It didn't finish with Matins! We made six visits to the chapel yesterday in total, finishing with Compline at 9pm. One of the Compline prayers talks about the Lord granting us a quiet night. Unfortunately it didn’t seem that way! There was a faulty fire alarm in our building and it kept going off during the night. I was appointed "Chief Fire Officer", probably because I'm not afraid of buttons. My job was to reset the alarm, which I did, including the one at 4am! Everyone was impressed with the speed with which I rushed downstairs and silenced the alarm noise.

It's been a great retreat, but it felt like we advanced. Did I mention the food? It was excellent; as were the talks, company and facilities.

Up at 5.30 am for Matins at 6 am. This truly feels like a retreat. I'm completely cut off from mobile phone access too, but have come for a walk as you can see from the photo. Excellent talks and a stimulating place. Other retreatants are all interesting characters. Food excellent and plentiful.

Arrived safely via train and bus. Weather is superb and views are breathtaking. Looks like a full programme beginning with tea at 4.30 pm. What a hardship!

Thought I'd better check in with the boss at one of His places!

Here I am on the way to Ampleforth Abbey for a 3-day retreat. I last came here in 1999, when I was Curate at St Botolph's, Longthorpe. It's quite a place with the Abbey, where the monastic community is based, and the school. It's set in beautiful grounds in wild countryside.

It's a led-retreat, led by Fr Dominic and I don't know what the theme will be, but I'm open-minded. Lets see what God has in store for me!

There's much booking of tickets going on at present. I've been looking on-line, but it still seems cheaper when you come to a real booking office!

I can also update from my PDA, so I hope to keep you updated from the UK and Argentina.

This week I will be traveling to Ampleforth Abbey for a retreat. I have been there once before in 1999.

Welcome to this diary about my sabbatical during Autumn 2006.

What's the sabbatical all about? Well here's the Proposal, which was approved by the Diocese.

Purpose: The overall purpose of the Sabbatical will be to study an overseas culture in which there are claims that parts of the Christian church have experienced revival in recent years. The personal reflection will take place in and about the church in Argentina. Over the last twelve years, Paul Larcombe has attended a number of conferences and seminars, which have included speakers from Argentina.

Visit to Argentina: The overseas part of the Sabbatical is being put together with the help of Mr Claudio Coquet, an Argentinian friend of Paul Larcombe’s. Mr Coquet came to the UK from Argentina in Spring 2004 with his family, as missionaries. They are based at Open Door Baptist Church in Gunthorpe, Peterborough and are financially supported by this church. Mr Coquet has successfully coordinated a number of visits by British church ministers to Argentina over the last seven years. It is also hoped to link up with SAMS, which will give insight into the establishing of Christian mission in Argentina and will also give a present-day perspective and contrast to the charismatic and Pentecostal traditions, which form the main basis of Mr Couquet’s contacts.

The visit to Argentina will consist of a number of visits to churches that claim to be in, or are experiencing, revival. This will centre around Mendosa and Buenos Aries and is likely to include the following churches and ministries: Carlos Loredo; National Prayer Centre; Assemblies of God; CCNV (Largest church in Buenos Aries – 30,000); Claudio Freidzon; YWAM; Annacondia; C Mraicda (Largest and oldest Baptist church in Argentina). The visit will also include opportunities to preach and minister, something which other visitors from the UK have advised is very important in terms of experiencing what it is like to preach and minister in this different culture. It is hoped that Paul Larcombe’s wife will be able to accompany him during this visit.

Schedule/ Plan of time: Week 1-2 Oct 06 Retreat Week 3-4 Oct 06 Personal Reflection and Preparatory Study Week 5-10 Nov 06-Dec06 Overseas visit including Personal Reflection Week 11-12 Dec 06 Holiday

Mentor/Supervisor: Dr Brian Stanley, who was Paul Larcombe’s tutor at Trinity College, Bristol, will be approached to act as Theological Supervisor. Dr Stanley is based in Cambridge. He is Director of the Henry Martyn Centre, Lecturer at Cambridge Theological Federation, Senior Research Associate at the Faculty of Divinity, where he directs the Currents in World Christianity Project. The Revd Russ Parkes, Pastor of Open Door Baptist Church, Gunthorpe, Peterborough will also be approached to provide local supervision. Revd Parkes has made five visits to Argentina during the last five years and has done much personal reflection on both the overseas culture and the claims that parts of the Christian church have experienced revival in recent years.

Theological questions: Paul Larcombe is developing a mind map approach to the theological issues raised. The mind map includes a number of questions about revival in this context in Argentina, including history of church growth, the definition of revival, transformation of society, its extension across denominations, rate of growth and fruit, and cultural differences.