Linn's News April 2010

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