Saturday Post -- 09/07/11

First up, we hope everyone was finally able to get the newsletter this week. Apologies for the repeated attempts and inbox clutter -- hopefully, third time was a charm.

If you've had the chance to look at it yet, you'll have read, and seen, plenty related to Amanda's trip, which she has been hesitant to call 'fun', but it was certainly an eye-opener for her in terms of the potential of medical ministry.

Anyway, by Saturday evening, when she finally arrived, I was probably only in more need of a razor (her first words: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!?!) and, pleasingly, while she found the trip beneficial, she confessed that a week was a bit of a stretch for her too. Perhaps if there's another trip I'll have the chance to tag along and join the ministry team. At least then she can keep me on beard-watch.

There was an extra special reason to look forward to our reunion in the shape of our anniversary on Thursday, which certainly had something of a developing-world-missionary spin to it. We wrapped up English class at 6pm, had a quick change and then drove across town to leave our laundry with a family we support. Off to the restaurant, where we enjoyed a great feed; a quick stop at our favourite ice cream shop (one of the few that use bottled water to make it); and back at the church by 8.30pm to drive home the kids whom we usually transport at the end of the Bible Study. If not quite a relaxing evening, we certainly did our bit for Bolivia's fuel industry.

The first week of the half-year school holidays is now at an end and, with it, the first week of the 5-Day Clubs. This week's club, which is a joint effort between FT and our church, El Jireh, took place at a school up the road from FT headquarters, and well over 100 kids came every day to sing, play games and hear the gospel explained clearly. It was a thrilling week on a couple of levels.


That's me leading the singing with some youth volunteers chipping in with the actions

First of all, the 5-Day Clubs in the past had generally been organised and run by a handful of willing adult missionaries and FT workers. But over the last year, regular visitors to the blog will probably have picked up on the real need for the discipleship in the community, particularly for the younger people. So the decision was taken three months ago to have a weekly training session for a group of 10 teenage believers, in order to leave far more responsibility in their hands, helping us older fuddy-duddies, but more importantly, training them up so that some day they'll be able to take charge of the club and other such ministries. It was terrific to witness at first-hand the growth of these teenagers as the week went on. People in this culture at all levels, sadly, simply flee from responsibility, making for a steep learning curve for the young people. Western expectations such as the importance of punctuality, for example, simply aren't a consideration for Benians. But after a shaky first day, they responded so well and we were greatly encouraged.


The facilities we had access to were packed out every day

And secondly, many of us had the privilege of praying with children as they accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. Right from the get-go, the prevailing mantra within the leadership team was that this week was completely God's work in which we had the privilege of serving, and we were greatly humbled to see him at work in spite of our weaknesses.

The whole thing, largely, went very smoothly, and the coming week offers an opportunity for lessons to be applied as we move on to the village of San Pedro, where the format of the club will remain the same, if not the demographics. A good education is hard enough to come by in cities like Trinidad -- in the country, forget it. So we'll be tweaking the teaching materials to suit. And as for punctuality, well, leaving Trinidad at 7.30am every morning will prove the defining test for any teenager!

Prayer
• For the coming week in San Pedro – particularly that we’d be guarded against complacency.
• For the children who accepted Christ as their saviour this week, particularly that they would be quick to tell others of their decision, that they would receive the support of their families and that we’d be able to maintain a contact with them.

Praise
• For the Lord’s work at this week’s 5-Day Club.
• For rest for Amanda this week following her river adventures.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 18/12/10

Here we are at what I suppose was our staff Christmas party for the year. Last night the workers at FT were invited to the home of María, who is part of the administrative team. It was a fun night and doubled up as the occasion upon which to unleash the Secret Santa presents. Unlike the UK, the Bolivians seem to take the present-buying pretty seriously.

Still hard to believe that Christmas is just around the corner, though I'm sure that would be the case were I back home too. I remain utterly perplexed as to where 2010 has gone. The Lord has been so good to us, though, and we have spent a lot of time these last few days looking back, still wondering how on earth we got here, but excited about what has been done and what is yet to come.

And we're really looking forward to next weekend's celebrations. Christmas Eve is, if anything, the bigger event here -- think Hogmanay, but a little more family-based and you have the right idea. Families get together, share a meal and, at midnight, open their gifts together. So no spoilt brats jumping on their parents' bed at 4am so they can open their entirely expected PS3/Plasma combination round here. Just a pleasant, quiet, family affair. Our neighbours, Miguel-Ángel (the FT dentist), his wife Rut, and their five children, aware that this is our first Christmas away from home, have kindly invited us over to celebrate Christmas Eve with them. They're a great bunch, so generous and humble, and we hope to have a great evening with them.

On Saturday itself, all of the missionary families/couples are getting together at Kenny's home and we've decided to invite Miguel-Ángel's family and also the family of Elias, the church pastor. So Christmas Day may be quiet elsewhere in Trinidad, but not round our way! Turkey will be served but rumours of an additional stuffed pig are afoot (that'll make two of us then!).

This week, however, I received something of an early present myself. As I have mentioned before, FT is an official centre for the Emmaus Bible courses, a low-price distance-learning course, with a heavily evangelistic bent in the initial stages. I'm one of four people here who mark the books when students have completed them, and this involves one-on-one feedback, so as to ensure that the students (who are mostly children) understand what we are saying. And one of our principles is that, with any feedback, we always cite a Bible verse to back up what we have said. Without a doubt, the passage we cite more than any other is Ephesians 2:8-9, which says:

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast.

You can imagine, then, what we're often up against in the typical student's answers. A frequent answer to the question, "How do you know you're going to Heaven?" is "I'm not sure because I'm not always good." This comes as much from Christians as non-Christians. Real confusion on this point here.

Anyway, I was giving feedback to a young boy who had a 99% score but had answered such a question on faith and works incorrectly. Furthermore, he had asked in the 'any further questions' section at the close, why Jesus had to die. The Lord was able to help me explain the hopelessness of our works with regard to salvation and use this to then illustrate why it was that Christ died for us. I explained that the only thing we can do to be saved is to accept the free gift of his salvation. I then felt led to ask the boy if he wished to receive that salvation. He said yes and, for the first time in my life (that I am aware of) I had the honour of leading someone to the Lord. The boy's name is Ymer and he has an older sister who is really involved at church and very mature in her faith, which will be a great help for him, but they both come from a difficult family situation. Please pray!

Our final newsletter for the year has just been sent out -- if you wish a copy, write to us at cramandaham@gmail.com.

We may or may not be back with another post next weekend but, in any case, we wish all of you a very happy, Christ-centred Christmas and a God-honouring New Year. We're so grateful to know that so many take an interest in our work and excited to have made new friends through the blogosphere. May God bless you all this Christmas.

Prayer
• For the church’s events over Christmas, particularly the service on the afternoon on Christmas Eve. It will be held outdoors (can’t imagine that back home!) and lots of children and young people are involved. We rarely, if ever, see the parents of the majority of the younger folk and are expecting many of them to come along, so please pray for the evangelistic aspect of this service.
• For a sense of peace for both of us, far from home as we both are this Christmas.

Praise
• For the chance to share the gospel this week with young Ymer.
• For our ‘Trinidad family’ with whom we will mark Christmas this year –- would be very hard without them.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda