Two Months Down!

Since when is it October?!?!?  As of yesterday, I have officially been here for 2 months/4 fortnights/8 weeks/60 days/1460 hours/87,658 seconds.  I hope you can believe it, because I certainly can’t.  

I keep getting asked for directions by random people on the street.  I’d say I’m averaging 2-3 times per week.  What are people in this fine city looking for?  The hospital, the British Museum, and Victoria's Secret (and yes, I know where all of those things are).  I’d like to think people ask me because I look like I live/belong here, and would therefore know where everything is.  Yeah, let's go with that.

After many meetings and chats last week, I finally have a full run-down of everything I’ll be doing!  Here we go:

1. Koinonia - this is going to be my main service area.  Meeting new students, following up with them 1-on-1, trying to get them to keep coming, planning events, maybe running a small group
2.  Antioch Youth – youth work with the kids of Antioch.  I’m going to be working mainly with the older high school girls, as well as planning a couple of events/retreats for everyone.  AY is not to be confused with:
3. [youth:link] – the youth outreach run by Antioch, aimed at kids in Acton.  Some of these kids are also in AY/Antioch, but this is a place where they can bring their non-community friends. 
4. GAP training – this involves a scripture course focused on learning and understanding the Bible, as well as a course called "Mission Track", and different sessions focused on outreach, character, and evangelism. 
5. Heythrop Outreach Development – Heythrop is a philosophy/theology college in Kensington, partway between Acton and the Kube.  The folks here have been trying to get an outreach started here for the past couple of years.  Pete (fellow gapper) and I are heading it up this year.

So far, I like all of the assignments I've been given.  But the more I am asked to do and the more I’m here, the more I realize how incapable I am.  It's not through my own power that I can accomplish the work that I've been given.  It’s not a question of ability (or humility); I would say that I am a very capable person, but that doesn't mean that I am equipped to do these things and serve in the ways asked of me by myself.  Not through my own power would I even be here.  God called me to London to serve, and it is God who gives me strength to carry on every day, wisdom to guide my steps, and the courage to fight the good fight, as they say.

I have no idea what would happen if I was in fact doing this alone, but thankfully, I don’t need to worry about it!  The Lord is faithful beyond all measure.  The apostle Paul wrote in Second Corinthians about rejoicing in our inabilities, because it is through our weaknesses where the Lord’s strength and ability shines: 

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” ~ 2 Corinthians 12:9 

If the only thing I get out of this year is learning to depend fully on Him, then it will be a resounding success : )  

On an unrelated note, my accent is totally changing.  I can hear it and try to fight it, but I can’t really stop it.  And in the interest of full disclosure, I don't really want to.  Having a (non-American) accent is a dream come true to eight-year-old Molly.  Before you get too excited, though, let me say this: I cannot speak in an authentic British accent on purpose (yet?).  If I try, it just sounds stupid (as my friends are wont to point out).  However, when drawn into a conversation with a UKnian (official term) for more than, say, thirty seconds, it happens… The Change.  My vowels get all funny, and I start sounding less Yank and more Brit…  We'll see what happens by the time my service here is finished.  I don't want to lose my American-ness, but being able to speak as a proper Englishwoman would be a cool party trick, if nothing else.

My vocabulary has received a healthy boost as well: 

• Put the rubbish in the bin = put the trash in the garbage
• Form a queue at the till = Get in line at the register
• Off the rails = going crazy (ex: “Some would argue that Lindsay Lohan has gone totally off the rails”)
• Do the washing up = do the dishes/clean the kitchen
• one-off = one-time

Some highlights since my last post:

Last Thursday (10/03/13) brought another Reload (prayer meeting) for Koinonia.  I played second guitar for the worship time!  This is something that I've wanted to do for a while, and I really enjoyed it.  I’m now on the rota (aka rotation) for the term, so I’ll get a lot of practice : ) 

That Friday afternoon I went to Heythrop to do a prayer walk.  Their actual campus is closed to the public, but I wanted to walk around the perimeter to get a feel for the area.  By chance, I ran into a Koi girl who goes to Heythrop, Lucy.  She and a friend were on their way to get cupcakes, so naturally I went with them! Yum!  After we went our separate ways, I went back to wandering about Kensington and happened upon a beautiful church, St. Mary Abbots.  It was open, but totally empty, so I went in for a while to pray and look around.   

St. Mary Abbots in Kensington

Last Saturday (10/05/13) brought our official household induction!  There are five of us total, three gappers and two students.  Two Americans, two Lebanese, and one German who grew up in Vietnam.  Talk about international.  As a house, we will have dinner together twice per week and pray together daily Monday-Friday.  And there will no doubt be lots of shenanigans; I’ll be sure to keep you posted! 

Sunday was another day of church shopping, and I think I’ve found THE ONE.  Drum roll, please …. The American International Church of London.  It’s really close to the Kube, and I just happened by it last week whilst exploring.  At first, I was like “oh, an ‘American’ church, cool.”  But after looking into their beliefs, etc. on their website, I decided to try it.  I really liked everything about the service.  Beautiful church? Check.  Pews? Check.  Awesome choir? Check.  Good sermon that has just the right balance of teaching and liturgy? Check.  Welcoming congregation that isn't too big or too small? Check.  Coffee and tea served afterwards? Check.  I had a great chat with a guy from Toronto, as well as a woman from Flint, MI.  From what I gather, it's a pretty international body.     

'Murica.

I’ll definitely be going back there at least a couple of times.  All of last week passed in one blur of crazy.  I have a calendar to keep track of my different meetings and events that I colour code.  It looks like a rainbow threw up on October ; )  So yeah, I'm super busy, and sometimes it's crazy-stressful.  But I'm loving it.  The work that I'm doing is important, and I am surrounded by a fantastic group of people.  There's no place I'd rather be.  I'm working on a new page that will detail exactly how and why I wound up in London, so keep an eye out!  There will be a new link on the left side of the screen, hopefully in the next couple of days.

This week's randomness:

1. Lindsey and I like to play "Spot the American."  It's shockingly easy.  Read here for tips on how to play.
2. Sometimes it's really windy in the tube stations.  Especially Tottenham Court Road, the stop for the Kube.  And when I say "really windy," I mean like 40+ mph.  Not good for your hair.
3. Strange things I have taken on the tube thus far: a guitar, a pan of brownies, a toaster.
4. One of the community girls (aged 5) says I sound like a movie star : )  

<3 Molly

"You are the light of the world.  A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." ~ Matthew 5:14-16