Linn’s News April 2010
Thanks for all your prayers. The secondary department camps which have been held this month were a great success and everybody had a safe and wonderful time.
The Church
Life with the morning Cathedral congregation is moving forward. Pastor Agustine and Pastor Ronnie are now working as a leadership team together. This appears to be working well as they each have different strengths. We have had some very challenging sermons recently.
All the churches are busy preparing for the Easter services.
The Country
Nothing much changes here politically. I think that the newspapers are bored with the political scene because not much is being reported. There is more focus on football at the moment, with the World Cup coming up. (I bought a special World Cup t-shirt when I was in South Africa and I can’t wait to wear it.)
On the economic front we are all noticing and feeling the sting of rising prices as the recession bites. I shop in the local market and even there the fruit and vegetable prices are increasing quickly.
The temperatures have dropped a little. Most days are still hot but we have had a fair amount of rain to cool things down enough for the flowers to start blooming again. I was out only this morning and saw a stunning garden full of bougainvillae of various colours, and a Morning Glory, all in full bloom. My garden is only just coming into bloom again. The strange thing is that we are going into Autumn, not Spring.
The schools.
Earlier this month there were elections in Primary. It was time to choose the Team Captains and Vice-captains. The candidates each presented their campaigns in a series of speeches. Later all the children voted in a secret ballot. Last week the Captains were officially appointed and they received their special badges.
In the main college we spent a week working on a whole school project on “Responsibility for the environment”. The Primary children gave their grade presentations on Friday. There was a wide range of work in both Spanish and English ranging from recycling, to looking after animals, to the greenhouse effect and global warming. It gave them an opportunity to learn from each other. Each month there is a now week long, special project built into the curriculum.
The Annexe school had their Easter play and service this week. They started in the shade and ended up in blazing sunshine as it was held outside on their patio area.
On Thursday afternoon there was great excitement in the Primary department as the children participated in the annual egg hunt followed by The Easter hat parade. As usual there was an amazing array of creations. They all received an Easter egg for their efforts.
The serious message of Easter came on Friday morning. The entire school attended our Easter service in the cathedral. It was a wonderful time of praise, worship, teaching and reflection. Babs Owen took a spot, involving the Primary children and Bishop Peter preached the Easter message. The main focus of the service was on the resurrection and the fact that Jesus is alive.
In the afternoon the children began their Easter holiday while the staff all attended an in-service training session.
Prayer Points:-
1. Give thanks for the wonder of the resurrection as you celebrate this Easter and please pray that the message of Jesus being alive will become real for the children in St. Andrew’s school as they develop their personal relationship with him.
2. Please continue to pray for the people of Paraguay. The news is constantly full of crime reports as people try to supplement their income or escape from reality through the drug route. Pray for those in authority to stand firm and for the government to have wisdom as they tackle crime and the recession.
3. Please pray for the staff of St. Andrew’s as we take our Easter break before the long run through to July. Pray for each of us to be refreshed and ready to work together in every area as teachers, administrators and maintenance and kitchen teams next term. Pray particularly for Gwen Carlisle and Mags Southern at the helm. Pray for real rest and refreshment from their heavy load and for wisdom for next term as they lead us.
Linn Tedman, working for the Church Mission Society/LatinAmerica, Watlington Road, Oxford OX4 6BZ
You can find more information about me, on the CMS website at http://www.cms-uk.org/tabid/519/language/en-GB/Default.aspx
Monday, March 29, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
Linn's News March 2010
Linn’s News March 2010
Thanks
Thank you everybody who has been praying for me over the past three months. The Lord has been amazing in his answers.
I am now fully recovered from the chest infection that I had over Christmas and the New Year. I managed to visit most of my supporting link churches, even if I was not able to give a Sunday presentation. A big “sorry” to those I could not reach because of the snow. I believe that the Lord was ensuring that I took some rest. I was exhausted at the end of last year. Teachers among you will know how busy a year can be. Our time in UK is so short and it did not help when I fell sick.
Church
It was good to get back into the church here. It was great to see Pastor Ronnie Irene in our congregation and his preaching has been good.
Bishop Peter and his wife, Sally have arrived back safely from their holiday in the UK.
The Country
Very little has changed politically since I arrived back. President Lugo continues to receive bad press. He was at the Mexican Summit last week and is supporting Argentina in their Malvinas dispute with the British. There is still some fear from many people in the aftermath of the kidnapping of Fidel Zavala. It was wonderful that he was released. There have been reports of other attempted kidnappings, but so far people have been OK. The army continues to search out insurgents.
The worst part of the last month was the heat. It had been extremely hot (40+C) for so long that nothing seemed to cool down, even at night. The electricity Company could not provide enough electricity to keep all the air-conditioners in the country going so we suffered power cuts. Also, artesian water could not be pumped so some went without water. Life has improved this week (so far!). Thankfully we had some rain at the end of last week, which cooled things a little.
Today is a public holiday!
The Schools
The staff returned to school ten days before the students, in order to prepare for th
e year ahead. We began with a lovely service in the school hall. Revd Ronnie Irene preached from John 15. He was like a breath of fresh air.
The students arrived back safely from their holidays. Some were very tanned after visits to the beach in Brazil and Uruguay.
The sixth form arrived by “train” this year, with lots of shouting and noise but no
fireworks, for a change.
The whole school attended a service in the Cathedral to begin the year. It was a great time of praise and worship, with good teaching from Pastor Ronnie, Babs Owen and Mags Southern.
The children are taking time to settle down but that is par for the course.
I have been busy checking reading ages. It has been quite surprising. Considering that English is their second language, they are pretty much ‘up to scratch’. It has been encouraging for us and they have been challenged to improve by the end of the year.
This week the fifth and sixth grades attended their annual Christian camp out in the countryside. The rain which arrived on Wednesday did not put them off and they had a great time of fun and Bible input.
There are more Christian camps coming up in the secondary department.
We have some new staff in the English department in secondary. The Lord never lets us down! They all seem to be settling in well. We also have Lara-Clare, a young volunteer from the UK for six months.
SAMS/CMS merger
I am now no longer a SAMS missionary. As of 1st February SAMS became the Latin America branch of CMS under a new joint entity. I have therefore become a CMS mission partner. You can find all my details on the CMS website at:- http://www.cms-uk.org/latinamerica. You just click on South America on the map and then click on my name. There is lots of information on the site and the Share magazine will still be available.
Many have asked about donations. Giving will now go through CMS. We have been assured that it will still reach us in South America.
Prayer Points:-
Please continue to pray for peace and stability in Paraguay. Pray for the armed forces as they search out members of the Paraguayan people’s Army. Pray for President Lugo and his government to have wisdom.
Pray for all the Anglican churches here as the new year gets underway everywhere. Pray especially for the Lent groups. Pray for Pastor Ronnie and his family as they settle in and for Nicky his wife, teaching in our secondary department.
Pray for all the children and staff in both St. Andrew’s schools. Please pray for good health and for safety as the annual camps take place.
Linn Tedman, working for the Church Mission Society/LatinAmerica, Watlington Road, Oxford OX4 6BZ
Thanks
Thank you everybody who has been praying for me over the past three months. The Lord has been amazing in his answers.
I am now fully recovered from the chest infection that I had over Christmas and the New Year. I managed to visit most of my supporting link churches, even if I was not able to give a Sunday presentation. A big “sorry” to those I could not reach because of the snow. I believe that the Lord was ensuring that I took some rest. I was exhausted at the end of last year. Teachers among you will know how busy a year can be. Our time in UK is so short and it did not help when I fell sick.
Church
It was good to get back into the church here. It was great to see Pastor Ronnie Irene in our congregation and his preaching has been good.
Bishop Peter and his wife, Sally have arrived back safely from their holiday in the UK.
The Country
Very little has changed politically since I arrived back. President Lugo continues to receive bad press. He was at the Mexican Summit last week and is supporting Argentina in their Malvinas dispute with the British. There is still some fear from many people in the aftermath of the kidnapping of Fidel Zavala. It was wonderful that he was released. There have been reports of other attempted kidnappings, but so far people have been OK. The army continues to search out insurgents.
The worst part of the last month was the heat. It had been extremely hot (40+C) for so long that nothing seemed to cool down, even at night. The electricity Company could not provide enough electricity to keep all the air-conditioners in the country going so we suffered power cuts. Also, artesian water could not be pumped so some went without water. Life has improved this week (so far!). Thankfully we had some rain at the end of last week, which cooled things a little.
Today is a public holiday!
The Schools
The staff returned to school ten days before the students, in order to prepare for th
e year ahead. We began with a lovely service in the school hall. Revd Ronnie Irene preached from John 15. He was like a breath of fresh air.The students arrived back safely from their holidays. Some were very tanned after visits to the beach in Brazil and Uruguay.
The sixth form arrived by “train” this year, with lots of shouting and noise but no
fireworks, for a change.The whole school attended a service in the Cathedral to begin the year. It was a great time of praise and worship, with good teaching from Pastor Ronnie, Babs Owen and Mags Southern.
The children are taking time to settle down but that is par for the course.
I have been busy checking reading ages. It has been quite surprising. Considering that English is their second language, they are pretty much ‘up to scratch’. It has been encouraging for us and they have been challenged to improve by the end of the year.
This week the fifth and sixth grades attended their annual Christian camp out in the countryside. The rain which arrived on Wednesday did not put them off and they had a great time of fun and Bible input.
There are more Christian camps coming up in the secondary department.
We have some new staff in the English department in secondary. The Lord never lets us down! They all seem to be settling in well. We also have Lara-Clare, a young volunteer from the UK for six months.
SAMS/CMS merger
I am now no longer a SAMS missionary. As of 1st February SAMS became the Latin America branch of CMS under a new joint entity. I have therefore become a CMS mission partner. You can find all my details on the CMS website at:- http://www.cms-uk.org/latinamerica. You just click on South America on the map and then click on my name. There is lots of information on the site and the Share magazine will still be available.
Many have asked about donations. Giving will now go through CMS. We have been assured that it will still reach us in South America.
Prayer Points:-
Please continue to pray for peace and stability in Paraguay. Pray for the armed forces as they search out members of the Paraguayan people’s Army. Pray for President Lugo and his government to have wisdom.
Pray for all the Anglican churches here as the new year gets underway everywhere. Pray especially for the Lent groups. Pray for Pastor Ronnie and his family as they settle in and for Nicky his wife, teaching in our secondary department.
Pray for all the children and staff in both St. Andrew’s schools. Please pray for good health and for safety as the annual camps take place.
Linn Tedman, working for the Church Mission Society/LatinAmerica, Watlington Road, Oxford OX4 6BZ
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