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 -- 16/06/12

Surrounded by people of stature. Story of my life...

Life here rarely runs according to the script but things certainly went significantly pear-shaped during my cousin's visit here last week, to extents even I've never seen.


Monday was Douglas’ last full day here and, being our weekly rest day, we planned a final, relaxing visit to the local lake for the afternoon. Based on form, we really should have known better. What happened was the perfect encapsulation of the frequently, unfailingly manic culture we live in.

Accepting that the problem with the water supply wasn’t going to be fixed any time soon (by Monday it had been five days since the repairman said he’d come) we did what we had to do and called one of several companies here who can fill your well from their massive transportable tanks for a small fee. I got them around 9.30pm and they said they’d be here soon.

It wasn’t till 12.15pm (and some way into England vs France) that the water boys (“I pictured a rainbow…”) finally showed up. However, despite ordering four tanks’ worth to fill our well adequately, they had just the one. And given that things shut down for two hours over lunchtime, that meant the lake visit would now be at the mercy of their prompt arrival.

They were back at 3pm, now well into the afternoon, and by this point we are accepting that the lake visit will be brief. However, the tank is filled and we’re all set to go. But as we’re getting our things together in the house, a ferocious revving sound can be heard outside. We pop our heads out and…the water boys’ truck is stuck in the field outside our house, the situation exacerbated by the moisture still lying from the previous week’s inclement weather.

"We're gonna need a bigger crane..."

Two hours and three vehicles later, the truck is finally out and we can all go to the lake. Except it’s now 5pm and the sun will have set within an hour. ¡Adios laguna!

I joked with Douglas that in some ways I was glad he was going home the following day as he seemed to have bestowed a curse upon us. Nonsense though I spoke, we’ve had a rather bittersweet experience in the ensuing days of seeing everything fall back into place since he left – the water supply is now switched on and the sky-rocketing mercury is threatening to smash the thermometer.

Furthermore, things have been much more normal ministry-wise, including lots of great opportunities in the classrooms and in the Foundation to share Christ. In the schools, we were able this week to distribute booklets telling the story of Jesus in manga form (that’s a Japanese style of comic-book for those of you who aren’t down with the kids). And in the English class, we had a great discussion about justice, what we deserve from God, and how we can’t rely on our own resources to avoid his punishment.

Additionally, our building project made headway again this week, with the inspectors from the cooncil out to verify our plot’s dimensions and grant permission to build (which we will formally receive this coming week).

All joking aside, however, it was a pleasure to have Douglas here and to share Trinidad with him. We introduced him to all the people that matter in our lives and, while he couldn’t see the full extent of our work, he at least got a very clear sense of the near-constant logistical barriers we face in ministering effectively here. Most importantly, he got a well-earned break from the rigours of medicine and we were all too happy to facilitate that.

Prayer

• Please remember Douglas who, having arrived home safely in Virginia on Wednesday night, went straight into his anaesthesiology residency on Thursday morning. Rather him than me, I tell you. Pray that the rest will have been of benefit to him as he gets to grips with things.
• Please pray for the youth group who, spurred into action by reflecting on service over the past couple of months, have opted to serve the church tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon by organising a big clean-up. Pray that the activity will cause them to think more on this theme, and how they can, as young people, continue to serve the church.

 Praise

• For the practical stuff all getting sorted out over the last few days – when the background detail goes haywire, it can be an exhausting drain on our ministry, so give thanks that we’re (relatively speaking) back to normal now.
• For Douglas’ time here and the invaluable opportunity to enjoy some family time (and, if we’re honest, some of Trinidad’s finest cuisine – fried alligator tail, anyone?) over the past couple of weeks.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 09/06/12

A carving of the Apostle Paul on a pillar of the Jesuit church in San Pedro,
where we visited with Douglas this week.

"You gotta roll with it" snarled Liam Gallagher back in the heady days of Britpop. I've yet to work out the equivalent Spanish phrase, but it sure would come in handy. It's a lesson you need to learn here quickly.

And one which my cousin, Douglas, has grasped with flying colours since his arrival here last Sunday. Because he has had to live in a house where the Problem of the Week was our water supply cutting out. Since Tuesday, the pump which supplies water to ourselves and two nearby houses has broken (we are all still waiting on a repair guy to come and look at it!). In the process, we discovered that our house's well has a leak in it. So we're now into our fifth day of resorting to alternative solutions, including washing dishes with bottled water, showering at a neighbour's home, and manually pumping from the ground for all the other stuff. Things will not return to normal until early next week at the earliest.

Having come so far to see us, Douglas is probably well within his rights to be a bit cheesed off. But he's adapted brilliantly and, if anything, I'm the frustrated one, given that such a major problem has surfaced just when we were looking forward to playing host to my 'wee' cousin. Despite it all, we've thoroughly enjoyed the past week with him. He's between two high-pressure jobs, in need of as refreshing a break as possible, and therefore, we've pulled out all the stops, taking in the big local tourist attractions (both of them!), sampling local cuisine, introducing him to our friends around town and, on Thursday, driving out into the wilder regions of the Beni to snap wildlife (Douglas being a keen photographer), including herons, capybaras and (a first for us) pink flamingoes.

As you may have worked out by this point, we've certainly had enough time on our hands. Monday was our usual day off, while Thursday was a national holiday for Corpus Christi. It's afforded us much meaningful time together. However, with Wednesday also being international Day of the Teacher (Bolivian definition: a day off for educators!), I ended up teaching a grand total of one class out of the usual five this week, so I don't really feel I've been able to share as much of my own ministry as I would have hoped. But he did get an insight into the health work of the Foundation and, being a medic himself, certainly appreciated that.

The bottom line is that it's just been a rare privilege to have someone who is as much friend as family member come to visit us and he will return to the US with our sincere appreciation for his kindness -- he is more than welcome to come back whenever he likes (though our next meeting may well be in North America during 2014, our scheduled furlough year).

Prayer

• For safe travels for Douglas, who begins his four-flight trek back to Virginia on Tuesday morning, and is due to start in his new work on Thursday.
• Likewise for Amanda, who has a check-up with the surgeon on Wednesday in Santa Cruz. 
• For a solution to our water problems.

Praise

• For sufficient grace to cope with our water shortages -- we're surviving!
• For a great week with Douglas.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda