A lovely day in London

Yesterday, Eseul and I went to visit Nancy in London for the last time. We were so excited for this day because we really wanted to hang out with Nancy again and see what Newsong London is all about.

I think yesterday was seriously the best day I've had in England so far. It wasn't even like we saw a lot of new things, but I think just being around Nancy and her friends, seeing how God is working in London and talking about where we are right now, where we're headed, and what He is doing in our lives was so refreshing and just good. I wouldn't trade that for anything.

Eseul and I woke up at 7 AM to get ready and catch our 9 AM coach to London. I was so exhausted because I slept really late the night before, but I couldn't fall asleep because the coach was so uncomfortable... the seats don't lean back!

Eseul having a very uncomfortable nap... hahaha.

Got to London two hours later and took the tube from Victoria to South Kensington to go to Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB), which is the church TIM HUGHES leads worship at!!! =)

Here it is!!! OH my gosh.. I was so excited to be here... I'm even getting excited right now just writing about it..!

They don't allow you to take videos or photography inside, so I didn't (I think that was my first time actually following the "no cameras" rule..) But it is pretty inside. It looks like one of those medieval cathedrals with stained glass windows and everything.

The speaker, Miles Toulmin, spoke from 1 Kings about following the calling God has placed in your life. (You can listen to the sermon here.) I think the message was a good reminder to me, especially as summer's coming to an end and pretty soon I'll be leading a small group, searching for jobs/internships, and just getting back into my "routine" life again. Many times I end up just doing things on my own without waiting to hear from God, but I wonder how much of what I do and put my time and energy in is actually what He wants for me. I think I need to be constantly reminded to just be still before Him and wait on Him instead of trying to do everything by my own strength or doing things simply out of habit or because I think I'm "supposed" to.

Oh, and sadly, I did not get to see Tim Hughes because he was away "on holiday" (say that outloud in a British accent, it sounds cute!) It's okay though, I'll see him next time he comes to Newsong again.

After service, we found Nancy!! She was with her two friends, Christina and Hannah, who also went to UCI... except Christina is 25 and Hanna is 29, so they graduated a while ago. What's weird though is that they all met each other for the first time in London.

We all ate at this cute French restaurant nearby.

This place was not that cheap and Nancy paid for ALL our meals, drinks, and even dessert (that's for FIVE people!) Can she please not...?!


I love my England mom!!

Aww.. Nancy gets more and more beautiful everytime I see her!

Afterwards, we went to the world's largest department store in the WORLD, Harrods (there are 330 different departments there!)

It is soo nice and luxurious in this place. Everything is super expensive too.

Meat.



Fruits.

These cooking oils cost around 20 pounds ($40)... whyyy would you buy that?!

These bouquets cost 55 pounds! sigh...


Chocolate high heels... cute huh?

Oh my gosh. This was my favorite part of the store. It's this super pretty cafe area with really cute pastries and chocolates. It looked so much nicer in person though! I wish I could have taken more pictures here but I was scared of getting caught (you aren't allowed to take pictures in the store).

Escargot costs 350-375 pounds and Caviar costs 600-700 pounds!!! I don't even know what to say to that...

These are chocolates... CUTE right?!

The chocolate section of the store looked so good. There are so many of these pretty chocolates on display.

Me with the chocolates. I'm so happy. =)

Afterwards, we took the bus to the area where Dave Brubaker lives and sat in this Starbucks.
That's Christina... she doesn't look 25, right?! She looks so young.

We sat in here for over two hours just talking about everything. Nancy was telling us how she's doing in London, where she wants to go from here and talking to us about leading and our experiences in England so far. It was like having small groups in London... haha. I enjoyed this so much!!


This picture is to show all of Nancy's supporters back home how holy she is in London, holding her Bible and pretending she's actually reading it.. haha. Seriously, this picture is so cute though.

It was raining outside while we were talking.. I love that feeling of being inside a coffee shop while it's raining.

Walking to the Brubaker's!
The Brubakers are a family from California that moved to London to work with Cheer (the organization that Newsong London is teamed up with). They came here only a couple months before Nancy arrived I think.

It's this bright blue house on the corner.


This house is so nice and cozy!

It's weird when you see Dave Brubaker and then see the place he lives because Dave looks like a total hippy but his home is really nicely decorated. I asked him if he decorated it himself but he said no, the landlord did it... haha.

This made me so happy!!!!
After the rain stopped, there was this HUUUGE rainbow outside. No joke. Everyone came out of their homes just to look at it. SOO beautiful! I felt like God was smiling down at us at this moment. =)

The other end of the rainbow!

Christina, Nancy, Dave, Hannah and the rainbow... this picture is priceless!

Back in Newsong Irvine, they always talk about "church without walls," but I never really understood what that meant until I came to London. Newsong London is REALLY a church without walls. There's no actual building where they hold formal services with worship and a sermon... it's really about bringing God to people by loving others and "preaching" the gospel through your everyday actions. I love how the Brubaker family lives out this vision by just opening up their home every Sunday for dinner and making everyone feel welcome and at home there. Dave's passion and energy are contagious, his wife, Jill is incredibly gorgeous and their five-year-old daughter is adorable. Such a beautiful family!

For "service," it was basically a dinner gathering at the Brubaker house. Jill made Mexican food and there was no Bible study or worship... it was just a night of fellowship and hanging out. I met a lot of different people--a 37-year old woman from China studying English here, another young woman from South Africa who moved here five years ago, some people from Korea, and some locals. Even though there were so many different people from all across the globe, everyone was just hanging out with each other and it really felt like being a part of one huge family. As Nancy kept saying, "London brings people together!"

Dave, one of the coolest, most down-to-earth guys you'll ever meet. He graduated from Berkeley... he really looks and acts like a hippy. It's so funny watching him and Nancy interact.. they joke around and act like brother and sister.

Nancy took us to the tube station at 9 PM.. I was sad to say bye to her. I'm happy though that I finally got to see everything she writes about in her emails and on her Xanga. I remember I'd always read her updates and look at her pictures and try to imagine what she is talking about, but I just couldn't... after seeing and experiencing Newsong London for myself though, I can see why Nancy is so passionate about it. There is so much freedom and joy doing ministry by simply loving on others and showing them God's character in the way you live out your life.

AHH, such a perfect day. <3

The end is nearing...

I am leaving Brighton in five days... where did the time go?!

Some things about England:

• In California, people freak out when it rains. But here it happens so often that it doesn't even really phase you anymore.
• English people love to say "brilliant" and "rubbish."
• The style here is classier and more sophisticated than in California... I love it.
• Girls in America always idealize British men because of actors like Hugh Grants... but let me just say that British men are definitely overrated. They are not that great looking or charming.
• People greet each other by saying "hiya" and say their farewells with "cheers"... someone please tell me, why are British people so cute?
• English mustard tastes like wasabi.
• And English food tastes like "rubbish"!
  
• Afternoon tea is really cute and girly... it makes Starbucks look boring. I wish we had it in America.
• But, the only Brits who actually drink afternoon tea are either wealthy or elderly... or both.
• English people don't eat fish & chips that much.
  
• The weather can never make up its mind. It literally has to change every five minutes.
• It's not cell phone, it's "mobile." And it's not "restroom," it's "the loo" or " the toilet."
• The English like to curse. But sometimes, it sounds cute... basically if you have a British accent, you can say anything and it either sounds intelligent or cute.
• The English like everything organic or recycled: food, bags, clothes, cups...
• They also like "fair trade" products.
• Apart from the really cute accents, longer history, and different types of stores/brands, England is really not THAT different from America. It's pretty easy to adjust.
  

I like England.

Happy 888!

Today is 08.08.08!

888 means "lucky" in Chinese.

Today, I woke up expecting to be all tired because I was kept up until really late the night before, but I felt pretty refreshed. And when I began journaling, I felt a rush of excitement and I knew that it was going to be a good day. I think lately I am finally starting to see God's unlimited goodness and grace in my life. Everyday, I wake up so excited to start a new day. That kind of joy is rare to have. I am BLESSED far beyond what I deserve. =)

This is what I did today...
Eseul, Erly and I went out to Lewes (pronounced "Louis"), this small, cute town near Brighton.

When I described Lewes as "small," I meant it in the most literal way possible. Everything there is my height!

It's a pretty quiet, low-key place with mostly middle-age and elderly white people.

We went to this garden.









Climbing up this path was painful! (It's an uphill walk.)

Here is a castle in Lewes.

Translation: Dogs, don't poo here or else.



Eseul and Erly ate at this Thai restaurant... I already ate something in my dorm before we left so I didn't order anything here.

After Lewes, we rode the bus for an hour to get to Eastbourne, a city that's also near Brighton.
It was weird seeing Eastbourne because the city is almost a replica of Brighton. Seriously, the two look strikingly similar: they both have a beach and pier, almost all the same stores, the same "look" (like a downtown Berkeley), and a similar-looking stone medieval-style church. And all this time, I thought Brighton was such a unique city... dang.


We got some candy here and ate it while we walked around the pier.



Shopping area.

...and going back to Brighton!

We got back around 8 PM. So we were gone for 7.5 hours...

After I got back, I made some interesting fried rice in my dorm with Fang and just hung out with her for a little bit.

And now I just got done washing all my clothes (in the SINK!), so I am really exhausted. Goodnight!