God save the Queen

The last four weeks here in the UK have been great. I absolutely love England... and it's been amazing to be able to spend more time here, bumming around London a bit more, seeing some more of the countryside... all of that. It's nice to be here in the summer, too, since I saw the other 3 seasons during my DTS.

Youth With A Mission is the same.. always the same! The community worship, the meals with friends, the creaky beds and tipping wardrobes, the waving people, the smell of gas-powered ovens, the signs warning against bathrooms leaking into floors below, lots of coffee and cadbury chocolate... its all the same. Sure, there's different people, and new ministries, but the best parts, they're still all there. And it's been great to be back!

Of the three weekends I've been here, i've been in London 3 of the 6 days, and I've discovered I really, really like the city. The National Gallery was mind-blowing. To stand in front of a painting by Leonardo DaVinci... and think about how he stood there, too... its incredible. And to see the large "Vincent" painted across Van Gogh's paintings was awesome. And funny. I love Van Gogh. His paintings were brilliant. Tate Modern was a new sort of experience for me. I'm not as much of a Picasso/Dali fan - normally i'm more a Monet/Van Gogh type of person. But walking around the Tate Modern i could feel my mind expanding. It's like exercising your mind - to learn to appreciate and find the beauty & meaning in things that aren't your primary taste. And I hope I accomplished something of that sort. [photo: national gallery]

I've made some great new friends as well, and had the opportunity to strengthen old friendships from DTS. It's been almost surreal, being back with many of my DTS friends, but now with a different sort of relationship to eachother. We're fellow staff, rather than DTS students. I rather like it, even though DTS was really great! It's interesting to have these new experiences. And it's cool to see how people have grown and changed in the year and a half since our DTS ended. There's some great new people on the base as well, and it's been awesome getting to know them. I feel really close to some of them already, even after only 4 weeks. But then, it feels as if I've been here for months, not just 4 weeks! England can do that to me. It's like coming home from Uni -- after a brief "ahh its great to be back" feeling, you just settle right in as if you've never left. It's something similar here.

Hmm - I should give a short summary of what i've been doing here, I suppose. Well primarily I've been helping to organize the communications plan for Beijing2London, the outreach organization/framework/resourcing group birthed by my friend Peter. I've been working on how we should communicate to people what B2L is and what they do. I've taken a bit of footage for a video, although most of the media will be shot in China, and I've had some meetings with others on the B2L staff to try and summarize/plan for the next 4 years. It's daunting, but we're making headway. I think it will be a continuous thing at least for me over maybe even the next year or so after i get back from China. When I'm not in the B2L office or slaving away in my 'home office' - aka my flat w/my computer - i'm helping my friend Whitney with the Cafe she's working on starting up. Painting, sanding, varnishing, stapling... its all in the job description. One very cool project i've been working on for her is the photos for the cafe walls. A new friend - Krissy - and I are in charge of that, and we're just waiting for the parcel with the photos to come in so we can work on getting them in the frames and arranged up on the walls! We've got some awesome shots, and I'm really excited to see how it all turns out. I'll keep everyone updated on that!

Well I think that's basically it. My time here has been great. It's been relaxing, fun, and QUICK! And I've learned a lot and I feel like I've helped out here... which is always a good feeling. :) I do miss everyone back home, but I still have another month left abroad. While my England visit is almost over, I still have a whole new adventure in Asia about to begin! Woohoo!