Crazy Month!

Yet again, I realize that it has been all too long since my last post. This last month has been wonderful, challenging, busy, rewarding, frustrating, and affirming. Sound crazy? Well hold on, here’s what’s happened…

We had 17 interns here for the month to lead two separate one-week teams from the States. The interns were assigned, individually or with a partner, to a specific part of town where work has been going for awhile. Then, when the two one-week teams came, they were split into ten or so groups of five to eight students. I got to lead teams with Cameron. The two of us got along very well, and I can’t imagine doing it without him. We got to hang out with the youth at World’s End. Among other things, we started a youth café, which offered fresh smoothies, played sports, and had pizza parties.

In between the two teams, we had a week to relax. Most of us caught up on sleep, did laundry, and hung out around the house. However, we got to have some fun as well. One day, four of us decided to get on the train for Salisbury. This is one of the most popular cities outside London, not for the steak by the same name, but for Stonehenge. It was super cool to see! Below is one of the pictures.

After the interns left, I moved into the house of a family of missionaries (I’m housesitting for them until they come back from holiday on August 9). Also, Uncle Chuck was in town, so he stayed with me for about a week. We got to see several of the touristy sites around town, but more importantly, we just got to talk and hang out. Unfortunately, I was sick for the last three days of his visit.

After he left, I finished recuperating, and then I went down to Wandsworth again to do more ethnographic research. I really enjoyed walking around the city and observing how youth are perceived by the general public. A couple of the highlights were witnessing a group of teens dine and dash at Pizza Hut, accidentally getting hit on by a sleepy 60-year old man, and being told by a grandmother that youth just need a place to ice skate. It all makes sense now! Thanks grandmother.

So that’s a taste of what’s been going here. I’m really enjoying my time here. I can’t believe that it’s a third of the way over, though. If how fast these past two months have gone are any indication of the next four, then I’ll be home before I know it. Please pray for the youth of World’s End, the people I work with, and me. It’s great to see God moving in this city, and I can’t wait to see how He continues to work. I love you all!