Visit with the Harmons

Greetings in the name of the Lord,

This past Saturday we had the opportunity to see some of the ‘locks’ that are a part of the British Royal National Canal system.  Way back in the 1700’s the canal system reached its peak.  The idea was promoted by Mr. Josiah Wedgwood (ever heard of Wedgwood china and pottery?) who wanted to not only supply his company with materials and a growing market, but saw into the future of the Industrial Revolution.  Up until that time a horse drawn cart could move maybe 3 tons of goods or materials.  But with the canal system, the same horse could now tow a barge that carried over 30 tons, an increase of over ten times.  Of course, now horses no longer pull along the canals.  Trucks (lorries), trains and airplanes have taken over the cargo business.  Anyway, as we visited the locks, a forty foot narrow boat was entering the locks at the top end.  A retired school teacher purchased the boat to enjoy his leisure days and nights.  He had a mate with him whose job it was to open the locks so the boat could continue on their journey south.  We were about 114 miles north of London.  Traveling at a speed of 4 miles an hour (or going through 4 locks in an hour) our new friend could make it to Bristol (85 miles) by early October!  His boat, the Brian (his middle name) was equipped with a small kitchen, bedroom, bath, and a TV (all the comforts of home).  I have no idea where his deck hand slept.  We were invited to get on the boat and ride with the captain through the locks (while the deck hand manuvered the lock mechanisms).  The lock system was old with valves that needed to be hand cranked, then the gates had to be physically pushed open or closed.  When the valve was opened, a rush of water came in filliing up the lock and when the gate was open, we were allowed to enter.  When we were finally set, the gates were closed, the valve at the bottom end of the lock was opened allowing the water be released and our boat gradually began to lower.  When we got to the level for the next section, the bottom gate was opened and we could move out into a holding pond in preparation for the next lock.  These same steps had to be repeated for each of the locks.

The spiritual lessons struck me right away.  Here we are as God’s people on our journey to a safe harbor.  But along the way there are many obstacles, things that can hinder our progress and impede our journey.  The evil one wants to see us come to a complete stop at just the sight of a maze of hindrances.  But our Heavenly Father desires us to use those same obstacles as opportunities to grow into the likeness of Jesus Christ.  With the help of our mate (Jesus), we can conquer every obstacle and get to our destination.  When we enter a ‘lock’, Satan wants to make things as difficult as possible for us.  He desires that we get frustrated at the time it takes to get anywhere.  We want instant spiritual maturity  Satan wants us to get depressed over lack of progress.  Here in England over 31 million prescriptions were issued for depression this past year (that is one prescription for every two people).  There are signs when we are depressed: that cloud that hangs over us has been picked up by Doplar radar and is broadcast on the 6 o’clock weather report; you find you’re talking to yourself and you are not even interested in what you have to say; you want to watch a comedy on TV so you tune to see Congress in action; you discover that you have a 5 o’clock shadow and you don’t care and you are a woman; The employer who three months ago said you were indispensable, suddenly dispenses you; Your Credit Card gets rejected at the church car wash; you start crying uncontrollably during the bonus round of Jeopardy; your daughter elopes with the leader of a motorcycle gang who has twice as many tattoos as brain cells.  It has been rumored that in the story of Snow White, there are only six dwarfs.  Happy is just  Grumpy on Prozac.  Depression gets all of us at some point or another.  Satan knows if he can get us depressed or sidetracked, he can really slow us down.  I noticed our Captain friend had a map of the canal system on his boat.  I wondered why.  Then I found out that there are over 4,000 miles of canals in the system.  Satan would love to get us on the wrong waterway.  But God has a plan for each of us and a map (Bible)  to chart our way and a wonderful guide (the Holy Spirit) to pilot us.  The locks are stepping stones to help us reach new levels in our Christian life.  Whatever the evil one has planned to hinder us, God wants to use the same hindrance as a growth opportunity.  I am not sure that Leonardo Da Vinci had all of this in mind when he invented the lock system back in the middle ages.  God does His part, but we have to do our part.  Paul reminded us to “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who works in us to accomplish His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:12-13, Revised Harmon Version).  We have to work out what God works in.  If we try to work out what God has not worked in us, it won’t work out.  So as Satan desires to stop our progress (locks), God uses the same things to help us to grow (God is always at work in our lives).  You know that the Christian life is not always easy.  But it is worth it.  Every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before.

On Sunday, June 10th, Robert “Bob” Hutton is to be baptized.  He came to faith a few weeks ago.  He has been very busy working on his testimony.  Keep him in your prayers.  Last Sunday, Jenny Weale shared her testimony about how after the death of her husband, she came to faith in Christ.  The Lord helped her through her grief and in the process she found a wonderful, caring and loving church.  Henley Baptist Church is such a place.  God is at work.  Keep us in your prayers as we wind up our first 6 months here.  God has been so good.  We are so grateful to the Lord and to the folks at Henley for giving us the opportunity to serve here.

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NADINE’S  CORNER

More Vocabulary:

FROGS                                      French People

FULL MONTY                             The whole shebang. Everything.

GAMMON                                   Ham

GOODS WAGON                         Freight Truck

HEATH                                        Open treeless land

IRONMONGER                             Hardware store

JOE BLOGGS                               John Doe

KNACKERED                                Exhausted

LADYBIRD                                    Ladybug

LADY FINGERS                             Okra

LOO                                             Toilet or bathroom

NAPPY                                          Diaper

NATTER                                        Talk and Talk

NOUGHTS & CROSSES                  Tic-Tac-Toe

PLASTER                                       Band-Aid

Funny, aren’t they?  But guess what, the British think our sayings are pretty funny too!  More next time.

We went to Oxford on Friday (8th).  It was a great experience!  Did you know that there are 37 different Colleges there?  It’s amazing.  Of course they’re all very old, steeped in tradition and very beautiful.  We were privileged to be present for a historical moment.  A new Bishop was to be installed in Oxford and the entourage came marching right up to the Christ Church gates where we were standing.  A local that was standing there by us told us what was going on. Let’s face it….for these greenhorn yankees, it was an honor to witness such a historical moment in a “faraway land”.

Well, there are just so many moments that are special here for us.  We hope to be able to remember all of them so that we may share them with all of you as the days go by when we return home.

Thanks for your wonderful prayers.  They’re working!  My Dad is really doing well and he knows it’s because of all the prayers that have gone up on his behalf.

We love all the comments that we get regarding our blog site so feel free to comment.  Or just send us an e-mail.  We’re always checking for “letters from home”.  We have had long lost friends get in touch with us because they found our blog.  It’s really a small world, isn’t it?

We’ll be back in Virginia July 14th, so be sure and keep us in your prayers on that day!  I really really really hate that long flight.  I’d much rather be watching DVDs or going sightseeing or going shopping or …. or ….  or ….  oh me!

God bless you all.  We love you.