Month: December 2007

 

Merry Christmas… or in Spanish … Feliz navidad…

We hope and pray that you have had a lovely Christmas day. We went to church last night for a carol concert and I played my flute. There was an amazing thunder and lightening storm with loads of rain through the evening which caused a city wide power cut. So the service was conducted by candle light … very atmospheric … After the service Dean, Chris ( LLink co-ordinator) and I went out and shared bread rolls and sweets with the street children. It was one of the hardest things we have done. It was cold and wet and these little ones were sleeping on top of each other in shop door ways. We got in about 1 in the morning.
This morning we opened the parcels we had picked up from the post office. Invited Chris around for breakfast ( fried egg butties and we shared our very last tea bag …) We then went to Phil and Jan’s house for lunch. It was delicious. Turkey and mashed potatoes with stuffing, followed by cinnamon sponge. We then played some silly games and chatted.
We had been feeling a little homesick over the past few weeks, spanish is still hard and we feel a bit frustrated. We had been dreading Christmas day a bit, but we have had a lovely day. We were walking down the hill to our house this evening, the sun was shining and the air was so clear that you could see all the mountains around Sucre. It was beautiful… breath-taking !!
Some of the other Latin Linkers are coming to visit us on Friday to celebrate my birthday and we are going to see the sights of Sucre, haven’t had much free time yet to do this.
Lots and lots of love. Please send us a message, be lovely to hear your news.

 

December in Bolivia is the start of rainy season and when the sun isn’t out it is really cold. So one day it’s thermals and the next day we could be sitting in the plaza wearing T-shirts and sun cream! Pretty weird eh! It is freezing at night too and we are discovering that Bolivian houses do NOT have central heating. It’s just a case of putting on another layer… and wearing your woolly socks!

We had a Spanish exam last Wednesday. We have a whole new sympathy for students. That feeling of total panic as everything you have ever learnt floats out of your head. We have started at a new school (Latino Americano institute) and plan to just study two afternoons a week. We are getting plenty of opportunities to practice when we meet students and people from the church.

Dean spoke at church on Sunday evening. He shared his testimony and gave a talk on “The Father’s Love”. Phil translated the bits he couldn’t say (most of it!). Over 40 people came forward for prayer and ministry which really blew us away! It’s amazing to be in the centre of God’s will.

There have been a few recent problems in Sucre with protests and marches. We have not been effected by it much as we are staying just outside the town centre. It’s all to do with the Bolivian constitution and the location of the capital.

Tomorrow we are moving to our new house closer to the Universities which we are really looking forward to. Please leave us a message. (We love hearing from home.) Any goodies can be sent to Casilla 215, Sucre, Bolivia…

…more pictures to come.