Overdue Update

Well, once again I am overdue for an update. It is hard to believe the sabbatical time is winding down. We miss you all back home and look forward to seeing you again soon. I am sure we will not stop talking about our experiences for quite some time. We are feeling re-energized, renewed, and full of great experiences. Although I tried to keep the blog updated as time allowed, we experienced so much that there is no possible way to include it all.

Just a few highlights I have missed:

Rachel's mom came for a six day visit. We had a good time showing her around, Natalie especially enjoyed being tour guide. Rachel and I were able to have a date night while the girls had Grandma time. We enjoyed the time together.

Sunday I took in an all day lecture on art and Biblical interpretation hosted by the university's continuing education department. I love the Bible, I love to draw and paint, and I love to learn, so the class sounded like fun. However, I am certainly no expert on art history, consequently, some of it was admittedly a bit over my head, although I did find it mostly quite interesting.

A couple weeks ago, we took in Stonehenge and Avebury (a site similar to Stonehenge). Fascinating piles of rocks they were! We also spent an afternoon in London seeing the tower that holds Big Ben (Big Ben is the name of the bell, not the tower; they name all their bells around here).

We have opportunities here and there to spend time with my Uncle Karl (who Alana affectionately calls "Uncle Car Wash" as Karl is just too difficult for her to say), Aunt Caroline, and my cousin Sophie. They live near the airport, so we will spend the night with them one last time before we fly out on Monday.

Rachel has explored portions of the city while running. Today, I took in the last sites of Oxford which I had previously missed including the University Church, St. Mary's, where John and Charles Wesley stirred up some trouble through their preaching and the Oxford movement began with the preaching of John Keble and influence of John Henry Newman. I also went into the chapel at Lincoln College where John Wesley was "one time fellow", as his published works state it. It was a beautiful chapel, one of my favorites among the many we have seen this trip.

Sunday night, I went to an evening service at the Methodist Church across the street. They have designed the service in order to reach some of the people from the neighborhood who may not otherwise attend. I enjoyed the service, they had a unique blend of a band mixed with times of quiet reflection and solitude. I must write a blog entry one of these days about the various types of worship services and styles I have experienced.

Well, I am sure there is much more to say, but I am tired and see that the above is full of ramblings on. I hope this gives you a little more of what is happening on this end.