Saturday Post -- 19/03/11

Last week, not long after I polished off the weekly entry, a bunch of us headed for the stadium to see the latest Mamoré game (as appalling as a 2-0 win is likely to get), including our friend, Farid, and Steve Connor of Sports Outreach, who has been with us over the last ten days to disciple the Sports team at FT. An ex-NFL player, Steve is not one to shirk a challenge, and so, right away, he invited Farid to come and hear him speak the next day at church.

So on Sunday, Farid turned up at the service for the first time since we met him and was challenged by what Steve had to say about having our priorities in the right place. Steve spoke to him at the end of the service and gave him some books to take away, including a New Testament with various sporting vignettes thrown in here and there. He came to lunch with ourselves and the other missionaries at Kenny's house and, when he finally left at 4 o'clock or so, he thanked us for our input in his life, knowing full well the importance of these matters. He's not quite there yet, but he took a couple of important steps at the weekend (such as discovering that Christians aren't nut-jobs) and we're greatly encouraged. Thank you for your prayers.

For me, the weekend feels like yesterday as it's just been one of those pretty intense five days of work since then. In fact, so tired was I when I got home last night that I opted not even to play my beloved fronton this morning. As missionaries, we expect to have to give much of ourselves and not receive anything in return, especially in developing contexts, where natives do not hesitate to ask for assistance. We feel privileged to serve in such a way, indeed we believe that we are all called to such a mindset, but now and again, you just need a good break. So pray that the old batteries will get the re-charge they pretty desperately need this weekend.

Here's Amanda to tell you about an exciting first week of the Sunday School...

Well, Sunday School started last week... myself and a 19-year-old Bolivian girl, Elizabeth, are leading the teenage girls' class and Miguel Angel, one of the church elders, has the teenage boys' class. Last week we decided to put the two classes together for the opening session for the year and we took the opportunity to let the kids get to know us better by sharing our testimonies with them. I spent most of the week before trying to encourage Elizabeth, who was really nervous, and really didn't think about my own nerves or such. I was trying to explain to Elizabeth during the week that God can use the re-telling of all parts of our lives for his glory and through the leading of the Holy Spirit we will be lead to share certain aspects depending on who is there to hear it. For my part, I felt that encouraging the teenagers with the thought that God has a huge, special plan for everyone would be appropriate. Miguel Angel went first, then Elizabeth, and then I finished. I didn't have anything written out, which was probably a mistake, but I didn't want to be reading off of anything... The thing I realised as soon as I started was that one's testimony is generally in the past tense... which in Spanish is complicated because there are two past tenses. So, on my feet I was trying to conjugate verbs in the appropriate past tense and keep my testimony somewhat coherent. It was challenging... and then near the end I wanted to say things like "I would have...", "It would be..." and, while if I thought about it long enough, I could do it... on the spot, I started to break into a cold sweat. But I finished, and although it will not win any awards for eloquence, I asked at the end whether people understood me... and they answered in the affirmative. Miguel Angel was so good as to tie everything together... and that was such an encouragement. At least he understood what I was trying to say...

Today, as well, is Father's Day in Bolivia... so I organised a card-making night for the girl's Sunday School class... nine girls came last night... and while they turned our dining room into a war zone of paper cuttings and my dining room table was lost in the chaos of it all, I think they had a good time. It was nice to organise something for them on my own and allow them to get to know me more, establishing comfort in visiting us in our home, just chatting with them a bit... they all quite fancied Steve Connor's son... but I told them it was just because he was something new to them... it's a good thing that he leaves today, because I couldn't promise his safety tonight at youth group if he was to attend.

This week in Sunday School we're looking at points from the life of Abigail...please pray for the ability to communicate and that the girls would engage as well with the lesson.

Prayer
• For Craig as he prepares and delivers next week's morning meditations on Galatians.
• For a reinvigorating weekend for both of us.

Praise
• For everything that happened with Farid last weekend -- keep praying for him, mind.
• For much encouragement for Amanda in the Sunday School ministry.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 12/03/11

This time last week I had to make like a tree and leave, with the Carnaval event for the young people at the church about to start. I'm pleased to report the day was a great success, enjoyed as much by leaders as the younger participants.

The day started with a bumper-sized worship time, which I really enjoyed leading and planning and the young people really responded to it. Kenny then gave a talk on Hebrews 12:1-2, on running the race and throwing off everything that hinders. An important message last weekend -- most young people would return to households where Carnaval chaos and its associated temptations would be in full swing until Tuesday.

We then had lunch, followed by a huge game in which the teenagers had to complete 64 mini-challenges in their teams. But what they were really waiting for were the traditional Carnaval water-balloons and water-fights which they heartily indulged in at the end of the day. Kids like nothing better during this time of year than hurling water balloons at unsuspecting strangers in the street -- white people are a favourite target. But, in a way, by providing our own, clean water, we were still providing them with an important service; many 'water' bombs in town contain either the assailant's urine, or the contents of the nearest cuneta (open sewer). Isn't Carnaval wonderful?!

It does have its benefits for non-participants, however, namely that we get the Monday and Tuesday off work. We would usually take advantage of such a break to get out of town for a bit, but this time we were quite content to bum around the house.

On Sunday afternoon, we touched base with Farid for lunch. You may remember he was our language teacher last year and someone with whom we have maintained a close contact. When Jessica came, she brought with her a Spanish-English Bible which we had bought for him as a thank-you gift for his work with us and it seems he is already reading it with interest. Encouragingly, without prompting, he told us he was really interested in reading John's gospel, which, unbeknownst to him, we are about to begin a series on in the church in a couple of weeks' time. He seems excited about learning more and we're praying that this might be a way to further minister to him and encourage him to make a decision for Christ.

That said, he's facing certain discouragements at home. Being the eldest brother in a home where the father left long ago, he is very much the man of the house and feeling the burden that comes with that in regard to his younger brothers, who are having, let's say, responsibility issues. Please pray for Farid.

We're also excited to have a couple more visitors here this week. Greg Jaffe, a medical student from the US, arrived on Monday for around six weeks. Besides his medical interests, he's a guitarist, photographer and has brought with him an external hard-drive laden with great music. I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Additionally, here for a shorter time is Steve Connor of Sports Outreach, with his son Harrison. Steve, also American, is director of Sports Outreach International. He's now based out of the US but British readers might remember him from his time in Scotland a few years ago when, as well as his Sports Outreach role, he served as chaplain to the now-defunct Scottish Claymores. He's certainly hard to forget: a giant of a man who also had a brief NFL career with the Chicago Bears and the L.A. (now St. Louis) Rams. Naturally, his primary goal in his ten days here is to encourage the team responsible for the Sports ministry at FT, but we're certainly looking forward to his input at church over the coming week. He speaks not a word of Spanish, meaning we get the added bonus of a sermon in English (translated, of course).

Prayer
• For our friend Farid, as he explores God's Word and deals with domestic issues (he's going to a Mamoré game with, among others, Steve Connor and me this afternoon so pray for our witness there).
• For the development of the FT website, which has been largely on hold for the past few months, but which Craig is keen to get up-and-running again.
• For Amanda's mum, who is currently serving with a missions team in Uruguay.

Praise
• For the short break we enjoyed at the start of this week.
• For a great time with the young folk last weekend.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 05/03/11

Last week, loyal readers were left on something of a cliffhanger as I alluded to my forthcoming meeting with the local school head-teacher, with a view to providing English classes there. Well, we met and I was thrown straight into things, given 8th-grade and 7th-grade classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, respectively, and starting the next day.

As I walked into the classroom, I realised that, while I had been participating in various educational ventures over the past year as part of my work here, it had been some 14 months since I had stood in front of a group consisting solely of pre-teens/teens. I acknowledge that the thought of working with teenagers will cause most people to reach for the anti-shuddering pills. Yet as I delivered the lesson, entirely free of nerves, communicating with clarity to the students, I felt such a powerful sense of re-affirmation that the Lord has graciously gifted me in this field. It was a real encouragement.

And now that my working week is far more centred around education, I do feel a greater sense of purpose to what I've been placed here in Trinidad to do. It's not that all the little, non-educational jobs I was doing before were not important; they're just better suited to those whose talents lie in those areas.

Amanda, too, is experiencing similar feelings. The directors here saw our first year as being very much a trial period -- not for us personally, so much as our 'getting to grips' with the language and various aspects of the work. Now those 12 months are complete, we've been encouraged to hone our focus. In Amanda's case, this has been in Audiology. The other day we were talking together about how much more busy we have been since we got back from Santa Cruz, yet how much more fulfilled we feel in our work and in our personal lives. We still miss home very much but feel more convinced than at any point in the past that this is where we are meant to be.

An extra-curricular avenue opened up this week as Amanda and I realised another life-long ambition: we were invited on to the board of a football club, I as vice-president and Amanda as a sitting member. Our friend Maicol's team, Libertad, are getting ready for the domestic league season which kicks off at the end of March. This being Bolivia, part of that preparation involves mounds of paperwork and part of that paperwork is the formation of a board. Now, at the very thought of my new role, I had been planning on dropping in on training sessions in my club helicopter from time to time and reading the riot act to disenchanted players after a poor performance at the weekend (those who have seen me play will no doubt be contacting Chambers to assist them in changing their definition of 'naked hypocrisy'), however, it appears that the role simply entails signing a few forms from time to time. The chopper, too, will have to wait, but there are other perks: Amanda and I both get a free pass to all league games, saving us a tidy 30 Bolivianos per match in the process.

All that talk of paperwork reminded me that I almost forgot to mention our visa application, which was finally 'completed' this week. We can't be 100% sure as the people in La Paz may well get in touch within the next couple of months to request more items from us. However, it's on its way now and we just have to pray those passports will be well looked-after.

Lent starts on Wednesday, meaning this is Carnaval weekend. Given that Lent is a period of abstinence and reflection, the preceding three or four days must automatically be a period of debauchery and recklessness. Right? Sadly, that's very much the prevailing mentality down here and we can only pray that the people will at least be safe. For many of the younger people who come to church, such festivities aren't much fun; one girl we know was dumped with her baby sister at Christmas while her parents and other family members partied for some 36 hours, leaving no food in the house.

So, to keep their focus on what matters (and to keep many from going crazy) the youth group are staging a day of games, worship and teaching here at the church. In fact, we're expected there any time now, so that'll be it for now. Thanks for your continued interest.

Prayer
• For safe travels for our passports and visa application.
• For the event at the church today and, indeed, all the Carnaval festivities, which continue until Tuesday. Pray that, in the quiet moments of reflexion, more and more people would appreciate the meaninglessness of such events and their need of a saviour.

Praise
• For an encouraging season of re-affirmation and purpose in our work here.
• For the opportunity we have to work with, and minister to, so many young people, in the church and FT.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 26/02/11

Increasingly appreciating the opportunity the blog presents us to stop and take stock every Saturday. The weekdays here are hectic. But, more than anything, this being Trinidad, they are entirely unpredictable.

Take yesterday morning, for instance. Rainy season has naturally caused a build-up of excessive mud in grassy areas, making it pretty precarious at times for driving. A few of us guys were attending to official business when we got a call from one of the nurses, who couldn't get the ambulance (a 4x4, no less) out of one of these ditches. 6 chaps, 2 spades and 90 minutes later, we eventually rescued the trapped vehicle from this particular slough of despond. Job done. Morning gone.

Flexibility is key here. Expect the unexpected. Anticipate disaster. A hard lesson for one so set in their ways as myself -- my diary, unfortunately, can, at times, become my gospel, making Trinidad a most unlikely venue for my missionary skills. The Lord sure ain't finished with me.

Indeed, the week was constantly moved and shifted by the unpredictable. Yet amongst this, we made progress on a few things. Amanda has been hard at work in Audiology testing some new equipment which they have there and her meticulous approach to her work is being very much appreciated by both patients and staff. The English classes continued this week with a few new faces and enthusiasm undimmed, even when faced with the challenge of the first verb.

I've also been afforded the opportunity by the board to look at my weekly schedule and consider what changes could be made to give me more educational opportunities. When we got here over a year ago, we were advised to take things slowly for the first few months and we largely observed this, while picking up small, generic tasks in the meantime. For myself, however, since I took on the role of Director of Education, these activities have not always been conducive to making progress on educational tasks. In many ways, they have kept me humble -- abandoning my office to drive the ambulance a couple of times a week to pick up physio patients, for example, has taught me a lot about what it means to serve -- but the time has come to start prioritising.

To this end, I'll be using my gifts in teaching a little more. From this week, I'll be running a drop-in guitar workshop for an hour on Thursday afternoons. And I'm hoping to meet the head-teacher of the local high school on Monday to offer support in English teaching. The standards of teaching and discipline at state-run schools here are pretty abysmal, so a challenge certainly awaits, but it will be a good reminder of how life is for the majority of children here, how blessed I've been to have had the education I had, and another little awareness-raiser of FT in the community.

Amidst the busyness of the week, we got a little complacent with the visa application, giving it no attention whatsoever, and we now have just four working days next week to get it together before the deadline. Technically, we have just about everything we were asked for ready to submit, however, I refer you to the first three paragraphs; it would not surprise us in the slightest if the government had completely changed the rules within the last month. God-willing, by this time next week our applications will be winging their way to La Paz -- passports included. Yikes!

Prayer
• For our visa applications, that we would achieve what we need to this week and that the Immigration office would look kindly upon them.
• For Craig as he takes on the new educational tasks in the coming weeks.

Praise
• For the positive impact Amanda is making in Audiology.
• For the Lord’s help in preparing meditations this week (on Galatians and The Jerusalem Council).

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 19/02/11

Last year, one of the first significant moves we made in our ministry was to launch free English classes for beginners at FT. The classes began in June with big numbers in attendance and, over the proceeding months, we helped an ever-diminishing, though committed, bunch of people pick up the basics.

As the months progressed, lessons were learned along the way, mostly by the teachers. For one thing, organising free classes was a pleasant enough idea in theory, but in practice it engendered a lack of commitment from those who were scared off by the first few lessons (which, admittedly, were a little too hasty for this culture -- that's been rectified this year). For another, splitting the course into two modules didn't go far enough. Don't ask me why, but Bolivians love their certificates of achievement, so the more smaller modules into which we could divide the year, the better.

Adding to the frustration of last year was that by the time we took on board such key cultural pointers, it was usually far too late. Therefore, with an earlier, February start date this year, we spent December and January making big revisions to the course structure and working out a fair, affordable price for the classes -- in the end, it simply covered the cost of students' writing materials.

So a lot was riding on Wednesday and Thursday, when, respectively, the Elementary and Basic classes kicked off (these are the 2nd and 1st levels of proficiency recognised by TEFL). All the work of the past few weeks wouldn't count for much if we didn't have greater demand. We spent a good part of the last week praying hard. This time last week I had absolutely no idea how things would turn out.

Well, to paraphrase Harold Wilson, a week is a long time in education, and I can happily report that we had a terrific week with the classes. 8 people, most complete strangers to us, turned up for the Elementary class, with a few more expected next week. But the Basic class was particularly incredible, with a steady stream of students taking us well past my planned limit of 20, to the extent that we had to lock the door at one point to stop the numbers increasing any further.

We're thrilled to see the way God has graciously blessed this ministry, in which we hope that, ultimately, the educational side of things will eventually provide avenues to share the gospel message.

Further encouragement came this week in the form of our visa application. We'd managed to land our Interpol certificates last month, one of several items required to be submitted to La Paz. The cost of this single bit of paper proved to be a stack of photocopies, lawyers' letters etc. and this week, we managed to secure two more certificates which, in themselves, demanded so much paper that Bolivia should be grateful it's a landlocked country -- otherwise the Greenpeace Rainbow Warrior would be on to us in no time. It was a bumpy road, not made any easier by unbridled hostility towards white people from certain quarters, but we got there in the end and by next weekend we should have our complete visa application submitted, about a week before the deadline.

Amongst all this, Amanda has managed to juggle her Audiology commitments and is quickly getting to grips with new equipment which has recently arrived at FT. I had the Community classes again this week, where again we saw a big hike in the numbers in attendance.

Prayer
• For Craig as he leads next week’s morning meditations on Galatians.
• For the welcome challenge of the increased administrative burden placed upon us by the increase in numbers. Pray also for our relationships with students and opportunities to share the gospel.

Praise
• For the enthusiastic response to the classes.
• For significant visa progress this week – God-willing, this will be the last of it for two years.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 12/02/11

A mere eight days ago, we were lounging in a café bar just off the central plaza in Santa Cruz, revelling in the high internet speeds and counting down the hours till the bus would arrive to take us on the long, bumpy road back to Trinidad.

And, boy, does Santa Cruz feel half a world away today! As I was anticipating in last week's post, the year really got going this week. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoon, the classes for children in the community resumed for the year. It's been great this week to see all the planning that Samy (my co-worker in the classes) and I have done over the last couple of months paying off. The kids are really embracing the sense of structure in the classes and enjoying no-end the antics of the complete prat leading them in the English songs. That would be me.

However, three afternoons are now wiped off the weekly calendar, making it a little trickier to squeeze in other things. Such as my sermon for this Sunday. I've mentioned in the past that it takes me a good few days to put one of these together in English, let alone Spanish and this week, it's been difficult to find that momentum. As the week progressed, one urgent task after another was foisted upon me, all of which I completed, but not always, I must admit, with the most positive attitude.

My mind went back to something I'd noticed in my Bible reading a few weeks ago, a small detail which we read about between the beheading of John the Baptist and the feeding of the 5,000. Matthew chapter 13 and verses 14 and 15 read:

When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

We have no more than the implication, but we can surely assume that Jesus' reaction to Herod's barbarity was to pray, seeking out that 'solitary place' as a means to achieving this. And yet, it wasn't long before the crowds turned up once again. I was struck by the manner in which he didn't use prayer -- and there can be no higher pursuit -- as an excuse to avoid serving others. Jesus knew that serving others was part and parcel of what it meant to be a prayerful follower of God -- not an optional extra.

In the West, we are actually very well-mannered in certain respects which we are not aware of. We maintain certain inhibitions when it comes to making requests of others, out of respect for each other's 'space'. Here, if the people need you to do something, they will simply ask you and most of the time expect only 'yes' as an answer -- much like those who followed Jesus from town to town. It's quite a transition for one such as I, who prize my personal time and solitude in the workplace to achieve my goals. But it's the way we must operate wherever we are in the world if we are to be true servants.

My sermon, if you're interested, is on 2 Samuel 19, in which David returns to Jerusalem. Quite a bitty chapter with a fair bit of baggage from the past thrown in. Please pray for clarity in my message on Sunday.

Amanda, meanwhile, completed her work on the survey this week and yesterday began working full-time in Audiology. She was encouraged this week by developments in church. Amanda and Jo had been running the teenagers' Sunday School class together. Jo opted to step down when the school holidays arrived and Amanda thought there was an opportunity here for her to work alongside one of the more responsible older teenage girls in the church, whose name is Elizabeth. Elizabeth could fill in for Amanda when her Spanish failed her, while Amanda could use the planning time to develop a closer relationship with Elizabeth and mentor her in her spiritual growth. In advance of this Sunday's meeting on the forthcoming Sunday School year, the church consented to Amanda's proposal, so we're delighted that Amanda now has an important new ministry opportunity here.

The week has been long and I fear I might fall asleep on the keyboard if I keep typoiuuuuuuuuoiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.

Just kidding.

Prayer
• For a restful weekend and focus for Craig as he preaches on Sunday morning.
• For a Christ-like attitude, in all we do.
• For the English classes, due to begin on Wednesday of next week -- for good numbers and good potential for developing relationships with a view to sharing the gospel.

Praise
• For the church's green-lighting of Amanda's Sunday School proposal.
• For an encouraging first week for Craig and all concerned in the Community classes.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 05/02/11

I write, safe and sound in the comforts of our Trinidad home at the end of a fantastic week’s holiday. We really are so very blessed.

A couple of months ago, when Jessica first notified us of her dates, we reckoned it might be a good idea to go without a break over the Christmas period (which is fairly muted here anyway) and take some time off to travel with her to Santa Cruz, see her off, and enjoy some quality time together in the process.

Thanks to the kindness of both sets of parents at Christmas, we were able to live it up a little for five nights at Hotel Buganvillas, a fairly swanky establishment, replete with swimming pools, health spa and the kind of breakfast buffet that causes cardiologists to lie awake at night. I have to say, I’m more used to roughing it for holidays, but then again, living in Trinidad effectively means roughing it all year round, so the opportunity to do as little as necessary was warmly welcomed. Even better, FT gets good discounts as they’ve sent them a fair bit of business over the years, so we got a great deal in the process.

Unlike our visit to La Paz last year, I didn’t really feel the need to resort to a travel log. La Paz is the picture-postcard ideal of Bolivia; colourful ladies in bowler-hats hobbling up and down the streets, llama-strewn landscapes just a short drive out of town. But Santa Cruz is very much the gritty industrial centre. Not much to look at and hardly brimming with cultural reference points. But certainly brimming with the sort of amenities we used to take for granted at home and which are sorely lacking in Trinidad. I certainly can’t remember being so excited about a visit to the supermarket. In Trinidad, customers are generally treated as if they should be grateful just to be getting any kind of service at all. In Santa Cruz, I had to pinch myself on more than one occasion as I was asked how I could be assisted.


We were also able to spend some time out of town. On the Sunday, we visited a huge tropical wildlife park owned by a local German family. Though, fascinating though the bird and butterfly sanctuaries were, we inevitably ended up crashing by the big swimming pool there. And we got used to such lounging as the week progressed, making the most of the hotel pool.

But, most importantly, we just savoured the time together outside of the usual work context. We had a great few days with Jessica, Amanda getting the chance to catch up with her sister, I getting the chance to deepen our friendship. After Jessica left on Tuesday morning, sad though we were to see her go, we got the chance to spend time together as a couple for the first time in a few weeks.


We got back this (Friday) morning and will hit the ground running again tomorrow, with the youth group back up and running again in the evening, and an exam at our sign language class in the afternoon. On Monday, my responsibilities with the Community classes resume for the year. And over the coming weeks, we’ll be re-launching the English classes and attempting to make further inroads on our two-year visas. The break was great, but it certainly feels like 2011’s about to begin in earnest.

Prayer
• For the church’s youth group as it kicks off again and our roles there as assistants and (we hope) as an example of a young, faithful, Christian couple – surprisingly lacking here and therefore an important witness in itself.
• For focus as we resume our tasks at work this week.

Praise
• For a terrific few days away from the hustle and bustle of Trinidad.
• For Jessica’s safe arrival back in Canada on Tuesday evening.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 29/01/11

(written on Friday -- another delayed post due to continued internet problems)

Hadn’t been expecting to post this weekend due to our impending departure to Santa Cruz for a few days’ in the city but, this being Bolivia, a couple of things have happened which we weren’t anticipating. Firstly, this week has seen the first day-off-nobody-warned-you-about of the year (to be fair, it’s taken them four weeks). The Beni department, in their wisdom, opted to declare a Paro, i.e., an enforced shutdown, in order to allow us all to, literally, get our houses in order. This is due to the recent spate in the region of Dengue, the deadly virus carried by mosquitoes, fairly prominent during rainy season. So today, everyone has the opportunity to well and truly ditch the mosquito welcoming mat in their homes. Have to say, I have approached the crisis by watching tennis (Come. On. Andy.) and, looking out our window, it doesn’t look like many families are overly-concerned. Mind you, our side of town is a little less affected by the whole thing.

The second reason for writing is that, on Wednesday, we got our Interpol certificates, about a whole two months sooner than the office had been anticipating – with hindsight, they were probably protecting their own backs. Anyway, we had included this as a prayer point, so we thought we should update you on that. Visa-wise, it’s the tip of the iceberg (and one that would cause the Titanic's conqueror to blush), but a significant first step and the green-light to proceed with the remainder of the visa documentation when we return from Santa Cruz.

At work it’s been a productive week all round. Jessica proceeded with various nursing support tasks and on Tuesday afternoon had the chance to observe the first surgery session of the year at FT and, like many young health students/professionals who come here, came away having seen lots of stuff she’d never experienced before. Amanda started putting her new-found audiology skills to practice at work, really feeling the benefit of the course. And I put the finishing touches to preparations for the first few weeks of Community classes, which resume on Monday, 7th of February (the day we come back to work after our break).


Jessica fishing last weekend (Maicol in the background). The excursion was short-lived as a torrential downpour turned up five minutes later. Buckets were required.

So we’re looking forward to a relaxing few days in Santa Cruz. Jessica flies home on Tuesday and we’re planning on staying one more night before returning here on Wednesday, which really means Thursday. Long-distance bus travel in Bolivia mostly takes place at night, as it minimises the risk of engines overheating and tyres getting damaged. Sensible, though it doesn’t really chime with my complete inability to sleep on anything that moves.

Prayer
• For safety in our travels to and from Santa Cruz, and Jessica’s flights home on Tuesday.
• For a relaxing time as we enjoy our first real break since September.

Praise
• For a productive week for the three of us at work.
• For the successful granting of the Interpol certificates.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

(Post-)Saturday Post -- 22/01/11

First up, apologies if this week’s update arrives later than usual – we know a lot of you make a habit at the weekend of reading our update. I’m typing this up offline as we’ve now gone about two days without internet. Another severe deluge of rain on Thursday/Friday may have played its part in that – the networks here not yet robust enough to cope with adverse conditions. I will post as soon as possible.

Jessica has been settling into the pace of things nicely here. On Monday morning she had her volunteer’s induction (does that mean she was induced?) with Kenny and immediately settled into various nursing tasks. Mostly, she has been taking care of basic needs, such as cutting giant rolls of gauze into small strips, but now and again she’s provided assistance to Amanda in the afternoons in treating patients. And we’ve made sure she’s put to good use at home too! It’s been great to have an extra pair of hands to help cook, wash dishes etc. Most of all, it’s been really wonderful just having a familiar face around and we look forward to the remainder of the time we have with her.

Amanda has successfully managed to juggle her sister’s visit with her Audiology training course. This week, the participants applied the theory they’d learnt in the first week to FT patients. In addition, there was a closing exam. No prizes for guessing who got the highest score – though her mother may be curious as to where the other 10% went.

I’ve managed to compile all the main English class teaching materials for the year this week. This year, we’re hoping to run two classes simultaneously: one for absolute beginners and one for last year’s participants, as well as anyone else who feels capable enough to join at that level. The classes will also start alongside the school year in mid-February this year, which will give us a lot more time and flexibility (a crucial commodity in this society). Additionally, we learned over the course of the last year that a big incentive for Bolivians is simply receiving certificates – few things make them happier than a bit of paper saying they attended a particular class. So this year the classes are divided into four smaller modules which will last about six weeks each. I spent a lot of time last year chasing my tail when it came to English materials, so it’s great to be able to have the year in place so early, allowing me to concentrate, God-willing, on other matters such as FT’s library and the website.

Another noteworthy accomplishment this week was booking flights to Toronto for Jessica’s wedding in August. Though we have always planned on returning for this important family event, we had been dithering over this, waiting to see if there were any big shifts in the market in January. Sure enough, prices plummeted this week, so we made a move. The wedding is our main motivation for travelling but we’re looking to kill a few birds with the one stone. My family will be travelling to my uncle and aunt’s home in Virginia for two weeks to have a little reunion with us, which I’m obviously quite excited about. And we’re hoping to use the time to visit churches with which we have links, to update them on our ministry here in Trinidad.

By next weekend, that ministry will, unbelievably, be a year old. However, we’ll not be in Trinidad but in Santa Cruz, where we’re going to spend a few final days with Jessica before seeing her off the following Tuesday morning. No update, then, next weekend, but then again, depending on how long it takes the internet folk to sort themselves out, you might not even get this till then!

Prayer
• For Craig and co-worker Samy as they put the finishing touches to preparations for the resumption of the Community Classes on 7th February.
• For Jessica’s last week here and for safety as we travel, by road, to Santa Cruz next Friday evening.

Praise
• For Amanda’s successful completion of her course.
• For having the English class preparation out of the way.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda

Saturday Post -- 15/01/11

There we are at the wedding, last night, of Asalia, one of Amanda’s nursing colleagues at FT. We certainly enjoyed ourselves, though the evening was not without its responsibilities. I was asked by Asalia and her husband to be the official photographer, something I am hopelessly under-qualified for, but nonetheless, I was happy to pitch in. Amanda had the honour of being asked by Asalia to be an official witness at the marriage ceremony, an important role here. And in the run-up to the wedding, Amanda had also provided her talents in an area she has had plenty of practice in (not least for our own nuptials): making the invitations. It was a pleasure to provide such support to Asalia, a great friend to both of us.

Yesterday’s celebrations capped a busy week for us in which we’ve been occupied with a range of tasks at work. I led the meditations in the mornings, dealing with Paul’s vision of heaven, his ‘thorn in the flesh’ and, well, those silly Corinthians – and by extension, you and me! Some ripe passages for good teaching this week. I also turned my attention to the Education section of FT’s six-monthly report, which will be with sponsors in the coming weeks.

Amanda, meanwhile, has spent the mornings enhancing her audiology skills as part of a two-week course which is being held at FT. FT’s former audiologist and speech therapist, Maricarmen Fernández, has come back to take the course and Amanda has benefitted immensely from the teaching, with a week still remaining.

Her afternoons have been spent in nursing. That is, apart from Thursday, when we drove to the airport and picked up Jessica, whom we are pleased to say arrived in one piece. Just as excitingly, so did the various Zip-Loc bags stuffed with top-quality European chocolate! A few other surprises were in store and it’s fair to say we enjoyed something of a late Christmas on Thursday evening (well, they do say Christ was really born in January!).

Know what else happened in January, indeed, on this very January day a year ago? We left the UK for Toronto and, ultimately, Bolivia. Wow! Where did that year go? I guess at this rate, it won’t be too long till our first furlough. We look forward to seeing you then, but till then, you’ll just have to content yourself with this week’s prayer points.

Prayer
• For Jessica as she begins her two weeks of voluntary work this week at FT.
• For our time with Jessica as a family, that we’ll make the most of the next couple of weeks with our sister/sister-in-law (delete as appropriate).

Praise
• For the opportunity to serve our work colleague at her wedding on Friday.
• For Amanda’s course and all she is learning there.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda