A Week in the London Life

It has (almost) been an entire week since my plane landed in this great city, and I feel like I'm still frantically looking around at every turn trying to catch all of the amazing sites. Before I left, an internal battle was raging over whether or not I would allow my inner tourist to show its face... the second I got here that battle was lost. Unfortunately my inner tourist has decided to stay a little longer than I hoped. But can you blame me? In one day I saw Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, The London Eye, Trafalgar Square, The Tower Bridge, Hyde Park, Harrods, The Globe Theatre, and so many more... Impressive, no? Ok, it was a bus tour... but still. There will never be another time in my life when there will be so many opportunities in front of me and so much history at my fingertips. So for now my inner tourist has full reign, and that's perfectly OK with me!



This past week has brought so many ups and downs (the only "downs" being that there isn't enough time in the day to have more "ups"). One great moment happened in the center of Covent Gardens where a performer was singing opera for a gathering crowd. His voice was resonating in the large courtyard in the middle of the open-air market, and swept away by the scenery I pulled out my camera to take a picture. Seeing my camera (or the cluster of American girls watching him), he jumped up on the staircase leading to where we were standing and began to serenade. He blew me a kiss and I blew him one back, and voila! my first British friend....


Even better than my operatic buddy was the church service that a few of us found a couple of nights ago. It was called Reality London and has a large base out of LA. We found our way to the crypt of a beautiful church where there was a small group of people gathering for a time of prayer and worship. I was surprised to find that most of the people were American (probably traveling students likes us) but pleased nonetheless. Judging from the prayers and the message that was shared, it struck me what a spiritually barren place London is. We read Psalm 127:1-2 which reads, "Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain." It was shared in the context of planting a church in London, but I thought that it was also appropriate for my time here. I have the wonderful opportunity to explore this city, but if I forget who it is that holds the city in his hands then my time here is spent in vain. It was a nice reminder.

I am getting to know the city and what it feels like to actually live here, but with that comes many discoveries that I would have been OK not making... For example, I am becoming familiar with what it means to live in a 17th century flat. It sounds fantastic right? And believe me it is... our pet mouse thinks so, too. We found his nest under our couch today. I named him Bernard. We have a ghost that likes to slam doors and make floor boards creek in the middle of the night. Also, two of our toilets periodically decide not to work, which is unfortunate considering that there are seven of us living here. But through all of the toils I remind myself that I am in London and life could get a whole lot worse than being on one of the greatest adventures I could ever imagine...