The last week was a really meaningful time, where we saw God bring to completion many of the good things that He had been doing in people's lives since we first came together only six weeks ago. A small number of delegates requested to be baptised at the end of the course - some because they had never previously been baptised as a testimony to their faith, and others because they wanted to symbolise the fact that they were being washed clean from past struggles and were entering into a new season of leadership and missionary service.
We also held a special ceremony that we called "stepping over the line," where delegates were able to speak out what they were leaving behind and what they are stepping into.... and others were able to encourage and pray for them.
We finished with kind of a "graduation" time when we had a special meal and the students were presented with their certificates for successful completion of the course. And then, on the very last morning, we had a special time of praise and thanksgiving - recognising that Father God had been the source of all the amazing ways that people had grown and changed during these last few weeks together.
On a lighter note , we were able to surprise some of the delegates by playing a joke on them when they went out to eat in a restaurant last night. About sixteen of them went into Alhaurin de la Torre to have dinner together (while others were packing their suitcases in preparation for an early departure today, and we as staff were busy with our own evaluation and debriefing time.) Half a dozen of us staff went into town later to have an ice cream and say goodbye to each other, and we noticed that our students were still sitting chatting in the restaurant. I slipped in and asked the restaurant owner if he would go in to their table and make an announcement that there was going to be a flamenco show in just a few minutes. Eavesdropping from the back of the restaurant, we heard our guys giving murmurs of anticipation at this unexpected treat. You should have seen their faces when it was us, a group of their friends, who came bursting into the room, waving our arms around in pseudo flamenco movements. It was a real candid camera moment, and even we ourselves could hardly stop laughing at the impact we made!Almost all of the delegates and staff are flying home today, but for those of us who actually live in Alhaurin de la Torre all year round, there's an opportunity to see a real flamenco show in town this evening. In typical Spanish fashion, it only begins at 10 pm, so Anja and I are trying to decide if we still have the energy, after seven weeks of LDC, to go out for a late night adventure tonight.
