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