This will be an EVERLASTING love

I'm in love with England.
I love the people I've met.
I love the places I've seen.
I love how time has slowed down for the summer.
I love the experience I am having!

This is a continuation of the last post,
I just didn't want to make it too long.

So continuing with my life here in England...
We started a bible study!
Me and about 4 other students on the trip.
God is great for answering my prayers.
I was so worried about going on this trip and feeling like I was in over my head.
But God will never give us anything that we can't handle.
And the power of prayer is amazing!
I was really hoping that I would have some people to fellowship with on the trip.
And all along He knew what he was doing.
I wouldn't be here without his guidance.
So here I am.

We also tried a church in Ormskirk Sunday night.
It was a Parish church.
I think that's part of the Catholic church but I'm not entirely sure.
But it was a really small prayer service, but I really enjoyed it.

The next day, Monday, we took it slow.
We went back to Fat Olive which has the best food we've still had since being here.
We're planning on going one more time before we move on to London if that tells you anything.
And other than that We just hung out in our rooms and talked.

Last night though,
was a girl on our trips birthday.
So we celebrated with her.
We went back to styles where I got quizzed about what it's like to be American
and my friends from thee week before were there again:)
So you know I had a lot of fun talking to them.
OH! and we went to Liverpool and saw Robin Hood.
It was a great movie...if you haven't seen it yet...
put it on your to do list it was awesome!

Today me and Macy are going to go back to Liverpool
to pick up our groups tickets for the weekend.
It's bank holiday here so we don't have classes Monday.
So we are going to go to Wales! :)
and while there we are planning on going hiking and going to some parks and just relaxing!
There are some castles there so we will probably do that as well.

Okay! so I think I've finally got all of you caught back up on my life.
I hope everything back home is going amazing.
I hope everyone's summer is just outstanding and that you all have a million stories to tell me when I get home.
I love you all!

It's been awhile

Woah.

Where should I start.

I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to post a blog recently.

We have been on the go like crazy doing so many things.

I just haven't had a chance to sit down and blog.

But here goes!

We didn't have classes on friday.

So we went back to Liverpool and did some shopping

and just hung out for most to all of the day in Liverpool!

OH! and we did the Beatles tour!

For all of you who don't know or didn't read my last post:

THE BEATLES ARE FROM LIVERPOOL!
Just so you all know!

it was great and we took a thousand pictures so ill put those up eventually!

Saturday, a few of us

traveled up to Manchester for the day.

That was a long train ride.

but we eventually made it there.
We went to an art museum and the Manchester United soccer field

The town was HUGE and a little bit overwhelming for not knowing anything

about where we were going.
but all in all it was still a wonderful day.

Sunday was another excursion.

This time to the Lake District, England.

Which was amazazing!

The weather reached the high 70s low 80s!

and we got to go on a boat ride in the lake around the mountain-ish

area of the lake district!

it was so beautiful and everywhere you look is just so breath taking.

It's another awesome reminder of how awesome Our God is!
No man could have ever made Lake District look like that.

No one could have made the mountains or placed the lake where it was.

But God did.

And it's amazing, He's amazing!

I am so lucky to be on this trip.

I wake up everymorning just with praises that don't even give enough gratitude

about how thankful I am for being able to experience this.

And the crazy part is that there is still so much in store.

I'm only in my second week here.

And I've only stayed in one two.
On June 5th, we are going to London.

Then 3 more countries AT LEAST after that.

Who can say that they've done this...

I can't believe it!

Okay so there's some more stuff that I've done I'll post seperately though
but this is just a starter...more to come within the next hour!:)

One Week Down...

I've been here for a week today.
It's crazy how it's only been a week, but for all of us here.
We feel like we've been here for such a long time.


Well, an update from the last time I posted something.
Monday we started classes.
I'm taking a shakespeare class and a culture class.
That's about all we did monday and then just hung out on campus.
It was a really relaxed and much needed night off.


Tuesday we had class, and then went into town to styles.
Here we were dancing and just having a good night out.
I was outside talking to some people and a girl turned around and asked me
"Are you american!?"
She got really excited and didn't know what to say.
They continued to ask me a milliion of questions about America
It was a really entertaining night and I ended up becoming friends with these people
and will probably be meeting up with them later tonight actually.


Wednesday was a LONG day of class!
We had to be in class longer than any other day because we were watching jane eire
the author of this novel lived in Haworth London which is where we went today.
And then our last class was held late so we wouldn't have classes tomorrow!
so completely worth it.


TODAY! was AMAZING!
we went to Haworth.
It's more of the country side of England.
The views were amazing! and the town wasn't like the other towns that we had been to.
We went on a walk through some fields to the top of a hill for the most breathe taking view!
The pictures I posted don't even do it justice!
Our God is so amazing, he created ALL OF THIS!
It was just so crazy to look out at all that he's provided us with.
He's amazing.


So, thats about it now.
Tomorrow we are going back to Liverpool for the day.
We are going to do the Beatles history tour thing
and Saturday we are going to Manchester.

I love you all and miss you terribly!

Some Pictures

HAWORTH

CHESTER!

Catch up!

Welcome to England!

So it's been a few days since I've made it to England and we've been doing A LOT! First off, Friday we had orientation. We got the rules of the college and all of the things we had access to do as a student here. Then we got our class schedules and that was it for everything that was planned.

So a group of us went into town. The town that we are staying in is Ormskirk. Its a relatively small town England but it's really great! In town we went and looked around at some of the shops got to see this church that at the time I thought was HUGE! that was before I went into Liverpool and Chester. So Friday we mainly just did some shopping and then I hung out with a lot of people to get to know them better.

SATURDAY!:

We took the train up to LIVERPOOL!- which by the way is where the Beatles are from!:) How great is that?

So in Liverpool we got a tour of the city learned a little bit about the graffiti artist, the churches, and what the city is proud of. Then we had the rest of the day to do whatever we wanted so we stayed in Liverpool and look around. We rode a Farris wheel and saw some English dancing on the streets. We are planning on going back to Liverpool to do a tour of the Beatles and see where they got started and where they lived and stuff along those lines! The town is AMAZING! though. So more time is definitely needed there, it's only about 35 minutes by train from Ormskirk. We went to two churches, an Anglican church and then a catholic church. The Anglican church was crazy! We walk in and it's huge! Tall ceilings, intricate stained glass. And I look in and in the back of the church in neon lights it says "I felt you and I knew you loved me!" It was really reassuring like God wanted to remind me that he's still here with me just as much now as ever before and he loves me. It's crazy the way he is so present here!

Yesterday!:

We went to CHESTER. It took a long time to get there! The train was out of service so we had to ride a bus...the good news is I rode in my first double Decker bus! But here, the buses were blue not red like many people typically thing. The tour buses in Liverpool were red so I believe it depends on what you are doing. But yesterday we went through the Chapel in Chester and it was absolutely beautiful! The woodwork in the church is breathtaking it's so intricate and it really just blows your mind when you look at it. There's a courtyard in the Chapel as well and when I opened the door to go outside it was just a rush of wind that ran over me and I got chills from it. It felt like God was just talking to me saying "I'm glad you are here right now to experience this. And I love you." It was an amazing feeling that overwhelmed me. After the Chapel we went around and did a little bit of shopping, got some English pastries and adventured the train system on our own!

Last night, there was a party on campus for a schools out thing for the British kids because they just ended their term for if they are not taking classes for the summer so we went and ate dinner at the student union and got to experience a little bit of the life that the students here at Edge Hill have.

So far, it feels like I've been here for at least a month or longer, when in reality I've been here for 4 days. Time is crazy long here. The days feel longer. The sun rises earlier and stay out until around 9:30. Oh and we've been getting really lucky with the weather. Typically in England it rains a lot. But we've only had rain on one day so far and it was only for a few hours. So thats Great!

I'll post picture of Chester tomorrow so the pictures on this post are either from Ormskirk or Liverpool. Mainly Liverpool! I love you all and hope everything is well!

Arrival!

Well, that was a journey!

I have been awake now for over 24 hours and I have to stay awake until at least 7 my time here.
which is five hours ahead of you guys back home.

Have you ever wondered what it looks like to see every part of the day on the ocean?
I experienced that today.
I started off in daylight ended with the start of a new day.
I watched the sky change from different shades of blue to a piercing orange and red sunrise that was breath-taking.

The airport was hectic! I almost missed a flight.
And when I got to London I had to go through customs before I could get to my next gate.
It was a little stressful but all I had to do was rely on God and not let the stress control me. He knows what he's doing and I don't need to worry about a thing.

So far today, I've made it to the university that I am going to be studying at for the first three weeks of my journey.
Edge Hill University.
Its about 45 minutes away from Manchester.
We recieved a tour of the campus and I've only met 6 of the 32 people that are studying with me.
We are about to have dinner at 5 where we will all finally meet!

I'm living in a dorm hall called Elm and the people I've met so far have been increadibly nice!
This is just a quick bit about whats going on right now. The day is still full ahead of me for its only 4:20 here!

I love you guys! and I'll keep you updated!

The Take Off...

Tomorrows the day!

Well, all of the anticipation of going on this trip is finally coming to an end.
Tomorrow I'll be leaving my house around 8:15 in the morning to drive to Atlanta.
It will be about a three hour drive to get to the airport and
my plane takes off at 2:30 in the afternoon.

I have two layovers during my flight.
First I'll land in Canada and I'll have an hour to get on my next plane.
Which will land in England.
There I have a short flight to Manchester.
Which is my first destination of the trip.

At the airport in Manchester I'll be picked up by someone to take me to
Edge Hill University.
This is the college that I will be taking classes at while I am in the England portion of my trip.
I'll be taking a Shakespear Class and a British Culture Class.

My bags are packed.
Now time to double check for everything I need.
Please pray for safe travels for me.


My first plane leaves tomorrow at 2:30pm and I won't arrive at
Manchester until 10am on thursday.

The Countdown...

I'm three days away.


Three days away from leaving for the next two and a half months.
Three days away from depending completely upon myself.


I've been given the opportunity to go out and spend the summer studying in Europe.
I'll be starting my trip off in England.
Heading to Scotland from there.
Then to Ireland.
And ending my session in Spain.


Words can't really describe the joy that I feel about this trip.
The chance to see so much of the world at once is overwhelming.
I can't explain how blessed I am.
Not everyone receives this chance.
I'm a little anxious about the start of the trip.
I don't really know what to expect, but I know it will be amazing.


This summer is going to be a test.
A test of my faith.
I've been growing so much this year
and I know that God is only going to touch my heart even more while I am abroad.
But, there are times I'm sure that are going to be a struggle.
But it won't be anything I can't handle.
"My presence will be with you wherever you go..." (Exodus 33:14)
I will never be alone.
And I don't have to rely on my own strength for what's to come.
"I can do everything through him who gives me strength" (Phil 4:13)




This is going to a huge summer.
I'm going to learn so much,
about different places,
different cultures,
and most importantly about myself.


I'm down to two days now...



(May 13 through July 25 the trip that will open my eyes).