It's official, we have now caught up with the times. Angie and I both have Facebook pages! (Was that a groan I heard from the teenage crowd?) Well, we're trying to be modern and, yes, we're addicted. We've really enjoyed catching up with old friends from school days and relatives we haven't spoken with in a while and we'd love to hear from you. So if you want to join our friends list look us up. You'll need to open an account if you don't have one. It's free and easy.

 

Another good way to stay in touch is with Skype. If you haven't heard of it, it's like a free long distance telephone connection over the internet. You just download the free software and talk to other users computer to computer. You'll need a microphone and speakers or mic-headset combo. When you get set up search for friends by entering their email address.

Holiday Hustle
This seems like old news now but we spent Christmas day and the day after Christmas, known as Boxing Day, at the church. We had a Christmas day worship service followed by lunch for the community (see photos). We also played games, watched the broadcast of the Royal Christmas Message given by the Queen, and had a visit from Father Christmas. Boxing Day was spent watching DVDs at the church with people who are left on their own or without family locally.

A Watch Night service ushered in the New Year and then I spent the first week of 2009 in the bed with flu. The rest of the family had it between Christmas and New Year's Eve. It was a bad "bug."

Then before AJ returned to Florida, I recovered from the flu enough to go with the family on a guided tour of the Houses of Parliament arranged by our local Member of Parliament. We saw the House of Lords, the House of Commons, and the Robing Chamber where the Queen puts on her royal robes and crown before addressing Parliament. Of course there are numerous statues and paintings to admire as well.

Also known as the Palace of Westminster, it was the monarch's principal residence in the late Medieval period. During WWII, it was hit fourteen times by German bombs. The worst of these was on 10 May 1941, when the Commons Chamber was destroyed and three people were killed.

The Big Snow

The month of February began with the biggest snowstorm in 18 years. School was cancelled for the day and all London bus routes were suspended. Most of the airports, trains, and even the underground trains were affected too. Basically everyone stayed home if they didn't have to get out. But it was a Monday so that meant we had Drop-In visitors to take care of and to my surprise we had at least 2/3 of our regulars there; about 45 out of 65. Most of our volunteers made it too, unless it was too far for them to walk.

The kids (as you can see to the left) had a good time playing in their first "proper" snow. We've had snow flurries at least three times since we've been living here, but this was the real deal.

There continues to be plenty of opportunities for ministry in the mega-city of London. I've recently began working at a second Drop-In Ministry on Tuesdays and Thursdays at an Anglican Church. I see some of the same guys from Mondays but it's mostly a new group of people with the same problems: homeless, jobless, mental illness, or all the above. A few are simply lonely and can't work because of a physical problem. But they are all made in God's image and some of their stories will break your heart. I hope you can come and meet them someday.