I’m in England! This is an exciting adventure that I’m on and already I can see the Lord’s hand in my time here.
As soon as I started telling people that I was going to England, everyone started sharing of the friends and family they knew in the country. One of my squaddies told me her dad, Graham, lived right outside of England and she began the process of asking if I could stay with him. Sure enough, he said yes and when I arrived at the airport, he was there to pick me up.
What a blessing too!! He didn’t just pick me up and give me a place to rest my head, he’s prepared a phone for me to use while in country, purchased a tube card for me and put money on it, and booked me a place to stay for the 2 nights after I left him. The first day I was in England, Graham took me to feed squirrels in a local park (because as squad leaders we were called the squirrels), he told me the history of the town we were in and even took me for fish and chips! The next day we went to Portobello market – a long street market full of food, clothes, antiques and a few touristy items.
The next day I was taken to the camp ground he booked for me called Lee Valley and it’s near where they did some of the Olympic events outside the city. I lived in a little “cocoon” thing and slept on a cot. It had a wonderful portable heater that kept me very toasty. My meals consisted of bagels and hummus and in the morning I used the 3-in-1 coffee that my squad gave me before leaving (THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!)
I was able to venture into the city for church at Hillsong London, then went all around to see Chinatown, Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, the National Gallery, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and the London eye.
On Monday, I took two buses to Stratford and walked around Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. I saw the pool where our dear Michael Phelps won a bunch of gold medals and I even went into the locker rooms where the athletes would have changed!!! The main stadium was having construction done, so I mostly walked around that day. This was the day when I began to get really discouraged because I was lonely and beginning to think I was a silly girl for coming to England without a plan.
When I got back to the camp ground, I decided to go for a walk and found a beautiful field that matched up with every thought I’d ever had about London. I took some time to talk to God about my situation and my confusion and then ran through the field for a bit. It was exactly what I needed, to be reminded that God knew my desires and would grant me such a small blessing as a field with tall grass (really, it’s what I used to think of when people said think of a happy place, so it was very special) and He spoke to me once again about trusting Him.
The next day I took a bus to the tube to a train and went to Horsham. Here I met up with friends of my co squad leader. Again, Chris and Diana were so kind to welcome me into their home and take care of me. They even took me out with them for their 26th anniversary! Diana would spend all day with me, she taught me a little about painting, helped me find a sleeping bag for my travels and took me all around this particular part of England. Chris was kind and when I told him of my love for Indonesia, he made Nasi Goreng (my FAVORITE Indonesian dish) because he’d spent part of his life in Singapore/Malaysia and knew how to cook it. Just one of many blessings.
On Friday, I was invited to a night of worship in London by an alumni World Racer. I headed in early to go to the Museum of London, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Millennium Bridge, the Tate Modern Museum, Shakespeare’s globe and most importantly Tower Bridge!! It’s the bridge that everyone confuses for London Bridge – but that one is actually in Arizona and this one is waaayyy cooler! So I finally made it there and then walked across and met up with Sarah.
It was wonderful to be able to soak in the presence of the Lord and hear others worship Him with so much love and passion. When Sarah and I went home that night we talked for a few hours and she is an absolutely phenomenal woman. She was called to London while on the World Race, came here without a plan like me and has fallen passionately in love with the UK and is now working with an organization called Burn. Another blessing because Sarah told me about all the Burns that they have across England, which gives me even more connections for my travels!! It’s crazy how the Lord has continued setting things up for me.
Saturday morning I took a train back to Horsham to meet up with Chris and we drove 3 hours to Norwich to a small village where his mother lives. Burgh next Ayslam…I think is how you spell it. She is the sweetest little Italian lady and she tries to stuff me with food constantly! I went to a Church of England service this morning, it reminded me of going to a Lutheran church with my boyfriend in college.
So this is where I’ll be for the next weekish and then this weekend I’ll meet up with some people from Burn here in Norwich.
I’ve also emailed churches throughout the country and heard back from a few willing to put me up for a few nights!! How blessed I am to have such a wonderful community. God is good and I’m so excited for the way I get to serve in this beautiful country in a unique way!!
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I’m still raising funds to visit my squad at their month 8 debrief. I need $1500 by June 25th in order to see their pretty faces and love on them. Please pray for the funds and if you can contribute, click on the Support Me link at the top of the page.
