L'Abri

So, here I am at L'Abri. How to describe it; that is the issue. Perhaps the best way is to share an excerpt from my journal entry on Thursday, May 19:

"Yesterday was my first full day at L'Abri. When I first got here, I felt very nervous. I just didn't know what it was going to be like, and that is scary for me. It made me cry out to God even more. I tried to come in and do what I normally do-- take the initiative in meeting people and starting conversations. Turns out, I love it here. The first night, everyone had dinner together, and we had people from the UK, the US, South Africa, and Australia. That first taste of community and conversations made me so excited for the the next three months. It's hard to describe exactly what makes it so wonderful, but you know when you get here that God is at work. The grounds are rustic and lovely, as well, which is inspiring to the senses. I won't be meeting with my tutor until tomorrow. Nevertheless, I was excited to dig right in and start with Mere Christianity, which I have been wanting to read for a while. I found that I enjoyed the study time immensely and was not ready for it to end."

Sights

Bruce and Bonnie, the relatives I stayed with for my first five days in England, were so kind to take me to visit many lovely sights. Here are a few pictures: 

Flights and Delays...

My family and I arrived at the Kansas City airport an hour and a half early for my 6:50 am flight. Everything went quite smoothly, and we said our tearful goodbyes. When I boarded the plane, however, we had an hour weather delay before takeoff. This brought me into O'Hare too late to catch my 8:55 am flight to Heathrow. The next flight was not until 6:00 pm. I proceeded to find a secluded corner and see if I could get some rest. My mother and I had spent most of the previous night finishing up last-minute details, so I was slightly sleep deprived. I was able to get some sleep and spend time reading the Bible and journaling. I also walked back and forth a lot and now feel quite familiar with the K and L sections of O'Hare's terminal 4.

Here I am, feeling pretty good for having spent nine hours waiting in the airport.

Long story short, I arrived safely in London, I located my luggage and got through passport control without too much difficulty. My second-cousin and his wife "collected" me at the airport and brought me to their home. I will be with them for several days before I go to L'Abri. Stay tuned for many more updates to come...   

Welcome

Hello and welcome to my blog! I am excited to be able to share my adventures with my friends and family.   Here is my itinerary, although some of the exact dates and details are still being confirmed.  
May 11--Flying from Kansas City to Heathrow Airport, England
May 17-Aug 13 Attending L'Abri in Greatham, England
Aug 14- Sept 3  Kruiningen, Netherlands serving missionaries
Sept 3- Oct  2  Bucharest, Romania--Serving at least 2 different missionary groups in Romania.  Plans are still in process.
Oct 2-17  Budapest, Hungary--working with Campus Crusade
Oct 17-Nov 4  Bedford, England--Serving with a church ministry
Nov 4  Fly out of Heathrow Airport, England


I can't even put into words how grateful I am to God for this opportunity and for the overwhelming support and prayers from my family, relatives, friends, and fellow believers. To each one who has helped and encouraged me in this journey-- I appreciate you, and I thank God for you. This trip is, no doubt, and a great gift of God, and I want to keep Him at the forefront in everything.  


I have been reading in Ephesians, and these are the verses I wrote in my first journal entry on this trip:  


Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ....to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us.  
Ephesians 1:3, 6-8


Here's the first of many pictures for you:

A very cleaned-up photo of the packing process. :)

There is suitcase number three on the right. The first suitcase was all packed and then we found a rip in it. The second (on the left) was brand new, but had a bad zipper. And finally, number three, in a nice maroon color.  

The final version. One suitcase and a carry-on for six months! Of course, I wouldn't have been able to have half of the stuff that's inside if my mother hadn't worked her packing magic on it. I also have my small harp in a flight case, but I didn't get a picture.