Holiday snaps

No regular post this weekend, but here are some pictures from our time with Amanda's relatives so far.

Token picture at the lake. Amanda with her aunt
Sally, her mum Selene, and her aunt Cathy.

With the English class.

We celebrated Amanda's 28th birthday on Wednesday at (unofficially)
the world's greatest steak restaurant: Estancia.

Aunt Sally brought whole suitcases of toys with her all the way from
Singapore, via Canada. Here are the kids from the Friday afternoon
Community class with some of them.

Mother and daughter reunited.

Saturday Post -- 04/06/11

Monday sees the anniversary of the Normandy landings, but for myself and a few young guys in the church, who have been busily rehearsing for the past couple of months, D-Day falls tomorrow as we finally debut what, we hope, will be a staple of the church for some years to come: a worship band. No longer will a lone white missionary with a guitar take sole charge of the church music. Don't get me wrong: as any worship leader will tell you, mine is a privileged task. But one day, we're going to have to leave this place, and it's great to be able to lay a foundation for the future of the church here in Trinidad. Please pray for these young men as they take on these responsibilities, and particularly that they will be suitably equipped to lead the church music in my two-month absence later this year.

One of the guitarists in the band is not only a church regular but also part of the administrative personnel at Fundación Totaí. His name is Wilson and he's a Bolivian male, alright. He laughs like a hyena. Friendly insults positively cascade from him. His favourite form of greeting is a well-aimed punch to the arm. As you can imagine, the banter quotient is high and I've certainly found him entertaining to be around at work.

Yesterday was his birthday and the staff were all invited round for an impromptu bash at his home in the early evening. Much to my surprise, before tucking into the food (a typically Bolivian evening spread of empanadas -- fried pastries which contain meat, chicken or cheese -- and coffee), Wilson, in front of his friends and family, asked me if I'd say grace for the food. It was a moment that really gave me pause. Not because it may have drawn attention to any supposed worthiness on my part to fulfil such an act (I have none) but because I realised that, underneath the several layers of blokiness, Wilson clearly saw me as a positive influence in his Christian walk. And yet, how much deeper our relationship could be if I'd taken the time to engage him in the things that matter now and again.

So I'm resolved this morning to make a greater effort with folk like Wilson -- people who come from difficult, secular backgrounds and who therefore need the few Christian influences in their life to be a friend to them and at the same time, keep the friendship 'stayed upon Jehovah'.

The surgical campaign which ended last Tuesday had yielded something of a mini-break in the afternoons, as the Community classes can't take place during surgery due to the effect of the noise levels on the operating theatres immediately below. This week we were back to the full schedule, with still more new faces turning up in the afternoons. In the last couple of weeks, some children have started coming from the men's prison again, the first time we've had kids from there for a good year or so. While we regret that they have to stay there with their families, we rejoice that they're able to get away for a couple of hours in the week to a safe and positive environment.

Finally, they say that sunrise and sunset are 'the golden hours' for photographers. On Tuesday, I woke up to complete darkness at 5am, in order to drive health volunteer and bird enthusiast Sean into the local countryside. I arrived back at work at 8.30am, simultaneously humming "How Great Thou Art" and wondering why on earth I don't put myself through such blissful sleep-denial more often. Selected highlights on the post below.

Prayer
• For the newly-formed worship band, as we humbly lead the church in the music tomorrow.
• For Amanda’s time with the young women on the youth leadership team this afternoon. It’s the first time she’s done something like this with them. She’s hoping simply to encourage them and pray with them, and to maintain this as a regular activity.
• For energy levels, as we keep ourselves busy in various activities at the church and at FT.

Praise
• For the way God is highlighting to us opportunities we never knew existed in our workplace for evangelism and discipleship, such as Wilson this week and the aforementioned Liria.
• For the exciting opportunity to reach more kids from the men’s prison at the Community classes.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Recent Photos

Saturday Post -- 26/06/10

Temperatures in the mid-30s. Heat exhaustion taking its toll. Forest fires as far as the eye can see. How’s that for a winter solstice? Monday was the shortest day of the year, yet climate-wise, it couldn’t have been further from the crisp, dark Decembers we’re used to. Though we’re obviously in a much more tropical climate, such temperatures are uncharacteristic of this time of year. Indeed, we haven’t felt the cool, and the moisture, of a south wind since late May. As a result, we’ve moved from a waterlogged summer into a bone-dry winter. Feast or famine.

I may have used a little dramatic licence with the ‘forest fires’ comment. In actual fact, people have been setting fire to large swathes of forestry surrounding FT and our home, though as they have just purchased the land and wish to build on it, this is only their right. But we’ve been given an intriguing insight into the machinations of the 'property market'. About a month ago, some Trinidad residents began taking over large sections of land owned by the university. And the government, no friend of the universities currently (they’ve had the cheek to stand up to the President, you see), were quite happy to let this take place. Keen not to suffer a similar fate, local landowners dusted down the ‘for sale’ signs and opted to cash their chips rather than lose everything.

Therefore, this once-tranquil spot on the edge of town has seen a deluge of settlers move in and prepare their plots of land for building. It’s like the Old West has come to Trinidad! But sacrificing the peace and quiet is more than worth it now that FT, and the church, are now part of a thriving neighbourhood – a legion of opportunities to share the Buenas Nuevas de Jesucristo now sit on our doorstep!

More selfishly, the fiery conditions have fortuitously combined with Kenny & Claudia’s arrival. In his time back in Scotland, Kenny has developed a keen interest in photography and it’s fair to say that his regular appearances on the balcony to take sunset shots have reignited (‘scuse the pun) my own interest. I was hoping to post some here, but the connection's unbearably slow, even for Bolivia. Will hopefully get them up in a separate post soon.

In the past hours, we’ve just bid a fond farewell to the aforementioned visitors from Scotland (see top photo). They very kindly took Amanda and I out for dinner on Monday evening and we thoroughly enjoyed catching up with them and filling Alastair in on our time to date at FT. As well as their business with Rachel, they were able to play an active role here and there, with Alasdair leading the morning meditations, Alasdair & Stuart attending surgery and Alastair poring over the FT accounts (good times!). In all honesty, a week is far too short a time for anyone to visit, but we feel exceedingly blessed by their time here – the closest thing to family we’ve been able to spend time with since we arrived. You can't have too many Alas(t/d)airs in this life!

Amongst all this excitement, work has plodded along as usual, with my work on the website ticking along nicely and Amanda now up to two surgery sessions per week. The attendance at the English classes has flatlined a little, so we’re opening them up to teenagers, as well as adults. Initially, the age limit had been introduced because the overwhelming interest was from those in their late-teens/early-20s. However, one quickly learns here that verbal agreements don’t tend to amount to very much, so we’re glad to open the door to the teenagers and, in doing so, supplementing their (pretty diabolical) school classes with the English-speaker’s perspective.

We’re hoping to compile the quarterly prayer update next week, so please excuse our blogging absence for a fortnight. If you’re a regular blog reader and you’d like to receive our prayer update by email (or if you're just up for a general chinwag) please be sure to email us at cramandaham@gmail.com.

Prayer
• For Craig, as he preaches this Sunday on 1 John 5:6-12.
• For our language studies.

Praise
• For a really refreshing visit from ‘The Cartsbridge Three’.
• For the arrival of a whole new neighbourhood and the great opportunity this presents for FT and the church.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Snappy families

On Tuesday evening, the Cunningham clan's very own David Bailey, Douglas Colquhoun, took some shots of Craig's family, at Craig's mum's request. Finding a spare half-hour to rendez-vous at Douglas' Hyndland flat required some serious diary acrobatics, but we reckon it was worth the effort. Enjoy the sample pics.