Spring: Savoring the Season

Many of my happiest moments this spring were spent this way:

And here's one of those friends! Living so close to Europe proper is a big blessing. So even when your good friend lives in Egypt for a year, you can meet in Amsterdam and connect. It was a much needed break and such a good time together!

Let's celebrate Lindsay's return to Southall...and try on a Sari!

 It's so good to be living with Lindsay again, and doing ministry together. Her exuberance for reaching the lost and ability to see the greater vision are core parts of who she is. And they help me stay focused on what's really important: living right where God has called me to be. Also, let's be honest, she looks fabulous in a Sari!

Also in this season: Danielle ran a 10K like a BOSS. Just want to shout out to her, my strong beautiful friend who reminds me that life is full of possibilities.

Entering Summer meant entering 'Goodbye' Season. I said goodbye to these fellow apprentices, as they wrapped up their term in London, and headed back to the states. This night was a bittersweet celebration: of all we've learned and struggled with together, and how thankful I am to have met them. God's goodness is in this season: that's all I know. Because as hard as it was to say goodbye to these friends, I know it's just the beginning of my own 'goodbye' to London. And that's just too hard to think about right now!

Then came time to say goodbye to another couple, from my Southall team. These two and their kids are moving to another field, to continue the work God has for them, by embracing a new culture, and a lot of unknowns. I have so much respect and awe for their love of Jesus. This picture is from our ladies' goodbye dinner for A. It was a sweet (and delicious) Indian goodbye! 

Same lovely group of people celebrating Birthdays this past Tuesday at Bible Study. Reminding me that even in a season brimming with 'goodbyes,' it's still very important to celebrate!!

Winter Snapshots

Winter has been FULL. 

I hope these pictures might begin to describe what I am just hugely thankful for.

 So much joy!

A group of us from the Church went into London to a Christmas market--food, games and fun in the city!

For my second Christmas in London, I bought my first fake Christmas tree! And my real friends came round to help me decorate it!

Thanksgiving with 80 people from my church community. 

Yes. Four turkeys were cooked and devoured.

My dear friend MONICA came for a visit! 

(us, eating some Thanksgiving leftovers)

For my Birthday, we went ice skating!

This was when I remembered how much I LOVE ice skating!!! 

Being raised in a cold climate has its perks.

Parent toddler christmas crafts!

So cute

Young adult Christmas party!

Oh no! She got the pink turban! 

Introducing the 'White Elephant' gift swap last year was a huge hit, so this year we did it again and the gift no one wanted was surprisingly left in the box of Christmas decorations! Lucky for us, and unluckily for my friend, R.

Youth club gingerbread house decorating! 

Think: Cake Boss, but like, more competition.

Yummy

Christmas Eve at Borough Market

Christmas eve at St. Pauls with my friend from University who came to visit for Christmas. She was a huge answer to prayer, as I was very unexcited about being alone for the Christmas season. 

Praise God!

Escaping the city with Danielle

ahhhh blue sky and ocean!!!

Happy New Year!!!

Frost--everywhere. It looks like snow, but it's just a huge tease.

 It's cold in London!!

"The Bollywood Sleepless in Seattle"

Let's just say, wow. I'm so glad to have made it to the end of November! What a transiton back to Southall. Full of many things to be thankful for. Including the fact that my dear friend Monica is coming in 2 days for a visit! I cannot wait!! One of the hardest parts of living overseas for me is living far from friends and family during the holidays. This year, I splurged and bought a Christmas tree! So we are going to set it up, and a few of my London friends are going to come over and help decorate it. I'm so excited to share Thanksgiving with Monica, and really begin the Christmas season with a mix of friends--old and new. I promise I'll post some pictures of my tree!

Here are a few favorite pictures from the first two months back in Southall. I have to be honest--my heart is still growing weirdly in love with this little section of West London.

My Asha 'Auntie' dressed me in a Sari at the end of my charity shop shift. 

This felt like a rite of passage. 

My dear dear friend Bhavna is having a baby! 

Ladies from church gathered to shower her in gifts, and encouragement

Greenwich, the home of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is pretty cool. 

Even in the rain.

My friend Jas and I carved a pumpkin for Halloween. 

HER FIRST TIME EVER. This is our happy little chap.

Church Autumn Mela (Harvest Party). 

Lots of people from the community came, and dressed up!

For our Autumn craft, we did painting with golfballs,

 and it was a lot of mess, and a lot of fun! I love fun messes.

MY FRIEND GOT BAPTISED!!!

She's really pretty.

One of my favorite nights this month was just a casual dinner with a bunch of friends. We ended up watching 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge' with the Bollywood Mega-Star Shahrukh Khan. It was described to me as 'The Bollywood Sleepless in Seattle.'  It is apparently the most popular Bollywood movie of all time. I've seen a few Bollywood movies since I've been here, and honestly, it was the best. Check it out :-) 

August

My new goal is to post 5 pictures every month from my life/ministry here on the blog. So here we go August!

Debrief with my fellow Apprentices on the coast of England for a week

We stayed in an old Baronial hall, straight out of Lord of the Rings.

Last minute shopping with Lindsay on Southall, Broadway.

Blackberry picking with church friends, they grow wild all over the place!

Catching a show with my friend Ruth, 'Shakespeare in Love' was my favorite play I saw this year!

Who's Handwriting is This?!

I’ve had my feet pointed toward home, with just 20 days left in England. Over the past few months I’ve had a love-hate relationship with going home. So today I did what every millennial does when the world hands them a problem: I turned to Google. However “Returning home from abroad quotes” didn’t give me too much help. A few clicks later, I found an interesting quote from founding father John Adams, which on the surface doesn’t have much to do with returning home to America, but I liked it.

“The only thing most people do better than anyone else is read their own handwriting.”

My biggest fear about going home is that no one will understand me, or try to understand me. Attached to this is the fear is that I won’t understand anyone or be able to relate to them. This sounds dramatic, I know. But it’s all new territory to me. I haven’t left my hometown for this long before, and this is the longest I’ve gone without seeing my parents (they even came to visit in January).

Returning home feels big. It is big. I know for a fact that people and places have grown and changed and the natural flow of life without me has moved on. I have been used to life here in London, and been changed myself. I think I could be ok with all this change, if I didn’t worry about being understood. Being known.

Moving to London, I’ve taken some of my favorite moments were when new friends cared for me, by saying “oh, Mary’s always got to have her coffee!” or by asking “How are your parents?” –weaving together the silly or true parts of me with their own lives. Showing me that I wasn’t an outsider, but that I was known and cared for here.

So returning home, I am full of the adventures, heartaches, and loves of the new life I’ve lived this year. And I have to let it grow alongside the home life, which is both familiar and unpredictable. And I need grace. Yes, lots of God's grace.

Summer in Southall

It's been a whirlwind of a summer, and I've lovely time the past weeks wrapping up ministries and celebrating school being out.

 Here's a few snapshots.

Parent & Toddler: lots of mums and kids enjoying our sing-a-long time, and munching on some snacks. Gotta squeeze in a few more rounds of 'Wind the Bobbin Up' before Summer Holidays!!

Dostana: Our young adults gathered for a evening of food, fun and competitive curry eating! Here are the options, with some pizza thrown in there, because why not?

Kids Club: Our final week we 'made ice cream' by tossing a bag of ice, cream and sugar around. Sometimes, Pinterest doesn't pay off. But I bought Plan B ice cream so we enjoyed some anyway. And the kids had fun tossing bags of ice at each other, so I say it was a win.

LEAP: We visited the Hindu temple in Wembley, beautiful sandstone structure.

Lindsay, Elle and I at Les Mis, enjoying the perks of living in London before our intense week of Kids Camp/VBS! 

At church we celebrated the marriage of one of our church members, and welcomed his wife into our church family! We had a big meal and dancing. No party is complete without two kinds of curry and Bhangra music...

Our Intern Elle ready with the pakora, samosas and poppodoms. Yummmm.

Good friends, good fun, and dancing with some pot thing on your head!

I call that a good night.