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!