Candace's September and October Newsletters - UK

07-08 UK - Candace with Alan and Felicia
Originally uploaded by YAGM

September 2007
Hello!!!!
Greetings from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire England!!!!!!!! So, I made it here safe and sound after a 9 hour flight and was met at the exit by Sue Horswell (my host mum) and Pastor John Roberts, the head pastor at Union Baptist Church where I am giving my time. I am residing in a lovely neighborhood, and as High Wycombe is a very hilly town there are great views of the surrounding areas. It is great walking around town, using the public footpaths that wind between houses and through parks. My house is about 30 minutes away from the church, which is an easy walk into town. In addition, it's very diverse here, with many different cultures represented. A large part of the population, though, is Pakistani, which was a bit of a surprise, yet cool. Where I live is known a High Wycombe and is surrounded by large hills, though I can go about 8 minutes out of the town center (the high street) in one direction and be in town called Marlow, but then go in yet another direction and be in a town called Penn. It is amazing how closely linked the regions all are!

Introductions: My Awesome Schedule
For my first week I was allowed to rest and let the knowledge of what I had actually done sink in. But I also got a chance to meet with my supervisor, the associate Pastor Tim O'Brien, and to get a little preview of what I'd be doing each day. I was introduced to The Hub, the community center that is a part of Union Baptist and hosts a range of activities and is rented out by many groups and organizations. So on Sundays, I help out with Kid's House in Sunday school. The kids are between the ages of 5 and 8 years old and they play games, learn Bible stories on a level that they can comprehend and then do arts and crafts related to these stories. Then on Mondays, I do some church work, like filling in Hope Street registrations (that is what the children and young people's program is called). Then in the evenings I take part in Beavers, boy and girl scouts ages 6 to 8, who also do little crafts and play a lot of games, though they still do other activities that help them to earn their merit badges. Tuesdays there is Open Door, a drop in center where people who are homeless or lonely can come and have a cheap lunch for 50 pence, and services are available for those who would like to have a shower and have their clothes washed. It is an awesome opportunity to meet people in need and to just talk with and encourage them, hopefully taking their minds off their worries for a couple hours. Then at 8 in the evening I am a part of a home group Bible study that is led by my host dad and attended by about 7 members of the church. It is a good time to come together and have fellowship with people I wouldn't see all that often otherwise. Wednesdays host Day Center, a chance for the elderly, who normally aren't able to leave their homes or care facilities, to get out and meet with their friends and to enjoy a service and a nice meal. On Thursdays there is Mums and Toddlers, where mums can come with their little ones and have a cup of tea and chat with friends as their children play. After this ends around 11.30, I go down to Coffee Break, which is a slightly more posh version of Open Door, and basically means that there is no lunch, but a variety of nice cakes and scones are offered, as well as drinks other than coffee or tea. Hub Time then picks up where Coffee Break ends and I pretty much just do little odd jobs that need to be done, like putting together and stapling the church directory and stuffing envelopes. Fridays and Saturdays are my days off. So there's a quick run-down of what my week generally contains.

Hopes and Dreams
Being new to somewhere of course has its challenges. You usually need time to adjust and to get use to people and for them to get use to you. So I am looking forward to the times when I am no longer seen as the 'new gap-year volunteer', but simply as Candace (pronounced by most as Can-dees) and a part of the church family. During my first week of being in High Wycombe I was introduce to a couple of the young people at the church who are my age, Lindsay Dunford and Olie Wallbank. They seem really cool and were extremely warm and welcoming (as is most everyone here!), taking me places and letting me hang out with them and their friends. I am looking forward to getting to know them better and forming strong bonds that will last the rest of our lives. I have tried to be friendly and open, showing people love and respect and hoping that they know that I truly do care about them and desire to know them personally. So far it seems to be working, since some of the comments that I have been receiving always seem to involve the words 'smiley' and 'always happy'. My desire is to always be a help (since that is what I am here for) and that I always do the right thing.

Good So Far
Since I've gotten here I have been having fun pretty much non-stop! Everyone is so good to me and there is always something going on. Union Baptist is an awesome church and is well organized with great leadership who obviously love the Lord. God's word is closely followed and obeyed and His guidance is sought in prayer before and after everything (shortly, they pray a lot!!). The church is also extremely active in the community, offering ranging services that tailor to just about everyone's needs. And since it is about to go into its 162nd year, there is a rich tradition of service that has yet to falter. All in all, I absolutely LOVE it here and can't wait to see what develops next! I'll write again next month with more updates, as well as my new favorite words! So Cheers for now!!!!

Love,
Candace



October 2007

Happening this month!!!
This month has been sweet! It has been wonderful being a part of a lot of the activities going on at The Hub and building meaningful relationships. A big part of what I do is just being a companion to people, hanging out with them and listening to what they have to say, which has been a great experience. I have also been received extremely well. The folks of High Wycombe have taken me in and accepted me like I have always been here. If I can be honest, it does feel like I have lived here for a long time. That is how comfortable I am. In Kid's House and Beavers the children are starting to be more relaxed with me, which means that they like to jump all over me and try to put glue and paint on my face. In Open Door and Day Centre I feel more at ease with going up and engaging people. I find it a welcome challenge trying to figure out interesting things to talk about to help keep the conversation moving along. All in all, I am having an absolute blast and things are going smoothly!!

Some cool happenings!!
So, the Rugby World Cup was going on this month and I got super into it. I watch most of the games quite faithfully, rooting for my favorite teams (Togo, Samoa, and of course England). Since I wasn't initially that hip to all the rules of rugby, I asked other huge fans to explain a few things to me. Now, I'm not going to bore you with all of that (besides, I wouldn't be able to totally recount all the details for you anyways!), but I will say that it was great fun watching. England even made it all the way to the finals, but eventually succumbed to South Africa. Booooooo!!!!!!!! It was actually really sad; the nation went into this deep mourning period, with some horrified because they were so close, whilst others stated that they could have predicted that this was going to happen, saying that English teams always choke at the end. Harsh!

Halloween!!
I was interested to see how Halloween would be acknowledged over here in the UK, if at all. Though it is no where near the extravaganza of the US, there is some attention paid. Some adverts on TV were targeted towards the day, those mainly being for grocery stores. Here in town, I believe I saw two stores that had some merchandise, like costumes for children, some home decor and arts and crafts stuff. Pretty minimal. By asking people how they felt about it, it seems to me that it is seen in a mostly negative light. People don't really want their kids taking part in festivities, so when I went for a walk that evening, I saw a grand total of 5 trick-or-treaters, who were all dressed as witches and ghosts.

Big, HUGE thank you!!!!
I would just like to take a moment and thank everyone who contributed so generously towards this wonderful trip. I appreciate SO much every single person who has given me this gift. You are all awesome and I will definitely be taking advantage of the great opportunity. Thanks again!!!

Random story of the month
So, my friend Kelly and I decided to visit one of our other YAGM (Young Adults in Global Missions) friends, who was placed directly in London, for the weekend. We were having a great times cruisin' the streets, catchin' shows (we saw Fiddler on the Roof; so good!!!). Well, we were walking around China Town, looking at scarves and things, when all of a sudden I get whacked in the arm by something. And whatever hit me hit the guy in front of me, who promptly turned around to see what it was. So I'm looking at him and he's looking at me, totally confused, when we look down. Lo and behold, guess what it was; a cheese grater!!!! How random is that! This guy and I are looking up and around this street trying to see where it could have possibly come from, because it just didn't make any sense. We were walking along the street, with cars and buses on our right and the backs of the vendors to our left. It was so weird, and we literally stood there for like 3 minutes, in every one's way, half laughing and half offended. Yup, hope you enjoyed that as much as everyone that I have told has.
Love
Candace