Well, we continue to adjust to busy life in London. "What are some of the major adjustments?" you ask: living in a three-story house, walking to church, shopping without a Wal-Mart and without a car, living in a BIG multi-cultural city, gray skies and watching the sun set around 4:00.

 

But "PTL" our shipment of boxes finally arrived in October. Although it took several weeks longer than promised, everything made it in fine condition with our heavy coats arriving just in time for the earliest winter snow in over 70 years. Thanks for praying for our boxes to arrive safely.

 

Then November began the second phase of Street Pastor training. Currently there are about 100 trainees gathering each Saturday. The four of us from the borough of Islington have now been fitted for our uniforms and hope to get some practical experience on the streets during the month of December. 

 

To learn more about the role of a Street Pastor click on the link to the left or read about them in Christianity Today, the Telegraph, and BBC website. Some of the societal issues that Street Pastors deal with are binge drinking, gangs and knife crime.

 

Since I last wrote we've also celebrated our church anniversaries. Upper Holloway Baptist Church is now 140 years old and Camden Road is 154. Pastor Brian has pastored Camden Road for 15 years and both churches for four years. On October 26th we celebrated with a joint service with Rev. David Shosanya from the London Baptist Association as our guest speaker. 

 

Fortunately, Halloween is not as popular here as in the US. But on the 5th of November the British celebrate Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Bonfire Night. It celebrates the foiling of the Gunpowder Plot of the 5th of November, 1605, in which a number of Catholic conspirators, including Guy Fawkes, were alleged to be attempting to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London with the aim to displace the Protestant rule of King James I.

 

"How do they celebrate?" you ask: with fireworks! There were elaborate  fireworks displays somewhere in the city nearly every night that week. On Saturday we joined another family for fireworks at Alexandra Palace. It's not a royal palace but a public recreation, education and entertainment centre in North London.

 

In addition, we've also celebrated Remembrance Day which marks the end of WWI -- 90 years ago -- with a nationwide moment of silence at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. Everyone is also expected to wear a red poppy on their lapel.

 

Did I mention that people in London are craaazy about Obama? Actually all of Europe is struck with Obama mania. It was front page headlines in London for days before and after the election.

 

Now I'm not trying to be political but it's all anyone wants to talk about, especially when they discover you're American. Everyone has something to say about the recent election of the first black leader of a western nation and that's fine, it is a great achievement, but (apologies to some readers) we all need to look beyond personalities and promises and look at what candidates really stand for and whether or not we need change just for the sake of change. It needs to be the right kind of change! (Whew, got that off my chest.)

 

Recent news reports tell us that atheists have raised funds to put "No God" slogans on the side of buses in London. The atheist posters are the idea of the British Humanist Association (BHA) and have been supported by prominent atheist Professor Richard Dawkins. The complete slogan reads: "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life." Read more and see photo on the BBC website. 

 

We've also had to adjust to not having AJ with us. He's doing fine living with grandma in Panama City and taking 2 or 3 classes with Lake Sumter online. He's supposed to be transferring to the local college in PC and getting his papers in order so he can visit us for Christmas without being deported again. But we didn't realize how much we depended on him for help with all the techno stuff like computers and Ipods. I was also looking forward to having his help with the youth group and other ministries.

 

The food here is getting quite expensive too. Our main problem is we're used to buying a lot of stuff in bulk which is cheaper. But here in the inner city most things are available only in smaller quantities that you can easily carry home by hand to your typical flat with a tiny kitchen cupboard. Our kitchen is quite big by urban London standards and has lots of storage space for a larger than average family. However, you either have to go shopping every other day or find someone with a car to take you further afield where you might find a Costco. We've done it once but we're past due for another trip.

 

Money Issues 
We continue to be amazed and give thanks for how God is prompting people in the States to support us financially despite  economic hard times. The value of the dollar is up for the moment and helps a lot.

 

The church here is also stretching it's faith and resources by supporting us as well. But let me clarify that I am not being supported by London City Mission as originally planned. Sadly there were some misunderstandings that we are still attempting to reconcile but unfortunately there is little expectation of a partnership with LCM at this time.

 

We did receive our stimulus check from the US a few weeks ago but have been unable to sell our Astro van in Clermont. Maybe now that gas prices are down a bit someone will be interested. Please contact Brad Montgomery for more information.

 

Please pray that the Lord will prompt more individuals and churches to partner with us by sending gifts to the First Baptist Church of Clermont, designated to the Ecker family. The church address is 498 W. Montrose Street, Clermont, FL, 34711.

 

Please pray that AJ will be able to visit us for Christmas. If you would like to write to him, his email address is jaredcsmoke@yahoo.com (it's an anagram of his name).

 

Please pray for our work with the teenagers in our community. It has been slow building relationships and trust. We've recently joined a combined youth meeting once a month with the local Anglican churches. They are very evangelical.

 

Please pray for our work with the less fortunate and homeless of the community. I wish I could take pictures and give you more details but they are a very private bunch. Do pray especially for a Philippino lady that needs a home and an alcoholic friend that needs placement in a detox center.

 

Please pray for our community choir that began working on a Christmas program a few weeks ago. May we share the light of Christ this season.

 

Please pray for potential work with international students in the community. We are looking at the possibility of starting a once-a-week cafe at the church with conversational English along with tea and coffee. We also have facilities for badminton and volleyball.

 

Please pray for London's Street Pastors. Since they began five years ago there has not been a single incident where a street pastor has been hurt, street pastors always work in groups of four, but pray they will have godly wisdom for each situation they encounter.