Writing from Canterbury...
Greetings, from Canterbury! I have been far less diligent in my writings than I had planned to be. Read: I’ve been in the UK for 16 days so far, and this is my second blog. You would think that during a partial vacation there would be time for things like this, but I’ve been captivated with everything around me and spend most of my time wandering around towns/cities, getting to know my hosts, taking long naps, and going to bed early.
The first stop was London, where I spent almost two days trying to get over jet lag at Maralee Vezie’s home (she is a friend of my pastoral care professor – she and her family are quite kind!). Jet lag was quite a beast! Tired to the point of nausea, yet desperately needing to keep up a good eating schedule. It was pretty awful. Unfortunately, due to my jet lag, I didn’t do much in London, but that was fine. I am spending my last week here staying only in London, and I’m actually even going to London tomorrow. This is a repeat if you read the previous blog. :)
After London, I went straight to Edinburgh, Scotland, and I stayed with the Rev. Dr. Elizabeth Koepping. She answered an email sent to the diocese of Edinburgh about a young, poor, American wanting to visit Edinburgh before studying at Canterbury, and she ended up with me on her doorstep. In the four days there, I saw tons of things: Edinburgh Castle, Scotch Whisky Experience, Arthur’s Seat, Scottish Parliament Building, West Parliament, St. Gile’s Cathedral, Royal Mile, Palace of Holyrood House, National Gallery of Scotland, and Greyfriar’s Kirk. I also feel like I know the town well. Even better than that, I learned a lot from talking to Elizabeth and I now count her as a friend. She cooked me meals, including authentic Malay food because she used to live in Malaysia. Her goddaughter Olga was visiting when I was, so I am also thankful to say that Olga is a new friend of mine.
After Edinburgh, I took the train to Berwick-Upon-Tweed where I met Alan and Suzy Gregory (For those of you who do not know Alan, he is my Church History professor at Seminary of the Southwest. He is actually from England, and because he is on sabbatical, he was staying at his house in England they were able to host me!). We walked the wall of Berwick and talked about its history, then went to Sea Houses, which is the village of Northumberland that Alan and Suzy live in. In Northumberland, I was able to make short trips to Bamburgh, Alnwick, and Lindisfarne. This trip included me seeing and touching many places and castles that are monuments of the history of the church I call my own. It was beautiful, chilling, and a profound blessing. I thank God for this experience!
I left Northumberland and traveled to Mirfield, which is a small town in Yorkshire, and I stayed at a small monastery in their retreat house to have a 24 hour retreat. It was astonishingly beautiful, and I thank God for a time and place to be contemplative and to pray. It was here, at Mirfield, that I realized that in the stillness and in the silence of the voice of God, I was still sad that I’m without some of my friends. I was still nervous about Canterbury. I was still unsure of whether I deserved this trip, and these blessings. I’m thankful that I had a retreat so I could listen to the inner thoughts that I could have so easily suppressed in a big city with plenty of tourist attractions. Since then, I’ve reminded myself of the fact that a lot of that was painful, but that the end result was a renewed spirit, and a spirit of honesty and truth.
Now, I’m safely at Canterbury. The program is going well, and I can hardly believe it is only day 2! I already feel like we are growing closer. This means we are having to learn how to communicate with each other, regardless of language barriers. I’m reminded by God to listen before I speak. This should be always on my mind, when I speak to anyone, but unfortunately I think I often let the hustle and bustle of daily life drive out these basic realities of how to love other people in the very simple ways. It is a blessing to be reminded of that basic way to love, by looking into the faces of the people from all of the different continents, and letting their voices slow down my own.
There are 34 of us studying here, and we pray Matins, have Eucharist, then study together, have free time, and then have Evensong every day. In amongst all of that we eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner together. Last night we feasted at the Dean’s house, which is the house that every Dean has lived in in the history of Canterbury (he is the 39th dean).
Tomorrow I’ll be going to London to visit the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, at Lambeth Palace. We will also look at a presentation on the KJV Bible, and eat lunch there also. We’ll return to Canterbury for dinner, then rest.
I can’t express to you how exciting this is! It is with extreme thankfulness that I speak about this trip. The sort of thankfulness that I’m afraid can’t be heard through written words on a blog. I’m overwhelmed by the presence of God, but let me say more. When I say I’m overwhelmed by the presence of God, I mean that in the ways that are expected – air, castles, trees, history, etc – of course.
But, what I also mean when I say that I’m overwhelmed by the presence of God, is that I’m overwhelmed with the blessings of prayer that I feel here, from those who love and care for me. I’m overwhelmed that anyone should believe that I should be here. I’m overwhelmed by how much I wish the people I already know and love were here to walk with me. I’m overwhelmed to be sent by God into a country I’ve never seen before, knowing that one of my most enlightening experiences will be when “strangers become friends.”
Love and blessings to all of you reading.