Moulding Chronicles May 2014

Dear Friends,

Life can be challenging at times, not knowing if the world as you know it will be turned upside down and inside out at any minute. It’s those challenges that force us to make important decisions. Where and in whom are we going to put our trust? What are the things most important to us? What attitude are we going to choose in light of the challenge? Are we going to choose to learn and grow or sulk and complain?

Although we know what we should do, it’s hard sometimes to make the right choices. Those discouraging voices at the back of our minds start effecting what we do and how we do it. But we thank God for the real voices of real people who God uses to encourage and build us up and who speak truth into our situation, and who remind us of Gods continuing faithfulness and who encourage us to keep trusting Him for just one day at a time. And so, even though our challenge is yet to be resolved we hold onto the hope God has given us and take one step at a time and look to where we can grow and learn.

Life lessons can be just downright exhausting, but they can also be liberating and life giving.  Over the last 2 months we have been  participating in a course about Building Healthy Relationships, which covers 5 important areas that can  either break down or build up relationships. These areas have included; rejection, judging others, forgiveness, seeking forgiveness and loving others. 

The courses were simple in their truths, yet hard hitting as they challenged us at our core self, highlighting where we needed to change and grow. There is not space to share everything about the course here but if it captures your interest you can find out more at Victorious Christian Living International http://www.vcli.org/salt/.

In other family news, we had fun celebrating Lucas’ 2nd birthday over the Easter weekend with an egg theme. The best part of which was watching how much fun the adults had throwing paint filled egg shells at a piece of paper resulting in lots of mess and pretty pictures.

In school we have just finished a project on boats and enjoyed an afternoon making some boats and then setting them to sail in the bath tub. We have also started a journey of learning about the human body. So far we have explored the skeletal system and made our own model of a cell using jelly and lots of sweets (You can imagine how well that one went down). We are thankful for the smiles and rays of sunshine in our days. Blessings.

Thank God for: 

• Improving health
• Greater motivation for Ed at work
• The outcome of the relationships course

Ask God for:

• Opportunities to share the course with others
• A swift, positive resolution to our current challenge
• Guidance in strengthening our own family relationships
  
  
  
    

Ed, Sarah, Alana, Isaiah and Lucas

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. 

^{Hebrews 6:19a}

An Easter garden

For Easter this year we decided to do something a little different and make our own Easter garden.  I have many happy memories from my own childhood of spending hours putting together little gardens complete with ponds, rockeries and freshly picked flowers (that didn't stay fresh for very long).  Living where we live in a land of concrete and cement it wasn't going to be easy putting together something so 'natural' so we had to work with what we had, but the result of what we created really surprised me.

To form our 'garden' we resorted to good ole paper mache, paint and tissue paper, adding a natural touch with a few stones and forming our crosses out of sticks. 

My original plan was to make it and use it as a centre piece for our table to bring a focus of conversation around to what Easter was about. Yet as it sat there the first day I was surprised to see how the children began interacting with it and playing with it and so we decided to make it more than just an ornament and through the course of holy week, with the help of some little plastic people we acted out the last days of Jesus before his death and then his resurrection.

It brought the story to life in a new way this year. For days later the children could be seen re-acting out the story and all that happened with a few extra characters here and there, with the empty tomb occasionally being used as a car park!

Something from the story has definitely stuck, as when flipping through the photos today Lucas (2) took one look at the figure stuck to the cross and said 'Jesus'.

A well watered garden

Back in October I spent two days with the Food for the Hungry (FH) team in Torotoro, Bolivia, to share the training on the Foundations for Farming Well-Watered Garden. During this time we planted a demonstration plot of maize where the team lives so that we could try out this method of farming, and see if it is something that FH in Bolivia wish to implement in its community development work. 

The training went well, despite a few difficulties such as working with land that had already been ploughed prior to my arrival, and demonstrations that didn’t quite work exactly as they should. When it came to sharing I actually found it quite difficult to express the materials well in a second language. However despite these difficulties the team was able to understand the main concepts and we were able to successfully plant a 6x6m Well-Watered Garden of Maize.  Doing this training also served to help strengthen the team in that region as it provided an opportunity for them to share and learn together as well as enjoying some fun and laughter along the way. Initially the  plot had a high germination rate which was good, however, early on birds came and ate most of the seeds so they had to replanted again. In order to prevent the same thing happening again the team decided to put bottles next to each planting station and planted 5 seeds instead of 3, with the thought that 2 were for the birds and then 3 for them. 

I originally had plans to return to the site in February, however bad weather and resulting storm damage and landslides meant that the trip had to be cancelled. In mid-March I was finally able to go back to Torotoro to see what had been happening whilst I was accompanying a team that was visiting our work zones. During this visit I had time to talk with some of the team who had been looking after the plot and hear their stories about how it had been going and the difficulties that they had faced. They really liked the idea of the standards and principles set by FfF though they have been a challenge for them to keep and at various times they have had to stop and go back and readjust what they were doing. The two most prominent examples of this were, 1: Watering of the plants, normally in Bolivia they either put on lots and lots of water or nothing at all, at times they forgot to water them and so had to keep working at it to try and make it a habit. 2: Thinning out the plants in the plant stations. This they found really hard to do, despite understanding the reasons why. 

Recently they have had a problem with the birds eating the maize growing on the plants so they have been thinking about how they can stop them. Their plan is to put clear plastic bottles over the tops of the cobs to stop the birds. There hope now is that by the end of April the Maize will be ready to harvest.

Ruben the area coordinator has been very encouraged with this method of farming despite its problems, and the way the demonstration plot has turned out and is hoping that we can continue to experiment with this method in the coming growing season as well as trial the vegetable gardens. He is also hoping that we can start trials with some of the families in the communities where FH is working. So in April I hope to share my vision for using FfF within FH Bolivia with our new programs manager to get him onboard, and then in May I hope to be able to travel back to Torotoro to evaluate with the team their experiences and talk about the next steps to be able to move forward.

Moulding Chronicles March 2014

Dear Friends,

Over the last two years we have been steadily working through a leadership coaching course, part of which has involved looking at our passions and calling. As mentioned previously, over this last year, I (Ed) have also been working with a Bolivian colleague developing orientation, discipleship and evaluation processes. 

Back in February this work and my newly identified passions and calling began to merge as Oscar did some reorganizing of jobs and roles within the office, which has meant that I am now taking the lead of staff development instead of just being an assistant. This is an exciting step forward as I had wanted something more to get my teeth into rather than the little bits here and there. It is also a positive move in that it enables me to begin working more directly in my area of passion and calling in coming alongside people to show them value and worth and encourage them in their faith. 

As part of this new role I will also be working with Oscar and another colleague to help create a pilot discipleship system, which will first be tried out in Bolivia and then hopefully used throughout FH. The aim of this system is to enable staff to gain a better understanding of how our organizational Vision, Mission and Values fit into our day to day operations and to increase our staff’s biblical understanding.

On a slightly different theme, in March I (Ed) accompanied a team from Messiah College in the USA, who were visiting Torotoro for the week as part of a team that comes to work with FH each year. It was a great time of enjoying Gods amazing creation and  building relationships with the students, listening to them throughout the week as they were challenged by what they saw and how it had impacted them.  

Whilst in Torotoro I was also finally able to visit the experimental plot for foundations for farming and listen to the staff’s experiences. I came away from it feeling excited and encouraged having seen how the plants had grown and also how the staff had been challenged and were enjoying the learning experience, even if the birds did eat most of the seeds that they planted the first time. The staff are keen to continue with the trials as well as starting up some vegetable gardens which they then want to begin sharing with some of the families in the communities.

Much to praise and thank God for over these last two months with much to look forward to in the future.

Thank God for: 

• Positive, encouraging time with the students.
• The crops on the FfF plot and the interest of the staff to move forward.

Ask God for:

• God’s favor as FH begins renewing its legal status to continue to work in Bolivia.
• The Messiah College students as they evaluate their experience in Bolivia and consider the impact on their own lives.

Ed, Sarah, Alana, Isaiah and Lucas

The Birthday boy

Learning about wheels and axels in our car project

Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.  make level paths for your feet and take ways only that are firm.  Do not swerve to the right or to the left; keep your foot from evil. 

Proverbs 4:25-27

Moulding Chronicles January 2014

Dear Friends,

I (Sarah) write this from the comfort of a hotel room away from the distractions of children and home where there is always something that needs doing. Having not had more than just a few hours at a time to myself in the last 3 years, we felt is was time for a bit of breathing space to focus my thoughts and energies on recharging and getting refocused for the year ahead.

Towards the end of last year we were all feeling pretty worn out and emotionally and physically spent, so having a 3 week enforced break from FH over the Christmas period has been just what we have needed, to switch off from business, spend more time resting and creating good family memories as well as getting ourselves refocused and geared up for the new year ahead.

A daddy and daughter trip to the devils tooth with some friends

Following God's lead to homeschool Alana has been both rewarding and a privilege and yet has also thrown up many challenges and growing opportunities (the positive spin, on those horrible days), such as how does an introverted, task driven mother cope with having all 3 children around her 24/7, particularly with a daughter who likes to talk non stop. How do I decide what to teach, what is important to focus on.  It gets rather daunting when the entire weight of your child's education rests on your shoulders. In this I have learnt (and keep relearning) to lean on God's shoulders and the wisdom of many who have gone before me down this road, for which the internet has been such a blessing for resources, ideas and advice.

Alana featured as a rabbit at the end of year ballet show in Little red riding hood

When I look back and see how far Alana has come this year I am encouraged and amazed. She started off the year barely able to write and recognise her letters clearly yet by the end of the year she was writing in both print and cursive form, forming her own sentences, spelling simple words, and reading with confidence both in English and Spanish, though Spanish proves to be more challenging.  At the beginning of the year she could barely sit for 5 minutes to listen to me read a story yet now she will sit and listen to a whole chapter and ask for more (and not just when it's bed time).  And wow, God has allowed me to play a part in that whole process. Maths has been a challenge for us both but am hopeful that a change in curriculum will help with that this year.

The latest exhibits at the zoo

By the end of 2013 I was worn out and exhausted and at an all time low, but as I look back now I can see the positives of the year and the growth in all of us, I can now look forward with excitement and anticipation for the new year to come.

Thank God for:

• A refreshing Christmas break
• A positive year of learning in homeschool
• Time for Sarah to get away and refresh

Ask God for:

• A clear focus for the new year
• A wives retreat that Sarah is organising for February
• Excitement for Isaiah starting at kindergarten in February

Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.  Take my yolk upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yolk is easy and my burden is light.

Matthew 11: 28-29

Many Blessings

Sarah, Ed, Alana, Isaiah & Lucas

Moulding Chronicles November 2013

Dear Friends,

Last month Ed took a trip to Torotoro in the north of Potosi to train 7 of FH’s staff in the principles of Foundations for Farming (FfF) and to plant a ‘Well-Watered Garden’ of Maize. The training sessions were a steep learning curve as Ed began to realise how difficult it actually was to share these ideas clearly in a second language.  This left him a little deflated at the end of the first day, not being sure how much information the staff really captured. However, the second day was more encouraging as the staff began  to talk about what they were learning and how it would change some of the ways they would do things in the future. After the theory session Ed then worked with them planting the Well-Watered Garden. 

One of the other obstacles that presented itself upon arrival was the fact that the land had been ploughed up just the previous week.  This was a problem due to the fact that one of the key points of FfF is to not plough the land.  However, we went ahead and planted the garden anyway as there was no other space available. Despite the obstacles it was very exciting to be creating a garden at last, having talked about it for so long. Ed came away feeling encouraged because the staff had captured various important points from the workshop and were beginning to understand the FfF principles, the supervisor was also happy with the workshop as it had provided an opportunity for the team to have time to work, play and laugh together as the garden was made.

Due to a lack of staff time and having already created their work plans for this year, Ed will not be teaching FfF to the farmers this year, however, the staff are working with a number of families on vegetable gardens and so they hope to apply a number of the principles that they have learnt with the families they work with. So hopefully next year Ed will be able to take this a step further and with the staff teach some of the farmers. 

When Ed spoke with the supervisor this month about how the garden was growing he heard that parrots had come and eaten most of young shoots that were growing so the staff had to replant and put up some scarecrows. Hopefully this will help and Ed will travel again to Torotoro in January to see how they are doing and then in March/April time for the harvest. During one of these trips we hope to be able to go as a family and see some of the other sights of that region which are said to be quite spectacular.

These last couple of months have been quite draining for us all both emotionally and physically.  We were finally able to get away for a few days at Lake Titicaca this last weekend for a much needed break however we are still feeling very tired as holidays with small children are never that restful, so would appreciate your prayers for more energy.

Thank God for: 

• Time away at the lake to enjoy some family time
• A positive first year of homeschooling, where both Alana and Sarah have learnt a lot

Ask God for:

• Being wise in taking regular breaks for ourselves as we keep running ourselves down before we stop
• Wisdom in how to best support and encourage the families in our group 

 Ed, Sarah, Alana, Isaiah & Lucas

Teachable moments

I am learning to make the most of teachable moments as and when they arise.  When Alana asks a question I am beginning to learn to enjoy seeking out a full answer to give her rather than just a quick brush off, as well as having some fun in letting the creative juices flow.  The other week we were reading together from the book of Luke in the bible when we read about the houses being built by the foolish man and the wise man, which led our conversation around to the importance of building on a good foundation.   With all the new buildings being built up around us here in La Paz, it was fairly easy to introduce the concept of a building needing a good solid base. One building site in particular that is close to us has attracted much attention from our family, or rather Isaiah due to the huge digger that has been excavating a big hole, requiring us having to stop and watch the digger at work.  

After talking about these buildings we decided to take things a step further and try out our own little experiment, with the help of some Leggo.  Having built 2 houses exactly the same we then added a foundation structure to one of them and then sat them on some soil, having buried the foundations of the one house. We then tried knocking them over, taking note the force that was needed for each house. I think that Alana was quite surprised to discover how little effort was needed to knock over the house just sat upon the soil, where as the one with the foundations was much more difficult to shift.

Since that experiment she often now talks about the foundations of buildings as we walk past building sites, which has given rise to talking about how within our own lives we also need a firm foundation so that when hard things happen in life we are able to remain firm in who we are and in who God has created us to be.

Moulding Chronicles September 2013

Dear Friends,

God is so amazing, He has proved himself to be ever faithful as he has provided finances over and above what we were asking for. A big thank you to all of you who have responded to Gods promptings and who have contributed to being a part of Gods answer to our prayers, you are wonderful.

Another answer to prayer in this last month has been the approval to push forward with the pilot for the foundations for farming project. Talks are now underway with the regional offices in order to figure out where and how to next move forward.  We are also very thankful that the health of the boys has improved and thus allowing us to catch up on some much needed sleep.

Having shared much about what Ed gets up to in previous letters we thought that this month we would share a little of what life is like on the home front. With 3 little people around all day everyday things can get somewhat rowdy at home, and with no playgroups or mums and tots to go to we have to get a little more creative, and I am having to learn to be ok with getting messy.  

A Homeschooling lifestyle has been a challenge but on the whole a very positive one where together we have been learning much more than just academic studies.  

Two mornings a week Alana goes to ‘Kumon’ where she is studying Maths and Spanish.  From there she has homework to do every day (except Sundays) which we do every morning after breakfast.   We then get out of the house for a breather to either buy bread or play in the park, before returning for a snack. After this Lucas has a morning nap. Isaiah has just recently started joining us for our study time, where by Alana and I focus on her studies until lunch time. Our afternoons are then free for playing, or ballet (which Alana does 2 times a week).

I am so thankful for the privilege of being able to be at home learning with my children.  Yes there are times when I just want to scream (sometimes I do!), but the moments when I hear them happily playing and giggling, or Alana suddenly talks about something we have just been studying, of which I wasn’t sure she was understanding at all makes it all so worthwhile.

Thank God for:

• Providing the finances we needed
• Approval of foundations for farming project
• Improved health of the boys

Ask God for:

• Guidance for the foundations for farming pilot 
• Patience and understanding of each of our children
• Wisdom in some of our more complicated relationships

Ed, Sarah, Alana, Isaiah & Lucas

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.  Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Deuteronomy 6:5-7