New year, new experiences ahead...

I've just spent my very first Christmas and new year in Spain. Even though I've lived here for twelve years, I've always been able to go and visit my family and my local church in Scotland over the festive season. This year, with a worldwide pandemic causing all kinds of travel restrictions and test requirements, it wasn't possible for me to make that annual trip, and so I was here in Spain for the first time.

In fact, it wasn't particularly "festive," because a few days before Christmas I began to have horrendous toothache. This over-shadowed much of the Christmas and New Year period as I was on non-stop painkillers and antibiotics for two weeks. It turns out there was a cyst in my jawbone and shortly before the end of the year I had to have a couple of hours of dental surgery - to remove the cyst and three teeth at the same time.

The teeth removal was no big surprise as the arthritis in my jawbone has led to dental problems for over a decade now. One of those three teeth had been falling out for ages and creating a growing gap. I don't know if "gap" is still the right word to use after the latest extractions; I basically only have my three front teeth (one more than the old Christmas song!) and almost all the other top teeth are gone now. Once the sensitivity settles and the gum heals, I'll need to see about getting a denture plate, as I don't really have enough teeth to allow me to eat properly.

Apart from the dental saga, the last days of 2020 and the early days of the new year also included the handing over of my little foster puppy, Kenai. His adoptive family was finally able to come from Sweden, despite three or four flight cancellations and a huge bill for having to do their covid PCR tests on Christmas Day. We spent a couple of days together to allow the pup to get used to them before the adoption papers were signed and the official handover happened. I visited them again a week later and finally, last Friday, he flew back to Sweden with them and is now enjoying the snow with his forever family. Before he left, I made a fun video of all the things he had learned (in Spanish and Swedish) during his two months with me. You can watch the video by clicking here or on the photo below.

During the last months of 2020, I was involved with a number of projects that had to happen online because of the travel restrictions caused  by Covid-19. These included a KKI leadership forum and a week of teaching in a youth and family ministry training school (PCYM) in Argentina. As 2021 begins, another online training course lies ahead. In the last week of January and the first week of February we'll be running an online leadership development encounter (LDE) with 130 participants and staff from 34 nations. A number of possible travels are also in the diary for 2021, but only time will tell what will be allowed and what will be forbidden for us again in 2021.

We've just had a week of pretty extreme weather here in southern Spain: torrential rainstorms that caused flooding (dramatic scenes of motorbikes being swept down the hills and cars being carried out to sea) and even some snow right here in our nearby forest in Alhaurín. (Most of Spain is covered in snow throughout the winter, but it's unusual for us to get it down here so close to the coast.) There were even hailstones on some of the beaches along the Costa del Sol.

The weather seems to be settling down again for now, and I'm settling into the different projects that God has for me this year. Thank you for your interest and prayers and may you also know God's guidance in this new year.