So what did you do this summer?

I spent summer holidays in Argentina (Jan-March) having tests, renal  surgery  and now in England (July-Sept) I am heading for much the same! Life is full of surprises and sometimes not such pleasant ones….

Christmas with the Chorotes  is in the long and distant past. After that we went to Salta for the annual Youth Camp and for a week’s holiday and ended staying longer then bargained for after routine hospital checks showed kidney disfunction. It was an experience,  we were impressed by the surgeon’s skill , care and competence ,  at the same time bemused at the need to buy all that was to be fitted at the pharmacy prior to surgery! ( The mind boggles, buying a stent is one thing…buying a hip prosthesis quite another!)

Sadly, tests in the UK show that  the surgery has not been successful, and left kidney continues to fail, so am now bracing myself for a nephrectomy, but so grateful that I can have surgery at CHH where I once worked, and have the confidence of expertise of Mr David Almond and  in the national Health Service….I thank God so much for His provision in all this!

We came to UK in June to UK for all sorts of good family reasons:  A memorable family wedding in Wells…. end of term show as Stefanie  finished her BTech in Performing Arts, achieving Distinction in all subjects and Performing Arts Student of the year!…. Sam’s Graduation with a 2: 1 in Dance Studies.  We are so thrilled and proud of them both as they have worked so hard and  have been rewarded by their guts and  determination . We are delighted too , that Sam and lovely Sally Ward have found each other (plan to marry July 7^th 2012.)

We have been busy too….speaking in churches in the North of England this time –  hard work but we have been moved by people’s very genuine interest and support, in prayer and financially. It has been wonderful to meet up with so many old friends….and we are so grateful for all the love!!

[Nick adds]: And between March and June:  Sam and Sally came for a holiday, got engaged, and with them we drove 2000 kilometres through the Andes and the Chaco. The centenary celebrations started in Mision Chaquena…. I went to Chile for two weeks of meetings, and made my own small pilgrimage to two of Neruda’s homes….. Catherine encouraged families and women with help from Mechi and others from Buenos Aires and we travelled to more meetings in the Chaco….. and two young musicians joined us for a few weeks….

Phew! So that’s 7 months gone, and I almost forgot we are celebrating 100 years (since the gospel reached the Chaco Indians). How time flies!  (A thousand years are like a day and all that).  It means such a lot to the Amerindian Christians to remember the example and commitment of those who brought them the gospel. Celebrations are being held all over the area during the year. And whilst we focus on the past I know many wonder what the good news will look like in future generations. Certainly there is much about the  church now that makes me wonder what went wrong. Still, the merchandise and special activities help us all reflect on our identity and God’s power.

It was going to be our first Christmas without the family, and it was some time since we had done a “proper” visit to our friends in Mision La Paz, so we figured this was the place to spend the festive season.  In fact it was part of a longer trip of three weeks taking in some high profile events such as handing over land and inaugurating a new church, as well as lots of social visits, a few business meetings and yet more confirmations!

The road was good, it was hot and dry,  and there was little shopping to do, so we started in good spirits. The Chorotes are neither fearsome nor sullen, but generally jolly, and we were well received and cared for throughout our stay. The weather changed regularly, including rain and wind, but this didn’t seem to affect the apparently round the clock commitment to make music, eat and play games!

In fact it was a bit like being at a pop-festival (and we were housed, together with the loud speakers,  in the room behind the main stage!) What a variety of music – performance, worship, dance, and more. Women’s and men’s football, volley, tugs of war, blindman’s buff, sack and wheelbarrow races. Children improvising with whatever came to hand – bicycle wheels, bits of pipe. And food – in all shapes and sizes, and lots of it to share.

And endless visitors – La Paz is situated at the Argentine end of the road-bridge frontier with Paraguay, which, apart from all the associated problems of drug smuggling and prostitution, means that it is the first stop for the many Indian groups who travel through the Chaco to visit their cousins in Argentina. There were dozens of Tapietes and Chulupies from several hundred kilometres away, all of whom were fed and watered and welcomed to join in the festivities. When people knew we were there they also came from far and wide, and we visited some 10 nearby communities as well.

We were struck by people’s cheerfulness, even many who were sick and asking for prayer. We spent much time doing this, often with the same people. Catherine’s skills were much in evidence as she visited families, encouraged the women’s group, and pestered the health services! There were some marked improvements (maybe healings – almost all health issues relate to spiritual causes anyway), but it’s still hard to leave knowing not much action will be taken, and some will probably die.

Oh, and lots of opportunity to practice our fledgling language skills. Strangely although 4 or more languages are spoken in La Paz, it was in some ways easier to try out wichi as well as chorote, precisely because of the mixture and acceptance and understanding of others.

Today is Epiphany – time to get clean now we are back in town, and have an ice-cream or a glass of wine in celebration of Jesus coming for all the nations!

In the 4th century John Chrysostom wrote about the prologue of John’s gospel (read on Christmas day):
Truly wondrous is the whole chronicle of the nativity.
For this day the ancient slavery is ended, the devil confounded, the demons take to flight, the power of death is broken. For this day paradise is unlocked, the curse is taken away, sin is removed, error driven out, truth has been brought back, the speech of kindliness diffused and spread on every side – a heavenly way of life has been implanted on the earth, angels communicate with men without fear, and we now hold speech with angels. Why is this? because God is now on earth and man in heaven: on every side all things commingle. He has come on earth, while being fully in heaven; and while complete in heaven he is without diminution on earth. Though he was God, he became man, not denying himself to be God. Though being the unchanging Word,he became flesh that he might dwell among us.

And in wichi the text reads: Häp lham tä häpe Dios Lhämet lhayen hin’oya wet in’amejen. (Jn 1.14)

A 20-year-old young man, friend of some of those on our Alpha course, was killed by a hit and run driver, who was subsequently caught. But since the driver’s parents have “connections”, he walked free.

At another level, the frustration of unfulfilled promises for Indian communities can also lead to bloodshed. Whilst they wait, their ancestral lands are steadily taken over by white settlers and oil companies. Sometimes anger boils over: Southern Tobas in La Primavera demonstrated, and police reaction left one Toba and one policeman dead and many wounded or disappeared. A priest friend of ours is accused of inciting to violence, but the truth is likely to be rather different. Our Wichi neighbours, who are “occupying” government housing built on “their” lands, are understandably nervous.

But so are those, including many from churches, working with human rights organizations. It is becoming increasingly necessary for groups such as our own Asociana, to hire defence lawyers, and expect to be targeted by hostile reactions even in countries with left-leaning governments such as Argentina and Paraguay. Shortly after first postiong this the offcies of a Chaco based group in Paraguay defending the Ayoreos was raided.

The subject of “too many deacons” came up in conversation the other day with our local Catholic bishop. His response? “Ah, Chiapas” (My ears pricked up since this was the very place where I did my gap year almost 39 years ago, and first had contact with the Indians.)  It turns out that in that one diocese in Southern Mexico the Vatican has forbidden the bishop to ordain any more deacons.

The reason given is that they are not properly trained, and that the numbers are disproportionately higher than in other dioceses. However, some suspect that maybe the hidden agenda is that this is an area where the Indians have been influenced by left-wing movements, and the church is something of a power base (many of these leaders did take up arms for a short time with the Zapatista rebels). Others suggest that this is an attempt to pressurize the Catholic church into accepting the married priesthood in a culture where there is little calling to celibacy.

The local bishop insists though, in line with his much-loved “revolutionary” predecessor Samuel Ruiz, that in fact this is all to do with trying to encourage an “iglesia autoctona” (autochthonous church), where appropriate models of both selection and training of leadership are applied.

I would be fascinated to know what their training consists of, and what sort of indigenous understanding of the diaconate has emerged, since we are being asked for more ordinations, and are tempted to take the Vatican’s line.

Having once described Juarez as a “one horse dorp” (John Buchan, 39 Steps) I was recently proved wrong when the local criollo culture turned out in force to put on their annual “doma de caballos” – literally horse taming/breaking, but more like a rodeo.

This town, which is now largely Indian, became the centre for gauchos and their steeds from many outlying forest stations, to show off their skills, meet their friends (and drink themselves into oblivion once darkness fell) – whilst the Indians faded into the background. As with all cultures there is so much that is good, but which we normally don’t get to see because of the uglier aspects which come to the fore in the racial interface with their neighbours.

This is something we have to juggle with as we slip from culture to culture.

In Pozo el Toro there are two good reasons for gathering wood: making a fire for cooking and keeping warm, and carving. It is important to know where to find the right fallen trees for each. So we discovered when we took a group of visitors from Buenos Aires to experience life amongst the”tayhi lhele” (wichi forest people).

They travelled 16 hours in their new off-road vehicles to our home, and then a further 4 (on off-road tracks) to our destination. After cutting firewood in one place we were shown another sort of tree (“hok” or palo santo) which is ideal for the craftsmen who were due to be running a workshop next day. Jorge from Santa Maria also explained which plants provides the raw material for the production of woven string bags, and dyes. (He then asked Chris thoughtfully, and with some pride, “what esle can we teach them”!)

Pozo el Toro rarely receives visitors, and as yet no church has been planted here. However, at an evening meeting round the fire, the elders asked officially to be included in the Anglican family, and next day sent one of their leaders to the confirmation service at nearby Alto de la Sierra.

Our return journey was a bit longer, as our guide took us down some rather narrow tracks, which turned out not to lead anywhere (the city vehicles were severely put to the test!)  Stefi was also with us, and found the meeting of cultural extremes such as Buenos Aires and Pozo el Toro fascinating! She has since bravely undergone the rigours of two youth camps…

But the abiding memory of this past month has been the cold. Yes, it’s hard to believe that most of the year we suffer from too much heat. But living mainly outside you notice these things, and it really has been a struggle to keep warm. We longed to be home and beside a fire, something which the wichi do well!

Both have – friendly people and wonderful hospitality, rolling countryside, important river port and coastline, famous shipwrecks*, and talkative bishops! Good weather too – cold but sunny. A long coastal path to run (or walk) along.  Cool buildings and sculptures. A history dominated by a powerful neighbour or two.  And excellent local brews…

*Ulster is building much of its tourism industry on the fact that Titanic was built and launched in Belfast (“she was alright when she left here!”). Montevideo continues to remember the German pocket battleship Graf Spee which lies at the bottom of the River Plate, after one of the earliest sea battles in WW2.