Mijas in the mountains

Our LDC delegates have come to us this year from all over the world. (See how many of their flags you can recognise in the picture on the right.) Because our group is so international, we always like to take them on an outing during the first weekend to somewhere that looks typically Spanish. A popular choice for our trip is the little mountain village of Mijas, which is famous for its narrow streets, whitewashed Andalusian houses and donkey "taxis." It also has stunning views over the mountains and down to the coastline. In fact, the weather was so clear yesterday that we could even look across the Mediterranean and see the coastline of North Africa.

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After visiting Mijas, we drove down to the coast, where some of the braver members of our group astounded all of us by going for a swim in the icy waters of the sea. Needless to say, this drew some surprised looks from the Spaniards on the beach; Spanish people tend not to swim until the month of June.

The second week of LDC begins tomorrow, and we'll have two main themes this week. The first is about understanding how God has a leadership "timeline" for each one of us, with different ministry stages and spiritual lessons to learn along the way. The second topic this week is about the strength that comes from forming and working in strong leadership teams, instead of simply having one leader who does everything himself.