you mean...I get to speak in English!?

The day finally came. I travelled to a different country...and completely understood everyone and everything around me. PTL for England. Seriously. This was the last trip that I got to have in Europe with my great friends Kevin and Spencer. They are both studying in Canterbury, England....so guess where my first stop was! That’s right, you guessed it. My friend Lisa and I flew into London on Thursday night and after a FREEZING cold 5 hour wait (I will never complain about the cold weather in Southern Spain again...well...I’ll try not to), we caught the bus (or coach) to Canterbury to spend a day there with the boys. If you don’t know them, Kevin and Spencer are the best hosts EVER. This trip, I didn’t have to research like a mad person how to get from place to place. Kevin met us at the bus station and took us back to the University of Kent where they study and brought us to the kitchen where Spencer was waiting with a few of their English friends and plates loaded up with hashbrowns and pancakes. Now THAT’S what I’m talkin’ about!!! What a wonderful welcome. After a hot shower and a bit of rest, the boys took Lisa and I into town to see the sights of the city. By the way, Canterbury is now officially one of my top five favorite cities in the world. I love it even more than I love Paris. That’s a LOT. Think stereotypical green English countryside, English accents, and a quaint little English town and you have Canterbury. To say that it is beautiful is the biggest understatement ever. Honestly, if I hadn’t wanted to learn another language, I’m sure I would have chosen to study there too. We explored the town and saw the old Cathedral, got Kevin a raccoon hat, ate some fish and chips, watched the sky turn dark at like 4:30pm (waaaaay too early), saw the King’s school (which is the oldest school in the world that still is running today), and then headed back to their place for my MUCH anticipated homemade macaroni and cheese and a giant pizookie for dessert. Did I mention that I LOVE my friends?! 

Beautiful Canterbury

The Cathedral

Lisa and I!

FISH AND CHIPS!

King's School

The next day we all got up early and took a bus back to London to spend the rest of the weekend there. One of Kevin and Spencer’s English friends came with us too. His name is Doug. And he’s awesome too. We had a fun group, that’s for sure. After buying tube passes, we went all over the place. See?

British Museum

Big Ben. Of course. 

Westminster Abbey

Winter Wonderland

Sunday morning marked our last day, and we were all leaving at different times. Lisa had to leave first :(. But afterwards, the boys and I still had time to go to church. Oh. But not just any church. HILLSONG LONDON. For reals. I know, right!? Thank you JESUS. And it was absolutely amazing. We were all beyond stoked to go, and after the service it really reminded me how much I love being in the family of Christ. This time here in Europe, Jesus has really been teaching me about isolation. I’ve learned what it means to be conscious of the fact that my relationship with Him is solely dependent on how intimate I want it to be. For the first time in my life, I feel like I have begun to understand the beauty of silence, and also how to grow as a Christian in that environment. However, community is also a wonderful, wonderful thing, and it was a pleasure to get to take part of that one in London. It was so encouraging to be there and it also made me really really excited to come back and see my own community in California. After the service, it was time to say goodbye to English, to London, and to the boys and return to Spain. 

HILLSONG. YES.

It was such a fun and joy filled weekend, to say the least. It amazes me each day that God has blessed me with such opportunities, and more importantly, with such friends. They may be in the same program together, but it’s so clear to me that God is teaching both Spencer and Kevin their own unique lessons. They are each getting their own story, just as I am getting one. Everytime I see or talk to them, I get so excited to hear about what God is teaching them. How He is growing them. How He is providing for them. And how He is proving to them how great and mighty He is more and mroe. These are my favorite kinds of stories. Just so you know.