FOCOS feedback....

I've arrived back in the south of Spain, after spending ten days up north in the Cataluña region of the country (north of Barcelona.)

The intensive workshop in foundational coaching skills went very well and the feedback from the trainees was overwhelmingly positive. Not only did they experience transformation in their own lives, they also felt equipped with the skills and confidence needed to begin coaching others in the context of their church or missions setting.

This year's trainees were all Latinos - from places like Costa Rica, Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Mexico. Some had flown all the way from South America for the workshop, while others were working as missionaries in places like Turkey, Germany and Italy. In the photos above, you can see scenes from the teaching input and the practical application groups.

Last year, Patti and I were the only trainers in the workshop; this year we were "apprenticing" some new people who may be involved as trainers in the future. It was good to see how this new team formed and began to work together to serve this year's trainees.

We stayed at the same campsite as last year, right on the beach (which was still strewn with uprooted trees and other debris from the recent devastation of Storm Gloria.) They'd changed their catering system, though, and instead of helping ourselves from a buffet, a waiter brought our meals to the table. The food was good and the portions were huge. Several of us quickly decided that it would be wise to switch to half board instead of eating two enormous three course meals every day.

I opted to skip lunch, and this allowed me, often together with one of the other trainers, to go walking in the local area, discovering some of the old watchtowers that the region is famous for - a relic from the days when they had to be on the lookout for pirates. This meant that I was able to get some exercise, even though it was a week with no dog-walking. I did meet plenty of other dog walkers, though - mostly Germans and British people there on holiday in their camper vans.

It was a fruitful week, and we're thankful to God for all that He did in people's lives.