Missionary Gas

I knew I shouldn't have written that last email saying that life couldn't be more pleasant. The following morning was rough with a group of difficult students struggling to get their minds round their dissertation. For them the problem seemed an obvious one: me, the lecturer. After a sleepless night, I pulled the plug on the lot of them. The Saturday afternoon sport I heard on the radio reminded me of what had happened. Both across the airwaves and through our open window you could hear the crowds chanting from the packed stadium, "Olé!! olé!" Rapturously the commentator cried, "This makes me proud to be a Colombian! The bull's dead, Don Cesar's cut off his ear, he leaves the arena carried high, showered in confetti!" It was the last big day of the bull fighting season. The sense of being unwittingly caught up in a bull ring is one most Latin American missionaries experience. This week will we be dead meat or over-rated matadors? Photo: Another kind ...

Classes have started: lecturers and students have that glow that comes from enthusiasm. At 7 a.m. I have 28 students on Johannine literature, at 10 a.m., 25 students on hermeneutics and at random times another 4 groups doing different dissertations. Life couldn't be pleasanter. Cynicism, short-cuts and short-tempers haven't yet surfaced. Most classes have their heretic, funny man and dolly bird. For days we've been debating the inspiration of the Bible. Today I was asked to state my position. The problem with doing that is, this being Latin America, 95% of the students will be frightened to question it lest I fail them on principle. Society and church life often operate on the recognition of the caudillo: the boss man you cross swords with only at your peril. So I said my position was identical to that of the Seminary's, which caused some hilarity. Why, I don´t know. Latin America still has a New World sense about it. Daily you feel it's adopted Spanish culture, und...

Latinos like to express themselves individually and physically. It looks fantastic on the dance floor but during prayer it makes me cringe. As is typical, on Sunday the pastor asked everyone to extend their arm while he prayed for someone standing at the front. During the service others put out their hands as if about to be given a big present or wave them in the air like a wannabee tree. Less frequently, but what I find even more scary, is the idea that prayer has to be connected with a particular location. This leads to a marking the turf out kind of activity involving walking around buildings and praying. I even heard of someone who hired a helicopter to circle the city for prayer. He apparently imagined himself like Joshua and Jericho, but thankfully we've no city walls otherwise there could have been some nasty accidents. Last Friday the students organised a prayer morning in the chapel. Olwen went, but I worked away quietly in my office. Half way through the morning I heard a...

Riding in a taxi across New York at one in the morning was a disappointment. There were no car chases, no sign of NYPD Blue just a 24hour Whopper Burger Drive-In to catch my attention. The journey was necessary because, along with 100 kilos of sewing materials and odd things, Virgin had flown us to Newark, New Jersey instead of JFK, New York. We spent the next day in the Big Apple, almost missed our early morning fight to Colombia but I had a long chat with an airport security guard. He was from Guyana and had been in New York for 3 years and 5 months. When he arrived, his family told him he'd never get a job in the airport because of his religion. "Even when they see your name" they told him. He showed me his ID pass, it read "Mohammed ..." And so the five day journey from Glasgow to the Seminary felt a tad Pauline because of its unpredictability. But that's the kind of life that's guided us, frightened me and kept us believing. Classes start next Tuesd...

Last night was the start of the Catholic festival of the Novenas, and outside houses coloured candles were lit making the narrow streets feel alive. The city's illuminations were also switched on and turned the river Medellín into a vast colourful display of Christmas themes. Fireworks were set off most of the evening, and music could be heard until the early hours. In the midst of all the excitement we were interviewed by a reporter from El Colombiano as to our impressions. Back in the Seminary staff have spent the last week studying rule books. Well that's a bit of an exaggeration because I skipped a couple of days, but one day was spent on the Seminary rules, up to number 90, then part of another on student evaluation forms. The last two days were spent on how to fill in a form to do research projects. The guest speaker on research projects was a very nice wee Christian lady with a voice like Adolph Hitler in a bad mood. Rather unnervingly it carried into the gents' toi...

It will probably get up to 30° C today. Summer is almost here and I write this wearing shorts and a T-shirt. In the shopping centres a wintery Father Christmas doesn't look right, but the flashing lights, 9 foot glittering decorations and Catholic nativity scenes fit in well. Colombians don't do subtle and pastel but, like their flowers and birds, it's strong colours, and preferably big and in your face. Something like 10,000 light bulbs are in the city's decorations with a couple of miles of the river turned into a Blackpool illuminations type of spectacular. I was woken up last night at midnight with the constant sound of rockets and fireworks going off. It lasted for an hour and every part of the city seemed to be alive with exploding lights. Colombians enjoy their displays loud and spectacular, and in that order. Years ago a missionary book was written with the title, Give up your small ambitions. Maybe the title should have been, Give up your small spaces. If you w...

It's not normal, but sometimes at the end of the year, students will present their teacher with a gift to express their appreciation. On Thursday, Olwen's class gave her a blue silvery top with matching jewellery in shiny wrapping paper, mine presented me with a 4 inch cereal bar (unwrapped). However we teachers do not work for the food which perishes nor for the hording up on earth of dangly earrings. Friday was Graduation Day. After five years of study and practice, 14 people with talent, enthusiasm and not too much theology in their heads, were officially named by the Republic of Colombia, as theologians. Nearly all graduates find employment within the church usually starting off as assistant pastors, some are sent to start up new churches, either way they'll be poorly paid and work long hours. When you meet them again they've suddenly matured, are not work shy and dare I say it, have become theologians. It makes it all worthwhile. Photo: What lies ahead for them?