I have started writing two separate blogs in the past few weeks and then waited so long to finish them that I had to start from scratch again. Whew! I can't believe how fast time is going. It sometimes feels like I've been sucked up in a tornado. I think all of us in the college are feeling like that. There is a facebook group for our class and on it we have a section for funny quotes that happen throughout the year. Here is one of my favorites (said while a few of the girls were sitting in McDonalds have a small group meeting):
Sarah: Oh, it's going so fast!
Louise: I know. We just have to enjoy the time together.
Sarah: Oh no, I was meaning my McMuffin.
Yeah, don't know that most of us have had Sarah's experience with a McMuffin (for the record, I have not been into McDonald's since I've been here), but we are feeling that the days are flying by!
We had two weeks on Church History which were so good - although not nearly long enough. I have been challenged so much both intellectually and spiritually. Particularly in the second week, it was amazing to see God doing major work in a lot of us through the stories of men like John Wesley and George Whitefield. It was especially powerful hearing about Smith Wigglesworth on the last day. Our lecturer was originally from the same area as Smith Wigglesworth and had grown up hearing firsthand stories about him from area pastors. After that we ended up scrapping the last hour of our lecture to have some prayer and ministry time. Really powerful stuff - and kind of crazy that it all happened during a Church History week when we didn't even crack open the Bible!
From Tuesday to Thursday this week we were in Derby for a prayer conference with the leaders of Salt & Light churches in the UK. It was a very intense time between fasting on Tuesday and then praying all day Wednesday, but I enjoyed it so much. I was surprised at how easy it was to pray for that length of time. We kept splitting up into different groups to pray for different things, so it was great to get to know people from all over Salt and Light as I prayed with them. A highlight was when one of the pastors assumed that I was Irish - after having heard me pray! Yeah, his hearing must be going or something, but I milked it for all it was worth with the rest of my team because they all wish they could talk in an Irish accent!
One of the reasons that things have been picking up in pace is that we have been given our church placements. I am with two other girls at a church in Wantage, a smaller town about twenty minutes drive from Oxford. I honestly don't think that I could have been put in a better church. The people are so welcoming and friendly and I feel at home with them already - which is good because I will be going there a couple of times a week for a good long while. I also really enjoy the pastor, Neil, and his wife Dee. I am definitely looking forward to spending more time with them!
In our group we have kind of settled down into being one big crazy family. There are always issues to be worked out as we live in community, but we are learning to love each other right through our faults, and sometimes even because of them. Things are messy and exhausting with lots of late night talks and hugs, but it is all part of how we grow.
Oh, and I had a birthday yesterday! Everyone was great about wishing me happy birthday and offering to get me tea/coffee/juice. We were having a training time with a well known evangelist that day, so it was very intense and tiring - not really the kind of day that makes you bounce up and down and say, "yay, it's my birthday", but it was good. We didn't get home until the evening, but I was then surprised by the whole elementary school at TNT singing happy birthday to me on Skype. It made my day! It was also great to talk to my family. We went over to the guys' house to watch Band of Brothers, so I talked to them on Skype from there. It was kind of surreal to be sitting on the floor of the guys' house, opening presents in front of a computer - but it was nice!
Ok, gotta head out! I'll try to post pictures later tonight. Hopefully this makes up for some of my delinquencies in blogging.... :)
Rolling hills - it actually makes me a little seasick just looking at it.
There was this amazing moment when the sun broke through the clouds. Ben was there to capture the moment - and I was there thinking, "Oh good, Ben will get a good picture and then I will steal it!" - a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The whole group of us who went out that day
