old school sunday

In 2003, after Shawn and I had only been dating a few months, I took a semester long mission trip to England with several other girls I had never met. The trip was life altering, and while not at all indicative of other mission trips or even that particular organization, it left me scarred and broken for years afterwards. I might some day describe some of the details from my standpoint, but that's not really my purpose in this particular post. I only want to convey that my teammates and I went through some spiritually very difficult things (the likes of which I'd never faced and haven't since faced) and sweet Shawn was across the ocean, trying to understand, help, and give wise counsel.

So I'm sure you can imagine my surprise when Shawn told me that his gift for our 2 year anniversary was a mission trip to England. I was excited about the opportunity to serve with Shawn, the opportunity to see a new place and culture with Shawn, and the opportunity to work through some of the lingering questions and doubts I had about my first trip. My only regret is that Shawn and I weren't able to travel to the town in which I'd stayed in 2003, but that was understandable given that we were ministering on the opposite side of the country. No worries, we'll get there some day.

The trip ended up being incredible - on many levels. Shawn and I on the plane flying to London:

Serving peanut butter and jelly at snack time of the VBS (or Holiday Club) we led. If you can even believe it, they thought we were weirdos for putting jelly on our peanut butter sandwiches. Our lesson was about having faith that even things we think are strange, difficult, or don't make sense will work out for good.
Shawn and I at the gate of Buckingham Palace:


I love - absolutely love - being in England for mission trips. There's no better way to get to understand a culture than to serve it, and I enjoy seeing parts of the country and the people we wouldn't normally see. Still, Shawn and I are both hoping that we'll be able to make it back to Great Britain as vacationers. There's still so much more we'd like to see and do! Maybe if we start saving now we'll be able to afford it by our 20th anniversary!