Since the beginning of the year my flatmate and I have been trying to pray together for a few minutes every evening. We started praying for Venezuela but now we pray for all sorts of things – sick babies, our hopes and dreams, the Colombian peace process…any need that comes along.

My birthday was over 6 weeks ago and last Sunday I said, “Would it be very selfish to pray that my birthday parcels would start to arrive?”

“Not at all,” my flatmate said. “You’re thinking of the people who sent you your parcels, too.”

On Tuesday I was just about to leave the office when my flatmate got in touch to say “You’ve got a parcel.”

And so I did – a great big box, all the way from Germany with lots of goodies and the greatest present ever – a cushion with the German and Colombian flags, made by my German god-daughter.

There are still one or two more presents to come, though.