A Little Mid-Week Update

Because we leave on our spring tour Friday, I decided to go ahead and do a quick update on what has been going on since my last post. While this week has seemed long already, we have done some pretty cool stuff.

Sunday..

...I went to Grace Church to hear my friends Mallory Hudson and Michelle Ladner play in their home stay family’s worship band.

...I had my last Sunday roast dinner with the Carter family. I’m going to miss them (and the food!) so much after we move out Friday morning.

Monday...

...History of Science class.

...Mr. Rumbelow took us to “the Old Operating Theatre” where surgeons used to amputate and operate on their patients performance-style for educating new surgeons. I also happened to stumble upon the exterior used for Harry Potter and the Prisoner Azkaban Leaky Cauldron scene.

...We went to an opera. “Der Rosencavelier.”  Probably the most miserable 4 and a half hours of my life, but hey, I saw an opera in London!  However, that’s definitely a “been there, done that” event.

The Leaky Cauldron in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban...

My actual picture of what the shop looks like in real life.

Tuesday...

...In theatre class that morning, Ian brought in Racky Pews, who directed the production of “Guys and Dolls” that was a favorite with our group.  Ian also revealed that he is having lunch with Stephen Sondheim along with other critics. He said he will try to score us a few autographs.

...Dr. Parks took us on a walk through Picadilly Circus where were got to see the “Royal Supermarket”

...We toured the Royal Institute.  Another “been there, done that” exhibit. I’m not a science guy, so I was fighting not to fall over asleep during that two-hour tour.

...We saw “Noises Off” at the Old Vic Theatre. This was the most hilarious show that I have ever seen in my life!  It was definitely a necessity to lift our group’s spirits after the opera and science museum trips.  Random fact: Kevin Spacey actually owns and runs the Old Vic Theatre. Good job Kevin.

Wednesday...

...We met at the Celtic at 9am to travel to Wales! It is so mind-blowing that on a quick 3-hour bus ride, you can be in a totally different country!  We visited Tintern Abbey (of William Wordsworth fame) and hiked a mountain beside it to see the Abbey as Wordsworth would have seen it. I'm pretty sure we are the first people ever to play freeze tag in the ruins of Tintern Abbey, but luckily we didn't get kicked out. And yes, we even climbed trees.

So even though it’s only halfway through, we have had quite an eventful week so far. Tonight, I am washing clothes and beginning to pack up my room at the Carter’s home.  Tomorrow after British Literature and our group photo, I will head to Muswell Hill for the last time to finish packing up, go to Juliette’s (my home stay sister) dance recital the family, and spend one last night with Gary, Fiona, and Juliette.  I am so thankful for this family who has been so kind to take all three of us in. I’m going to miss having a “home” in London.

Finally, Friday morning, I’ll somehow manage to get all my luggage back to the Celtic Hotel and we will load the coach on our spring tour! Our “spring break” tour will include LIverpool, York, Edinburg, the Scottish Highlands, the Lake District,  Caernafron, and Cornwall before we all move back into the Celtic on March 10. 

Sunday, CentriKid announces where we will be stationed all summer, so I will try my hardest to find wifi that night or soon after, and I will be updating with a blog saying where I will be working this summer!  But other than that, expect a long blog post after spring tour!

Until next time,
Micheal

God is Able

God has been showing me something today. *cue Hillsong's "God is Able* I'm not really sure what it is yet, but this entire semester, He has been dealing with me about following Him and finding His calling for my life.  Today has just been full of Him showing me how I just need to get over my fears and actually trust in Him.

This morning, I went to church at Grace Church where Mallory Hudson and Michelle Ladner were playing in the worship band with their home stay dad.  The message was on Matthew 6. If you have been reading my blog, I bring up this chapter a lot because of how bad I am at not worrying. I worry so much about what I am going to do after college or even after dinner, yet this chapter just shows us that God loves us more than any other creation, and he's going to take care of us.



This afternoon, I was reading in my devotion book, My Utmost for His Highest, and today's devotion was titled "Our Misgivings about Jesus."  It was based on John 4 where Jesus approaches the woman at the well. He tells her that he can bring her living water, and she basically replies, "But you have nothing to draw water!"  How many times does God tell us he's going to do something, but we question it just because we don't see how it could be done?  God's a lot smarter than we are and our humanly limits do not apply whatsoever with Him.  When God calls us to something, we often reply with "How will I make money? ","I can't do that."or "I don't see how that could ever happen."  "Our misgivings  begin within ourselves when we tell Jesus that our circumstances are just a little too difficult for Him."-My Utmost. That goes along with worry. We worry so much about what we are doing that we don't realize that God has a plan and his plan is going to work out much better than any of our plans will.

Tonight, I watched the live feed for Pinelake Church, my church back in Clinton. We are doing a few Sundays focusing on the goal of the church to "Outlive Your Life."  The pastor, Chip, started his sermon by reading Hebrews 11:11. "By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promise."  Sarah and Abraham were old and it seems impossible that they were to ever have a child. Yet, God provided them with a child. By their faith, God's plan happened and God's promises were fulfilled.  Genesis 18:14 asks, "Is anything too hard for the Lord?..."   He allowed two old geezers to have a kid. He used someone who couldn't even speak well to lead an entire group of people out of Egypt.  He sent His son to die on a cross just so we could have a relationship with Him.  No. Nothing is too hard for the Lord.   It's when we think it is and get in the way that things get difficult and life becomes chaotic.   God wants us to finally get over our pride and realize that we can't do things, but He can.

It's just been a really cool day with everything I have heard or read merging together to deal with something God has been teaching me. I do not know what God has called me to do with my life. I just don't. What if God told me tonight that I would have the most exciting career and life on earth?  I would be ecstatic and ready to go!  But what if God told me that he was calling me to something that I would consider dull?  Would I be just as ready to go? Probably not.  I know He's got a calling and plan for my life, and right now He's preparing me to accept that call, whatever it may be. Whether that be staying in Clinton or moving to some big city, he's preparing me to be content with his purpose for my life.

"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21

We're off on an Egg Hunt!

The Great London Egg Hunt started Tuesday! I haven't done any major hunting for eggs yet because we've been so busy, but I've run up on a few during my outings in London. 6 down...69 more to get a photograph of!

Another Week in London Town

Hello friends!  The end of this week marks the end of our sixth full week in London, which means we are halfway through our semester abroad.  I have mixed emotions about that. I am having the time of my life and so amazed at the opportunities that God has given me, but also it's about time that I see all the people I love.   I have a few moments of homesickness now and again, but I think that's healthy.  But I am way to busy and enjoying my time way too much to mope about even for a minute!
I would go so far as to say that this past week has been the best week of the trip so far.  It wasn't quite as full as other weeks, yet what we did do was exciting.

Sunday- I did not feel like riding the tube 30 minutes into London, so I decided to stay in the area of my home stay and explore Muswell Hill. I woke up early that morning and spent a few hours just walking around the woods having God and Micheal time. I then had lunch at a cool cafe in the town center.  I explored Muswell Hill and found some really cool local shops. I even found an old, beautiful church that has been turned into a pub...I thought it was cool!    I had told Fiona, my host mom, that I wanted to learn how to make their traditional Sunday roast, so she invited me to help her cook it.  So Cortez and I spent the evening learning how to make traditional Sunday dishes like beef roast, Yorkshire pudding, and roasted potatoes  Okay...I burned the Yorkshire pudding, but it still didn't taste half bad.

The view of London from Muswell Hill. You can even see Olympic Park.

Why did Fiona let me cook?

Monday- This was a pretty routine day with History of Science in the morning. That night, we saw an...interesting...play at the Young Vic.  For some reason, the director thought it was artistic to include the throwing of Jell-O throughout the whole show.

The group waiting at the Young Vic 15 minutes before the show starts. Where are our professors with our tickets?

Tuesday-  Busy day!  We had a great theatre class in the morning with Ian, our theatre professor, bringing in a well-known theatre publicist.  I was really inspired by her talking to us. (She has a degree in Public Relations!  Maybe I am in the right major for once!) She even brought her really cool dog to meet our class.  I then had an interview with Ian for an article I am doing for Dr. Price for the MC website.  He's such an interesting guy.  That afternoon, Mr. Rumbelow took us around downtown London with our lesson focusing on the Great Fire of 1666 and the Great Plague.  That night, I returned to the Young Vic to see a play called "Bingo."  I only knew one thing about the play...it starred Sir Patrick Stewart!  The play wasn't that great, but hey, I got to see Patrick Stewart onstage.  I also got his autograph afterward!

The Young Vic Theatre

The autograph of Patrick Stewart...no big deal.

Wednesday-  Open Day!  We don't get many of these, so it found our group spreading out all over Europe.  I decided to return to Oxford to see the Harry Potter locations I missed on our first trip.  I also returned to the Eagle and Child to read a bit of "Mere Christianity" that afternoon.   I met a cool couple from Canada that were eating in the Eagle and Child for the same reasons I was...to soak up the C.S. Lewis atmosphere.

The Bodleian Libary at Oxford University. You may recognize this as the infirmary from the Harry Potter films.

Thursday-  Back to class. We started the morning off with British Literature, which was quite a good class because we were finally discussing the novel, Mrs. Dalloway, and showing pictures of the book locations that we had been to.  It was such a beautiful day.  The sun was shining and it was warm enough to shed the coats and take off our shoes.  I took the afternoon to relax and headed to Regents Park where I read a bit of my book and took a nap in the warm sunshine.  Later that night, we traveled to the outermost part of the London area to Richmond to see Eugene O'Neil's "Long Day Journey Into Night."  To our surprise, it starred Laurie Metcalf, who is best known for playing Jackie on Roseanne.  You know I got an autograph and a picture with her...such as nice lady.

The beautiful Regent's Park

Laurie Metcalf (from Roseanne) and I after her performance in "Long Days Journey into Night"

Friday-  I went into the city early to try to get tickets to Ghost the Musical (based on the 80s Patrick Swayze and Whoopi Goldberg film).  And, I got them!  Front row seats!  I could barely pay attention during art history that afternoon for excitement about this musical.  It did not disappoint whatsoever!  I do not know how, but Ghost is one of my favorite shows I have ever seen on stage.  I've never seen a musical where I have wanted to jump up and dance and felt so much emotion for the characters on stage. If you can get to New York to see this show when it opens next month, I highly recommend it.  One cool thing was that they actually mentioned Hattiesburg, Mississippi during the show!  The night was made even better by getting to walk by chance with one of the actresses, Sharon D Clarke, to the tube and talk to her about the show.

The Picadilly Theatre.

Sharon D Clarke (with whom I walked to the tube) in Ghost the Musical. Definitely not my photograph.

Saturday- The program took a day trip to Cambridge! Throughout the day, we went punting on the river, saw candy being made, and even climbed a tree.  This trip was one of the best day trips we have taken so far.

Punting on the river in Cambridge.

Our group gets excited about little things like sheep, ducks, and good climbing trees.

Overall, it's been a super week. I started studying the book of 1 John this week and God has been showing me a lot of cool things from it. Tomorrow, I am going to church in Muswell Hill where two of my friends are playing in the worship band with their home stay dad.  I also might be meeting up with a friend I met at Show Choir Camps of America a few years ago and catching up. So tomorrow should be a great day too.

I'm bummed because we leave our amazing home stay Friday morning to head out on spring tour.  I am so thankful for the Carters and the awesome time I've had living under their roof for this past month. I really do not want to leave their house!

Because of spring tour, I probably will not blog again until weekend after next, and I will definitely not upload Snapshot Sundays next week.  I should have much to show and tell after a week in Scotland and around England.  Plus, I find out where I will be stationed for CentriKid this Sunday!

"I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.  He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon the rock, making my steps secure.  He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.  Many will se and fear, and put their trust in the Lord. Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie!  You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you!  I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told."  Psalm 40:1-6

If we haven't been in touch lately, Facebook me!  I'd love to catch up with everyone from home. Thanks for reading and for your prayers!
-Micheal

It Just Feels Like Home

I really like the fact that right now, I'm across a huge ocean, yet I am worshipping with my church that I call home when I am at school. It's amazing how God can use technology to connect his church...whether it is all of the campuses connected to Pinelake, people who couldn't make it to the service that day, or a student across the world. 

I've been to several different churches here, but no matter how cool it is to be at Hillsong Church, All Souls, or St. Paul's Cathedral and worshipping with my brothers and sisters in Christ in England, I will always be a visitor here.  It's really cool to still be able to connect with my church family at Pinelake via live feed, and even cooler to know that I have church family praying for me from Pinelake in Clinton and Calvary Baptist in Waynesboro.

Just another week in the great United Kingdom

Hello friends!  This has been such a busy and exciting week in London!  

We started off full speed Monday by having our first midterm exam in the History of Science class. That afternoon, Mr. Rumbelow's History of Science class took us to the John Wesley house and the first ever Methodist church.  I just love seeing all the random people sneak up into our group trying to catch a tidbit of all the knowledge Rumbelow has to offer us. Can you spot who doesn't belong?

That night, I spent the evening back at my home stay house because it is the only night of the week we would be home with a free dinner.

The next day was spent with an exciting theatre class, not to mention Valentine's Day!  My day was instantly made when I received a rose from a classmate that said, "If I were Peter Pan, you'd be my happy thought." Ian brought in an actor from one of the better productions we had seen as part of the class.  This actor had just finished up performing a year in Agatha Christie's Mousetrap and it was so inspiring hearing what his life as a performer had been like.  That night, we went to a special classical music concert at the Barbican Center. While I dreaded it initially because of my dislike of most classical music, I thoroughly enjoyed the concert because it was all recognizable, fun music such as Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" and the "Sleeping Beauty Waltz."

Wednesday was a hectic day indeed! We unusually had our Art History class, which is normally on Fridays in the afternoon, at 9am! With the lights out in a hot room that early in the morning, it's a wonder no one got in trouble for dozing off.   Luckily, we had most of the afternoon off and I spent it in the Westminster Reference Library working on my Art History midterm paper. That night, we saw a play that I was extremely excited about: Oliver Goldsmith's "She Stoops to Conquer."  We had read this comedic play in British Literature the week before, so everyone was anticipating seeing it live on a large scale at the National Theatre.

The next day, we all loaded the coach at 9am from the Celtic Hotel and set out on a day trip to Charles Darwin's house and museum.  Let's just say there were a lot of "interesting" things and ideas in that museum, but we had fun anyway.  That afternoon, our coach driver, Paul, gave us a surprise....he took us on a detour to see the location of the 2012 Olympics! All of the arenas are still under heavy construction, and it's quite cool to think that the world's biggest competition will be held there in a few short months. We're in London at a very good time in history. Don't worry, I'm still for Team USA.

Friday morning was spent with all of us frantically searching the city of London trying to find a place to print off our very important Art History midterm papers.  As soon as that paper hit Dr. Bracken's desk, the week seemed to be over and I could relax. Friday night was extra special because our group had tickets to a television taping of a British talk-show type show, That Sunday Night Show. 

 Seeing how a big-time television show was taped and the whole studio process was something I had never seen before. The taping was even more entertaining because the show was absolutely hilarious and even a former Deputy Prime Minister was a guest on the show. Unfortunately, photography was not allowed, so this picture is from the internet to give you an idea of the studio we were in.

Saturday was an exciting day also!  We left the Celtic a little later than scheduled, but headed straight to Dover castle!  Basically, once we were in the gate, we had free reign to do whatever we wanted to.  If you let a group of college students and some really cool professors loose in a castle for a few hours, fun will follow!  After leaving the castle, we took a slight stop on the beach of Dover to get the chance to stick our feet (or ankles, legs, and whatever else got wet) into the English Channel!  I think my feet art still numb.  We then finished the day by heading to Canterbury for a late lunch and to see the Canterbury Cathedral, home to the Anglican Church.

Yes! It's been an extremely busy week, but I would not trade it for anything in the world. I am still loving London, still missing my family and MC family, and still having the time of my life!

Until next post,

Micheal

The Egg-mazing Race

One thing that is important to my life is setting small goals and trying to accomplish them.  It's how I make the most of certain things. I have a quite a few of those for my time in London. (Although ones like "Journal every day" have failed miserably!)  Yesterday, I was reading the Evening Standard (free, nightly newspaper) on the tube, and saw an article about a quirky fundraising event that is starting up soon in London.

The Big Egg Hunt!

Basically, this Tuesday, 200 huge egg sculptures will be spread across the city of London.  Each individual egg has been decorated, painted, or dressed up by artists, fashion designers, and even kids.  This organization has put out maps, made an app, and even a website for people to try to find these eggs in all parts of the city.  At the end, each egg will be auctioned off and all proceeds will go toward a charity.

My goal is to get a picture of 75 of these eggs.  While I don't see it possible to get a picture of 200, I'm going to try to see as many as possible.  Why would I do this?  It's a unique thing and by taking a few hours every once in a while to search out these eggs, I will be exploring parts of this great city I have not yet been to and seeing areas of London that I gotten to experience.  Not to mention, I will be in London for Easter and will not get to hunt eggs with my little cousins like I normally do.

The hunt is on!

http://www.thebigegghunt.co.uk/

Oh, the weather outside is...awesome.

I have seen a hundred times more snow in the past week than I have in my entire life. This city is jaw-droppingly beautiful blanketed in all of this white stuff. I don't care that I almost die slipping on the icy sidewalks on the way to the tube station, this is the most amazing thing I've ever seen. A true sign of how creative and awesome our Creator is.
This past Friday, I was headed into the city to have lunch and join the group Bible Study before our art class that day. I was kind of in a hurry because it was a long walk, plus I didn't know if I would have time to enjoy my lunch before I was supposed to go to the group Bible study. I was quickly trudging along in the snow ignoring everything around me when I looked up and saw a sign for a woods park.  Something told me I had to take a detour. Even though I'm in the middle of a city, I wound up in a magical forest. Everything was completely white and birds were chirping and well, you get the picture.  I felt like I was in a story book. Even though my iPhone photos cannot do it justice, you can get the picture about what I was surrounded by:

God was speaking to me. I didn't know what about, but I knew that then was the time to pull out my Bible and write down what he was showing me. I was in such a hurry to get lunch and get into the city and there were a million things running through my mind that I really did not stop to see the beautiful setting God had put me in.
"Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" Psalm 46:10
If it's one thing I have a hard time doing, it's being still and focusing on one thing for more than I second. But God was showing me that I needed to be completely still and focus on him. He was showing me that the God that designed each one of those snowflakes surrounded me had designed me and has a plan for my life.
Our busyness and the chaos of life often blinds us from seeing God.
"Life up your eyes on high and see who created these?  He who brings out their host by number calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power, not one is missing." Isaish 40:26
We have to deliberately stop, be still, and turn our thoughts and focus to God.  Often when we do that, whatever we were doing or worrying about before doesn't seem so important.  He's got it under control.

Oh, by the way, I missed both lunch and Bible study, but I think it was worth it.

I've been having too much fun...

Hello world!
My mother just told me that I needed to blog because I haven't updated in two weeks. So sorry about that, but things are super busy here! Thank you Mama for keeping me in line!
We start midterm week (or two week?) tomorrow with our only midterm exam first thing in the morning. Then I have two papers due in the next few days.  So while I'm still having fun and seeing lots of shows, the past few days have been more focused on the academic side here. (Wait...I'm here to study?!)
So here's a little update on what's been going on:

About two weeks ago, we moved to our homestay families' homes.  I absolutely love mine!  Gary and Fiona are super cool house parents and really seem like they care about the student's crashing in their home.  While they have four kids, only one lives at home.  So it's been very nice to have a place to call home, parents and a sister, and even a very lovable dog to come back to every night. I just thought the hotel was amazing, I don't want to leave homestay!  This has been the biggest change that has happened since I last updated you guys, but so much has happened.

So here with go with the classic, Walley World bullet points!

...We got to experience Chinese New Year in Trafalgar Square complete with fireworks!
...I've seen the crown jewels in the Tower of London.
...Taylor Lautner watches me sleep. (in a poster in my room)
...I have stood on the stage of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.
...IT SNOWED...A LOT!
...I built a Shawreth snowman.
...I got to see The Swingle Singers in concert!  They are some of my favorite people in the world.
....I finally saw the original Phantom of the Opera production. (Random fact: In my London interview, they asked what I was most excited about in London...I said to see this show again).
...My tooth chipped off in class. Yes. A hunk of my front tooth literally chipped off. Luckily, it was on the backside, so you can't see it. But, that was still one of the most terrifying moments of my life.
...I have seen "The House of Bernada Alba," "Juno and the Paycock," and "The Woman in Black" plays.(Aren't you proud that I saw things other than musicals?)
...Mr. Rumbelow took us on his famous Jack the Ripper tour!
...we rode a ferry to Greenwich (grin-itch, NOT green-witch) for a day trip.
...I taught my British Literature professor, Dr. Price, how to do the Bernie on the prime meridian of the world.
...I actually got homesick for the first time this weekend.

This is certainly not everything that has happened in the past two weeks, but a few of the highlights that have made these past few days great!

Remember to check my Facebook every Sunday for my Sunday Snapshots, and you can also keep up with me via the school's Phanfare website:
http://www.mclondon.phanfare.com/
Almost daily, Dr. Price updates the site with pictures from all of our shenanigans.

There are times when I definitely miss home and I definitely miss the people in my life so much! (Yes, I miss my mama, but I'm a mama's boy, and I'm okay with that)  But, I am so blessed and lucky to be here, and this past month has really been the best month of my life! I'm looking forward to the next two!  See you April 9, America!