Watts Happenings in Bolivia 2 July 6, 2005
Dear Family and Friends,
Just a note to keep you up to speed!
On Sunday Kent started his pastoral duties at the English congregation of Calama Baptist Church - I´m not sure when he put his sermon together - on the flights down? It was good to be at church and meet our brothers and sisters. We were warmly welcomed, although having had 10 years of church being at 1:15 at the Mustard Seed Street Church in Victoria, it was a slight shock to the system to be singing at 9:00! We also went to the Spanish service, which happens immediately after. What wonderful singing and music! Ivan, who is our "Boss" down here led the worship - what a voice! It was very moving to sing "How Great thou art" in Spanish - wow, can they sing! We were called up to the front and Pastor Gautier prayed for us. As I stood there, understanding only 1 word in 10 I was mindful of our Mustard Seeders who had prayed us on our way the week before. After the service we were greeted warmly by the hermanos and the hermanas (Brothers and sisters - free Spanish lesson!).
On Monday I started at the Seminary library. I´ll only work part-time until Anna is in school. Some prayer requests on that regard:
1. That Raul will be able to get the library computer programme installed without too much trouble - he´s had to get more memory for the server,
2. I´ve gotten permission from Marcelino, the Principal to weed the library. There are a lot of books to be gotten rid of - some gems such as a 1943 Encyclopedia Britanica, the 1984 Yearbook of the Atlantic Baptist Convention, and years of Los Tiempos newspapers, which is now online. Please pray for wisdom as I set about this onerous task, necessary to get done before we start to catalogue the books
3. For a good relationship with the student library helpers. I´ve met Elizabeth so far and she´s a lovely young woman, very hard worker, and doesn´t speak English, just Spanish and Quchua.
4. That our language study will be fruitful quickly and that we´ll chose the right teacher for us.
Anna has met some of her classmates and has enjoyed being with some young people, but much of her days are being spent with adults, doing stupid adult stuff. She´s lonely for her friends, and sad that their lives are going on without her and missing her usual round of activities in the summer. But she´s being a great sport about all of this and we´re trying to strike a balance between tearing into our work and being sensitive to her needs. Please pray for her and us as we work it all out. One good thing (I can´t believe I´m saying that!) is that she seems to have aquired a teeny tiny puppy, that was abandoned on the street after Friday´s market, right outside the Seminary. Kent and her found him and brought him home. Just what I want - another baby to train! He had some nasty ticks (guess who cleaned him up with anti insecto jamon (soap) and picked off the ticks and has been putting cortizone cream on his bald patches? Hint - it´s not Kent and seldom Anna!) He´s been staying outside and gambols around when he isn´t sleeping. He whines at night when the big mean cats come to visit his food bowl!
We´re loving being here - the weather is wonderful - their winter so far has been like our late spring (or at least those wonderful hot days we had, not the overcast cold ones). Kent looks out the window every morning to say, "Looks like it´s going to be a fine day!" which is amusing because every day is a fine one! And the people are so kind and gentle and very patient with our lousy Spanish. They are such fine looking people - and there are lots of hugs and kisses whenever we meet or part.
Speaking of amusing, you´ll get a chuckle out of this... On Sunday there was a Spanish speaking pastor from Texas, who spoke in the Spanish service. He began his message with a long homourous story, which had everyone around us chuckling away. We didn´t understand it, but just from the Pastor´s intonation we knew it was one of those great Pastor jokes (you know what they say about Baptist ministers actually being stand-up commedian want-to- bes!) that brings you into the message. Soon the chuckles became guffahs and at the punchline people were shouting with laughter. We smiled ruefully at each other because we were missing a great joke, and what Nflder likes to miss a joke. Kent leaned over to me and murrmered " I´ve heard that one before"!
We still haven´t learned what that joke was, but it´s right up there with the funniest stories I´ve ever heard!
Bless you all,
Susan, Kent and Anna Watts
Just a note to keep you up to speed!
On Sunday Kent started his pastoral duties at the English congregation of Calama Baptist Church - I´m not sure when he put his sermon together - on the flights down? It was good to be at church and meet our brothers and sisters. We were warmly welcomed, although having had 10 years of church being at 1:15 at the Mustard Seed Street Church in Victoria, it was a slight shock to the system to be singing at 9:00! We also went to the Spanish service, which happens immediately after. What wonderful singing and music! Ivan, who is our "Boss" down here led the worship - what a voice! It was very moving to sing "How Great thou art" in Spanish - wow, can they sing! We were called up to the front and Pastor Gautier prayed for us. As I stood there, understanding only 1 word in 10 I was mindful of our Mustard Seeders who had prayed us on our way the week before. After the service we were greeted warmly by the hermanos and the hermanas (Brothers and sisters - free Spanish lesson!).
On Monday I started at the Seminary library. I´ll only work part-time until Anna is in school. Some prayer requests on that regard:1. That Raul will be able to get the library computer programme installed without too much trouble - he´s had to get more memory for the server,
2. I´ve gotten permission from Marcelino, the Principal to weed the library. There are a lot of books to be gotten rid of - some gems such as a 1943 Encyclopedia Britanica, the 1984 Yearbook of the Atlantic Baptist Convention, and years of Los Tiempos newspapers, which is now online. Please pray for wisdom as I set about this onerous task, necessary to get done before we start to catalogue the books
3. For a good relationship with the student library helpers. I´ve met Elizabeth so far and she´s a lovely young woman, very hard worker, and doesn´t speak English, just Spanish and Quchua.
4. That our language study will be fruitful quickly and that we´ll chose the right teacher for us.
Anna has met some of her classmates and has enjoyed being with some young people, but much of her days are being spent with adults, doing stupid adult stuff. She´s lonely for her friends, and sad that their lives are going on without her and missing her usual round of activities in the summer. But she´s being a great sport about all of this and we´re trying to strike a balance between tearing into our work and being sensitive to her needs. Please pray for her and us as we work it all out. One good thing (I can´t believe I´m saying that!) is that she seems to have aquired a teeny tiny puppy, that was abandoned on the street after Friday´s market, right outside the Seminary. Kent and her found him and brought him home. Just what I want - another baby to train! He had some nasty ticks (guess who cleaned him up with anti insecto jamon (soap) and picked off the ticks and has been putting cortizone cream on his bald patches? Hint - it´s not Kent and seldom Anna!) He´s been staying outside and gambols around when he isn´t sleeping. He whines at night when the big mean cats come to visit his food bowl!
We´re loving being here - the weather is wonderful - their winter so far has been like our late spring (or at least those wonderful hot days we had, not the overcast cold ones). Kent looks out the window every morning to say, "Looks like it´s going to be a fine day!" which is amusing because every day is a fine one! And the people are so kind and gentle and very patient with our lousy Spanish. They are such fine looking people - and there are lots of hugs and kisses whenever we meet or part.
Speaking of amusing, you´ll get a chuckle out of this... On Sunday there was a Spanish speaking pastor from Texas, who spoke in the Spanish service. He began his message with a long homourous story, which had everyone around us chuckling away. We didn´t understand it, but just from the Pastor´s intonation we knew it was one of those great Pastor jokes (you know what they say about Baptist ministers actually being stand-up commedian want-to- bes!) that brings you into the message. Soon the chuckles became guffahs and at the punchline people were shouting with laughter. We smiled ruefully at each other because we were missing a great joke, and what Nflder likes to miss a joke. Kent leaned over to me and murrmered " I´ve heard that one before"!
We still haven´t learned what that joke was, but it´s right up there with the funniest stories I´ve ever heard!
Bless you all,
Susan, Kent and Anna Watts
posted by Bibliomaniac | 5:42 a.m.
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