Uprooted.

No matter who you are, moving to a new place is never easy. Starting a new job, attempting to make new friends in a place that often doesn't have the friendliest people, finding your feet in a culture that you thought would be similar to yours since, after all, we were a colony, yet discover it to be quite different. Leaving behind so many things that you love-those special people who have the capacity to make you smile just by looking at you a certain way because they know you, the favourite coffee shop you frequented so often that customer's dogs listen to you better than to their owners, that beautiful rock on the top of the mountain that you sat numerous times to watch God's artwork displayed as He paints yet another glorious sunset.

Yet there is something painfully beautiful about moving to that new place. You get a fresh start, a new beginning. You can be whoever you want to be. You realize how much you love people back home, and how much they love and support you and your crazy wild dreams. You meet new people that even after such a short period of time you love so deeply, and they bring so much joy and laughter into your life. Some of these people already trust you and accept you so much into their lives that they even get a copy of their house key cut for you so you can come and go as you please. And you learn that regardless of where you go or what you do, God is always, always faithful. In spite of how challenging things may be, how stressed out you get about something that happened back home over 2000 miles away from you, how often you feel that you are alone in the world though you're surrounded by people simply because you just don't understand their culture, God is always there, a constant.

I've been reading The Church that Never Sleeps, which is about a church in L.A. that is open 24-hours a day, providing numerous services to people in the worst area of the city. In this book the pastor says in regards to the challenges he faced while starting the church, "In the middle of my difficult journey, I learned that God sends rays of hope along the way to keep you on the path. They might not be big rays, but the little rays that encourage you and enable you to go another day." For me it's not usually the big things in my life that touch me and keep me going, but rather the tiny bits of encouragement. It can be something as small as someone telling me that the card I gave them made their day, or a girl thanking me through tears for taking the time to be with her and make her feel worthwhile, or even someone special buying me a travel mug for my morning cup of coffee because my host family doesn't have to-go cups since people in England don't tend to take coffee "to go"...they actually take time to sit and enjoy it (which I'll admit is something Americans could learn to do more often). It's these moments in England that I value and treasure, knowing that God is in the midst of it all, and I'm filled with peace knowing I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be.

Peace.

English Hospitality

Hospitality can make a world of a difference. In my past experiences abroad, it can mean everything from saving the head of the fish for guests of the household to slaughtering the only goat the family owned to prepare a feast to finding and offering the best chair for the guest to sit on. Gestures of hospitality have come to mean so much to me in England, and I've learned that one of the greatest and most common acts is offering a cup of tea or coffee.


A couple weeks ago as I prepared to leave for a conference in London I witnessed a quintessential act of hospitality. A loud crash that sounded like a door slamming from a strong wind echoed through my flat early in the morning. My host mother, Liz, ran out of her room to inquire if I was alright, thinking that I had managed to injure myself (which wouldn't have been out of the ordinary) but the noise actually wasn't caused by me this time. After inspecting every area of the flat and finding nothing we opened the front door and were greeted by the sight of a camper that had smashed into the side of our flat! Looking up the street the owner of the vehicle was running towards us apologizing profusely. Apparently she had neglected to put the parking break on, and although we scarcely live on an incline it was enough to make the camper just roll into our flat. Luckily, no one was hurt. There was damage done to the house, yet instead of being upset and treating the woman poorly, Liz quickly ran up to her and said, "Would you please come in for a cup of tea or coffee?" And so she came in to chat and sort things out for the repairing of the flat in a peaceful manner. Having tea, afterall, is a wonderful way to figure out how to solve all problems.

Peace. :)

Day #18 of Potatoes!!!

Ever hear the rumor/stereotype that people in England eat a lot of potatoes? SO TRUE! I've eaten them every day since I've gotten to England! And I still think they're delicious. My host family is amazing, and they have literally adopted me as their third daughter, taking me on as many "cultural learning experiences" (as my host dad calls them) as possible. Some of the experiences this week included going to Freedom Festival (a live music and arts event which takes place in Hull to celebrate...well...freedom!), biking roughly 40 miles round trip to visit the ocean, wondering around York and touching (yes TOUCHING) the walls that William Wallace touched when he "conquered" England, grocery shopping at a local market, learning all the things I shouldn't say, and getting puked on by a baby (some things never change).

This past week was my first full week of work, and it was quite diverse, so I'll only focus on one part of it for today. One of my responsibilities this week was to help run a school assembly. The children were adorable, especially with their British accents! But other than their accents a few things really stood out to me: It's a law in England that all children must have indoor shoes and outdoor shoes for school. However, some of the children's families can only afford one pair of shoes, so these children are made to either wear their socks or go barefoot. My heart completely broke for them, and I instantly wanted to go out and buy a ton of shoes. But would that actually do anything? On a different note, since there is no separation of church and state, prayer is openly allowed and even encouraged in schools. At the end of the assembly we all gathered around and prayed. It was so powerful to see all of those children bowing their heads openly in prayer alongside their teachers.

Overall, England has already been an incredible learning and serving experience for me. I'm completely psyched for what the rest of this year has in store!

Peace!

The Beginning

Hello everyone!

Getting to England was a little difficult, since the plane I was supposed to take from the States was found to be broken as I boarded it. We took off late and I missed my connecting flight in Germany, so I had to take a few more flights before finally making it to England. But I'm here, safe and sound with an amazing host family!

So far I've spent my time meeting people, wondering around the city, orienting myself to the English lifestyle, and have learned that they have peanut butter, so I don't have to live without it for a year! I've had more tea this week than I have in my entire life. The people here are the most hospitable people I've ever met, and constantly offer me food or something to drink or assistance with whatever I need. One of my new-found friend informed me that the only reason I can't understand her is because she "actually speaks English!" So I have a lot to learn, and am very excited.

~Heidi