I went to England in March with eleven other men and women from my church. A year earlier, two of Veritas' pastors met Gary, a church planter in Leeds, England. They were very quickly encouraged by Gary's vision and heart for Leeds and the church. After this initial meeting, a return trip was in the works.
That's the trip I went on.
From the moment Nick and Brad returned from the first international meeting with Gary, my heart was a-flutter with the thought of joining the church plant in England. Now, I know my tendency toward wanderlust, so I asked the Lord not to let me run away with dreams of living in England. BUT, if that was the pure desire of my heart and he wanted me to go, to show me.
So I decided to go on the trip to England.
And here's what happened:
Day 1 - Friday
Land at Heathrow around 5:45pm England-time (9:45pm Ohio-time). Took a taxi driven by a Turkish man to our hotel on Liverpool Street in London. Gary met us at the hotel. We must have gone to eat dinner, but I can't honestly remember this night very well.
Day 2 - Saturday
We spent this day doing most of the typical London sightseeing things. First, we went to the Monument, built after the fire of London. Gary thought it would help us get our bearings a bit to see the city from the top of the Monument. Next, we explored the Tower of London for a couple hours. I didn't realize everything encompassed by the Tower. (It's not just a tower, fyi.) We took a guided tour by one of the Beefeaters, who informed us of the various famous prisoners kept in the tower, showed us the chapel and the Traitor's Gate, as well as royal family's living quarters. They lived at Tower of London for quite a long time. Next, we walked along the Thames and across the Tower Bridge (which is NOT London Bridge). We went to St. Paul's Cathedral next. It's beautiful. Unfortunately, you aren't allowed to take photographs. You are, however, able to walk the 500-some feet up into the top of the dome.
That's the view from the top of the dome. It's amazing visit the incredible ornate cathedrals in Europe. There isn't much in America to compare them to. You just know you are in a place of worship as soon as you walk in. Of course, because these are tourist sites, it's a little strange, but even so, it's obvious when a place was built to be a center of worship. After St. Pauls, we went to the National Gallery. It's an enormous art gallery, so unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to see everything. I did get to see some of the very famous paintings they house, including Van Gogh's Sunflowers. That evening, we went to the George, which is the oldest pub in London. Maybe England. Most places have a patio area, so we sat outside at old picnic tables and enjoyed some good English bitters. (It turns out, American microbreweries are better.)
Day 3 - Sunday
On Sunday we went to East London Tabernacle, a good Bible-teaching church recommended by Steve Timmis. The church was outside the city centre and home to many different kinds of people. The pastor is an American from Boston who married a Scottish woman and has lived in England for about 30 years. His accent is quite confused. Everyone was very hospitable and we enjoyed tea and biscuits with them after the service. (Miss the constant supply of tea.) We took a riverboat tour down the Thames on this day. The tour ended in front of Parliament, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. Couldn't go in any, unfortunately.
Later, we walked through Green Park up to Buckingham Palace. Going to the palace is like going to the White House, you just have to stand outside a gate that is pretty far from the actual palace.
Above is the ceremonial route to the palace. Below is a silhouette of the palace and the Victoria Memorial.
Covent Garden and the Lamb and Flag
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