TEXAS for the holidays!

I made it back yesterday afternoon after a horribly long flight. I left Teeside at 6am and had a layover in Amsterdam. I enjoyed some much needed Starbucks and taught myself a little Dutch and then I was off again! Rebecca was nice enough to pick me up from the airport, I was never so happy to see a friend! She brought me home (with an awesome funfetti birthday cake) and I was immediately hounded by my puppy who is nowhere near a puppy anymore. After a delicious dinner of homemade taco soup I did what anyone who had been traveling would do...I put up my christmas tree in my room!

Man it feels good to be home!

Day out in Guisborough

Yesterday I went and hung out with my friend Emily who has been doing youth work in London. She came home for her birthday, which was yesterday, and since she turned 18 it was time for a pub! We went and saw some of her friends at college and then went to check out this cute new pub called The Priory in Guisborough. I hadn't been to this town before and I instantly loved it. It's super cute with a church in the center and it has remains of the Gisborough Priory dating back to the 12th century. It was way too cold to go and fully see it, but I plan to when it gets warmer! 

Today I'm 22!

Yesterday was like having three birthdays in one day. I got a card and serenade in each youth group and in two of them I got a cake! 

Yummy marble cake with maltesers!

My second yummy chocolate cake!

Then today one of the lightning bolt leaders, Mandy, stopped by to tell me happy birthday. She brought me some pretty flowers and chocolate! Shortly after the vicar stopped by and brought me more chocolates! Then some of my EQ girls stopped by after school to serenade me and give me even more chocolates! Needles to say I have loads of chocolate and am feeling very blessed. 

And in less than a week I will be home in Texas for the holidays!

My week in photos

Tuesday I decorated another tree.

Thursday I came home to this...

Then I had my first mince pie!

 Saturday I started a new look. 

And today I made a Christingle! 

What is a Christingle you might ask? It is a symbolic candle made during Advent season in the church. It originated in Germany and is now done throughout England. The orange represents the world and has a a red ribbon around it representing the blood of Jesus. Dried fruits or sweets are skewered on cocktail sticks and pushed into the orange, representing the fruits of the earth and the four seasons. The candle is pushed in the middles and represents Jesus, the light of the world. 

Breaking News!!!

I'm going HOME for Christmas!!!

Totally unexpected, but my sister Sara Facebook messaged me on Thanksgiving asking me if I wanted to come home saying she would pay for my ticket. I was like uh huh sure. She told me she had talked with our Mom and Dad and traded presents for ME :) How incredible sweet and generous is that??!

So now I will be home for the holidays! I fly back in the 12th of December and leave to come back New Year's Eve because on the 2nd of January I go to Wales with YFC.

So thankful for my amazing family and feeling truly blessed to get to go home to them. Nothing like being at home for the Holidays!

This is our tree that I made Ste get out so I could decorate!  :)

Things to make you think...

Had an awesome life group (bible study) yesterday with nine girls! Yes nine! Normally I have around 4 or 5, but I talked to some girls who come to lightning bolts and convinced them to give it a try. We started the book of Hosea, about a man, Hosea, who is called to marry a prostitute, Gomer. The whole story is symbolic of God and the land of Israel. It's a great read if you haven't read it. 


One of my favorite verses is Hosea 2:14 "Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her." It's about how God is going to pursue Gomer (Israel) and make it new again like he did with the Israelites when he led them out of Egypt. We had a great discussion on the first three chapters then like most teenage girls do they got distracted...but in a good way. They started asking questions:


Do you believe in the creation story?
Do you think people can go to hell and then heaven?
Do you believe in ghosts/spirits?
Do you think Abraham lived to be as old as he did?


And then one piped in saying, "Sometimes I think people look too much into things."


Amen. 


I found this great quote yesterday:
‎
"These days the world is much more profound than the church. One frequently hears pagans asking really good questions: What is the meaning of life? Does life have a purpose? Meanwhile, we evangelicals make the most trivial queries: Is dancing a sin? Should we immerse, sprinkle, or pour? Is Jesus really coming back in November? Is Iraq Magog? Does that mean Saddam the Antichrist? While we're organizing conferences so we can talk about ourselves and give each other awards, the world is taking its questions elsewhere. The world does not take the church seriously today because the church is not serious." 

This if from a book that I am eager to read now called Putting Amazing back into Grace. Shocking thing is it was written in 1994. Not much has changed has it? Really gives us something to think about...

Club:EQ 11.11.11

Last night we put on our monthly Club:EQ but this time was extra special as it was the 5th birthday of the club and was a fundraiser for  BBC Children in Need. It's an annual British charity that since 1980 has raised over £500 million.We had seven acts over four hours. We had about 95 kids show up, raising about £379. It was a lot of fun and just as much fun to plan. I made badges for all the band members (and of course Ste and I). The plan had been to get them back and use them at the next event, but the kids were so eager to keep them so we caved. I also got to pick music to play in between sets and stuff. It was cool to somewhat DJ and see things from behind the sound desk. In the end the night was a big hit, but we definitely couldn't have done it without our awesome crew of volunteers!

Badges.

My spot at the sound desk.

First act in the cafe.

Evie, Rachael and Sophie.

Me and the girls!

 Pretty much describes our relationship...

Sophie and I.

Amelia, Liv and Mel.

 

Have you prayed about it?

Yesterday was a rough day. I would have blogged about it yesterday, but by the time I sat down I didn't have the energy, so that's why I am tackling it now. 

The day started off with your Monday YFC staff meeting. We met at Costa Coffee and shared what is going on with each of our projects and what we need prayers for. Mine were pretty heavy:

1. Our older youth group on a Monday night is all about games. It's lacking spiritual input and if we change it (which we are) then we will probably lose some of them. I want them to keep coming and I want the oder ones to branch off and seek out our other youth groups. 

2. I feel like a lot of the youth workers and people here have too much on their plate. They are stretching themselves too thin and starting up new projects when they haven't completely poured into the ones they already have.

So we prayed and talked. Mike Taylor, the director for YFC, made a really good point. We don't pray enough. If we put as much energy into praying as we do just talking then things might be different. God answers prayers, so why aren't we praying?

I found this verse last night and I think it fits perfectly with that: 

‎"Let your hope make you glad. Be patient in time of trouble and never stop praying." Romans 12:12

Following that meeting we had youth groups last night. I suggested that we sit down boys and girls separate and talk to the older ones about why they come, what they want from us and how they would feel if we implemented more of a structure into the group. Once word to describe this talk: heartbreaking. 

I was met by unresponsiveness, talking while I was talking and disinterest. It was very discouraging. Since they wouldn't really say much when prompted I handed them pieces of paper to express themselves anonymously. They wanted me to read them out loud so I did. Most of them said they wanted to just play games. It broke my heart. I told them we weren't going to make the group less fun just have serious moments and they didn't really like that. But then I mentioned spiritual talks and they said that was fine. What?! I was so confused. So we talked more and still they seemed somewhat indifferent. I'm sure we will lose some of them, but I am going to keep encouraging the older ones to come to bible study and EQ, etc. When Ste and I got home we were both pretty down and thinking if they don't care, why do we? But that's the thing we do care. We know we can make a difference, we just have to push on and pray. 

This comment by one of the girls gave me hope:

She added onto another girls note about playing games and wrote: 

We need GOD! Lightning Bolts is about God! 

All I could think was praise Jesus, someone gets it! One thing I have learned is working with young people is hard. It sucks at times, but then it's times like these that I think I wouldn't want to be doing anything else with my life right now. 

Remember, remember the fifth of November.

Saturday was Guy Fawkes Night or Bonfire Night. It is celebrated every year on November 5th. On the day in 1605 Guy Fawkes, a member of the Gunpowder Plot, was arrested while guarding explosives that had been placed beneath the House of Lords. Celebrating the fact that King James I had survived the attempt on his life, people lit bonfires around London, and months later the introduction of the Observance of 5th November Act was enforced. Tradition means that people light bonfires and set off fireworks every year on the day. In some instances children will go around asking "a penny for the Guy?". They take the coins and buy materials to construct a man to put on the bonfire and burn. Kind of weird, but that's what they do!


In honor of this me and my friend Heather went around to a friend of hers to celebrate. We watched fireworks and a big bonfire from her flat balcony. It was so strange to be experiencing fireworks in November. Felt like it should be July 4th or New Years! 

The big word. Future.

Do you ever have those moments where you think "what am I doing with my life?"

I think I am having one of those.

I know I am supposed to be here, in England, but I can't help wonder what comes after this. I'm bad at this. I'm somewhat of a planner and right now my only plan is England. Which is scary for me. And lately I find myself worrying a lot. Worrying about money. My family. Making an impact. My future. Purpose.

I feel like I have all these things on my to do list and hardly anything is getting crossed off.

Graduate.
Get a paying job.
Move out of my parents house.
Support myself completely.
Write again (for real).

See what I mean?

And I know what most of you are thinking...I'm young, I'm in a foreign country and I just need to embrace it and live. I have my whole life ahead of me.

I totally get that. But I still can't help but wonder what can be said of my 21 (almost 22) years of existence on this earth. I know the only thing I need to be worrying about though is the now. I need to be making the most out of things otherwise I'm going to look back and say that I spent a lot of time worrying and not enough time living.

"Many are the plans in a man's heart, 

but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails."

Proverbs 19:21

Movies and more movies!

Yesterday I met up with another Texan, Ben, in town for lunch and then we caught a film. The cinema here is weird and only offers a few showtimes a day and some times are only for the weekends so we ended up seeing Contagion. Wouldn't highly recommend it. It was somewhat long and shot almost like a documentary. Afterwards we met up with another Texan and a girl I went to UMHB with, Heather, and her friends who had decided to sneak into Footloose (we are such rebels). It was so good! Definitely not the original, but it was better than I expected. Made me miss home and my cowboy boots! 

Today I invited the girls (Mell, Evie, Jade, Lois, Katherine and Sophie) that I do bible study and Friday night youth club with over to the house for a fun and informal movie time. I told them to bring over some chick flicks and we would just hang out and have fun. We ate yummy sweets, chips and popcorn and watched two films: Bride Wars and The Holiday. Excellent choices if I do say so myself. We laughed, giggled, sighed and even boohooed! It was really great to hang out with them without the boys and have some quality girl time. They are all so much fun and I hope we get to do it again soon! 

Nunthorpe Village

After a nice lie in this morning I got up and decided to go for a walk. I went the normal route up to the church, but then found another footpath to the old side of Nunthorpe, Nunthorpe Village. I just love the footpaths (they usually cut through pastures) so I spent a good hour trekking through the area. The village was so quaint and cute.

My new friends.

While I was walking I kept seeing this peak. I thought it was another church so I got really excited. Once I made it to a clearing though I saw this:

 Isn't is absolutely beautiful???

I did some research and discovered that the house's name is Grey Towers. It was built by William Innes Hopkins in 1865. His second wife came from a landed family and he built Grey Towers to reflect her status. He was elected Mayor of Middlesbrough in both 1867 and 1868. He was also General Manager of the iron and steel firm of Hopkins, Gilkes and Co. who built the Tay Bridge, then the longest bridge in Europe and an engineering marvel of the time.  In 1879, the bridge collapsed during a bad storm just as a train was passing over it, killing 75 persons. Hopkins took most of the blame and as a result his firm was finished. In 1880, bankrupt and publicly ruined, the family. 

Sir Arthur Dorman became the owner in 1895, chairman of Dorman Long & Co Ltd, the renowned iron and steel makers. After his death the house went up for sale and was bought by 

Lieut.-Col T Gibson Poole who planned to use it as a 

s a sanatorium for consumptives (people suffering from Tuberculosis). Now the mansion is filled with apartments. So cool to find this gem just a couple miles down the road from me!

  

T is for tea

Today was such a good day. We had Christian Union at the senior school and one of our girls Lauren shared her testimony with the students and how she has felt the Holy Spirit in her life. She did so well. I was so proud of her. I could have never shared like she did at that age, especially around people I barely knew. So nice to see God shining in the students here!

Afterwards I headed off to town to see my friend Emillie! She has been working with Soul Survivor in London and popped down for a visit. We went to the cute little tea house in town. We tried strawberry kiwi tea this time and it was so yummy. Then we did some shopping. It was so fun to catch up with her and just have some girl time. Next time she comes down will be for her birthday, which is the day after mine! 

Loved this tea strainer!

Weekend Away

Just got back from a really fun weekend away with Ste's childhood youth group from St. Barnabas church in Linthorpe. We got invited to come and speak at their trip and I loved getting to meet some awesome new kids (aged 11-13). We left Friday evening and arrived at Wydale Hall. We actually stayed in another wing called the Emmaus Centre which has dorm like rooms. I bunked with four girls: Kirsty, Marybeth, Helen and another leader named Abbie. Kirsty told me I was the coolest American she had ever met...she assured me she has met quite a few. The weekend's theme was Journey to the Center of the Earth and was filled with songs, food, games, challenges and just overall fun. We were split into two teams Yellow and Red. I was in Yellow and we ended up winning, scoring just one point ahead of the Red team in all the challenges!

Ste and I had four talks to do between us so we decided to speak on the 4 points (www.the4points.com) which are God loves me, I have sinned, Jesus died for me and I have to decide to live for Him. I did the first and last talk and Ste covered the two in the middle. I was a little nervous about it, but it all flowed so well. I pray that God really spoke through us and the kids got reaffirmed in their faith or that things really hit home for the first time. Below is a piece of scripture I used from each of my talks. 

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."- Romans 8:38-39

"This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." -Deuteronomy 30:19-20

Below are some pictures from the weekend (see Facebook for more):

A ladybird (English name for ladybug).

Mom you would have loved this greenhouse on the grounds!

Me in the prayer garden.

Wydale Hall.

The view from the backside of the Hall. Beautiful. The dots in the background are grazing sheep. 

The front of the Hall.

Another view from the back.

And for a laugh...the teams were challenged to make love letters to me the first night (God is love) out of newspapers and magazines. Then they had to read them to me. 

Yellow

"I am falling in love with the perfect woman. You look hot. It is too late for love? You're a slice of heaven. You have the wow factor. Marry me Lauren!"

Red

"Wow, my hero! Take me to heaven. You look great. You're really hot. So good to know you. I'm in love. Waiting for you to call. I love you. Marry me Lauren? X"

The x "kiss" (with sound effect) won me over so Red team got a point!