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.