London On A Budget

We knew things in London were expensive.  We just did not know how expensive. 

Yesterday we did a walking tour of London.  We saw most of the things to see in one day.  From the outside.  It cost to go in everything, even the churches.  We started by walking from Dan and Linda's along the River Thames.  We crossed the Tower Bridge.  We stopped for coffee and a bagel near the London Bridge.  Continuing beside the river, we soon crossed over on the Millennium Bridge, a pedestrian bridge, which took us directly to St. Paul's cathedral.  We walked around that for a while and walked on down the street, seeing all sorts of sites.  Later we crossed back over the river and saw, not rode, the Eye of London.  Then we walked across the river again on the Westminster bridge, where we could easily see the houses of Parliament and Big Ben.  We walked around Parliament Square for a bit and around Westminster Abby.  All the while, I am clicking away.  Some of the buildings of which I took pictures, I don't even know what they are.  They are huge, massive, beautiful structures.

We continued making our way to Buckingham Palace.  Marc rested and I walked around taking pictures of everything I could.  We then strolled through peaceful Saint James Park.  With the help of the internet and maps, Marc says we walked about 10 miles.  I am comfortably assured of walking off last weekend's cream cake.

Today, we saw the Tower of London.  This is the only thing we are paying to see.  It was impressive.  Our guide was very knowledgeable.  I think most British are very polite, very well-dressed, very formal, very knowledgeable and very proud of their heritage.

I think tomorrow might be a day for museums since they are all free.

Terri

England

In August 2013 we will see the first team from England.  We are excited about this opportunity.  Right now we are spending time with those folks that plan on coming to Honduras to work next summer.  We are missionaries.  I was a bit hesitant about coming to England for several reasons, one being we are missionaries.  We used frequent flyer miles and here we are.

We spent the weekend near Nottingham.  Saturday we went to Chatsworth.  In a land of castles and queens, the story of Chatsworth is something of a fairy tale.  When one of the family members died, to pay the death taxes, all these little businesses were started.  A farm, a store, touring the mansion.  I believe it is the only mansion not home by the government.  When a family can't pay the death taxes, the estate must be turned over to the government.

We saw some of the countryside and small towns that are just so englishly charming.  We went to Bakewell and had famous Bakewell pudding.  I could, indeed, get use to the English life; mid-afternoon tea, cream cakes.  I will be hitting the treadmill hard next week.

It is cold this far north, but as is the case everywhere we have been, fellowship with other Christians is warm and sweet.  I continue to be amazed at how small this world is.  We met people with whom our paths have crossed before.  And there is always someone that knows someone we know, even in England.

We are off to London for a few days.  We will see Dan and Linda and spend a few days sightseeing before returning to Nottingham again for the weekend.

One of the very best things is I am really taking some time off.  I have not worked in any form or fashion since Thursday.   Yay me!

We are having a jolly good time.  

Prayers needed as Marc negotiates driving on the left side of the road.  We will park the car in an hour or so and not return to it again until Friday.

Terri

Five Years and Counting

Five years ago (technically, five years ago on Saturday- September 29, 2007) I arrived in Santa Ana.  I had been to Santa Ana several times, but this time was different.  This was the first time I arrived in the journey of calling Santa Ana home.  I had been on several mission trips to Honduras, but I was a bit scared to be moving there.  Well, perhaps I was more than a bit scared.  I had seriously prayed over the decision that Marc and I made.  I knew God would be watching over us every step of the way.  But, I was still scared.  And, I was so clueless.  Clueless as to what I was doing.

I am not sure what I thought I would be doing, but what I am doing is nothing like I envisioned.  I quickly found needs at Casa de Esperanza that needed to be filled.  I had the talents and the know-how to fill some of those needs and plunged into the tasks before me.  And, I fell in love with those precious children. Those children are my life now.  I continue to be amazed how God brought Karen and I together.  Her strengths and weaknesses and my strengths and weaknesses form a great team.  And, now Nicole has been added to that team.  God always knows what He is doing.

At first, the welcome-to-Honduras-days were frustrating.  They are still frustrating.  But, most of the time these days, I am not wanting to give up and quit.  I thought I would learn Spanish rapidly and be afraid to drive.  I can drive any where I want to go, but I still struggle with the language.  It will not conquer me.

I thought Marc and I would be working together all day.  And that we would have time to see the rest of the country and the rest of Central America.  Marc and I have separate jobs and see each other morning and night, just like most other working people.  There is no time for travel.  I am not complaining.

The ministry has grown beyond your wildest dreams.  We never thought about the dump or containers or over 30 groups in one year.  God has blessed these efforts.  We, too, have been blessed.  Hundreds of people have fallen in love with the Honduran people, just as we have, and want to be a part of helping and ministering.

Once in a while, someone asks when we will be leaving.  We don't know.  Thankfully, we own no home in the States.  And, Santa Ana is truly home.  We will be here as long as we are able or when we see the poverty that exists and are no longer bothered by it.  When that happens, it will be time to leave.  But, for now, we have the best jobs in the world.

Terri

Places We Have Been And People We Have Seen

Our time in the States is rapidly coming to an end.  We have been over 5000 miles that took us through 11 states.  We have been in homes, churches, student centers,  restaurants, one church reunion, one family reunion, a rotary club, and 1 missions class.  We have spent precious time with family and seen friends, many of whom we have not seen in a long time.  We have prayed and laughed and cried.  We have shared our work and many have shown us their good works.  Some have shared their concerns and problems.  We have stopped at McDonald's for dollar cokes and free internet.

We have traveled on and off the interstate.  We have seen mile after beautiful mile of the USA. And seen Texas sunsets.  We unloaded and loaded suitcases somewhere around 15 times.  We have had fun.

There is never enough time to see everyone and go everywhere.  Some people I really wanted to see and time ran out.  Some of you, I will see soon.  Some, it will be a bit longer.  Thank you to everyone for loving on us and hosting us. 

Terri

US 50

We had a wonderful weekend with our Fairview Heights church family.  Thank you Debbie, Sara, and Rosemary for the time you spent with me.  I needed that girl time with each of you.  We left this morning for Mitchell, Indiana.

After looking at the map, we decided to drive from Belleville to Mitchell on U.S. 50.  We saw miles and miles and miles of farmland.  I love driving through the farmland.  I love getting off of the interstate.  There is a lot more to American than McDonald's and c-stores at every exits.

Our chosen route took us right through the heart of many little towns and right on the edge of many others.  The midwestern farm homes have a special kind of charm.  They are so warm and inviting.  They seem to be saying, "come on in and let's have a cup of coffee."  The old churches, both wooden and brick, have an unexplainable fascination for me.  We don't see those old churches on the interstate.  We saw old bridges and old highways.  I even saw a silo store.  I can honestly say I have never before seen a silo store.

I know before I even say this, that Nicole is laughing and making fun of me, but I wish we could stop and read every single historical marker.  But I don't even ask.

We have lived a lot of places and been even more.  I think weird things on these U.S. highways.  I think we could have come all the way from Placerville, California on U.S. 50.  We could keep going and end up in Belpre, Ohio, Karen's home.  In Flora, Illinois we intersected with U.S. 45.  We could have gone south and gone all the way to Columbus and kept going to Mobile. 

I had a delightful day as we traveled through the heartland of America.   We stopped for a little snack.  It was such a beautiful day.  We ate our snack outside.

We had pizza, one of my favorites, and warm, warm fellowship in Mitchell tonight.

I am expecting another wonderful day of travel tomorrow as we make our way to Bowling Green.

Terri

The Ugly Duckling

The swan is beautifully graceful bird.  Remember the story of the ugly duckling.  The baby swan that everyone thought was a baby duckling.  The duckling was so ugly, much more so than any of the other ducklings. 

But when the duckling grew up, it was a beautiful swan. 

That is how it is with God's grace.  We are all ugly ducklings, but the blood of Christ has turned us into beautiful swans.

St. Louis

Last night we arrived in Belleville.  I was glad to be here.  All day Thursday and most of Friday we drove in the rain.  Today was a perfect day, about 70 degrees.  We spent the day in St. Louis.  A lot of things we just saw from the car.  But the St. Louis zoo is one of the best free zoos anywhere.  Since parking is $15.00, we parked a long way from the zoo and walked, as did many others. 

Forest Park is a beautiful park.  Not only were there many people in the zoo, but we saw families hiking, biking, having picnics and many other activities. 

We have always enjoyed the St. Louis zoo, and today was no exception.  We didn't even buy a drink there.  We waited to get our $1.00 cokes at McDonald's.

Yay for a wonderful, relaxing day.