Life is Good here in Oxford!

Sorry its been a while since my last post- life has gotten significantly busier this week! The last couple of days have been full of classes, but it’s been really fun! Story time: A couple of days ago I played a couple games of pickup basketball with 7 guys that are on the trip with me. Ok, I haven’t played a game of basketball in like 4 years, and it was so much fun!! It is such a blessing to be able to play (and for me, I use that term lightly haha) sports again. All praise to the Lord for giving me Humira and helping heal my back so that I can enjoy playing the game that I love again with my friends! However, the fact that I haven’t played in a while was CLEARLY evident afterwards, cause I had trouble going up stairs and lifting my arms for several days! And it didn’t help that the court we played on was like playing on a slip and slide… it was so slippery you physically couldn’t get good footing! After a couple hours later and several near broken ankles, I left the court laughing and sweating, realizing the moment I hit the stairs in our house that I was extremely out of shape! Haha

            I’m pretty sure I have said this before, but I absolutely love the people that I am here on the trip with! We have had so many good laughs already, and we have only been here for 2 weeks. Dinners the past few days have consisted of all of us (but mostly me and Cameron) practically rolling on the ground laughing (and me snorting)!! But despite the funny moments, I have also had some pretty amazing conversations with people. I love hearing the stories about how God is working in their lives, and it is so much fun to hear about everyone’s lives!  Tonight a couple of us ended up talking about the church as a whole, and it was a very good conversation full of insight and personal opinion. I am absolutely in love with the church, and it is moments such as these, when I am surrounded by people who are very diverse and awesome, that my love for it just continues to grow!
            Well the past few days have been full of pictures (creep on fb haha). We walked about 3 miles to port meadows yesterday and it was absolutely breathtaking. It was also a beautiful day in Oxford, so the walk was very pleasant! We stopped at the trout inn for some delicious desert and came upon a live peacock and two precious little girls chasing it around. I found more entertainment in watching the girls, but the peacock was beautiful too! I was so close that I touched its tail!  A group of us took the bus back (our first time!) and we met the most precious older lady. She was so cute and was very open to talking to us about how she broke her hip in Romania and all about her one trip to the States. When she found out that I was studying to go into the ministry, she found it very odd initially that a woman was going into the ministry. However, upon thought she said that she was very happy because “Christianity is under attack” and we needed more people sharing the good news. She was such a cool lady, and it was so sweet to see her waving to us as we got off the bus and it drove by! Then, this morning we went to the Ashmolean museum here in Oxford. This place is amazing, and it is free to get in. We spend 2 hours there and only barely covered the first floor (out of 4), that’s how big and awesome it is! I totally enjoyed the Egyptian exhibit, and it reminded me of my Grandma, for both of us really enjoyed talking about ancient Egypt! We spend some time shopping today too, and I got some of the gluten-free cheese balls that they sell at the covered market (highlight of my day!)

            Another thing: I love the food here!! I had gotten conflicting reports about what to expect, but I absolutely love the food here! They don’t use preservatives, and I feel like I am eating much better! Everything, from fruit to cheese, tastes SO much better here. And the gluten-free stuff tastes so much better here than it does in the US too… I’m going to be so spoiled when I go back! I have had absolutely NO stomach issues or back issues so far, which is such an incredible blessing! I know some of that is because I am eating better and walking/exercising a ton, but I also know most of it is because I have so many people praying for my health while I’m over here… thank you!!! God is absolutely taking care of me (as we knew he would) in ways that I can’t even describe. So thank you to all who are thinking and praying for me, for your prayers are defiantly being answered!

            Well, I am exhausted. I need to get to bed so that I can get up early to go to the Quaker church tomorrow morning! That should be interesting.. details to come!

PS- Why are the Mavs all getting hurt? I don’t like looking at the news and seeing everyone out! HEAL ALREADY!! And we better beat the team which shall not be named tomorrow….

PPS- Congrats to Jamie Benn on getting to do all the NHL all- star stuff! Knock them dead and represent Dallas well Jamie! 

Lots of Laughs...

Today has been a fun, yet stressful day!! The day started off with British Literature!! This class isn’t bad at all, but my professor is kinda intimidating, I’m not going to lie. He is an Oxford professor, and it may be that his accent is so legit that it scares me a little, but he is slightly intimidating! But I think the class is going to be pretty good! One of my favorite things about studying here in Oxford is that we take a 30 minute tea break in the middle of class. And by tea break I literally mean hot tea and cookies… its pretty fantastic. But English class was good. And then there’s Greek. It wasn’t that bad, but its just difficult jumping back into it when I haven’t thought about it in a while! My teacher is really sweet and it is really nice only having the 4 of us in the class, cause it is more like a tutoring session rather than a strict class. After greek, I went to a café and did my devotional and stopped at Oxfam (which is a book shop) and got an awesome old bible for less than 2 pounds!! One of the highlights of my day by far! Then, as I was walking back, I ran into Cameron and Alex who were walking to get dinner, so I went with them. This was one of the most interesting dinner experiences that I have had so far! We went to “Wok and Roll” (catchy name for a Chinese food place right? haha) and ended up talking theology with a man who was a Quaker. This man saw our sweatshirt and told us that he had never heard of a Christian university before and he wondered what it was. We proceeded to tell him, and the conversation progressed to topics such as evolution vs creation and how he believes the God of the Old Testament is a wizard and angry God. Cameron responded to most of the questions, and he did a fantastic job. It was a very interesting conversation, and the three of us learned a lot from it! There is much more to be said about this, but it’s hard to put into writing at the moment, I’m still processing it all! Then, as we were walking back, Cameron came 2 inches away from getting killed by a bike… that was funny. After a wonderful dinner, we all began planning our trip coming up in a couple of weeks. Here’s where the funny drama begins…

If you know me, one of the ways that I deal with stress is that I laugh (and snort) it off. Well lets just say that I haven’t laughed this hard in a while!! 7 of us sat in the room finding deals and booking trains, and seriously it was the most stressful experience in a long time! All of us trying to get the same things at the same price was difficult, but eventually we accomplished it all worked out. But oh man, our group is so bonded now!! After several funny comments by Cameron, all of us were rolling on the floor laughing at how stressful the situation was. This isn’t a very good description of what all went on, but I am still a tad traumatized by the experience…  

           

Wow, it has been an interesting and fun day! I’m so tired.. and I have to be at class at 9 tomorrow... (sigh). Goodnight all! 

First Day of class complete!

 Gosh what a wonderful day it has been! This morning I woke up and spent all morning walking around by myself getting lost in the streets of Oxford. It was amazing and very needed! I found a beautiful spot near the center of oxford to sit and do my quiet time, and it was right across from a beautiful old building. After getting lost for a little longer, I went and picked up some groceries. I found a wonderful little café by tesco (the grocery store) that has free wifi and cheap coffee, so I sat down for a while and set up my NBA league pass so I CAN WATCH SOME BASKETBALL!!! It’s killing me. Knowing that the Mavs are playing the Suns tonight and I cant watch makes me sad… but then I remember I’m in Oxford, and it makes everything ok haha Anyway, I came back and ate some lunch and chatted with the buddies before class at 3. As much as I complain about school, I actually missed it and am so excited to be thinking deeply again. Not excited about doing the work, but excited about learning. I had core (community) today and let me tell you, it wasn’t horrible. Core is usually the worst thing in the world, but in the context that we are studying and with the things that we are talking about actually being relevant to our lives right now, it was not too bad. I can’t believe that I am saying these things about core! Haha Anyway, after class I did some homework and watched some ‘Nsync videos before dinner.

            Dinner was wonderful tonight! We had pasta with garlic bread, and it was FABULOUS! My friends are so sweet to me… they make me my own little set of noodles and bread and everything!! They are more conscious of my gluten allergy than I am sometimes! I can’t put into words how much that means to me though, because I was a little worried about that. I don’t know if I have stated this before, but for the record, the people I live with are THE BOMB. We all get along really well and they are super considerate and sweet. They even listen to my rambling stories about the Mavs, and the Stars, and fire trucks, and the Backstreet Boys….well you get the point. They are wonderful, and I am extremely blessed to have them in my life. Well, back to dinner. The conversation was HILARIOUS tonight! Haha I learned some facts about my floor fam that I never would have thought I would have learned! We spent about an hour eating…with at least 40 min of that time laughing hysterically (and me snorting, of course).

            Tonight ended with what we call 9@9, which is our community worship time. Gosh, it was so good. It is so nice to be able to sit with my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and share stories, have communion, and worship the Lord together. I’m telling you, the Lord was there tonight! I adore my professors and everyone who is on this trip with me, and I could not be more thankful that the Lord has put each one of these people on this trip. Afterwards, I spent some time with my Cadence sisters reading the Sermon on the Mount together, which again was a blessing. I love my sisters so much, and I miss my sisters who are back in Abilene!

            I am so tired tonight. Tonight has been such a great night full of wonderful conversations with wonderful people!! And I have Greek tomorrow… pray for me. It has been a while haha Our travel group is also getting together to plan our trip to Paris (that’s right, the one in France, not Texas haha). I’m looking forward to seeing what all is in store for me tomorrow too!!

But until then….LETS GO MAVS! I will watch the game tomorrow after classes are over. And we better have won!

Let the Good Times Roll...

Today has been such a fun and productive day! I started out by doing my homework for core and then went to lunch at On the Hoof. If you have been to Oxford and are reading this, I am so sorry if I ever doubted your advice when you said to go there: it’s amazing! Clara made me an incredible omelet full of things that she picked out just for me to try and let me tell you… AMAZING. I don’t even like eggs and I could eat this for the rest of my life haha. And it’s very cheap, so it will be a nice place to go for lunch sometimes. And the meals are so big I already have lunch for tomorrow too! Anyway, after all the lunch excitement, 8 of us ladies went to the wedding fair that they were having in town. IT WAS A BLAST!!  Since Katie has been dating someone the longest, we deemed as our bride (she’s getting married June 6 according to the wedding fair haha) and totally ran with it. The 7 of us eager “bridesmaids” were happy and laughed a lot as we explored what all was around us. We first walked in and watched a fashion show where models showed us the top dress styles. This was so much fun! For all you ladies out there, they are basically the same dresses as in the US….actually a lot more simple and classy. Then we went around the room that had a bunch of booths talking about flowers, pictures, cakes, etc. We made sure to look around a bit at the gorgeous flower arrangements and try on some tiaras before leaving. We then decided we wanted to check out the covered market for some food, but we realized that it was a Sunday and that a lot of places were closed. Sidenote: shops all close around 6 everyday. At first I thought this was annoying, but upon further review, I now find it not that big of a deal  unlike when in Abilene and we are bored to tears when everything closes early). Then we stopped and got a milkshake at Moo Moos. They have soooooo many flavors ranging from candy flavors, to cereal flavors, to types of biscuits (kinda gross I know).  Anyway, as we waited in line, we met two girls who study at Oxford and we chatted it up with them for a bit. I learned that Oreos are relatively new (like within this year) to the UK, so that was their most popular flavor.

            This evening at 6 we went to church at St. Aldates. I can’t even put into words how amazing it was to worship with people who are from a different culture than me! The coolest part was that before a song would start, you could hear British people, like the wonderful girls behind me, talk in their British accent. But as soon as we started singing, the accents all subsided for the most part and we all sounded the same. It was so cool to be singing in “one voice” (literally). You could feel the body of Christ in community and it was amazing. I actually recognized the majority of the songs, which I wasn’t expecting! It was a nice surprise to sing a bunch of Hillsong songs! The sermon was mostly theology, which was AWESOME but totally different than I am used to. There was application towards the end, but most of it was very theological, which I very much enjoyed! It is holocaust remembrance Sunday, so the sermon was mainly on that, which was very unique and cool! Also, the Pastor said “minion” in his sermon, which made me smile and laugh for several different reasons. Then we came back and had dinner ( around 9 ish… gosh it was late! Haha). Megan made breakfast for dinner, and our little floor family had a wonderful time eating and fellowshipping together!! We just finished a movie and I skyped with my family.  Yay! I guess I need to get ready for class tomorrow. Ughh class. But it’s only from 3-5pm, so I don’t foresee it being that bad. Perhaps I will go tomorrow morning to Starbucks and watch me some Mavs, since we cant live stream from the house…….ugh haha

PS- I heard the news about Dirk… my poor baby!! He will get better soon I hope! I’ve been saying for weeks that his knee was bothering him….

 A closing thought taken from Galatians: “ For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female- for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:26-28

Town and Botanical Garden Fun

Well, it has been such a fun and busy last couple of days! Yesterday was full of meetings where we were reminded that we actually have classes here (I know right? who comes to learn? Just kidding!! ). That was a long process full of a lot of information, but it was fun nevertheless! But we had a break for tea and coffee, so its all good. Then after that, a group of us went out to experience a night on the town. First, we went to The Kings Arm, a pub/ restaurant that was DELICIOUS. People are not kidding when they say that the chips (or French fries, as you Americans call them) are the best here. They seriously are. I’m never going to be able to go back to American fries again! Anyway, that was a blast! Then we walked around more and just enjoyed being out and about on a Friday night in Oxford. When we did get back to the house, a couple of us had too much energy still ( doesn’t sound like me at all does it? haha) so we went for a walk. We explored the other direction and looked around Summertown. I had some awesome conversations with people yesterday that was such a great reminder of how great God is and how blessed I am to be here in Oxford! I had a hard time going to sleep last night, but I think that’s because I had so much energy left… still!! Haha

This morning we left the house around 9 to go to the Botanical Gardens. It was a blast!! Creep on my facebook to see some pictures if you want :). It was GEORGEOUS. None of the pictures I took could even capture how pretty it was. Although we were kinda disappointed because we thought that they would have lilly pads the size of cars, and they weren’t quite that big :) I had so much fun just exploring and getting lost in the streets of Oxford with my friends. We ate lunch in Café Loco, and it was delicious! Then we went to the greatest place on earth: Primart. Ok guys, I’m not a big shopper, but this store is amazing. Its like a Forever 21 but like 20 thousand times cuter and cheaper. It is dangerous for me to be in there that long! But today I got some pretty cute stuff, all for under 5 pounds. Love that store. Then we went to get tea and walked back to the house. What a wonderful last couple of days it has been! I’m getting all my “touristy” things out of the way now so I actually don’t stand out as much later, but we will see how that goes. I am so obviously an American haha But the people here are so nice, and they are fast walkers. (In fact, I was told to slow down by my friends cause I was walking too fast… that’s right Anna Heffner, I have learned from you! Haha)

Anyway, we are back at the house now. Our floor is taking turns cooking dinner, and tonight is our friend Steven’s turn. I think he is making stirfry.. yummy!  Tonight we are just chilling, maybe start to watch Lost, maybe do some homework (we will see about that one).

Sidenote: As much as I don’t like walking in the rain, it is actually quite nice, since I feel like I haven’t seen rain in forever. And the weather isn’t that bad here. When the wind picks up, it is cold, but otherwise its not that bad!

Double sidenote: I miss the NBA. Im going to have to start watching some games online with my basketball buddies I have here!

She's here!!

As I type this, I am sitting in our house in Oxford, England!! What an incredible and LONG day (or days, really) it has been. Let me give you a brief synopsis, starting from the beginning:

Well, I woke up this (Wednesday) morning after getting just a little bit of sleep the night before because I was freaking PUMPED. Then our group met, prayed, and loaded the buses at 10:45. I am so glad that some of my wonderful friends got to come and see me off J I miss them all already! Boy was it hard to say goodbye. However, the people who are with me on this trip are incredible, and I can’t wait to get to know them better!! The bus ride to Dallas was pretty fast, but still hard to sit through, cause we were all so excited to get on the airplane!

My wonderful parents met me at the airport with my luggage and then watched as we went through security. O dear, security. That morning DFW terminal D (the same terminal we were flying on) let a lady past security with a handgun in her carry on. They then had to stop the plane on the tarmac and escort the lady off. Needless to say, security was more fun than normal this time. However, my friends did get interviewed for the news! But no worries, my medicine made it through the checkpoint with no problems!

Once in the airport, we ate lunch and waited anxiously to be able to board the plane. As I was walking onto the plane, I realized that this was actually happening. I was actually going to Oxford! Heading in, I was so excited, cause I’ve never been on an international flight before!! But boy, there is no room to move on British Airs. And I was in the middle seat of the middle section… winning. But other than that, it was wonderful! The flight attendants were so nice and I LOVED listening to them talk!

I started the flight by coloring my Abilene Fire Department coloring book while I watched Modern Family, and then I watched “Contagion”, which I learned is the stupidest thing to watch when you are stuck on an airplane with people coughing  haha. Then I got a little bit of sleep, and after drinking my yogurt they gave us for breakfast, I watched Lion King until we landed. Fun Fact: we had to stay seated for a while once we landed because the police had to come on board to take care of a “situation” that happened on the plane. We have no idea what happened, but we all have our theories. Mine is that Jason Bourne was on board and they tried to catch him, but of course he got away… and personally, I think my theory is right. After getting off the airplane, we went through customs. I was pretty much the fastest one to get through out of my group of friends… it was either because I look like I belong or I just looked so tired that the guy felt bad for me, I don’t really care, I was just glad it wasn’t a hassle. Boy was I tired when I stepped off that airplane! But as soon as we loaded the bus and started making our way toward Oxford, I completely forgot about being tired cause everything was so BEAUTIFUL!! It was raining of course, but it was about 54 degrees, which isn’t that bad.

England is amazing. Everywhere you look it seems like you are looking at a movie. And our houses are GEORGEOUS! And I am getting a built in added workout, cause the stairs are super steep and I’m up on the top floor. But Chelsea and my room is awesome! There are a couple of spots where the ceiling is super low, so other than perhaps bruising my head every time I walk into the room or try to use my mirror, it’s all good! And my closet looks like the chest from Lion, the Which, and the wardrobe… its legit.  

Anywho, after we arrived and unpacked, we went out with the professors and went on a tour of Oxford(so we know how to get around). I absolutely LOVE this city. LOVE LOVE LOVE. I honestly didn’t think that I would love it as much as I do, and it’s only been one day! We actually just got back not too long ago from our first pub experience, and it was awesome!! Now, a bunch of us are watching Hitch and trying to stay awake until about 8 to help get over our Jet Leg. Good luck to us! You look around the room and everyone is struggling haha It’s around 7:15 here and we are all pretty much passed out on the couches as we watch the movie.

Sorry this has been sporadic, random, and perhaps not made much sense at times, but it has been a LONG DAY(or rather, days). Long, but absolutely amazing. This day has definitely been the perfect start to my laughing adventures in Oxford!!

Getting closer...

Wow, what a long day its been! It started with a test at 8:30 this morning and continued with meetings all afternoon. I am exhausted, but SUPER EXCITED about leaving in just a couple of days!! I am so blessed to be going to Oxford with 33 other amazing ACU students, and I can't wait to get to know each of them better!

Abilene is well, Abilene. haha As annoying as it is to have to be here for 2 days before going back to DFW and leaving for Oxford, it is SO nice to be spending some time with my friends before I leave! (And of course watching the Stars and Mavs haha)

There are such amazing things in store for me this semester. As I hear stories and plan trips with my friends, I only get more and more excited to see the things that God is going to teach me this semester!

I might have to nap it up real quick before the Mavs play at 9! Lame? Probably, but I've been up for a long time today and the Mavs deserve my full attention :)

One. Week. Away. Ahhhhh!

O my goodness! One week from now, I will be getting on a plane to go to Oxford for almost 5 months. I can't believe the day is almost here! Seems like it was just yesterday I found out that I was accepted into the program, and I was trying to figure out if I would be able to go or not because of my health. But praise be to the Lord because IM GOING!

Please be praying for travel safety for all of the ACU students headed abroad this semester and for our experiences to be awesome! I look forward to seeing what God is doing in and through the people in England. What a blessing it is going to be to get to spend some time with my brothers and sisters in Christ who are from England!

I suppose I should start thinking about packing..... oops! I'll do that tonight during the Mavs game... psh yea right! It will get done eventually...

Keep up with me!

Hey everyone!

First of all, I am SO EXCITED to get the opportunity to study abroad in Oxford for the semester!! I can't wait to see all the things that I am going to learn and experience over the next few months... its going to be an adventure for sure!

If you want to keep up with me and my many adventures, continue to read this blog. I can't promise greatness every post, but I will try my hardest to keep you all informed!!

I am so looking forward to the next couple of months! I just hope that the Mavs will survive without me in Dallas this season....

Lindsay