Our First Month Back in England!

Hello. We have been back in England now for about a month since our holiday travels to Slovenia and it has flown by. We are posting some new pictures of the month's events. We have had some great lecturers this month ranging from a couple from New Jersey via Milan, Italy and a bible teacher from Chicago via Germany. We have been learning a lot and this second half of the year is where the school gives us a chance to run a little and live out what we have been learning. So for ten days from the end of February to the 9th of March, Kindra and I are leading a team of eleven students (including ourselves) to a smaller, rural town in southwestern England called Leominster to work with a church down there. This last weekend we had our 'pre-outreach' weekend which went great. They are a very hospitable community that desires to love their town and area as well as they have a great staff. I think we will be busy but we will be doing very worthwhile things while we are down there. They do a ton of things to reach out to the youth in the area through after school clubs, playing futbal (soccer), and other events. We also will have a chance to lead two sunday evening services as a team.
Okay, so the photos attached are of some of the weekends were Kindra and I would borrow a mini-cooper from the director of the school to go explore some local villages and the coast. The car is one of the most fun things to drive. We also have been getting some small pockets of sunshine so we have taken some more photos of the castle. I might post later today because we are heading out on a hike since it is one of the first few days to feel like spring! Alright, we are heading out to go hiking but enjoy the pictures.

More Pictures!

I thought I would post some more pictures from our time in England as well as other travels. The first two are from a mountain climb we did with two other friends. The third is a typical day of school...Kindra having tea or coffee while working on a paper on a book of the Bible. And the fourth I took while walking near the school and spotting some horses. Enjoy!

Slovenia is much cooler than we thought!

We arrived in Slovenia almost three weeks ago and yes, Slovenia is a much cooler place than originally expected. I was not even sure where it was until finally looking at a map since Kindra and I would be spending Christmas and New Years there. Anna, Kindra's best friend, has set us up quite nicely (as well as her entire team she works with here in Slovenia). One couple on the team has let us use their downtown apartment while they are in the US and it is quite the apartment. Since Kindra and I have not been in our home since last September, the apartment here has been a huge blessing. We can cook, sleep in, do laundry, watch movies, etc, etc. It has been great! And Kindra has had some time to hang out with Anna which has been cool since there are not really any woman her age at the Bible School in England.
We also celebrated our 2nd Wedding Anniversary in the mountains outside of the city of Ljubjlana at a place called Bled. We stayed at this great little bed and breakfast with views of the mountains and the main lake. The night of our anniversary we walked to the town along the lake, watched fireworks and did a little swing dancing to bring in the new year! It was a really fun night and felt like a huge blessing!
This Saturday we drive or train to Venice to catch a flight back to London and then head north back to school. We have roughly 2 1/2 months of school left and then we arrive back in the states on march 23rd. We really don't have much time left in Europe.

The Sun Keeps Shining!

Seriously, we have had so much sunshine here in England. We were expected it to rain everyday since we arrived and the majority of the time we have had sunshine. Granted, we are used to gray, rain, and a lot of it. So now that we have a bit more variety than the typical gray, we are loving it. We have had some great times in the outdoors since we have been here (pics to follow). Two weekends ago we went to the Lake District with a friend and did some hiking and had a cup of tea at an old slate shop that they have turned into somewhat of an outlet and tea house next to this great little creek. And then last weekend we ventured out with two guys who invited us to climb a 'mountain'. We didn't think too much of it since this is England but it was actually a nice sized mountain and quite a hike. We ended up being able to climb up two peaks that day. It was nice to get out despite the cold and rain and climb a mountain.
I apologize for not having pictures up for quite awhile so hopefully today I can get some more up. We are much more settled in and enjoying the time. Enjoy the pictures!

Capernwary Hall Photos

We wanted to post some photos of the actual Capernwray Hall castle and grounds. It is a pretty amazing castle and beautiful scenery within walking distance. It is nice to be able to walk out the castle doors and go for a 30 minute walk before dinner. And you don't even need to get into your car and drive somewhere. We also have been having beautiful weather since we have been here. Most days are a little cool but with plenty of sunshine.

Capernwray Hall. Rural England. And footpaths.

Yes, we are learning a lot about God, the Bible, ourselves, and community...but we also have stumbled upon another major discovery: Rural english footpaths. These have been our little retreats since stumbling upon them and God most definitely lead us to them! For those unaware with the english footpaths, they are quite different from the american hiking trails. You will be walking along a rural road and then there will be this little sign that says, 'public footpath'. You can miss them quite easily. Then they either start right there or they force you to walk through someone's driveway and to their fence. They have various forms of steps/ladders/openings through people's fences and then they open into some field. The interesting part is that it is usually not clear where the path is or the next fence ladder. The public footpath meanders through people's fields and meadows and then onto the next person's field or meadow and the trick is finding the next small sign which locates the next segment of the path. It is usually not obvious at all. Kindra and I have had some great walks through the english countryside via these public footpaths. Tomorrow we are going walking on a new one which supposedly leads to an old stone tower that looks out over the countryside. Yes, I know....these footpaths are awesome!! The posted pics are of the various hidden signs and paths.

We made it to England alive and well!

So Kindra and I have made it to England alive and well. We arrived in London on Wednesday morning, September 25th and then made our way from the airport to the city to start the next mission...finding a place to stay. It seems we move from one adventure or unknown event to the next and it has definitely grown our faith and trust in God. We found a great little bed + breakfast just south of Westminster Abbey and Parliament....and we discovered what simple people we were. The breakfast kept us there three nights....it was fantastic. The English do have some subtle variations in their traditional breakfast. One being baked beans and the other stewed tomatoes. We did enjoy our time in London despite our weak american dollar. We hit the main tourist spots, saw a play ( Billy Eliot ), ate at a couple pubs, and adjusted to the english accent. We recovered from jet lag and then made our way north at the end of the week to the school. This also a test publish to see how things look with images.