God Save the Queen

Hey guys! Greetings from Englaaaaaaand! I'm so sorry that it's been over a week since I last posted. Between packing, moving out of my flat, arranging traveling details and just finishing things up at the office, my life has been full to the max. Sadly, blogging slipped to the bottom of my priority list (I know, you're reading this thinking "does she seriously think we care?").

Anywho, my last post felt like so long ago and there is so much that's happened since then but I could never fit it into a blog post so I'll fill you in on the most important things and you'll just have to wonder about the rest.

Okay, last Thursday was my last day at the office. It was terribly bittersweet because I didn't want to go, but I really had a great day with my colleagues. We had a TWR staff meeting and a cookout and I really cherished the day of fellowship. Great memories to leave with.

So on Friday I caught a train to the bus station in Vienna, took a bus to Bratislava in Slovakia, then flew into Bristol, England. Honestly, I was so nervous about all of the transfers and making everything on time that I hardly slept on Thursday night. I really despise traveling alone (especially when they don't speak English), but I was really sure of Jesus' presence with me the whole time. Everything went smoothly and besides not being able to find the Ryanair check-in at the Bratislava airport, everything was perfect!

Okay, well ... there was some turbulence on the flight coming in Bristol. By the end I was thinking, "where did this stupid pilot learn how to fly?!!!" It seemed like we kept free falling after every bump which freaked most everyone out. One lady behind me kept screaming which, I'm sure, didn't help anyone. As I felt a wave of something moving in my stomach (not physical sickness, just the sick feeling that comes with not knowing) I cried out to the Lord and immediately I felt like He was standing in the isle right next to me. What a wonderful Savior we have :)

So when I finally touched down in Bristol, Chels and Jon were there to meet me and, of course, I cried because I was just so happy to see someone that I knew and I had been waiting all summer to be with them! It was a great reunion :)

Right off, they made me feel so comfortable and we've just been having the loveliest time. We spent Saturday in London and yesterday they gave me the tour around Gloucester and we hiked in the English countryside. Chels and Jon know their way around London quite well, so I couldn't have asked for better tour guides. We went to Buckingham Palace and their stables, Camden market, Covent Gardens, Soho, Parliament, St. Paul's Cathedral, the South Bank, Westminster Abbey, Chinatown, the Tower of London, London Bridge, Big Ben and so many more places I can't remember! It was AWESOME!

And yesterday they took me to all of the most beautiful little English towns. Ohhhh, they are so cute! And then we hiked a public foot path and saw lots of cows and mountains and little houses and pubs and churches and horses and fields. I feel baptized into the English experience now. I'll have some pictures up on Facebook pretty soon ;)

So, England in review: awesome.

Thanks for reading, friends! I hope you're all doing well. Seek hard after the Lord this week and count His many blessings in your life! I'm thankful for you all :) Ciao!