Foraging

One of the best things about being in London this year is getting to spend time with my sister and brother-in-law, who moved an 1 hr train away shortly after I arrived. That has been a big blessing!
R and N are quite the chefs and are always trying new recipes and foods. Everytime I have visited them, I have had my palate opened to a whole new experience, from venison to ox tail to celery root to many other delicious things. This past Saturday was no different. I trained it out for a short visit and was told that we were going to go "foraging". So we got into the car, went out into remote, beautiful English countryside, and began picking things out of the ground that I had never known were edible. At one point I turned around to see my sister munching happily on a dandelion! And at the end of the walk, we picked 1/2 bag of stinging nettle (kind of like poison ivy), the plant that everyone despises and fears. I dove into a patch of it when playing frisbee in Ireland a few years ago, and it was not pleasant. But apparently nettle soup was said to be delicious, so after "foraging" around, we went back and made it. And once again, my sibs introduced me to a wonderful new dish!

A woman who I have been talking to in the market for the past 5 months came to the Easter service this afternoon, and brought her little daughter! She sat next to me and said, "I believe in God. I'm trying to know Jesus." I asked her what's stopping her, and she said, "Reason... My reasoning. But my little girl definitely believes in Jesus." We talked for a while, and then the service started, and I stood next to her and heard her singing her heart out. My team leader and wife and I are hoping to have her and her daughter over for dinner in a couple weeks.

I'm realizing more and more that there really is a spiritual banner over my head that says that I belong to Jesus ("His banner over me is love"). This afternoon, while I was getting ready to set up for our Easter egg outreach, I had another hard encounter with a woman. I had seen her lying in the bushes by the local Camden parish, and I went up to her and said hi. She got angry and told me to leave her alone. Then she came right up to my teammate and I a few minutes later, got angry and yanked her shirt up, exposing herself to everyone standing there. It was really sad. I'm just feeling very aware that there's a spiritual battle going on and satan is not liking what we're doing. That was sad to see.

Easter Sunday in Camden

This morning, before heading to the Camden Community joint church service, I went to the market. My team leader and I were going to meet with a trader who wasn't able to come to church and read a bit of John with her. This is what I saw when I walked into the market on Easter Sunday morning...



The place was absolutely packed. I wanted to get up ontop of a bench and yell, "Guys, He's risen! Stop shopping and come celebrate with us!" I didn't have the guts to do that, but it was kind of sad to see SO many people spending Easter Sunday shopping around a market.

One of my teammates and I were out flyering by the big local Sainsbury's (grocery store chain) in Camden this afternoon. We were inviting families to the Easter egg hunt we're doing at the local parish next door to the store, as well as the joint Easter worship service that we're doing afterwards with other small churches in the area.
A lot of people took flyers and seemed interested. But one woman came right up to me, before she even saw the flyer and knew what I was handing out, and said, "I don't believe in God. I believe in myself." Then she walked away. I wasn't saying anything that would mark me as a Christian, and the flyers don't have massive print that says, "This girl believes in God." So how did she know what I was about? She then went over to the other side of the street and gave a piece of her mind to my teammate. He said it was a pretty discouraging conversation. How did she know to go right over to where he was? There were a TON of people along the street, and he wasn't saying anything, either, that'd say that he was flyering for a church. There is definitely a spiritual battle going on here.

I am so thankful that Jesus died for my sins, and that He loves me!

You alone can rescue.
You alone can save.
You alone can lift us from the grave.
You came down to find us,
Let us out of death.
To YOU ALONE belongs the highest praise!

You have made a way.
The great divide You healed
For when our hearts were far away,
Your love went further still.
(Matt Redman)

5.5 days until my pals come!!!!! So looking forward to some of "home" being in England for a week.

Dear well-dressed British businessman,

I saw that look of agony and dismay on your face as you jumped through the horde of tourists on Oxford Street today, and I felt your pain. I will join you in signing my name to any of those petitions that request that a barrier be put down the middle of the sidewalk to keep the shopping tourists to their own pace. I really don't want to keep stepping on their heels.
Hope you made it home,
E

Palm Sunday Walk up Camden High Street

This is a typical site that I see as I walk across this bridge on my way home and peer over Camden Lock- teens, and lots of them. They're there on the weekends at all hours, sitting/standing in circles, drinking beer, and hanging out. I'll walk by at midnight after Saturday night tea outreach, and they'll still be there talking. Sometimes I wonder if they have parents who know and care where they are and what they're doing. I want to reach out to them and show them the love of Jesus. I've passed this site for 10 months now, and I just don't know how.


Last weekend, two of my musically gifted teammates and I went down to this area of the lock, sat down with our guitar and djembe and began singing worship songs.

The place was PACKED with young people. Some of them began sitting closer to us, one coming right up and sitting by my drum. He told us that he had grown up in a Baptist church and had been really involved, but had thrown it all away when he was 18. M told us that him and God had been fighting for a long time and that M had given up on Him. My teammate said, "Well, Jesus has never left you." M went very quiet, bowed his head, and said, "Thank you. Maybe this was His will that I would run into you today. Maybe I needed to hear this." I gave him a flyer for our Easter service next week. I'm praying that he'll come. I'm also hoping that this will become a regular thing and will lead to many more conversations about Jesus with other young people down by the canal.