Worth the wait?

Well, after spending two hours at the dentist on Monday, I had to spend two hours at the doctor yesterday... and that was just in the waiting room!  Going to the ambulatorio here in Spain can be a real drag; first you have to queue for nearly an hour until they call your number and you can actually make an appointment to see the doctor in the first place.

The cats used to look down at the
ambulatorio (health centre) when we
lived in that street

Then you come back again at the date on your paper, and you know that you won't actually see the doctor at the time of your scheduled appointment, but will probably wait for at least an hour and perhaps longer. When I arrived for my appointment last night, eight or nine people were already sitting outside the doctor's room, and so I knew I was settling down for a long wait. Fortunately, I'd been expecting that and had brought my computer with me so that I could work on some curriculum writing while I waited. It was two hours later before I could finally go in to see the doctor.

But I'm not complaining - not at all. Yes, it's a drag to have to wait such a long time to see the doctor, but the other side of the coin is that it's an incredible blessing to live in a country where medical care isn't oppressively expensive. After the doctor had written my prescription and I made my way to the pharmacy, I only had to pay €4.20 (instead of €44.20) for each box of my malaria tablets. As my prescription was for four boxes, that meant I only paid €16.80 - making a total saving of 160 euros. With that kind of saving, I guess I can put up with the two hour wait!!

Unexpected pain... unexpected provision

I broke a tooth, or rather a filling, just before I left Madagascar last week. With less than a two week gap before my next Africa trip, I was really encouraged when I managed to get an emergency dental appointment yesterday morning. My encouragement turned to dismay, however, when the "quick repair" I'd been expecting turned up some complications that led to two hours of dental treatment, where the dentist had to remove the nerve and begin full root canal treatment. Of course, with my trip to Senegal next week, the treatment can only be completed when I return to Spain at the end of the month. I'm just praying that the temporary dressing will last well and not give me any complications when I'm travelling in Africa.

Then came the financial shock: the dentist told me that the bill for the two sessions would be a whopping 300 euros! Well, I've known for some time that this tooth (and a couple of others on the same side of my mouth) would soon need serious attention, so it seemed that now was the time for a dental faith challenge.

God's provision came much faster than I imagined. The pain from the dental treatment had barely subsided before the news of financial provision arrived. This morning I got an email from the treasurer of my home church, telling me that more than £300 in gift aid money (refunded tax) from the past year was being paid into my bank account. It will more than cover this dental bill, and has increased my faith for the further dental treatment that will be needed later in the year. Isn't God amazing?!

Happy Birthday, Teddi and Tobi

Yes, Tobi and Teddi had another birthday at the weekend.  I can hardly believe it's been four years since Tamba surprised me by giving birth to kittens on my bed!
Although I've always been known as a "dog person," I have to admit I've grown very fond of my black, fluffy Siberians. I wonder how they'll react, many years from now, if I ever introduce a puppy to the family!!

Just two weeks at home...

Well, all three of the cats seem glad to have me back home again. They've hung around in my room all day, and taken turns to jump onto my lap whenever I sat down to work on the computer. Teddi in particular seems determined not to be left behind next time: whenever he sees a suitcase, he immediately jumps onto it or into it! Today, the suitcases were being unpacked, though; I'll have just two weeks at home here in Spain, before I repack the cases and head off for my next Africa trip: to Dakar, Senegal on 7th March.

Back in Europe

Yes, just like the title of this blog, I'm now back in Europe again, and I'm pleased to report that the trip was comparatively uneventful this time. My first flight left Tana at 1.30 in the morning, and arrived in Paris twelve hours later to sub-zero temperatures. Catching my connecting flight to Spain went very smoothly and I was back in Malaga by late afternoon yesterday. The trip had taken only 19 hours in total (unlike my trip to Madagascar which had taken a marathon 37 hours!)

As part of the College of Education in the University of the Nations, I'm always interested to learn of Christian schools being run by YWAMers around the world. Just before leaving Tana, I was able to visit Madagascar Christian Academy, an English language school with pupils from age 3 to 15. It was a joy to be able to pray with school principals, Braun and Pri, and to visit each of the classrooms from the youngest pre-schoolers to the Grade 9 pupils. (Grades ten to twelve will be added as the present pupils grow and move up through the school.)

Here in Spain, schools will be on holiday for the coming week. It's "semana blanca" or "white week" - the mid term holiday, when families can take advantage of winter snow to go skiing in other parts of the country.

Heading home

My teaching in the PCYM is over, and my last day in Madagascar has been spent with some of the staff, who drove me into Antananarivo to see the city and to buy a few souvenirs at the craft market. The Madagascar T-shirt I bought in 2007 is looking rather old and worn, so I was able to choose a replacement today!
We've had thunderstorms and torrential rain every evening since I arrived in Tana, but the weather is nonetheless warmer here than what awaits me in Europe. It was around 26 degrees here today, but at midnight I'll be boarding the plane for Paris and I see that temperatures are hovering horribly close to zero there. At least it'll be a little warmer again when I arrive in Alhaurin tomorrow afternoon - even if it does look like being a rainy weekend ahead.

Setting up camps and outreaches

Things continue to go well with the PCYM in Madagascar. This morning the students were grappling with practical tasks like what sort of information to put into a brochure (advertising your camp) and what sort of activities to include in the daily schedule of a camp that's designed to disciple young people and mobilise them for missions. Tomorrow we'll be looking at how to make a budget and work out what the camp should cost, how to write quiet time materials for young people, and other aspects of prayer and planning for a youth camp and outreach.

Now that I'm feeling a little better, I've been able to spend more time talking and praying with individual students and staff; I'm encouraged about that, as this was one of the original goals I had for these weeks in Madagascar.