www.thegilmours.co.uk

Do you remember that scene in Austin Powers where he enters a public toilet and asks the first man he sees “you haven’t seen….errrr (noticing that the man is blind), anything at all?”.

A few days ago, I was searching for a sports centre in our local area as I wandered back from the city centre. I was thinking how to ask the question and, after preparing it in my mind, I was searching for someone to ask… the first person I saw was (apparently) sitting on a balcony on the first floor of a block of flats to my right. I stopped and asked boldly in chilean, “Disculpeme, donde esta un centro de desportivo cerca de acca?”.

Immediately the man reacted by moving closer to me on the balcony and, at that moment, I realised my error! The man glided smoothly across his balcony…. in a wheelchair! He was very polite about it and explained he didn’t know. I apologised profusely in spanish, embarrassed.

…which is more than I managed to murmur after I asked a former Geography lecturer if she was pregnant, during a conference coffee break in London! I wanted the ground to swallow me whole! Oh well… I suppose everyone learning a language makes mistakes. And everyone who isn’t learning a language makes mistakes too!

Some things for which we’d like your prayers!

My steps have held to your paths;
my feet have not slipped. I call on you, O God, for you will answer me;
give ear to me and hear my prayer. Show the wonder of your great love,
you who save by your right hand those who take refuge in you. Psalm 17:v5-7

Thanks for your prayers. We know many of you have been praying and thinking of us regularly. We really appreciate it and have had so many answers to prayer and examples of God’s help in difficult situations.

Here is a list of some of our prayer concerns; for friends and family members. If you share a concern, please pray for them too!

Well i thought i should update you with what we’ve been doing here in Santiago since New Year.

As you may remember, after a great hike up to almost 5000ft on Hogmanay, we visited friends to bring in the New Year watching an enormous firework display! The display, from 4 hills in Santiago, was actually better than those i’ve seen in Edinburgh (shame on you Bank of Scotland!). It was a really special evening despite being on the other side of the world to our families and friends.

The New Year came with the rather sudden news that my Grandpa had died on the 30th December, aged 90. He contracted a kidney and urinary tract infection a day before Christmas and his body responded badly to the antibiotics given to him, weakening his breathing. He died very peacefully and gently, with my dad at his side in Dunfermline. A service of rememberance and celebration of his life was held yesterday, in Dunfermline, followed by his burial in a family grave site in Edinburgh. His life story is an amazing one and we’ll all miss him terribly. You can read his life story here.

We completed our flat-move on New Year’s Day with the help of a hire car. Since then, its been a rather arduous process of seeking, ordering and waiting for furniture to arrive from a number of shops! We got broadband, telephone and TV installed last week so you can call/email/appear on TV (delete as appropriate). We got some rest over the weekend and explored our local area in advance of Rachel going up the mountain (yesterday) for a date with Isaac lasting a further 7 days! I’m continuing with Spanish this week, attempting to unblock my Orange mobile to use on a network here (£20!) and blogging. I’m also hoping to visit the offices of two potential employers.

Anyway, thats the abbreviated version. Will post some stories and more of The New Adventures of Timbo soon.

I was delighted to watch my graduation by webcam a few days ago! It was held on 12th December in Leeds. However, being the middle of the day, it was a pretty slow and interrupted connection here in Chile. But i’m sure its better in the UK. You can view it by clicking
here.
My course graduate after around 38 minutes.

Its a bit wierd watching for yourself on a webcam recording… the voices of people sound “tin-ny” at best and Rachel thought it was like a stramge CCTV tape of people floating across a stage! And it turns out that those graduating in absentia aren’t even mentioned! So I needn’t have watched at all, except that it was great to see my friends from Leeds graduate!

Nevertheless, it’s an astounding piece of technology.