Home sweet home

Well, as the first month of 2010 draws to an end, I'm pleased to be able to report that we have just found a new house to rent, and will be moving in at the end of this week. Time seemed to be running out and we were getting very tired of making phone calls and viewing flats that turned out to be too small or too expensive in the end. So it's a big relief to have found a house that is central, that is spacious enough for our needs (three bedrooms), and is at a price we can afford. It has a fireplace in the lounge, so we're looking forward to gathering firewood and making a roaring fire. (Our previous flat has been rather icy during these colder winter months.) And it also has two sun terraces, so that we can eat outdoors during the warmer summer months. The cats will no doubt enjoy the terrace too.

An interesting detail is that the house is in the same street as the local sports complex and indoor swimming pool. A couple of years ago, when Gabriela started attending gymnastics classes three times a week, Ada remembers praying that they could find a home that was within walking distance of the sports centre. Now it's right on our doorstep, and we joke that we can see "our" swimming pool from the front window! Gabriela will be able to walk to gymnastics classes by herself.

The house (up the mountain) that we first planned to move to was in a district called the "winepress" - perhaps because there were vineyards there in the past. Our new house is in an area called the "lemon," and the neighbourhood further up the hill is called the "upper orchard," so I'm guessing that this part of town used to be an area of citrus groves in the past. As we move to a new home, and as new ministry steps also lie ahead, I'm trusting God that 2010 will be a year of fruitfulness and blessing for all of us.

Talking about the weather

There's a stereotype of British people which says that they're always talking about the weather. I've discovered that this is true. If you stand at the bus stop in Scotland, or meet someone in a shopping centre, they will invariably tell you how cold it us, or comment that it's nice to have a warm day for a change.

I've experienced that this doesn't happen quite so much in other parts of the world: if you live in Cape Town or in the south of Spain, where it's sunny for at least 300 days of the year, the weather's not much of a conversation starter. It's just sunny most of the time.

In recent weeks, though, Spanish people down here on the Costa del Sol seem to be speaking a lot about the weather. Elderly people will tell you that it's been twenty years since they experienced such heavy rains, or young people will say that they don't remember the winter time ever being this cold before.

In many ways, though, I feel quite spoiled to live in this climate. Yes, it can be very cold indoors - especially at night, when a hot water bottle is a welcome relief. And yes, we've had a lot of rainy days lately. But as we move further into January, we're beginning to have some lovely sunny days again and I'm very thankful for that.

Happy New Year

Animals at the manger...

My flatmate's from Peru and her little figures for the nativity scene by our Christmas tree look just like indigenous people of South America. There's even a llama among the animals watching the baby Jesus in the stable! However, these are not the only animals showing an interest in our manger. Tamba's kittens, Teddi and Tobi, seem intrigued by the tree, the shiny paper and the small figures. We've had to put a rug at the foot of the tree, so that no little shepherds get knocked down and smashed on the floor.

Strengthen the feeble knees...

I've been having problems with my left knee on and off for the past six years, and have sometimes had to wear a brace to give it some support and make walking less painful. To my horror, something also happened with my right knee this week: it keeps giving way with a sudden and stabbing pain. Kitted out with an elastic brace on both knees, I began to feel embarrassingly like a racehorse! And then, to add insult to injury (or maybe it was to add injury to insult) I began to have trouble with my back again, and a physiotherapist suggested that I wear a brace to give more support for a while to the disks in the lumbar region. I'm wrapped up in so much elastic this week, that I'm beginning to feel like a walking advertisement for orthopaedic supplies!!

There's a verse in the New Testament (Hebrews 12:12) which says, "Lift up your weak hands and strengthen your feeble knees." In context, it's encouraging the believers to take heart and not to give up when they encounter challenges in following and obeying God. This week, with a knee guard on both legs, it seems that I've put it into practice somewhat more literally.

In real life, though, it's true that we do sometimes need "a little extra support." How good it is to know that we can not only depend on the Holy Spirit's strength, but can also be helped along by the prayers and encouragements of others. Today I'd like to say thank you to the friends and family who so faithfully support me in prayer. May God bless you this weekend.

Commuting and computing...

I'm "commuting" this week between two homes and two sets of animals. While my friends are away for a week, I'm house-sitting at the villa, and looking after their dog, cat and chickens. This is the villa that serves as a leadership retreat centre, so I began the week by preparing breakfasts for a small group of leaders who were finishing a few days of consultation about ministry and missions in the Catholic nations of the world. Now that the group has left, I've been cleaning the rooms, washing all the bedding, and getting things ready for some new guests who'll arrive next week. That's the "indoor" part of my job for this week. The "outdoor" part involves feeding the chickens, cleaning the hen house, checking for newly laid eggs, watering the citrus trees which will provide us with lots of oranges and lemons over the winter months... and, of course, taking the dog for her daily walk in the nearby woods.

Then, at some point during the day, it's time to head back to my own house and check up on how Tamba, Teddi and Tobi are settling in to their new home. They're beginning to get used to the flat now, and they welcome me at the door when I arrive to give them fresh food and water for the day. Teddi continues to enjoy sitting on the balcony and is beginning to get himself noticed by the patients who go in and out of the health centre.

Once the "commuting" is done for the day, it's time to start the "computing." One of my goals for this month is to make further progress on the curriculum project I'm working on this year: translating a manual of pre-teens resources from German into English. This involves working for several hours every day on the computer.

Then there are also a number of church meetings to be hosted at the villa: the prayer meeting tonight, the youth group tomorrow evening, and the church service on Sunday evenings. And, just to add even more of an international flavour, I'm going to be speaking this week to a group of ladies from Norway. (They're from the church that's attended by one of our S-PCYM students and they're in Malaga this week for a ladies' retreat.)

Well, that's all for today. I'd better go now and hang up the laundry...

Downsizing...

Well, I moved house this week, and all the packing and unpacking of boxes is almost over now. Moving from a four-bedroomed house into a single room meant that I needed to "downsize" a bit: I had to give some things away and put other things into suitcases that I'll store under the bed. The cats also had to make the adjustment from the old house to the new flat, and they spent most of the first day hiding under the bed with the suitcases. After a while, though, they began to explore a bit - no doubt surprised that there were no staircases for them to play on. They sat on the balcony, seemingly bemused that they could see the outdoors and the people walking by, but not actually get out to the street. And, of course, they're also having to adapt to new people in the house, and to having children around.

After a few days, though, they seem to be getting used to the new place, and they enjoy playing around on the tiny inner terrace where we hang our laundry. The flat is near the centre of the old town, and looks out on the new health centre/clinic. Teddi seems to enjoy lying on the balcony, watching the ambulances come and go (as long as they come and go quietly; he hasn't heard one with a siren yet!)

So this will be our home for the next few months (six months for Tamba and me, and slightly less for Teddi and Tobi, who will be moving to Scotland at the beginning of next year.) It will also be my place of work for a while, as I have quite a lot of computer work to do during the next three months.

Meanwhile, some friends - a family from church - will be moving into the house where I lived for the past twelve months, so perhaps I'll visit the "old place" again now and then.