Off to Edinburgh... and beyond

The east of Scotland has been in the grip of snow for some time now. Flights to Edinburgh airport have sometimes been cancelled (fortunately my flights are to and from Glasgow this time) and my mother hasn't taken her car out of the garage since back in November. But things have been slowly thawing a bit since Christmas, and most of the roads are clear now - even though there's still snow lying on the fields and on the footpaths. The car will be coming out of hibernation this morning, as I need to drive through to Edinburgh to get a yellow fever vaccination for the trip I'll be making to West Africa at the end of January.

Our more local travel clinics are closed over the Christmas and New Year holidays, so that's why I'm having to go through to the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh. (That's the hospital where my Dad twice had brain surgery after a brain haemorrhage just two Christmases ago. We drove there every day during Christmas 2008, so we won't have any trouble finding our way there!)

Seems like travelling to Africa has become an expensive business: I couldn't believe it when they told me that the yellow fever vaccination would cost £55... and the prescription for malaria tablets will also cost more than £60. More than a hundred pounds for medication, and that's before I even leave for my one-week trip to Senegal! The good news is that a Christian businessman has paid for our plane tickets for this trip, which is for the purpose of investigating some future outreach possibilities. So, apart from paying for the yellow fever vaccination and malaria pills, I'll only need to pay for my visa, as well as for my food and housing in Africa, and not for the cost of actually getting there. Four or five of us will be making the trip together. (I'll write more about this next week... and in my January newsletter. Or, if you're too curious to wait, you can check the latest post on my barbinafrica blog.) For today, though, I only need to travel as far as Edinburgh...

Snow and squirrels

Someone gave me a £50 note for Christmas; I think it's the first time I've ever seen one, and I was surprised to discover that it had a picture of the Falkirk Wheel on it. This local landmark is kind of a boat "lift" that raises a barge up from one canal to another. Recently, though, the canal has been frozen and the Falkirk Wheel, like most other places locally, has been covered with a layer of snow.

Today there was some rain, so I'm hoping it's a sign of a thaw; I need to go through to an Edinburgh hospital this week to have a yellow fever vaccination (for an Africa trip in January) and it will be difficult to get there if there's still a lot of snow around. Our garden still has plenty of snow, though, and we've enjoyed watching two little grey squirrels scampering around in the trees there.

Scottish snow

Well, it's good that I was flying to Glasgow this week (I usually fly to Edinburgh) because many flights to Edinburgh and London were being cancelled on Monday. But my flight took off with only a slight delay and reached Glasgow without any problem. It wasn't snowing when I arrived, but the cold weather was a bit of a shock to the system. It had been around 15 degrees and kind of sunny when I left Malaga; it was minus 8 and horribly chilly when I got to Glasgow.

Christmas is almost with us, and my parents haven't had their car out of the garage since November; most of the people in their street are elderly and retired, so it seems no one thought it worth the effort to clear away all the snow and try to get their cars down the hill. The truth is that most of the main roads are clear now, and it's only the smaller roads that are still covered with snow. It's not really deep snow - not by Canadian or Scandinavian standards - but the UK is never particularly well equipped to deal with snow when it comes.

My brother is on holiday this week, so we were thankful when he phoned to offer his services as a taxi driver; we were able to go yesterday to a special Christmas service at my niece's school (she was singing in the choir) and today he took us to do some Christmas shopping in Livingston.

Have you any room?

I'm writing this post in Malaga airport - where I'm waiting for the flight that will take me to Scotland for Christmas. It's been pretty rainy here and we had to drive through a flooded road on our way to the airport.... but I'm hoping that there won't be too much snow waiting for me when I arrive in Glasgow this afternoon.

Last night we had our special Christmas service at church. A number of families presented Christmas songs and music, and the youth group did a skit that showed how young people were so focused on the celebrations that they were actually ignoring Jesus at His own birthday party. The children had prepared a cute and funny nativity play about a little bull who was very possessive of his manger and wouldn't allow the other animals to eat from it; what a shock he got one day to discover a newborn baby in his precious manger! But when he understood that this was the Saviour of the world, he made room for Jesus in his manger and also in his life.

Meanwhile, as I threw a few things in my suitcase this morning, it seemed that the cats were also asking, "Don't you have room for me?" I opened the drawer to take out my computer, and there was Tobi lying among my stuff. I went to the wardrobe to pack some jeans... and there was Teddi, looking at me as if to say, "Don't forget about me." And when I got back to the suitcase, I found that Tobi had already settled down on top of it. Tamba, in the meantime, was just lying on the bed and looking at me accusingly with her big yellow eyes: "So you're off and leaving us again, are you?" Little do they know that they'll be better off in Spain, with Gabriela looking after them, and no snow to deal with!

Ambling to the ambulatorio

I have to confess that I'm getting rather tired of hanging around the ambulatorio (our local health centre.) After being there every single day for the past week, I feel that I've spent more than enough hours in waiting rooms and doctors' surgeries this month. Anyway, this morning was my last appointment of this year - to get the results of all the x-rays, etc. Turns out that the "verdict" is pretty simple: the doctor says it's just severe degenerative arthritis, and that it can actually be seen on both feet - not just the foot that's been causing me so much discomfort.

To be honest, I was hoping that it was going to be something "treatable" rather than something that you just have to put up with, but the doctor says there's not really much that can be done. I have another appointment when I get back to Spain in January and, if we're not making much progress with managing the pain, they might need to look into fitting me out with special shoes - or implants - so that my feet can bear my weight without hurting all the time.

It's sometimes hard to plan activities when you're not sure if you'll be physically able to walk around much (for example, I have an Africa trip planned for the end of January - to investigate some outreach possibilities) so I'm just hanging on to a promise that's found in the Old Testament. Somewhat cryptically, Deuteronomy 33: 25 says, "Your shoes will be iron and brass, and as your days are, so shall your strength be." Well, I'm not sure about that iron and brass footwear, but I'm trusting in God's promise that there will always be enough strength for the things I need to do.

Christmas preparations

Alhaurin is gearing up for Christmas; there are wise men and angels along the main road, a Christmas tree in front of the town hall, a lifesize stable scene in the pedestrian street... and even one of the roundabouts is wearing a santa hat! There are also some Christmas lights in the little park in front of our house... but as it's a popular dog-walking area, I can see that they're being watered rather regularly.

This time last year we were still house hunting, because the lease was about to expire on our flat. It was the third year running that I was beginning the new year without knowing where I would be living by the end of it. It will be so nice to start 2011 knowing that we'll be staying in the same house for a change.

Despite the recent cooler weather, the jasmine is still flowering in front of our house, but it will soon be time to cut it back for the winter, so that it can reflower and bring its wonderful scent again next spring. This week's temperature's have been slightly milder again, and so we've enjoyed a final few days of its perfume around our doorway.

I have just a few more days here in Spain, and then I'll be heading to Scotland for Christmas. More snow is forecast there for this weekend... so I'm not sure what sort of weather will be waiting for me when I arrive at the airport. We'll see...

December news...

For those of you who asked about my December newsletter, here it is again. Just click on it to enlarge it.

And thanks for your prayers.

Fallen Angel

With Christmas just around the corner, Ada has hung up some little angels above the beautiful poinsettia plant that a friend gave us recently. Unfortunately, these sparkling little figures are a source of much temptation to Teddi, who likes to climb up and give them a smack every now and then. We're regularly having to deal with fallen angels in our house at the moment!

Connecting the continent

Isn't modern technology amazing at times? This morning I was in a meeting to continue the preparations for a European training event that we're holding in Vienna, Austria, in June 2011. Six of us were involved in the meeting: one was in Norway, one in Finland, one in Russia, one in Serbia, one in Northern Ireland, and I was here in Spain. Yet we prayed together and discussed the Equip event for more than an hour. (Mine was the highest outdoor temperature today at a mild eighteen degrees.... and the guy in Finland had the coldest temperature at minus fifteen degrees. Yet, thanks to skype, we were all in the same meeting. Incredible, isn't it?)

Home made barbacoa

The weather stayed dry and we all worked hard this morning - cutting and carrying small logs and branches from the pine woods. Then, when we got home, we spread some of the wood out on the terrace so that it could dry in the sun. Even Teddi and Tobi came upstairs to help supervise that part of the task.

After the evening church service, we could enjoy the fruit of our efforts. I built a roaring fire and, once it had settled into coals, we got out the parrilla (barbecue grill) and roasted spicy chicken wings in the fireplace. Our first home-style barbecue!

Recipe of the week...

Well, the weather forecast got it almost right. It still rained a little on Friday, but Saturday afternoon turned out to be amazingly mild and sunny. As we had totally depleted all the firewood I'd stocked up since last spring, I took a trip to the pine woods to gather some more kindling for the coming week. It's to be dry again today, so - after my "ambulatorio" appointment for the injection - Ada, Gabriela and I are all planning a trip together to gather as much firewood as we can before the rains come and soak it all again. This will probably be our last chance to collect wood that's lying around (it's at a spot where they had cut down some pine trees earlier in the year) before we have to start buying firewood for the rest of the winter.

I began eating a lot of soup when the colder, rainy weather started. It's a great way to keep warm without just eating for the sake of it. Ada couldn't believe it was possible to make so many different soups. First I made carrot and coriander, then chicken and sweetcorn. Next it was cauliflower soup, cabbage and onion soup (surprisingly nice, this one), then potato and leek. Ada's favourite is cauliflower and broccoli, and I think mine's the sweetcorn...

But yesterday I tried out a new recipe that we enjoyed so much, I thought it would be worth passing it on to you. It's for sweet potato and red pepper soup. Slightly spicy, and something different from what we'd made previously. So, here we go.... recipe of the week, coming up.

You'll need a huge sweet potato and an equally huge red pepper, as well as a medium sized carrot, a medium onion and a clove of garlic. (For seasoning, you'll need ground cumin, ground coriander, paprika, and some vegetable stock cubes.)

Fry the chopped garlic and onion in a tiny amount of oil, eventually adding half a teaspoonful each of the cumin, coriander and paprika, and stirring it well until everything is coated with the spices. Then you can add the chopped sweet potato and carrot, along with a litre or so of vegetable stock. (Depends how thick you'd like your soup to be.) While all that is boiling away, you can chop up the red pepper, and add that to the pot too.

Once everything has boiled and softened, liquidise it with a hand blender, and that's basically it: a sweet, spicy soup to keep out the winter cold. You might want to add some salt and pepper, or you might find you don't even need it. (If you generally find the taste of cumin and coriander a bit strong, you might want to reduce the amount you use at the beginning.) You can serve it just as is, or stir a spoonful of natural yogurt through it when it's in the bowl. Delicious!

Blessing with Breakfast

With Christmas just around the corner, our church has been thinking about how we can reach out to bless the local community and share the love of God with them. Next Sunday evening, 19th, we'll be having a special family service with Christmas music and contributions from the children as well as the adults.

This morning we had our last outreach breakfast of the year. More than thirty ladies gathered for a Spanish-style breakfast of bread with tomato spread, and the popular Christmas delicacy of jamon serrano (smoked ham leg.) These are ladies who have been coming to the ABC for help, and receiving food packages on a regular basis; some are Spaniards and some are from Morocco or from South America.

After everyone had eaten their fill, Mariasun shared a testimony of the difference it has made knowing God for the past thirty years of her life, after living the first thirty years without Jesus. We also presented a musical programme of songs and Christmas instrumental music. Before going home again, each lady received a gift bag with a Christmas candle and a scripture card.

Some of these ladies had come to the breakfast for the first time, while others have attended previous breakfasts over the past months. We are so encouraged that a number of the ladies have made the decision to commit their life to Christ, and just this week we had the first meeting of an Alpha course - a small group gathering which is designed to answer questions that non-believers or new believers might have about the Christian faith.

How wide is your TV?

Some people measure their TV screen in inches, others in centimetres... and some measure in cats!

Teddi's on guard here to make sure we don't watch any doggy movies this weekend.

Pills, prescriptions and piercings...

Can you get prescription overload? This was the question foremost in my mind as I left the local "ambulatorio" (health centre) this morning. I'd gone back to the doctor - for the fourth time in recent months - because the pain on the top of my foot seems to be getting worse rather than better, and it's getting increasingly difficult to walk and drive without pain. Last time, the doctor said it was probably tendonitis - due to the fact that I'd been walking unevenly because of the damaged ligaments in my ankle. I wasn't totally convinced of that diagnosis, as it had been two months since the ankle injury and, although it still hurt, I hadn't been limping for some weeks.

Anyway, the doctor I saw today did a much more thorough examination of the foot, and said she's concerned there's something structurally wrong (ie. with the bones, rather than the muscles) - possibly due to the same arthritis that has affected other parts of my body. But then she started to write one prescription after another; it was a little overwhelming. I have not one, but five different pills to take over the coming weeks: some are for the pain, some are anti-inflammatories, and one is something to protect my stomach from all the other pills! I've also to go back to the clinic every day over the next six days to get an injection right into the foot, and then on the sixth day I've to have more x-rays...

So the desk in my bedroom is looking rather like a pharmacy at the moment; I never imagined you could take so many different pills at the same time. I'll be so full of pills that, if I jump up and down, I'll probably make a rattling sound! However, I'm really hoping that it will make a difference to the pain that has been such a nuisance over the past three months - firstly from the ankle injury and then from this mysterious acute pain on the top and side of the foot. This has not been a good winter for aches and pains!

Talking of winter, my parents tell me that they haven't been out of the house for more than ten days because of the snow in their street. They keep emailing me photos of the front garden and the neighbours' cars, with the layer of snow getting just a little deeper from day to day. I hope it will have cleared up a bit by the time I head to Scotland for Christmas.

Meanwhile, here in Alhaurin, we seem to be having a short reprieve from the torrential rain of the past week ('though I'm not sure I believe today's forecast of a top temperature of 24 degrees! It still feels colder than that.) But the rain will be back again after the weekend, so we'll be making sure we do all our laundry over the next couple of days.

Milder weather or not, whenever I go upstairs to my room, I keep finding a strange three-headed, twelve-legged creature on my bed. Tamba, Teddi and Tobi have decided that my duvet is a nice place to take their siesta during the colder winter weather, and I regularly find the three of them intertwined and spread across the bed.... unless we have a fire in the fireplace, which is when they head downstairs and find themselves a cosy spot in the living room.

Aligning with the Book

We can see snow from our street - on the Sierra Nevada mountains - but it doesn't usually fall here in Alhaurin (although the public library does have a photo on the wall of the last time it snowed here in the town.) I was relieved to see that our minimum temperature today will be two degrees and our top temperature could be as high as fourteen if the sun makes an appearance. (Where my parents live in Scotland, it was minus fourteen this morning before sunrise.)

Today in my Bible reading, I was reflecting on the story of King Josiah (found in 2 Kings chapters 22 and 23.) When clearing out the temple, people find the "Book of the Law" which has been lost for many years, and realise - to their shock - that they've been living their lives totally contrary to what God said was best for them. In order to re-align themselves with the Book again, there are some things that they need to commit to... and some things that they need to give up.

If you or I want to align ourselves with the Bible in a deeper way, I wonder what things we should stop doing, and what things we should start doing with more commitment. Food for thought, isn't it?

December days

The rains have come earlier this year. I remember that last year I could still go outdoors without a coat at the beginning of December (though once the rains started in the middle of the month, they continued on and off till the beginning of April. We're hoping for a milder winter this year!)

Today we got a reprieve: after the non-stop downpour of the last days, the sun began to poke its head out from behind scattered grey clouds which looked as if they just might be dispersing temporarily. We made a rush on the washing machine, and did a couple of loads of the laundry that has been piling up for the last week. Hopefully things will dry on the line before the rain begins again.

The cats are finding their own ways to deal with the colder weather. Sometimes I discover all three of them curled up together on the same stool.... and Tobi's not above sneaking into my bedroom and finding a way to wriggle under the duvet - where she'd happily hide all day. Whenever I sit down to work on the computer, or Gabriela sits down to do her homework.... before long there's a purring feline snuggled on our lap.

Meanwhile, those of you who received my newsletter yesterday have been emailing to tell me that it's much colder where you are: snow in Canada, Norway and Scotland; frosty weather in Holland and France.... Only my friends in South Africa and Australia have got in touch to gloat about their warm sunny December days. Looks like the winter weather is here to stay for those of us in the northern hemisphere.