I´ve just come back from a weekend of visiting my friends from YWAM (Youth With A Mission) in Mendoza, with a new appreciation for the simple things in life. The Mendoza base  is set on a beautiful, rather dusty farm. You are surrounded by mountains, that are a constant reminder to me of the greatness of God, helping to put worries in their proper perspective. I walk on to that base and instantly feel at peace. This is exactly what I needed; to be miles away from the city centre, especially computers and internet; and to get a break from the constant traffic of a big city, from noisy neighbours, from the temptation of checking work emails whilst on holiday.

But as often happens with me, past events, times and places, get filed into an "idealised memory compartment" of my mind, which sifts out all the "not so idyllic" bits. I had sort of forgotten that it is FREEZING cold there in the winter, and quite impossible to warm up for very long given the scarcity of electric heaters to befriend; that managing to have a hot shower from start to finish is a luxury averaged by most no more than once a week, and that this event is also the highlight of the week. I forgot that living on a community base meant that every day you have to think about the logistics of cooking for over 20 people. I forgot that the toilets don´t always flush, and that quite often are devoid of loo roll!

So I´m back in Buenos Aires, not only refreshed and happy from spending time with old friends, but also thoroughly grateful for simple luxuries.

ps This is the first blog in several months because I lost my log in password!!