Sunday, August 31, 2008

I'm Here in England!

August 28, 2008
Greetings!

I have been in England for 2.5 days now, and I’m really enjoying myself. I arrived at Heathrow Airport in London around 9:00 am and breezed through immigration. I then had just enough time to say goodbye to my fellow YAGMs, grab a hot cocoa (paid for it in pounds J ), and get picked up by a wonderful gal named Tracy. Just a quick note – in the US, when ordering fast food or coffee, the barista says ‘for here or to-go’, here, the phrase is ‘drink here or take-away’. I got very confused and had to ask the barista what she had said 3 times. She finally had to explain the whole concept – I was slightly embarrassed. Immediately following, I had to figure out how to get myself, my large cocoa, and my 2 giant suitcases across the coffee shop to an empty seat. That was interesting to say the least!
Anyway, Tracy picked me up and we drove on the left side of the road for about half-an-hour to St. Albans and the SPEC centre. Our first order of business was to have a cup of tea – it was great! Since that day I have had quite a few cups of tea, and also experienced the culture of tea breaks. As Simon, the youth worker, explained to me, it’s a way of processing and thinking through what you need to do. I have found this to be quite true. When people around the centre come to a mental road block, they have a cup of tea to think about it. I have come to really enjoy tea breaks, as they are my main opportunity to get to know the leadership staff, as they are working during the day.
Since the rest of the volunteers don’t arrive until tomorrow, I have been doing some odd jobs, as well as just hanging out quite a bit. I made a lot of beds today, and had a good chance to chat with my friend Anne-Marie from Poland who has volunteered at SPEC for the last 3 years. She is here for about a month to help with training, and then she is heading off to Uni (University) to study interior design. We had a very nice talk about studying what one likes, as opposed to what the ‘normal’ or ‘expected’ path of life might be.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

What I'm doing this year...

A quick overview of my upcoming year...

I am serving with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)'s Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) program. To make a long story short, through many interviews and 'get to know you' types of conversations, I have gotten a placement in the United Kingdom!

I will be serving in St. Albans, which is about a half hour north of London. The centre I am at is called the SPEC centre, a youth retreat centre of the Westminster Diocese of the Catholic Church. I'm not entirely sure what my position is like yet - more on that later (aka when I know).

It's been a long, but very rewarding and smooth process up to this point. It has been so easy working with the YAGM program and leadership, which is a huge blessing! And we are all finally here in Chicago for training! There are 38 of us that are all heading to different countries. There are 10 of us going to the UK, and other countries include South Africa, Kenya, Slovakia, Jeruselem/West Bank, India, Argentina/Urguay, and Mexico.

Prayer of St. Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury,pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen

When I'm Lost on the Road


My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
And the fact that I think I am following
your will does not mean that I am
actually doing so.

But I believe that the desire to please
you does in fact please you.
And I hope that I have that desire in all
that I am doing.
And I know that if I do this, you
will lead me by the right road
though I may know nothing about it.

Therefore will I trust you always
though I may seem to be lost
and in the shadow of death, I will
not fear, for you are ever with me
and you will never leave me
to face my perils alone.

Thomas Merton

Risk

This is a poem that was used in our training and we also used in the retreat last week. I feel it is very fitting for this adventure.

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach for another is to risk involvement.
To expose your ideas, your dreams,before a crowd is to risk their loss.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To live is to risk dying.To believe is to risk despair.
To try is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
The people who risk nothing, do nothing,have nothing, are nothing.
They may avoid suffering and sorrow,
but they cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love, live.
Chained by their attitudes they are slaves;
they have forfeited their freedom.
Only a person who risks is free.

Crisp Flavours.

England has an amazing amount and variety of Crisp (chip) Flavours! Here are a few of my favourites (like the English spelling :) )

Ready Salted
Cheese and Onion
Roast Chicken
Prawn Cocktail
Steak and Onion
Worcester Sauce

These are the normal ones that you'd find in a gas station. Crazy, isn't it?!

English Lingo

  • Lorry (Semi-Truck)
  • Rubber (eraser)
  • Ta (Thank You)
  • Cheers (Thank you)
  • Skip (dumpster)
  • Bin (trash can)
  • Drink (Tea)
  • Brew (Tea)
  • Cupper (Tea)
  • Chips (Fries)
  • Crisps (Chips)
  • Biscuit (cookie)
  • Chuft (Proud)
  • Lie in (sleep in)
  • Rubbish (trash)