Striding forwards...

At the start of a new week, I'm feeling encouraged by all the tasks that have been accomplished over the past ten days. At the beginning of last week, I was connecting over the internet with my colleague Andrea, in Hong Kong, as we worked on preparing the camp teachings and activities for our Planting Together outreach teams in West Africa this summer. I've also been working on writing a little quiet time booklet that will help the young people to spend time alone with God during their weeks in Senegal and the first few days back home after their trip. The booklet is almost completed now, and is likely to be finished over the next few days.

Then, in the second half of last week, my colleague Patti arrived from Barcelona; we had planned in five intensive workdays together to re-work the training material for the Spanish language coaching workshop that we hold in Barcelona every February. Here too, we were encouraged by the real progress we could make with the material, and are looking forward to finishing it over the coming few weeks. The course begins at the start of the autumn, not long after we get back from Planting Together, and then the onsite workshop is held at the beginning of next year.

As well as making big strides forward with the training materials, Patti and I also did some physical striding forwards, as we took the dogs for pleasant shady walks in the nearby woods. I was trying out some new trekking poles (walking sticks) that I'd bought with my birthday money, as someone had told me that they could help ease the strain on my arthritic knee joints. 

The mountain range near my home town is called the Sierra de Mijas and there are almost no sources of water in it (all the stream beds are dry) except for two natural springs. Past generations got their own drinking water there, and also built fountains and troughs so that their livestock had a place to drink. It was kind of fun to combine our work discussions with forest walks to the Fuente de Jarapalos and the Fuente de Acebuche, and the dogs seemed to enjoy the exercise too.