Happy Christmas to all

Greetings from the lovely island of England :)

Don't you just love the Christmas season? I am a big fan of Christmas, and everything that goes along with it. I'm also excited to add new traditions to my Christmas - things that I will take with me forever to add an English taste to my holiday repertoire. Things like...

CHRISTINGLES: Christingles SHOULD be a tradition in Florida! The whole craft of a Christingle centers around an orange. They are a little way for teachers to explain different aspects of the Christmas season to children. I had the pleasure of helping kids make Christingles in Religious Education classes last week! It was a ton of fun, and it made the school smell like home (mmm, orange blossoms)!

DIFFERENT TUNES: Lots of classic Christmas carols are set to different tunes in England. Right now, I'm in LOVE with their "Away in a Manger" version. If you click on this link, click the little play icon under "listen to 4 parts." (Click here to listen) OR you can listen to this cute girl on YouTube sing it - Adorable!

CAROL SERVICES: Nothing is more amazing than a good old fashioned Christmas Carol service, complete with a spread of Yule Logs and Mince Pies!

PANTOMIMES: It's VERY traditional to attend a Pantomime during the Christmas season. All the major theaters will have one on, and all of the school children will perform them as well. Basically, a Panto is a classic story (like Peter Pan, Snow White...) that everyone knows. Then, the Panto twist is that the story is tweaked a bit, and turned into a comedic performance with major female roles played by men. There is a lot of audience participation, and usually a few sing-a-long parts as well (with well known or currently popular songs worked in to the story line). Last year, I attended a professional Panto of Peter Pan, and this year I attended one at the local school with lots of kids in it that I know from the community (they did Cinderella). It's fun, and makes me feel like I have an inside joke with England! I now know all of the audience cues, like whenever a character starts a sentence like "Oh no, I did not!" we all have to enthusiastically shout "OH YES YOU DID!" Very dorky, and VERY fun :)

CHRISTMAS CRACKERS: I can't help it...I just love them so much. It's such a simple thing, but it's so much fun for some reason! It's hard to describe the Christmas cracker, so just watch this video to understand the basic concept if you don't know it already. Inside the crackers, though, is a little trinket, a paper crown (which you of course HAVE to wear immediately), and the worst, cheeeeeeeziest jokes ever. Again, I don't know why...but I love 'em.

GERMAN MARKETS: Ahh...I saved the best for last! Apparently, Germany knows how to do Christmas. They know it SO well in fact, that they spread their Christmas joy all over European cities in the form of German Markets. Basically, they set up little stalls in major city areas that sell handicrafts from all over the world. The BEST part is the food - amazing German sausages (!!!) and tons of sweets! Chocolate covered waffles, apples stuffed with marzipan, sandwiches inside massive soft pretzels, coconut covered marshmallows, skewers of fruit dipped in chocolate, and...the crown jewel of them all...German crepes! Ooooh yes...and a giant mechanical moose singing Christmas songs in German.

Well, that's all for my list! I hope that you all have a very Merry Christmas. I am VERY excited today...because I get to have a proper Christmas holiday! I'm leaving early tomorrow morning with my housemate Amy to visit Prague for a couple of nights. After that, we're flying up to Sweden (just north of Stockholm) to spend Christmas with a friend's family. Then...why just go home after that? Oh no - we're going to stop in Germany and visit some REAL German markets before heading back to Nottingham. Oh the joys of cheap travel within Europe! I know I'm going to miss my family a lot (again) this year, so I'm glad that Amy and I have found something fun to distract ourselves with!

I thought I'd post another video up here that I put together for one of the local Anglican churches. This was for their Christmas Carol service last Sunday night. I hope you enjoy! Happy Christmas everyone :)

Crystal's TOP 5 LIST

Well folks, I made it back to England! I had an amazing trip to my favorite peninsula, and would like to send a huge, resounding "THANK YOU" to each of you who took part in hosting me while I was in your area. I had a lot of fun getting to visit family and friends, and only wish my time there could have been longer! I'm still going through all my paperwork to see if I raised enough money for this coming year, so I would appreciate your continued prayers for my funding. It was a rough time to raise money with the economy the way it is right now, so I am thankful to have a God who provides for all things within His perfect will.

And now for a little bit of ridiculous fun. Since I'm quite a list-maker, I decided to come up with a list...the TOP 5 MOST AMERICAN THINGS I DID WHILE I WAS HOME. Enjoy :)

5. Ate hot dogs
While it is true that England has hot dogs available, it is NOT true to say that they are any good. The English pride themselves on having an excellent selection of sausages (each region has its own famous flavor), however, hot dogs in England come in a can. Usually, the hot dogs are in cans wrapped in an American flag. As a general rule, I have learned to steer clear of any foods in England that claim to be "All-American." Also disgusting is something found in England called "Florida Salad." Lies!

4. Watched the World Series
Oh c'mon Rays...why couldn't you pull it off?? I guess I can't really be too upset at them. Going from the worst team in the series to the 2nd best the following year isn't all bad when you really think about it. Also, I find it interesting to hear what one of my English friends said about the World Series in general. It was something like: "Only in America would they label something a 'WORLD' series and yet only allow American teams to play." Hmmmmm... :)

3. Purchased a can of pumpkin
It's true - Thanksgiving is pretty much only an American tradition (I say "pretty much" because apparently Canada celebrates Thanksgiving in October. But we all know that Canada is really just America's hat, so they're allowed to celebrate the day of thanks with us). This year, Amy (my American housemate) and I are going to throw a Thanksgiving celebration at our house like never before! Our lovely British friends are ecstatic and curious to learn about this crazy American tradition...including figuring out what exactly YAMS are, and learning how to create a piece of turkey artwork simply out of the outline of their hand. It's going to blow them away! Now if I could just figure out a way to get the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade broadcast in the UK...

2. I went to Church
This doesn't need much explanation...I don't want to be a Debbie Downer in the middle of this blog, but seriously - only 2% of the British go to church anymore...and I must admit, it was nice to go to a church where you have to rush in to secure yourself a seat.

AND the number one most American thing I did while I was home...(insert drum roll)...
1. I Voted
YES, of course I voted! I voted the only way I've ever voted, actually...absentee ballot. It's fun, but you never get a sticker...boo. I was flying in the air on election day. It's funny how many people in England were concerned about me seeming to "skip out" on election day! I reassured them that I did my duty as a citizen of that great non-canned-hot-dog-eating nation. I'm not exactly sure which conversation I dread more with the English - the one about my feelings on how the election went, or the one where they want me to explain the workings of our electoral college. Keep in mind that the fastest way to make me look like an idiot is to ask me anything about the inner-workings of our great American government.

And now back to your regularly scheduled blog :)

The first day I landed in England my teammates and I started a new program that we have called "The Point." The point of The Point is to be an intro to Christianity for youth. After having taught in a lot of the Religious Education courses here, we've heard a lot of the same questions over and over. Right now is the perfect time for our team (along with other local youth workers) to address these questions head-on with youth in the community. We've invited anyone interested in learning more about the basics of Christianity to meet with us at a lovely place called Mr. Pizza for free pizza (who'da thunk?) and a soda for an hour after school on Tuesday afternoons for 6-weeks. That first week our topic was simply "Who is Jesus?" and last week we looked into "Why did Jesus have to die?" Tomorrow we are studying "How can we thank Jesus for that?" (basically, we're going over the whole "believe, repent, confess, baptism" thing). I'm really excited about tomorrow! Each week, we've had more kids show up (last week we had 10 kids). A lot of them have very little to no church background whatsoever. However, one of the girls who DOES go to church with her grandma sometimes told my teammate last week that she had never heard of any of this stuff we are teaching them! That's crazy! I'm so proud to be part of something like this. The kids are going out of their way to come to something blatantly about Christianity...they're learning AND having fun...AND bringing friends. And I don't think it's just for the free slices of pizza...but that definitely makes it just that much more of an enjoyable experience.

Other than that, life in England seems to be getting back to normal. I have a new place to live this year (pictures coming soon, hopefully!) and I just had a birthday. 25 years old...holy canoli, what a weird milestone to reach. A man once told me that the more birthdays you have, the longer you live, so...birthdays must be pretty healthy.

Until next time...Cheers!

Mind the Gap

Hello, lovely people who read my blog! If you're reading this, just know that you are my favorite.

So, it's been just about 2 weeks since I landed in Florida. So far, everything has been great! I've finally met my new niece (adorable, by the way!), had more waffle fries from Chic-Fil-A than one should normally consume in a two-week period, got to see friends at Florida Christian College, taught a lesson in Route 56 (my old stomping ground at Christ's Church Mandarin)...I have such a surreal life right now! I have to keep reminding myself that life in the US doesn't always involve people shrieking your name in high (happy) tones while running towards you in the prepare-to-hug position. Who else in the world gets to take a month out of life to travel around and see all of their favorite people?? I'm the luckiest girl in the world, and that's the truth. Remember: If you're ever feeling down in the dumps, just leave for a year...come back, and see how dramatic people get, going out of their way to make your life wonderful.

As for my schedule while I'm here - - I'm in Jacksonville now, but soon will be in Port Richey. Then, a week of Mount Dora, Orlando, Cocoa...then on to Tallahassee, Panama City...Woah doggies! I'm already knackered (haven't used that British-ism in a while), but obviously very excited to see my supporting churches in these areas, and hoping to add a few new churches to my repertoire as well.

Right now, I'm sitting in the living room of one of my favorite families in the whole world: the Davis family. It's really strange being back in Jacksonville, and hanging out at the church that I worked at for the year before I went to England. I was sitting in my old cubicle today, working away at the computer. It almost feels like this past year was a dream! Or, like I had gone on one really long summer break, and now I'm back to normal life. It's a strange reality.

One thing I'm really excited about is getting the chance to tell my story to so many people! I've been asked if I'm already annoyed with answering the same questions over and over again, and I can honestly say "no way, Jose!" I am finding that more and more, I LOVE talking with people about what I get to do in England. God is doing some amazing things, and I just want to tell the world. So, to those of you who I'll be coming to see soon, get your questions ready...fire away. Bring it.

I'm also very excited about my new "campaign slogan," if you will. I'm no Sarah Palin, but I think I came up with a pretty creative way to promote our ministry in Nottingham! It's simple: "Mind the Gap." "Mind the Gap" is used in public transport around Britain, most famously at the Tube stations in London, to warn travelers of the gap between the platform and the train. I think this phrase quickly sums up what my team in England is doing - "minding the gap" that exists between the youth of Nottingham and the church. Our team is working each day trying to bridge the gaping chasm between culture and Christ (you can tell I went to Bible college because I can throw out spiritual alliterations like nobody's business). I'm so used to being around teenagers who have no concept of Christ or the church, which makes being in Jacksonville that much more encouraging. The youth that I left behind here just over a year ago are still able to inspire me with the way they grasp and refine their own faith. I love these kids - and can't wait to see what adventure God has planned for their lives.

Well, another day is up...one less day filled with sunshine and waffle fries. One day closer to being back in the land of tea and monarchy. I am torn between two wonderful worlds, and I love it :)

Hurricane Crystal heading to Florida

I didn't think I was one of those people whose life shuts down when their technology shuts down, but apparently...I am. I suppose that since I now live somewhere in the ballpark of 5,000 miles away from home, I have become more thankful to technology for allowing me to keep in touch. Lately, however, I just want to find whoever created computers and give them a swift kick in the knickers! Don't get me wrong, computers are GREAT. So great in fact, that I apparently became addicted to my trusty iMac laptop, and trusted it to keep my (incredibly necessary and all-important) "To-Do" lists, schedules, ideas...all the things that make my life run smoothly. Then, about two weeks ago, my computer decided it was done. It's never good when you turn on a laptop and see nothing but a black screen with a giant "X" symbol. Now I'm finding out that I've lost all of my files on that computer, along with the "To-Do" lists that made my life a happy place, much like the forests in a Bob Ross painting. Tomorrow I will be getting my iMac back, but our relationship with no longer be the same. I'm going to be keeping my lists and life on paper as much as possible.

So now that I've played my tiny violins for you and begged for your pity, allow me to tell you some stories of my life from the past couple of months since I haven't blogged in a while (which I would love to blame on my laptop, now nick-named "the Scape Goat").

First of all, THE OLYMPICS! When it comes to me and sports, I have stories of me faking nausea on the soccer team in 8th grade, or me running from volleyballs in high school. I have to admit, I'm not much of a sport's fan...unless the Braves are having a good season, in which case I tend to profess that I've been a life-long die hard fan...OR, whenever any sort of Olympic event is being held. I ADORE the Olympics, and have since the day I decided I wanted to become Kristi Yamaguchi. Watching the Olympics in a different country was an interesting experience, to say the least. First of all, the sports that their media focuses on here are more of the boating/kayaking events, badminton, archery, etc. The funniest thing I noticed about seeing the Olympics through English eyes was (again) the Eeyore-ish mindset. They never expect to win, and even the commentators will often say things like "Honestly, team GB isn't going to pull through to get a medal, and we all know it." Wow, what a positive attitude! They did blame most of their losses on the fact that they plugged most of the athletes in there trying to get them experience for 2012 - the London games. I HAD written out an amazing list of people and things I'd like to see in London's Olympic opening ceremonies (since I'm obviously qualified to make such important decisions in the country's history), but unfortunately, that was one of the notes that got blown up inside my laptop. Here come the tiny violins again... But for those of you who really care, here is a list of some of my favo(u)rite British things that (in my expert opinion) should be featured in 2012:

5. The Cadbury chocolate gorilla: This is the commercial I cannot seem to get away from. It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

4. The Edinburgh Tattoo: Umm, bagpipes, kilts, and a castle...need I say more?

3. The Queen's wave: Of the utmost importance, obviously.

2. Paul Potts: From "Britain's Got Talent," and the video that brings instant tears to my eyes...every single time.

1. The infamous "Charlie Bit My Finger" children: Adorable and hilarious. Don't you love little British kids?

The big news in my life right now is that I'm going to Florida in just THREE WEEKS! I've been fortunate enough this year to not suffer too badly from home sickness, but I'm finding that as the hours tick by and the day gets closer, I am getting SO excited about going home and spending time with my family and friends that I'm finding it hard to sleep! The reason for the trip home is to raise continued and new support for my next year in England. Please pray for me! Raising money is the hardest thing I've ever done, and having to return to do it again in short timespan is difficult. Also, pray that I don't spend too much of my own personal money on stuff I've been missing this past year! FLORIDIANS BEWARE: From September 22nd through the 3rd of November, there may be nothing left in Target or Old Navy. Also, Chic-Fil-A will be out of waffle fries and Moe's will be emptied of their Moo-Moo burritos.

I don't want to write too much in these posts and get all boring, so I'll wait to tell you my other tales of England in a couple of weeks. I'm moving in a week and a half, so hopefully I'll be able to post pictures of my new British home! Stay tuned, and I'll be seeing some of you in just a few weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WWII and eating jackets

Can I come up with weirder titles for my blog posts? Perhaps.

I think I've mentioned this before, but there are so many theories floating around about what exactly happened in England to land it in this current state of spiritual vapidness (is that a word? It sounds good anyways...). In other words, everyone wants to know what (or whom) we should point our fingers at. I've been overwhelmed in the past at the amount of theories, but one recently has struck me and I haven't been able to get it out of my head.

Ever since I arrived in England, I've been surprised at how many scars are still left behind by World War II. Damage to old buildings are still apparent, every town has at least one memorial, and they're STILL finding un-exploded bombs in some areas of England! I knew that WWII was a big deal in England, not because I learned about it in school (my history classes never went past WWI), but rather because I remember being sad for the broken family in one of my favorite Hailey Mills films (the WWI period piece, "Back Home" - just one of many Hailey Mills classics! Seriously..."Pollyanna" changed my life). So what does a world war have to do with the demise of an entire country's spirituality? Well, parts of the answer are too obvious for me to even type. Another aspect that I found somewhat less obvious (or maybe I'm just slow) is lost leadership. When WWII broke out on English soil, the church leaders wanted to set a good example, and as such, became many of the first to the front lines. Can you imagine an entire generation of church leaders wiped out by a MASSIVE war? I refuse to point fingers of blame in one direction, but I can't imagine it would be easy for any single church (much less an entire country worth of churches) to bounce back from that. I guess not all scars of war are as visible as a monument. Come to think of it, I wonder if people would notice if I built a monument in remembrance of the church.

This theory has now got me thinking a lot lately about the importance of leadership. I'm finding myself in an interesting stage of life where I'm watching many of the friends I graduated from Bible college with now becoming the new generation of church leadership. How bizarre is that! It just boggles my mind. I recently visited the Hillsong Church in London (what an experience!) and heard a sermon there on leadership. The precher compared it to a baton race, and that each generation is responsible for not only taking on the baton of leadership and running faithfully, but also for learning how best to perform the baton exchange when it's the next runner's turn. It's so true that races are won or lost in the exchange zone! It's such a quick process, but it makes all the difference how the baton is handed from runner to runner. I've started to pray even more fervently for my friends taking up roles of leadership, as well as for the current leadership that can train my friends and build them into incredible men and women ready to bear the baton for a season.

On a lighter note, I've been listening to BBC Radio 1 while writing this, and a news bulletin just came on saying that a woman recently had twins and tried to have them named "Fish" and "Chips," and was actually denied that naming right. Maybe I should be praying for these kids as well...haha! At least she didn't want them to be called "Bangers" and "Mash."

Speaking of food, I've had a request for me to write a bit about my English food experience! I absolutely LOVE English food. Most of the classic English dishes are very homey, comfort-ish foods, which I love. Plus I've always been a huge fan of cheese, and it turns out that each region of England has at least one type of its own cheese...heaven! So far, I love Derby (pronounced "Darby") and Red Leicester (pronounced "Lester") cheeses. Traditional English breakfasts are a fave (eggs, beans, mushrooms, tomato, sausage...), also pancakes (more like what we think of as crepes), Scotch Eggs (boiled egg wrapped in sausage and breading, then fried), Damson Jam (it's a type of plum), carrot & corriander soup, sandwiches with cucumber, anything with Nutella, Sunday roasts with Yorkshire pudding (!!!) and of course the classics like meat pies, fish 'n chips, kebabs...gosh, this is making me hungry. I'd have to say that the two types of food that I eat the most in England is Indian food (somehow England thinks it originated Indian food...but who cares, it's good! Rogan Josh is my choice of curry) and Jacket Potatoes. Jacket Potatoes are basically baked potatoes with whatever topping (the most popular being beans, tuna, sweetcorn, curry, pickle, pineapple...yeah, weird I know). I love visiting our local JPM ("Jacket Potato Man") to order a jacket with cheese, tuna, and sweetcorn. Classic English cuisine.

As for things like scones, crumpets and tea...what we think of as "proper English tea rooms" are getting harder to find (they're slowly being replaced by Starbucks and the like), therefore proper scones and crumpets are hard to find! I do love when we find a proper tea place (usually in smaller, cutesy towns like the Cotswolds) and we get to stop for an afternoon cream tea (scones with jam and hand-whipped cream....oooooh yeah). And as for tea, I'm becoming ever more English as I've slowly changed from drinking something that more resembled tea-flavored candy into now a proper cup of "white tea," meaning tea with just milk. Yay me!

I hope you all are having a lovely July! I'm currently dog sitting, so I get to enjoy the English summer weather even more than usual :) But for now, I'm going to go grab myself some lunch and then off for some more adventures in Nottingham.

Cheers!

I suppose it's my own fault for waiting this long to write a new blog, because now I find myself struggling to choose which stories to share of the hundreds of things that have happened since my last post. I've narrowed the "hundreds" down to just 4...aren't you proud? I tried to be brilliant, and make the 4 things start with the same letter, or at least have them spell out a word...after all, I DID go to Bible College. As we all know, every good ministry-related thing makes excellent use of alliteration and the like. I was unsuccessful, sadly...yet another reason I could never be a preacher. Well, on with it, already!

1.) Scotland: I have finally experienced a proper "British Holiday" as I spent a week in Scotland with my teammate (Amy), her sister, and her sister's friend. Scotland was AMAZING!! We were in Edinburgh for a couple of days (even had time to visit with a missionary there who Amy went to Ozark Christian College with) and then took a backpacker's tour (with "Haggis Adventures") up through the Highlands of Scotland, including Loch Ness and many other crazy-beautiful areas of Scotland. I ate haggis (twice, actually...I liked it!), saw an ancient (like, B.C. ancient) pagan worship site, learned how to make a kilt by simply folding one giant piece of fabric (a skill which will, no doubt, come in handy often), and took a cruise on Loch Ness searching for the illustrious Nessie. My photos are in the Scotland album on my Flickr site ~

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sisterhutch/

2.) Friends: I can't stress enough how encouraging it was for me to have two of my friends visit! It's strange to think that everyone I've been with over the last 9 months or so has been people I've only known for...well, 9 months or so. It was nice to have friends that I've known for years make the tiring journey across the pond to stay with me for a little over a week! Bonnie and Miriam stayed in Nottingham for a few days, getting to see (and participate in!) some of the ministry I'm involved in on a weekly basis. It was really good for me to see Nottingham and my ministry here from new eyes all over again! We had a lovely time seeing the city, playing crazy games with youth, and strolling by my favorite place in West Bridgford - - the Trent River. After that, we spent the weekend in London, getting to see some of my favorite "big-city" sites - the Tower of London, Big Ben, the British Museum...and, of course, experiencing the joy of the underground Tube! I had an amazing time in London; we went to a few places I've never had the chance to go in London yet, such as Portobello Road (remember that from Angela Landsbury's "Bedknobs and Broomsticks"??) and we even went to church at the new Hillsong London venue.

3.) E-mail: Here is an excerpt from a message our team recently received from the head of the Religious Education department at West Bridgford School ~

"I am writing Year 7 reports at the moment, which involved them writing about their achievements this year. A significant number mentioned the lesson with the Americans as standing out a lot in their memory. One girl wrote: "the topic that I think I did well in was when we had visitors from USA and I listened and concentrated and I still remember what they were saying" - which I take to mean the lesson had a big impact."

How encouraging! Also, one of the older girls that has been coming to our after-school club for years now has been showing a LOT of interest in learning more about God. She has even chosen to focus on Religious Education in her Sixth Form courses (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixth_Form). My teammate David has given her a teen Bible, and we're all hoping to get the chance to talk with her about things more outside of school. Please pray for her and for her parents (who are atheists who often forbid her to visit our after school club).

4.) Decision: After tons and tons of prayer and talking with friends and family (both here and in the U.S.), I have finally made my decision to stay for another year. I'll still be going home for a month or more to re-raise support and make sure my visa is in order, so hopefully I'll have the chance to visit most of you during that time!

I've been working really hard over the last year to get to the point where I am now with the local youth, and it seems like leaving now would be a huge mistake. I feel that I've managed to build trusting relationships with a few different groups of un-churched kids, and I don't feel right dropping those right now. Also, a lot of what I've been doing this past year has been preparation, set up, and ground work for some really exciting ministries...we're getting SO close to seeing the fruits of our labor as everything starts to kick off, and I want to be here to see these projects through. It just makes sense on so many levels, and God has really given me a peace about staying. I think I'm starting to get even MORE excited about what God's going to do in my 2nd year here than I was about coming for this year...so yeah, that's a lot of excitement :)


So there we go...my update. Sorry for the delay between posts! What can I say? I'm a terrible person :) I'll try to be better in the future. Until then, thanks again for all of your encouraging e-mails and comments.

Pip pip and cheerio, my friends!

Cherry Tree

This past weekend, I went with most of my team to visit a church in Romiley, part of the Greater Manchester area. We had previously met a guy from Romiley who is involved in a similar ministry to what we're currently working towards in West Bridgford. When he invited us to visit, we thought he was thinking of taking us on a little walk, maybe grab some food, have a chat...but no! This guy (his name is Joe) actually put together an entire 3-day schedule for us to observe and interview all sorts of people involved in the ministry there! It was so exciting to see the energy of the people and to be able to see such a vibrant, growing ministry.

I'm a story junkie. I get easily sucked into TV series like "LOST" because there's such an intricate story line to follow. Sometimes I forget that every person I meet has an interesting story of their own to tell, and the church in Romiley was no exception!

We met a vicar (Tom) who, in my team-mate David's words, is "an Anglican who isn't bothered about being Anglican." He told us the story of how the church he is the vicar of began to look outside itself as it felt the challenge to "do church in new ways." The entire church went through a makeover period, including everything from painting the inside to make it look more joyous to him deciding to not wear his vicar's collar (he said it seemed to reinforce the mindset that ministry was only HIS job, and not the congregation's). He was such a cool guy! One of those types of people you meet and immediately are jealous of his magnetic personality. He even told us a story about how he met a total stranger on the slopes in Switzerland who had become a Christian just 6 weeks before. Tom shared the church's vision to start a community centre, and the stranger decided to give 100,000 pounds towards the cause!

Well, Tom is definitely not the only creative, passionate minister in Romiley. We met with loads of people - some volunteer, some staff - who simply live to love the people of Romiley. There is not a need in the community that is not being met by the church and its community ministries. They give computer courses, family counseling, youth care, school teachers...so much more! The main reason we went was to see the Cherry Tree Community Shop. Cherry Tree is an area of Romiley that used to be known as a lost cause, with loads of troublesome teens, violence, alcohol and drug issues. Our friend Joe and his wife Kat decided to strategically move into a house on the Cherry Tree estate, and to begin loving the Cherry Tree people with the love of Christ. They opened (with the help of the local borough council) a youth and community centre. They not only keep the kids off the streets and out of trouble, but they teach them how to feed themselves properly (most of these kids don't get a nutritional meal at home, if they get one at all), and encourage them to learn life skills that can lead to a successful career. The kids have helped rebuild and put together the centre, and now have such a high respect for what they've done that it has never been vandalized. The youth love and respect Joe and Kat so much that they are the first people they go to with issues and problems. They are always meeting with kids in their home, and are continuing to share life and Christ with them. They have seen lives begin to change, and now the entire community of Cherry Tree has been uplifted! Even while we were visiting, we saw Joe engaging in conversation with the local drug dealer, who was asking Joe to get together with him and talk about how he could get himself out of the terrible life he's made for himself. Wow.

Isn't that so exciting? Well, my team and I were thrilled. It was so encouraging to meet people that we know nothing about really...but since we all had one very important thing in common, it was like meeting family. It was neat to see that a lot of what we're starting to do now is something that can actually work! Similar to Romiley, we work with the local schools, borough council youth clubs, as well as churches, so it was great to see how it can all link together. We learned a lot, received some great advice, and now have contact with a similar ministry that is a couple of years ahead of what is just sparking in our ministry now. Neato!

Also...we got to have a bit of fun time in Liverpool over the weekend. I was beyond excited, being a Beatles fan all my life, and a new Liverpool Football Club fan!! The picture at the top of this post is myself on the left with my teammate Amy at the Cavern Club, which is an ex-bomb raid shelter where the Beatles performed 292 times in one year alone! We also got to see the river Mersey, where I sang the Gerry and the Pacemaker's 1964 hit, "Ferry cross the Mersey" song for a good 15 minutes straight. It was an amazing city, and I'd love to go back. A couple of very exciting, but completely random things happened in Liverpool: we met the Harlem Globetrotters while they were being tourists themselves (they are apparently touring Great Britain right now, who knew?) and we also found A&W Root Beer in Chinatown (root beer is one of the American luxuries that doesn't exist in England, sadly enough). I have pictures of my Liverpool trip (and a recent trip to Sherwood Forest!!) up on my Flickr site - www.Flickr.com/photos/sisterhutch.

All-in-all, a very successful weekend indeed :)

Steaming hot cup of evangelism

When I have the opportunity to speak on the phone (or on the computer via SKYPE, the most amazing invention since the Cadbury Cream Egg McFlurry) with family or friends in Florida, I always get some sort of semi-braggy comment about the weather. Well people, you can HAVE your humid hot weather! I am absolutely LOVING the seasons in England! Autumn felt (and looked) like Autumn, there was a bit of snow in the winter...and now that Spring is on its way, I am AMAZED at the amount of wild daffodils and perfect little pink blossoms on the trees. Sure, it's still a bit chilly outside, and sometimes I worry that I might be getting frostbite in my fingers, but the chill that still lingers in the wind serves its purpose. It helps me to be able to use the newest, most exciting, most effective evangelistic tool known to mankind today. Hot chocolate.

Some of the local youth workers (including myself) have decided to take the church to the streets, and hand out *proper* Cadbury hot chocolate every other Friday night. We meet at a church, pack up the chocolate and other goods (marshmallows and "squirty cream," of course), pray for our journey, and then head out. It's funny, because the Friday nights that we go out are usually the coldest nights of the week! I guess it makes us walk faster, and makes us all learn more about each other since we're holding on to each other for warmth. No matter how cold it may be, there are always kids just wandering around in the streets! We try not to attack or frighten them away, but just gently walk up smiling, asking if they'd like a cup of hot chocolate. Of course, there's the initial "My mom told me not to take candy from strangers" look of reply, but then all the fear melts away when they see the steam coming off the fresh brewed cup o' chocolate. Mmmmm! We always make it extra pretty with loads of cream and 'mallows, which helps to break the ice (literally) and start up a bit of conversation. They always want to know why on earth we're out in the cold, and why on earth we're not asking them to pay for the hot cup of happiness.

We've had a few interesting experiences in the few times we've been out on the streets. Last week, our team gave hot chocolate to a boy who was on his way to work at a lap dance club in the city, and we also interrupted a drug deal...I'm not kidding! We gave them all hot chocolate (extra marshmallows), and actually ended up having deeper God-centered conversations with those kids than we'd ever had before. We've also seen one boy who literally RAN away from us (woops!), some who thought we were crazy, but also others who were so intrigued by the simple gift of warmth that they ask all sorts of questions. I think it's been so long since anyone in this area has seen a practical application of Christian principles. It's also been cool to see their reaction when we tell them that each and every one of us there is a leader in a DIFFERENT church - not two of us go to the same one! So, obviously, we're not there pushing the agenda of one church, nor are we trying to push them to go to OUR church. We just want to show them love in a simple, practical way.

In other news...one of the churches I regularly attend was recently featured in a news segment on SkyTV! One of my vicar friends, Simon, is pretty well known in the area because he's no regular ho-hum Oxford graduate vicar...he's also a racer! The media finds him quite interesting. He was excited to have the chance to speak out in the news about the Christian perspective on debt. The link below will send you to the video clip with Simon and St. Giles Anglican Church. The young people sitting in a circle with Simon are some of my friends from Something Else! Keep your eye out for the girl in the circle who looks bored out of her mind (curly hair, black scarf) - that's my housemate Josephine :)

Click here to see the SkyNews clip with Simon

I hope that you all had a "well good" Easter. I went to St. Giles for their morning service, and then had an incredibly American day...going out for lunch at TGI Fridays. Also, my housemate's parents bought me a load of Belgian chocolate eggs! Oh yeah!! Amazing.

Be sure to check out my pictures (www.flickr.com/photos/sisterhutch) - I finally posted the ones from the castle I stayed in with St. Luke's youth group, and I also put up my pictures from the Cotswolds area of England. Quite nice indeed.

Why do you believe in God?

First of all, YES there was an earthquake! The biggest earthquake (5.3) in the UK for nearly 25 years woke me up on Wednesday just before 1am. I (halfway) woke up, thought "What? What is this?" and basically fell right back to sleep. So weird...but thankfully, it was still a small enough 'quake to not make much damage.

Now, as the Brits would say, "On to the more important bit!"

If I hadn't done enough work over the last 6 months to merit my living in England, this past week alone would have more than compensated. I have had the craziest, most exciting week! And yet, there is more to come...

The Fittros have welcomed a team of Lincoln Christian College students to Nottingham for the last few years (for one week of cross-cultural ministry experience). The West Bridgford School even plans the team into its R.E. ("Religious Education") curriculum! This year, the school sent 17 students. Those students, plus a couple of their leaders, the Fittro family, our current intern, Amy and I....yeah, quite a crowd of Christians storming into the local school! It sounds silly, but it really does cause quite a stir when every 11-16 year old student is told they are guaranteed to have a conversation with at least one American. So anyhow, we were split into groups, and sent to 3 or 4 different classes during each of the day's 5 periods.

A typical day in the schools like this turns out to be not very typical at all. For example, one of my days started with a class of 17 year olds studying popular theories of why atheists believe God doesn't exist. My next class was a room full of 12 year olds trying to compare and contrast Christianity with Sikhism. Then, I had a small table of 16 year olds working out medical ethics issues (abortion, euthanasia, animal testing...) and then, to cap off my day, I had a table of 15 year old boys all to myself to discuss the Christian viewpoint of sex, marriage, and homosexuality. Yep. Quite the full day!

I didn't think this week would be as exhausting as it actually ended up being. It really wears you down emotionally to be put in the hot seat for your faith. Every class that we were in required that we split into small groups for more one-on-one time with the kids. Here are some of the questions I was asked, word-for-word, this week:

- "How can you believe a God exists when things like hurricane Katrina happen?"
- "Do you think homosexuals are going to hell?"
- "How can you believe that someone died and came back to life?"
- "Do you think that maybe you're just a Christian because your parents are?"
- "Have you ever witnessed a miracle?"
- "Do you believe in ghosts?"
- "If there is a God, why did he give most of the money in the world to selfish people?"

The comment I heard the most this week was, "Christianity is my religion, but I don't know anything about it. I'm not even sure if a God exists." Frustrating things such as this kept creeping up, but I definitely took the time to celebrate the victories found in kids that I can tell are getting SO close to seeing Christ as the Truth, as well as the one little boy who commented "Wow, I never actually thought of it that way before" after I desperately tried to explain why I believe God exists. I think MANY seeds were planted in the school this week.

In a few of the classes, the teacher actually had the kids stand up to indicate if they consider themselves theists, agnostics, or atheists. After my initial shock that they are allowed to ask the students to do this in a public school, I was again shocked to see young kids proudly standing to identify themselves - in relatively equal numbers - as the three options. A few of each were asked to defend their position. There are SO many kids that are struggling within themselves as an agnostic - unsure of the answer to "the God question." Even the head of the R.E. department stood to claim he was an agnostic, saying that recent events (the death of his mother) have caused him to question God's existence.

We decided months ago that we would plan a youth cafe night for one of the nights the Lincoln team was here. We promoted the event tirelessly in all of the classes at the school (food, live band, games, karaoke!). Well, tonight was the big night! We had no clue how many kids would show up, having an event on a school night with a bunch of strangers and all...but about 45 teens showed up!! We were so excited! For West Bridgford, THAT is a breakthrough. It was a fun, encouraging night.

Tomorrow is my last full day of R.E. classes. I'm going to miss it...but then again...I am VERY excited about the next few days! Guess where I'm staying this weekend? A CASTLE! Yes!! Alton Castle! Amy and I were invited to be team leaders at a youth weekend away with 53 of the students at St. Luke's Anglican Church. When I attended a meeting to help plan and prepare for the weekend away, I couldn't help but laugh when I heard that the biggest obstacle in planning the outdoor games was the concern over the kids possibly falling into the giant MOAT around the castle. Truly, the issues in English youth ministry are quite different :) Also, looking over my schedule of events, there is a billiards competition in the dungeon, and small group meetings in the crypt. I am SO excited! A proper English castle! And we're even having a Medieval banquet for dinner one night - - complete with all of us leaders renting Medieval costumes as a surprise for the teens. Amazing, right?

Hope you all have a lovely weekend...and try not to be too jealous of me! I promise I'll take lots of pictures at the castle, and share as soon as I can :)

Held

Is it strange that I still wake up most mornings thinking "Holy cow, I live in ENGLAND!" Blessed seems like such a small word to use to describe how I feel...but I can't think of anything else more appropriate, so yes. I am blessed to be here. Ministry in this culture is such a challenge, which has forced me to learn and grow. Through all the high and low points, I'm still determined that the single greatest feeling in the world is knowing that you're exactly where God wants you to be at that precise moment. I suppose knowing exactly what to do while you're there is the tricky part.

So now that I find myself steeped (no "tea" pun intended...well, maybe) in all sorts of diverse ministries, I've been quite thankful to of found a community of people my age that I can learn and grow alongside of. "Something Else" is the name of a small congregation of young adults that I meet with most Sunday nights. We meet in a small corner of the local Anglican church. I really need to take pictures of that place, because it is AMAZING. It's one of those church buildings that makes American jaws drop. It's just funny to think that people were holding potlucks in that place when George Washington was still in diapers!

I've made a lot of friends at Something Else, which has been imperative to the keeping of my sanity! It reminds me a lot of a service I attended while working at Christ's Church in Jacksonville (www.TheWellJax.com). The more diverse church services I attend in England helps to build the picture in my mind of the worldwide church. I've heard and read that our worship here is just practice for heaven...which is going to be crazy when you really think about it. My tiny, inexperienced brain tends to think that the biggest difference in churches is if they use PowerPoint or hymnals. What about worship in Haiti? Thailand? Poland? Kenya? Germany? China? What does THAT look like? What is it going to look like when it all comes together, and we truly worship as one in heaven? I can't wait to see the beautiful diversity of worship in heaven...our first true family celebration. Cool.

Wow, how did I get off onto that tangent? Back to "Something Else."

Of course I can't just GO to a church service without helping out in some way or another, so I've been roped in bit by bit to contribute. Most recently, I was given the task of putting together a video. I was handed the song "Held," by Natalie Grant. Wow. What a powerful song! And putting together a visual aid for the song ended up becoming an act of worship in itself. The song is about suffering, which I am not currently experiencing when compared to the rest of the world (come on, I live in ENGLAND! Can life get any better than this??) but I did identify with the need to be held.

By the way, it's the most bizarre thought to me when I think that I am a college graduate. I'm in my mid-twenties! Lots of my very best friends are getting married and having babies and starting careers...and that's supposed to be normal. I guess I'm supposed to be considered an "adult." Haha! You've got to be kidding me. I still feel like a little kid. I feel like my being in England is just a really awesome Summer camp. If I really sit and think about how I'm an adult with adult-like responsibilities, bills, taxes...and that I live in another COUNTRY...I think I might have an anxiety attack. So, I tend to try to not think about being an adult too often :)

Back to the song "Held," - - it really helped me to think about how going through difficult, challenging times in life are what bring us closer to God. Of course it's not fun to find yourself in the midst of suffering, but just knowing that you are being held by Christ through it all can be a priceless gift only found through the rough times. I think that's the biggest thing that separates Christians from those who choose not to accept Christ - we have hope. Everyone suffers. We live on earth, and we're human. Bad stuff is going to happen, no matter who you are or what you believe. But for those of us who are clothed with Christ, we have hope no matter what. It is silly to think that the "worst" thing that can happen to you on earth is death. Really? Seriously? That's the WORST? Satan is such a weenie.

I'll stop blabbering on and just let the song lyrics speak for themselves. Enjoy the video!


(For those of you not incredibly YouTube savvy, I suggest hitting the "Play" button, then pausing it once it starts to play. Wait for the grey line to fill up the play area, and then hit "Play" again. This helps the video to load completely before you start watching the video.)

For such a time as this

I was having a chinwag (my favorite British word for "chat") with one of my new British friends. She's a wonderful gal, close to my age, with whom I share four very important passions: God, youth work, hot chocolate, and shopping at IKEA. Aside from all that, I'm just downright impressed that she graduated from Cambridge University! I mean...wowzers. So, anyhow, the other day we had a chinwag (seriously, I can't stop using this word) about youth work in West Bridgford (the *posh* area of Nottingham that I live and work in). Now, my friend was born and raised in Nottingham, and has a wonderful grasp on the community and youth in the area. My friend remembers more than one group of workers coming in for weeks or months at a time, attempting to set up some sort of youth ministry in West Bridgford. The way all of these groups individually described West Bridgford to her was as if it had a sort of haze over it...like a cloud of apathy just hanging there above the seemingly perfect little town.

West Bridgford has long carried the title "Fur coat & no knickers," given to it from the surrounding areas of Nottingham. Aside from being an adorable-sounding British phrase, "Fur coat & no knickers" basically means it's all about show. The theory is that West Bridgfordians only have enough money to APPEAR wealthy (thus the fur coat), but underneath it all...can't even afford underwear.

Putting both of the above ideas together in my head seems to paint an almost Stepford Wives-ish picture.

Where I find myself right now is in a state of awe of God's timing. The team I'm working with is in the EXCITING stage of putting together a vision team for our future outreach center / youth church / cafe ministry / whatever you want to call it. As we've been making lists of names and praying over them, amazing things have been happening. Again, this is something that has been hard for me to assign words or coherent thoughts to...but of course, I'll try to type it out anyway! Please forgive me as I attempt to record my scattered thoughts.

There are already big stories of God's power coming from our vision team...and we haven't even had our first official meeting yet. Ha! We divided the names of the people we needed to "cast the vision" to, in hopes that we could persuade some of the people on our list to join our vision team. So how's this for making our job easier - some of them approached us before we had time to ask...inquiring about how they could get involved in what we're doing because they had recently been feeling like God was really tugging on their hearts to get involved in youth ministry!

One of the gals I asked to be on our VT was recently given the task at her job to map out all the local youth clubs or centres...and, as expected, she found a grand total of ZERO. Zip-a-dee-doo-da. This is quite an embarrassing find for such a prestigious area of Notts! The government in the area is to the point where they are DESPERATE for anyone to do ANYTHING with the youth in West Bridgford. So, now our vision team gal's task at work is to propose what the local borough councils should invest in...gee, can you think of anyone wanting to put together a community minded youth ministry?? :)

This is the perfect time for our ministry to take root. The churches in West Bridgford are coming together in an amazing way for the first time. It just seems like the local church leadership is being pruned, primed, and prepared for something BIG. Time and time again, the passage in Esther about how Mordecai suggests that she was brought to her position by God specifically "for such a time as this" has come up. It keeps popping up in sermons and devotions had by our vision and prayer teams.

My teammate, Amy, told us that her mom says God answers prayer in four ways:

1.) Yes
2.) No
3.) Later, or
4.) I thought you'd never ask!

We're thinking that all of our prayers for this area of Nottingham is resulting in God answering us with #4. That's exciting.

There is an unseen spiritual battle going on right now in West Bridgford. Satan has had an invisible hold on this area for a long time now, and he's not going to let go without a fight. But...God is raising up an army of dorky Americans and silly Brits that are ready to take hold of the promise found in 1 Chronicles 20:15 - "Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's."

Selfishness, Football, and Velma

It is interesting to talk with the English about what they think of the USA. Unfortunately, most of them only know the USA seen on TV - via New York City and "Hollyweird," as my Dad would say. Unfortunately, people like Tom Cruise and Paris Hilton end up being the face of the States to the rest of the world. Lovely. I've heard many opinions on the American lifestyle, but the one thing that comes up time after time is selfishness. Most of the people I've spoken with here have the mindset that Americans are incredibly wasteful. Images of large SUVs and other un-necessary gas guzzlers that are all about status and image puzzle the Brits (you could NEVER fit even a mid-sized American car on their tiny little roads!). I never realized how much open space we have in the US compared to a tiny little island country like England where they have to build UP-wards instead of OUT-wards. I've never learned so much about recycling since I came here! It's like every English person tries to take me on as their personal project, teaching me how to refute my "wasteful American" ways. They drop a heavy fine on you if you don't recycle properly! We have had more in our recycling bin than in our "rubbish" bin every week! I've heard more than a few sermons on the importance of recycling...that's so bizarre to me, but it's finally all starting to sink in. Weather I completely agree with all of the American stereotypes, I'm going to do my bit to change my wasteful habits.

One of my favorite hymns in the churches here is called "Make Me A Channel of Your Peace." The song is a great reminder, again, of the pitfalls of a selfish lifestyle. I'd never heard of this song before, but apparently it is an adaptation of a famous prayer by St. Francis of Assisi.

Make me a channel of your peace.
Where there is hatred let me bring your love;
Where there is injury your pardon, Lord;
And where there's doubt true faith in you.

Refrain:
Oh, Master grant that I may never seek
So much to be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love with all my soul.

Make me a channel of your peace.
Where there's despair in life let me bring hope;
Where there is darkness, only light;
And where there's sadness, ever joy.

Refrain

Make me a channel of your peace.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
In giving to all men that we receive;
And in dying that we're born to eternal life.

Refrain

According to Wikipedia.org (I'm addicted to Wikipedia! It's a disease, I know), Mother Teresa started each day reciting this prayer. Many quite diverse musicians have recorded their own versions of the song, and even Margaret Thatcher paraphrased the prayer right after she won the election for Prime Minister of England in 1979. If you would like to hear a version of the song that is very similar to the way the hymn is played in churches, click here: Channel of Your Peace (A big thanks to my friends Dan & Serenity for bringing that link to my attention! I really am in love with this song, and Denison Witmer did a great job on it!)

I hope and pray that as Christians (regardless of tribe, tongue, or nation) we can learn to leave selfishness behind. As much as we seek to be understood, may we even more seek to understand others. As much as we seek to love, may we even more so seek to love the rest of the world with the love of Christ.

In other MUCHO important news...I have made a very important, life-altering decision. After much prayer, fasting, and supplication, I have decided which football team I will claim as my own. Football (soccer) is more popular here than ANYTHING else. I've never experienced anything like the loyalty every person in this country holds for "their" team! When the country surveyed its youth, 5 out of the top 10 role models they listed were footballers. So...drum roll please...I've decided that my team is...Liverpool! And yes, I'm such a girl. I chose my team not based on stats, popularity, players, coach, or anything normal like that. I just picked them because that's where The Beatles are from. What can I say? Any city that can produce hits like "Eleanor Rigby" and "Penny Lane" deserves my support, right? :) Hey, at least I didn't pick them based on how pretty their uniforms are.

I hope that all of you enjoyed your Christmas and New Years Eve! I spent Christmas Eve through Boxing Day in the ORIGINAL Boston, which is in Lincolnshire. My British roommate's family invited myself and my teammate over for the holidays! We had a lovely time, sampling traditional British (and Dutch) Christmas food. As for New Years Eve, one of the local Church of England evangelists invited me over for his "Fancy Dress" party. "Fancy Dress" in England means "Costume Party," and the theme for his was cartoon characters. I went as a surprisingly convincing Velma from Scooby Doo! You can see pictures of Boston and Velma on my Flickr site, if you so wish.

Velma_5
Originally uploaded by sisterhutch11