One last post as last week and this week are really the end of the internship. Things are a little more relaxed the week of Christmas.
Last week was quite busy with our last assembly and explorers. Both of those have been such wonderful times to work with the kids and the teachers at the school. The opportunities they have given us are unheard of in American public schools. Last Friday we were invited to run the school's Christingle service. I have never done a Christingle, so this was a brand new experience for me.
A Christingle service is an Anglican/Episcopalian advent service where they light a candle that is stuck into an orange that has four sticks with sweets on them and a red ribbon around the middle. We spent the day with the different classes helping them make their own Christingle candles. At the end of the school day, the whole of the schools gathered and we got to share what each part of the Christingle means, and how that relates to Christ and his birth/death at Christmas.
After the assembly, we wanted to thank the faculty and staff for allowing us to working so closely with them and with their kids, so we brought in tea, coffee, and cakes for them to have while they had their weekly meeting. It was great to be able to give back and see the teachers when they aren't running around keeping track of the children they are responsible for during the school day.
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| On the city wall |
This week, things were still quite busy, but I had already made plans and purchased a train ticket up to York for Monday, to see the town, and do a little Christmas shopping. I loved York. It still has a lot of its original city walls still up, and open to the public, it was neat to walk around the centre of the town and to have the view from up there.
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| View of the Minster from the wall. |
I also explored the outside of the York Minster (they charge £10ish to go in), I saw the view from Clifford's Tower, which used to be part of the York castle, which is no longer standing. From there you can clearly see all of York, even parts which are outside of the city walls. It has a commanding view which makes sense why they built a castle there. In fact, the first castle was built by William the Conqueror way back in the eleventh century AD. He built it to protect Norman England from Vikings. It's crazy to me to think how much history that I have learned about back in America actually took place in these different places.
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| Panoramic look north from Clifford's Tower |
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| Clifford's Tower looking northeast at the Minster |
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| The York Minster |
York is known for its shopping, and so with Christmas arriving quickly, I took the opportunity to do a little Christmas shopping. The centre of town is almost entirely shopping and tourist sights. The most famous of places to shop is what they call "The Shambles". The Shambles used to be the meat market area, but now it just a small street that is tight, crammed and the buildings are nearly leaning into one another. This street has lots of little shops and is still very old in its architecture. There is plenty of Elizabethan architecture in York, and I love it. There are two rivers that run through York, the River Foss, and the River Ouse. Both are absolutely beautiful to walk over and along, so I naturally took pictures.
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| The Shambles at night. |
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| The Shambles during the day. |
Well, besides my touring adventures on Monday, this week has been very busy. Tuesday and Wednesday we finished giving leaflets to everyone on the estate, and we also had our last Bible study and Tots and Toys of the year. It is strange to think that the next time both of those meet, I won't be there. Thursday evening we had a youth event at Andrew and Grace's, we had done this once before during this autumn's half term break, and since there was a positive response to it, we thought we would it again before Christmas. It is great to interact with the youth that we know, and actually be able to talk with them, when we aren't working with their younger siblings or when their parents are around. We all act differently when our parents are around, and so this time gives them an opportunity to open up more.
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| The River Foss |
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| The River Ouse |
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| Guess who's from York! |
Today, we had a kids Christmas party at the community centre since the kids got off of school Friday for Christmas. We had a great time with over 50 kids from the estate, they all filled with energy and anticipation for Christmas, and we did get to share a bit of what Christmas really is all about. To them, it really is just about getting presents, and big ones at that. We know Christmas to be about God gave us the biggest gift we could ever ask for. He gave us His Son, who came to save the world, and each one of us from all the bad things we have done. Jesus came to earth at Christmas as a baby, he came in the midst of oppression, anger, filth, and poverty. He came so we may have life, and have it to the full. He came at Christmas so that no matter our rank in life, we may know God, and have a relationship with him. He really is the best present we could ever get, and all we have to do is accept him as a gift from God, and let the gift of Jesus change us to be more like Christ each day that we live.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my 3 months and two weeks (up to now) here in England. This autumn has been full of learning about another culture, about my own culture, about Christianity and how it permeates each and every culture differently, and understanding how to meet the people of the culture with the Gospel, and sharing it in a way that shows their need, and displays God's glory. Many people here and in America have asked me what I am doing when I return to America. While I would absolutely love to say that I will be working WXYZ-TV in Anytown, USA, this is not the case. The more I pray and seek God about why I haven't found a job the more I believe God isn't calling me to that, despite how very much I wish it were the case.
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The ruins of an old and powerful abbey during the reign of Henry VIII.
I love this picture. |
I don't know what God has planned for me. There are lots of things I would love to do, places I'd be thrilled to live, and people I would overjoyed to work alongside, but patience is needed, as is trust and dependence on the One who knows all and has orchestrated everything under the sun and in the universe to be exactly where it is at each instance, and doing exactly what He has allowed it to do. So, I can say with Paul in Romans 8:26-30, that I may not even know what I'm doing, or to pray for, but He knows, and He cares. He is watching and bringing himself glory through every circumstance. Even if the mess of this world, in its wars, destruction and desecration of all God has created, His handiwork is still evident, and He is still there holding all things together. So praise Him when things are going great in your life, give thanks for the relative peace in your life. Seek His face for wisdom and answers when nothing makes sense, and your life is crumbling, praise Him in that moment for His steadfastness, His strength, compassion and grace.
