Guy Fawkes/Bonfire Night

If you're reading my blog for the first time, please click here to read what I'm doing this year!

Word comparison:

English: pudding. American: dessert.

The first time I heard this used- Kids: "Mum, what's for pudding?" Me: "Huh???"  Used in exactly the same way we'd use dessert.

English: ladybird. American: ladybug.

They come in flocks in Essex, and love windowsills. I think ladybird sounds prettier!

The past two weeks have been pretty low key for the most part- PPB with Tim, dinner at the Bulls, dinner at the Sheils, the Point youth club, the Edge youth group, Boxted Methodist Silver Band, meeting with my supervisor Denise. There were a few differences, though!

Beautiful sunset, often seen here in Essex

On Tuesday of last week, I met with David Morell, who will be my (for lack of a better term) "professional coach" for the year, helping me develop time management skills, how to deal with certain situations that arise, etc. I'm very excited about the prospect of becoming more professional! I think it's something I could greatly benefit from. Also, he took me out for a pub lunch, which was nice! He asked me to keep track of how I spend my days for the next 4 weeks, and then at our next meeting we'll be going over my time management. Fun/scary! :)

Natty being silly :)

That evening, I went over to the Butlers house for supper. I love this family. They are nothing short of entertaining, they've done/seen it all, and they're super nice!

Peter, saluting with a silly hat on

Ben and I at a post-Halloween Game Night

Peter plays guitar and really knows how to cook, Vicki-Jo is a fantastic gardener and makes really tasty pudding, Ben is perpetually amusing and will be a famous actor, Natty will some day be leader of the world, they used to lead contemporary worship, they are funny, we have great conversation, I could go on... Love this family. I'm taking them back to America with me.

Also, I was invited for supper by Penny Carmichael! Her grandson was visiting the village from Uni in London, and he had great conversation, especially about Harry Potter ^_^ Hopefully more people will invite me over for supper? :D

Beautiful fireworks for Bonfire Night!

Friday, November 5th, was Guy Fawkes Day/ Bonfire Night! This consisted of a village fair at Langham Community Hall on Saturday evening, with food stands, a bar area for drinks, a sparklers station, fun games stations, teacups ride, and a bouncy castle (I forget the American word for it) which I helped the Bulls run! It was tons of fun. There was a big bonfire going on the back part of the field, and 

Starting to read treble clef a little better! Just gotta practice practice practice. 

Getting on with my Bible reading- one of my goals for the year is to read through the whole Bible. So far, I've read Genesis and Exodus, and am starting Job. 

The days are getting much shorter here... the sun started to set around 4pm, and it is pitch black now at 4:50pm! Craziness. It's hard to tell by the weather since it hasn't gotten to cold here yet, but by the light, you can definitely tell that England is further away from the equator. 

My hair and nails grow faster here... Kathleen pointed this out, and it's true! It's probably because my diet is so different here; we only eat organic and natural food. It's not even by choice, really, it's what they sell at the stores, it's what is produced here! Pretty cool. But very weird that my new hair cut has already grown out and that I have to clip my nails so often!

Alice and Pippa are giving me short piano lessons, and I love it!!! I've always wanted to learn how to play piano, and they're good teachers. So far I've learned two songs, Chinese Chopsticks and the accompaniment for Heart and Soul.
I love England!

Autumn Half Term, Part 2

If this is the first time you're reading my blog, click here to see what I'm doing this year!

Word comparison:
English: cinemas. American: movies.
Instead of seeing a movie at the movie theater, you'd go see a film at the cinemas.
English: advert. American: any form of advertisement.
The US would use ads, commercials, and movie previews to describe different forms of advertisement, but Brits just use the term "advert" for all three.

Okay, here's part 2 of my half term adventures!

On Tuesday, I had a day off to relax and do laundry and read. It was nice and calming ^_^ I also got a chance to talk to some friends about travel plans, and unfortunately wasn't able to visit my friend Virginia in Switzerland! So instead, I talked to Sophie, Roger and Patsy-Ann's daughter, to see if I could stay in her and Daniel's flat in London with them for a few days! Also, I talked to Kathleen about coming to see her for the weekend and staying in Sunningdale with her! So plans were made :)



On Wednesday, I headed out to London! I walked around a bit, did some sightseeing like walking through Regent's Park, and got Indian food for dinner. I have totally missed Peshwari Naan! Actually, though, I messed up travel arrangements a bit, and I didn't tell Sophie that I was arriving that evening, because she was out the whole night! Luckily, Dan (her brother) was in the flat and was able to meet me in Liverpool Street station to walk me to the flat. I felt so bad that I didn't make it clear what day I was arriving, but they took it with a lot of grace! :) Also, I did the washing up for them the next morning to try and make up for it :D

On Thursday, I spent the day wandering around, seeing different sights I had wanted to see. I went to St Paul's Cathedral, walked across the Millenium Bridge (the one in Harry Potter that they fly over at night on broomstick! Also the one that muggles were walking on when the death eaters destroyed it.) It was so exciting. I must've looked really goofy as well, with a huge grin plastered across my face, taking a bunch of pictures. I also walked to London Bridge and Tower Bridge, as well as walking to and seeing inside of Westminster Abbey. I got a lot of exercise from walking everywhere that day. I kinda wonder how many miles I walked!

On Friday, I took met Kathleen at Waterloo! It was good seeing her again, and it totally felt like more than a week since we'd last met :) We made our way to Westminister Abbey to go to what we thought was a free concert in the abbey, but turned out to be a midday worship, which was quite lovely. The only weird part was people were touring the abbey around us and kinda watching us during worship lol. We then made our way to the Tate Modern Art Museum and saw the different exhibits shown. I was supper excited to see some cubist work from George Braque! And some pretty sweet Picasso pictures as well. It still surprises me how graffic some of his material is, though! Also, free entrance into public museums is one of the most awesome things about London!
Afterwards, we went across Millenium Bridge again! Whoot! We were searching for Thai or Indian food, but came across an old pub that Kathleen had recognized from one of her guide books... Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, one of the oldest pubs in England, rebuilt in 1667! AH!!! It was so cool and mideval, since they kept the original interior and decor instead of adapting a new look, which most pubs do to stay in business. They've kept their authenticity, and they had the best sticky toffee pudding EVER! Afetrward, we went back to the flat to collect my stuff, and then made our way back to Waterloo and caught the train to Sunningdale. We walked to Kathleen's house, and settled in with a cup of tea, then went to an Italian restaurant for supper. The risotto I ordered was fantastic! And Kathleen's calzone was so big lol. Then, we went back home and played Taboo and Bananagrams. Definitely going to have to buy that game before I go back to the States!

On Saturday, Kathleen and I caught the bus to Windsor Castle! It was GORGEOUS! The whole park and village are just naturally beautiful, and the castle itself, seated on top of a big hill overlooking the village, was just perfect. They gave us free audio guides with our tickets (Kathleen's was free since she has an Advantage Card for living in the area) and it was really neat to see where the royal family live! St George's chapel was also extremely beautiful. After we toured the grounds, we went to a local pub and got some Thai food, and an autumn beer festival was happening there! We are really lucky! We looked around the shops and got some "cream tea" which turned out to be green tea! Apparently our American accents are not very clear :)

We then caught the bus home, and went to Kathleen's church so she could practice piano for service the next day. She is soooo good at piano, and she taught me home to play the background part of Heart and Soul!!!  Absolutely loved it, even though I was rubbish at playing piano and kept messing up. It was really fun! I've practiced it since, and I really love it. Also, we played a bit of the 12 Days of Christmas, my favourite Christmas song! I had such a good time. Then we went home, I met Kathleen's housemate Fliss who just got engaged! We made supper, which was spaghetti hoops (spaghetti-o's) and cheesy bread, followed by fruit and yoghurt for pudding. Then Kathleen and I had some girl time, which consisted of more Taboo and Bananagrams, drinking tea, watching Josh Groban on youtube, and talking about boys. Yup, we're cool :D


Sunday, I had to catch the train/tube/train/bus/taxi back to Boxted. Boo! It was a brilliant half term though, and I can't wait til the next one!

Also, please tell me what you think of this blog by clicking one of the boxes below! Cheers!

Autumn Half Term, Part 1

If you're visiting my blog for the first time, click here to see what I'm doing this year!

Word Comparison:
English: rubber. American: eraser.
The first time a child asked me for a rubber, I almost had a heart attack!
English: pants. American: underwear
Don't compliment people's pants. They'll either laugh at you or think you're incredibly rude.

Sorry, I'm a bit behind on my blogging; so much has been happening! My apologies about the length of this blog.

Colchester Castle

Two Wednesdays ago was rehearsal for Boxted Methodist Silver Band. Finally beginning to read treble clef! (a little bit) There is actually a song we played that I could read the whole piece of music except for one phrase! WOOT!
Thursday, I met with Colchester Youth Outreach (CYO) in the morning for a prayer and planning meeting. They're a great bunch of people :) We talked about the possibility of me going into one of the secondary schools this year to work with the kids! We'll see how this pans out. Thursday evening was the Point youth club, and we made paper mache globes and talked about creation!

On Friday, we had the Edge youth group, and we had a lovely evening of worship and prayer. We sang some of the songs we are considering using for our contemporary worship after the new year, to get a feel for the songs we'll be playing soon :) We also took turns reading prayers and scripture, and doing activities in between! We did stone washing, where you write your sins/fears on stones with chalk pastels then wash them off, symbolically washing your sins away! This is an idea that Heidi suggested and we did during worship at our last TFG conference, and I decided to use it with my kids :) Also, we did watercolour psalms, where we read a psalm and painted our interpretation onto watercolour paper. The pictures that came out of this were absolutely beautiful, and many of the kids gave me their paintings! I will have such a beautifully decorated room by the end of the year :D

Kathleen and I pointing to the Roman tiles

On Saturday, Kathleen came to visit me! :D :D :D We cooked lunch together, then went into Colchester and walked around the town! Colchester is the oldest recorded town in all of the UK, and has a big stone wall surrounding the town, though it's crumbling. The wall was rebuilt sometime this millenium, but still has red Roman tiles from the original wall which was built around 0 AD! When Jesus walked the earth! Gah :D We also went to Colchester Castle, and saw some pieces of the oldest mosaic in the UK!

The Inn at Stratford St Mary

Afterwards, we looked around the shops in the town, including a music store where I bought tuba sheet music! and a charity shop (like a thrift store in America, but smaller, better organised, with better things) Kathleen and I both got new jackets for under 10 quid! We then went to Dedham for cream tea! Dedham's Essex Rose tea shop definitely has the best cream tea, which Kathleen confirmed. We drove down to the river, and saw a bunch of mallard ducks as well as a swan sitting in the middle of a car park! Swans are so mean weird. I then gave Kathleen a little tour of our two villages! I think she enjoyed the sprawling English countryside.



When we got home, Kathleen asked to play the tuba! :D :D :D Girl after my own heart. It's hard to explain how to play the tuba, and even if you can explain it, it's hard to do something you've never done before! It was totally fun though, and Kathleen did a great job! She even played different octaves, and I helped her play a Bb major scale! She's a true musician :) Patsy-Ann made us supper when we got home, and then we had a game tournament! We played mastermind, boggle, some pig game, and an intense game of Checkers! Luckily, Kathleen got impatient and I won! She's a better checkers player than I am, so I was very excited to win ^_^

On Sunday, I took Kathleen to church! I was happy that she got to meet my church family :) When I introduced her to Rev Tim, he immediately recognized her, because she had been initially placed in my placement, but had to be moved because Langham and Boxted weren't sure they could take on another volunteer this year! Once they did solidify the need for a volunteer, they were given me. Poor guys :P

Canoeing! Kathleen, Becky, and Lawrence

We went to my buddy family, the Sheils, for Sunday dinner afterwards. We had a bite to eat, and then since it was Lawrence's birthday, I took Kathleen, Becky, and Lawrence to the river for CANOEING! We had soooo much fun!! I was a little worried at first because Lawrence was talking about flipping the canoe and going for a swim, but he stayed still the whole time! And no one seemed to like it much when I rocked the canoe... I thought it was fun! XD

Patsy-Ann helped us strap the canoe onto the roof of her car, and we went to Stratford St Mary and canoed to Dedham, then turned around and came back. I sat in the back and steered, Kathleen was in the front paddling, and the kids sat in the middle and behaved well ^_^

Swans closing in, Cygnets behind them

We passed a bunch of fishermen, and also some swans and cygnets (baby swans). If cygnets are around, swans get very territorial and will attack you. We came very close to this happening...  I steered us to the other side of the river, but the swans came over and ruffled up their feathers and came less than a foot from the back of the boat where I was sitting. It freaked me out! Luckily, we got the heck out of dodge and when we passed the second time, they were gone. Thankfully! Near the end, Kathleen and Becky switched and Becky got a turn to paddle!

Having a blast canoeing!

After canoeing, we went back home and had Sunday roast at the Sheils, and it was soooo good! Kathleen doesn't have a buddy family in her placement and I think we need to sort one out for her. I have no idea where I'd be without mine! After dinner, Kathleen headed back home. Totally wish she could've stayed longer, but I'm so glad she visited and can't wait til she visits next :)

Linda feeding an eager goat, Lawrence taking a photo

On Monday, the Sheils took me to Jimmie's Farm which was ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC!!! We got to see and pet a bunch of different animals like pigs, sheep, goats, chickens, emus, turkeys, peacocks, rabbits, hamsters, etc.

Becky and Dominic on our nature walk

We also went into a butterfly garden, we went on a nature walk, got food, looked at the farm shop, and Becky and Lawrence got wax hands made. It was such a great afternoon!

Then in the evening, the Sheils took me to see Despicable Me in Colchester with the Butlers! It was a pretty cute movie. I still cannot wait til Harry Potter comes out, though :)

Afterwards, we went back to the Sheils for a casserole dinner! Linda makes the best beef. Seriously. Sooo tasty.

Afterward supper, we played charades which was brilliant! The kids were so silly acting out their parts, but the adults were a whole other form of hilarity. Seriously, they were just... indescribably funny. It was spectacular getting the families together for supper, such a fun bonding experience!

Honestly, after a brilliant prayer service with the kids at youth group on Friday night, shopping, exploring and tea with Kathleen on Saturday, canoeing and Sunday roast with Kathleen and the Sheils on Sunday, and Jimmie's Farm, Despicable Me, supper and charades with the Sheils and Butlers on Monday, it was like the best 4 days ever! I don't know if I could have had a better time. I hope everyone can experience such joy from work and friendship as I have :D

The Future Looks Promising :)

Oops, forgot this section in my last blog! Here we go:
If you're visiting my blog for the first time, click here to see what I'm doing this year!

Word comparison:
English: stroke. American: slash.
English: full stop. American: period (punctuation)
Example: If you want to Facebook me, just go to facebook dot com stroke tricia fullstop ernst. (facebook.com/tricia.ernst)

Saturday was a great day; the evening before, my host family's daughter, Sophie, came for the weekend because she was having a checkup at the dentist (dentists are much less expensive outside of London, where she lives). She's really nice and bright, and we went blackberry picking, which has become one of my favourites hobbies now! What will I do when they go out of season? Anyway, that evening Sophie concocted some lemon/blackberry soufles with the blackberries we picked, Patsy-Ann made a lovely pork dish, Roger got some wine from California, and we had a lovely meal with great conversation! I love having a full table of friends :)

Sunday, church and Sunday school in the morning. I sat in a little kids chair made out of plastic, and it broke! lol. Teach me not to use things that aren't intended for me ^_^ Sunday dinner at the Sheils, little nibbles for snack and then chicken for dinner! We also stopped by the Sims for a cup of tea, and got to meet their kids and talk to Sue. Then Becky and I went to contemporary service at St Johns in Colchester! Met a bunch of other Americans who are volunteering for the semester, who are part of a cell group at St Johns. I've missed being around people my own age!

On Monday, I did some planning and reading, as per usual, and went over to the Rectory for dinner with the Bulls. We had proper Shepherd's Pie for dinner! Very tasty. Then apple strudel, then berry crumble, then cheddar and crackers... Boy, do they feed me well here! Then Alice played her newly revised self-written song on the piano... and she is amazing :) Great voice, clever lyrics, talented piano player. Potential star? :) Then afterwards Pippa, Alice, and I took some pictures of ourselves on the computer webcam, which turned into a crazy/acting/American southern accent filled time! I haven't giggled so much since uni :) Afterwards was our homegroup, and it was our last session on worship. I'm really enjoying the homegroups, because I always learn something new, and hear perspectives I would've never thought of myself.

Tuesday I met with Rev Tim for PPB (prayer, planning, and Bible study) instead of on Monday, and that was great, as usual :) Tim and I discussed plans for the Edge youth group, and came up with some ideas that I think the kids will really like! We shall see :) Then I went to Tesco to pick up some supplies for youth group and youth club, and bought myself a new scarf and purple tights! I hope they're cute on me ^_^

Right now, I'm preparing for my friend Kathleen to visit me this weekend!!! I'm on half-term this next week, which is like a periodic school holiday, so Kathleen coming to stay with me is really perfect timing :) She's in YAGM and TFG as well, and she's serving in Sunningdale, England which is near Reading. I'm tossing around ideas in my head of fun things for us to do with weekend! I can't wait to see her :) This is a picture of myself and Kathleen at Waterloo tube station in London!

Also, 3 girls from my Bible study back home and I are convening in Paris for New Years!!! We've just confirmed our dates for the trip- 29 Dec through 2 Jan. I cannot wait!!! Looking at hostels right now :)

That's all for now! Cheers!


---

TFG+ Conference in London

I had a spectacular week! That's the best way to describe it, because words aren't enough :)

On Saturday, I went to a seminar called "Walk Through The Bible" and the session we did was the Old Testament. It ran form 9:30am to 5pm. I learned a lot! It was a nice overview of some of the Bible stories I know, and it put them into perspective in terms of their order in the Bible, as well as where geographically they took place. Not only that, but it made me realize that there's so much I don't know about the Bible and that I want to learn... It really renewed my desire to read the Bible.

On Sunday, I went to service at St Peters Boxted, and Julie ran the Sunday school with the kids. I really really think the older kids should start going to service, rather than Sunday school (which runs at the same time as service, and is focused primarily on the younger kids). But, I can't force them to do something they don't want to do. After service, I want to my buddy family, the Sheils, for Sunday dinner, which was little nibbles like cheese and crackers and chicken bits and such. After that, I went back home to the cottage. My host family and I strapped a canoe on top of the car, drove to the river in Stratford St Mary, parked, unloaded the canoe into the river, and we were off! Roger, my host dad, and I canoed to Dedham, where he switched with Patsy-Ann, my host mum, and we paddled to Flatford Mill. Sound familiar? That's where John Constable painted one of his most famous paintings! It was a clear, sunny day and there were families out in paddle boats and having picnics along the water and it was perfectly lovely. After that, I went to supper at the Sheils again, and had roast beef and yorkshire pudding. Yup, you heard correctly, beef! I am broadening my horizons :) Then contemporary worship at St Johns Colchester afterwards. Fabulous weekend.

On Monday, I headed out to London for our prep for service conference for TFG. I got to see the other TFG+ (aka YAGM UK) volunteers, who I haven't seen since orientation in Chicago. IT WAS AWESOME!!! I can't even properly describe to you how wonderful it was to see them again. Apart from that, the conference was great. We talked about culture differences and vocation for a pretty big portion, as well as planning and running three worship services for our group. We'll also be doing worship for our TFG Big Conference in January, with ALL TFG volunteers attending (100+ people)! It was just fantastic. We stayed at Guy Chester Centre in north London; the accommodation was great, the food was superb, and the company was spot on! I also got to meet my field officer, Chrissie, in person, and she is lovely! We talked about some of my goals for the year and for the future in general. My goals for the year: for my kids to increase their desire to worship, pray, and become active members of the church; to bridge the gap between the older members of the congregation and the youth; and for me to read the Bible. It was nice to have a clear view of my goals.
We also went out to the church pub each evening for a pint of beer, and luckily I had budgeted enough money to have a pint a night for the whole conference week! It worked out quite nicely, and it was soooo great to just... be... with my YAGM people again :) I feel like they're family now. Farewell on Thursday was bittersweet; it's nice to come back home to the cottage and my host family, yet I will surely miss my friends. I didn't take many pictures of the conference because I was just so wrapped up in experiencing everything! However, I did take this video while at the church pub: it's our group, plus Alan, who's a former field officer for TFG.

Friday was a bit of a chill day for me, unpacking and relaxing after the busy conference. It was nice to get a full night's sleep too :) I met with Tim for PPB (prayer, planning, and Bible study) in the afternoon and stayed for dinner (Julie made yummy Thai food again!) and then The Edge youth group afterwards. It was Game Night! Tons of fun. We spent most of the time playing different card games that the kids taught was, as well as Jenga and Pictionary. Brilliant evening.

In conclusion, this week has been a fantastic affirmation of my service in England :) I am so happy. I truly love serving the Lord and I hope to be able to do that the rest of my life!

Conkers :)

If this is your first time reading my blog, please read what I'm doing this year!

Word Comparison:
English: pavement. American: sidewalk. I always mess that one up!
English: Squash. American: fruit drink, similar to juice.


This will be a short entry, because I'm pressed for time.
Quick recap of the week:
Saturday I went into London and met up with 3 of my friends from YAGM, serving in other places in England. It was spectacular. I am becoming so close to the other 8 YAGM UK volunteers... love them!

Sunday was service. I did Sunday school with the kids at St Mary's. The kids collected conkers! The Sheils took me into Dedham for Sunday dinner and I had cream tea :D Went to service at the Methodist church to be introduced to their congregation. Then went to Evensong service at St Peter's, and supper with the Sheils again afterwards. Yum.


Homegroup on Monday was awesome! We talked about the importance of worship, including different kinds of worship. The adults, including the ultra-conservative-never-want-to-change-anything adults, agreed that the youth should be supported in doing a contemporary evening worship service fortnightly! :D

Tuesday, hung out with Pippa and Alice and taught them Mao!

Wednesday was my first practice with Boxted Methodist Silver Band! I can't read treble clef. This is a huge problem lol

Thursday was the Point and it was very fun :)

Meeting with my supervisor, Denise, and the Edge youth club tonight both were very good and productive.
The youth are interested in doing a service project! Whoot!
Now, bed :)

Harvest Time

If you're visiting my blog for the first time, please read about what I'm doing this year!

Word comparison:

English: diary. American: planner/agenda.

example: "Let me check my diary to see if I'm busy that day or not."

English: prawns. American: shrimp.

example: "My favourite flavour of crisps used to be Prawn Cocktail, but now it's Salt & Vinegar crisps."

Yup, the most popular flavour of chips among the kids is Prawn Cocktail. Weird, huh?

Highlights of the week:

Saturday was the Boxted Primary School Fair, which was tons of fun! I didn't win anything, but I got 3 books for 30p each (about 50 cents) and got to hang out with some of the kids. Saturday evening I went to a Jazz Concert at St Peters, which was fantastic! A local Jazz band called Phoenix from Ipswich performed, and there was an intermission with a complimentary drink and little nibbles. Very lovely evening!

Sunday was the Harvest Service, and I saw a Christening at the church for the first time! I cannot believe how packed the church got, with all the family members of the baby being baptized that came to watch. Apparently, most families in England bring their children to church to get them Christened, but only attend for that service, and usually don't come back.

If only church attendance were always that high :-P Afterwards, I went over to the Butlers for Sunday dinner (yuuuuuuuum) and then went to St Johns Colchester for contemporary worship with Ben, Pippa, Rebecca, and Alice. A young adult called Ollie preached about the eighth commandment- do not steal. He made good points about stealing time, effort, things we believe we're entitled to, etc. Here's a picture from last contemporary service of my kids going up to the front to pray together :)

On Monday was the Boxted Primary Harvest Festival at St Peters, which was a great service! All the kids from Boxted, from Reception to Year 6, packed into the church for a service of thanksgiving for a successful harvest and many skits, songs, and prayers. They did such a wonderful job! Monday evening, I met with Patsy-Ann and Julie for a prayer session, where we talked about our lives and the problems we face, and pray for each other. Never before in my life have I seen the power of prayer so in action, and the peace of the people who partake in it, more than here. I wish I could show everyone this precious jewel I have found!

On Tuesday I met with Rev Tim for PPB (prayer, planning, and Bible study) and we had a great discussion again. I'm really starting to enjoy looking up passages in Greek to see the different meanings in the words, and what the exact translation from Greek is! Good tiding for seminary? Possibly :) After that, I met Rachel Brett, who is the Area Youth Advisor for the Church of England, which means she supports and looks after the Youth Workers in all the Anglican churches around the Colchester area. She's pretty great :) She took me for tea and then we went shopping at Tesco! I went to the Bulls for dinner that evening and had more yummy Thai food (^_^) and learned how to play Pinochle! Pinochle is basically like Uno, and it's quite a fun game!

Wednesday was my day off, so I did laundry, read books, and watched TV :) That evening, cell group was cancelled so I went to Boxted Methodist Silver Band practice to listen to them... AND THEY GAVE ME A FREAKIN TUBA!!!!!!!!! Am I the luckiest girl in the world? Yes. Most definitely. I came to listen to them, and they asked a bunch of questions about me and if I played an instrument, and whether I wanted to play with them! :-D I told them I didn't have a tuba to use, and they said they'd try to sort it out. At the end of practice, the conductor Victoria and one of the leaders opened up the back room and unearthed an old E flat tuba and told me to take it home and see what I thought. Gah!!!! I've never played an E flat tuba, and the fingerings and aperture for all the notes and the music clef are all completely new to me. Basically, it'll be like learning a new instrument for me. But, gonna try to make it work! I'm so excited!!

Yesterday, Thursday, I went with Tim to both the Boxted and Langham school assemblies. We did a quiz game with them showing that God's grace isn't just for those who deserve it, but for everyone. I hope to start working in the Primary schools within the next 2 weeks, but that all depends upon when the paperwork for my CRB clearance comes in. Please pray for me that those come soon and that the process is smooth! That afternoon was the Point youth club, and it was held at the Boxted community centre. It was a very fun afternoon, though when I talked to the kids about the different characteristics of God, I found out many kids believe He is not real. So, guess what we're talking about next youth club? Whether God is real or not! Afterward, I went to supper at the Sheils. Love hanging out with them. They've proposed a trip into Dedham for Sunday dinner this weekend to get Cream Tea! YUM!!!

Something that's been weighing on my heart heavily this past couple of weeks is my relationship with Jesse. Before I left for England, we decided to see where things go, because it's such a time of change for the both of us. We left our options open to see if this relationship is what we truly want, and this week, we've decided that we want different things for our lives. This change has been very hard on me ( the wind outside is starting to pick up and rain is starting to fall as I'm typing this; this is exactly how I'm feeling inside right now, turmoil brewing). Jesse and I have left the relationship mutually (how often does that happen!?) and are going to stay friends, which I am so grateful for. If anything, I've gained a lifetime friendship. However, I hate this feeling of loneliness; I thrive on companionship. I know the Lord is always there for me, and I take comfort in His compassion and nearness in my life, but I am having a hard time laying this all on Him. If you could pray for healing and peace within me, I would really appreciate it.

Tonight is another meeting of the Edge youth group, and we're discussing what is Christianity, or maybe more aptly, what isn't Christianity. I'm going to go finish planning the session now. Hopefully, the kids will get something good out of this!

Ta ta for now, folks!

Settling in nicely :)

If you're viewing my blog for the first time, please see what I'm doing this year!

Word comparison:

English: quid. American: Great Britain Pound (GBP), currency equivalent to $1.58 USD today.

English: poorly. American: sick, ill, not well.

Highlights of the week:

I met with Tim Abbott, who is the director of Christian Youth Outreach (CYO) of Colchester. He drove me into Colchester to their main office, and I got to meet the rest of the CYO staff- Amy, Rachel, and Josh. Amy works full time for CYO and goes into a secondary school in Colchester and does mentoring, programs, and works with the kids. Rachel and Josh are part time and work in a secondary school in Braintree, talking with the kids during lunch and break and running programs with them. I would absolutely love to work with them :)

I had dinner at the Budenberg's house Tuesday evening, which was very nice! I got to know a little more about Jackie, and her daughter Minnie. They have stables on their property and love horses, and have two very sweet dogs, a dachshund called Snuggles and a black lab called Olive. Also, Minnie is extraordinarily talented at table tennis! She totally kicked my butt in that lol.

Cell group on Wednesday evening was great, got to meet with people my age again!!! Very welcome, indeed :) St John's, the church that hosts these cell groups (Bible study groups), is doing a series on the 10 commandments, going from 10 to 1. We talked about the ninth commandment, do not bear false testimony against your neighbor. It was fruitful conversation, and great to discuss. The cell group is run by Celia and David Simcox, and I have to say, I really enjoy seeing a couple strengthened by God, through each other. You can see not only how faithful they are by their actions and words, but how much they love and admire each other as well. They are a great example of healthy marriage, which I long to have one day.

Thursday was the first the Point youth club of the new school year! It was really fun and I got to meet a bunch more kids from Langham primary. We're adding something different this year; we decided to add a 10 minute discussion at the end of each meeting of the Point, to talk about different topics in Christianity. The kids didn't seem too keen on it, but hopefully they'll warm up to it! Afterwards, I had supper with the Sheils, which consisted of yummy Indian food :D Btw, have I told you how much I love the Sheil family? They are the best. Sooo happy they're my buddy family!

Friday, I met with my supervisor, Denise Hobday. We filled out my On-Arrival Checklist for Time For God. Also, Denise has *the* most adorable dog ever, Jack the border collie. He's my new best friend. I seriously love this dog and want to keep him forever. He's so friendly and loving and adores playing with his pheasant stuffed animal... Ah! I am a happy camper :) Denise is a great supervisor, organized and thorough. My sort of person!

The Edge youth group was Friday evening. We discussed the things they learned in confirmation last year, and talked and shared some Christian testimony. Then we played some games! Super fun :)

All right, that's all for now! Jazz Concert at church tonight which should be lovely, and the Harvest Service tomorrow morning! The whole village smells like onions from harvest :)

Here's a comment question for my readers: do I post blogs too often, not enough, or the right amount of blogs? :)

One Long Week

If you're reading my blog for the first time, please see what I'm doing this year!

Word comparison:

English: boffin. American: nerdy, without the negative connotation of being dorky. Professorly.

English: daft. American: stupid.

Sorry for the large gap of time since my last blog post! So much has been happening; I've been living in the moment more often than reflecting on it. Time to reflect now :)

Last week on Sunday, we had worship at St Peter's in Boxted. Afterwards, I went to Sunday dinner (lunch) at the Butler's house. It was so much fun! I got a tour of the house and had fun playing with Ben and Natty, and we even made freshly pressed apple juice from the apple tree in the backyard! We had Lamb roasted with garlic and rosemary, potatoes and parsnip and carrots, and fresh mint sauce. Yuuuuuuuuuuum! Who knew that I liked lamb so much?! Not me :D

After that, Julie, Alice, and Pippa took me to Dedham for Cream Tea! Cream Tea is tea, served with two scones, strawberry jam, and clotted cream on the side. It was absolutely delicious and decadent and lovely... I will definitely be back for more :) We went walking around the town and went to the cutest village shop, which was like an upscale consignment store, built in an old chapel building. So much fun!

On Monday, Rev Tim and I met with Ruth, the minister of the Methodist church in Boxted, and discussed things we could do to get our churches to work together and have more fellowship time! Ruth also talked about the possibility of me getting involved with the Boxted Methodist Silver Band, possibly playing tuba for them! I geeked out at that possibility. I was also invited to sit in on their practice that evening, but opted to spend time with Pippa and Alice instead :) Building relationships, especially in the beginning of my work, is most important to me, so I feel like this was the right decision.

Tuesday was my day off, so I napped, watched TV, read, went blackberry picked, went walking, and made dinner for Patsy-Ann, my host mum, and I since she was arriving home late that evening!

Wednesday, I went into Colchester for the day and did some window shopping :) It's quite a lovely town! We had a planning meeting for the Point after school youth club which is held Thursday afternoons. It was very successful.

Thursday, I went into Colchester again and got my hair cut! I got SIX INCHES OFF!!! Whoa. Big change for me :) I quite like the way it looks, but it is terribly annoying while eating! I then went to my buddy family, the Sheils, for supper that evening.

Friday, I read and went walking, and then had the second meeting of the Edge, the secondary school (middle school) youth group. We went 10 pin bowling! It was sssooooo much fun :D I don't think bowling is quite as popular in England as it is in America, though, so everyone was quite impressed with my (nonexistent) skills ;)

Saturday was the Homes & Gardens sale fundraiser for the church, which is basically a big yard sale inside Langham Community Center. The church collected items that people didn't want anymore, and organised them into different sections. They ended up raising £2300 for the church! I helped man the one pound table, which was fun even though I'm a lousy salesman :)

Sunday of this week was service at Langham St. Mary's, and I ran Sunday School with the kids for the first time. It wasn't that great, but we discussed what it means to give thanks, and what we are thankful for. Julie and I are hoping to use the kids' answers to write the prayers for the service next Sunday, which is an all-ages service. I went to the Sheils house for Sunday dinner (lunch) and we watched Avatar and I straightened Becky's hair. I think this will be our thing this next coming year :) I'm going to get a hold of a curling iron so I can curl her hair at some point! That evening, we went to a Young Adult led contemporary worship service at one of the churches in Colchester, St John's. It was fantastic, and the kids that went with us (Alice, Pippa, Ben, Becky) all loved it as well! It's great to see them get excited about worship :D

Monday of this week, I had a bank appointment to follow up on setting up my English bank account and do online banking. Now that is all sorted out :) Also, my first stipend should be deposited into my account tomorrow! After that, I went back to Tim's house for Bible study, prayer, and discussion. We had a very interesting chat about image and the way we want to be perceived. It was great to hear that someone else, especially someone in the ministry, has problems dealing with our perception of ourselves, and trying to make the impression on others of "how good we are". It's uplifting to know I'm not the only one in this position, wanting others to think better of myself than how I know I really am- full of envy, anger, pride, judgment, fear. God is calling me to be a better person, and I want to step up to that plate.

All right, I think that's all for now! I will try to write more frequently in this blog so that I don't have verbal diarrhea all over one blog post like this again ;)

Love you all! Cheers!

London on Thursday

If you're reading my blog for the first time, click here to see what I'm doing this year!

Word Comparison:

English: crockery. American: dishes.

English: posh. American: fancy.

Ok, here's a bit more detail on my trip to London on Thursday.

King's Cross Station: Of course, the first thing I had to do in London was visit King's Cross Station to see Platform 9 3/4! For all you Harry Potter fans out there, I hope you're geeking out with me right now! For everyone else... I am sorry for your misfortune.

Tower of London/Tower Bridge: Absolutely beautiful!!! Tower Bridge is very unique, with bright blue and white cables and structure running the length of it. I believe you can pay to go up top, but I just walked across the bridge and snapped photos. Great view over the water!

About halfway across the bridge, some foreign guys were lined up by the ledge, and a guy holding a camera is recording and they all start doing this dance and singing "London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down!" Absolutely priceless!

the London Eye: I didn't ride on it, but I want to! It's supposed to have a great view. This seems like it would be good to ride with other people on, because you're up in the air for quite a long time. They have kind of gandalas instead of a regular two person or four person seat, so it can hold a lot of people.

Houses of Parliament: I didn't go inside, I just snapped some photos of the outside and saw the area. Very crowded, busy area, but quite gorgeous! There was a protest happening on the other side of the street, so I photographed this side. Can't see the details in this picture, but Big Ben is on the right side.

Big Ben: Yup, he's a pretty big clock tower :) Very pretty, nice chime on the hour. Not much else to say about it! lol

London Underground: Also known as the Tube to the locals, the subway system. My favourite form of transportation! "Mind the Gap" means don't fall off the platform.

I accidentally bumped into a guy while on the Tube, and he said "Sorry, love!" and that, quite literally, made my day! You hear it in movies and on television, but to have a stranger with a cool English accent actually say to you "sorry, love" is fantastic :D

London & The Edge

Quick summary of the past two days before I fall asleep:

On Thursday, I went to London! It was pretty fantastic. I went by myself, just to see the city and get a feel for it. Highlights of my trip: Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station, Tower of London, the London Eye, Westminister Abbey, Big Ben, and the London Underground. More pictures to come!

The Edge youth group was this evening, and that was really fun! We did a scavenger hunt, created and acted out skits, played Two Truths and a Lie, then gave the kids a chance to ask me questions about why I'm here in England. Alice asked us a very good question: What excites you about God?

More to come, promise! I just can't keep my eyes open.

Tour of Langham and Boxted

Yesterday, Tim picked me up and we went to Langham Primary School to meet the head teacher, Jeff Adams, and schedule some dates for assembly. At this point, I don't really know what assembly entails... I just know that we go about every 3 weeks or so, and we lead it. I guess we'll see! I got a tour of the premises, and it is a quaint little school. I'm excited to work with the children this year! After I get my CRB police clearance for Essex county, I'll go in during a couple school dinners (lunches for Americans) and help set up, and play games with them afterwards.

Next, we went back to the Vicarage for a bit of prayer, planning, and Bible Study which was nice, and Tim lent me some books he wants me to read! One is on youth ministry, one on philosophy. Julie made us lunch which was plum, tomato, and basil soup with bread and cheese, my favorite lunch thus far! Tim then took me on a driving tour of the villages of Langham and Boxted, to get a better feel for where things are in the area. That evening, Patsy-Ann and I had dinner, and I got a chance to Skype with my mom for the first time since being here! It was nice to talk to her again.

Today, I received my first mail! I got two letters from Barclays, the bank that I'll be using this year, about pin codes and online banking and such. I should receive my bank card in the next couple of days. I also received my copy of the book Time For God has us reading this next year, called Thirsty for God: A Brief History of Christian Spirituality by Bradley P. Holt. I'm eager to crack into this! However, I have enough reading material for the next half year already... How am I going to find time to read all of this?!

Random: They call all ads and commercials "adverts". Very cute :) Also, the cutest thing I've heard so far is when someone can't remember a place or a name, they say "thingy". For instance, someone would say "I have an appointment with a woman, but I can't recall her name... Oh well, an appointment with Mrs. Thingy at 2pm tomorrow." Ha!

Anyway, in the afternoon I went on a walk down the road to the river, very pretty :) Then I walked back to the footpath crossing and went on the walk in the woods behind my cottage, found a nice spot near a pond and read my youth ministry book for a while. It was very relaxing, very picturesque! In the evening, I went to "cell group" in Colchester. Cell group is a young adult small group from a large church in Colchester called St. Johns. One of the ladies recommended I join a cell group of St. John's, so that I would get to interact with other people my age, because the church is made up of mostly young children, parents, and the elderly.

Cell group was really fun tonight! We had dinner, dessert (Ben & Jerry's! My first American food in England :D) and then played Pictionary! Pictionary seems to be immensely popular here in England, from what I've seen so far. Anyway, got to meet a bunch of cool people: Celia and John run the group, and then I met Laura, Emma, TJ, Hannah, Randall, and Michael? No, I don't remember all their names properly, but they were a nice, fun group! I will be enjoy time spent with them.

I have to say, though, I have mixed feelings about the perception of America and American stuff. It surprises me when people know what the show Friends and listen to current top 40, but then it also surprises me that people can't locate California on a map! They know the things the media tells them about the US, but not the things that are basic knowledge to most Americans. Very interesting.

Anyway, sorry this post is so long! Enjoy!

Colchester

Word Comparison:

English: take the mick. American: tease. (said by Linda)

English: twee. American: simple, boring. (said by Julie)

Quick recap of my day:

Went with Tim to meet the new head teacher at Boxted Primary, then went into Colchester to set up my bank account (I have English money now!) and have a look around; bought a planner and some chapstick! Then I went home and made a lunch of bread, cheese, and what I thought was yogurt but turned out to be fool. I did the dishes and mucked around the house til Patsy-Ann came back and I baked a cake for her school, and then we had dinner which was pea mint soup, bread, and ham. Then we went to a weekly prayer session with her and two other ladies in the church. We prayed about different people in our lives, and things that were troubling us. Julie said a beautiful prayer that really hit right at home for me... I thank God for speaking through Julie to me.

Night!

First Church service in Langham

Word comparisons:

English: washing up. American: doing the dishes.

English: keen. American: fond of, interested in.

People in Essex are very polite, and people in Essex are very formal. This is such a different way of thinking for me, it will take some getting used to! I love this culture :)

First worship service today. It was quite lovely, got to meet a bunch of other people. Rev Tim did a little informal interview with me today in front of the congregation, which was a little nerve-racking! I felt like I kind of stuttered through it all. Oh well.

After church, I went to my buddy family's house for Sunday dinner (lunch) which was pot roast, Yorkshire pudding, and all the rest. Very good! One thing I am really keen on, which I didn't realize before, is applesauce! Also, I am really enjoying leeks. New favorite vegetable? It's possible!

My buddy family is so cool :) They are a noisy, blusterous bunch and I immediately felt at home in their house! They live right next to Boxted church, which is convenient :) They are so warm and funny and love to joke around... I love it! I will probably be spending quite a lot of time there this year.

I went to Evensong service tonight, which is a very tradition evening prayer service. I greatly enjoyed it, and will most likely come back to it.

Well, off to bed! Goodnight!

Welcoming/Open House

Word comparisons:

English- plasters.

American- band-aids.

English- kitsch.

American- tacky.

Great day today. Feeling much more caught up from the jet lag! I slept 13 hours last night (lol) and lounged around in the morning, then got a proper tour of the house from Patsy-Ann and had lunch with her. She is a brilliant woman, and I have a feeling I will learn a lot from her this year.

Then Rev Tim picked me up and took me to his house for an Open House where I got to meet some of the parish and kids in the youth program. Everyone in England so far has been so polite!

Patsy-Ann made a roast chicken for dinner, with baked potatoes, carrots and leeks. Why haven't I had leeks before? They are quite good! Nice conversation, got to know the family a little more; also, watched a little opera. It was lovely.

Church tomorrow morning, where I will be meeting a lot of other families and people and trying desperately to memorize names! Also, Tim's doing a commissioning for me, where he will be conducting a sort of interview. Hopefully, I don't stumble over any words or drag on too much lol. I just can't wait to get to know these people!

Good night, all :)

First day in England!

English/American phrase difference of the day:

English- jug; American- pitcher

American- dinner; English- supper

I'm extremely tired, but I knew I had to write this post before I go to bed, so here goes:

Arrived in Essex today! Flew out of London last night, got 2-3 hours of sleep on the flight, arrived at Heathrow, took an hour and a quarter bus trip to Stansted airport which I got 30 minutes sleep on! The plane and bus were both on time, and I didn't have any problem with my bags or going through customs. I had truly blessed travel!

My host dad Roger picked me up at the train station and drove me back to their house, which I will be living at for the next year! I unpacked my things and got settled into my room, Roger made a nice lunch of bread, cheese, and fruit, and then I went for a walk through the forest behind the house. It is quite beautiful!

Tim, who is the reverend of the Langham Boxted parish and my supervisor, along with his daughters Alice and Pippa collected me for dinner at their house. Tim's wife Julie made Shepherd's Pie and raspberry apple crumble, which were both really tasty! We had great conversation and watched the Simpsons and Doctor Who. Apparently I need to get well acquainted with Doctor Who!

When I got home, I met Patsy-Ann, my host mom, who had been at the school she teaches at in Ipswitch, preparing for the start of the school year next week. We prayed together and then here I am now, getting ready for bed. It's been a long day, and I can't wait for tomorrow!

As I'm starting to get to know this community, I'm getting excited about how much growth this service will create for me; being held accountable by a whole community of people, making a positive impact on a community, stepping up my prayer life and reading the Bible more, and just putting all my effort towards the Lord. It's gonna be a pretty amazing year, I can feel it!