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Showing posts from June, 2007

Primary show and power surges

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Today is the Primary performance of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Our Elijah and Hannah are both taking part and it is really spectacular. Costumes and sets are very colourful - there are even special effects when Mike Teevee shrinks and appears in the television! Our kids have really enjoyed it and are singing the songs all the time in the house. Andy and Joe Perrson produced it all along with Babs. The Perssons are also leaving in 10 days time, so it was quite a lot to do in their last few weeks. Babs of course had to go back to Wales last week to be with her family. We've just had the internet put back on in school after 3 days cut off. There was a power surge that killed several electrical items, including literally melting a 4-way adapter, and frying the phone lines. The phone provider here is a nationalized company and takes days to do anything. The connection was just restored a few minutes ago. It's just a week to go until we leave. We're going round

Bab's dad died

We heard this morning that Bab's dad died last night. Very sad. At least she was able to get home to be with him for a few days. He was only diagnosed last week - amazingly quick progression of the cancer.

Partick's Ordination

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Sunday was the ordination of our good friend and colleague Patrick Butler. He has worked in Paraguay for fourteen years as a Youth Worker, but the family thought they were going to finish this year and settle back in England. God had other plans however, and they committed to work here for another few years. it was a fantastic service. He was ordained to take over the ministry of the English chapel that we have led for the last four years. Our last Sunday is next week in fact, we have just 12 days left.

Family Day

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Today was St. Andrew's School Family Day at the school sports ground. It was a fantastic day with stalls - including throwing a soapy sponge at Mags, a definite highlight - prizes, bouncy castle, food, and kites. Great fun. Below is a photo album of the fun.

Babs has gone home to her family

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This afternoon we saw Babs off at the airport. Her sister rang yesterday to say that it is likely her dad will only last a few days - it's all such a shock. She managed to get a flight very quickly, within 24 hours, and will be home in Wales by late Saturday. We're all praying hard for her, her father and family.

Shipping Day

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All our prised possessions are now in boxes getting ready to ship to Northern Ireland. The house will not seem like a home so much after this.

Sad News

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We heard today a close friend and colleague must return to the UK. Babs Owen is a teacher in primary and yesterday she got a call to say her dad has been diagnosed with aggressive cancer. He has been given only weeks to live. She is leaving today. After the death of Prof. Elva two weeks ago, and then this, the school is going though tough times.

Shipping News

The boxes for our shipping arrived today. Shipping date is this Friday. We did a lot of preparation around Easter so thankfully we feel fairly prepared. A back room is filled with stuff to go, and the kids rooms are all sorted. We just need to start filling the boxes. We even started packing our cases as we need to know how much we can take on the plane and how much needs to be shipped.

Despedias

Last night we had our despedia - a farewell party. Nearly all the missionaries gathered together for tea and time to catch up with each other. We have often hosted despedias for others who have worked here, so it was a little strange actually being at our own. We sang a little song with memories of the last eight years, and added a few thoughts about leaving friends and colleagues we love so much. Here it is: At the moment we are continuing to sort the house out for shipping next week. We have given away so much stuff! It is unbelievable what you can gather up in a few years. But we are getting there. Our two weeks will literally be living out of suitcases. If it can't go in a case it won't go.

Death of Prof. Elva

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One of our colleagues died on Sunday. She'd had a respiratory problem for a number of years and took a chest infection last week. She went to hospital with breathing difficulties, but took a turn for the worse, was put on a respirator and died a couple of days later. She was a wonderful woman, full of compassion and loved Jesus. There was no school on Monday so pupils and staff could go to the wake. Her family lives in the interior so they are burying her on Tuesday.

Pre-Primary Performance

Eileen had her last pre-primary performance today. It was excellent again this year. The wee ones, some as young as three, sang and danced very well. Here are some photos.

4 Weeks to Go

On Saturday we have just 4 weeks left in Paraguay. The last couple of weeks have been busy with 'despedias' (leaving parties), and continuing to organize the house for shipping in two weeks time. It's starting to feel imminently close now. When we think of leaving the close friends we have here it makes us fill up with emotion. We work and socialize with our colleagues. We go to church with them and our children are at school together. It would be hard to have friends you spend more time with. Yesterday I had a job interview for a Christian job with a mission agency in Northern Ireland. I connected to the interview panel over Skype and had to present a Power Point remotely (simultaneously starting it on a computer in Belfast and here in AsunciĆ³n), preach a sermon to a webcam, and answer questions for an hour and a half. I was exhausted afterwards. It's a defining moment for our future. If God wants us to continue in Christian work related to mission this is it.