TWO MONTHS HAVE PASSED
Two months have passed since we first arrived. Daffodils have bloomed. Spring has sprung. So, why does it still look like winter? We’ve had snow (a little), ice (a little), rain (a little), sun (a little), and much to do (a lot). Since we last wrote, we have visited Worcester Cathedral (pronounced Wooster Cathedral), Banbury, several new tea shops, and Warwick Castle (pronounced Warrick Castle). We have attended some concerts: The Warwickshire Symphony Orchestra played in Stratford upon Avon; a trio of young musicians from the Czech Republic played Baroque music in a village called Moseley (the guitar player played what looked like an eight foot stringed instrument); and last Sunday we went to Birmingham to hear the Symphonic Orchestra. It consisted of their string section only. There were 40 in the group, and I discovered that 19 of them were wearing glasses (A little trivia for you). Sometimes I get a little distracted! One of the symphonies was written by a young man (he was 18 years old at the time it was written) who appeared for a bow at the end of the concert. We were quite impressed.
Things are getting busier in the next couple of weeks with Easter on the horizon. On Thursday this week, I will lead a Lenten class at the local Church of England. As an American and a Baptist, I have not had many dealings with Lenten things. When someone mentions Lent, I start looking to see if there is any thread or string or fuzz on my sweater!
For Easter, we will have a Good Friday Breakfast at our church (for the community), then march to the Market Cross for a service of hymns and readings, then back to our church for the Good Friday service. Each of the local pastors will participate (Anglican, Catholic, Methodist, and I will do the preaching). Then, on Easter, we go up a nearby hill (called “the mount”) for communion at 8 am, then our special Easter Service at 11 am. It is a shame, but in England, Easter is no big deal. Unlike the States where almost everyone attends Easter Service, hardly anyone from the community makes any effort to attend. This is something that we have been praying about and I have asked the church to join us in praying that this year we might promote the service in such a way that folks in the community will attend. Easter is at the heart of the gospel (as Paul said, if Christ is not risen we are still lost in our sins). Easter is all about what God has done, the celebration of the Risen Lord and His victory over death and hell. We have the Good News to share and we must figure out a way to do it so the message is shared with the entire town. Easter is all about hope and the eternal grace of God. Easter is about Jesus. The message of Easter is for more than those who already know the story. It’s a message worthy of the ears of every man, woman, youth, and child on this planet. God has this whole world on His heart. The message of Easter is still the hottest topic we have to share.
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It has been an exciting two months. I have had the honor of playing the piano, along with the organist (she’s wonderful). We hit it off immediately and have fun playing together during our Sunday morning services. I also sing with several of the ladies now and then. We have a good time making “joyful noises unto the Lord” !!
We’ve seen some great sights since we wrote last and are still investigating new and wonderful places. We have had to slow down a little since we first came. Dick is getting too old to keep up with me! So now, we only have a long Friday every other week (mostly). But our friends Stan and Wendy Gregory still take us to lunch and touring around the local spots every Saturday. It’s pretty great stuff.
We are enjoying the differences in our languages (even though it’s all “English”). The English put the syllable in different places and spell things a little differently. It’s very interesting to see how the dialects change from one location to another. I guess it’s kind of like being from Texas or the deep south compared to Californians and Virginians / S. Carolinians. It’s really a lot of fun. We come in contact with quite a few Scots and we enjoy listening to them as well. There have only been a few that we cannot understand and it’s usually because they talk so FAST. We’re still hanging on the first word and they’re through with their sentence! Did you know that WE have an “accent”?? It’s so fun to have someone tell us they “love” our accent! What a hoot!
You couldn’t find a better, more loving group of people than here in Henley. We are so honored to have been placed here. Boy, God just keeps gettin’ better ‘n better !! They felt sorry for this little Yankee because there was no clothes dryer here (many people don’t have one) and so our friends Stan and Wendy brought one over and installed it for us! Hey….I’m in hog’s heaven. I’ll never take my clothes dryers for granted again! We constantly had the wash drying all over the upstairs bedrooms and in the bathroom. Had to do a major move to take a shower on wash day!
They have all been so expressive with their love and have shown great concern for our happiness.
When we found out that my Dad has lung cancer, they immediately insisted that we go home if we needed to and they wanted to pay our way (as long as we came back to them!). They also insisted that I call my Dad as often as I want to. This is another great example of how they have expressed their love to us.
By the way, my Dad is doing really good for the time being and I’m so grateful to our Heavenly Father for taking care of him while I am not able to! He has to take a series of 35 radiation treatments. He has taken almost 2 weeks of it already and has had no side effects yet. He met a woman who had taken the same treatments and she told him she did not have any side effects at all. So we’re hoping that he can say the same at the end of his treatments. We appreciate your prayers and concerns. Thank you.
To those of you who helped make this journey possible financially, thank you, thank you, thank you!
We love you.
