Saturday Post -- 26/08/17

The base of the old tower (left), the old tank itself (right)
and the beginnings of the new tower (centre). Hard hats optional.

A very tangible display of God's goodness to us is slowly but surely taking shape round the back of Fundación Totaí's headquarters. Late last year we were advised that FT's water tower, the delivery system for water to the building, was in bad shape, and dangerously so. The harsh climate here had caused parts of the structure to erode, causing parts of the piping to rust and a potential disaster to ensue, given the decreasing strength of the high tower and its proximity to the building itself. 

But finances were already tight as a drum, rendering any future attempt at a repair a, er, pipe-dream. So, as a Foundation, we took a step of faith and did something we'd never done before: appeal for funding for a repair -- or, if possible, a replacement tank -- from FT's friends and supporters around the world.  

Over the past nine months, that funding has come together, with various churches and individuals from both North America and Europe giving generously -- so much so, indeed, that we have been able to knock down the old tower and start from scratch. The construction team are currently two weeks into an eight-week schedule and things are already coming together nicely. We are encouraged and humbled.

We're also excited about the recent resumption of the men's and women's Bible study groups in the church. That old adage that Christians enjoy judging may be unsubstantiated at best, but the evidence that Bolivian Christians enjoy Judges is all around, with the girls doing a study of Gideon, and the boys a study of the book of Judges as a whole. Us guys had our second study last night and some great, gospel-driven conversations to boot (I was especially challenged by author Tim Keller's point on sin and our excuses for it, when, "I can't" in actual fact usually means, "I won't"). It's particularly thrilling to have one or two young-adult youth group members in attendance at the study, which is being led by our "brother, co-worker and fellow soldier", Carlos. Amanda came back with similarly glowing reports from the women's first meeting last Sunday evening.

I'm thankful for a few weeks out of the preaching game after a busier spell of late, taking charge of four of the past five Sunday sermons. Indeed, this proved to be providential this week under some challenging circumstances, namely some car issues and Sam catching a fever and being off nursery for most of the week. Yet God's hand was so visible even here. A healthy Sam would have gone bananas without some means of transportation to get him out of the house; as it was, he was quite content with cuddles and Dora the Explorer.

Next weekend sees our third annual Langham preaching conference take place, a little later in the year than the first two conferences due to my time out of Trinidad. The group is a little reduced at this point, but the longer wait means that those of us who have stuck with it are particularly excited for this year's edition. This year one of our speakers is Igor Améstegui, who is based here in Bolivia and oversees Langham's preaching programmes throughout all of Latin America. As you can imagine, he is a gifted preacher himself, and we will be having a special service at our church next Sunday evening so that the members of the various churches involved can hear him speak too.

So in the unlikely event of another maratón de Dora next weekend, I'd imagine Amanda will be unable to provide a further update. Furthermore, we are travelling to La Paz the following weekend for a retreat with our Latin Link cohorts. What's the name of that Depeche Mode song again? Oh yeah: enjoy the silence. 

Prayer

• Pray for a stimulating weekend of teaching and equipping next weekend and that, above all, our churches would reap the benefits.
• La Paz is not always the most relaxing of destinations. But we're looking forward to meeting with the Latin Link team again for a weekend of refreshing and encouragement. Pray for safety in our travels there and renewed vigour for the task ahead.

Praise

• Give thanks for the funding for the water tower, and the progress being made on its construction.
• Give thanks for the positive start to the new session of men's and women's Bible studies.
• Give thanks for the Lord's providential ordering of circumstances this week, and his abundant grace to endure. 

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 22/07/17

This time last week...a flat tyre, and an ominous start to the fishing trip (we
didn't cash too many fish either!)

Last weekend, just as they were growing in independence, and through no fault of their own, our workload with the team from Strathaven Evangelical Church grew considerably, due to a combination of a) one of their members falling ill and being admitted to a local private clinic; and b) a hastily-arranged fishing trip last Saturday morning! So, with all respect, a weekend blog entry was some way down our list of priorities.

However, the team excelled in its second week here, as it had in its first, and we bid them farewell on Monday morning, mightily impressed by their all-round attitude and maturity.

We have already waxed lyrical about this in more detail in an email sent out to members and attendees of said church. So with the church's kind permission, I'll reproduce, here, our 'closing thoughts'.

Aidan (16) takes charge of the Bible lesson at the five-day club. If you're
good enough, you're old enough!

We are writing this on Tuesday afternoon here, having bid our farewells to the team on Monday morning, and we know that the Kelly family, Mum and Sarah are only now boarding the final flight from London to Edinburgh. What extraordinary lengths they have gone to in order to come out here and build up the body of Christ!

And that is, indeed, the team’s legacy, one that is of great blessing, but also one which we by no means took for granted. During our seven years in Bolivia, we have hosted a whole range of volunteers – including a few non-Christian medical students who have come to add some overseas polish to their CVs. Yet even among the believing volunteers, there is no guarantee of the motivation or spiritual maturity required to bless others; we have often been taken aback at the amount of hand-holding and prodding required on our part.

Not so with this group. From day one, we were seriously impressed by their willingness to help wherever required, their genuine interest in the vast range of individuals with whom they came into contact, and, particularly, their love of our God and his great gospel which shone through every time they taught a Bible lesson, acted out a sketch – or, indeed, unfurled a banner!

The team's lucky providential mascot.

On both occasions that we sat down with the team earlier this year, we reiterated the ‘expect the unexpected’ mantra of developing world life! Having only arrived back in Bolivia ourselves five weeks ago, we, too, were re-learning this lesson. The team coped admirably with any such ‘setbacks’, demonstrating the required flexibility in the second week when illness sidelined Laurence for a few days.

This required a little more input from ourselves just at the point where the ‘SEC Seven’ were developing a little more independence, but of course, the team was never going to be left completely to its own devices, and we were happy to provide this support wherever possible. This is the first such group we have taken charge of, and we, too, will be looking to learn lessons and apply them accordingly, knowing that there is interest from some other churches for team visits in the future.

For now, though, we thank you, as a church, for taking this bold step of faith, and we give thanks to God for the team’s willingness to come down here and give such a godly example to all with whom they came into contact. Such walking, talking patterns of Christian maturity are sorely lacking in this culture, and besides anything else they accomplished – and did so with aplomb! – their mere presence here has had a tremendous impact for the gospel. At the same time, we dearly hope and pray that the fruits of this venture will be evidenced as much in Strathaven as in South America. What a stimulus to further such work it will be for the people of SEC to have these tangible reminders of the Great Commission in action, worshiping and serving among them! May the God of Peter and John, of Priscilla and Aquila, of Paul and Barnabas, spur you on to ever loftier heights of gospel-proclamation to the lost of this world. 

Last team picture, with apologies to Penny. A sur blew in on Monday
morning, bringing the temperatures down to Strathaven level: just in time!

Incredibly, the team's departure on Monday coincided with Sam's first day at nursery, with Grandma on hand to provide an extra pair of tear-ducts! Sam's class takes place from 8am till noon, but as it happens, new children are encouraged to start at an hour or so per day before gradually increasing till they reach the four-hour standard. So we were able to pick him up on the way to the airport with the rest of the team.

Brownie-points to the Cunningham-Kearons for their all-round stiffness of upper-lip at the school 'dropoff'; Amanda's ice-cold demeanour will surely generate a profit warning from Kleenex. As for the airport...well, we tried.

"I've got this."

But, as we anticipated, Sam has gone from strength to strength since Monday. He was asked to stay for two hours on Tuesday, and put in the same shift for the rest of the week, with seemingly no issues. Each day, one of his two teachers has brought him to us at the school entrance and his face has positively beamed! While he's happy to see us in those moments, he's also clearly thriving on the company (he's also been noticeably less demanding with us, too; seems like going and playing with someone your own age really makes a difference after all).

At the same time, it's afforded Mum and Dad the opportunity to get back to the day-job, with Amanda returning to various administrative duties at the Foundation, while I've been hammering out my first sermon proper (after stepping in for poor Laurence with a microwaved effort on Sunday), teaching the Bible Study on Sunday, and seeing to various other church affairs.

You like that?

Finally, amongst all the hubbub of the team's visit, we had the great privilege of hosting a barbecue to mark our tenth anniversary in the late afternoon of Sunday the 9th; with a mere 60 people in attendance, and the mosquitos kicking in at full force around 6pm, we somehow managed to squeeze them all in to our living room as darkness descended! Note to self: make it a lunch next time!

A few words from Craig pre-dinner.

And speaking of la vida carnívora, some friends of ours are hosting a pig-roast for lunch today (as in, a full pig is currently in the process of getting roasted; Paul McCartney, look away now). Best get moving.

Prayer

• There were a few issues for the team on their return journey, with connections being missed, and bags not turning up, including Craig's Mum's, which seems to be lost for the moment. Prayer appreciated.
• Pray for wisdom for both of us in tackling one or two difficult issues in the church and at FT.
• Pray for Sam this week as he begins the full shift at nursery.

Praise

• Give thanks for the visit of the SEC team, and pray for the lasting impact of their time in Bolivia, both here and back in Scotland.
• We're so thankful for how well Sam's first week at school has gone.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 07/05/16

Not the best of pictures, this, but you may be able to pick out a certain
striker.

No two weeks are the same in this corner of the world, but the past week has more unusual than most.

For a start, the good people of Trinidad are only just getting over a bracing south wind, which arrived in late April (normally the tail-end of the summer here), and whose effects were being felt well into this week; it was only last night that we ditched our rarely-used winter blanket. No complaints from our end, of course; tea is all the more pleasant when not diluted by one's own sweat.

Stranger still was a rare sighting of Amanda on a sports field, nay, a football pitch! Last weekend we had a one-off seven-a-side tournament for the youth group, and my dear wife (under no shortage of coercion, it must be said) made an appearance. Fleeing from the ball like Donald Trump from a Mexican, she made precisely zero touches, yet was to leave the pitch with the glory of a 100% strike:goal ratio, having done her bit for the team in the ensuing penalty shootout (not that it probably matters, but the goalie was a nine-year-old boy).

A little more frustrating was Sam taking a bad turn a few days later, with a high fever properly flooring him for 24 hours. Since then, he's generally been his usual chirpy self, but he can't quite shake it off. We're reliably informed that a seven-to-ten-day recovery is not unusual at his stage; patience is the order of the day. 

Of course, Sam is nothing but a heavy sleeper, so it's been something of an adjustment for us to be up at all hours ensuring he's getting his dosages and enough fluids. And how has His Lordship seen fit to compensate us for our efforts? Oh, only by inflicting us with the same illness! Mercifully, our recovery time has been a lot shorter.

Somehow, amidst all of this, we've managed to put in a fair shift. I've been teaching my English classes, preparing a pretty heavy sermon (see below) and getting ready for next weekend (see below too!), while Amanda has had her usual diet of administrative duties and meetings, including one with the local government yesterday to look into ways that FT and the municipality can better work together.

As for you, dear reader, you can work better together (always liked that phrase) with us by praying. So, without further ado...

Prayer

• The church is in the middle of a mini-series on the 'I am' sayings in John, and tomorrow morning, for the first time, it's Craig's turn. The passage is John 8:31-58 ('Before Abraham was, I am') and it is nothing if not hyper-evangelistic. Please pray for Craig and for those in attendance who are not yet believers.
• Amanda and her fellow directors at FT continue to work under great financial constraints, and require so much wisdom. We ask that you would pray for them.
• Next weekend is Langham Level 2! We've somehow managed to complete a full year of this preaching course here in Trinidad, and, God-willing, we'll be joined by Eduardo & Edwin for four days of intensive training (in other words if there's a blog post next weekend, it'll be Amanda's). Please pray for an encouraging time together.
• Keep praying for Paul and Aaron from Brass Tacks, who are doing an excellent job with the construction work at FT. They're only here for just over two weeks more and are beginning to feel the pressures of time. Prayer appreciated.
• Pray that we might all make a full recovery sooner rather than later!

Praise

• We were greatly encouraged this week by the arrival of several packages from our dear friends at Shettleston New. Give thanks for their safe arrival (no joke!).
• And speaking of safe arrivals, our old friend and house-sitter Rachel Peebles should be flying back to Scotland right about now following her latest visit to Trinidad. Give thanks for the encouragement of our time with her the last couple of weeks.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 27/02/16

You, this time next Saturday. Six whole years, eh?

Our final Sunday morning in Scotland before coming out here way back in 2010 was spent not at our commissioning service (we'd had that the week before at Shettleston) but at the dedication of our friends' baby. There, over a coffee in the service's aftermath, I had a chance conversation with the proud grandpa. He complimented us on our early efforts at communication (we'd begun sending out our email updates as our preparations intensified), while encouraging us to not let that slip once we were out here. In fact, he told me, his own church had recently hosted a missionary couple who, in order to maximise communications and accountability, maintained -- of all things -- a blog. 

The arrival in Bolivia was still a few weeks away as, for some reason (I seem to remember it was family-related), we had decided that Canada in January would be ideal preparation for tropical Bolivia. In between the various appointments with friends and relatives (many of whom simply couldn't bear to see us only once before parting), we had plenty of time to mentally prepare ourselves for what was coming. And I seem to remember it was while sitting bored on the living room couch one morning that the blog conversation came back to me. Rather than waiting till we got to Trinidad, I simply posted away.

Looking back now, there were a whopping twelve posts before we even got here (I must have been really bored), but for what we were to lose in prolificity, we quickly made up in regularity, getting into the rhythm of sharing updates on Saturday mornings -- and that despite an internet connection the likes of which I thought we'd left behind in 1999. And come rain or shine, with the exception of home leave periods and vacations, we've pretty much been at it ever since. Some weekends have been more difficult than others for carving out a couple of hours, but that hasn't stopped us.

Over the last few months, however, a major new component has been incorporated in our lives (I'll give you a clue: it starts with 'S' and rhymes with 'ham'), and free time -- heh! -- is increasingly a thing of the past. Weekends were already fairly busy for us with our church commitments, but things have intensified considerably with the new addition, even causing us to -- the shame! -- overlook the blog completely a few weekends ago. This morning, with the weeks's groceries to be bought, a youth meeting to plan, a baby room to decorate, Amanda facing a veritable avalanche of clothes to be ironed, and, oh yeah, a ten-month-old to keep two pairs of eyes on, my first thought was: "How on earth will we manage to write a blog post today?"

Well, turns out I managed in the end. But, with heavy hearts, we have today decided to approach the blog with a little more flexibility for the foreseeable. We will endeavour to share a full post at weekends where possible. If not, we will, at the very least, share our prayer points for the week gone and the week ahead -- that is, after all, what got us into this game in the first place.

So it's not so much a case of 'goodbye', and not even 'au revoir', but simply 'here's an extra five minutes in your weekend that you hadn't been expecting -- go outside and kick a ball around or something'.

Wouldn't work in Canada in January, mind.

Prayer

• Yesterday, Craig visited the family of the teenager who died recently. Naturally, they are still coming to terms with his suicide, the mother being especially upset. However, unprovoked, they have both expressed a desire to come to church, starting tomorrow (their children already attend the children's and youth ministries). Please pray for healing and for a significant revelation of God in their lives.
• Keep praying for wisdom for Amanda and the other Fundación Totaí board members, who are facing a number of headaches right now.
• Craig is speaking to the youth tonight where the theme is, er, Pepsi, and its 'Live for Today' advertising campaign. You can probably see where he's going with that one.

Praise

• There have been a number of illnesses of late in our community, but the three of us are have been (so far!) relatively unscathed. Give thanks for the strength to be able to pitch in where others cannot, and pray for these cases too.
• Plans are progressing well for the re-launch of the youth group next weekend, with a constructive meeting this past week. 

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 24/08/13

That's more like it!

Another sur (our third in the space of a month) has just blown in and, while the south winds are an immense source ofjoy to us white people (temperatures had been averaging mid-30s over the past few days, for any sake), they can have a somewhat disruptive impact upon the various ministries we’re involved in, not least with young people, with many parents reluctant to let their darlings leave the house and catch a cold (not that the average home here provides much protection from a chill wind).

That’s certainly been the case with my old Emmaus course buddy, Alfredo. During the day, Alfredo works as a cobbler in a market and, depending on the extent to which business is a-booming, he’s usually happy to sit and talk about his current book there and then. However, Alfredo also has a minor disability and can only walk with the aid of crutches. When the south winds career through Trinidad, they provide another unwanted obstacle to getting to work.

So the last few Wednesday mornings (our agreed weekly meeting time) I’d shown up only to find a closed shop (Alfredo doesn’t have a mobile phone to contact me beforehand – very unusual in this town, where text-messaging is the paramount non-oral form of communication). The surge in temperatures over the last ten days, however, meant Alfredo could get to work this past week and we had a productive time of it on Wednesday morning as we discussed his book, which focuses on the doctrine of the Trinity.

The week has provided several such opportunities to dig deep into Scripture and uncover life-changing truths, not least in the classroom. You may remember that last year, having studied John’s gospel with my R.E. classes in the local high school, KC and I spent some time talking to individual students about their responses to some personal questions at the end of their textbook (this, again, is material from the Emmaus course); through this process, many of the young people put their trust in Jesus. This year’s book had a similar set of closing questions, and KC and I are once again sitting down with the students.

This year, we have once again had the privilege of praying with some students who have made a decision of faith – though some of them, it has transpired, had already taken that step themselves earlier in the year. However, there are, of course, a decent chunk of students in the classes who became Christians last time around, and so the last few days have given us an opportunity to assess how they’re progressing in their faith. Many come from homes where their parents are reluctant to let them come out to church (particularly for the Saturday night youth meeting – understandable given our relatively isolated location on the edge of town) and so we’ve been pointing them in the direction of good core Bible books to read, while encouraging those who are able to attend church to make the effort if they wish to grow.

Whereas many of these students had some idea of the gospel message, the majority of people in the English class were confronted with it for the first time this week. This year we are once again using the text ‘What Christians Believe’, a purpose-built guide to the basic tenets, written in a simple, short-sentence style, with English students in mind. This week’s lessons looked at why it was necessary for Jesus to die and what his death means for us. On Tuesday, for example, I put it to the students that we’re all familiar with the idea that we’ll go to heaven if we’re good people. And, of course, they had all heard of this. When I then told them that there was zero biblical basis for this belief, the majority of faces in the room performed contortions that the Cirque du Soleil’s troupe would be proud of.

One student, in fact, came to me at the end of both reading lessons this week to tell me (in as nice a way possible!) that the teaching this week had ‘messed with her head’ but that she’d be really keen to sit down and discuss these things in greater detail. Please pray for this woman, Teresa, whose two children also come to the class – Amanda knows her well as she has some hearing issues, and so she will hopefully have the opportunity to talk with her soon, it being more appropriate for a woman to meet privately with her.

In between all this, I’ve been faced with the daunting task of preparing the teaching this week at church on Philippians 2:1-11; daunting in the sense that, well, the passage itself read 20 times over would make for a far better teaching spot than anything I could say. Nevertheless, I’ve got something vaguely resembling a sermon awaiting my attention on the desktop post-Post. I’ve also been able to make some headway on a sermon on the end of the chapter (on Timothy and Epaphroditus), due in a couple of weeks’ time. By that point, Amanda’s family will be here, hence my desire to get it polished off ASAP.

Amanda has been a little under the weather this week, having been hit by a viral infection over the weekend. Recovering surely but slowly, she returned to work to find that her Audiology partner in crime, Odalys, had travelled to La Paz to address a health concern of her own, and wouldn’t be back till the end of the month. So she’s been (wo)manfully working through the Audiology caseload while doing her best to get back to full health. A tough old week.

And in her position as youth group coordinator, shared with KC, her afternoons have been dominated by preparations for the next couple of weekends, in which we will be touching on what the French surely don’t call les oiseaux et les abeilles. Yes, our focus this time around is on Sex & Relationships, a topic of great importance in any society and particularly in a culture where promiscuity and teenage pregnancies are as much a part of everyday life as the rice consumed with every last meal (even the pasta-based ones). So please pray for wisdom and discernment for all of us as we navigate these choppy waters.

You’ve made it this far? You’re made of stern stuff, my friend. Before signing off on this relative epic, we thought you might be interested to know that Amanda has made a decision as to her own course of studies next year, this being a requirement of LAM Canada for our furlough year. She will be enrolling in a distance-learning ‘Certificate in Christian Studies’ course provided by St John’s College in Nottingham. The course meets several important criteria: 1) it’s cheap; 2) it enables her to study ‘at’ a different institution to my own (something which, weirdly, she says she’d find far too stressful); 3) did I mention it’s cheap?; and 4) she can take the course at her own pace, with no time-limit, meaning she can pick it up again the next time we are on furlough.

We’re glad that we can now both, at long last, start preparing for next year’s studies and what I’m sure will be a great opportunity for growth for each of us. But there’s still some way to go here until we head for home (16 weeks, not that we’re counting) and we’d appreciate your prayers for us to keep focused on the work here in the meantime. As you can see from today’s post, it’s not as if we’re lacking in things to do.

Prayer

• This time next week, Amanda’s mother (Selene) and aunts (Cathy & Sally) will be airborne and headed for Santa Cruz. Pray for their, and our, preparations for what, if I were a boxing promoter, I would simply have to label ‘The Asian Invasion’.
• Pray for all the people with whom we have contact through evangelism (the English/R.E. classes) or discipleship (Alfredo, most of the youth group, the church) activities.
• Pray for sensitivity and clarity tonight as we discuss Sex & Relationships with the young people.

 Praise

• Give thanks for so many opportunities to share our faith with others this week.
• Give thanks for further clarity for next year, and for having the resources to be able to plan ahead with confidence.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post - 20/07/2013

As I (Amanda) write this right now, I have to keep a nervous eye on the laundry room in the backyard, because today for the first time, it seems the puppies are interested in venturing outside their four walls. It's so adorable; they are walking now and playing with each other, but still learning how to do it so they keep falling over. Let's all say, "Awwww!" together! I want to keep them all, but seems less than likely to happen. Actually, even keeping one is not really in the cards. Especially because, just now, as Craig was taking pictures of them, one pooed on his foot. 

Sometimes I do not know where the time goes. Every time I look up from doing something, it seems it is Saturday once again. I cannot believe it is actually July... I want time to slow down so I can breathe a bit more. Or maybe time should speed up so we can go home and see you all again! Either way, that doesn't change the fact that it is Saturday again and another very busy one at that. Craig is preaching tomorrow and the church is starting a new series on Philippians, which means Craig has the problem of having way too much to say. KC has kindly asked that he not go till 1 p.m. because Caleb has started on baby food now and needs to eat on a schedule. I also ask that he not preach till 1 p.m. as I have been on solid food for 27 years and I also need to eat on a schedule. But joking aside, I know I am excited for this series in Philippians because, well, it is just an awesome book. I know Craig has also enjoyed preparing it, because he has been quite sick this week and yet worked from home on his sermon when he took a sick day. I remember waking up from my lunchtime nap one day and he was right back at it, working, when he should have been the one sleeping. 

Yes, poor Craig has been quite sick. I actually thought he was whining a bit and didn't give it much attention until the complaints started varying in severity and description. We have had a couple of very busy and demanding weekends recently, and I just thought he was tired and grumpy, but then a perpetual headache was only getting worse with Paracetamol, his throat started hurting, etc. So, finally he went to the doctor and he had quite an inflamed throat; he was given medicine, antibiotics and sent for some lab analysis. However, to compound the problem, after seeing the doctor his mouth started hurting a lot and I thought he might have a cavity (he says he has never had a cavity in his entire life). So the next day he went to the dentist and, to his great relief, he did not have a cavity (because keeping his record clean was obviously the most important thing). He does however have his wisdom teeth coming in on the left side of his mouth and will need dental surgery to remove them as a dental x-ray showed that they are partly impacted. Rut, the wife of Miguel-Ángel, FT President and a dentist himself, wanted to do it today, and he was fine with that as the sooner they came out they sooner they would stop hurting, but I commented that if he had his wisdom teeth removed on Saturday there is no way he would be able to preach on Sunday. So, the surgery is scheduled for some time this week... we will keep you posted. 

Our house guest for the past month, Joseph Sturman, left this past Wednesday and should be back in England now, settling back into life where I hear the weather is quite nice. Craig and I have both been so blessed to share this past month with Joe. We have been encouraged by his faith and his determination to serve God in as many ways as he can. He is a mature young man who we both enjoyed engaging in conversation on many topics. He was a great example to me especially as he showed an extremely professional work ethic. He would be most welcome here again for two reasons: 1) he baked cookies before he left to say thanks, and 2) he was also very complimentary of my cooking. For all future guests that stay with us... please take notes now. 

I mentioned that these past two weekends have been very busy for us and I know Craig shared the craziness that was two weekends ago, but last weekend was unexpectedly busy. We had the privilege to have two young girls stay with us for two nights as their family were working some issues out. They were wonderful guests, though Yoselin (one of the girls that I meet for discipleship) likes to leave crumbs behind her like a trail every time she eats anything; sometimes I follow her around the house with a broom and sweep up as she walks past. It was an interesting experience for us as we went from a house hold of two to three (with the addition of Joe) and then to five (with Yoselin and Ailin). I enjoyed kind of getting to be like a mother hen for a little while, though you do have to get up really early here to get kids to school on time. It felt even stranger going from five to three to two again once Joe left. Now we're just two people again... and ten dogs (eight puppies). But we pray that Yoselin and Ailin enjoyed their two-night sleepover with us and felt all the love we tried to show them. 

Well, off to do more Saturday stuff, like eat lunch (remember, I'm on a schedule). We will let you know how Craig's dental surgery goes next weekend. 

Prayer

• For Craig's dental surgery, if it happens this week - Miguel-Ángel, President of the Foundation and his wife, will be the ones doing it, so pray for guidance and wisdom for them as well.
• Yoselin and Ailin's family and their personal Christian growth.
• Amanda as she chairs Youth Group tonight - Elizabeth is speaking on the need for daily confession in our prayer lives. 
• Craig speaking on Philippians tomorrow.

Praise

• That Craig's throat and headache feel so much better after seeing the doctor.
• That we had the privilege to have Joe live with us for the month he was visiting the Foundation.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 11/06/11

Yippee -- a symmetrical date!

Will have to be briefer than usual this morning as we have a car mechanic friend coming round shortly to deal with a few issues Pedro has been having recently. However, it's been a good week all round. On Sunday morning the worship band did its first family service at the church. The important thing, as I stressed to the guys over and over again, was gaining the experience. Mistakes would occur; the test was how each musician reacted. And, I have to say, they came through with flying colours. In many ways I was too caught up in the technicalities to gain a balanced perspective on the situation, but many people have commented on the visible lift it was to people to have a group of their own leading them in worship.

Of course, the longer-term issue is our two-month break in August and September, and the work towards that starts this morning, when we'll start practising a batch of relatively simple songs that they can use while we're away.

Hours later, the excitement over the band had died down somewhat, as Amanda picked up a virus and spent Monday in a poor state. However, she was brilliantly attended to by her fellow health workers and by Monday evening the change was visible, such that she felt able to return to work the next day.

Work this week has been dominated by the monthly meetings of the various areas of FT and some important decisions have been made as part of that -- we praise the Lord for his guidance. At Wednesday's Health meeting, it was confirmed that Amanda would be heading off on an Amazon boat trip with three other health workers and a team of Bolivians and Canadians from the 22nd of June till the 2nd of July. More on that next week!

Please accept my apologies once again for a relatively short update, but we hope that, above all, there's enough here to keep you informed in your prayers. For which, many, many thanks.

Prayer
• For the second pre-visit to San Pedro, which takes place this Tuesday, ahead of July’s 5-Day Club there.
• For Amanda as she makes preparations for her impending boat trip.

Praise
• For the Lord’s guidance in our various meetings at work this week.
• For a tremendous first Sunday morning service with the worship group.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 21/08/10

Well, wouldn't you know it? Having spent last week's post waxing lyrical about my recent internet firsts, I find myself writing my first ever blog entry from a sickbed. Last week there was a bit of a virus going round (the standard 24-hour vomiting bug) and tonight I appear to have been smuggled on the last carriage heading south. It only just got to work late this morning but I'm hopeful that, what with the myriad of medical solutions around (including, excitingly, my first-ever injection where the sun don't shine) and a nurse for a wife, I'll be on my feet again soon. But I'm not putting myself under any undue stress -- though the Saturday Post simply cackles in the face of sickness.

Needless to say, I'm not really up to writing much more, but obviously please be praying for that. We had a few car issues that were threatening to derail our week a little, but the Lord was merciful and provided the assistance to help us get through it. And we're both now counting down the days till next weekend, when we'll be enjoying a long weekend of leave. As regular readers will know, Bolivia's not exactly lacking in local/national holidays, but we have 15 days at our disposal which we haven't touched yet, so we reckoned we should start making inroads on that before the year is out -- and boy, is 2010 disappearing!

Prayer
• For a swift recovery and cautious return to action for Craig.
• For next weekend, that we’d make the most of our time off.

Praise
• For being able to address our motoring issues this week.
• For Amanda’s stepping-in at the last minute to take Craig’s class today – what a gal!

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 07/08/10

I write to you on the 6th of August, a date of no great significance to most, but here in Bolivia, it's a different story as the Seis de Agosto, marking Bolivia's liberation from the Spaniards' grip in 1825, is the equivalent of July 4th in the States or July 14th in France. The schools are shut, businesses are closed for the day and a weekend of national festivities is in full swing. I would, of course, love to regale you with anecdotes and photos from this morning's big parade. Except we didn't go. Instead, we did something we've not done for about a month now: a lovely lie-in. And it was worth every minute.

The week was curtailed further for Amanda, who appears to have caught a fever last Sunday and didn't make it back to work until Tuesday afternoon. A retrospective chat with a GP at FT raised the possibility that she'd been hit by Dengue Fever, carried by mosquitoes and potentially lethal. We live on the less Dengue-ridden side of town, but in the cooler climates which we're experiencing just now, mosquitoes tend to go for whatever blood they can get their, er, hands on.

Anyway, needless to say, we're very thankful to have avoided the worst-case scenario there. Elsewhere, the sermon bandwagon continues to clatter along and is currently showing no signs of stopping. No sooner had I dusted off my effort at church last week than I was approached by some members of the Jovenes (youth) group, interested to know if I could address the theme of 'true love' this Saturday evening, a subject which I am frighteningly underqualified to address, even if I've received ample tutelage from one of the best teachers out there: marriage. I will be taking my cue from Ephesians 5, if anyone's interested.

Prayer
• For a restful holiday weekend.
• For Craig as he addresses the Jovenes group.

Praise
• For Amanda’s speedy recovery.
• For a productive week of work as we both had various administrative tasks to address.

¡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