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!