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Friday, February 27, 2015

February festivities

We walked on top of a cathedral.
 

Hung out with the angels...
 


...up there.

 
Figured out that the less money I spend on food, the more I have for travel. The inevitable consequence of living on £10 a week for food is that you quickly amass an array of domestic, making-everything-from-scratch skills.
 

Ravioli, for instance.

 
In my moment of triumph as I dropped the ravioli into the water to boil, I realized that the pieces at the bottom of the bowl stuck together. So I took the natural course of action and baked it. It was strangely good.

 
Checked out the inside of Trinity College on a lazy Saturday,
 
 
and gawked at the Sir Isaac Newton memorial in the chapel.
 
 
Almost made it to the Bridge of Sighs, but we couldn't get into St. John's College (where it's located). But the Backs were lovely to walk through anyways.
 
 
Explored St. Edward's Passage,
 
 
and found a copy of George Herbert's poetry inside one of its old bookshops (IT'S NOWHERE IN THE STATES).
 
 
Met up with a new friend from church for a drink at The Eagle.

 
 
Went for a midnight walk through the city.
 
 
The chapel is....to use the cliché....hauntingly beautiful at night.
 
 
And looked back at it all on Castle Hill
 


Thursday, February 26, 2015

He restores my soul

Ely Cathedral
After going through the trifecta of death last semester (school/work, money, and interpersonal drama), I made no secret here of being worn out. Mercifully, by the time things in Milwaukee seemed a little too claustrophobic, I was boarding a plane that would keep me five months and an ocean away from ground zero. I could regroup in Europe and deal with whatever problems still lingered when I returned home.

In my anticipation for Europe, I didn't realize just how much of a balm living here would actually be. Nearly two months in, I see how God has given me a new perspective. My church here is going through Hebrews 11 on Sundays, and I am pointed to God's faithfulness week after week. I'm making godly friendships which I hope will last long after I fly home. And for a while, I'm living in a place I had always thought would simply be a daydream on my part. This spring, so far, has felt like a rest after a long period of struggle.

I wish I could go back to November Sarah and show her that God really does follow through on His promises. I'm living through Susannah Spurgeon's words: "He may make us sore, but He will bind us up." I asked God to build my faith, and He showed me that I had misplaced my trust in an assortment of earthly variables. That whole process hurts a lot. But instead of stopping there, He drew me back to Himself and showed me His goodness. He daily makes me more and more reliant upon Himself alone.

Someone shared this at the women's bible study the other week, and it's resonated with me ever since:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
     his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, 
    “therefore I will hope in him. 
The Lord is good to those who wait for him, 
    to the soul who seeks him.
It is good that one should wait quietly 
    for the salvation of the Lord.
It is good for a man that he bear 
    the yoke in his youth. 
Let him sit alone in silence 
    when it is laid on him;
let him put his mouth in the dust— 
    there may yet be hope;
let him give his cheek to the one who strikes, 
    and let him be filled with insults.
For the Lord will not 
    cast off forever,
but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion 
    according to the abundance of his steadfast love;
for he does not afflict from his heart 
    or grieve the children of men.
Lamentations 3:22-33

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Living the lifestyle of the rich and famous

To round up all my recent activities, here is the good old bullet-point list, in no particular order. Because those always make the most satisfying travel journals.
  • Been to three cathedrals: Ely, Salisbury, and Winchester.
  • Snuck into the crypt of a cathedral as they were closing.
  • Found a Roman oil lamp in an antique shop for £49. In that moment, I regretted being poor like I never had before. Lamp? Five weeks worth of food?
  • Stared at what they claim is King Arthur's Round Table.
  • Watched a swan try to swim against the current of the Avon River.
  • Checked out the ruins of a Roman villa.
  • Paid homage to Jane Austen at her grave.
  • Stayed at the home of strangers. TAKEN 4!!!!
  • Experienced an Anglican evensong service.
  • Tried authentic samosas, made by friends from Africa. So good.
  • Learned that "pants" does not mean the same thing in British as it does in American. For example, if you say "I haven't washed my pants in weeks," you will raise serious questions about your personal hygiene habits.
  • Attended a Lutheran baptism.
  • Met up with the student crowd at church, and found out that spotting Stephen Hawking around the university is almost a right of passage.
  • No, I haven't yet.
  • Saw Henry V at the Cambridge Arts Theater. I am now a culture snob and American Shakespeare plays (with the fake British accents) will never be the same again.
  • Had a dance party in our room. Ok so it was just Bethany and myself, but that totally still counts.
The pictures (in chronological order) (#historynerd):

 
Ely Cathedral. Since it was my first cathedral, the awestruck-ness is all over my face. Mid-afternoon was a beautiful time to come, with the light casting a golden hue throughout the place. Made me think of heaven. We were too cheap to pay the entrance fee, so we didn't get to explore much of the cathedral. However, this Saturday, my art class is going back, so I will finally get to see the famous octagonal lantern at crossing of the transepts.
 
 
On the balcony in the baptistery, there were stained glass windows depicting biblical love stories, like Isaac & Rebekah, Jacob & Rachel, Ruth & Boaz, etc. Very pretty.
 

Authentic ancient kitsch.
 
 
OVERNIGHT FIELD TRIP!!! Day #1: Lullingstone Roman Villa.
 
 
The Romans were stylin people. We took this picture for our honors professors back in the states. Look at us, all grown up. Also it just hit me how disturbingly shorter I am than anybody around me. No wait, I'm just funsized.
 
 
Down a path, about a mile away from the villa is a tiny village-castle-manor setup. I can't figure out what to call it. This is the "castle." From what I read of the signs, they've turned the bottom floor into public restrooms. Kind of shatters the illusion.
 
 
A quaint, blurry shot of the church.
 
 
Inside the church.
 
 
Last but not least, the manor house. And as these are the only three buildings around, I have no idea what this place was.
 
After this, we hopped back in our van and drove south of London until we hit Salisbury.
 
 
CATHEDRAL!!!
 
 
CLOISTER!!!
 
 
SARAH!!!
 
 
They have a George Herbert memorial window. afiuidvoafdh0rdghfboshfdbp
 
 
The coolest chapel I have ever seen.
 
 
This cathedral was absolutely stunning. Both powerful and elegant. The whole time, I was trying to wrap my mind around the possibility of something being this spectacular. I couldn't help thinking of the majesty and power of God.
 
 
The Little Swan That Could. He never actually made any progress, but I have faith in him.
 
 
Day #2: Fareham. It's near Portsmouth and Southhampton. The fieldtrip served a dual purpose. First, all the academics. Second, the particular Lutheran denomination I'm studying in while in England is really tiny. So our school organizes trips to visit different congregations around the country. It was a good setup for students like us, because members of the church fed us and put us up for the night. And we got to see all the cool cathedrals and such along the way. Free trip = no brainer. Anyways, this was the church we visited. TINY. And it was packed full because our hosts' granddaughters were being baptized.
 
After church, we drove to Winchester.
 
 
THE ROUND TABLE. Ok, so they know it's a fake from the 13th century, but that doesn't stop me from claiming I saw the Round Table. No indeed. Anyways, the great thing about this is that each knight's place is labeled. We found Lancelot, Gawain, Galahad, and Mordred. Pretty cool.
 
 
Winchester Cathedral. As we were walking up to it, the bells were ringing out and it lent a very joyful feel to the whole experience. I was so excited.
 
 
It's just as beautiful as Salisbury, but in a different way. A lot more feminine and botanical. The pillars melt into the ceiling and the ribs are decorated with flowers. It'd be easy to forget that this is all made of stone.
 
 
What I really came here for.
 
 
And I wasn't going to leave without a picture of Jane and I together at last.
 
 
The chapel after evensong.
 
 
The crypt. There's a random foot of water filling it.
 
All in all, a good trip.
 
Other random pictures:
 
 
 
The view when I walk to the divinity lectures. Except normally there isn't snow, because England is just a really cool place like that.

This picture has absolutely nothing to do with anything I've been talking about. But it made me way too happy.