Saturday Post -- 17/03/18

The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.

Well, we made it out of Trinidad. All our paperwork is in order and a visa-stamped passport is in our hands. To be frank, the decision to take a time-out in the early days of January had since been backed up by so many little confirmations in the succeeding months that any other result would have seemed inconceivable.

But, my goodness, we're not half made to sweat these things out!

The UK's consulate in Bogotá (where South American applications are sent) have a three-week target time in which to process all applications. And this target is generally met -- we have enough experience to know! So it was pretty unnerving that on the morning of the 7th, exactly three weeks later, we'd heard barely a word. However, that afternoon, we finally received an email confirming that the application was now in the hands of an entry clearance officer. The following day, we were advised that the decision had been made and that the documents would be back with us in four working days.

And so it was that this past Tuesday -- one day short of four weeks since we'd submitted the papers, and one day before we were due to leave Trinidad for Santa Cruz -- we received word from our friend in La Paz that, yes, the visa had been granted. By this point we had very much 'packed in faith', with half of our luggage already on its way to Santa Cruz with one of the local bus companies (the best way to deliver large items in Bolivia is to use road or air travel operations). So, yes, exhalations all round.

That's better.

And, yes, more to the point, that Canadian passport could not come sooner!

The visa's granting was the final piece in our paperwork jigsaw, with both our national ID cards and driving licences pending the last time we filed. Amanda's were due to expire on Sunday -- a day before we leave the country -- while I spent over a week, er, driving without a valid licence (in fairness, in doing so, I was perfectly in step with the vast majority of Trinidad's motorists; curiously enough, the local fuzz only tend to check for licences when big national and local boozefests -- sorry, holidays -- are approaching).

Anyway, when the woman at the office confessed to us that she was still awaiting the outcome of applications submitted last year, our stress levels again took an upward trajectory. However, in this case, too, we made it by the skin of our teeth; on Monday, two days before we left Trinidad, we were handed our new five-year ID cards and driving licences. In truth, we could probably have just about managed without them before leaving the country; it was our re-entry later this year which would have become much more complicated.

Sam, Amanda and Jessica, who has the good fortune of sharing her name with
the classic Top Gear theme tune.

In hindsight, then, the calming influence in our midst over the past week or so was surely providence writ large. Amanda's old friend Jessica Morris arrived a week past on Thursday and proved an immense help, whether in the tedious practical chores required before such a big departure, or keeping an eye on His Lordship while we dashed from one government office to the next, or in simply helping us stay positive and distracted from these big concerns through stimulating conversation. Amanda had been commenting that, perhaps one reason we have come to this crossroads in our lives and ministry, is that there has always existed a temptation to prove to others -- and, by extension, to ourselves -- that we are 'doing stuff'. Certain platforms, if we're not careful, can encourage this mentality: this very blog, of course, is one; and visits from the outside world are often another. 

With Jessica, mercifully, that was never going to be the case: firstly, because, of course, our tanks were pretty much empty anyway; and secondly, because, like any friend or family member who has taken the effort to come out and visit us, our value to Jessica was in no way based upon what we do.

What's more, Jessica also falls within that very small bracket of friends whom Amanda would describe as, "Those people you can hang out with for the first time in years and just pick up from where you left off." No targets to meet, no big shows to put on, no judgement, no big deal. But yes, lots of exquisite beniano steak and fish to sample with abandon, per our guest's explicit instructions.

*                 *                 *

That, friends, is probably it in terms of our weekly/fortnightly updates for the time being. We are under orders to ensure these coming months will be a time not only of restoration, but of rest, and removing the regular pressure of coming up with something to riff on every weekend is certainly part of that (I know what you're thinking: we make it look so easy, don't we!). 

However, this impending season is likely to be crucial for us in terms of our future direction, and so we're hoping to keep regular readers appraised as to our progress, say, once a month or so. We'll see how that transpires.

We also intend to keep producing our usual quarterly email updates, so if you'd like to receive these regularly, please do send us an email at cramandaham@gmail.com. 

Until next time, then, here are our prayer points:

Prayer

• For our time in the UK, specifically...
• For Craig: That he would learn to rest properly and be enabled to make healthy decisions as to his ministry life.
• For Amanda: That she would be restored to a place where she is better able to serve others while taking better care of herself.
• For Sam: That he would have regular opportunities for play, learning and interaction with his contemporaries.
• For us all: That we would be built up and encouraged by our time with friends and family; that our treatment would enable us to be better equipped to return to Bolivia later this year; and that God would guide us as to the next steps we should be taking in our lives as a family.
• For smooth and safe travels over the coming week. Pray particularly for abundant reserves of patience and endurance, with a toddler in tow, an overnight transatlantic flight, and a seven-hour layover the next day in Frankfurt. A heady brew!
• Pray for the work in Trinidad, both of Fundación Totaí and the church (see our last entry) from which we are recusing ourselves in order to get a proper break, but which, of course, will continue in earnest in our absence. 

Praise

• Perhaps the strongest confirmation of God's will for our return to the UK has been the way he has so emphatically met our needs. We will have a car and we are a pen to about to put pen to paper on a flat for the next few months. Give thanks.
• For the great encouragement and refreshment of Jessica's visit (you can find Jessica's own reflections here). 
• For the various documents coming together in time for us to be able to travel with a great weight off our minds. We got there in the end.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 08/07/17

I have a little time to share a quick update; we are busy, but we know people are always keen to get our news, and that will especially be the case this weekend for those from a certain corner of the west of Scotland.

The team from Strathaven Evangelical Church have been here now for a week, and their contribution has been immensely positive. After the usual long journey here, they arrived last Saturday morning, used the weekend to re-charge the batteries, and from Monday onwards got stuck right in.

(Special mention to team members Sarah and, er, ‘Mum’, who, under no obligation whatsoever, came along with us to a wedding on Saturday evening. It began around 10pm, and we didn’t leave till 1am. Bear in mind that British Summer Time is five hours ahead and you can perhaps grasp the scale of that achievement!)

Sunday was a real bonus, in that our church friends had organised two separate events outside of the regular morning service. Kenny & Claudia Holt (back from the old country for a two-week visit) hosted a barbecue at lunchtime, while another couple put on a baby shower in the afternoon, with the invitations extended to that most un-baby shower of species: men. There were ample opportunities, then, for the team to meet – or, in Mum’s case, catch up with – many of our friends and fellow workers here, and it was obviously a great little introduction to the culture here.

Bunch of drama queens (and kings).

The first couple of weeks of July are the mid-year school holidays here, and the team’s main remit this first week has been to participate in the five-day club, organised annually by FT’s sports area. The five-day club meets in a local school, and is a combination of games, praise times, evangelistic Bible lessons and group work. Every day this week, the team performed a five-minute sketch (mimed, of course!) to illustrate the main point of the day’s lesson. The team have come up with these themselves, and they have been really powerful enactments of the gospel message, yet simple enough for young children to grasp.

As is usually the case at these clubs, the group times have included the completion of a worksheet. But this time, the team members also prepared five craft activities, meaning the children could go home every day with a tangible reminder of the day’s theme.

The headline reads: 'Holidays are more fun with Fundación
Totaí'. The caption reads, 'Guitarist Craig Cunningham
demonstrated why so many have dubbed him this
century's Jimmy Page' (that's a fib).

Their contribution, in short, was immense, and was even recognised in the local press! A father of some children in attendance happened to be a scribbler with the Trinidad daily newspaper, and spent some time talking to some of the Bolivian team members on Thursday. Yesterday, just before we left, he turned up with a copy of yesterday’s edition, with a page dedicated to the five-day club and a particular emphasis on the Scottish angle.

The five-day clubs have taken place in the mornings, and the team have used the rest of the days here to read the Bible together, prepare for the next day’s activities, or just hang out with the locals (Mum, it emerges, plays basketball). They will be teaching the main lesson at the church’s children’s ministry this afternoon, and next week will see them branch out into other areas of Foundation and church’s ministry.

We are passionate about welcoming volunteers here, though it can be a lot of work. It is particularly encouraging, then, when a group arrives with their sleeves already rolled up, and a willingness to serve wherever needed. It has been a pleasure to serve with them this week, and our prayer is that the impact of their time here would be felt for many years both here in Bolivia and, we pray, back in sunny Strathaven.

Sam warms up for next week (!) as he explores the surroundings at the
five-day club with friend, Kenny.

Prayer

• As ever, Sam has coped admirably with the unique demands of this week, but has come down with a fever in the last day or two. Pray for a swift recovery.
• Pray for the children in attendance at the five-day club, that the gospel message they heard this week would be received with gladness.
• Pray for the team in their second (and final) week here.

Praise

• Yesterday, incredibly, was our tenth anniversary! God has been faithful.
• And when our twentieth rolls around, God-willing, Mauro and Mily, a young couple from our church, will be celebrating the same milestone. Theirs was the aforementioned wedding last Saturday evening, at which Craig officiated. Very few people actually get married in this culture, so give thanks for the powerful witness of this to their friends and family, and the great encouragement we feel as a church.
• We have also been really blessed by our time with various ex-missionary friends who have been in town for that self-same wedding. Our old friends Maicol & KC, with their son Caleb, are staying with us until mid-August.
• Give thanks for the team, their impact, and their own spiritual growth this week.

The day ends over Laguna Suárez, Tuesday.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 17/12/16

Amanda and I are still in something of a state of shock after getting word on Thursday afternoon, four weeks before we were due to touch down in Heathrow, that our UK visitor visa submission for Sam was unsuccessful. 

The official dealing with the case wrote extensive feedback as to the basis of the refusal. This was most helpful in essentially understanding what our submission had lacked in terms of evidence, but pretty galling too, as the information we had referred to in our initial submission on the UK's website had been vague to say the least. We believe we have more than enough evidence to back up our case, and we would have sent it in the first place if it had been asked of us.

In all of this, God has given us a real provision: namely, Danny, a former employee of the Spanish consulate in La Paz, who moved to Trinidad with his wife -- an employee at Fundación Totaí -- and baby son earlier this year. We were able to meet with Danny on Thursday evening to assess the situation. He was a little taken aback by the refusal, but suggested we re-submit, and gave us a little more insight into what consular staff are looking for. Thanks to Danny, we have a new strategy, which will hopefully make the application a lot more watertight; I guess you could call him our Esther (Esther 4:14), though he's a big lad, so probably not to his face.

We immediately set about looking for a new appointment in La Paz, hoping to get one for Monday morning, which would allow us time to get our evidence together, while being early enough to hopefully have the visa arrive before our departure date from Bolivia (if not, we could at least make a date-change to the outbound flight at no cost). We were indeed able to source this, and so, we'll be making another 24 hour visit to that great city. 

And as you can imagine, the last 36 hours, but for about four hours' sleep on Thursday evening, have been taken up almost exclusively with assembling this new case; we're now armed to the teeth with letters that seem to touch all the bases. 

And yet, in those rare moments when our minds are otherwise unoccupied, we do wonder to ourselves why this is happened, and what on earth is going to happen next. Particularly if, as we can no longer rule out, this re-submission is similarly unsuccessful.

Maybe we were too presumptuous, but in our minds, this was all pretty straightforward: Scotland in January and February, Canada till mid-May (with our flights already booked for that), with a visit to friends and relatives in the US while in North America. About 20 speaking engagements with churches were already in place. In other words, we were mentally and emotionally prepared for this home assignment period. 

But above all, we were mentally and emotionally prepared -- nay, ecstatic! -- regarding the prospect of time away from our life and ministry in Trinidad. As has probably been evident reading between the lines here these past few weeks, we are close to burn-out, if not there already. We have had several searching conversations as a couple in recent weeks, about the general direction of our work here, and particularly a need for establishing more robust boundaries between our professional and personal lives. Just last week, we resolved to re-prioritise prayer while away from here, in order to better seek and understand God's will for our lives and ministry -- we would be particularly helped in this regard by the low-cost childcare services on offer from Grandparents Inc. So, if the resubmission doesn't cut the mustard, where do we go from here? 

This, and many more questions, are now at the forefront of our thinking. But, in reality, we are powerless, and paralysed by the fact that this is not in our hands, and all in God's. Correction: for 'paralysed', read 'liberated'.

Like so many others, we have known setbacks over the years. Or, as we increasingly prefer to call them, 'setbacks'. Chief among these, undoubtedly, was our infertility diagnosis a few years back. Yet if not for that, we almost certainly would never have met our intrepid, cheeky, and beautiful son, who has been a source of joy beyond comprehension. 

I am reminded, at this point, of a nugget of a sermon illustration (as it would happen, one that also touches on visa problems) of Romans 8:28 from Tim Keller:

I remember one day getting up, trying to explain this passage, and saying to them, “Listen, friends, do you know why I’m here? I’m glad I’m here. You’re glad I’m here. I’m glad I’m here. It has worked out beautifully. It’s because at the very end of my seminary career I decided to become a Presbyterian. That’s why I could go to a Presbyterian church. Do you know why I decided to be Presbyterian?

Because I fell under the influence of a particular teacher my last semester at seminary. Do you know why I fell under that man’s influence? He came from England after having tremendous visa problems (and probably wasn’t going to get there until the following year). At the last minute somebody cut through the red tape. He came, and I fell under his influence. Do you know why the red tape was cut? The dean of my seminary was on his knees praying about how we were going to get this guy over here when Mike Ford, Gerald Ford’s son, walked in and asked him what he was praying for. Mike Ford was a student at the seminary at that time.

Do you know why Mike Ford was able to cut the red tape? Because his father was the president. Do you know why his father was the president? Because Nixon had resigned. Do you know why Nixon resigned? Because of the Watergate scandal. Do you know why there was a Watergate scandal? Because one day a guard noticed in the Watergate building a particular door ajar that should have been closed.

We have no idea what is happening right now. I have reluctantly just had to wake up my wife, in order to lend a hand with said offspring so I can finish this; like me, she is struggling with sleep right now, perplexed as to exactly what is going on. What more can we do? What about Canada? Will Sam ever meet his relatives? How do we avoid burn-out now? 

Yet, with apologies to Donald Rumsfeld, this is a known unknown. We have been here before, and we now have the perspective to see the purpose of past 'setbacks'. There is a purpose in this, for God's glory, and for our good. We are nowhere near understanding, but we strive with every fibre of our being to trust. It is the safest place; it is the scariest place; it is exactly where God wants us, and all who have been called according to his purpose.

Prayer

• I think I've already made myself perfectly clear as to the main issue!
• For a straightforward visit to La Paz, a city that isn't nearly as much fun as it used to be.
• We must continue to work on the assumption that we are leaving Trinidad for five months at the end of December, so we appreciate your continued prayers for God's help in tackling the mountain of tasks before us.

Praise

• We prayed for an answer, and now we have it. We give thanks for it, and for future answers to this question, which, in ways we cannot now understand, are the best ones.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 01/08/15

Amanda with the other youth group leaders last Saturday night.

July, she will fly.

I shan't go into too much detail here with regard to our all-too-fleeting return to Scotland, our Facebook pages certainly providing more than enough photographic documentation. Suffice it to say, Willows were Stripped, putts were missed, and just as one sister flew the nest, another was flying into Glasgow Airport. In the week preceding the wedding, we managed to squeeze in 13 separate catch-ups over six days. Before touchdown in Scotland, we had been very much aware of our limited time; by the time we collapsed into bed on wedding's eve, we were all too aware of our limitations in general. We probably overstretched ourselves, but each meeting proved well worth it.

Writing from a dependably hot and sticky Trinidad, the whole trip already feels somewhat surreal and distant. The final goodbyes at the airport are naturally times of great sadness; this time was relatively Kleenex-free, as there was a tangible acceptance by all concerned that it was high time to return to normality. Our sojourn having been so brief, we felt none of the nerves that gripped us at the end of our 13-month sabbatical in January, just thankfulness for the opportunity to have spent any time at home at all.

Since arriving in Trinidad on Saturday, we have endeavoured to ease our way back into things ever so gradually, but only to the extent possible with a full complement of volunteers. About a week before our own return to Bolivia, Swindon's Tom and Josh Pike arrived in town, with the American trio only halfway through their own stint at that point (they leave in mid-August). Amanda has been sharing responsibility with KC for this summer's volunteer programme, and so with KC's enforced family trip to Cochabamba this week (this post is increasingly resembling an arrivals/departures board), we picked up the volunteer slack as a couple; only fair, I suppose, given KC was essentially flying solo for three weeks. That essentially meant ensuring they had enough food supplies, having them round to the house, and dealing with requests for British chocolate on a case-by-case basis.

Tom and Josh are on the right, for the avoidance of doubt.

Most importantly, we were tasked with meeting with the volunteers individually, which Amanda will continue to do with one of the girls, and I shall, of course, be touching base with Tom and Josh during the remainder of their time here. My initial meetings were certainly encouraging, as the brothers each shared their testimonies (which I reciprocated), and I was reassured to discover rock-solid faith in ones so young.

My very first encounter with the Pikes (they used to get a lot of "Don't tell him" references at school -- see below, non-Brits) took place at the youth group's second annual friendship gala, taking place to mark International Day of Friendship (which, like most Hallmark holidays, is a surprisingly big deal here). The evening essentially resembled the usual youth group meeting, except it was a dress-up affair, food was served, it was double the length, and we had about double the attendance! Despite being a tad bleary-eyed from our journey (we'd only just arrived that morning), we had a great time, and we're hoping that a lot of the 'strays' who came back will still be around in the coming Saturdays.

That aside, it was a reassuringly normal working week, with Amanda catching up on HR tasks, and I getting warmed up for a month in which I have responsibility both for preaching in the church and the morning devotions at FT. 

It's as if we never left.

Prayer

• For Craig as he preaches and teaches all this month.
• For the adoption process. Things necessarily took a bit of a back seat this week, but we're planning on pestering our lawyer as to the next steps in the next few days.
• For our pentad of volunteers, that their remaining time here would be one of great growth in Christ.

Praise

• For a hearty supply of happy memories from our time in Scotland, and safe travels there and back again.
• For a great night with the youth group last Saturday.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 27/06/15

Amanda with her trusty staff.

This being our last working week before heading back to the old country, things have been pretty manic. Indeed, two days away from leaving, our to-do list doesn't seem to be getting any shorter. Nonetheless, there have been a couple of highlights.

Before all of that, though, to the question that is on the tip of everyone's tongue: what about Ringo? Well, we have some cracking news. Though no small yolk to bear, we are delighted to inform you that we delivered him, intact, to social services (and no, before you ask, we didn't at any time shell out for a replacement). Gallingly, the psychologist, the very picture of solemnity a week previously, barely batted an eyelid as we marched into her office and triumphantly placed our pride and joy on the desk. And these are the people we entrust with our children?!?!?

Ringo's return brought the curtain down on a week of daily visits to social services, where we submitted ourselves to a series of interviews and psychological evaluations, answering such searching questions as, "When do you feel most powerful?", "What do you fear most in life?" and "Which animal would you most like to be?" (a whale, of course). We were even paid a visit at the house one afternoon, so that they could get a feel for the prospective child's surroundings (amazingly, there was no comment on the current lack of a bannister on a lower section of our stairs -- tiled flooring and all). 

We managed to get through the week unscathed, meaning that we will now be recommended to the judge as potential adoptive parents. There are one or two legal processes to deal with when we return here in late July and, assuming they go smoothly, it will be a case of waiting for a child to be offered to us through social services, while also keeping our ears to the ground for any possible unwanted pregnancies; indeed, an advantage of Trinidad's small-town mentality is that word tends to get around fairly quickly. In short, we might have to get that bannister installed sooner rather than later.

Earlier on Friday, we had something of an appropriate ending to our first 'semester' back at Fundación Totaí. While, once again, we have found ourselves with our fingers in oh so many pies (the best laid plans o' mice and men...), in general my prime focus has been on the church, while Amanda has chosen to concentrate on the personnel side of things at FT. You will know that Amanda has already been involved in planning special events such as the 'Pray for Fundación Totaí' evening, and has met regularly with individual staff members to minister to them. 

And yesterday morning, for the first time, we put up the 'closed' signs and devoted the whole morning exclusively to the staff, with breakfast served, team-building games played, and a half-hour slot in which you were to sit with a randomly-assigned member of the personnel and get to know them to the extent that you could answer a series of 'Mr & Mrs'-style questions by the end of the morning.

An added bonus was the visit of some contacts from the local deaf school, who gave an 'introductory' sign-language lesson (an important skill, particularly for the medical staff who work with many patients with hearing disabilities). What's with the inverted commas? Well, straight after the likes of 'Hello' and 'How are you?', our teachers reckoned the next natural step was, er, the human reproductive organs! And let's just say that, unusually for beginners in sign language, most people had guessed the correct words for each sign from the word 'go'! My advice would be to not ask questions and to file that one under 'Only in Bolivia'. 

Still, we reckon it was a most beneficial morning for all involved, and a really good way to say 'chau' to our 9-5 friends before getting out of here for a few weeks. And yet another confirmation of the Lord's will, as revealed to us during our sabbatical year. Indeed, now would probably be as good a time as any to look back on these past six months and reflect on the legion ways in which our calling has been further confirmed. 

Well, tough cookies. I have far too much packing to do. See you in August!

Prayer

• The road home, as you'll already be aware, is long and winding, and particularly drawn out this time. This time we're driving to Santa Cruz on Monday, probably leaving around 5am and getting there early afternoon (our car has an issue with the steering that needs looked at, and in this motorcycle-heavy town, few people are qualified to address it; we're taking it to a trusted contact in the big smoke, who will return it to Trinidad later in the week). On Wednesday morning we fly to Sao Paulo (Amanda will be on her Irish visa this time!) and then, on Thursday evening, we head to Frankfurt, where we will have to spend most of Friday before our flight to Edinburgh. Pray for safety and patience.
• Pray for Craig, who has one last sermon to deliver on Sunday morning (1 Kings 3).

Praise

• For big progress this week on adopting.
• For yesterday morning's event at FT.
• For a really encouraging six months back here (and, in all seriousness, if you're looking for highlights, you've come to the right webpage). 

"Don't you forget a-bow-wow-t me."

Finally, though our time in Scotland is limited, we will be giving a report at Shettleston New next Sunday (5th of July, 11am), and then two weeks later at Strathaven Evangelical Church (19th of July, 11am). Would be great to see you if you can make it.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 24/01/15

“Ye’ll no miss this weather, will ye.”

The above point was put to us time and again by well-meaning friends over the past few months, with increasing frequency as our departure loomed larger and the west of Scotland skies turned ever more grey. I (Craig) don’t think it was meant as a question, but I tended to take it that way, responding in kind in order to strangle any assumptions about the climate here being particularly pleasant. Given this is rainy season, the last week has in fact been really rather dry, with a half-hour burst of heavy rain most days, but nothing more offensive. Yet at no point during those dry spells have I gazed upon those mid-30s-plus-humidity conditions from the sanctuary of our ventilated four walls and thought, “Cor, I do rather fancy a gentle stroll right now!”

That said, however, it is nice to be back in Trinidad again; nicer, indeed, than we’d expected. We had been bracing ourselves for a tough re-entry, based on our only comparable experience back in October 2011. I wrote back then about a potent and unexpected encounter with culture shock – after a mere two-month absence. How would we cope after thirteen months in a western context?

One week on, and we’re surviving, with two factors no doubt playing their part. Firstly, the memory of 2011’s experience no doubt prompted us to be better prepared emotionally and spiritually. And secondly, if you’ll excuse a touch of materialism, unlike 2011 we have our own house to come back to; in other words, Trinidad, unexpectedly, feels like home again.

The majority of this week has been taken up with unpacking, organising and dumping, and restoring la casa to a state with which we’re more familiar. Providentially, our home assignment year coincided with our friend Rachel Peebles’ return to Trinidad for a twelve-month spell, meaning the house was at least being used; that’s particularly important in climates like this where, if not left unchecked, moth and rust so rapidly destroy. Still, everyone has their preferred settings, and getting it back to a recognisable state was the main task of this week.

Vastly improved internet speeds have also gone some way to soften the
re-adjustment blow!

One task in particular this week was a reminder of how high up the priority-list Taking Pride in One’s Work tends to feature for manual labourers around here (i.e., not very high at all!).

At the end of October, we received a Facebook message from Rachel telling us that one of our balcony windows had been smashed. This turned out to be nothing too sinister in the end; just local kids playing with their slingshots, seeing a particularly glassy house, and putting 2 and 2 together. However, an urgent repair was clearly in order. Naturally, we arranged for the necessary funds to be transferred and, within a week or two, the job had been done.

Well, on Tuesday morning, I was traipsing around the garden trying to deal with a few things, when all of a sudden, I felt a surprisingly crunchy sensation under my shoes. I looked down, and saw about four glistening square yards of thousands upon thousands safety glass particles. Looks like the tidying-up job that November morning had consisted of, er, sweeping the particles off the balcony and hoping nobody would notice!

And so, two days of planned house work went down the black hole of smashed glass recovery. There I was, sat like Oor Wullie on a bucket (in temperatures our mutual dungareed friend could barely conceive of), carefully picking up each individual piece, being careful to avoid injury to hands, and not to place said container on spots where I was liable to bury the glass yet further. A truly shattering experience, I’m sure you’ll concur.

Quite.

The result of these exertions has been that we’ve not had too much time yet with friends and colleagues, save a couple of fleeing visits to the Foundation during work hours, and an evening in the company of our friends Maicol and KC, their now two-year-old Caleb, and KC’s mother, visiting from the States.

Still, it’s been great to renew these acquaintances, and we look forward to their re-deepening in the months ahead. Santa Cruz last weekend also gave us an opportunity to touch base with old friends. Remember my keyboard-playing protégé, Diego? He’s just moved through to Santa Cruz to begin a degree in music, and on Sunday morning we attended a church service with him, before heading out for lunch and finding out how he’s been doing. Now and again out here, if I’m honest, I have my little Elijah moments, when I look around, see so little visible fruit for my efforts, become wracked with self-doubt, and question the worth of my ministry. The progress of a young man like Diego is someone I need to cling to in those times, his presence in Santa Cruz instead of Trinidad not an insult but an inevitability, given the lack of opportunities here.

Livin' for the Citah: With young Diego Asín
in Santa Cruz.

The house pretty much done and dusted -- quite literally, indeed -- today is the day when we will gradually start easing back into things at work. If Friday night is music night on Radio 2, then Saturday night is most definitely youth night in Bolivia. We shall pop along there, and to the main church service tomorrow morning. The challenge right now, as we’ve stated previously, is to maintain the self-discipline to prayerfully seek God’s will for these next few years; I’ve already had to turn down one or two well-intentioned proposals on this basis. But we strongly feel that it is better to sacrifice a couple of weeks in doing this than to spend a couple of years embroiled in things that, while good, are not the better ‘yes’. And so, despite missing the sensation of jeans on our legs, we’re increasingly excited to find out what the Lord has in store.

Prayer

• For continued self-discipline and discernment when it comes to new ministry opportunities, as requested last week and alluded to above.
• Despite what I wrote earlier, we do have the occasional re-adjustment bumps. Pray that we don’t allow these to become a discouragement.

 Praise

• For safety in our final flight to Trinidad, on Monday past.
• For the opportunity to catch up with old Trinidad friends Diego and Claudia in Santa Cruz, and see the mighty work of the Lord in their lives.

A Fond Backward Glance

As I have considered (and usually delayed) our re-entry into the blogosphere over these past few weeks, I imagined it would simply be a case of picking up where we left off. And so, poring over our last entry written back in late 2013, I’m not half amused to read a not-so-solemn promise that we’d be posting irregularly on the furlough phenomenon during 2014.

Well, it’s the thought that counts, is it not?

It’s not quite the case that we’ve been too busy to write; probably just that the blog is very much part of our Bolivia routine, and we never quite found a way to fit it in to things here in Scotland and in Canada. Home assignment, indeed, has been a true eye-opener, and I have no doubt that we could, in future, put pen to paper on the joys and sorrows of an extended period away from Bolivia. It is as important a time in the life and work of overseas Christian workers as that on the field, and just as we have done with the blog these past five years, we would be keen to give those on the outside looking in a better appreciation of what missionaries go through when they come home.

But that book deal will have to wait for another day. For now, as something of a dipping of the toe back in these waters, I (Craig) shall offer some thoughts specific to my own experience of these past thirteen months.

The world is more beautiful than I remembered

The Ring of Steall

In the end, I didn’t exactly spend ‘a decent chunk of my Saturdays…on top of hills’, as I’d been promising myself back in December 2013. In that regard, I’d fatally overlooked two important realities of home assignment: a tight budget, and the eye-watering cost of fuel (which, inevitably, is only now beating a steady retreat).

Still, the year abounded with those moments of connection with the natural world which will forever remain seared on my consciousness. I’ll think back on the view over the wilderness of Rannoch Moor on that improbably sun-drenched April morning during our conquest of the West Highland Way. Or contemplating my tee shot at the 10^th on Royal Dornoch’s Struie Course, as the sun caught the higher peaks of the Dornoch Firth. Or the lesson in humility and smallness that is Alaska’s Tracy Arm Fjord (particularly enjoyable from the private corner I managed to find on a 1,400-capacity cruise liner). Or the afternoon spent in the company of humpback whales on the same trip. Or the pleasure in conquering ten Munros. Or December’s surprising – yet welcome – opportunity to drive to a last-minute church date in Kyle of Lochalsh, and happily consent to being dumbstruck by Buchaille Etive Mor one last time.

We will be going back to the natural beauty of the Beni region in due course, but my goodness, it has been a joy to re-connect with the inclines and declines of the North.

And the world has come to Scotland

My lunch routine while attending Cornhill Scotland usually involved a two-minute toddle from its Bath Street headquarters to the Sainsbury’s Central on Buchanan Street. The backing noise was almost always a constant murmur of foreign tongues. Prolonged absences like ours tend to accentuate trends, and there is no doubt that Glasgow in particular has never seen such ethnic diversity as it does today. Yes, that brings its own challenges – but, oh, what tremendous opportunities! Should the Lord bring us back to Scotland in the years ahead, our days of ministry to the nations would be anything but over.

Ministry is in our veins

And wherever we’d end up, we’re pretty certain that we’ve now passed a ‘point of no return’ when it comes to our 9-to-5.

A further affirmation of this took place in early July. For years, Amanda had waxed lyrical to me about those endless summers she, her family and friends would spend at a place called ‘Guelph Bible Camp’, effectively demanding that I join her in camp counselling work in the event of us ever being back in Canada for the summer. Inevitably, once our rough plans for 2014 were in place, those pleas re-surfaced, and I agreed, albeit reluctantly – by this time in Bolivia, I was exhausted, desperate to come home and get a bit of R&R, and most definitely not seeking out new ministry opportunities.

Well, Guelph Bible Youth Camp 2014 turned out to be probably the most purposeful, life-affirming and purely enjoyable week of the year. Cornhill, of course, had been a wonderful experience, but Guelph was our first proper opportunity of the year to put that learning into practice and, above all, minister the word of God to young people who, delightfully, were hungry for it. If those special seven days were merely a foretaste of the next two or three years in Bolivia, then the 15^th of January could hardly come any sooner.

‘The darkness has not overcome it’

The lads and lassies of Cornhill Scotland

We are slowly but surely learning to beware drawing sweeping conclusions from afar. Occasionally during our time away from Bolivia, we have heard of developments on the field that concern us a little. At the same time, we are all too aware that a distance of over 6,000 miles prevents us from having a fuller appreciation of things in Trinidad. This stops us from getting too wound up about said matters.

A significant contributing factor to this mentality has been our experience of things the other way around. During our four years in Trinidad, all the information we needed about an ever-gathering spiritual gloom in the UK and Canada was just a click away. Chaplains were being thrown out of schools, governments were busily re-defining that which God has definitively delineated, and, most depressingly of all, the Church of Scotland was proving itself about as useful a protector of the Christian faith as a three-year-old child of a bag of chocolate buttons.

None of the above has been reversed, of course, and I suspect we westerners had better brace ourselves for ever more hostile conditions. But the benefit of this year for us has been to witness the lives and work of those who refuse to succumb, to hear of those outside-the-box thinkers who are speaking prophetically into the most surprising of situations, to witness a generation who have had to decide like never before where they stand, and who are choosing with pleasure to plant their feet in the ground marked ‘Solid Rock’: to see, if you will, the bigger picture.

Four years abroad pales in comparison to the four decades that a couple we know spent engaged in overseas Christian ministry; we had the pleasure of their company earlier this year. They, too, are concerned at the general direction of society, yet claim to have never witnessed such wholehearted commitment to the cause of Christ among students and young adults. If the group of young men and women I had the pleasure of studying alongside at Cornhill are anything to go by, their optimism is well justified.

No man is an island

With the Dove family in Ohio

Not exactly a revelation, this. We have never lacked in friendships in Trinidad, a most hospitable town, but the majority of these – by necessity, of course – have tended to require that we shoulder the burdens of others, rather than experience a more balanced ‘weight distribution’, if you like.  This is the experience of many involved in full-time Christian ministry. So it has been tremendously energising to be around friends and family who have made time for us, opened their homes to us, and prayed with us, granting us full permission to behave in as undignified a manner as the occasion will permit.

Thrillingly, some of these are people we did not even know this time last year, further proof in particular of the value of my time at Cornhill. Indeed, in a few cases, Amanda and I have had the pleasure of spending significant extra-curricular time with these students and (where applicable) their spouses.

Having lived abroad for many years, we do not expect to be able to maintain regular contact with all such individuals. But what an encouragement to know that the work in Bolivia will feature in the thoughts and prayers of so many more.

We have a great church family

This one really was a revelation. Having attended Shettleston New for almost two years before going to Bolivia, we knew this to be the case, but it has only been in the last year that we have realised how scant our evidence was for such a judgement.

Our experience of fellowship on a Sunday back then would typically revolve around a core group of friends in the church at a similar age and stage to ourselves. I would play bass with them in the church music group, then we would meet together for a chat in the coffee area post-service, with the banter train more often than not chuntering along to another venue as the afternoon progressed. We knew the names and faces of many others, but in most cases, that was as far as it went. Indeed, come to think of it, our midweek Bible study group was largely made up of the same people.

Fast-forward four years, and that friendship group (with whom we are still in regular contact) had moved on to various other fellowships around the city. Would we still feel at home at Shettleston New?

Any doubts were dispelled within minutes of our first entrance that December morning as, one after another, people welcomed us with the warmest of embraces. They had certainly not forgotten us, though our grasp of their names and faces had become tenuous at best.

Thirteen months later, I suspect things are not quite so one-sided, and it is here that Amanda has to take a lot of credit. She came here determined to dedicate much of her time during the week to supporting the work of the church; Wednesdays were spent helping the mother-and-toddlers ministry, and then serving lunches to the community, while on Friday mornings she made a point of attending ‘The New Place’, a time for tea, toast and a blether, which sees a number of visitors, but is mostly attended by members of the congregation.

As the year progressed, and as most of our weekends were filled with church engagements around the UK, Amanda’s midweek presence at Shettleston proved vitally important in maintaining contact with people we were unable to see on Sundays. But more importantly, our wider church family have gotten to know us much better than before in the process. And while we do not doubt the sincerity of their prayers for us in the past, the emotional connection between us has been considerably strengthened. They now have greater ownership of us and of our ministry, and we, to paraphrase Paul in his letter to the Philippians, have them in our hearts.