Week 2 -- Routinely Changing

Hello again!

This week has been a week where the routine has begun to set in. Many things stayed the same, and some things change, but the order has been pretty constant.

This week we did not have any school assemblies, but we still had Tots and Toys on Wednesday morning, and Explorers Club Thursday afternoon. At each, we had some good conversations, and met new people. We had three more moms show up with toddlers this week, and it was a pleasure to met and work with them. At explorers, we talked about the Fall, and the children were very engaged, and asked questions about it, and about how God sent Christ to be the remedy to the Fall.

Pray that these opportunities to talk with children continue.

We also were able to talk to several adults about God.

One has been curious about church, God and how we as humans got here. Like in the USA, the British teach the evolutionary theory as fact in their schools, and so for them to hear the Biblical version it is hard to deal with, because that means all of their education was based on faulty information. Pray that they would come to understand that knowledge from the Lord is far more valuable than that of the school.

There is also another who is very skeptical of Christianity, really of anything. They enjoy talking with us about Christianity, but I feel it is mainly to find faults and reasons to disprove Jesus. They have a friend who is strongly rooted in their own beliefs, which are not the same as ours.

Finally, there is a someone who has grown up in church, was involved through their teenage years, but has fallen away due to a harsh condemnation of a divorce. They seem very open to us, so please pray we can continue to love them, and show that Christ loves all, even the prostitute, broken hearted, the abused, those whom society says are worthless. To Jesus, they are worth Him dying on the Cross that they may have eternal life.

Jehovah's Witnesses are also canvasing the area, and stopped by Andrew and Grace's door this week. This led to a long conversation with them. It is disturbing how close they try and appear to be, and how people could easily think we are the same. Pray that we can help people see the difference, in the way we talk, act, and love people.

On a much lighter note, this week I was able to experience something that I've only heard about before. A child sticking spaghetti noodles up their nose. This was quite funny, honestly hard to control my laughter while getting the noodle back out of her nose.

Also, this week has confirmed my belief which I shared on Facebook, that the bread, cheese, "fizzy drinks" (i.e. Coke), and chocolate are MUCH better here. The food is fresher, they do not use artificial sweeteners like we do in the USA. They also use real sugar not corn syrup, and in the chocolate, they do put wax in to prevent melting. Obviously, it doesn't get extremely warm up here so there's less of a worry about it melting.

On the topic of weather. It has been very pleasant here this week. The first week I was here, it was very typical English weather. Cool and rainy. This week has been sunny and warm, to them it has been hot... The high this week has been 75, with a nice breeze and only a small amount of humidity to go along with it. This makes for some fantastic running weather.

Andrew and I went running Thursday night. I think I nearly died. We went 3.5 miles at a sub-10 minute pace. I never have gone that far at that pace. England isn't known for mountains, but I think we found one of the biggest hills in England on the run. It hurt. We made it back, and I realized I developed a shin splint in my left leg. I guess that means I won't be running for awhile. The pain in my shin has already decreased significantly, so hopefully I will be back running condition next week. Whether or not I run next week is another question entirely.

Week 1: Mending Fences and Breaking Walls

I hope to write this each week, we shall see if that happens; however, for now, I'm doing well!

I have now been here for over a week. I've been able to see a week of ministry here in the UK and been busy with all that we have done.

I've enjoyed the time I've spent so far. I've been able to meet the students in Harby, where I'm living and go to their Bible study, and hang out with outside of that time at Lois' birthday! (Happy birthday Lois) Additionally, on Wednesday, two women from Harby came to the Howson's for a prayer meeting. It was wonderful to hear them pray fervently for the Howson's, for the Earlesfield Estate, the church, and for all connected with it.

Sunday was a good time as I went with the Howsons to their church in Nottingham. Basically, we passed Robin Hood on our way there. Additionally, the Earlesfield Community Church meets on Sunday afternoons. 30 people were there this Sunday, 11 children and 19 adults. This was a blessing to see how The Lord has brought many different people to the church.

On Monday, I had the pleasure of cleaning the retreat centre(British spelling) and helped Daniel mend a fence post. Monday felt a bit like working out in Colorado at Sky Corral. It was nice to get out and do that, and listen to the sheep across the lane bleating at us (some of them sound like humans, like the goats that are on youtube).

Tuesday and Thursday we led assemblies in the schools on the estate. We shared with the children the story of Peter walking on the water. Naturally, I was Peter. It was wonderful to see the children listen to a Bible story IN SCHOOL. The teachers were also in there, and we were even able to pray afterward. Although the schools work hard to treat all religion the same (they have a table with the Quran, the Jewish Scriptures, the 1611 KJV, and other religions materials), we are able to share the good news of Christ with the children visually and verbally. We can put it in a way they can easily understand and want to hear. We are working to break down walls on the estate by visiting people on the Estate and having a Bible club with the children after school.

Things are just getting underway here and I'm thrilled to be a part of it.

P.S. Happy birthday to Grace H. also! Her's was on Thursday.