We have arrived safely in
Manchester, England! All luggage made it safely so no one has to be
stinky for a week! There was nothing more beautiful seeing the sun set
and rise all in just a few hours! Few stayed awake during the whole
flight and some still haven’t slept yet! It is 7:30 am here while yall
are still snoozing at home (2:30)! We have met our driver and guide and
both just happened to be named Dave! Both Dave’s are from Scotland and
won’t be too hard on us! It just tickle’s all of us to see the cars and
drivers on the other side! Pictures are a must and some have already
started! It’s quite hilly, but beautiful with sheep and cows speckled
throughout the hills!
York was amazing! Yes, it was at times a drag from the lack of sleep most of us had, but York Minster took everyone’s breath away! That place is enormous! Here we met another Dave who was our guide around the Minster. He was a charming elder and definitely knew all about the cathedral. Sister Linda blessed our group at the end of our tour and then we went to lunch at Saint William’s College Café! After that we split up into 2 groups, one went back to the cathedral to see the crypts and treasures. (I would like to add that there was a goblet that had a 32k diamond on it.) Then the other group was the shoppers! They explored Jorvik and its many candy shops and stores. As soon as we loaded the bus to the hotel, most of the passengers fell into a deep sleep. We arrived at The Honest Lawyer Hotel in Durham just a little while before dinner time. After some relaxing, we ate a very interesting and good dinner. Now, some are sleeping and some are chilling out in their rooms. Exhaustion is soon to hit many!
A note from Brian
Hello to all of you:
I'm writing from the Honest Lawyer Hotel here in Durham,
England--it's the morning of Day 3. Right now it's 7:49 as a matter of
fact--that's 2:49 Eastern Daylight Time. I hope you're all sleeping
peacefully and not worrying on our account!
Not that we haven't had the usual sort of traveling glitches (some
misplaced paperwork, a bit of jetlag-induced whining, etcetera), but
it's been a blessed pilgrimage so far. I woke up this morning in a
nicely-appointed little room that looked out over a beautiful unmown
english meadow, surrounded by hedgerows that bloomed in great
star-shaped purple flowers. We'll have breakfast this morning in the
Honest Lawyer public room, and then off to the border abbeys! We're
all very excited.
Or, to more closely follow the example of our host's namesake
attorney, I should say that we will all be very excited, as soon as we
fully wake up. The darling young people of our J2A class don't seem to
be morning people so far. I'm smiling as I write this: I am so very
fortunate to work with such good-hearted and sincere young adults as
these.
Yesterday we had the opportunity to see the York Minster, the
oldest cathedral in this part of England. It's built on the foundation
of an old Roman garrison, it turns out. The history was
fascinating--we walked on the Roman paving stones where Alexander the
Great was proclaimed Emperor of all England and Europe, and saw the
Norman-era foundations of the Minster, not even to mention a
1500-year-old ivory and gold bishops' crozier (did I say that right?)
belonging to Archbishop Walter the Gray, among other treasures. But
for me at least, the high point was when a sister of the Anglican
religious Order of the Holy Paraclete prayed over us as we made our
pilgrimage through the Minster. She called us pilgrims, as did the
entire staff of the Minster.
It was very powerful, in retrospect--to be named "pilgrim" in that
holy place. They took our calling very seriously there, and as a
result, we take it a bit more seriously too. I think we have become
pilgrims in deed as well as word; we are certainly not the giddy
vacationers who left St. Catherines a few days ago.
I know you are supporting us with your prayers, and I can't wait
to thank you in person! Let me ask you to continue faithfully in that
office, praying particularly that God will continue to keep us focused
on our purpose here. Please pray also that God would soothe the nerves
of tired and jetlagged pilgrims, and prevent any temper flareups.
In Christ,
Brian
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