Jacob's sixth post

There hasn't been anything too exiting happening lately, but there are a few notable things. The first notable thing is Allison, my sister got to go to the theatre to see the play She Stoops To Conquer on Wednesday Feb. 1st. (I'm going to comedy of errors tonight) The 2nd notable thing is the Camden Markets. Here's a short, but very accurate, (if not perfect) description of the Camden Markets: weird art, weird art, clothes, clothes, clothes, food, food, food, clothes, clothes, clothes, clothes, clothes, clothes, food, food, food, clothes, clothes, pins, princess stuff, angry birds stuffed animals, clothes, and, you guessed it, clothes. So in other words, if you don't like clothes or food, the Camden Markets isn't your kind of place.

Someone else from SU came over and has been coming over to our flat over the last few days, and yesterday we went over to the student flats. (to recap, my dad is a part of the study abroad program in London) We've heard they were awful, and we thought there would be mold growing in the flats. In real life, they were actually pretty nice. They're not worth the million dollars they would sell for, but they're still pretty nice. After that, we had 2 McDonald's McFlurrys (they're very small in the UK) and went to Oxford Street. (Oxford street is a whole street with shops everywhere) However, we only went in a few shops. (The  only shop devoted to electronics that we stopped in was Argo's) [Argo's is a store where you go on these computers, write down what you want, and pay for it] The Disney store is definitely highlight. If you've ever been to Disney World, then you've seen the Disney store. Imagine that a hundred times smaller. Now add a magic mirror that when you wave a princess wand at it, it tells you what Disney princess you're most like. Now add huge plush versions of Mickey and Donald dressed like the British palace guards. At the end of Oxford Street, you'll find Hamely's. (remember, that huge toy store I was talking about in one of my first posts?)  So that's what's been happening around here lately.

The Worship Nerd Post

For those of you looking for witty and interesting things about living in London or news of how the Rousus are doing, this may not be the post for you.  This is Amanda, indulging her worship nerd self and sharing a crazy amount of details about worship at St Johns of Downshire Hill for the few of you who are interested.  I promise that I will go back to pithy and fun things in the next post...or get Jacob to do that since he's our most popular blogger.

As both Matt and I have shared, St John's is without question, the friendliest, most inviting church we have ever attended, anywhere. This church lives the idea of being the house of Jesus, established not just for those who know Him, but those who want to know Him.  Some examples of this hospitality at every level:

* From the moment we walked in the door the first time, we have had people tripping over themselves to welcome us AND other visitors.  As a staff member mentioned to us today, they expect and seek out visitors each week and work hard to not only chat with them, but help connect them to others that may share an interest, background or other common ground.  It is a skill that is learned by all members and practiced by everyone, regardless of age, gender and race

* When worship is over, coffee, tea and biscuits are served in the pews to all gathered every single Sunday. 

* I have been invited to two different small groups that meet during the day

*We received a welcome email from Jonathan, the vicar and an invitation to their partnership dinner at the end of the month with a handwritten note from Jonathan.

*Because the expectation is that there will be visitors, Jonathan and others leading worship very informally and almost conversationally guide worshippers through the elements of worship.  Somehow, this makes a very traditional service seem contemporary and approachable.

Now to the mechanics of the service (I told you that I was indulging my worship nerd self.  You are welcome to quit reading at any time!)

Generally Jonathan reads a few verses of a Psalm connected to the first hymn as a way of bringing us into a spirit of worship.  We often read together a welcome (which is included in the bulletin on a laminated card that is re-used each week at each service)

"We have come together as the family of God in our Father's presence to offer him praise and thanksgiving, to hear and receive his holy word, to bring before him the needs of the world, to ask his forgiveness of our sins, and to seek his grace, that through his Son Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we may give ourselves to his service."  

Because Jonathan introduces this differently every week, often highlighting a different part of this welcome, it does not feel as staid and rote as one would expect for something read each week.  We sing two hymns to begin worship, usually 3-4 verses (all lyrics printed in the bulletin, we have no hymnals), with Jonathan introducing each to share why we are singing it etc.  There is a majestic pipe organ that is used sparingly and a grand piano with one or two people leading all the singing with microphones.  From talking to the pianist, I know that they do not rehearse these songs until about an hour before worship...sometimes this works better than others. 

Next is the children's message, which is lead by a member of the children's ministry team (we have never seen the same person lead it).  One major change is that this message is lead from the front, but the children remain in the pews, which makes it a talk addressed to all of the congregation (and does not force the leader to deal with discipline issues).  Afterwards, we sing a song together that is geared towards the children- a song to help them learn John 3:16 has been common lately, but it changes each week with the theme of the message.  After the song, the children are dismissed to their Sunday clubs (or Sunday School classes) that run about 30 minutes after worship.  Worship stops for a few minutes while the children and leaders leave and parents return from escorting younger children.  Again, many nearby visitors introduce themselves at this time.  Because of the leadership of the service, this does not feel like an interruption to the flow of worship, but is a grace granted to those with children (it cannot be coincidental that the pews are FULL of children each week).

We move to a time of confession and prayer at this time.  Jonathan again shares a few verses to focus our confession (not in the bulletin), we have a time of silence and then pray together the printed prayer of confession (again on the laminated card inside the bulletin).  Afterwards, we sing a hymn that addresses the grace we receive from Jesus. 

Next it is a time of prayer, with specific prayer points shared with Scripture to focus our prayer.  Today we prayed for the Queen, the UK government, Christian leaders in the UK, Jonathan and our church leaders and our community.  In past weeks, prayers have been raised for Syria, for gang violence and for how St John's can reach out in the community.  These prayers are typically not lead by Jonathan, but by another member of the staff or even church member.

The morning's Scripture is shared next by a member of the church.  We have been studying Ecclesiastes (and will through March, I believe), so each week the reading has been a full chapter or more (today we read Ecclesiastes 5:8-6:12).  The page number for the reading is included in the bulletin and read aloud before the reader begins.  We sing another hymn as a response to the reading.

Jonathan's sermon is next.  He is a very good preacher, clearly unpacking a somewhat challenging book of the Bible in ways that apply to our lives today.  We heard Erwin McManus discuss Ecclesiastes 1 at the WGLS in August, and I was more engaged in Jonathan's sermon than his (this could also be that Mr. McManus was the final speaker and followed the most emotionally charged segment of the conference). 

We close with a final hymn and prayer.  It always seems a little awkward as there is no procession or benediction.  The pianist often plays the final hymn for a bit and then the servers come out with the tea etc.  As I said earlier, the children's programs go on for about thirty minutes after worship concludes, so this allows time for fellowship.  The sanctuary is large, so we remain in this space until the children meet us, chatting and meeting people. 

There are many other little things I've noticed, but I've certainly rambled enough.  We feel very blessed to have found this church and become a part of its family so quickly.  There are many lessons I am learning about being a follower of Jesus by being part of this church for this short time.  There are also things that might greater enrich our worship at home.  I may share more as we move through Lent, but I've certainly co-opted the family blog for church purposes enough for today! 

Praying for all of you back home.  We miss you very much.  Though we are welcomed and enjoy this church, it in no way replaces the family we have at CUMC.

Matt's update

Hi all,

Sorry for the delay.  Things have been quite busy here.  Further, I had the tough decision on whether to attend my grandfather's funeral in MN.  In the end I decided not to go - thinking it's just too much to get there - but the decision wasn't easy.  Here is his obituary.

On to a few of the fun things in London over in the past couple weeks:

* Victoria and Albert's Museum.

* Farley's Antiques for Hire.  We got to visit this business - where they rent out props to movie sets.  I had heard good thing from the students and faculty about this before, but the visit absolutely blew me away.  There are tens of thousands of antique items that could be used in movie sets.  We saw items used in movies such as James Bond movies, Gladiator, Superman, and more.  When somebody asked the owner: "About how many movies has your antiques been in?"  His response was: Almost all of them.  "Not all the futuristic ones, of course, but we have even been in some of those, like Star Wars."

To put this tour in perspective - I was far more astounded here than from Victoria and Albert's, the trip our family took the day before.


* Fulham vs. Stoke City Premier League Football Match:

This was fun, but a bit bittersweet.  This was the day of my grandfather's funeral that I wasn't attending.  But, I had the tickets for a month, so there was no sense not going.  We did have a good time, however.  We were 9 rows back right behind the goal.  To be honest, I would have preferred to be another 6-8 rows higher to get a better view of the action on the other end of the field.  The good news was that Fulham won (we were going in cheering for the home team) and all 3 goals were scored in our end - which was awesome.

The atmosphere was amazing.  The chanting was fun, although the road team, stoke city had a section and they were far more boisterous (and drunk).  They were singing songs and chanting non-stop - seemed quite fun, actually.  No violence or foul language, which was nice, although we were in the family section.  Who knows what the other sections were like.

One of the goals was by Dempsey - one of Fulham's best players, although later it was reclassified as an "own goal" as it bounced off the goalie.   Dempsey will be on the US Olympic team this summer.

Note: there is no zoom on this camera - so these pictures will give you a sense of how close we were.

* Science Museum.  We went on Monday.  For those who don't live in Britain, the phrase "half-term" might not mean much.  We didn't know it at first, but soon learned it's a week off in the middle of the term for all schools.  By all, they mean all.  To the best of our knowledge, every elementary, secondary and high school along with universities are all off for the week.  We got to the science museum 5 minutes before it opened and there was a queue one block long.  Once in, however, it was large enough that it wasn't too crowded ... at first.  We were in by 10:01, but by 10:45 it was packed and by 11:00 we decided to leave.  We've been to Disneyworld 3 times, and the crowds make you feel as claustrophobic as the busiest times in Disneyworld.  The lesson: only a lunatic would willingly choose to attend any attraction that appeals to children during half-term week.

* Guglee

We got to see a tour of a local restaurant that opened just 16 months ago.  The owner is a 28 year old entrepreneur, and is doing quite well (they just opened their second store a week ago).  He gave a great presentation on some of the unique things they're doing - mostly associated with their high quality service.  It was a great presentation and then we had a meal there which was also good.

* Parliament

The students got this tour through their British History and Culture class, and I got to go along.  It was pretty fun seeing Parliament, and we had a great tour guide.

Here's some photos from when Allison and I went to the play a couple weeks ago:

In a few days, we (the whole group) go to Prague.  This is a big deal, as the students conclude a big consulting project with a presentation to executives of the companies they've been researching.

Edinburgh Part Two

After the Castle, we began strolling down the Royal Mile, but decided to detour to the Hard Rock Cafe as they are one of Jacob's very favorite restaurants.  It was good to get out of the cold (about 4 degrees Celsius, which is around 37 or so Fahrenheit) and give the kids a taste of America.  They need that now & then to help managing all the strange and challenging amounts of different they experience.  They loved every bit of it, especially the digital display of all the musical treasures in the Hard Rock collection.  I suppose Z didn't love every bit- when I told him to eat his oranges he informed me "I don't actually prefer oranges."

We headed back to the royal mile (which is a mile long street of shops and restaurants that leads from the Edinburgh Castle to the Palace of Holyrood-the official residence of the Royal Family).  We picked up a few souvenirs and poked around a bit before happening upon a street performer juggling fire pins.  When we arrived, he was getting ready to do the grand finale- balancing on a board while juggling the fire pins.  He included 3 members of the audience to hand him the pins one by one.  It was fun and even in those few moments, a great show.   

A little bit further down the road we found an accordion player playing a medley of Lady Gaga's hits (Bad Romance & Poker Face).  We also heard several different bag pipers- one playing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and the other more traditional bag pipe music.

We happened upon the Museum of Childhood, so decided to pop in and check it out.  It was a delightful little museum of toys from the ages.  It was also warm, so a double win for the kids.  After a short visit, we headed back towards our flat.  We took our time, enjoying the amazing architecture and stopped in the Disney Store (making big points with the kids again).  Around the block from our hotel was a Tesco that would pass as an American supermarket - it was huge!  For the first time since being in the UK, the five of us could walk in the grocery store without creating a massive bottleneck.  We picked up the traditional Rousu Sunday Feast-frozen pizza- and headed back to our home away from home away from home for an early evening in to rest up for one last day in Edinburgh.

Our final day in Edinburgh started a little off kilter.  We began by attempting to find Adam Smith's grave (author of The Wealth of Nations, a formative economic book).  We saw many, many old graves, but not Adam Smith's (it is possible we saw it, but could not read it through the age and abundant moss on many graves).  

He's on the list, but nowhere to be found!

Next, we attempted to visit the Museum of Edinburgh, but most of it was under construction.  However, we did discover the story of Greyfriar Bobby, which the kids found delightful.  Greyfriar Bobby was a dog that belonged to a police officer.  When his master died the legend says that Greyfriar Bobby kept vigil over his grave for 14 years.  The locals began taking care of the puppy- leaving food for him & taking him in on cold nights.  A law was passed requiring all dogs to have tags or be put down, but the people of the neighborhood protested on Bobby's behalf and the mayor gave him his own collar and tags.  As he aged, a family who owned a pub took him in and cared for him.  After Bobby died, a wealthy woman of the area paid for a statue of Bobby to be put on the neighborhood.  A Disney movie was made about Bobby in 1961

We ended up having lunch at the pub originally owned by the family who took Bobby in and cared for him in his old age.  It was a lovely pub with great service and yummy fish and chips and burgers (we attempted to have more Scottish meal, but they were out of Sausage and tatties).

After lunch, we visited the enormous Museum of Scotland.  There was far more there than we could ever begin to take in with three tired kiddos, but we tried.  We saw Mary, Queen of Scot's tomb and many of King James VI (or James II in England as he was the king who united the two countries peacefully when he became king of England after Elizabeth I died and left no heirs) relics.  I hadn't realized the day before as we heard about this King James that he was the King James in the King James Bible translation.  Learning so much.

The kids enjoyed the science and technology part of the museum that was full of gadgets and interactive displays.  We used physical effort to power light bulbs, a radio, a fan and a tv, tried our hand at being energy minister for a make believe country and played with robots.  Lots of fun!

After we had our museum quota for the day, we headed back to the Royal Mile, to do as little more shopping and people watching.  We stopped in St Giles Cathedral, which charged £2 for the privilege of taking photos (hence no photos there).  It was lovely and completely unlike cathedrals in the US in that there were many monuments and statuary for deceased members of the church all over the cathedral.  We haven't visited Westminster Abbey or any of the other big London churches, so it was our first experience with that kind of opulence in a church.  The joke in the UK is that all their museums are free, but they charge to visit the churches.  Too true- there are collection buckets at every corner inside St Giles.

Aside from a quick stop at McDonalds on the way to the train, that was pretty much our trip to Edinburgh.  It was a fast trip, but a good one.  After being used to London prices, it felt quite inexpensive.  Every time we were walking on the streets, I was just amazed at the beauty of the city- the architecture is incredible.  Once again, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for this opportunity.  We are so blessed.

Traveling to Edinburgh and a Castle Visit

 As Jacob mentioned in his post, we spent Saturday-Monday in Edinburgh, Scotland.  I kept a bit of a journal of our trip and thought I'd share.  It's a bit long, so I'll break it into two parts.

Our trip to got off to a bit of a rocky start.  We forgot the passports at our flat, so Matt graciously ran back (not a short run either) to pick them up.  He arrived back within two minutes of the next subway train towards Kings Cross station. We rushed between the tube and the train station only to discover our train was delayed due to a train break down at Peterburgh.  So we stood around and waited, wondering  what was happening.  Of course, as soon as Matt and Jacob were in the bathroom there was an announcement that our train was boarding and would be leaving momentarily.  Panic!

A kind woman at the platform kept an eye out for them while Allison, Zeke & I hustled towards the train.  The boys caught up and we tried to ask for help finding our carriage, but were told just to take a seat, any seat.  The earlier train was cancelled and combined with ours so the reserved seats were no longer so reserved.  Excellent....

We found seats just as the train started moving and got settled in for a four hour trip.  Not long after we started, the train came to an abrupt stop.  Then, a moment later, the sheepish conductor announced a large farm animal on the tracks that caused us to stop. Can you believe a random bull got on the track and was making his way north on the train tracks?  Perhaps he fancied a weekend in Edinburgh too?

The bull was coerced into moving (in my imagination, he was enticed with sweets and biscuits, not cattle prods or other harsh methods.  And yes, I do try to see the rosy side of life whenever possible.  Just call me Pollyanna).  We were off again and everyone settled into occupying themselves with their gadgets, books and toys.  Train travel is bumpy, really bumpy, like turbulence in air travel all the time.  Yet because we are on the ground & not thousands of feet in the air, I'm ok with the turbulence.  I have no more control on a train than in the air, but it feels (probably falsely) much safer.

Four hours later, we arrived and took a taxi to our hotel.  It felt strange to be in a car after all this time on trains and buses.  Our taxi driver was very helpful in telling us what to see and do and where to eat near our hotel.  We picked up Chinese from the place across the street and had a quick meal before shuffling everyone off to bed.  By 10:45 all was quiet on the Eastern front.

Our first full day exploring Edinburgh could have been a disaster as Zeke didn’t sleep very well and he said he didn’t want to go anywhere.   Allison saved the day by convincing him that we'd see cannons like on Jake & the Neverland Pirate’s ship at the Edinburgh Castle.  From then on, he was a trooper.  In fact, all three kids were amazing.  We walked ALOT and it was cold and they really didn't complain or whine or bicker.  Yeah Rousu Kids!

We started the day at Edinburgh Castle, which has a very interesting history.  It sits on  mountain made from an Ice Age era volcano and was home to many of Scotland's royal family as well as a fortress for Oliver Cromwell and prison for prisoners of war during the 1700-1800s.  The Scottish crown jewels are there as well as a beautiful memorial to all Scottish soldiers killed in WWI and beyond.  We had an amazing tour guide in a kilt, which made it feel more authentic than the others wearing their red Edinburgh Castle sweatshirts and jeans.  The kids adored running around the castle and playing around the cannons.  Matt & I enjoyed the spectacular views and rich history.

Matt and Kids in front of Edinburgh Castle

Cannon balls for Mons Meg (a huge medieval cannon)

 

Our Tour Guide

St Margaret's Chapel, built in the 13th century by David II in honor of his mother who was sainted for her generosity to the poor as queen.

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St Margaret in stained glass

Stained glass in St. Margaret's Chapel

 Part Two coming soon- the rest of Sunday and Monday- including a fire juggler, a story that inspired Disney and a modern accordion player.

Update from Matt

Jacob and Amanda will keep you up to date on our recent exploits, so just a few brief notes:

New places I visited:

The Bank of England Museum (see Jacob's post)
Edinburgh (see Amanda's (upcoming) post for many details)
Wicked, the Musical (outstanding)
She Stoops to Conquer (a play - went with Allison.  We went to a pre-theatre feast at the natural restaurant to attend before a play - Subway!)
The Tower of London (brief visit - we got a great deal on a family pass to see five different castles/attractions, so we don't have to do it all at once)

We've now been here just over a month, which means our trip is 1/4 over.  What's so great about being here for four months is I don't feel like we're rushed, yet we're still getting to visit all sorts of outstanding places and attractions.  This weekend is a bit quiet (no plans as of now), but we have plenty of stuff to check out.  I'm going to stay up late to watch the super bowl as well.  Really, the next 2 1/2 weeks are about as quiet as we'll get.  There is a Fullham football match the kids and I will go to one week from Saturday, but that's about it.

Also, the students I'm dealing with here are simply outstanding.  Bad things could still happen, of course, but this group is quite mature and punctual for 21-year olds.

All for now.

Jacob's Fifth Post

I haven't posted in a  long time, so this is going to be a LONG post.

First, let's start with The Lion King The Musical. YOU HAVE TO SEE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's unlike any other musical you'll ever see, in a good way. However, the moment Scar dies is so brutal, I almost felt sorry for him. But other than that, it's the best musical ever and you have to see it. It's the same story as the movie it was based on, but with more humor, more music, and LOTS of puppets and puppetry. (if the puppet part sounds lame to you, then see it and see what you think afterwards.)

A few days ago, we went to the bank of England. It was so cool. I got to touch a gold bar, (it was really heavy, but I lifted it up a few inches.) and I learned that no piece of gold is 100% gold. I also learned a few security features of the British note, including the metallic thread, the see through feature, and the raised print.

Now for the good stuff. Four to five days ago, I was on a train headed for Edinburgh, home of J.K. Rowling. It was a wonderful experience, but you shouldn't go if you don't like bagpipes, because you'll hear them everywhere. We got to see (and eat in) the restaurant where they fed Greyfriers Bobby, a dog whose police owner died. We also got to see the restaurant where J.K. Rowling wrote the first bit of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. (the restaurant  is called The Elephant House) [Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is the official and original name for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, they changed it when the USA got a release because the publishers {scholastic} thought kids and adults from America would be more interested in it if they changed the Philosopher's Stone into the the Sorcerer's Stone, so she did, creating a mistake that she would regret later.]  We stayed in a 4 star hotel  with really nice furniture. There was a Disney store near us that we kept on running into. Anyways, the train back was going until about 11:30 P.M. A little bit of advice for late travel with kids, avoid it at all cost. I'm still recovering from that disastrous night of no sleep. So now you're pretty much caught up with what's happening around here.