Sorry, this is totally late. Not having internet at the house limits my time...
So, as I said, I want to give you a little info about where I live.
Carlisle is a small city of about 100,000 people, but when I'm in the center of town, I don't feel like I'm really in a city, which is nice. We (the students), live in St. Cuthbert's Vicarage, next to a thirteenth century cathedral and various other lovely buildings. There are stone walls everywhere around, hence the name of my street: West Walls. We're a couple of blocks from the town center where there's tons of good shops/cafes/pubs.
Our lectures and most of our weekdays are conducted in the GRACO building, a made-over office building. The GRACO is right next to the McVitties factory, and during the week we smell biscuits in the air. Mmmmmmm.
I am not the only North American/foreigner. In fact, English students are the minority.
But, it is England, and I am trying to get used to English-English, using words like trousers (because "pants" are UNDERpants), biscuits (because cookies aren't cookies apparently), and queue (because no one stands in line here).
MMkkkk. So, that's all I've got for now, if you want any particular info be sure to let me know and I'll fill you in!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
First Post
Hello everyone,
First off, here's my address:
Hannah Hempstead
The Old Vicarage, West Walls
Carlisle, CA3 8UF
UK
(Originally thought it was 8UE instead of F, as did the others, but don't worry if you had that address it should get here ok...)
I'm just going to be updating this every once in a while to try and give you a picture of what is going on while I'm in Carlisle, England with YWAM doing my DTS. YWAM (Youth With A Mission) is a fan of acronyms, fyi (hahaha), and DTS is a fancy (or less fancy) way of saying Discipleship Training School. I am attending Bible/Mission training lectures for three months here, and just bought my tickets today for the next phase of my journeying: South Africa.
I originally thought I'd be in one place in South Africa the entire time, but have been informed we'll be in several places throughout the two months we are there.
SO.
Basically two very cool stories which I will try to keep brief....
First off, I'll talk about my trip here... I had been very nervous about traveling alone, esp. since my itinerary was like this: Newark to Frankfurt, Frankfurt to Edinburgh, short shuttle trip to train station, then a train into Carlisle (I also was not sure if I'd have to change trains). I had a lot of luggage, had a phone I didn't know how to use, and didn't really know how I'd manage everything alone. So..... I prayed that the Lord would provide a friend for me on the trip so I didn't feel so alone. While in Frankfurt, I happened to meet a family of three from Toronto, who were on their way home from a mission trip to India, it was very nice to meet someone I could connect with (language-wise and spiritual-wise). They prayed for me, and were on their way. As I waited around for my flight to Edinburgh, I was so grateful to the Lord for giving me the friend I asked for (and not just one, but three!). But then I got thinking of my luggage again... how would I manage it? So I said, half jokingly, "Lord, it would be nice to have a friend to help with that, too..."
Well, no matter how insincere I was, God was sincere. On the flight, two seats away from me, sat an American Missionary to the Czech Republic who had also been involved with YWAM. He was heading to the train station, and offered his help. It ended up that he took care of my luggage, watched it while I got a card for my phone, let me use his phone when mine wouldn't work, and helped me load my things onto the train. I never even knew his name, but I am so very thankful for that person.
So there. God certainly answers prayer.
So, that was story one, not as brief as I had planned, but you may skim, skip, scan, or quit reading anytime, and I won't be offended.
Story two is quite simple. Some of you reading this were at my going away party where a word was prayed over me about spiritual brokenness. I had told none of my leaders about this prayer, but Sarah, one of the BLS (another acronym, I'm not even sure what it stands for) leaders, happened to mention how the Lord had told her that she was not supposed to fix people during this time, but that the Lord was going to use this time to break people. So, I guess I'm in the right place!
Alright, coming soon... the next post will describe my house (hopefully with some pictures), the city, and some of my new friends.
First off, here's my address:
Hannah Hempstead
The Old Vicarage, West Walls
Carlisle, CA3 8UF
UK
(Originally thought it was 8UE instead of F, as did the others, but don't worry if you had that address it should get here ok...)
I'm just going to be updating this every once in a while to try and give you a picture of what is going on while I'm in Carlisle, England with YWAM doing my DTS. YWAM (Youth With A Mission) is a fan of acronyms, fyi (hahaha), and DTS is a fancy (or less fancy) way of saying Discipleship Training School. I am attending Bible/Mission training lectures for three months here, and just bought my tickets today for the next phase of my journeying: South Africa.
I originally thought I'd be in one place in South Africa the entire time, but have been informed we'll be in several places throughout the two months we are there.
SO.
Basically two very cool stories which I will try to keep brief....
First off, I'll talk about my trip here... I had been very nervous about traveling alone, esp. since my itinerary was like this: Newark to Frankfurt, Frankfurt to Edinburgh, short shuttle trip to train station, then a train into Carlisle (I also was not sure if I'd have to change trains). I had a lot of luggage, had a phone I didn't know how to use, and didn't really know how I'd manage everything alone. So..... I prayed that the Lord would provide a friend for me on the trip so I didn't feel so alone. While in Frankfurt, I happened to meet a family of three from Toronto, who were on their way home from a mission trip to India, it was very nice to meet someone I could connect with (language-wise and spiritual-wise). They prayed for me, and were on their way. As I waited around for my flight to Edinburgh, I was so grateful to the Lord for giving me the friend I asked for (and not just one, but three!). But then I got thinking of my luggage again... how would I manage it? So I said, half jokingly, "Lord, it would be nice to have a friend to help with that, too..."
Well, no matter how insincere I was, God was sincere. On the flight, two seats away from me, sat an American Missionary to the Czech Republic who had also been involved with YWAM. He was heading to the train station, and offered his help. It ended up that he took care of my luggage, watched it while I got a card for my phone, let me use his phone when mine wouldn't work, and helped me load my things onto the train. I never even knew his name, but I am so very thankful for that person.
So there. God certainly answers prayer.
So, that was story one, not as brief as I had planned, but you may skim, skip, scan, or quit reading anytime, and I won't be offended.
Story two is quite simple. Some of you reading this were at my going away party where a word was prayed over me about spiritual brokenness. I had told none of my leaders about this prayer, but Sarah, one of the BLS (another acronym, I'm not even sure what it stands for) leaders, happened to mention how the Lord had told her that she was not supposed to fix people during this time, but that the Lord was going to use this time to break people. So, I guess I'm in the right place!
Alright, coming soon... the next post will describe my house (hopefully with some pictures), the city, and some of my new friends.
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