RETREAT, RETREAT!

It's been a while since my last post, but God has been steadily at work this month.  I just got back from a busy but wonderful 10 days in London!  I unfortunately didn't get to do any sight-seeing, but I did meet a bunch of great people, and I went on two retreats...in a castle!  :)

I left for London on the 16th of January and had a great flight---I didn't get sick!  I stayed with a Christian family in the community in London for the week, and they looked after me quite well and made sure I didn't get lost each morning.  I had some hand-drawn maps from the girls GAPping in London, but the woman I stayed with made sure I knew where I was going each morning before I walked out the door.  I would show her the map the girls drew for me, and then she'd take it and use a pink highlighter to draw in a faster, less expensive [usually just walking rather than the bus or the Tube (underground system)] route.  It was very helpful and I'm sure it saved me quite a few British Pounds.  :)  I spent the week with the London GAPpers, doing what they do and helping where they needed help.  

Some highlights of that week:  

• Reading my 'Jesus Calling' devotional every day and having it correspond almost directly with what I needed to hear from the Lord that day.  'Jesus Calling' is an everyday devotional written by Sarah Young.  She spent a great amount of time listening to the Lord and writing down things that He was putting on her heart.  I started reading 'Jesus Calling' on the 1st of January this year and it has been a key part of my personal prayer times this month.  Here's an example of when the words Sarah Young received from the Lord were just what I, too, needed to hear:  "You know that this day will bring difficulties, and you are trying to think your way through those trials.  Come to Me and relax in My peace.  I will strengthen you, [...] transforming your fear into confident trust."  Whoa.  Talk about perfect timing.  When I arrived in London, I ended up waiting at a Tube station for a little over an hour before anyone came to get me.  I had tried calling and texting the numbers that I had, but nothing seemed to be working.  I started really panicking and didn't know what to do in such a big city where I didn't know anyone and wasn't familiar with the area.  It ended up just being a big mix-up in communication with different people, and it ended up getting straightened out, but I do admit I was quite fearful.  It wasn't until later that night that I read the 'Jesus Calling' devotional for that day, and I wished I had read it earlier.  I couldn't believe that I let myself get so worried rather than placing my trust in the Lord.  He wanted to transform my fear into "confident trust" and I didn't let Him!

• Tagging along with Julia, a London GAPper from New Jersey, in her weekly service project:  Little Fishes Day Care.  I loved getting to play with little kids for a couple hours.  This day care took place at a small church and was quite different from any day care I'd ever seen.  The moms got to let their kids play while they mingled and had tea and coffee with one another.  I enjoyed chatting with the moms and listening to their children speak with their little British accents.  :)

• Cooking dinner for the girls' house (where the London GAPpers live) and a couple of their friends from the guys' house down the street.  Christina, the GAPper from Glasgow (Scotland), and I learned how to cook two whole chickens---and they turned out perfectly!  Nice and juicy and flavorful.  :)  We were quite proud of our culinary masterpiece.

• Having lunch at the Potter's house (a London community family).  I ate with a couple of the London GAPpers plus Christina, and we had some really great fish pie and some kind of red onion tart.  Very different but VERY delicious.

• Meeting a girl named Esther and sharing stories of God's goodness with her.  Elyssa, one of the London GAPpers, and I met with Esther at this cute little cafe near UCL (University College London) called Apostrophe, and we all shared stories of how the Lord has been working in our lives.  I think Esther is quite a new Christian, but I could really see that she was beaming with God's love and that was so exciting to see!  :) 

• Going to the Koinonia prayer event.  Koinonia is an ecumenical (Catholic/Protestant/Orthodox) Christian group of students, and it meets weekly in the student union at UCL.  It was very much like UCO (University Christian Outreach) back in Ann Arbor, but a much smaller group.  I loved my discussion group and was so inspired by everyone's stories.

Those were some of the highlights of my first 4 days in London.  On Friday the 20th I left for a retreat in Bucken Towers, which is a really cool castle.  We had a group of around 40 people (students + GAPpers) at the retreat, and it was a wonderful weekend.  The theme of the retreat was Joy, and I certainly did feel joyful. God really worked in my heart to set aside the concerns of the work of my GAP year and allowed me to just let it go and enjoy the weekend.  We had some great prayer and worship times, I got to know the UCL students and other GAPpers, and it was all-around an excellent retreat.  Here's some pictures from the weekend:

This is the castle we stayed in for the retreat!

It was built in the late 12th century and among it's "notable visitors" are Henry III, Edward I, Richard III, Lady Margaret Beaufort, and Queen Katherine of Aragon (who lived there for a year!)

Me with some of the girls.  

(Marisa - Belgian GAPper, Annette, Finja, Clare - Belgian GAPper last year, and me)

We did henna for our girls event!

(Lucy, Elyssa, and Julia)

And we learned how to make Moroccan pancakes!  Yum!

(Elinor, Meghan, and Finja)

Henna hands!  :)

Some good impromptu jam sessions were had...

(Kate, Lucy, and Giles)

After the Koinonia students left, the GAPpers stayed in the castle for two more nights for our GAPper retreat.  We had some really great talks and had lot of time to share with one another different experiences of our GAP year these last four months.  The talks were about how the last four months have gone, how God has been working in our lives presently, and looking forward to what God has in store for us in the future.  We also had a lot of great worship and prayer times together.  And fun, of course!

Me with some of the GAPpers...

[Kate (Belgium) & Elyssa (London) in front, me and Julia (London) in the back, Christina (Glasgow), and Audrey (Belfast)]

Oh you know...just hanging out by the fire eating ice cream :)

(Clare, Julia, Chrissy, Christina, and Elyssa)

Girl pile.  This is the way most of our girls' sessions ended up.  Either this or a dance party...

(Clare, Audrey, Elyssa, me, Camille, Christina, and Julia)

Cool view of the sky during my reflection time outside!

A couple of the Belgium GAPpers plus some GAP directors

[Sam (director in Belgium), Daniel (GAPper in Belgium), Joe (director in London), and Javier (GAPper in Belgium)]

Dance party!  What fun :)

(Me, Christina, Audrey, Julia, Chrissy, and Kate)

All of the girl GAPpers plus Rachel, Ruth, Ania, and Clare, some helpers.  :)

I had a great 10 days in London.  No, I didn't get to see Big Ben, the London Bridge, or Buckingham Palace.  I did, however, experience great joy and peace with the Koinonia students and my fellow GAPpers.  I enjoyed meeting and spending 5 days with some really great men and women of God.  I had some wonderful prayer times and experiences of God's presence...AND I stayed in a castle that was once occupied by a Queen.  I think that's better than any glance I could have had at the popular London tourist sites.  :)  Praise God for His faithfulness!

I'm back in Dublin now...home sweet home.  It's great to be back and hear the familiar Dublin accent again.  And of course get all the slagging for my American accent.  :)  I enjoyed having dinner with the Mahony's again tonight and getting to sing Leanne a bedtime song.  

Next on my agenda is the Women's Heart retreat that I'm leading music for this weekend.  I'm looking forward to another great retreat and experiencing more of God's love.  I'll also be doing manicures at the retreat, so you can bet I'm pretty excited about that!

Coming up is the Kairos Weekend for 17-25 year olds from all over Europe.  It's taking place in Dublin from the 10th-12th of February, and I'm on the planning team.  Please pray for the participants and all that are on the planning team.  :)

I hope you all are doing well and being blessed in abundance by God.  I'm keeping you all in my prayers!