Skill sharing...

Lent has begun, and one of the 40 Acts suggestions for "doing Lent generously" is to share your skills with others in some way. You may not have much money to be generous with, but you can always be generous with your time and your skills. If you're good at maths, you could help a friend's child with their homework; if you're a dab hand with a paint brush, you could transform that dingy old room at your church or community centre; if you have some musical skills, you could volunteer to play piano for the Sunday School; if you cope okay with DIY, you could help an elderly person by doing some repairs or odd jobs around the house for them.... And the possibilities go on and on.

Click on this image to enlarge it and read the text.

I've had several different opportunities to do some "skill sharing" this week: I was able to help a Spanish-speaking child with their English homework, I helped a fellow missionary by making them a template for a prayer letter, I taught a young adult how to make a healthy pot of soup.... and I'm proof-reading a friend's writing project to check for spelling or grammar mistakes. What do you enjoy doing? And what skills could you share in order to bless someone else and "do Lent generously" ?

The horrible hat...

No, it's not a cowboy hat. My Dad's headgear in this photo is one of those "sick bowls" that they give to hospital patients if they need to vomit. After nearly eighteen weeks in hospital, Dad had the feeding tube removed from his nose this week, and yesterday he was able to feed himself for the first time since last October. Eating is still a struggle, though: he can manage to eat a little soup and pudding, but then his stomach usually hurts and he often feels nauseous - which is why the sick bowl is still a constant companion. Please join me in praying that his digestion will improve and that his stomach will get used to having food, so that he is able to eat more and build up his strength again. (He has lost more than thirty five pounds in weight.)

The birthday babies...

When I opened my Bible and wrote the date in my journal this morning, I realised that it is February 22nd - exactly three years since my midnight vigil when Tamba gave birth (on my bed, no less) to four little black balls of fur. No, I never expected that two of them would still be with me some years later, but today is Tobi and Teddi's 3rd birthday. No sooner had I finished writing the date, than the birthday boy himself jumped onto my desk and spread himself across my journal, as if to say, "Hey, it's my birthday. Stop writing and give me some attention!"

Going out with my granddaughter...

We sometimes joke that I’m Gabriela’s surrogate grandmother, as I’m a year older than her real gran who lives in Peru. That means I sometimes do grandma-like things, such as picking her up from school if her mum is working late, or taking her out for an ice cream in the summer. 

Gabriela is a big fan of Mexican food, so she was thrilled to discover that a Taco Bell restaurant had opened at Plaza Mayor, a nearby shopping centre. Of course, Taco Bell is to Mexican food as MacDonald’s is to American food: it’s fast and fun, but it’s not exactly gourmet cuisine. Nonetheless, we said that we’d go for a taco meal whenever there was an opportunity. 

Well, tonight’s the night. Her mum will be working until 8.00pm, so Gabriela and I are going to Plaza Mayor for tacos, before picking Ada up from work on our way home again.

Fourth anniversary.... fourth home ....

Our local church, el Centro Cristiano de Alhaurín, always has a special week of prayer in mid-February, just a couple of weeks before we celebrate our anniversary. During last year's week of prayer, in February 2011, we were praying for provision of new premises to meet in for our Sunday services. We had used a number of different houses and homes over the previous three years, and we had a sense that God wanted to give us a new meeting place that would be more central and more "visible" in the town. Well, it took quite a number of months, and there were several ups and downs along the way, but we're encouraged that our fourth anniversary, which we celebrate this weekend, will be held in our new building - former shop premises, just next to one of the supermarkets in the centre of Alhaurín. (As shops are closed on Sundays in Spain, all the shopping centre parking is available for us when we meet on Sunday evenings.) We've been able to sign a rental contract for the next five years, and are in the process of renovating the premises to give us a kitchen, an office, and some Sunday School rooms, as well as a large meeting area.
Tomorrow, to celebrate four years of God's faithfulness to us as a congregation, we'll start at 3pm (Spanish lunch time!) with a fellowship meal together, before having our usual worship service at 6pm. During the service, we'll also be having a special offering to help with the ongoing costs of the renovations, and we're trusting that God will provide (through ourselves) all that is needed for the work that still needs to be done.

Anja's arrival

A new team member arrived this week to work with us in Alhaurin. This brings our little team up to six members, after being five people last year and only three people the year before. Anja is German, but has come to us from Australia, and will be serving the Western Europe ministry in different ways relating to admin and communication. This week, I've been taking time to orientate her - finding out about where she can attend Spanish classes, how to get her residence permit, where to register with the town hall as a local resident, etc. We also paid a visit to the town's tourist information office in order to pick up maps and some information about the local area.
This week we were also invited to a lovely "ladies' brunch." A Spanish friend decided to invite a number of us who work with different mission agencies to come together on a regular basis for friendship and fellowship. It was fun to connect with these women and share together about some of the joys and challenges of moving to live in Spain. Anja was able to hear first hand from women who have already been through the experience of moving and settling here over the past four or five years.

From fasting to feasting...

Last week, our little church here in Alhaurin had a week of prayer and fasting. Every night we gathered in a different home to pray for our town, our neighbours, the young people and families of the church, the outreach initiatives planned for the year ahead... Some people chose to fast a meal now and then, as part of their commitment to prayer, while others fasted something specific - such as coffee, chocolate or meat. 
Next weekend, in complete contrast to our week of fasting, we'll be having a special buffet meal together to celebrate the fourth anniversary of the church. Almost every church anniversary has seen us in a new location, as we changed homes in order to meet the growing needs of the congregation. We're thankful that we've now found a new property in the centre of town. We've been able to renovate it to meet our needs and have signed a rental contract for the next five years.

Every one is unique and uniquely loved

One of Gabriela's school friends asked her how she could possibly tell the difference among our three cats. "How do you know which is which?" she asked. 
This question seemed incomprehensible to Gabriela, who thought it was perfectly obvious that the three cats are completely different. Tobi is tiny, beneath all that fluffiness, and has widely spaced green eyes that always give her a faintly surprised expression. Tamba is short-haired, soft as velvet, and has yellow eyes like round copper pennies. And Teddi, Gabriela's special buddy, is twice as big, twice as fluffy, and almost twice as heavy as either of the other two. To Gabriela's friend, a visitor to our home, they are simply three black cats that are not particularly distinguishable one from another. Gabriela, however, who is very fond of our three fluffy friends, simply can't imagine how anyone could think that all three look the same.

This reminded me of a conversation I had many years ago with a young person at a KKI camp in South Africa. I had been teaching about how each person on earth is "special and unique," and of infinite value to Father God. "But how can that be possible?" asked this teenage girl. "There are six billion people on earth. How can each one of them have a special place in God's heart?" In response, I told her the true story of something that happened to friends of ours. Their youngest child, aged only two years old, had fallen into a swimming pool and drowned. When friends and family gathered for the funeral, one lady - no doubt in an attempt to comfort them - said, "I am so sorry for your loss, but at least you can take consolation in the fact that you still have three other children at home." These words, although well intentioned, did nothing to lessen the sadness of those grieving parents. It was true that they had three other children, whom they also loved dearly.... but the existence of three others didn't in any way cancel out the loss of the precious child who had died. Each child held a unique and special place in the hearts of those parents.

"And it's exactly the same with God," I told that teenage girl. "Even if several million or billion people on earth are loving and serving God, He will still miss YOU if you mistrust Him or turn your back on Him. You have a special place in His heart that no one else can fill." For some people, the earth's inhabitants are just six billion faceless individuals - as indistinguishable from one another as those three black cats are to Gabriela's schoolfriend. But to a God who created us (and who loves us  even more than Gabriela loves those cats!) each one is known by name and is a unique and special individual in His sight.

Learning to walk again...

After sixteen weeks in hospital, my Dad's progress is still painfully slow. He can stand for a few minutes at a time - with the help of a hoist - and sometimes that makes him exhausted for the rest of the day. This week, he took four small steps - also with the stand-aid to help him. I am so thankful that my Dad has a generally positive personality, but I am also praying that he'll know God's strength and grace, so that he doesn't get discouraged with the very slow rate of progress.

I think those are my shoes....

Teddi took a sudden interest in my (new-ish) shoes today and kept sitting close to them. Either he liked the smell of the leather, or perhaps he saw the make and thought the shoes had his name on them!!

Don't give up..... Give out!

In just a couple of weeks' time, it will be the beginning of Lent - a period of forty days leading up to Easter, the time when we remember the death and amazing resurrection of Jesus. In countries that are traditionally Catholic, like Spain, it's often a time where people decide to "give something up." Maybe they do without sweets or coffee or television as a sign of their allegiance to the Christian faith.
Last year, a UK based charity called Stewardship Services launched an initiative called 40 Acts. With the slogan, "Don't give up; give out," they encouraged people to see Lent not as a time for asceticism and giving things up, but rather as a time for remembering God's extravagant gift to us and reaching out to others through acts of willing and sometimes random generosity. This year, they are promoting the initiative again, and you can find out more or sign up to get involved at the
40 Acts website (click here) or Facebook page.

What could you do to make the forty days of Lent a season of intentional generosity this year? You could reach out with a different act of generosity every day... or perhaps there's a particular theme or challenge that would be just right for you: like making a cup of tea/coffee every day for someone in your family or at your place of work. How about visiting and/or praying for some of the elderly and shut-in people in your church or neighbourhood? Or writing 40 thank you letters, texts or emails - one to a different person every day? Lent starts on 22nd February. Let's start thinking about how we can "do Lent generously" this year.

Chicas y chocolate

Some friends in Torremolinos have invited me to a "ladies night" this weekend, and I heard that there was going to be a theme for the gathering. Hmm... I wondered what the theme would be. Women in missions? Women and prayer?
When the email arrived, I opened it up, and discovered that the theme was going to be: chocolate! Each of us is to make and take something chocolatey with us to the party, which will be an opportunity just to strengthen friendships and watch a movie together. A friend of mine is taking a chocolate fondue pot, and another is making a chocolate cake. I'm trying to decide whether to make chocolate mousse or chocolate truffles.  And perhaps I should take along some invitations to a slimming club??!!

Fresh Produce....

"Fresh Produce" used to be the brand name on some of my clothing. When I lived in South Africa, I often bought T-shirts or pyjamas from Pick 'n' Pay's clothes department and that was the logo on the clothing. Today, however, "Fresh Produce" took on a whole new meaning when I went to do some shopping at our open air market in Alhaurín.
I had been up bright and early this morning (or, to be more accurate, it was dark and early) because I had to access the internet at 7.30 am and get ready for an 8 o'clock coaching session. I watched the sun rise, as I chatted by Skype with someone in Hungary, and by the time we finished, it felt as if the day was well underway. Remembering that it was Wednesday, which is our local market day, I decided to drive there and pick up some fresh fruit and vegetables. Although I still miss the summer fruits that were so delicious in Cape Town, February in Spain is a good time to pick up bargains in winter fruit and veg.
Armed with my wheelie cart, just like all the Spanish ladies, I picked up 5 kilos of juice oranges, 4 kilos of tangerines (naartjies), 2 kilos of kiwis, 2 kilos of tomatoes, a kilo each of red and green peppers and a kilo of strawberries, as well as a huge cauliflower and some sweet potatoes! My display of "fresh produce" was so impressive that Nicole (a young American who's spending a few months in our home) came out to take some photos. Not in the photos are our lemons, which were picked this week from a friend's tree.
Twelve year old Gabriela is still in bed with 'flu, and wasn't too impressed yesterday with a (supposedly mandarin flavoured) vitamin C tablet that I gave her. So this morning I made her up a plate of "fresh produce vitamins" and these were received with considerably more enthusiasm. With my shopping done for the day, and my emails answered for the morning, I'm heading home again now to use some of the vegetables in making us a chicken curry for lunch.