It has been a while since I have posted! :( So this post will be somewhat long :/ One of the most surprising things that I have learned so far is that despite all of us being able to speak English..it is still so very different! I cannot keep count how many times we have had to ask people to repeat themselves or explain what a word means! haha One of the most interesting conversations I had was when a guy was talking about guinea pigs but I thought he was talking about his kids. Boy was that a shock! haha He did not get his kids stuck under the deck, just the pigs! :) 


Each night I am so blessed by my readings in God's amazing Word! The other night I was in Psalm 119 and God reminded me of His amazingness! My prayer for this entire trip has been that when people meet me that Christ's love would shine through me and that I would be a blessing to those around me. Well here is a little piece of what I read: verse 74 "May those who fear you rejoice when they see me, for I have put my hope in your word." Wow! that is my prayer for this entire time!


So the past few days have been relaxing and seeing some of the countryside. One of the guys from church took us on a walk to see the ruins of a church that was built in the 12th century. It was such a beautiful walk! This country is absolutely gorgeous!

Took a walk with our guide, Dave

Thanks Rach for risking your life to take that picture! :)

The 12th century ruins of Old Saint John's Church of Boughton

Poppies (a sign of hope) on the wall

I touched a REALLY old stone!!

Then it started to rain!!

We could not resist!

A castle which someone is actually living in!

They do have dirt roads! and it was a beautiful walk!

Fields of Poppies and corn

the EVIL plant!! (Stinging Nettles)

Detour! Down a public footpath

beautiful weeds that are taller that me!

 After we got back we were quite hungry and Mrs. Beth had cream tea for us! It was sooooo good! Scones with butter, jam, and cream! and of course some tea! I am getting hungry just thinking about it again! :)

Cream Tea!!!!

 On Sunday we took part in the service and read some Scripture. It was a child dedication service, so we had quite a few people there! As well as a group from Texas Baptist Seminary! After church we went over to a couple's house for dinner. It was delicious! I tried some very traditional English dishes: parsnips, beet root, roasted Jersey potatoes, and beef roast with strawberries and cream for dessert! Oh it was so good! and I liked all of it! The beet root was a little different but not too bad :) We had lots of fun with their two children! After dinner we went for a walk around their village of Billings.

It was a little chilly :)

Beautiful Poppies!

The Billings Parish Church

This house reminded me of some in the movies!

The village!

Yesterday we took advantage of the nice weather and went to the Foxton Locks! Since I live very close to the Tombigbee Lock and Dam, I was familiar with the principle of the lock system but this was very interesting! And we got to talk to some very interesting people while we were there!

Canal boats!

Such a good horse! ;)

Beautiful countryside

A snack of some ice cream! :)

Love them! 

The series of lock systems!

English sheep!

No I did not drive but boy did I scare Mr. David!

When we got back we went to help out at the church with the Boys Brigade. Rachel, Jennifer, and I were in charge of the games and activities. We played Upset the Fruit Basket, Ships and Sailors, and English dodge-ball (yes, it is quite different than the American version). The boys we helped with were from the ages 8-12. They were great! 

Upset the Fruit Basket

Go boys go!

Then we made paper airplanes

 While we were making the airplanes, all the boys in my group were asking me "what is the most aerodynamic form?" and I had NO CLUE! haha I have not made many paper airplanes! But we worked hard on our planes and afterwards we flew them to see whose went the farthest...ours lost :( so I asked the boys what they named their planes. Most of the names consisted of Fail, Bomb, or Crash but one was the Millineum (sp?) Falcon. haha We tried! :)

One, two, three....throw! :)

Such sweet boys! I loved my time with them and I am looking forward to next week to see them all again! Today, I just got back from a funeral. It was very sad. I am so thankful that God is the light of my life and that I know I will be with Him in eternity one day! Please be praying for us this week! On Thursday, Rachel, Jennifer, and I will be speaking in front of an assembly at the local secondary school about American culture. Pray that we would have the chance to share about how God is integrated into my culture and how He has changed our lives! This is such an amazing opportunity to share with others!