Hey everyone

Okay, so as you know from last week over the past few weeks and months concerns over my health and a minor relapse into chronic fatigue has meant that decisions have been taken over my placement and return to the UK.

As you know, I was originally due to return in May 2010, however last week a joint decision between myself and various members of Latin Link was taken to bring this date forward.

I will now be arriving back in the UK on the 22nd December allowing me to stay to see the graduation of the children I have been working with during my time out here, and then will be returning with Ruth when she comes out to visit me in December. I will then be spending Christmas and New Year with Ruth at various family events, taking time out before starting to visit other people.

This is a joint decision, which both Latin Link and myself are happy with.

Please pray for the next 9 weeks until I return, that I would have the energy to spend a sufficient amount of time with the kids before leaving, and also be able close everything here including my flat, and get things packed. Please also pray for the kids I work with, as some of them will struggle with the news. Also pray for a really relaxing time when Ruth is here, and also over Christmas and New Year.

The fact that this decision has been taken has helped me relax a bit more, as I was fairly certain it would be stupid to try and make it through until May for the sake of it, but equally was not ready to leave without seeing things such as the graduation of the children I work with, and so my health has seemed to improve a little as opposed to continue to get worse.

Bendiciones

Andy

Hey guys

My September prayer letter is now available here.

Bendiciones

Andy

Hey everyone!

So today I learnt my lesson about making sure you explain things very clearly to kids when you are teaching……

As part of the Maths Challenge, today one of my classes got the privelege of using the few (rather slow and old) computers we have to do some researching to find the colours of football shirts, flags and logos to decorate their presentations. Beforehand I carefully explained to them that they could only use the computers for the task at hand, and not to play games or download music or anything like that (spoil sport I know, but give them an inch and they take a mile with our kids!).

So everything was going swimmingly, until I turned around and saw two of the kids with a picture of  rather scantly-clad brazilian woman in a very small bikini! I obviously kicked them out the class and told them to go and return and do some other work they had to do.

I then went to where they were to give them the opportunity to explain their actions and their excuse was priceless: they were keeping to the rules because the bikini was of the brazilian flag and they were trying to find out the colours of it………

Moral of the story – be very clear about your instructions to 10 year old boys…….

Bendiciones

Andy

Hey everyone

Am putting this up only because I few people have seen this in the news and asked me about it. Yesterday there were two minor explosions in La Paz but in targeted areas which were not for the general public (although one was in a bus terminal – it was for a specific group it seems from reports). I have linked one of the sites here.

Please pray for those affected by this event, and also for a close friend of mine who was working in the office below that targeted in on of the attacks and was one of the first on scene.

Bendiciones

Andy

Hey everyone

So my August prayer update is now out. You can access it via the prayer newsletters page or by clicking here.

Bendiciones

Andy

Hey everyone

So I think this weekend has been one of the hardest moments since I have been out here, or at least for a while. Whilst out with the team on Saturday we met a couple of girls we know spend most of their time on the streets – they make money by selling glue and thinner to the kids on the street. One of them has recently had a baby. Whilst they were eating their lunch I took the baby for a while, who is now three months old. It was the lightest, malnourished baby I had seen for myself, ever. It was horrific. I have to be honest I am still trying to process it.

Please pray for this baby, although they don’t sleep on the street, they spend most of the day and a good bulk of the night on the streets, in really dangerous situations.

Please pray for God to break into their lives – I just felt so helpless in the situation.

Bendiciones

Andy

Hey guys!!

Just to let you know we have had our first day climbing with the kids which was awesome. Eight months after starting the project it has now started which is awesome. We took eight of the kids out in the afternoon, and are taking more kids out during the week. It was great to see how the kids got into it and they all seemed to enjoy it! No accidents too hehehe!

First day climbing

Thank you so much to those who made this possible, individual donors in the UK, Needles Sports in the Lake District who gave us such an amazing price on the gear, and finally Dan Bailey photos who gave us permission to use images without a charge for the publicity.

Bendiciones y amor a todos

Andy

Hey everyone

Just to let everyone know that I got back into La Paz, safe and sound. All the climbing and first aid gear has arrived too so thank you for everyone who donated towards it.

Please pray that I settle back in quickly, and that I can get refocused on my work. In particular pray as I consider moving church for my second year out here.

Bendiciones y amor

Andy

Hey everyone

So this week is the team conference in Coroico, which an hour or two outside of La Paz and a really nice tropical part of the country….. Whoop whoop – tan time!

Please pray for real wisdom amongst the Latin Link team as we make key decisions about the year ahead and also have time for teaching and praying, especially for the times when we get to share about our work with the others in the team.

Please also pray as it is so called ‘flu season now out here, and especially with recent things everyone seems a bit paranoid. A couple of us on the team have got colds (nothing more than colds!) at the moment – please pray we would recover before the conference.

Bendiciones

Andy

Hey everyone

Its been a whacky day of updating everything before taking a bit of time off. Included updating my wishlist on amazon of books I would love to get my grubby little hands on….. You can access it here.

It includes a mix of books in Spanish and English which I would like to read and also share with some of my friends out here, and also a few fiction books too for me to read out here during time off. 

If you would like to buy a book please do, and if you have any other suggestions of things I should read let me know!

Thanks to those who have given off this already – it is a real blessing to me personally and also to the ministry here.

Bendiciones

Andy