7 More Weeks!

Holy cow, in less than two months we'll be back on good ol' American soil! Hopefully our time here will be spent extra well as we prepare to say goodbye and look forward to settling back into American culture.

Last week my family came to visit! It was such a wonderful time and really refreshing for me. Its hard to believe that it had been a whole eight months since I'd last seen them.. it hardly felt like we had spent any time apart after they arrived. I am greatly looking forward to August when I can see them again.

This Wesnesday Kristen and I are going on a field trip with Lidget Green to Scarborough. Our classes have been learning about the seaside this past term so now the kids will be able to experience it in real life. I hear there are rumors of fish 'n chips for the teachers.. so obviously I can't wait. :)

Things are pretty normal around here, now that my family has left. Last night we went to the cinema to see 'Angels and Demons' with the youth group. Kristen and I still continue to 'help' our home in any way possible. We have been having trouble with the gas and also our bathtub had a leak which resulted in our living room ceiling dripping.. so today the gas man and the plumber came to work some magic.. but like I said, things are pretty normal.

Furthermore

Hello all! I apologize for waiting so long to write an update. We still do not have internet access in our new home but despite that it is coming along very well indeed. Last week K and I stormed IKEA with Ruth to find some homey accents for the new pad. ‘We have to put them together ourselves, but it costs less!'

A couple weeks ago Mandy, Kristen’s old roomie, came to visit us. She and K travelled for awhile and then returned to Bradford. Mandy even came on the church retreat with us. We stayed at a Christian hotel called Thornleigh in the town of Grange-Over-Sands, just at the bottom of the Lake District. It was so quaint and such beautiful countryside up there by the sea. I was pleasantly surprised by how much fun I had with the congregation. The weekend was full of playing games and sharing talents and of course exploring the Bible. Aces.

Next week Kristen gets to go home to America! I am quite envious. I told her to remember everything and to bring me back a burger and Root Beer from Wendy’s. We’ll see how much loves me.

In just two weeks my family comes!!! I am stoked. I keep thinking about all the places I fancy taking them and all the things I want to show them. These next couple weeks will probably be the slowest of my life. I can’t wait!

Easter Holiday

Well we returned to Bradford last Saturday evening. The trip was wonderful! It was so great to spend a whole week with the youth group in conversation and snow. I had plenty of opportunities to build up new relationships with some of the kids and to strengthen the old ones with the others. I did not want to come home! It is going to be really tough for me to say goodbye to this crowd when July rolls around. They have made my time here so meaningful and worth it.

Ok, onto our new house! Things are starting to look good over there, but we are not officially moved in yet because there is no hot water! So Kristen and I are currently camping out in flat 19 until Friday when we get kicked out of the estate. Well I am at least. Kristen will be leaving tomorrow at 5 in the morning to go gallavanting with her old roomie while I hold up the fort and do all the work in 28. :)

We spent Easter weekend at Taize in France in a freezing tent. But despite the cold, it was pretty incredible. It was so encouraging to see people of different cultures and different denominations (not just Mennonites!) with their different languages all come together to worship our one God. Talk about an Easter miracle. Truly.

Spring Skiing

A couple weeks ago Lyz and Emily came to visit us and to see how we are faring. It was a refreshing break to be in their company and share good conversations with lots of laughing! All the while, of course, helping Lyz stay on the wrong side of the road and in an endless search for Emily's so beloved cheesecake. Mmmm.

Tonight is the last night we shall sleep in flat 19. Kristen and I are almost all moved out of here, except for the furniture and our toothbrushes. We will not officially be moved into St. Wilfrid's Crescent until the 18th of April because tomorrow morning we are leaving for France with the youth group! Please pray for a safe journey and good bonding with the youth. Happy Easter!

Walker Ave. Soon to be St. Wilfrid's Crescent!

Guess what, we got a house! Kristen and I will be moving in 3 weeks! I am so relieved and cannot wait to get settled into our new home. And the great part about it is that it is right between the Bilton's and the Clarke's homes (and closer to Tescos). :)

Today I am paying a visit to Brackenhill Primary School to see if that is another place I would like to volunteer. One of the sponsors in youth group works there and has invited me to come and check it out. Kristen and I have also begun to help out at the after school kid's club on Monday afternoons. So far it has been great and right up my alley. I'm teaching some of the boys how to throw a frisbee and they are really picking up on it! They grow up so fast.

The pantomime went very well last weekend. They all did such an incredible job and were all hysterical. And the best part is that now I feel closer to them and have formed better bonds after doing their make-up for a week. :) Then on Sunday evening the cast and crew went bowling to celebrate, which was excellent! Phil now owes me 4 pounds, haha.

And Just When We Thought It Was Over...

This week the circuit youth group is performing their pantomime, 'Rob Hood, and That Fellow with the Ring.' It is hysterical, by the way. Kristen and I are helping out with it so on Tuesday we went to rehearsal in the evening. About half way through, Kristen received a phone call and left the room. A few minutes later she comes jetting back into the room spewing "the police just called, we've been burgled!" Surprise, surprise. When we returned back to the flat Kristen's laptop was nowhere in sight along with some of my jewelry. Thankfully the police were here within five minutes after the alarms went off, but unfortunately not quite soon enough.

Kristen and I are doing alright. But of course, we are just so tired of having to clean up after strangers who have been rummaging through our things. Please pray that we will keep patience throughout all of this and trust in God.

Call Up the U-Haul

This week after Kristen and I were out at Tesco we came home to find flat 23's kitchen window cracked from a rock being thrown at it. We were not surprised. After a break-in this is just child's play... literally, some neighborhood kids were probably just messing around. But because of this and everything else we have dealt with in the neighborhood this year, the Pauls and Barry and Tim are seriously looking into removing us and placing us in a different neighborhood. Of course we would not be opposed to this, but its just crazy how much has happened, and now this. 

On Tuesday we cooked up some jambalaya and some 'Pig-Picking Cake' in the spirit of Mardi Gras. It was just so tasty. And we attended an Ash Wednesday service last night to begin lent. Kristen has decided to give up meat for lent. I said 'good luck.' 

Other than that, things are pretty normal. The daffodils and crocuses are popping up and we are greatly anticipating spring and warmer weather. 

Cupid vs. Sacajawea

Well, thankfully I can report that we've had no more attempted (or successful) break ins these past couple weeks. What a nightmare. 

Life is pretty much back to normal here on Walker Avenue and we've even added some perks! Kristen and I have formed a social meeting time for the kids of our youth group to come and 'hang out' with us in the flats on Tuesday evenings. We're hoping that this will eventually formulate into something like a Bible study, but for now we're focusing on creating a safe environment where they can come and just chat and get to know us better. I'm very excited about getting to know them as well and discovering more about the British culture here. So please pray that God will use the time we spend with them to reach out to them, and that He will use Kristen and I as blessings to them as well. 

The other new piece of information is that I've joined the Methodist Circuit Choir! Angie, the choir director, is a member of Great Horton Methodist whom K and I have gotten to know and she asked if we would be willing to join. So I attended my first practice last Monday night and I had a really lovely time, despite the fact that I was the only one there younger than forty. :) Nevertheless, I'm really looking forward to the whole of this experience. 

Valentine's Day is tomorrow and I have been busy this past week making cards for loved ones and cutting out paper hearts and sugar cookies. We also discovered that it is Oregon Day tomorrow as well (go beavers). It looks like we will be celebrating this day of love and pioneers with Tim and perhaps some mango lassie. 

'This Week Just Keeps Getting Better' or 'Happy Kansas Day'

Last night K and I went with the youth group to snowboarding lessons. (it was excellent, by the way) However, the events of the evening soon took a sharp turn. When we returned home to flat 19, the plate for the lock on the door was removed and the key did not fit. We called up Barry and Paul and they called the police for an attempted break in. While we were waiting for the police, our neighbor upstairs started pounding around and being very vocal which led to bottles being thrown out of his window along with 'flaming shreaded paper,' as K recalls. After a few minutes he came outside and started to talk to Barry and Paul with 'negative, threatening enthusiasm.' All the while K and I were huddled up attempting to comfort each other as we tried not to listen to all the yelling coming from the neighbor. Finally the police arrived and tried to calm our neighbor down along with taking an account of flat 19. K and I are now staying with Paul and Ruth for a few days until we get 19 sorted out. We're going to meet with Tim Foley as well tomorrow to discuss what has occurred. It was such a strange and scary evening. As of right now we are okay but still shaken.

Guess What

Last week Kristen and I went on holiday to Tenerife ... don't hold your breath. About halfway through the week Kristen decided to check her email and discovered that our little flat 23 had been burgled. As of right now we are camping out in 19 and waiting for the police to come by so we can see the damage that has been done in 23. We've no idea what has been taken, but according to our neighbor who reported the break in, the place is pretty trashed. 

K and I have talked about what has happened and we aren't surprised that this has occurred, as break ins are typical for this neighborhood. But more than anything I think we're just annoyed because it is a huge inconvenience. So please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. 

Oh yeah, and today is Kristen's birthday! (despite all the burglary, hopefully she'll have a good day)

Christmas and then some

With the holidays now over, I shall recap. 

Christmas time in London was magical. We took

the bus for the ride down so when we first pulled into the city limits there were so many lights and sights to take in and people bustling around on the sidewalks all bundled up. After braving

the tube train and walking a few blocks we finally

came upon the Mennonite Centre where

Ed and Phyllis Shirk awaited our arrival. Ed and Phyllis are actually from the states and are serving a 3 year term as hosts for LMC. So after Kristen and I settled in we decided to try our foot at ice skating. We hopped back on the tube and headed to Hyde Park for the holiday festivals only to discover the ice rink was sold out ... of course. So instead we meandered around the carnival eating Danish pancakes and German sausages, which were almost better than skating. 

The rest of the time mostly consisted just of shopping! Well, more like browsing. We made our way to Covent Garden and Oxford Street and spent all day in and out of stores where I found the infamous kangaroo jumper!! On skies, no less. And if it wasn't for the price, that little jumper would be mine. I resent my frugal upbringing. 

Christmas Day was spent at the centre with Ed and Phyllis, Dora Marie (from Canada, think brunette Dorothea and 5 inches shorter, oh yeah) a family of 4 from London and a couple other random guests. We chatted with Phyllis and the ladies in the kitchen while preparing food and talked about the much missed states and Kansas because that's where Phyllis is from, too! The meal was magnificent, minus the brussel sprouts. and the christmas pudding. After the meal we sat around the christmas tree and played Dutch Blitz and scrabble. It was a really lovely day and I felt very safe there at the centre. Plus, all the company took my mind off home and made it easy to enjoy myself. 

New Years

Well, New Year's Eve was quite uneventful because I was ill with another cold. Kristen and I had plans to go to Chris Howson's Mamma Mia! sing-along bash, but I think Kristen was a little grateful for my condition instead. On New Year I slept half the day away, thanks to my cold, and then that evening the Bilton's invited us over to share New Year's dinner with some friends and family of theirs. Goose was on the menu so I took some, but later I changed my mind and so I cleverly slipped it onto Paul's plate when he got up to get some more wine. 

This week we are headed back to work and I'm looking forward to having a full agenda again. But not for long because K and I are headed to the sandy, sunny beaches of Tenerife in two weeks!