Sayonara

You know, I haven't posted anything here in weeks and I think its because this blog is really just all London in my mind. So, I think I'm going to go ahead and start a new blog here.

Back in Time

I had two step-out-of-time moments today. Do you ever have those? Where something that you're doing triggers a memory and for just a moment you're not living in the current time, but kind of outside time?

My brother has been sick these past two days, and today my mom put a pot of spiced apple cider on the stove for him. And the smell went through the entire house. As I drank a cup of spiced cider and smelled it through the house, I had one of those moments.

I went to a friends house, to visit her and chat. And then, I drove home at 11:00 at night. I love driving at night. Hardly anyone on the road, everything still and quiet. Those are always the times that I feel like Jesus is sitting next to me in the car and we are just enjoying each other's presence. That was another out-of-time moment for me, driving home in the dark and the silence.

These are the moments that I get a glimpse of what eternity will be like, when we are finally unbound from time.

The Tables are Turned

For the eternal blog record, I made it to the west Coast of the US safe and sound - after 23 loooooong hours of traveling.

My biggest blessing is that God either prepared me or prepared the way, or both. I have really enjoyed coming home, spending time with my family, and haven't been overly traumatised by the wide, open spaces or California accents.

Job hunting starts next week, and I'm going to brainstorm a little about future possibilities for this blog. I think it still has potential, but I'm guessing that writing about my adventure in London isn't going to be it's lifeblood anymore.

The real stuff: God is really, really good. He's so faithful, amazingly continuous, the rock. Even though I have no idea what's coming up, I'm so excited for what he has in store . . .

Lord Tennyson's good timing

I opened my email inbox this afternoon and found this for my poem of the day:

A Farewell
Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

Flow down, cold rivulet, to the sea,
Thy tribute wave deliver:
No more by thee my steps shall be,
For ever and for ever.

Flow, softly flow, by lawn and lea,
A rivulet then a river:
Nowhere by thee my steps shall be
For ever and for ever.

But here will sigh thine alder tree
And here thine aspen shiver;
And here by thee will hum the bee,
For ever and for ever.

A thousand suns will stream on thee,
A thousand moons will quiver;
But not by thee my steps shall be,
For ever and for ever.

It certainly struck a chord with me. I just walked back from High Street - I closed my bank account, bought some last minute gifts - and as I walked back, I suddenly thought, "This is the last time I'll walk down here."

I know that its possible, in fact probable, that I'll come back to visit London someday. But it won't be like walking down to High Street now. I learned several years ago that it isn't wise to try to re-live the past. So, I'm savouring all the "lasts".

Last day of work. Last Team Prayers. Last walk down the Thames. Last trip to Sainsburys. Last community lunch. Last Holy Communion.

Tomorrow will be my last morning prayers. I'm blessed that Ebby's leading it :)

The most comforting thought in all of this is that I'm small. God's work here is bigger than me. The Lee Abbey Community is bigger than me. People will still be walking up and down High Street after I go back, Reception will still run with efficiency and grace, students who live at 57-67 Lexham Gardens will still see Christ's hands and feet in action.

I'm beginning to understand what Paul was feeling when he wrote "For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

I know that I have more fights to fight and races to run, but the Lee Abbey race is finished. I have given everything I have to this race, held nothing back. Poured out. If that was the end of the story, I'd be anxious, stressed, torn - I'd need to know how everything was going to turn out here, how the new community members would settle in, how the returning residents would feel, etc. But I have never been the one in charge, the one in control here. The One who is, is still here.

So I know I'll leave in peace, as Paul left all his children in the faith; to God be the glory forever and ever!

The Last Pilgrimage

One of the most famous pilgrimages to make in England is to travel to Canterbury. Originally, people did this to visit the shrine of St. Thomas Beckett, who was murdered in his own Cathedral while Archbishop. The Canterbury Tales are the stories of a group of people making this pilgrimage.

Who am I to argue with tradition? So, my last holiday trip in England was to Canterbury - although I didn't walk. I took a bus.

I had a wonderful time wandering around the city - there are so many interesting buildings and ruins and museums to see! I met up with my esteemed colleague, Dr. Gill Watson, and she showed me some of her favorite sites and then drove me an hour away to her house in Goudhurst.

I spent a delightful two days there - we walked around the Kent countryside, picked blackberries, had traditional English cream tea (meaning afternoon tea with scones and clotted cream) at Sissinghurst, and played a couple intense games of Scrabble.

Apart from a bit of drama at the end - our picnic on the Kent coast became a picnic in the sun room when we discovered that a neighbor unwittingly blocked Gill's car in her driveway - it was a wonderfully peaceful and relaxing weekend. Kent is a beautiful part of England, I highly recommend visiting Dr. Watson!

But if you do, don't bring any dependents. I thought Olivia would enjoy a nice holiday, but as Gill kept trying to sheep-nap her to return her to "her natural habitat", I had a rather exhausting time keeping my eye on her.
The full story of the trip is in the captions of my Kent photo album.

Why, its elementary

I was soooo proud of myself on Thursday because instead of sleeping all morning before my evening shift (like I almost always do) I went out and crossed another item off my "things to do in London before I leave."

Which was visit some very dear friends at 221b Baker Street.

If you have caught the first two clues, then I'll give you a picture to help you out:
I think its one of my favorite places in London! The museum is set up to imitate as closely as possible the house of Sherlock Holmes as described by Sir Doyle in his books. It is relatively new - established in 1990. I don't know how they managed to get the building that is exactly on 221b Baker Street, but they have done an amazing job. The interior is decorated with pictures of famous criminals from the 1800s, fireplaces, pipes, and all sorts of knick-knacks belonging to the period.The old gentleman who was looking after the museum urged us to take lots of pictures and even invited us to sit in the parlor and "borrow" Dr. Watson and Mr. Holmes' caps so that we could imagine our own lives as "Consulting Detectives." The stuffed cobra in Dr. Watsons' room, however, was just a little too real for me.

The best part by far, though, were the letters that kids have written to Sherlock Holmes. I've encluded a couple of them in my photo album of the trip. They had me laughing so hard!

If you ever travel to England, I highly recommend that you put this stop on your itinerary.

Its who you know

I love having way cool and interesting friends who live all over the world. Right now, my favorite blog is Chris Collins reporting live from Baghdad. Yes, that's right - my cute little underclassman who earned mega brownie points by going to my Political Activism Club meetings and helping me organize information polls is at this moment ducking bullets out his hotel balcony and trying to look darker than the white boy that he his. Way to go, Chris!!

The Last Goodbye

I had a very crazy week to finish out July.



First, my close friend Samuel came for a visit. Secondly, two of the dearest people to me at Lee Abbey, Alice (my roommate) and Astrid, left. Thirdly, I got nailed with a pretty nasty flu.

I knew the first two would happen, but honestly I hadn't expected to get sick until the let-down after they all left. And the thought of dealing with this weekend made my head spin the week before.

The strange reality is that it was one of the best weekends I've had - and I have a huge treasure trove of memories that I hope to dig into often.

Even though I was sick and coughing and speaking through a scratchy voice most of the time, I had an absolutely amazing time with my friends before they left. I had taken holiday time, so I didn't have to work. I spent all the time I wasn't sleeping with them. Alice cooked three or four dinners - she even made a lasagne dinner only hours before she was supposed to leave and hadn't finished packing yet! I baked oodles of brownies and made an angel food cake for a goodbye worship night/party, and basically watched (rather than really helped) my roommate and Astrid pack up their year at Lee Abbey and fly off into the sunset.

<-- Saying goodbye to Alice at the airport.




I had so much peace about each one of them - Astrid, Alice, and Samuel - and the futures God had for them. However, it still hit me really hard after the last one left. I spent a whole day walking around in a Brittney-shell. Even though I had complete peace about this transition, I had no joy. For the first time since I've been here, I wished I could hop a jet and get home as fast as possible.

At first I felt a bit guilty for feeling that way - I hadn't come to Lee Abbey because of Astrid or Alice or Samuel. I had come for this higher, nobler purpose of being a community member and serving the students who live here. But then I realized that I did come for them, even I didn't know them at the time; I came to give myself wholeheartedly to the people I met here. And I did.

Lee Abbey's chapel ---->








Dr. Watson was the one who inadvertantly rescued me: I knew that in time I'd become my old self again, but it happened much sooner than I expected. Two days after the last goodbye, she gave me the two songs that she wanted to have played for her prayer service on Saturday. She gave them to me because I was her musician on-call for the day (oh, yeah, I've been learning how to play the guitar :) Because I'm still a very baby guitarist, I knew that I'd need a few hours to practice and so I took both my work breaks in the chapel, playing.

It was the second song that broke through my funk. I'll post the lyrics at the bottom of this post; take a look at them, they really don't let you wallow in self-pity or sorrowful reminiscence. I discovered that it is absolutely impossible to sing worship songs over and over again without experiencing God's true, deep joy - I found that I was able to really smile for the first time and since then my spark hasn't disappeared. God is so good, to help us gain the perspective we need!

David wrote Psalm 42 when he felt dry, thirsty, distant from God, oppressed, surrounded, hopeless; no joy to be found. And yet, he responded to God by praising him! This is the secret - and there is nothing like art and music to circumvent the barriers our mind puts up to immediately tap into God's spirit of joy and peace and love; I challenge you to try it the next time you feel like your joy is missing :)

Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?
Will you go where you don't know and never be the same?
Will you let my love be shown? Will you let my name be known,
will you let my life be grown in you and you in me?

Will you leave yourself behind if I but call your name?
Will you care for cruel and kind and never be the same?
Will you risk the hostile stare should your life attract or scare?
Will you let me answer prayer in you and you in me?

Will you let the blinded see if I but call your name?
Will you set the prisoners free and never be the same?
Will you kiss the leper clean and do such as this unseen,
and admit to what I mean in you and you in me?

Will you love the "you" you hide if I but call your name?
Will you quell the fear inside and never be the same?
Will you use the faith you've found to reshape the world around,
through my sight and touch and sound in you and you in me?

Lord your summons echoes true when you but call my name.
Let me turn and follow you and never be the same.
In Your company I'll go where Your love and footsteps show.
Thus I'll move and live and grow in you and you in me.

Trolley and a Boat

This is coming a bit late, but is just as informative as if you read it earlier!!

First, I had a wonderful evening a couple weeks ago with Astrid and a resident from the US, Kelly - our original goal was just to take pictures pushing the trolley at Platform 9 3/4 in Kings Cross station (no explanation needed for Harry Potter fans), but we expanded the evening to walking down the Thames at night. We had a blast in the Danish fountain which shoots up streams of water in the shape of a four-square outline; the fountain randomly drops one or more of the edges of water so that you can step inside the square - the trick is not to get caught when it unexpectedly goes back up! We got a rather blurry picture of all of us inside the fountain, as well as some other great night shots of the London skyline.

On 21st July, I took one of my last journeys in England (the very last will be to Canterbury next week with Dr. Watson) - to Cambridge! I don't think Dr. Watson would have continued to be my friend if had shown myself to be so one-sided as to only visit Oxford . . .

-Just in case you didn't realize, Oxford and Cambridge are both cities within which the respective universities reside.

I went, by coach, with Alice, her friend Maria Helena, David, Luke, and three residents - Margaret (USA), Ayano (Japan), and Sylvia (Italy). Aside from one of party getting lost or disappearing, and our return bus driver selling our tickets because we weren't there 10 minutes early, we didn't have any problems :)(Pictures link here)

It had been an extremely rainy week, and looked like a rainy day; however, the weather certainly cooperated and only poured down buckets once we were happily seated for dinner in a Pizza Hut (NOT my choice of restaurant! I was outnumbered . . .)

We meandered through the town, browsed through a craft market, and got the three major punting companies to duke it out for our business (we ended up paying £6 per person to pile into a boat and be piloted down the Thames - the going individual rate was double that). We also wandered in and out of several colleges. We happened to catch Cambridge on a graduation day and saw many graduates and their families (some of which stereotypically rode in boats down the Thames in their tuxes, drinking champagne).

Overall, Cambridge had a different feel to it than Oxford. Everything in Oxford is the same old stone look - and even the new buildings are just a new sign on the same old stone. It gave Oxford a rather hallowed, sacred feel to it. Which makes for a great day trip. I'm not sure I would have liked actually living there for four years. Although Cambridge also had many old buildings, it had a broad mixture of architure from many eras and in general just felt more lived in.

I highly recommend punting down the Thames - especially if you get a cute punter from California (sorry Mom, he was a bit too green - just starting his sophomore year :)

An Un-meditated Reflection on Anglicans and Communion

Last night the community celebrated the licensing of our new warden, Trevor, by the Church of England.

I know you're thinking - licensed to do what? Dr. Watson commented for weeks beforehand that she was sure we'd be able to sell liquor and spirits after 2 July. Honestly, I didn't understand at all what the license was for until the actual ceremony. I guessed it was a "license to preach" - or at least, to administer communion (you must be ordained in the Anglican church to give communion, no lay people allowed). I was partly right - Trevor was "licensed to" the Bishop of Kensington and basically runs Lee Abbey at the Bishop's pleasure and discretion. Even though the Bishop has really nothing to do with the Lee Abbey Movement.

For the first time, sitting through that service, I realized how Christians must have felt 500 years ago. When they attended church, the clergy spoke in a language they did not know (you can sometimes still feel that way in an Anglican church today :), and held all the power. The priests were the gateway to God - they held all the knowledge, all the privilege, and all the power of salvation, forgiveness, and opportunity. I did not realize how amazing blessed I have been to always know that God chose me, that He talks directly to me, and that I do not have to wear a white robe and red stole to receive all the benefits that Christ offers.

The service was an interesting opportunity to reflect on Anglicanism as I have experienced it in Britain. I reguarly attend an Anglican church - but it is a church on the cutting edge of evangelism, worship, discipleship, and community outreach in one of the most diverse cities in the world. It hardly represents the average Anglican experience. Every Anglican church I have visited in the cities around England have all been extremely old (think stone cathedral-ish) and small. You would never fit more than 150 people in most of them. From what I hear, the congregations are mostly old, and mostly declining. Church growth comes from established families having kids.

That being said, most of the members of the clergy I have met have been extremely devoted, sensitive, and dynamically growing Christians. But I constantly get the sense that they have to battle an increasingly irrelevant heirarchical church structure.

We use modified Anglican service forms for our communion services at Lee Abbey. I remember the first month I was here - about my third communion service, I realized that they ALWAYS use a set liturgy to do communion. There are slight adaptations here and there for different times of the year, but they all follow the same pattern. And my first reaction was, "How constraining!" It felt legalistic and binding, to be restricted to one form for worship.

However, as the year has gone by, I've come to really relax into the communion service and even find a lot of freedom in it. When I think about all the things I'll miss when I go home, one of the things that comes to my mind is that I probably won't hear the Eucharistic prayer which begins the service.

Imagine for a minute: you are worshipping together with all the people that you love. Your friends and your family, the people that you see everyday, that you work with and have fun with, people that may frustrate you constantly but that still make your world special. You have spent time praising Christ's name together, listening to Scripture read, and now you are preparing to share together in the bread and wine as Christ's disciples did so long ago. Whoever is leading the service announces:

The Lord is here!
You answer, in unison with everyone you love around you:
His Spirit is with us!
Leader: Lift up your hearts
You: We lift them to the Lord.
Leader: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
You: It is right to give thanks and praise.

I will miss how those words echo around and among us, the sense of Christ's presence filling the room, the reminder that He wants my heart to be lifted even more than my hands, and how right it is that we give him thanks and praise!

Living in community has really changed my attitude about taking communion. My experience with communion in the past has always been one that emphasized my personal relationship with Christ - always a private thing, even if done in a group. I still haven't quite processed it through, but where in the past I thought communion was just about me sharing in Christ's body and blood, now I find it is through Christ's body and blood that this community becomes the true Body of Christ. The blood and wine is merely a tangible picture of the fact that Christ is bodily present in us as a community - that our actions toward each other are the flow of his blood to cleanse and heal and redeem. So communion isn't one way - between me and God only. Because God is made manifest in the people I live and work with, so my relationship with them is intricately tied to my relationship with God. I cannot separate them. Which is why we use the same root for communion and community.

I think that I still have a lot I can learn from the Anglican style of worship. But I also pray very fervently that they too would have the courage to seriously examine some of their entrenched practices and critically review whether they really serve the purpose of drawing people closer to God.

Feelin' Good

Dragonfly out in the sun
you know what I mean,
don't you know
Butterflies all havin' fun
you know what I mean
Sleep in peace
when the day is done,
that's what I mean
And this old world is a new world
And a bold world
For me





Stars when you shine
You know how I feel
Scent of the pine
You know how I feel
Yeah freedom is mine
And I know how I feel
It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me

So, maybe not a new life, but definitely a new year. I had such a wonderful birthday already!

The box my family sent me was guarded by postal angels - it arrived yesterday and today the Royal Postal service went on strike :) I've had presents and cards from my family back home, and so many hugs and congratulations from my friends here . . . including my beautiful bouquet of flowers and cake from Lee Abbey (and so fun to share my birthday with Voon!) . . . that I'm not sure that I've had a birthday where I felt so special and loved and blessed!

I had a Brasilian and Indian dinner with Angel Food Cake for dessert - and lots of wonderful fellowship with both old and new friends. There is nothing like spending 4 hours in the residents' kitchen talking, laughing, and simply enjoying each others' presence :)

I promise another post is in the making about some of my thoughts over the past week, but yesterday was just for celebrating!

Quick Catch Up

Okay, this is going to be like the ticker-tape on CNN - headline news for June!

Last formal dinner of the year - hello to the new warden and his wife (Trevor and Samia), and goodbye to many of the students who have been at Lee Abbey since September.


I took a trip with some of my Lee Abbey friends to Oxford and walked around - very cool town, lots of great atmosphere, old buildings, history . . . see picture album.


I traveled to Serbia with Tatjana, my former roommate; I visited her friends and family in her hometown of Šid (pronounced Sheed) and then we journeyed by bus to Belgrade to meet up with my close friends Laura and Simone. I spent the rest of the week hanging out with them in near 40ºC weather (around 100ºF).


Now I'm back in the beautiful drenching 20ºC rain in England . . . and I think I'm appreciating a bit more than my coworkers who didn't blister in the Eastern European heat. I do miss the amazing gelato we found in the Belgrade cafés . . .

A Madrinha

I'd like to take this opportunity to inform you that I'm finally a godmother!!!

I must admit, I thought it would be a while before my friends started having kids and I'd get to enjoy such a special honor.

However, on the eve of her birthday, Alice asked me to be the Madrinha to her daughter. Luke was named the Padrinho, and we both witnessed the baptism of Olivia Rose Joos (Tatjana officiating).

The reason for such a shotgun baptism: the parents (Alice and David) could not stop arguing about whether their daughter's name was Olivia or Rose and decided on a compromise. Having godparents baptise their daughter was the agreed-upon solution to this persistent debate.

I hope I make a good Madrinha. Here is a picture of Luke and I holding Olivia Rose and Tatjana dedicating her.



Sometimes life just needs to be silly (especially if you've been cooped up in bed for days like Alice was).

P.S. I have a plane ticket home - 31 August!

Entertaining Angels

Yesterday was "Trinity Sunday" in the Anglican liturgical year. I heard a really amazing semon on the Trinity by Graham Tomlin, the guy who head's up HTB's theological center. If you want to listen to it, its on their homepage.

I've been mulling over a lot of things because of that message. For instance, we often hear people say that "God is love." But the reason we can believe its true is because God is three persons in relationship. You can't love unless there is someone to love. If He were simply one, like Allah or Yaweh, then he couldn't be love self-existent. He would have to have created us first before He became love and would be dependent on us to be love.

Our language is so inadequate to describe our communal but whole God. St. Augustine said, "Yet when it is asked what the three are, human speech is embarrassed by the great poverty of language. However we say 'three persons,' not because that expresses what we want to say, but because we must say something."

As we are created in God's image, we are also meant to express ourselves in love to the other members of our body - the church. The Trinity gives us an example for how we can have both diversity and unity without having chaos or tyranny. And it tries to help us grasp the method by which we can actually relate to God: we access God the Father through Christ the Son in the Holy Spirit.

The speaker used this icon from the 1400s in his message. It was painted in the 1400s by Andrej Rublëv, titled "The Hospitality of Abraham." The three people are the three angels who visited Abraham, but they also represent the idea of God in three persons, the Trinity God. The icon includes a lot of symbolism, but the thing I like most is the empty place at the table :)

Edges and dales and moors, oh my!

Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord,
As we wait upon the Lord,
As we wait upon the Lord.

Our God, You reign forever
Our Hope, our Strong Deliverer

You are the Everlasting God, the Everlasting God
You do not faint, You won't grow weary
You're the Defender of the weak,
You comfort those in need
You lift us up on wings like eagles

I'm really blown away today by the steady, unchanging constancy of God. He's a rock - He's the solidness under our feet when everything else seems to blow and shift and change.

Last week I visited Derbyshire and saw some of the most beautiful
country there that I have ever seen - I saw the wide, bleak expanse of a moor filled with heather and brush; I stood on on "edge" where layers of rock have pushed their way through the earth to make a cliff, and just gazed at the miles and miles of rolling hills that I could see. Churches that had been built hundreds of years before, dry-stone walls that last centuries, land that had been gauged for rock and healed over, trees estimated to be about 2000 years old. And yet, the same unchanging God was pouring out His majesty and power through all of it.

Then I got back to Lee Abbey where during my absence a close friend and co-worker had left, and a new member of my team had arrived. More change, same God. I found out that I needed to move immediately from the room that I have lived in for 9 months down to the basement where I have wanted to live since the beginning of my stay here - more change, same God.

I realized yesterday that I often feel like such an inadequate tool for God to use; not because God did not create me with ability and talent, because He did. But because of my will, my ceaseless tendency to focus on my own agenda, my own needs and desires rather than seek God's heart for whatever situation I'm in or decision I have to make. And yet God isunchangingly patient with me. He encouraged me so much yesterday by allowing me to have an extremely small role in bringing a resident to church with us; getting toparticipate in that was so humbling - to know that despite all the barriers I throw up to Him, He still uses me. That is incredible!

Please pray for the work of evangelism at Lee Abbey. I sense as we approach Pentecost that God is stirring up the community - stirring up the people who are passionate about sharing Christ's gift of salvation with others and stirring up the gifts of the Spirit that contribute to that. Pray that we make ourselves useful for service!

The Quotable Dr. Watson

Here are some snippets, collected from my dear community members, that you just might enjoy:

"I don't know, now and then I like some gore." - Chris Barry, Office Manager

"You made my life easier by not being there." - Lizete, Receptionist

"I turned the radio on this morning, heard the national anthem and wondered who died. Then I realized it was just the Queen's birthday." - Dr. Watson, Snack Machine Controller.

"If you're going to fall asleep on the Tube, fall asleep on the circle line." - Edmund, Resident Spy

"The movie was somewhere between horror and religion."

"I go to the movies because I don't have a girlfriend, but then I don't have a girlfriend because I go to the movies."
- Tim, Cinema Connoisseur

"You don't even need to go to a bar to get a girlfriend . . . I got mine at the bus station." - Gedeon, who really needs a haircut


Headlines for 27 April:

34 COUNTRIES AND 12 LANGUAGES
The first english conversation class of the term was a smashing success with 10 people attending - some residents, some community. The hot topic was travel; the group of ten people found that altogether they had visited at least 34 countries and between them could speak 12 languages.

11th WORSHIPNIGHT ANTICIPATION BUILDS
The last worship night of the academic year will be held on 9 May and practices are heavily under way. Singing, playing, planning, praying and (of course) worshipping can be seen at least four times a week in the old chapel by very dedicated community members. More prayer is needed to make this event one that touches the ears and hearts of all who will attend!

LEAVING ON A JET PLANE
Office Team is preparing to say goodbye to veterans Antra and Lizete. Antra is engaged and going to be married in Latvia to her childhood friend Dzintars. Lizete is venturing off into the "real" London work-world. Leaving speeches will be made on 9 May; at Leandro's advice we will start lunch an hour earlier to accommodate them.

NEW EQUIPMENT FINALLY ARRIVES
The new snack machine arrived, prices raised, and a rebellion/picket line plotted by Dr. Watson to protest the higher prices. The students (and Chris Barry) who had suffered caffeine deprivation from the lack of a convenient source of Diet Coke and Red Bull don't seem to care and are now willing to pay anything for their study juice. [Side note: the new software promised over a month ago has yet to be installed in Reception.]

Tune in later for more headlines.

The Bremen Town Musicians

My week in Germany was wonderful!!!

First of all, kudos to God for making such a beautiful country. In fact, the evergreen forests, mild weather, small cities, quiet neighborhoods . . . all made me feel like I was back in Idaho. Except I never heard anyone in Idaho speak German. But still, it didn't really feel like being in a foreign country, it felt like being home.

My faithful travel angels helped me catch a bus to the Luton airport, a plane to Bremen, a tram to Hauptbahnhof (central station in Deutsch), and a train to Hude. And of course I had to do all that to go back too . . . and in response to my brother's question, no I did not meet John Candy on the way.

Things I learned in Germany:

1. If you are walking on a sidewalk and you hear a bell behind you, dive into the nearest bushes so that you don't get run over by a bicycle.

2. When in doubt, just say "Moi" - it means hello in Hude.

3. Don't blast your radio between 12 and 3pm, its "quiet hour"

4. If the TV guide says your program will start at 7:45, and you wait until 8:00 but it still hasn't come on - be patient. German trains may be on time, but the tv shows are not.

5. Germans are wonderfully sweet, kind, and considerate.

6. Ich liebe dich!

I putting a link on the photo albums section to the side so that you can see some pictures from Germany - I'm warning you, though, there aren't many. Mostly because I didn't do an extensive amount of traveling. Samu and I used the week to crash and catch up on much needed sleep and much missed hang-out time. We did visit Oldenburg one day and went to Samu's church another.


My favorite afternoon, however, was spent at Susan and Wolli's house. Samu was living with Iris and Sergio, and Susan and Wolli are Iris's parents. They are perhaps the very sweetest and kindest couple I have ever met. We got to hear Wolli's personal music collection played on his computer including a ragtime piece of his own composition, we had tea and cake together with Iris's grandmother, we went for a long walk around the neighborhood, and finished the afternoon with a rousing discussion of the American primaries. If I ever have to run for president of the US, I have two German friends who would vote for me if they could!

Altogether, I was incredibly blessed to have a week of rest and relaxation, to get to cook in a kitchen (lasagna and fajitas!), to watch movies and sing with Samu, to see Germany and meet many wonderful people. Thank you Lord for holidays!

Catching up

Do you like my new hat??

That was one of my spectacular finds in Camden Town. I took Luke to see the Saturday Portabello Road market and he showed me Camden Town where we ate some much craved Mexican food (held on display here for you to see).

Probably a good time to mention that I'm starting to get slightly homesick. Not really in the sense of wanting to be away from Lee Abbey, but I am more consistently reminded of food or songs or other parts of life from back home and thinking that it will be nice to get back to them in September. Pretty good timing, I'm down to only four and half months left here.

People ask me if time has gone by quickly or slowly. I don't think I have a very satisfactory answer for them; my life at Lee Abbey is so full and I have met so many people, done so many new things that I feel like I've already lived a full lifetime here. And yet, I don't feel like time has gone by slowly, or that life in the US is so distant. Its like life anywhere - some weeks are harder than others, and that makes time seem to go more slowly, some weeks are wonderful and seem to go by more quickly.

The best thing about these last seven months has, of course, been the people I've met. It has been a huge challenge for me to learn just how to be a real and vulnerable friend to someone who I may only know for a few months. How do you give of yourself without giving yourself away? I'm still not great at it, but I've made some baby steps, lessons that I hope will help me with whatever comes next.

Yes, I'm writing this from Germany, but you'll have to wait until I get back next week for the Deutschland post, pictures and all :)

P.S. Congratulations Laura!!! Out of all the amazing universities who were fighting each other for the privelege of having you study with them, I think you made a great choice and I'll start planning my trip to the hinterlands of Minnesota for you're graduation . . .

Christ is Risen!!!

These are the reasons (both silly and serious) why I'm so blessed today:

*I have three chocolate easter eggs of various sizes - there is nothing like getting chocolate to feel loved :)

*I ate lunch in the garden among the beautiful colors and smells of Spring.

*Google is amazing and I just figured out how to use Google Reader to keep up with all my cool friends who blog.

*I get to worship with my family twice today - once at HTB and once in the chapel.

*I'll be in Germany tomorrow night!

*I serve a God who is not only all-powerful (even over death) and all-loving (even towards me) but who is alive and here with me!!!

He is risen indeed.

Justice and Mercy

I had the absolute pleasure of leading our community worship this morning; Would you like to join me?


Make sure you get the chapel at 7:25 - it will probably take you five minutes to wake up because you most likely stayed up too late watching a movie or talking in the lounge.

I'll welcome you to morning prayers and then you'll listen to Alice help us set the mood of Holy Week by reading pieces of Isaiah 53 -

"How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news . . . See, my servant will prosper . . . He was despised and rejected - a man of sorrows, acquainted with bitterest grief . . . he was wounded and crushed for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace. He was whipped, and we were healed! My righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins."

You'll join
lustily in singing:

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of Glory died
My richest gain, I count but loss
And pour contempt on all my pride


See from his head, his hands, his feet
Sorrow and love flow mingled down
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet
Or thorns compose so rich a crown

Oh the wonderful cross, oh the wonderful cross
Bids me come and die and find that I may truly live
Oh the wonderful cross, oh the wonderful cross
All who gather here, by grace draw near, and bless your name.

Were the whole realm of nature mine
That were an offering far too small
Love so amazing, so divine
Demands my soul, my life, my all

As I read Mark 15:1-20 about Jesus's trial before Pilate, you would see different pictures flash on an overhead screen - many varied interpretations of Christ before an angry mob and a frustrated Roman governor. You would see him crowned with thorns, robed in purple, and beaten.

Then you would hear what struck me most about this passage - that in this scene of a trial where we expect justice to be executed, the most innocent person is punished. And that person does not speak a word in his own defense. This trial is the culmination of a paradox, the fact that we serve a God of Justice and a God of Mercy - and they are one and the same God.

Maybe you would agree with me, that we all want to serve a God of Justice; I think you'd see that we don't want to serve a God that lets evil go unpunished. When someone hurts me, I don't want my God to brush it aside and say it doesn't matter. When I see injustice in the world I don't want to think that my God is ignoring it or shoving it under the carpet.



Yet you'd see from Romans 3:23 and 6:23 that serving a God of Justice means justice for everyone - including ourselves. Our justice means that we deserve death. No friendship, no sonship with the Father. Which is why we also serve a God of Mercy. A God who justly settled that the payment for our sins must be made - and then sent His own perfect Son to pay it for us. Perfect Justice, perfect Mercy.

The essence of this trial before Pilate, our understanding of Justice and Mercy is then wrapped up in one thing: forgiveness. Not excuses that try to explain why we aren't responsible for what we did or point the finger of blame elsewhere. Rather, full acknowledgment that payment is due, but that Christ paid that debt and now we can be free of the guilt and the shame.



I would leave you this challenge: to live out this day and this week reveling in the great love of God to pay this debt. Christ told us that he forgives us as we forgive others; we are his agents of Justice and Mercy to those we meet.

You would then join me in prayer: we would thank Christ for his willingness to pay our debt and take the beating and sentence of death that we justly should have received, we would pray for the people around the world who are working to help people reconcile to each other (in Northern Ireland, in Iraq, in South Africa . . .), and we would lift up several of the community members, past and present.

I would then ask you to join me in singing one last song -

I'm forgiven, because you were forsaken
I'm accepted, you were condemned
I'm alive and well, your spirit is within me
Because you died and rose again

Amazing love, how can it be
That you my king would die for me?
Amazing love, I know its true
And its my joy to honor you
In all I do, I honor you

I pray that you were just as blessed as I was this morning :)

The Sacrament and The Darkness

I want to share two pieces with you that have started my Holy Week meditation. I don't think I'll comment much on them - I'll let God speak to you Himself.

The first is a picture by Salvador Dali entitled "The Sacrament of the Last Supper." Dr. Watson shared this with us during our candlelight meditation.


The second is the following poem that my supervisor, Helen, shared with our team today (I'll have to go find out who the author is):

The Darkness

I think of myself as quite a decent person, good-hearted and respected, with minor sins and failings, until it dawns on me that the greatest sinners are the ones who sin in ignorance.

I see the well-intentioned damage "love" inflicts on helpless children.

I see the marks of cruelty in fervently religious people.

I see fair-minded Pharisees assess the evidence against Jesus, and consider it their duty to do away with him.

It frightens me
that I may be suffering from the sickness of the chief priests and the Pharisees.

They were so certain of themselves,
so convinced that they were right,
so closed to other viewpoints and to change.
I think of people whom I know to be like that.
And then I think of me.

The Pharisees were given to judging.
People to them were either good or bad.
There was never any good in someone
who their prejudice said was bad.

I think of other people who seem to be like that.
I think of me.
I make a list of "bad" people I know
and wonder if at heart they might not be
far better than I am.

The Pharisees were men of the establishment.
They feared to rock the boat.
I think of me.

The Pharisees loved power.
They would force you to be good for your own sake.
They could not leave you free.
Again I think of me.

Finally, the Pharisee conformed.
He might see the accused before him as not being guilty
but he lacked the holy daring
to stand up to his peers and speak his miind.
I think, regretfully, of my fear to give offense,
to disagree,
my need to please.

I am no great improvement
on the men who killed the Savior.
All I can say is, "Lord, I am a sinner.
Be merciful to me."

I hear him answer gently,
"You are precious to my heart, my child."
Whatever could he mean by that?

I use his eyes to find out what he sees in me
that, even while he knows my sinfulness,
he says, "You are precious to my heart."

Lee Abbey Ticker

So, I just realized that I haven't given an update on the events of the last few weeks at Lee Abbey.

WORSHIPNIGHT! February 28th saw 10 community members and 3 residents risk public humiliation and global censure by singing in front of a completely packed Garden Room of students and staff. God certainly gets all the glory for this one, almost every bit of it went smoothly and efficiently - and no one ran from the room screaming and holding their ears! Seriously, the residents said they enjoyed the worship music and they all heard a very relevant talk on how our identity in Jesus is the answer to escaping a stressed-out life. Thank you for your prayers!!! The picture here of Alice and myself was taken just before we sang. Next (and last for me) Worshipnight is on 9th May.

ENGLISH WITH EXPERTS: Dr. Watson and I have enjoyed the regular appearance of one hard-working Spanish lawyer who is here to learn english every week at our Thurs evening "English with Experts" hour, plus the occasional resident who stops by to chat. So, we were completely blown away this week to find 8 people waiting expectantly for us in the lounge! Please pray that Gill and I learn how to better prepare for our English time and that we have wisdom in learning how to challenge different English levels.

COMMUNITY GRAMMAR CLASS: Before the Devon retreat, I consistently met with about 5-6 community members for a short grammar lesson once a week. I'm planning on starting this back up next week, please pray that I am able to negotiate scheduling difficulties, plan lessons well, and be enthusiastic for the opportunity to help my friends.

NEW WARDENS will be moving in the end of April and officially take over on 1 May. David and Mary will be here for only one more month . . . and they are definitely experiencing the mix of emotions that comes with retiring: excited to be moving to their new house and be close to grandkids, but sad to leave their Lee Abbey family and responsibilities.

NEW COMMUNITY - we've had four new people this month, with two on the way! Aron arrived first from Serbia. He's a lawyer, and is now working on kitchen team. We've had some great political discussions already :) A week later, Jung Eun (sweet girl from South Korea) and Luke (from Turlock, CA) arrived and started on Kitchen Team. Luke has since moved to Office Team and is doing his best to beat my record for learning all the residents' names quickly. Most recently arrived is Istvan (a Hungarian Steven) who is also on Kitchen Team. He's a sweet guy whose English will improve very quickly if his determination to learn has anything to do with it - and he's already biked around half of London in just a week! Next week, we expect Marcelo (a Brasilian from South Africa?) for Kitchen Team and then in April, Israel (from India) who will join Office Team.

I'm currently suffering withdrawl while Alice is visiting her family in Brasil, but I'm halfway through (one week down, one to go) so I think I should be able to just squeak by . . . please pray that she has a safe journey home.

I added a link to my Devon Retreat photo album on the side, or you can click here.

That's all for now, folks.

No Man is an Island . . . but sometimes you need to escape to one!

Living in community definitely proves John Donne's great statement to be true as well as poetic, but it has also helped me see how desperately I need time and space that's just reserved for me and God.

Last week, I traveled for six hours by coach to Barnstaple in the beautiful county of Devon. I went with six other fellow community volunteers and met up with David and Mary, the warden and his wife (they physcially leave Lee Abbey on April 15th, but there is some doubt as to whether they are still here in mind and spirit :)

We were met by Lee Abbey Devon's "Stephen" who is also the financial officer there (our financial officer is also named Stephen, so the two make for interesting counterparts) and he drove us to the coast near Lynton and Lynmouth to Lee Abbey Devon's estate.

We arrived in pitch black darkness with stormy rain and tempestuous winds. Stephen dropped us off directly at the front door of The Beach Chalet and I had absolutely no orientation or clue as to what was around us. We dried off, ate a delicous meal, prayed for God to bless us with good weather for our hike the next day, and slept soundly despite the whistling gales outside. I woke up at 6:30am (unheard of for me!) and opened my window to this absolutely breath-taking view!!!

I didn't realize how much I needed the 5 days away until I was there. I drank in the beautiful creation around us and the serenity of being in a place relatively little disturbed by man. The thing I appreciated most about the group I was with is that everyone else also seemed to just enjoy the peace. We could all be together in the house and yet still be alone in solitude. We didn't need to entertain ourselves or each other or constantly make noise, but let each other rest in God's presence and in the joy of silent communion. We just as easily sat quietly staring at the ocean as joined in a competitive game of Monopoly (British version, of course - Pall Mall instead of Park Place :)



God and I had several wonderful conversations that week about many interesting things, but the most impressing thing I took away with me this last week was the knowledge that I desperately need to make a quiet space in my life even at Lee Abbey to just be with and enjoy God away from other people. It doesn't mean that I need to physically be away from everyone, but I need to intentionally give God some quality time when I'm not singing, reading, intercessing, or complaining to him - just enjoying Himself for who He is.

Little ancedotes: I met the White Lady (queen of the Valley of the Rocks) with the picture to prove it. We traveled from the little town of Lynmouth to the little but more highly situated town of Lynton by way of a water railway (no fuel at all, the two little cars are attached to each other and they go up and down the cliff using water ballast). We found out that Dr. Watson consistently makes the most perfect soft-boiled eggs (the key is 4 minutes in boiling water, serve immediately!) AND knows several tricks for breaking into a locked house. None of the British people knew that Monopoly was originally an American game (they all thought it was native). Clotted cream (from Lynmouth) with strawberry preserves on scones is not only quintessentially British, but also absolutely delicious.

Saturday Morning Conspiracy

Saturdays don't really exist at Lee Abbey. I mean, we call the day "Saturday," but that word carries with it the connotation of being part of the weekend, of being somewhat different from Tuesday and Friday. Unfortunately, the connotation is all in your head, because here Saturday is a working day like any other - unless it happens to be your day off. But your day off could have been Monday the previous week. So, in my little Lee Abbey universe, weekends have ceased to exist.

Sometimes I can pretend though. Like today for instance; I am supposed to work in the evening, from 3pm to 10:30p. You might think that means I get to sleep in, but you're only half correct. Everyone who works that day has to go to morning prayers at 7:30a regardless of when you're working. I'm used to the routine, though, and going back to sleep for two hours after prayers and breakfast ALMOST feels like really sleeping in and is just as effective (even more so, since you don't mess up your eating schedule!).

I'm sure you understand now how much I was looking forward to pretending it was the weekend for at least a morning. Unfortunately, this is where the conspiracy to prevent Brittney from sweet slumber comes in.

First of all, my cleaning day is sadly Saturday. Which means that House Team usually comes knocking around 10am to hoover (vacuum), dust, and sometimes change my bed linen. I anticipated this petty obstacle and decided to catch my forty winks down in Alice's room, which is one of the darkest and quietest places in Lee Abbey.

I can usually drop off pretty quickly, but for some reason it took me a bit longer to fall asleep - about 40 minutes. I'm sure I had only been sleeping a good 10 minutes when I woke up to the fire alarm. If you've read my previous fire alarm posts, then you know that they have to test the fire alarm every Tuesday (and if I'm working in the evening on a Tuesday, then the fire alarm usually wakes me from my fake sleep-in). So, my first thought when it went off was, "Is it 11am already?" followed quickly by - "Wait a minute, its Saturday!"

So, I had to jump out of bed, grab my shoes and keys pronto, and sprint up to reception where I was handed the responsibility of being Front Door Marshall (I got to shoo all the bleary-eyed residents out the door). I heard later that the alarm went off because something burned in the kitchen . . . Chris, I love you and I love your food, but you're not supposed to be sleeping on a Saturday morning, I am!!!

I tried to go back to sleep after that, but I don't suppose there is really any way to detox fire alarm adrenaline so quickly if you've already had a full night's sleep. So, that's why I'm posting a blog now :)

Hit by the Plague

When David and Mary returned Friday night from their day off in the country, little did they realize that they would return to a decimated community. 8 people had been hit by the "dreaded lurgy" that seemed to be no respecter of persons - all teams and nationalities were equally struck.

It gets even funnier. Dr. Watson was "DPR" for the evening, which means she carried a little cell phone that reception calls when anything out of the ordinary happens: she was the second line of defense. Unfortunately, because of this terrible plague she had to work reception alone the whole evening as well. How can you be in two places at once? What if, hypothetically speaking of course, she was checking the new warden and his wife into their rooms and another community member were to come running up shouting that something exploded in the resident's kitchen?

Dr. Watson actually deserves sainthood. She spent all morning making sure sick people had medicine and food, arranged for all the shifts to be covered for all the teams, AND managed to come visit me for a nice chat (she gave me wonderful mental and medicinal advice). She also dealt with not one, not two . . . but three calls in the middle of the night (1a, 1:40a, and 2:00a) and then worked an evening shift again the following day. Score one for England.

Here's a quick non sequitur for you - check out this really cool new movie that just came out in theaters! Its about William Wilberforce, who dedicated his whole life to abolishing slavery in Britain because He believed it was the work God called him to. Not only does the movie star the incredibly handsome Ioan Gruffod (of Horatio Hornblower fame) but also includes a campaign to end the modern day slavery of human trafficking (5 times more people are sold into slavery today than in Wilberforce's time).

Happy Chinese New Year . . .

Proof is in the pictures

Does the community at Lee Abbey actually work?

I realized a few days ago that of the hundreds of Lee Abbey pictures I possess, not one contains a person working. So, I set out to rectify the situation and added a link for "Lee Abbey Working" under Photo Albums on this blog site. Peruse at your own risk. Its up to you to decide which are actual candid shots and which are merely poses . . .

Quick Update:

1. 7 people came to "English with Experts" hosted by Dr. Gill Watson and yours truly. We had a great conversation with several Spanish residents and a new french girl. Please continue to pray that we will have the opportunity to serve residents and build deeper relationships with them through this outreach.

2. Last night I taught the 4th weekly English grammar class for the community. God has really blessed me through this time with my brothers and sisters, so continue to pray that we find a time in our schedules to meet together.

3. I am helping Alice, Viktor, and Sarah lead a bible study for residents on Sunday afternoons. Continue to lift up David and Kevin in your prayers, that they would continue to hunger for God's truth. Pray for David's discipleship and for Kevin's salvation.

4. Worship Night is rapidly approaching on the 28th of February and we need all the prayer we can get! Please pray for the health of all participating, for Viktor as he prepares the message, for Astrid and Leandro as they lead music, and especially that someone would respond to our advertisment for a cameraperson. We really want to bless the residents here and give them a taste of what it means to worship God in spirit and truth!

5. Community leaving in the next few weeks: Sang Kyoon, Natasha, and Martin. Community arriving in the next few weeks: Aron (Hungary), Luke (USA), Jung Eun (Korea), Israel (India), and Marcelo (South Africa).

Thank you so much for your prayers!!

Still, still, still . . .

. . . one can hear the falling snow.


Or, that's the theory anyway. The sound didn't seem to wake me up two nights ago, but I certainly got a phone call from a very excited Brazilian just before I was going to leave for morning prayers saying that it had snowed over night.



Sure enough, 2cm of snow lay on the ground and perfectly covered every branch and tree - which Dr. Watson tells me is rather unusual for the rare times that it does snow in London. Often, it is too warm for the snow to stick on the trees.


I must admit, as much as I've missed snow and have been longing to see it, it was even more special than I expected to be able to share that morning with so many people who had never seen snow before in their lives - Brian from Zimbabwe, Alice/Leandro/Thiago from Brasil, Marcial from the Philippines, etc. I have some really wonderful memories now of taking Alice out to feel and taste snow (which I knew she'd love, since she is already addicted to eating ice as a snack) and watching the Hungarians beat Thiago and Marcial in a snowball fight.

And yes, the snow was gone by lunchtime. But fortunately, memories aren't so fleeting.

Enjoy the pictures :)

The Sound of Rushing Water

Isn't that a great title? Sounds pretty poetic, like a waterfall. You'll find out that the reality isn't so romantic, but hang in there.

So now that I've given you a couple updates on community life here, I'd like to fill you in on the "inside update" (how many directions do you think I can get going here? Is this an "outgoing inside update?" :)

God has been really nailing me with one idea over the last two weeks: the need to pray. I've always been a huge fan of prayer, and prayer has always felt very natural to me - probably because of my parents' examples and being raised in a prayerful church.

However, the kind of prayer that I'm comfortable with is like working with your best friend. I'm used to just bringing up anything I'm thinking about or worrying over to God and receiving His peace. I'm used to sending up pleas for help as I try to deal with a difficult situation and to thank Him when they pass. God and I are great conversationalists together. He is the friend walking beside me all day long and nodding at anything and everything I want to chat with him about as I go about my work.

But here is the kind of prayer that has always eluded me. The go-lock-yourself-away-in-a-closet-and-wear-holes-in-the-carpet kind of prayer. I've always had two problems with trying to step out of the race and just sit to pray: I fall asleep or my mind wanders off to something else. I inevitably leave feeling a sense of failure (or wake up the next morning wondering how far I got down my prayer list before they turned into dreams).

The phenomenon I've experienced over the last week is that I have not only felt a need for that kind of prayer, but I've felt a burning passion to go do it. It started with a promise to very dedicatedly pray for one person. I figured I would keep up with that like I always have, by sending up one- or two- liners to God every time that person came to mind. But then I read a chapter in a book called, "The Life You Always Wanted" by John Ortberg, entitled "Interrupting Heaven". The great title (which he got from Revelation where it talks about the agenda of heaven, all the singing and praising, etc, being interrupted by the prayers of the saints) was just the beginning of some great insights into the kind of prayer I was feeling was missing from my life.

Among other things, Ortberg had two suggestions that I really appreciated. The first addressed my attention span problem - Ortberg commented that his prayer life really improved when he realized that his mind wandered for a reason. It naturally wandered to things that he probably needed to deal with anyway and who better to bring them to than God?

The second was to consistently separate yourself from the things that tend to distract you and pray for just a short time, every day. Consistency is much more important than length of time and helps us learn the discipline in a reasonable way rather than leave you with the sense of failure that comes when we try to accomplish a huge, unrealistic goal.

So, these last two weeks I've been trying these two things and now I find I can't get enough time to pray - and the people who need prayer seem to be coming out of the woodwork. My favorite prayer closet is what is used to be an old bathroom - and I've gotten pretty used to the sudden sound of rushing water going through the pipes if someone decides to take a shower next door :) I just pretend it is the sound of the Holy Spirit rushing out to answer prayer . . .

If you would like to join me in prayer, here are some of the top requests on my list:

1. Leán - for healing and forgiveness in his family

2. Carla and Mario - for God's provision to get Mario a visa to the US and wisdom for decisions that Carla must make now about the summer.

3. Alice - for her relationships at Lee Abbey

4. LA Community - for new members to settle in and find their niche here; also for the new warden who will start in April.

5. Samuel - for a focused mind to study German and English, for God's direction for his future after his time in Germany

6. Pedro - for his opportunity to teach at a church youth camp this week; for starting university again next month after having taken a year off.

Obrigada meus irmãos e irmãs queridas!
(Thank you my dear brothers and sisters!)

The closest I'll ever come to being a Fireman . . .

. . . is being a Fire Marshall.

At 6am. Which is quite a badge of distinction, because it means I was the first person down at reception when the fire alarm went off. If that wasn't exciting enough, they couldn't figure out what caused it except that the electricity was out in about half the building.

Which made opening reception really fun because there were no lights, no computers, and it took us 15 minutes to find the funny cranky handle gadget to manually open the shutter.

But at least we had a door to get in Reception to open the shutter manually. The genius who designed the shutter to the wash-up room installed it with the manual winch on the INSIDE (and there is no other access to the room). So, its paper plates and forks today.

To go along with the cold sandwiches because the kitchen ran out of gas to fire the stoves and ovens. And they still don't really know what caused the power to go out (there is flooding in two rooms as well, which may have something to do with it). Because of this horrendous storm that took out half of London's transportation system, we didn't get an electrician here until after noon. As I type, the power still isn't back on in half the building (the important half, unfortunately - reception, kitchen, boilers . . .)

To top it off, this poor new resident arrived today from the States - with over 20 bags. Literally, I have never seen one student bring so much stuff. How on earth she will fit it all into a single room, I have no idea. But get this - her room is on the 5th and final floor and of course, today is the one day in the four months I've been here when the lift has been down and her family is helping her carry each one of those 20 bags up 6 flights of stairs.

So, if you think of us across the pond, please pray for the poor kitchen team workers and for Brian (head of Maintenance) that God will bless their work today.

The Weight of Responsibility

First - can you imagine the look on my face when I found this shirt with the name of my hometown on it in a cheap clothing store in Gravesend? Of course I snatched it up for only £3 and the chance to say that Idaho Falls is so famous you can find shirts with the name all over the world . . .

Now, I have a great story to share with all my democracy-loving Americans.

The community at Lee Abbey elects a representative to act as a go-between when volunteers have problems or issues that arise and they don't feel comfortable to go to the head honchos themselves (usually because the problems have to do with all the laws and decrees that fuel this place).

Samuel was the former community representative. Allow me to interject that he was a fabulous representative, mixing just the right amount of respect and backbone to address issues with both the community and management here. His last official act was to elicit a promise from one community member that she would finish translating, "Please wash your own dishes" into every language used by the community to put above the community sink. Well done, Samu.

Unfortunately, Samuel left and his rather brief reign as community rep ended when he abandoned me to go hole up in Germany and learn a rather un-beautiful language (compared to Portuguese, but maybe I'm a bit biased ;).

A week before Samuel left, Lee Abbey's warden, David, announced that community members should give their nominations for the next representative to Samuel within a few days. David promptly approached Samuel a week later and asked for the names.

"No one has given me any names" Samuel replied. David was a bit taken aback, but then asked him, "Well, do you have a nomination?" "Yes." Samuel answered. "Brittney."

David asked me if I'd accept the "nomination," but told me that I accepting it would mean accepting the position. Because I had no one to run against, I would be automatically appointed to the position.

I agreed, but then had to laugh when I read the notice that was posted up on the community bulletin board.



Only in England would they dare to declare someone elected . . . and now I have no public mandate from an apathetic community to do a job that no one wants. Sounds like the perfect start to my political career. It could be worse - I could be the governor of California.

Feliz Ano Novo

Unfortunately, to fill you in on life since my last post would take much more time that I'm sure you're willing to spend reading a computer screen. So here are the highlights:

1. My family arrived safely, but groggily, from the US on the 22nd of December despite the nefarious attempts of killer fog to thwart their travel. Never let it be said that highly condensed water ever got the best of Peterson plans.

2. The Lee Abbey community and my family seem to get along pretty well - in fact, I think I've already been replaced by several people here and I might find my room taken over when I go back to Sacramento in September.




















The Brazilians singing "A Deus Demo Gloria" (To God be the Glory) for the Christmas Carol.

3. Christmas was beautiful and full of the joy of Christ coming down as light into the world. I was so richly blessed to be able to share this celebration with both my families here.

4. Boxing Day = trip to Paris on the Eurostar! Although I came down with a nasty cold, I still enjoyed three days in France despite the sub zero temperature (think celcius :) My favorite: definitely Notre Dame, although Chateau Chantilly and Musee D'Orsay were close seconds.

Beautiful Notre Dame at night
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5. Floating down the river . . . took my family and two Brazilians on a boat ride to Greenwich and toured the Royal Observatory. We had classic London weather - sunny sky, beautiful day going down the river and pouring rain and cold wind on the way back. 4 seasons in one day . . .





Thiago, myself and
Samuel at the
Royal Observ.
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6. New Years Eve - I got to go to church twice!!! Both were spectacular services, like cold spring water after being in a desert for a month (Christmas services are nice, but a whole month of them can leave you a little thirsty for a really good worship service). I was doubly blessed - by the first message, which was the recipe for a good new year: rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and be thankful in everything (1 Thess 5:16-18). The second service was full of prayer for the next year . We ended the day by watching the Thames fireworks celebration from the roof of Lee Abbey - what a view!

7. We spent Tuesday the 2nd at beautiful Bath touring the Jane Austen Centre and admiring the GORGEOUS architecture! So worth going to just to walk around the city.



Mom, Dad, and Nick
at the Jane Austen Centre
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8. I won't bore you with more details - may you experience all of God's rich blessings for you this New Year!!!