Let me explain

Ok, Let me explain, why I have severely lagged in my blogging. We don’t have internet! I have even tried to steal the internet of people who live near me…they all have a password secured connection. Don’t they know that I NEED to blog! Geesh ;) Well, we have moved into our own place and we love it! It is so great to have our own place, now if only we had furniture…hmmm. (Does anyone want to open a crate and barrel up over hear and then give me 75% off of everything?)
God has been blessing us so much and still sometimes my heart yearns to be back in Lancaster? Dumb heart. Not that I miss the windy, hot desert. I miss my family, the Rideout girls and the Berthiaume clan. I miss grace Chapel (though I cannot tell you how much we really do love this new church, it is an awesome fellowship), I miss my close friends, I miss Hallie. But God’s word is so good and more than enough for me. It has helped me so much this past week, versus like Isaiah 41:13 and Psalm 25:4-5 have been speaking to my heart. I am so glad that I have an Abba father who will take my right hand and lead me.
Now to make me officially girly and totally confusing to my husband, I am also SO stinkin excited! Walking around here makes me call out praises to God for all that He has done, is doing, and will do. God has done a beautiful job, England is breath takingly beautiful. My heart also reaches out to a people that have turned away from God and have willingly given the enemy a stronghold. Learning about the church in Britain breaks my heart. The church is in constant decline and what little people there are coming to the Lord they are not English. It is mostly people who have immigrated to England. I wish I could make them understand that their problems aren’t economical, educational, or ecological. Their problem is one of the heart. Why has the Lord called us to a place that might be lush and green outside but so spiritually dead? What can I do? The answer…nothing; I can do nothing but be faithful to the Lord. So… “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there be any wicked way in me; and lead me in the way of everlasting.”
We have no idea what we are doing but thankfully we serve a King who has already won. Thank you all for praying for us, we feel them. We love you.

The key to our apt...I like that they have keys like this. More pictures coming soon...well when we get our internet :)

Summer is coming!

Ducklings always remind me that summer is on it's way :) I am not sure if you can see it but one of the ducklings is under it mom's wing (so cute). You also can't see it from these pictures but these ducks are huge! At least twice as big as the ducks at Apollo park maybe more.

Crew

Another British Tradition...Crew. It is huge in Oxford particularly, because of the Thames and the colleges are very competitive with each other. It is really fun to watch and I think Alan wishes he could do it.

It's May day...

Today is May 1st! Known here as May Day! I am not sure what goes on in other parts of the country but in Oxford there are folk Irish dancers, and the choir from one of the colleges sings on their roof at dawn and then go and jump off of a famous bridge (we hear that almost every year someone breaks their legs from doing this). Why you might ask...TRADITION! (pretend I sang that last part like Tevia from Fiddler...k) Tradition is huge here. I have a number of times (already) gotten the answer of tradition when asking a question about why something is done.

We had fun taking pictures around town today.

This is Corn Market street, the main street with plenty of shops and arcades (an arcade is an alley way lined with more shops and cafes).

This is a recreation of the Bridge of Sighs, it connects class rooms to the dormitories, I have actually been up there, thanks to an inside connection. I think it is either at Hartford College or University College, I can't quite remember.

These pictures were all taken in down town Oxford. I don't want to mislead (or disappoint you if you ever come visit), this is not the area we live in, we will be living in the Botley area of Oxford. It is no where near this impressive, it's a residential area. I will try to post again soon, but now it's late and I'm tired.