Dix huit (18) United Kingdom and more…
July Events
Salut,
This month was a busy month! First off, Fred and Adela Weibe (London Missionaries) invited us to the U.K. for the weekend. They had recently rented a room in a building to hold church services, and the week we would visit would be the 2nd time they had gathered there. (Until then, I believe they held church at the mission house). They mentioned that having a few more attendees present would be nice to help with the services. We wasted no time on taking them up on their invitation!
We boarded the (TGV) high-speed train in Lille on a Friday morning and headed for London St. Pancras station.
This was our first time on the TGV, so we were excited to try it. It was nice to relax and look at the French countryside without worrying about traffic. The TGV goes under the English Channel at Pas-de-Calais, and then it’s about 30 minutes under the Channel in complete darkness. Voila, we were in the UK! The monitor on the train stated that the record speed ever reached was 335 km/h! That's close to flying speed!
Fred met us at the exit and shuttled us through all the people and traffic. (thankfully, he did because it was complicated!) We weren’t used to seeing everything in English. A person does get used to translating everything in your head after a while. It was nice for a change, but too long away from the French language would probably make us lose what we’ve gained relatively quickly. The posh British accent is nice to listen to, for sure, on the children. Very cute!
Adela was waiting for us all at the Giraffe Resto (French slang for restaurant) for petit-déjeuner. There were a few items we hadn’t heard of, including Toasties, BAPS, and the Full English Breakfast, which included sausages, eggs, black pudding, tomatoes, mushrooms, toast, and baked beans on one plate and ! Protein overload!
Fred and Adela wanted to show us some of the beautiful English countryside before Sunday, so that was a special time. We ended up at Thirsk on Saturday. Seeing the lush green hills and well-maintained old farm buildings was good.
The locals in the countryside were exceptionally welcoming. While waiting for an Uber at the bus station, we met a man, probably around 40 years old. He insisted that I take one of the meat pies in his bag. “Mate, it’s all your’s. Cummon ma’ Mate, ye gots to take it”. I kept mentioning that I wasn’t hungry, but it didn’t seem to affect him. He talked about football (soccer) and how his favorite team, Sunderland, wasn’t that great, but “I’s just that type of lad, I’s always stays wid ‘em anyways.” His comments on his soccer team had so much conviction behind them, that it was hard not to get a little emotional with him! He would shake my hand after he had said something especially meaningful! In between his talk, his insistence that I take his last pie was wearing down my resolve. “You’s travelin on the train then. Why not pack it?” he said. I couldn’t argue with that logic. Bella finally helped me out and took the pie for “later.” Then he needed to go…. He shook my hand with both hands and with such devotion and sincerity that I felt like a long-lost friend. His eyes were a little cloudy as he said, “Ye’s all right then, mate.” And he walked off into the crowd...That was just one of our encounters! We were impressed with the extreme friendliness of all the people around us! Click the area of Thirsk below and see the sights…
Thirsk, North Yorkshire-England
We packed our bags and got ready to take the bus to church on Sunday. This was our first church service at a Church of God in Christ Mennonite since last October. Adela insisted we were too dressed up for the UK church! The building they utilize for the service, is located on the second floor of a general-purpose building. It has one large room with an attached second room for children’s Sunday school. There were 10 of us that morning together, and Bella and Sterling even got to have intermediate Sunday school with the two girls that attended with their mother. Actually, we all were in intermediate because that is the book they use in the U.K. Two of the attendees are from Nigeria (Blessing and Ezekiel), and one member is originally from Bangladesh (Sabrina). Fred’s are from Manitoba, and we are from Alabama. Quite a diverse mix of ideas. The lesson was on the Good Samaritan. Ezekiel said that if you tried to help someone in Nigeria and stay with him, you would be the one who would get arrested as you would be the primary person of suspicion in the burglary. Sabrina said we needed to be aware of the country and its customs towards helping those in extreme circumstances like that. In the end, Ezekiel said, “We cannot ignore the Holy Spirit, it doesn’t matter which country we are in!” It was a very interesting service, and good to sing and pray together.
Right before Sunday School started, Fred leaned over and said, “Could you have a few words for a message this morning?” Nothing like giving someone a few minutes to prepare! (That’s ok Fred, it’s good for him—Lydia) Oh well, in this setting you learn to just start talking and be ready to listen to the promptings that the Spirit gives. It helps to have an audience that is sitting around in a group with them joining right along as you talk with, “I agree,” or “Yes, that’s right,” or just a head nod.
For Sunday lunch, Fred bought all of us lunch at the Chicken stand down the street run by a man from Cyprus. It was a big order for him and in the middle of it, he missed a few things. He kept saying, “Don’t worry. Be happy!” Then he would look over at the “Guvner,” as he called Fred because he knew he was the man with the money!
We took the food down to the park and ate together there.-Tyson
I’ll pick up where Tyson left off….It was warm in the park as we ate our lunch. I got to have a nice long conversation with Sabrina. I had been told about her before by our previous Field Secretary, and truly was impressed by her! I wish she lived closer, I believe we would be good friends. Hearing her story was inspiring, and emotional. We sat there eating our Kebab sandwiches and discussing life. At one point, I looked over and saw Tyson in quiet conversation with Ezekiel. He used to be a member of the church and had just arrived back in the U.K. to pursue some more schooling. He seemed like a really nice fellow. I am glad he and his sister Blessing have started attending again. All too soon, our Uber was there to take us to the train station! Where did the weekend go?! We quickly exchanged phone numbers and said goodbye! Blessing said, “Come back next week!” I wish it were that easy; if It was, we probably would!
Fred and Adela only had a few more weeks left in their term, so they are now back in Canada! We won’t forget the good times we spent together! Click the link below for a happy memory we made.
In the middle of July, we headed to see Bart and Annet in the Ardennes and help with some projects that they needed to wrap up. We were supposed to leave on a Thursday, packed the car the night before, and everything, but I woke up to the feeling of gravel in my eye. I wondered if it was the pink eye, but after making a quick eye appointment, I found out it was a tiny, harmless, yet painful cyst on my eye. They sent me off with meds to make it better, and we didn’t get to leave until the next day, sadly.
On Friday, we met Bart and Annet in Bouillon; they had planned a day of fun. (They are very good at that!) They took us to an amazing castle, the castle of Godfrey of Bouillon. He was the leader of the first Crusades in 1096. He sold his castle to the Archbishopric of Liege to finance his expedition to the Holy Lands. Expecting that when he returned from battle, he would be able to buy it back. After defeating the foe, and knowing that more protection would be needed to defend the recently recaptured city, he was offered the title of the first Latin King of Jerusalem. He turned it down, saying, “I will not wear a crown of gold in the city where the Savior wore a crown of thorns.” He, however, accepted the title of “Defender of the Holy Sepulcher.” Sadly, he never returned to his beautiful castle! And truly it was very, very amazing!! (It seems like there is always a little history lesson every time I write! I do LOVE history!)
At noon, we spread out a little lunch on a bistro table outside the castle. I had brought some French cheeses, fresh butter, croissants, and baguette from home, and we washed it down with some espresso ordered inside the bistro.
We spent the rest of the day learning more about the Crusades and the city of Bouillon. A gorgeous city!
In the evening, Bart’s treated us to supper at a little restaurant outside the city called O Vieux Breanne. The waitress/owner was very friendly, and her name was Gladys. She spoke pretty good English! “My name is Gladys, you know, like Elvis’ mother,” she said. We laughed and asked if she was a fan of his. “NO! I prefer Lynard Skynard and Led Zepplin,” she said. (HA!!) ((Took me by surprise…Oh the long reach of American music .)
We ended the day by going back to the Castle and watching a free light show after dark. The show showed the history of the Castle with lights and pictures on the side of the castle! We headed to Bart and Annet’s cabins rather late, but we had a good night's sleep and were ready to work the next day!
The next day, after breakfast, we got to work washing windows and patio furniture and chopping wood until late afternoon. It was good for us and the children to get in some time on the farm! The rest of the daylight hours we spent taking a spin with Bart’s in the Land Rover, (Sterling and Bella riding on top) and seeing what animals could be seen! We made a simple evening meal and roasted marshmallows outside in the cool evening air! It’s always good to spend time with Bart’s. We always enjoy our time with them and the good conversations.
We also did a tract weekend in the Troyes region of France in July which passes through beautiful farm ground. We stayed nights in a sweet little campground surrounded by many people from the Netherlands and Germany. The first night we settled in, and it was rather late, Sterling and Bella each in their own little tent and us in ours. It was a quiet, cool evening, and we were drifting off to sleep when we heard a loud wailing noise that sounded like “KRAAAAAA….!.KRAAAAAA….!KRAAAAAAAA!….” Bella shouted out, “MOM!!!! what is that!!!!!“ The sound transported me back to my childhood, riding around with my Dad through the Missouri countryside in search of vintage car parts. I have vivid memories of one of those places and the piercing cries of the PEACOCK are etched into my brain to this day. Poor Bella! I told her what it was, and she calmed down. There was a farm nearby, and the peacocks must have been wandering about!
Peacock cries, so you can sympathize with Bella :))))
This month, we also got to experience the influx of travelers into our area for the Olympics, Bastille Day (Independence Day), and a trip to see our friends Bruno and Marie in Belgium.
These are just a few highlights of the month. There are many more, but this is getting long. So far, in August, we took a trip to see Doteke Jagger and her mom, Yanka (sp?), in the Netherlands….but we will tell you about that in the next post! Au revoir for now and thanks for all the messages. -Lydia-
