Notes from England…
• Its one thing to know that other places in the world are thousands of years old, and unexplainably it’s a whole other thing to experience them. Sunday I worshiped in a church that was built in the 1100’s and is still standing today. Tomorrow I will go and visit a house that is the ‘longest continually inhabited house in Great Britain, with over hundreds of years of occupants.
• I’m staying with an absolutely fantastic couple and their adorable two children ages 8 and 4. They are all Americans but the children have been here since they were four years and six months respectively so they sound like little Brits themselves! Cute!
• The front and back yard are called the front and back garden, appropriately so. Their gardens are fenced in with large hedges and beautiful plants. The grass is lush, dark green and grass bur-free!
• Pants are called trousers and panties are called pants. I went shopping for trousers yesterday. Sizes are different!! If I wasn’t careful I’d think I’d jumped up six sizes in the waist! Of course, with regard to shoe size I am a 6 in Great Britain and a 39 in European sizes (9ish in the States). Shirt/jacket sizes are much different. Instead of S, M, L there are numbers. Can you imagine how long it took me to buy an outfit?!? I wouldn’t have messed with it except I had no clothes for 13 degree weather, Celsius that is- just one more thing to convert!
• I went to market today in St. Ives (which I learned is home to the song of someone having 100 wives or something.) It was just like you’d see in Beauty and the Beast, well, kind of. They were selling all kinds of things in the middle of the street: rugs, shoes, music, greeting cards, mattresses and pillows, produce of all kinds, frozen meats, all sorts of clothing, just LOADS of stuff!
• The British and Americans are similar in the respect that they like to keep to themselves. Most cultures, if you see someone along the road or path you greet them. Not here, not typically anyway. I struggle just to catch someone’s eye! In businesses people are friendly enough.
• In the states, I don’t think any clerk has ever checked the back of my card for a signature. Here in England, every business does. I tried to sign the back of my card when I got home but no pen would work on it. Oh well, what can you do? They look at me like I’m stupid though, like I haven’t got enough sense to be handling money. Haha!
• I do wish I’d had a sidekick to travel around with me. It’s a shame to experience all of these neat things by oneself. Again, what can you do? Next time I plan to get stranded due to a volcano, I'll make sure someone is with me.
• I’ve had all different kinds of foods than I typically eat. Things like- Haddock, Salmon, Leeks, some spicy, odd-sounding pasta, baked beans for breakfast (apparently that’s as common as cereal is back home), some kind of chewy, raw fish and loads of other stuff! I did have ramen for lunch one day.
• I think the coolest thing so far was to be able to worship in a church that’s nearly a thousand years old. And not just that, but also to worship with believers here and hear their heart for the people in their community, wanting them to know Jesus. We sang typical praise songs with slightly altered words and music. I will be able to worship the same God with families of believers on three different continents, all within the same month, Lord willing!
20 April 2010
15 April 2010
Things I learned in the UK due to the Volcanic Ash Cloud - Thanks Iceland!
1. The food is excellent and pretty healthy.
(i.e. Salmon with hollandaise sauce and penne pasta + amazing desert)
2. The people are super friendly and/or they just have really great customer service!
3. Speaking of which, BA is amazing in the way they handled this. Free room and board whilst displaced-in a SNAZZY hotel I might add.
4. Things are SOOO different-for instance the hotel.
a. I could not figure out how to keep the lights on. I would slide my card in a slot and they
would stay on for about 10 seconds so I would run and do what I needed to, slide the card
again, run again, slide the card again…finally I figured out if I left the card in the slot, the
lights would stay on!
b. Also in the hotel I learned bathrooms are quite different. I noticed this in Ireland but it had
a greater impact on me here. After not having used the restroom on the 9-10 hour flight I
picked up my luggage in. Once I did that, I could no longer use the restroom because I did
not want my luggage “destroyed” as they often announced they would do if I left it
unattended. So following the flight, I spent the next 8 hours standing in “queues” with my
trunks and junk. After 18 hours of not using the restroom, when I got to the hotel lobby and
checked in, I left my luggage and hastened to the restroom, but when I got in there, I could
not figure out how to open the stall doors so I just pretended I needed to wash my hands.
After that, I just went to the first floor where my room was located.
c. Which by the way the first floor is not the same thing as the ground floor. The first floor is
literally the second floor.
5. This is definitely one of the nicer hotels I have stayed in so that is fun!
6. The roads are narrow, hence the small cars.
7. They use different verbiage which I have given examples of thus far.
8. Everyone is all dressed up everywhere they go, or so it seems.
9. My favorite people to visit with are those coming from India.
10. My family and friends are amazing! I'd still be at the airport right now if it wasn't for them!
Thank you! Especially Momma and Robert! And thank you African friends for keeping up
with me!
11. It’s a lot easier than people might think to make friends in the airport! But watch the movie
Human Trafficking before you do that, just so that your guard is UP!
12. Americans seem to be so far the most impatient and obnoxiously rude people so far. :( Not
me though- I hope!
Just a note: I thoroughly enjoyed the day, watching and listening to everyone! It may sound odd, but as we were taxiing out from Houston, I had a feeling that things would be a bit different but that it would be alright. Because of that, I was not frustrated at all and was able to really enjoy such a different environment! Next time though, maybe I'll have someone with me so I can take care of business when I need to! Lol!!
(i.e. Salmon with hollandaise sauce and penne pasta + amazing desert)
2. The people are super friendly and/or they just have really great customer service!
3. Speaking of which, BA is amazing in the way they handled this. Free room and board whilst displaced-in a SNAZZY hotel I might add.
4. Things are SOOO different-for instance the hotel.
a. I could not figure out how to keep the lights on. I would slide my card in a slot and they
would stay on for about 10 seconds so I would run and do what I needed to, slide the card
again, run again, slide the card again…finally I figured out if I left the card in the slot, the
lights would stay on!
b. Also in the hotel I learned bathrooms are quite different. I noticed this in Ireland but it had
a greater impact on me here. After not having used the restroom on the 9-10 hour flight I
picked up my luggage in. Once I did that, I could no longer use the restroom because I did
not want my luggage “destroyed” as they often announced they would do if I left it
unattended. So following the flight, I spent the next 8 hours standing in “queues” with my
trunks and junk. After 18 hours of not using the restroom, when I got to the hotel lobby and
checked in, I left my luggage and hastened to the restroom, but when I got in there, I could
not figure out how to open the stall doors so I just pretended I needed to wash my hands.
After that, I just went to the first floor where my room was located.
c. Which by the way the first floor is not the same thing as the ground floor. The first floor is
literally the second floor.
5. This is definitely one of the nicer hotels I have stayed in so that is fun!
6. The roads are narrow, hence the small cars.
7. They use different verbiage which I have given examples of thus far.
8. Everyone is all dressed up everywhere they go, or so it seems.
9. My favorite people to visit with are those coming from India.
10. My family and friends are amazing! I'd still be at the airport right now if it wasn't for them!
Thank you! Especially Momma and Robert! And thank you African friends for keeping up
with me!
11. It’s a lot easier than people might think to make friends in the airport! But watch the movie
Human Trafficking before you do that, just so that your guard is UP!
12. Americans seem to be so far the most impatient and obnoxiously rude people so far. :( Not
me though- I hope!
Just a note: I thoroughly enjoyed the day, watching and listening to everyone! It may sound odd, but as we were taxiing out from Houston, I had a feeling that things would be a bit different but that it would be alright. Because of that, I was not frustrated at all and was able to really enjoy such a different environment! Next time though, maybe I'll have someone with me so I can take care of business when I need to! Lol!!
07 April 2010
Life is but a Vapor
It has been a theme in my life lately how temporal our bodies are (as you may have already noticed.)
I have all kind of silly worries when it comes to my own body. The most recent one was getting my hair cut. I was so afraid it would turn out bad. I finally got it cut and guess what? It was a bad haircut. But it’s not permanent and I feel silly for wasting time thinking about it.
There are other things that I take more seriously like my health and safety. But even still those are not entirely in my control.
I found out just a few hours ago that a friend, a beautiful young woman that I went to college with passed away yesterday. Her name was Heather and she was my age, married and has a four month old daughter named Ava.
Anyone who knew her knew that she was absolutely full of life and loved the Lord and
put Him first.
Her life is a testament in many ways. One way is that we simply do not know when we will draw our last breath.
I thought about her family left behind and ask God, “Why?” And just as I finished that thought it was like I knew she, not wanting to be removed from the presence of Jesus, would respond, “I don’t want to be anywhere else. This is what I’ve lived for.”
I know its likely no one knows this family, but please join me in prayer for Jacob, her husband, Ava and their extended family.
I have all kind of silly worries when it comes to my own body. The most recent one was getting my hair cut. I was so afraid it would turn out bad. I finally got it cut and guess what? It was a bad haircut. But it’s not permanent and I feel silly for wasting time thinking about it.
There are other things that I take more seriously like my health and safety. But even still those are not entirely in my control.
I found out just a few hours ago that a friend, a beautiful young woman that I went to college with passed away yesterday. Her name was Heather and she was my age, married and has a four month old daughter named Ava.
Anyone who knew her knew that she was absolutely full of life and loved the Lord and
put Him first.
Her life is a testament in many ways. One way is that we simply do not know when we will draw our last breath.
I thought about her family left behind and ask God, “Why?” And just as I finished that thought it was like I knew she, not wanting to be removed from the presence of Jesus, would respond, “I don’t want to be anywhere else. This is what I’ve lived for.”
I know its likely no one knows this family, but please join me in prayer for Jacob, her husband, Ava and their extended family.
Spiritual Scarring
Anyone have some incredible scars? Or at least incredible stories to go with their scars?
This Easter Sunday, the pastor at a church I was visiting shared an impacting message. He simply said that when we are burned, we are left with a scar. I have heard many missionary stories about villagers' children falling into fires. Those that survive such horrific burns are greatly scarred for the rest of their lives. The same thing happens with sharp instruments. I know several people who have been in chainsaw accidents. Don’t you know they still have scars to remind them of their close call! My brother, Robert, recently told me about a woman in his church that had an accident, taking off the tip of her pointer finger.
Even with all of the technological advances today, most scars are permanent. Not all are bad.
After mentioning the scarring, the pastor said something to the effect of, “If our physical bodies are forever altered by the stinging of a fierce burn or the carelessness of a sharp knife, how much more should our spiritual lives be forever scarred by Jesus piercing our hearts with Himself and His fierce love for us?”
How much more should our lives be scarred by Jesus?
I fly out to Ghana in one week (April 14th) and my prayer for the Ewe people is simply that Jesus provides them some spiritual scarring that will stay with them for the rest of this life and into the next, scarring that will speak to others who have not yet met our Jesus, scarring that will allow them to see how their traditional worship pales in comparison to the One True God.
Will you pray with me?
This Easter Sunday, the pastor at a church I was visiting shared an impacting message. He simply said that when we are burned, we are left with a scar. I have heard many missionary stories about villagers' children falling into fires. Those that survive such horrific burns are greatly scarred for the rest of their lives. The same thing happens with sharp instruments. I know several people who have been in chainsaw accidents. Don’t you know they still have scars to remind them of their close call! My brother, Robert, recently told me about a woman in his church that had an accident, taking off the tip of her pointer finger.
Even with all of the technological advances today, most scars are permanent. Not all are bad.
After mentioning the scarring, the pastor said something to the effect of, “If our physical bodies are forever altered by the stinging of a fierce burn or the carelessness of a sharp knife, how much more should our spiritual lives be forever scarred by Jesus piercing our hearts with Himself and His fierce love for us?”
How much more should our lives be scarred by Jesus?
I fly out to Ghana in one week (April 14th) and my prayer for the Ewe people is simply that Jesus provides them some spiritual scarring that will stay with them for the rest of this life and into the next, scarring that will speak to others who have not yet met our Jesus, scarring that will allow them to see how their traditional worship pales in comparison to the One True God.
Will you pray with me?
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