levels, but especially in getting me thinking about issues of faith, many for the first time. Seeing how things were done in a very different church culture woke me up to the fact that, in practice, there's very often more than one way to skin a cat. Having a ringside seat on the very different way that, say, the offering was given each week in church, or a generally more conservative attitude towards women's roles here, sent me back to the Bible and forced me to think carefully about what God, and not humankind, had to say on these issues.

One early development that year certainly had me sitting up and taking notice. One of the young Bolivian men in the church began going out with one of the long-term volunteers. But things weren't exactly done as they were among, say, my teenage friends in Scotland. And, of course, still a teenager myself -- because you've basically managed to work out everything by that point, right? -- I afforded my contemporaries a ludicrous level of respect in these areas. Even in church circles in Scotland, a camp flirtation would be followed by a largely unsupervised dating period of weeks or months (they wouldn't last longer than that, the significance of which hadn't quite yet dawned on me).

So when Walter and Nikki stood up before the church that October evening and announced that they were beginning a year-long 'courtship' (a word I'd thought had been buried somewhere in Victorian England), that the relationship would be lived out under the watchful glance of trustworthy friends, and that their intention was to marry a year down the line, I couldn't quite believe what I was hearing, and immediately started asking questions of people in the church. Why insist on marriage -- isn't that for 30-year-olds with several promotions behind them? Why no privacy? Why the public service announcement? 

Why, I was the very poster child of naïveté! 

15 years later and, quite frankly, I long ago lost count of the number of young Christians I have known here, many in active ministry, who have not darkened the door of a church for years, having made terrible decisions in the area of sex and relationships. Something I learned early on when we came back here in 2010 (seven years since we'd been here previously) was not to inquire if I noticed a conspicuous absence in the church, because the answer would probably only disappoint me. I know as well as anyone that things are less than puritanical in the developed world, but compared to the hot-blooded natives round these here parts, the UK and Canada at the moment are about as sexually charged as an episode of Antiques Roadshow. The slew of Miss Somewhere-or-other contestants are idolised; soft-pornographic billboards advertising beer and motorcycle parts are ten-a-penny; men have two, sometimes even three, families on the go at once; mobile phones in secondary schools have simply become the go-to place to let your friends see another side of you, in a very real and disturbing sense.

More than anything, though, Trinidad is an especially poor city by Bolivian standards, and poverty has a way of awakening people to sex and sexuality at a far earlier stage in life. It is not unusual for three or four generations to live in the same home, and I would think the average reader hardly requires a detailed explanation to understand that, in such cramped conditions, children cotton on to things quickly.

Walter and Nikki's pursuit of support and accountability, then, strikes me as a shining example of the way things really ought to be done in such choppy waters (they are, by the way, happily married with a daughter in the USA; a great couple!). Sadly, young people here rarely declare their intentions so publicly, and all too often the first we've known of such relationships has been a surprise pregnancy. Career plans are then usually abandoned, guilt takes hold, and the church loses another great asset. Rare and greatly prized are those young people who make it to the other side of 20 unscathed.

I touch on this issue because, in our young church, it has reared its head this week in a big way, in a way that we have, quite frankly, been unprepared for. As I've mentioned before, a group of five young people were invited on to youth leadership about three months ago. It has transpired in the last few weeks that one of these young people is still in a relationship that we had been told was over and done with. We are told that the romantic partner in question is a Christian, and yet the covert nature of the relationship raises serious questions about this young person's integrity. 

The whole situation has caused us, as leaders, to think long and hard as to the church's stance on such issues. A difficulty we face is that, with most of these young people coming from non-Christian homes, they tend to have their parents' full endorsement for any such relationship. We can't claim to uphold Scripture as the word of God whilst questioning parental authority.

Yet at the same time, even if we did have such authority, could we realistically tell them not to engage in any such relationships? We only see these young people for a few hours each week; how on earth could we possibly know how they were behaving day-to-day?

And so, after much thought and prayer, we've decided to meet with these young people before their regular youth meeting tonight, to put the following to them.

Firstly, we can't tell them what to do, but we can certainly recommend how they should live their lives as highly visible Christian leaders. And our strong recommendation is that they do not pursue courtship at this stage of their lives (bear in mind also that these young people are 16- and 17-years-old; hardly ready for commitment even by non-Christian standards).

Secondly, if they choose to pursue such a relationship regardless, they must: a) have full parental permission; b) introduce the person to us as church leaders so we can get to know them, their faith, and their intentions for the relationship; and c) announce the relationship publicly to the church and state marital intentions, seeking the congregation's support and accountability. Failure to comply with any of the three will result in us asking the young person in question to step down from leadership.

I'll be honest: though the rigorous steps we're asking them to take if they wish to pursue a relationship are, in our opinion, correct and God-honouring in a culture fraught with minefields in this area, we'll be much happier as leaders if they serve as a deterrent at this formative stage of their lives.

If all of this strikes you westerners as legalistic, joy-killing and puritanical, bear in mind the heartache we have experienced time and again over the many young lives we've seen ruined by simply following the pattern of this culture. But if you have experience yourself in this area, or anything you'd like to add, I'd be really interested to hear what you have to say. As I said, we are a young church, with young leaders (I'm referring to the eldership here), and the wisdom that only experience can supply is always welcome! Thoughts to cramandaham@gmail.com. 

Prayer

• Please pray for our meeting with the young leaders tonight (Saturday), and for the young people as they think seriously about this issue. Pray that these requirements would be seen by the young people for what they ultimately are: an expression of our deep love and concern for them, and a desire to protect them stumbling. We are going to give them a couple of weeks to decide what steps they are prepared to take. Pray that these steps would only go to strengthen the witness of the youth group here in Trinidad.
• For the new men's ministry, which begins next Friday evening in our home. The idea is to meet once every couple of weeks to study the Bible together. We'll most likely kick things off this week with a meal and a simple discussion as to the great need in the world and in our culture for men of faith and integrity.
• Amanda has had to deal with a few difficult issues in her HR role at Fundación Totaí this week (often involving workers who are Christians, which can take the frustration to a whole new level).  Amanda is a very quick learner, but is keenly aware at the moment of her lack of experience in this area. Pray for encouragement and wisdom.

Praise

• Thank you for your prayers for the Langham Bolivia information meeting. We were really encouraged to see about 30 Bible teachers from all over Trinidad attend the meeting, and the enthusiasm for starting a new course was tangible. The idea is that each year, over three years, there is an annual four-day residential conference, in which the principles of expository teaching are taught; this is led by Langham Bolivia staff themselves. But in the months between conferences, the conference attendees are to meet in small groups at least once a month, to preach to one another on a given topic, and offer constructive feedback. In other words, the course really depends heavily on the commitment of the participants. As Eduardo said last night, the Bolivian church is full of eventistas, i.e., people who get excited for conferences and camps, particularly when there is an authority figure from outside taking the reins, but who struggle to apply this learning to their ministry. So a lot of prayer is still needed here. Eduardo has formed a local organising committee comprising three of last night's attendees (including Craig), with the view to working towards a conference over the weekend of the 6th of June. Please pray, then, for Craig and the other committee members as they plan for this and promote the course between now and June, and for the course to make a lasting impact over the next three years, in order that the word of God would be taught faithfully in Trinidad's churches, and God would be glorified.
• We both had some really meaningful discipleship sessions this week. Amanda met with Yoselín properly for the first time this year. Amanda had been meeting with her once a week for two years before we left. Craig began meeting with Daniel, our new Cuban friend whom you may remember from a post a few weeks ago. Both are enthusiastic to grow in their faith, but lacking in support, so please pray for Yoselín and Daniel.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

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