Weird mail & 'taking on' not 'giving up'

This piece of mail came in the post the other day. What about this envelope looks different to you? Is there something about a certain way to handle mail that I don't know about?
It's Lent and for some that means a time when you 'give up' something, a time of penitence, an introspective period during which we take stock of our lives. In years past, I've tried to give up something, but I've not been very good at it. Here at the Centre, we've talked about doing something different. Instead of giving up something, we are taking on something. The Thiessen family and Dora-Marie go to the Archway tube station every Wednesday over the lunch hour and pass out fliers asking for an end to the occupation and war in Iraq and Afghanistan. I have decided to take on reading something other than fiction in my spare time. So this is my choice out of our library. It's going well, and now some of my spare time is spent taking on something which helps me think more about worship.
So what are you doing during Lent this year?

Charing Cross Bookshop

Saturday we took the tube to Leicester Square (sounds like Lester) to go to a photo gallery. Sharon went with us. The gallery was good but most of the pictures were quite depressing. One section was a slide show of pics taken across America during the 60's of extreme poverty situations. Another was pictures about life for women and children in India. There was written commentary which was about how women are often beaten if they don't produce boy babies and how often girl babies are killed just for being a girl. So we were needing a little of a boost. So after a coffee in an Italian cafe, we went to a quaint little bookshop on Charing Cross road. Charing Cross is famous for it's bookshops. This one is really old and it was like going through a maze once you were inside. It continued to weave down to the basement where we found books for 1/2 off the marked price, and often the marked price was already 1/2 off. The floors were old and dipped and creaky. And I found a book for only 3 1/2 pounds. ($7) So I had something to read on the way home on the tube. Here is Ed and Sharon in the basement looking through all the deals.


It had a real musty smell to it which made it feel even more like an old shop.
If someone would come through the hall, you had to either squeeze up against the books or find a little nook to step into so they could pass by.

An Earthquake in London!

Evidently we had an earthquake in the UK measuring around 4.5. We did feel it at the LMC. Ed and I had a visitor in our flat watching a documentary on TV and we were having a heated discussion about it which meant the discussion lasted until 12:30 in the morning. So we didn't get to bed until 1am. Soon after we hit our pillows, we heard something either hit the floor or move around. We didn't know what to make of it but we didn't think it was enough of a deal to get up and investigate. Then the next day a few others in the house said that their beds were shaking and had read that we had an earthquake. Well that's a first for us.

The pictures: Matt and Emily are a couple that have been attending our church for a number of months now. They are both working on their PhD's. Emily uses our library frequently. She presented the sermon last week and Matt gives one in a couple of weeks. Matt's dad is British and his mom is American. He lived his early life in England then his teen years and onwards in the states. Emily is from the states. They are a real assets to our church and great fun to be with. They've been in Africa for studies and want to go back to Africa to do more for her research.

Dutch Blitz time! I (Phyllis) got beaten so soundly the last time I played that I sat out this round.

More Flowers

Mini Daffodils

A weed

Crocuses

February Flowers

January showers bring February flowers.... Hey, its England!

One down, two to go!

We have been here for a year now with two more to go. It's gone fast for the most part. I can't say that it has been easy. Mostly because of missing family and friends. But we are having a great time here. It has been a good time of meeting new people from all over the world, serving God in a new way, learning how to do "more with less" in many ways, and mostly a time of reflection. You know the saying 'you can't teach an old dog new tricks', well that's not true. I came into this position not really knowing much about how to operate a computer other than how to read my email. I am much more proficient in my abilities there although I still have to nudge Ed a lot to show me how to navigate around the system. I also thought that it was going to be nearly impossible to create a balanced, appetizing meal for vegetarians but have done quite well. I wasn't so sure how we were going to make it with a closet for a bathroom.....and were Ed and I going to be able to work together so much and still like each other? Well, we are still together and still like each other!

The other adjustment is living with other people. We do have our own space but we share the laundry facilities, outdoor space, work space, and are around each other a lot. It feels like living in a dorm again....sort of.

So if I thought that I might be heading towards a mid life crisis with all the thoughts that go along with that term, then this was the right way to go! I have felt challenged in both my spiritual and worldly life with much to do and think about. It has been extremely rewarding and humbling to be here and serve God in this way.

We both are very thankful to all of you, our families and friends for praying for us, keeping in contact with us via skype, email, letters, packages, and phone calls and for those who have actually flown here to visit with us (and for those who have plans to do so) because we know that it is not cheap to travel here. We love sharing our lives with you in these ways.

We think of you all a lot. I must go now as our church has a "bring and share" meal today at the Centre (another way to say pot luck or carry in meal).

Ode to Old Geek Shoes

Ode to Old Geek Shoes
by Ed Shirk

They were good
They were tough
They gave me comfort when times were rough.

From a day when all they saw
was polish, pavement and wall-to-wall.
....To the mountains where the air was dry and scarce
....on to London thick and soggy.

They were born in England
These shoes, rarely tied.
Uppers, fine, could buff right up
Soles, not so much
....Collecting soil samples in the garden
....Squishing sounds for hours in the rain
Noses, keep your distance!

I miss em, sure
they were the best
But they went the distance and deserve their rest
Rest in Peace, geek shoes of mine
You saw me through a relished time.

A new face at the LMC

As of February 1, we have a new person living at the London Mennonite Centre. She is Emilie Bourdages (I think I spelled that right). She is the one on the left. She is French-Canadian from just outside of Montreal. She is 20 years old and has come to London on a work/travel visa which allows her to work for a total of 12 months and travel the rest of the time. Since Canada is a commonwealth country, like Australia, Virgin Islands, India, etc. their residents can get a visa like this where as it is more difficult for a US person to obtain a visa to work. Anyway.... this is just something she has wanted to do and she knew Dora-Marie who is at the Centre. So she is renting our tiny guest room on the lower level here. She is a lot of fun. Her English is pretty good and she is getting better every day. She is pictured here with Nina who you may remember is German. So since they can't talk each others language, they speak English to each other and it is funny sometimes when they can't come up with a word to describe something.

Partners in Mission

There is a program called Partners in Mission. I believe that it is through a Virginia mission (Mennonite) program but I'm not sure what the exact name or affiliation is. Sharon Kniss is the 23 year old that works at the Centre and she is from Harrisonburg VA. PIM decided to do some work at the Centre to support her efforts. After months of planning, they ended up with four young men from the Harrisonburg area. These are the four guys that came to do some work projects at the Centre. Ed picked them up on Monday morning at Heathrow, brought them back to rest a little. Then after lunch, he went with them to Central London for the second half of the day.
These are a few of the things they were intrigued with. All the red phone booths.....
....this post box.........and that we are having mild enough weather to have blooming flowers. These are primroses.

They got a kick out of the milk trucks here. Many people still get milk delivered to their door in glass bottles. You can buy milk off the truck if you catch them on their route. I will post more pictures of their week with us in the next few days.

Day Two: Work at The Centre

Two of the guys started working on the Prayer Hut in the back garden. It needs a new roof so they are ripping off the old one here.
When they started working on Tuesday morning it is very foggy. Here two of the guys are digging out a bunch of dirt to move to the back where it will be used to reset some patio stones that are used for a small patio and also a walk way which is very uneven and trecherous to walk on, especially in the dark. This picture is in the front of the Centre, next to the walkway/street. The area that they are digging out is where we keep the trash bins. It has been an elevated area that you have to lift the bins up to put them away. So they are leveling it out to make it easier to put the bins back. Plus they are using the dirt for another project.
This is in the back of the Centre where they are relaying the patio stones.
This is Richard (Rich) working on the stone path.

Hoxton

We took another city walk, this one in East London. The neighborhood is called Hoxton. This is the discription: "The coolest neighborhood of the 1990's is still growing, changing, and trying to hang on to its hip status."

We walked past some great eating places and hip clubs and also an art gallery that was free and we slipped in to view some fantastic photography. The gallery is called "The White Cube". I didn't get a picture of it though. Halfway through the walk, and seeming utterly out of place (as East London is the poorer part of the city) is the Geffrye Museum. The museum is set in the former almshouses of the Ironmongers' company - beautiful 18th century buildings surrounded by mature trees and attractive gardens. There is a walled herb garden in the back but of course this time of year it was not as nice as it will be in a few months.

The Geffrye is a museum that specialises in the furniture and domestic interiors of the urban middle classes. Its displays span from 1600 to the present day, forming a sequence of period rooms which capture the essence of English interior style. There is a contemporary wing with 20th century displays, a design centre and an exhibition gallery for the best in contemporary design and craft from East London.
This is Geffryes, the founder of the hospital.

Hampton Court Palace

We took the tube to Waterloo station then a 30 minute train ride to Hampton Court. This is a view of the Palace after crossing the bridge over the Thames. Hampton Palace is a Palace that Cardinal Wolsely had built for himself during the reign of Henry VIII. It was later given to King Henry and was used for Kings and Queens thereafter.
There are extensive gardens at Hampton and this is a maze they had. There were only 3 dead ends and it wasn't too hard to get through. It's January but it has been mild weather and in some places of the gardens where it is sheltered, there were daffodils, crocuses and whatever this is.
Here is sooking at the Palace from the side viewing it from one of the main large gardens.

This is a huge arbor to the side of the palace. We have decided that we need to go back in the Spring or Summer when things are in bloom.

This is the inner courtyard. The ladies of the court would promenade around this square to show off their latest dresses.
The is the fountain in the centre of the inner courtyard.
You have to go under this large poster of Henry VIII to enter into the palace. Looks like Ed was trying to look up his skirt.

Foxes at the LMC

I was sleeping in on Sunday (our church is in the afternoon) and Ed was already up. He sticks his head into the bedroom and tells me to look out our back door into the back garden. In the shelter of the corner of a hedge were these two foxes. They were there all day and Ed has about 30 pictures of them using his telephoto lens. We've been told that fox are common in London.

It's been a busy week even though there have been no seminars going on. We've had some guests come through and more people show up at the door inquiring about the Centre. The last one was a man who gets our literature in the post but has never been here and had the day free so drove down to look at the book shop we have. He ended up staying part of the day and using the prayer hut. He had little knowledge of the Mennonites and Anabaptists so I did my best to inform him about who we are.

Our server is still being repaired/rebuilt and we are limping by. We met with the family who will rent one of our flats that has been empty for three months now. Hopefully they will move in next week. Ed spent most of today shampooing the carpets.
We had a great visit from Luke Thornton, one of Ed's co-workers from when he was at Harper Industries. He was in the UK on business and so he stayed at the LMC on his last night before flying home. We had a nice meal out and some catching up.

Ed bought me a Raclette machine for my birthday and we had most of the house up to our flat for raclette on Saturday night for supper. I meant to take a picture but forgot until all the dishes were washed. Can anyone take a guess as to what raclette is? Well you know it's something to do with food. I know Ed's family knows but how about you Kansans?

South Kensington Walk

We took a walk on Sunday morning since our church services are in the afternoon. We went to the area where there are about four museums within an easy walk within each other. We have actually been to them all so we just wanted to walk around the area. Here is the rear view of the Royal Albert Hall, London's grandest concert venue.
These buildings are just down the street from the first picture and I really liked the color and shape of them.
We walked through the Ennismore Gardens Mews through these quaint cobbled stone streets.
This is the Brompton Oratory. Legend has it that during the Cold War KGB spies used this vast Catholic Church as a dead-letter drop.
This was the highly original, proto-art deco Michelin Tyre Co. which now is home to the Bibendum Oyster Bar. You can see the Michelin man in the top center above the window.
We had just emerged from the tube station and I was looking at the information card that was directing us to these places. We stopped at the corner to look up at the building to admire it when I looked in front of us and there was a guy who had the same card in his hand looking from the card to the building just like we were. These cards are popular I guess. When we were at the airport a year ago in Atlanta waiting for our London flight, there was a guy with the same pack of walks of London cards that he was looking through.

We are still without a server and we are limping by with alternate ways of doing what we are used to doing. I can't get to alot of my documents that I had stored and so much of my work is waiting to get done at another time. I have been ending up with quite a headache each day trying to get done what I can.

Oh yes, Thanks to my former Sunday School Class at Pleasant Valley Mennonite Church in Harper for the wonderful rendition of Happy Birthday over the phone. The best part being that it was 9pm for them but 3am for me!!! Some people get more ornery and brave with age.

I turned 51 on 6 January. Since that was Sunday, I was honored at a birthday tea on Wednesday instead. So if you haven't read before what we do at birthday teas, I got to choose what kind of dessert/treat I wanted (it's hard to choose when you like so many things but I settled on lemon meringue pie), they sang happy birthday to me in whatever tune I wanted, someone read the 51st psalm, and I was to reminisce on past birthdays, especially a fond memory.

On Thursday we had a seminar at the Centre of 13 people. It went very smoothly. Ed and I are getting much better at getting all the details put together for seminars that it's not so much stressful as it is tiring.

There have been two different people ring the Centre's doorbell during the day this week to inquire about what our Centre does. One was a young girl in her 20's who was in the neighborhood interviewing for a nanny position just down the street from us. She said that she saw our sign and that if she gets the job she would be a live in nanny and wanted to get to know the neighbors and that she may come to church. The other was a Jewish man who lives nearby and was curious about us. He looked us up on the web, saw that we run mediation workshops and have a lot of books on mediation and he was intrigued.

Every day seems to bring something interesting. Except for the time when the electricity went off for 12 hours and has nearly ruined our servers and we have been without the main workings of our computer system for all this week. It's crazy how dependent we have become on email, the internet, etc. Well at least I have gotten a lot of piled up filing done waiting for the system to get repaired.

We have two flats that we let out, 16A & 16B. 16B was just occupied and 16A is close, so we will have new neighbors to get to know. Actually, in 16B is David George, from the states who has been here for more than a year and needed a new place to rent. He is originally from PA and is a Menno. 16A hopefully will be rented to an elderly couple. More on them if and when they decide they want it.

In closing I ask that you pray for a 20 year old girl in our church who is dealing with cancer. She has gone through much chemo and now has a recurrence and it doesn't look good. Her father died five years ago today of the same cancer. Her mother is in our home group. It gives me much to think about. She is the same age as our youngest daughter, Hilary.

Thank you to everyone who reads this blog and thinks and prays for us. We think about all of you often.

Jane Austin Day

This picture made us laugh when we first saw it. The butts is a large grassy area at the end of the town of Alton.
This is the house/museum that Jane Austin lived in while she wrote a lot of her novels.

Sharon's friend, Alison, was here visiting her from her VS position in Germany. While here, she wanted to do something very English. So we decided to have a Jane Austin Day. On Friday night the women watched the 5 hour BBC miniseries on DVD of Pride and Prejudice. Then on Saturday we took a train to Alton where we walked to the house/museum where Jane Austin lived and wrote a lot of her novels. We then took a bus to Alresford, a quaint village where we had a nice lunch at a pub (very English) with a cozy roaring fire. Then we took a walk around the village where we saw this thatched roof house (very English) stopped at a tea room for a creamed tea,(again very English) then went to a cute book shop and browsed for awhile. It was a nice day even though it was quite cold.

Things are back to normal at the Centre except that we have a major computer shut down. I don't understand what is wrong but I do know that we are really dependent upon computers because it practically shuts us down. I did get a bunch of filing done however.

Getting back into the swing of things

It's 2nd January and it is time to get back into the routine of our jobs. After having close to 50F temps for the past week, it has gotten colder today, now still at 38F. However the sun is shining so that makes up for a lot.

Yesterday was a relaxing holiday. In the afternoon, Ed & I, Sharon and her friend who is visiting, Alison Yoder, played a game of photography scavenger hunt. We mutually made a list of things to find and take a picture of and went out on teams for an hour and a half. We deemed it a tie and went out for muffins and hot drinks in Crouch End afterwards. The first picture is some of us playing PIT. The next picture is Ed's photo entry on the scavenger hunt titled: Reusable Rubish found on the street.That evening we had another New years party. This one given by the director's family of Vic, Kathy, and Janelle Thiessen in our lounge. We had cheese and chocolate fondue, lots of casual conversation, then went around the circle twice where everyone had a turn at saying what meaningful or memorable book, film, trip, etc they experienced in 2007.
When it came to Ed's turn, he reported on a trip and then gave a short report on a book along with the title. Thing is, he made up the name and author of the book. We found out that this was on a dare from Sharon. It sounded pretty good. Several people from the church joined us and of course there was some game playing afterwards.

What did you all do?

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Happy New Year 2008!

What did everyone do on New Years Eve? We first took the bus to Muswell Hill and spent a couple hours at Ed & Veronica Zondell Sirett's house for some mulled wine and eats and good conversation, then Ed (Shirk) and our friend Ian took the tube to Central London (after dropping party pooper Phyllis at the Centre)to view the grand fireworks to be shot off at the London Eye. So they got a good place to stand amongst the estimated 700,000 others along the Thames. However, about one minute after the start of the fantastic show which by the way Phyllis was able to see from many different angles on TV, the smoke from the fireworks blew over to where Ed & Ian were and they were unable to see anything after that. The other LMC group were across the river and had a good view and were really glad that they did this, even if it meant for some of them, standing in one place for six hours to ensure a good spot. So these are the only good shots Ed got off on his camera. Tube and bus fares were free from 10pm until like 4am. A good thing with all the partying going on.
I don't think I have any ground breaking resolutions to reveal just yet.