Greetings from London

Well, things are going great and I absolutely love it here. My access to the Internet has been very minimal and so I am at Christy Chase's new home in London using her Internet. I have actually created two different postings for my blog but have been unable to post them until today So, both of these posting are a little old. One is from my very first morning in London and the other is from a couple of days ago ! I hope you enjoy them. I will be posting more in the days to come. Lots of love to you all!!

Oh, The Airport at Last!

Yesterday, as I sat in the airport, I was struck by how people react to travel in such different ways. The airport is meant to be a place where people should be overflowing with excitement. It’s a place where you take off to new adventures around the world. It’s a place which holds so many secrets of lands not yet conquered. Yet, as I looked around, there was so little joy on the faces of the travelers. You could see the dread of a trip that the person didn’t want to take. You could see the fear of flying. An airport is a place where people come face to face with their own immortality. I was struck with how much these people need Jesus. With Jesus, I had peace in my travels. I did not fear the death and the adventure felt so real. In my case, I felt like I sat there and had to come face to face with the reality of the choice I made. The reality of what the next six months is going to look like. What will London hold this time? Well, it be different from all my other trips? How will the Lord meet me in a new way? What am I doing for the next six months? Sitting in the airport, I felt the reality of two "Tiffany’s" come crashing together. There is the wild, adventurer who simply wants to be obedient to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Then there is the practical Tiffany. This one was the one who seemed to be rearing its ugly head as I sat in the airport. I could hear the screams of this Tiffany: “What have I gotten myself into?!?” This is the Tiffany with the practical unanswered question – What am I going to do so that I am not bored during the course of the next six months? What am I going to do in order to prevent my bank account from taking a very violent plunge into the world of little to no money? Or, on a personal note, what I am going to do without all of my friends and family. Saying good-bye was so hard. If only I could take those that I love most with me on the plane. Still, as these two Tiffany’s faught it out in my head, I could feel the peace of the Lord begin to reside in my heart.

As peace began to fall, I realized that it’s times like these, that I know I meant for the radical things of life. To the world, it feels like it would make sense to be afraid, yet in that place I came to the realization that the bottom line is I want to obey my king. In my obedience is where great peace is found. Sitting there I was reminded of those radical people of faith: Heidi Baker, Amy Carmichael, David Wilkerson, Reese Howell, or John Wesley who have spoken so directly to my heart. These are the people that I desire to be like. As I sat in that airport dreaming of the future, I could feel my heart come alive. Once getting over saying good-bye to my mom, which was quite hard since we have never been apart for this long or been this far away from each other, the peace of the Lord felt so real.

Sitting in a room in London this morning proves to be slightly more daunting. My family and friends are so far away. It feels like leaving for college all over again, but the reality is college was only two and half hours away from home. If I needed my Mommy, she was right there. Yet, again, I know this is where I am meant to be. I know that God will show up daily. I know that my new “family” will make me feel like I am at home. It’s amazing to be loved even when you are not yet really known. The heart of Christ is so powerful. When we have Christ, we have an ability to love like no other. It’s a radical love that lacks judgment and simply says that even though I don’t know you, we share a common bond in Christ, therefore I love you for who you are. I am excited to spend the next six months diving more into this part of the heart of Christ. Intimacy is knocking on my door. I am so excited to throw the door open and embrace the Lord in a new level. Will the next six months be easy? Realistically, no, there will be hard times. I know that. Will my God be faithful? Yes! Therefore, the treasures that await the next six months are irreplaceable. So, my plane has landed, I am here safely, now it’s time to move into what the Lord has asked. I am excited to live each day in complete obedience to my King. There are so many new exciting things ahead for me. I CANNOT WAIT!

Living in London

Well, I have officially been in London for one week!! It is like returning home. It has been so incredible to be welcomed with open arms back to the city that I love. There have been so many smiling faces. It’s been nice to be reunited with old friends, and I am excited to build deeper relationships with them. I have received my “schedule” from Andrew, the youth pastor, and he has me pretty busy. I am helping out at the church two days a week with different kinds of administration work. The rest of my life will be centering around youth. I am so very excited. I even get to go on a mission’s trip with the kids. I have had the opportunity to meet the Christ Church youth. They are so incredible. They remind me so much of the wonderful youth at Newsong. They’re so welcoming! I have also gone to one meeting with some girls from the Sands End area who are much like our very own Hilltop kids. They were wonderful, but slightly difficult to understand. Between slang and a thick accent, I might have my work cut out for me with this group of young people. I am so excited for the challenge. The youth are lovely, but do enjoy giving me a hard time about my accent and all the “strange” words that I use. I personally think that they are the ones who use the strange words. As for their accents, I think that they are absolutely “Brilliant”.

As for English Hospitality, it is amazing! I absolutely love the family that I am staying with. The couple is quite lovely and very giving. It has been a joy to get to know them. I particularly have loved my conversations with Bryony. She is wonderful. My favorite member of the family is their three year old little girl. She is a curly haired, red headed, little girl. She is a bundle of energy. She loves to “have a cuddle” and also play. Her favorite color is pink, making us instant friends. The pink teddy I brought from Tacoma was a great success and has been appropriately named “Pinky”. If the family wasn’t wonderful enough, a little gift from the Lord has been their two kitties. They are great lap cats and they always seem to climb into my lap whenever I might be feeling a bit lonely. It’s amazing how they know. Their names are Pip and Marmite! Very British!

As for my adventures, this trip seems to have been a little different than the rest, as I guess should be expected. On past trips, going into the city has been one of the very first things I have done. On this trip, the Lord had me wait a few days and my first trip into the city was not exactly what I was hoping it would be. I had a “plan” and I knew what I was looking for. Unfortunately, my plans were changed. It was a typical London day, wet and cold; a bit like home! I got lost a few times and became very family with my A-Z (a book of maps of London). It was a little frustrating. I wanted to go to my “special” spot, but the rain prevented me from going there. So, I wandered a bit and then went to my meeting that I had with the youth. Not what I was expecting, but the Lord taught me a good lesson about “my” plans verses His plans. The day worked out great. I became very familiar with many important places. It may have been a bit frustrating, but I have now become more familiar with these places that I will be visiting quite regularly. I am now more confident on the tube and, more importantly, a more experienced bus rider!

An awesome gift came the next day when I got to visit my “special” spot and share it with a very good friend. Christy Chase joined me in London on Tuesday! On her first day in the city I got to take her to see Big Ben and Westminster Abbey, as well as the London Eye. We got to walk along the Thames together. I also got to pass on my knowledge of the Tube and be a real tour guide! It was great fun! Poor Christy was a little jetlagged and was tired by the end. Still, what a joy to share these places with her and explain why they are so special. My favorite moment was walking along the Thames and just explaining to Christy about why it was a special place and how the Lord has spoken to me there so many different times. It was so much fun to pass my passion on to my good friend. It was great to see her light up and become camera happy! I feel like I got a small glimpse into how the Lord feels when he gets to share new secrets with us. He finds such joy in taking us to new places, explaining why they are special and then watching us enjoy these places as much as He does! What fun!

The Lord is teaching me so much. I am learning about relying fully on him and being sure that “my” plan for the day is actually His plan for my day and seeking him out and waiting for a reply. The Lord so wants to speak to His children. He has so many adventures planned just for me. I cannot wait for the next one to unfold! Ready or Not, Here they come!

Getting Ready to Leave

The count down has begun. In six very short days my feet will be setting foot upon British soil. I just can't believe it! This has been such a busy time, yet also very exciting. It's so hard to make sure that everything that needs to be taken care of has been taken care of. Packing can be challenging. It's hard to decide: What do I take, What do I pack up in boxes, and what simply needs to disappear from my life? Thankfully, I am finally approaching the end of this process. The other hard part is saying good-bye to close friends and family. One of my best friends just left for Ireland for six months, making this process seem even more real. It was so strange to watch her say good-bye to everyone and think that, in a few short days, I would be doing the exact same thing. Still, it's not really good-bye, it's more like "I'll see ya later!" All this to say, I am so excited to be leaving and I cannot wait for this adventure to finally begin. Please stay in touch. I'll be posting all my cool adventures in the months come. Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. London, HERE I COME!