Thanksgiving All Around

This week marks the beginning of the holidays. This is my first set of holidays away from my family and that, let me tell you, is a weird feeling. On Thursday, while my family was celebrating Thanksgiving, back in the states, it was a pretty normal day here. A very busy normal day, for which I was incredibly thankful. The morning was probably the toughest for me, because while my mind was busy in class, my body wasn't.

Then evangelism came. Thursday was also The International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women and we had some big plans for Harlesden. We hit the streets about 2:30. We were armed with an ipod speaker, a microphone, pamphlets and surveys. We set up shop in the center of Harlesden, our main location being the square. There were stations on each of the three main corners with people ready to ask the hard questions on the survey, as well as our BLS guys and gal on stilts to get people's attention. In the middle of the square, we set up the speakers and the microphone and let our message pulse through the community. Some of my loved ones gave incredible talks and testimonies. People stood ready to ask questions and give out pamphlets. There were prayer request boxes and willing ears. I got to be in the middle of all this with one of the coolest jobs. I was a living statue. Before leaving the house, makeup had been applied and a plan discussed. In the square, people saw the progression of abuse and redemption: a woman in the middle of being hit, a woman falling to the ground, a woman in pain, hopeless on the ground and then the best, a representation of Jesus pulling a woman out of the abuse. I got to portray the woman on the ground, in pain and hopeless. It impacted me so much, I can only pray that those images stay with people and impact them as well. I had my eyes closed, so I couldn't see the reactions of people, but I could hear them. One child's reaction was to say that it was scary. Abuse is scary. As conversations sifted around me, I prayed and contemplated the intense, internal hurt that abuse causes. It made things real for me. I really hope to be able to do this sort of evangelism again.

Today, is our base's Thanksgiving. Our Love Feast is Thanksgiving themed, so there will be turkey and all the trimmings. Though, I'm not sure it will taste exactly like the States. Take for example, my Green Bean Casserole, which is currently cooking. Somehow, I'm having to make do without French's Fried Onions and mushroom soup that's not condensed. But I'm so thankful that we're even getting this opportunity. While Thanksgiving food has been a large part of the celebration, the main point of the holiday is Thanks. I'm so thankful today. I have an incredible family in the States and a family in London that has surrounded me, loved me and protected me. I have a warm home and laughter daily. I have a heart that's healing. I have a God who is SO good and love's me with this absolutely crazy, wonderful, unconditional love.

So tonight will be full of thanks, worship, good food, laughter, jokes, games and family. I'm going to go pull out my casserole and pray that the Green Bean Soup turns into Grean Been Casserole. Happy Thanksgiving. Let this holiday season be a reminder of our Sovereign God's eternal love. :) God bless!

Honoring Those Who Have Gone On Before...

Thursday was the day I chose to honor my Grandmother and to say my goodbyes to her. I wasn't sure how I was going to do that at first. How do you say goodbye when you are thousands of physical miles from the funeral and most likely will not see the grave for a long while? Those were the questions running through my head. I wrestled with a proper way to say goodbye, that would give me some closure and honor Grandma. Then an idea, I know prompted by the Great Comforter, began to form in my head. I went to Tesco's and bought some grapefruit juice. That was the beginning. It felt incomplete. What else could I do? Flowers. But as I walked the streets of Harlesden, I couldn't find any shops with flowers. I was frustrated and near the point of tears when I noticed ivy climbing up the fence of the house I was passing by. I then remembered the green plants my Grandma had in her home, especially before my Grandpa passed away, out on their front porch. I knew that ivy would be perfect. I picked a branch and took it home with me.

When I went to get a glass for my juice, I discovered one I hadn't noticed before that looked a LOT like the ones my Grandma had in her home. I poured juice, grabbed my ipod and the branch of ivy and headed to the backyard. There in the backyard, I prayed, I toasted my Grandmother, I laid ivy in remembrance of her and I said goodbye, all the while, worship music was playing. I didn't need her body to say a proper farewell, because, she is no longer in her body. She is in a much better place. I love the Grandmother I chose. I will see her again. She will not be forgotten as long as I still live.

Questions in Need of Answers

On my last blog, I had a comment from Anonymous that asked some questions. I'm replying in a blog because they're good questions. :)

The comment was: "It sounds incredibly wonderful and romantic(not in the man/woman way) and historical and interesting that you are actually there. Does it feel that way to you? Do you feel like you are living a dream?" My answer is as follows:

There are definitely days where it feels like that. There are days that I feel as though I'm living on Cloud Nine and oh my! Another wonderful thing happened! However, not every day is like that. God is good to me every day, but being in my DTS is still hard and He's still working hard things into me. It seems like every day, I discover a new thing in myself that needs work and have to submit it to His Master Hands. I have discovered that I am far more selfish and prideful and and and that I ever thought before. However, I have also discovered His amazing goodness and just how MUCH He loves me and then wants me to love myself! There are hard lessons and most of the time, I'm not happy about those lessons, but it's good. There is definitely reality in my daily life, but there are also moments that feel as though I'm dreaming. :)

Today, for an example, was a mix of harsh reality and a dream. I found out that my Grandmother, on my Dad's side, passed away yesterday. I also found out that there's some concern for my Dad and his prostrate. In the same 5 minutes. I definitely struggled this morning, it was not the best morning. But in the midst of a rough morning, I got to experience community at it's best. There were so many offers of help and people doing things for me, but the best part was all the hugs. I got some of the best hugs of my life this morning! And oh, the prayer. That was amazing. The Arts House prayed over me before we left for intercession, then at the other house, they stopped in the middle of debrief to pray for me and my dear friend Amy, who has also recently suffered a loss. As they banded around us and the love was poured forth, I felt the arms of God wrapped around me.

And then, God met me, as though in a dream. I decided to come back to my house after class and on the way, I was really just pouring out my heart to God, with many tears. I'm sure people in Harlesden thought I was crazy. :) I was completely focused on that and walking, not paying a lick of attention to my surroundings, when I "just happened" to look up and there on the fence "just happened" to be a scarf. Let me give you some background: When we were in Montreal, God gave me a scarf... on the street... "randomly". So there's this scarf, on the fence, with absolutely no one around. I stood there for a couple of minutes, watching and then when no one came to claim it, knew that it was a kiss from God and He was sending me comfort. And it occurs to me now... comfort by way of something warm, something to wrap me up in. He's an awesome God. :)

Let me leave you with my favorite memory of Grandma Ramath: When I was about 12, we went to see her and I felt very special, because I got to stay in her guest bedroom all by myself. That visit, she lent me a book to read that I loved. That is also the visit when I learned to love Grapefruit Juice. Before my parents would come in from the motor home in the mornings, she would be preparing breakfast and would give me a glass and we would chat, usually about books we'd read. So in memory of my Grandma, I raise my glass of grapefruit juice (as soon as I go buy some at the Corner store) and say, "See you at Home. I love you."

Adventures in London

On Sunday, Romy and I had to stop by Sainesbury's to get milk and other miscellaneous things for the house. As it was a Sunday afternoon, the store was absolutely crazy! So that took a while.

As we were headed out, I saw what I thought was our bus, so I rushed towards it. Romy asked if I was sure and I said I was pretty sure. Not even thinking to ask the bus driver if the bus was headed the right direction. It wasn't. So we thought we'd eventually get back the other direction and we'd just ride it. We made the most of the time by "window shopping" from the upper level of the Double Decker and having a picnic from the food items we'd bought at the grocery store. THEN! As we'd already spent about 30 minutes on this bus, they kicked us off! At the Palace Gate stop and there we were, in a different part of the city than we had been to before. We were able to get on the bus going the opposite direction and eventually made it home, much later that I'd intended. It was quite the adventure. :)

Moral of the Story: Make sure your bus is going the right direction!

Funtastical Day!

I had such a good day today! I didn't know how the day, or the weekend, was going to go, as half of our team is gone to Sheffield on mini-outreach. However, if today is any indication, the rest of the weekend is going to go super fantastic! Not that I don't miss those who are to the north.

This morning, I woke up to a very quiet house. Normally, people would say I live in the quiet house, but if that's quiet, then this morning was a tomb. Makayla is apart of the group gone to Sheffield, Romy wasn't feeling well and Rebecca's day starts later and ends later than ours. Makayla normally turns on the light at about 7 (though we're usually up at 6:30), so as she was gone and did not turn on the light, I just got ready in the dark. Then I ventured down to the kitchen and ate my breakfast completely by myself. It wasn't until after quiet time that I even saw anyone! Oh my. Work duties were different, since it was only Mats, Nate and I here to clean, but it was still fun. Probably due in large part to the two fun-loving guys that I was working with. It's hard to wake up in a bad mood when one of them generally greets you with a good-natured joke.

Intercession was once again good and the debrief at the other house then turned into another session of worship and prayer. It was so good! Afterward, we prepared for evangelism this afternoon, which meant baking! My mom would be jealous, as we made sugar cookies to give out with promises attached to them. I was thinking of my mom today, definitely!

I'm not sure why I thought it would be a bad idea to take my umbrella with me for evangelism. Quite the opposite, actually. By the time our cookies were all gone, I was pretty drenched, but quite happy about all that had occurred!

For dinner, Erika blessed us by providing the ingredients and then making a nacho bar for us! It was absolutely delicious! I hadn't had nachos in such a long time! Here's a fun fact for you: In the states it's "Sour" Cream, but here in London, it's "Soured" Cream. That brightens my day. :)

After dinner, we all settled in to watch a movie and enjoy some down time. It was so nice! Then after I got home, I discovered that a package from my Mom had arrived for me! I love these SO much! A new signing book, two new scarves, warm gloves, a cuddledud ANNNNND a shirt from my Dad! Oh happy day!

Thank you Jesus for funtastical days!

Feed The Soul

Today, we found out where are the possibilities for our outreach. And a drum roll please... They are: Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania, Spain, pooooossibly Portugal and the best one, Israel! Israel is a little more out there, but my heart longs for Israel. So please invest with me in some serious prayer over this. As much as I long to do an outreach in Israel, my greatest desire is to go wherever God wants me to go. I will say though, when Israel was announced, the room was dead silent, except for my *GASP!* haha. We will be split up into two teams, so that will be interesting. Pray that the teams are divided in the exact way God desires.

In the next couple of weeks, our team, once again split in two, will be doing mini-outreaches. This weekend half of us will head to the north to work in Sheffield. The next weekend, I will head out with the rest of the team to another location. I'm not sure exactly what these mini-outreaches will look like, but I'm so excited!

This afternoon, we had art at the Arts House, which also happens to be my house. I got to write! It was so incredibly good! Then afterward, I stayed home and decided to cook. Several of the others in my house stayed behind and they ate with me. I've got to say, it made my heart so happy to cook for people and then for them to gather around the table and enjoy some food. I loved it so much.

Make Christ known. If Necessary, Use Words.

This paraphrase of St. Francis of Assissi's words has been running through my head quite a lot here. That's kind of what we're doing in our intercession walks. The majority of our DTS are also picking up trash while walking. Those of us from the other house make it our mission to cover them in prayer. But in picking up trash, we are walking in the opposite spirit and making a difference in the community. You can see visible changes. Shopkeepers, who four weeks ago, would not have greeted you, are now greeting you with a smile. They're not only greeting those of us who pick up trash, but also those who are simply walking and praying, even though they don't know we're even connected! I'm so excited about that! This walking in the opposite spirit, making Jesus known through our actions, should extend to our every moment, not just in the moments that are called "Intercession" on the timetable. Jesus, make me walk in the opposite spirit always. Let me show Your light in my face at all times.

Last night, we went to a community prayer and worship meeting. It was so good to see unity in the body! Songs of praise were sung with joyful hearts and earnest prayers were lifted up for London. Then I walked home with Nathan, Ezra, Mats (those 3 being BLS students), Rebecca (on staff with the Arts Ministry) and Christian (the head of the Arts Ministry). It was a long walk and I wore the wrong shoes. In the end, God was so good and my blisters did not return! Though this morning I woke up and my feet felt completely disjointed. Lol. But last night, I remember commenting to Rebecca that I might seriously pray for rain this morning so that my feet could have a rest, because then Joselo (DTS director) would give us a ride. Well, lo and behold, I woke up this morning to a decent rainfall. You might say, "Oh it's London, doesn't it do that all the time?" Let me tell you, in the last 5 weeks, the majority of the days have been gorgeously sunny and not overly cold. Rain this morning was my kiss from heaven. :)

Well, I need to finish my reading for the morning and head out the door. Thank you all so much for your prayers and support!!

Such a Busy Bee!

The past 5 weeks have been so crazy and I feel horrible for not blogging more. To be perfectly honest, I'll sit with a blogpost open for days at a time, but every time I sit down to write, I get overwhelmed with the sheer massive amount of things I want to say.

This past week was plumbline week, in which we dealt with our past and strove for inner healing. Healing and forgiveness really aren't something that happens instantaneously, but the process is well under way.

Our days are jam-packed and every night I fall into bed exhausted, only to start my day at 6:30 again. It's so good for me. :) I'll tell you what has quickly become my favorite part of the day and that is our intercession walks. It never fails that I feel the presence of God each morning and know that our prayers are reaching heaven. It's just a fantastic time. Each day God speaks something new or reveals something we haven't noticed before or encourages us. I feel so blessed to be in this position of constantly receiving from God.

We had our first exam and book report last week. Both felt intense to me. I made them too intense and stressed myself out needlessly, but it was still a good growing moment for me. I made a good grade on my book report too. :) I haven't heard back on my exam yet, but I feel good about what I've learned thus far.

Next weekend we have a mini-outreach to South London. I'm not sure yet what we'll be doing there, but I KNOW it will be exciting and good!

My breathing has improved and I feel better able to keep up. Now I just need to find a pair of shoes that doesn't give me blisters. :)

Hopefully, I'll be better at updating now. Until next time!