New Step Team

I've spent the most part of last week with the new Spring Step Team. They are a great bunch of young people. We spent a few days just chilling out and recovering from jetlag (and asking me lots of questions!)
This week they are starting their project -up in the mountains of Tecpan, helping to build earthquake-proof houses in rural communities. In the process, they'll be getting used to sleeping on the floor, having to leave the house and walk down a path to get to the toilet, and to 'showering' in a bucket! But they'll also be getting to know each other and working together to serve these communities. All classic Step experiences!!

creations

Some of the things I make in my spare time!

Latin Link International Assembly

I've recently come back from Peru where I was attending the Latin Link International Assembly. This is a gathering which only happens every 4 years, bringing together representatives from all the different Latin Link teams and associated ministries.
It was the first time for me - and I really enjoyed it.

It was fantastic to see so many other people, with the same shared vision of mission, and to learn about the different ways in which that is expressed in practice.
We are a diverse bunch - with more that 20 nationalities within Latin Link. I really enjoyed worshiping God together in 4 different languages. And this really challenged me too : in one session about multicultural teams, we saw that the majority of us speak English or Spanish as our first language - but there were plenty of others too --German, Dutch, Swiss German, Finish, Portuguese....... I was particularly challenged that I don't speak any of these languages - so when in a team with others, the onus is on them to communicate in either Spanish or English. In so many ways, learning something of a language is just a first step in attempting to understand someone and the culture that has shaped them. Although at times I still struggle with Spanish, I want to make it my goal to learn (or at least remember some of my GSCE) German, so that I'm better able to communicate and understand the Swiss and Germans who are in our Central America team.

It was a very busy time -- with a full programme and lots of extra meetings with individuals in between - so it was very tiring. One of the things that kept me going was that I was reading a book -'The Furious Longing of God' by Brennan Manning. He talks about the incredible love that God has for us. In a chapter I read on the way to the Assembly, he suggests you take a few moments every day, to sit with eyes closed and hands open, and to repeat 'Abba (Daddy), I belong to you.' I tried to do this during the Assembly - and it was a great (in a very low-key-non-excitable sort of way) - just having a couple of minutes when I focus on being God's daughter - that he delights in me -- that it's got nothing to do with what role I have, or what's on my 'to do' list, or how much I have managed to get done -- I'm just His beloved daughter. It's very freeing and restful.