Linn's News June 2010

Linn’s News June 2010
Thanks for all your prayers. Thankfully the Primary exams are now over, apart from a few for children who were off sick. The children have generally done well and passed. Staff are now busy preparing reports. The staff have coped in spite of colds and flu doing the rounds as the weather has been very wet and temperatures have dropped.
The church
We praise the Lord for good news from the Chaco. There had been difficulties in one area due to alchohol. The elders have now banned its use. The people have been encouraged. They were engaged in prayer when a deaf mute Indian was suddenly healed and he began speaking. We hope that the Lord will continue to encourage the Indians there to stay focussed on Him.
In the Cathedral we had a lovely service last Sunday. Pastor Agustine and his wife Teresa returned to the congregation after a month of rest. They have had a stressful time recently.
The service included the baptism of a young girl, Yanina. It was very special. Pastor Ronnie officiated and the worship group led us in some beautiful songs, asking the Lord to renew us and fill us with the Holy Spirit. It was beautiful. There were signs of growth in the congregation. Pastor Ronnie challenged us as usual, to get out and evangelise and bring the poor in to get to know Jesus.
The country
There is a great deal of discontent among the people as the recession bites harder and prices continue to rise. This week there was a bus drivers’ strike for more pay and better working hours. Organized gangs attacked the few buses that were running and some people were injured. Those which were running were packed to overflowing with people desperate to get to work.
Our maintenance team and Babs Owen had to get up at 4.00 to go round collecting people in the school van. Poor Babs was so tired by the end of the day of teaching. Thankfully they had two vans on Friday so they could rise a little later.
The political back-biting continues and President Lugo still receives bad press. He is now advocating job cuts in the Public sector. This has led to anger and accusations that too much money has been spent on President Lugo travelling around the World on unsuccessful trade trips. People are desperate to keep their jobs.
The school
Colds and flu have been doing the rounds as torrential rain coming in from the south has brought winter temperatures with it. It has been out with the fleece jackets on with winter duvets and off with the air conditioners.
Exams are now over until August, much to everybody’s relief and most of the children have done well.
This month the children celebrated Independence Day and Mothers’ Day in Primary. They invited their mothers in and produced a show of patriotic songs and dances for them. As usual it was all delightful.
Last weekend most of the Primary staff attended a Christian conference for teachers run by the ACSI institute. The rest of us stayed as a skeleton staff to teach the children.
Last Saturday Mags Southern and the PE staff took a group of 7th to 9th graders off to Brazil for an International Sports week. They are due back as I write. They had a wonderful time. They all looked extremely smart in their new special sports uniforms for the event.
Prayer Points:-
Give thanks and praise for what is happening in the Chaco. Pray that the Indian population there will continue to stay focussed on Jesus. Pray for Jesus to continue to encourage them.
Please pray for Pastor Agustine and his family, that they will be protected and that they can recover fully from a very stressful time. Pray for the Lord to bless them in a special way.
Pray for protection and guidance for Yanin as she moves forward on her walk with Jesus.
Pray for Pastor Ronnie and his family. Pray particularly for Nicky as she has returned to work in school and by the end of the week she is very tired. Pray for the Lord to provide her with plenty of rest and for His protection over her and her baby.
Pray for Bishop Peter and Sally that they can have divine wisdom, strength and encouragement as they guide the Diocese through change.
Pray for President Lugo and the government as they try to lead the country through the economic crisis. Unpopular decisions have to be taken. Pray that people will be able to survive any necessary job cuts. Pray for more people to turn and seek the Lord as their helper through these difficult times. Pray for spiritual renewal in Christ throughout the country..
Please pray for all the staff and children in St. Andrew’s. Pray for strength and good health.
Please pray for more English teaching staff to be called to us.
I ask for personal prayer. I have now been asked to teach English to half of sixth grade on top of my other duties. Please pray for my health to improve (I am getting over another chest infection) and for the Lord to guide my planning so that I can prioritise well what is important and unimportant as I try to juggle all the balls in the air. Pray particularly for a librarian. As yet there have been no suitable applicants for the post. A trustworthy librarian assistant would take a huge weight off my shoulders.
Thank you from Linn Tedman –My work can be supported through 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

Linn's News May 2010

Linn’s News May 2010
Thanks
Thank you for your prayers for us here. We all enjoyed our Easter break but that now seems ages ago as the term is now well under way and at school exams have already begun in secondary.
The Church
There has been a change in the cathedral morning services as some of the young musicians from the evening congregation have joined us each week to help to lead the music worship. It has been a refreshing change to see young faces helping us out. Each week is a surprise as different youths join us.
Another “temporary” change was seeing Revd. Ronnie Irene preaching in the English chapel last week. He spoke very well, challenged us and was well received by the congregation. He will be asked to preach there on an occasional basis.
This weekend Babs Owen will be preaching in San Juan church in Roque Alonso. She is very excited. Babs has a gift and she is trained in this area. It is lovely to see her being able to use the skill that the Lord has given her.
The Anglican Church oversees the running of the Esperanza children’s home and the Saturday children’s club. Due to a huge drop in exchange rates and the recession, the home is passing through difficult times. The Paraguayan ladies in the church have now started to try to raise funds by making handicrafts and by recycling second hand clothes to sell. It is not easy but their last sale was extremely encouraging and the Lord seems to be blessing this initiative.
A visit to Maxawaya in the Chaco last weekend by Bishop Peter and a team was fruitful. There are now plans to help the local population to properly repair their church roof.
Last weekend there was another EJE youth weekend held in the school. Many of our students and ex-students and our current volunteer, Lara-Clare Bordeaux attended. They all came away full of the joy of the Lord. What happened during the weekend is a closely-guarded secret so that it is not spoilt for others who attend in the future.
The school
Easter seems such a long time ago because we have been busy at school. There have been more school camps. At one, all the children were left in tears of emotion as the staff delivered the gospel to them and challenged them to walk with the Lord because of what He did for them.
We have had a Book Week in the Primary department. In the library I chose a different book for each class and read to them. In the classrooms they were encouraged to make books. There was a final presentation in assembly on Friday. There was also a visit from a national author.
There was a bush fire out on our Sports Ground at Surubii. Fortunately the wind turned it away before it reached the buildings. In fact it probably helped to rid the place of any snakes and already new grass is springing up.
On Thursday we celebrated Teacher’s Day. We had a staff breakfast, followed by entertainment given by the children, parties, with more food in the classrooms and after the children went off for a half-day holiday the staff were treated to a wonderful lunch. The government had cancelled the day off for teachers but the school decided not to change their plans, so we had a relaxing Friday at home. Oh, for more long weekends, but that is now it until the July break.
My assistant in the library left a couple of weeks ago. This has left me struggling at times to teach and run the library, exchanging books etc. It seems to be “all” or “nothing” in there as students and staff come in and out. There is now an advertisement out for a new librarian to help. I hope that the Lord will send us somebody quickly.
The Country
The news here has been so boring that I have not really been watching it closely. People are still concerned about security. There are all the usual political rumblings but nothing much happening. The English news has been more interesting with the run-up to the elections. The Paraguayan newspapers have been reporting more international news than usual, to fill the news slots.
Prayer Points:-
1. Please pray for Paraguay. There are many more people struggling to exist without jobs. There is no welfare state here to help them. Pray for their everyday needs to be met. Pray also for their own creativeness and resourcefulness to develop.
2. Pray for the school as exams really get underway. Primary exams start next week. Pray for the staff as they have all the marking to do and reports to write, especially for the English staff who have a double load each. Pray for their stamina and for good health.
3. Please pray for a librarian to be found to help me.
Our much-loved school nurse, Mariella, has just left to have a baby. Please pray for her. She has looked after me very well. Also pray for secondary English teacher Nicky Irene who has been off school with a few pregnancy problems. She has been resting. Pray for Ronnie and the family all helping Nicky and each other.
4. Pray for our churches as changes begin to happen. Pray for the Lord to guide each congregation and for him to open their hearts and minds to move forward with the Lord. Please pray for the young people as they help out us “Golden Oldies” on Sunday mornings. Also, pray for Babs Owen as she begins to preach.
Linn Tedman –My work can be supported through 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

Linn's News May 2010

Linn’s News May 2010
Thanks
Thank you for your prayers for us here. We all enjoyed our Easter break but that now seems ages ago as the term is now well under way and at school exams have already begun in secondary.
The Church
There has been a change in the cathedral morning services as some of the young musicians from the evening congregation have joined us each week to help to lead the music worship. It has been a refreshing change to see young faces helping us out. Each week is a surprise as different youths join us.
Another “temporary” change was seeing Revd. Ronnie Irene preaching in the English chapel last week. He spoke very well, challenged us and was well received by the congregation. He will be asked to preach there on an occasional basis.
This weekend Babs Owen will be preaching in San Juan church in Remansito. She is very excited. Babs has a gift and she is trained in this area. It is lovely to see her being able to use the skill that the Lord has given her.
The Anglican Church oversees the running of the Esperanza children’s home and the Saturday children’s club. Due to a huge drop in exchange rates and the recession, the home is passing through difficult times. The Paraguayan ladies in the church have now started to try to raise funds by making handicrafts and by recycling second hand clothes to sell. It is not easy but their last sale was extremely encouraging and the Lord seems to be blessing this initiative.
A visit to Maxawaya in the Chaco last weekend by Bishop Peter and a team was fruitful. There are now plans to help the local population to properly repair their church roof.
Last weekend there was another EJE youth weekend held in the school. Many of our students and ex-students and our current volunteer, Lara-Clare Bordeaux attended. They all came away full of the joy of the Lord. What happened during the weekend is a closely-guarded secret so that it is not spoilt for others who attend in the future.
The school
Easter seems such a long time ago because we have been busy at school. There have been more school camps. At one, all the children were left in tears of emotion as the staff delivered the gospel to them and challenged them to walk with the Lord because of what He did for them.
We have had a Book Week in the Primary department. In the library I chose a different book for each class and read to them. In the classrooms they were encouraged to make books. There was a final presentation in assembly on Friday. There was also a visit from a national author.
There was a bush fire out on our Sports Ground at Surubii. Fortunately the wind turned it away before it reached the buildings. In fact it probably helped to rid the place of any snakes and already new grass is springing up.
On Thursday we celebrated Teacher’s Day. We had a staff breakfast, followed by entertainment given by the children, parties, with more food in the classrooms and after the children went off for a half-day holiday the staff were treated to a wonderful lunch. The government had cancelled the day off for teachers but the school decided not to change their plans, so we had a relaxing Friday at home. Oh, for more long weekends, but that is now it until the July break.
My assistant in the library left a couple of weeks ago. This has left me struggling at times to teach and run the library, exchanging books etc. It seems to be “all” or “nothing” in there as students and staff come in and out. There is now an advertisement out for a new librarian to help. I hope that the Lord will send us somebody quickly.
The Country
The news here has been so boring that I have not really been watching it closely. People are still concerned about security. There are all the usual political rumblings but nothing much happening. The English news has been more interesting with the run-up to the elections. The Paraguayan newspapers have been reporting more international news than usual, to fill the news slots.
Prayer Points:-
1. Please pray for Paraguay. There are many more people struggling to exist without jobs. There is no welfare state here to help them. Pray for their everyday needs to be met. Pray also for their own creativeness and resourcefulness to develop.
2. Pray for the school as exams really get underway. Primary exams start next week. Pray for the staff as they have all the marking to do and reports to write, especially for the English staff who have a double load each. Pray for their stamina and for good health.
3. Please pray for a librarian to be found to help me.
Our much-loved school nurse, Mariella, has just left to have a baby. Please pray for her. She has looked after me very well. Also pray for secondary English teacher Nicky Irene who has been off school with a few pregnancy problems. She has been resting. Pray for Ronnie and the family all helping Nicky and each other.
4. Pray for our churches as changes begin to happen. Pray for the Lord to guide each congregation and for him to open their hearts and minds to move forward with the Lord. Please pray for the young people as they help out us “Golden Oldies” on Sunday mornings. Also, pray for Babs Owen as she begins to preach.
Linn Tedman –My work can be supported through 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