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!