Posts made in May, 2008

Sunday in England

Posted by Caroline on May 19, 2008 in The Backpack | 2 comments

Front: Amy, Morgan, Christi, me, Rachel, Amanda. Back: Todd, Alison, Geoff, Billy, Kyle

I’m learning quickly.  Today I asked a little boy in the church where the bathroom was.  With a confused look on his face he told me he didn’t think the church had one.   I came to find out that bathroom literally means a room with a bathtub, not a restroom.  Also, pants are underwear; silverware are cutlery; plates are crockery, and a sandwich with an egg in it is a fried body. yikes.

On the plane, there was a 1/7 chance that I would end up in a seat that was neither aisle nor window, and sure enough, that’s where I sat.  It was fine though because I slept the entire plane ride; the Tylenol PM did its job.  However, I’m pretty sure that my neck was in positions that it was not ever meant to be.  Let’s just say today my body feels like I worked out a lot yesterday, which I obviously did not.

At about 3:00 this afternoon we met our host families.  Amy and I are staying together with the sweetest couple.   Coming and living in the home has opened up the culture in a new way, and I’m incredibly grateful that church members have allowed us to interupt their weeks.  Joan, my host ”mother” (and Amy definitely called her mom), is full of quotes that I need to write down.  She was telling me that Americans are in dire need of good bread and that her chocolate trampled anything American.

This is a picture of the home we’re staying in for the week.

Yesterday Kyle, our leader, received another request for a lesson to be taught to Year Nines (high school freshmen) at All Saints.  This is an Episcopal school, but being that it’s funded by the government, the teachers are still very limited on what they can say.  Kyle  gave the assignment to Todd and me.  The topic is broad: why  might people believe there is a God, with emphasis on intelligent design, causation, and then leading into matters of life and death (abortion, euthanasia, heaven and hell).  Seems confusing, right?  That’s almost verbatim what we were given.  Todd and I worked on putting together a presentation on our 3 hour train ride, and our goal was to not get caught up in science, but present our God has a living, active, and personal God.  Our approach is to lead into this question: ”What is the difference between believing in God and being a Christian,” and then sharing how our faith in God results in our stand on other issues.  This is going to open the opportunity for personal testimony and discussion, and we will teach the 50 minute class three times tomorrow.  We met with the teacher from All Saints, and he encouraged us to go in boldly, because sadly, he could not himself.

The rest of our team will be spread out elsewhere teaching other lessons… not a dull moment!

Prayer Requests:

1.  That students would engage in our lesson.

2.  The teacher was sharing that the students are drawn to ”real” people.  Pray that they would see Christ in us clearly.

3. That we would be articulate and BOLD.

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Day before Day 1

Posted by Caroline on May 17, 2008 in The Backpack | 2 comments

Even though I watched the season finale of THE OFFICE last night, I find myself sitting here watching it again.  This time though, I’m watching it with my precious family in Tulsa.  Within minutes of dinner, our affection for the show surfaced, so we made plans to watch it (and here we are!)  Tonight was filled with good food, dancing, a walmart run, and well… THE OFFICE. 

Abigail, my pathfinder, is being a good sport.  My final destination tomorrow is Middlesbourough, England, located about 30 minutes from the northern border.  However, my route there is far from being practical.  Less than three days ago I traveled from Baylor to Springfield with my entire dorm room crammed in, and today I retraced my steps (or road?) to Tulsa.  Tomorrow morning I’m flying back to Texas to meet the group from Highland Baptist, and then together we’ll fly to Chicago and then to England.  I have my charged ipod, pillow, earplugs, eye mask, and gum packed for the marathon flight over to England.  With some serious jet lag, a couple hour train ride will land us in Middlesborough.

Preparation for this trip has opened my eyes to the ever-so-present yet rarely awknowledged spiritual battles that are constantly raging.  My purpose has been clearly defined over the past few months of preparation; my purpose in going to England is to proclaim the message of Christ to a spiritually dead city.  Over the past view days, I’ve been reminded that this spiritually dead city is filled with lost souls that God has plans to reach and souls that the devil is not going to easily give up.  You know that feeling where you’ve prepared for an exam the best than you can, but you still know it’s going to be incredibly difficult?  I have that feeling combined with an overwhelming peace that comes from knowing that it’s not me, but an all-powerful God with a mission who MUST do the work.

Assuming that I have Internet connection, I plan on updating this blog.  I’m also going to attach prayer requests, knowing that prayer is the backbone of this trip.  Thanks so much.

1. Please pray for safety and the timeliness of the flights. 

2.  For rest on the flight and an easy transition with the time change.

3.  for continual awareness of opportunities to share Christ even before reaching England

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