We are currently in the middle of a “heat wave”, meaning the sun has been out 4 straight days and the temperature has reached 70 degrees. It sounds funny when I hear people call it a heat wave, but honestly it does feel like one considering how cold it has been the previous weeks. Some people are saying it may stay this warm for a few more days, I hope so.
This past Sunday was a day to remember. I was standing out in the church parking lot with 4 boys who had never been to church; we were waiting for some of our other friends. Church had been going on for about 15 minutes when we decided they were most likely not going to show up so we started to make our way towards the building when we saw Josh. We were not expecting him to show up, he asked what we were doing, I told him we were about to go inside for the church service and asked him if he wanted to join us. At first he seemed unsure, said he had never been to church before, I assured him it wouldn’t be too bad considering we had already missed the first 20 minutes. When he agreed to come in I was very happy, but that feeling of happiness did not last very long. It was about 2 minutes after sitting down in the auditorium that Josh started texting the other boys who were sitting there with us and talking out loud to the boy next to him. I realized it was going to be a long service. I repeatedly asked him to stop talking, the whole experience culminated when he proceeded to hold up his phone and show me the text Calvin sent him. Haha it was funny because the only open seats left for us to sit in happened to be in the front of the church, so everyone behind us could see his phone. And although he thought he was showing me a text message, he must have clicked the wrong button or something because when he held up his phone it had no words on the screen, just the picture he had selected for his background. And of course the background picture for his phone was a naked lady.
After the service I still had two 5 pound notes in my pocket because we came in after they took the offering so I gave one to the two boys who sat there the quietest during the service. The crazy thing is that a few minutes after I gave them money, this old guy who I have never met came up to me and said he had heard about what I was doing and gave me a 20 pound note. Then later that night at the evening service the treasurer gave me an envelope containing a 20 pound note and said someone put it in the offering this morning.
A quick bit of advice to anyone interested in youth work, don’t ever have the kids try atomic hot sauce before you do the lesson, always save it for after. Last Wednesday Jon brought some of the strongest hot sauce ever to youth program, and was daring the kids to try it. Some of them took the challenge, but for the rest of the night they were going in and out of the bathroom to get water. One boy even had to call the ambulance because he had an allergic reaction. Funniest thing about the whole story is that the same boy took the challenge last year and the ambulance had to come because he had the same allergic reaction. I guess he was hoping for a better result this year.
This past Wednesday went much better though. We showed an “I am second” video, which we were worried about because Jon has had some really bad experiences with showing films to the kids, but they were all quiet and respectful during it. Earlier in the day I went with Jon to a school called Sheldon, we sat in front of 7 kids around the age of 18 and answered questions about God. It was a really good time, the one girl claimed she was an atheist and she asked some thoughtful questions, one of them being if Jon or I had ever experienced an answered prayer. We shared with her how when I arrived to England a month ago, I was told at the airport that I would probably not be allowed in because I did not have the right paperwork. Then about 5 minutes after Jon sent out a mass text message to people asking them to pray, I was unexpectedly allowed access into the country.
It is interesting because ever since the day I arrived I have wondered about that airport experience. I did not know why it happened the way it did, I thought maybe it was for me, to be a confirmation that I was supposed to be here. I also thought it have been for the church, but now after sharing that story to these students, maybe it was for them. It is possible that they needed to know God is real and actually does answer prayer. We went to another class after the first one and answered some more questions about God but it did not seem to go as well. The kids really did not have many questions to ask and they did not seem as interested.
Speaking of not being interested, Jon and I went to an old people’s home this week, during the prayer time; this really old guy to my left must have flipped through a hundred magazine pages. It was really hard for me not to laugh at the whole situation. Before arriving to this home, I was under the impression that we were just going to sit and talk with some of them. But we ended up leading them in singing hymns. They had a keyboard which looked like it was from Napoleon Dynamite, but the lady who played it was not there at first so we had to do some songs without it. Haha the funny thing is that none of the old people were singing so it was just Jon and I for the most part. Good times.
Woke up yesterday morning feeling very sick, I did not sleep well the night before or last night. I have a fever, sore throat, cough, and I am very congested. I went to the store thinking they would have Nyquil or something similar but found nothing. It is really strange; I do not know how they survive over here without Nyquil. I went to a pharmacy today and asked the person behind the counter for something that would make me fall asleep and she looked back at me as if I was some type of drug addict.
Things at the church are still going really well. There is a guy here this week from America and yesterday while I was outside with some of the skateboarders he asked me what I was going to do when I got back to the states, before I could even answer some of the kids answered for me. They said I should not go back, but rather stay here and skateboard everyday. If only life were that simple.
Lately I have been going into a lot of the younger schools with Jon and doing assemblies, we did 4 just this past week. We were at a school called Ivy Lane and they managed to fit 300 kids into the tiniest room ever. There was barely room for Jon and I to stand. He asked the kids where they thought I was from, and the first person he called on answered very confidently and said Brazil. The next two answered with Australia and Madagascar. It’s amazing how they can never seem to guess America. It is also amazing how amused the kids are with Jon’s puppets, he has one called Rebel the wolf and another called Squirtle the turtle. When he pulls them out of his brown suitcase the kids go wild. Rebel bit my hand yesterday when I tried to feed him a piece of bread and this little girl on the front row was laughing so hard I though she was going to wet herself.
I received a package today from my parents, thank you to everyone who donated some 1 dollar bills. The kids are going to be very excited when I give them out. I am headed up to the church now, we are having sports night in the gym at 8pm.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
Don't look left
Monday, September 19, 2011 (1:46pm)
Tomorrow I will have been in England for exactly 4 weeks already. Which means I will only be here for 5 more months but when people ask me how long I am staying I still answer 6 months out of habit. Some of the kids I skateboard with have already been asking “what are we going to do when you leave?” I tell them not to think about it because it is a long way off, but it is going to be a sad day here.
Right now I am at McDonalds, using their free WiFi, I looked into getting a device which would allow me to access the internet from my house but it cost way too much money. So for now I will make the long bike rides to McDonalds.
Monday is my day off each week, which sounds kind of funny because before I left I thought I might get bored during the week because of too much free time. I have actually been quite busy. So far my average week consists of hanging out with Jon (person who had the idea for me to come to England) during the day. On Fridays we go down to the Chippenham market, he has a trailer he parks there and gives out free Christian literature. We spend most of the day sitting and talking with people that stop by. We also go over to his dad’s barn and work on the new trailer he is building.
I also go with him into the schools and help him with his talks. Tuesday we went to St. Paul’s and taught the story of Zacchaeus to a group of first graders. There were about 30 of them and it was an interesting experience. Jon read the story and since my name is Zac, I had the role of acting everything out. He would say something like “Zacchaeus was really short”, then look at me, and I would have to convince the kids that I was really short. The majority of the commands were fairly easy to act out, but when he read the line “…so Zacchaeus climbed the tree” I was totally lost. He then proceeded to say “and I am the tree”. I wish what happened next would have been caught on video, because the kids died laughing as I tried to climb up Jon. It was a really funny day. I think we are going to a high school this week to do a more serious talk.
In the afternoons I go to the church to ride my skateboard and hang out with some local teenagers. I sometimes do not get home until after 11pm. We have a lot of fun right now; hopefully the weather will not get too severely cold for a couple more months. None of the kids who skateboard and scooter at the church actually go to the church; they just really enjoy how smooth the pavement is in the parking lot. So recently I have been answering a lot of questions related to God and the Bible. A few of them have even come to the 11am service on Sunday.
Wednesday night the church opens up their gym for what is called kids zone. They allow anyone to come in and play soccer or basketball for about 50 minutes and then we sit and talk with them for the last ten minutes. From 7-8pm is the younger group, and 8-9pm is for the older ones. We had about 20 of the skateboard/scooter kids come in last Wednesday for the 7-8pm session and I gave the ten minute talk. I was really encouraged because they can be extremely crazy at times but they were very quiet while I spoke.
Someone came to pick me up from the church last Tuesday and as we were leaving the parking lot all the kids were saying “see you Zac” and “what time you coming back?” I did not think much of it because it happens everyday, but he was totally shocked. I listened as he told his wife when we got to his house, he said “you should have seen it, they were all waving goodbye and asking how long he would be gone.” For so long the people who go to the church have had a really hard time communicating and relating to the kids that hang out in their parking lot, but it has come really easy to me. I guess it has something to do with the fact that I am younger then most of the people in the church, along with the fact that I skateboard and am from America. I remember talking with my dad the day I was leaving, and he said I had nothing to worry about because I was a very likeable person. A part thought he was just saying that because he was my dad, but so far the people here do seem to like me.
Wednesday a lady from the church brought down 20 burgers and 20 fries from McDonalds for the kids while we were skating, there was about 25of us so some did not get one of each but they were super excited anyway. And Saturday some people volunteered to drive us to a skate park about 45 minutes away because Jon was unable to start the mini bus. The kids are starting to notice that the people in the church do care about them; I have already seen the gap close a little bit.
The day at the skate park was a day to remember. Haha it was an outside park and it had rained before we got there so everything was wet. We tried to dry off the bottom of the mini ramp by kicking the water off the side. It was working, but it also made my shoes soaking wet. As soon as it was almost dry enough to ride it started to rain again. This pattern carried on through out the day. We took about 14 kids, and spent most of the day sitting or standing around waiting for the rain to stop. By the end of the day, around 7pm, everyone was in a bad mood. Most of the kids, including myself were starving and cold. All I had eaten that day was candy from the vending machine. Some of the cars arrived to pick us up about 7:30pm; they did not have enough room for everyone. I had to stay with 2 of the kids and wait another 45 minutes for Jon. Driving home it was hard to feel my feet because my socks were still wet. All I could think about was what I was going to eat when we got back. Plans changed though when I got dropped off at the church and saw 5 kids sitting outside the door. One of them asked if they could use the bathroom. I said sure, I had to go as well, when I came out I saw that the rest of them were sitting in the church café. A side of me wanted to tell them to leave so that I could go home and eat but I could hear them talking about how warm it was inside the church and I decided to sit and talk for a while. After about 30 minutes of talking about random funny things that happened at the skate park one of them asked why it was called “café three hundred and sixteen” (cafe3.16) I told them it was because of a verse in the Bible called John 3:16. That then got us somehow talking about Adam and Eve and creation, I asked them what they believed and shared with them what I believed. It was a good talk; I enjoy sharing truth with them because they are not hearing it in their schools or homes. That’s why I am here. I was glad I sat and talked instead of going home to eat.
Two boys came to church yesterday morning who had never been; we got some pizza and hung out in the youth room playing pool and video games after church. A lot of other kids showed up through out the day, around 5:30pm I realized it was almost time for the night service and I had not even been home yet.
Off topic, I was in a town called Malmsbury last week, walking around a church that had been built over 1,000 years ago. We were outside looking at some of the gravestones and one of them was 200 years old and it was for a girl who was eaten by a tiger that came into town with the traveling circus. As we were walking away, someone said “don’t look left”, obviously I looked left across the river and saw a overweight man wearing nothing but hiking boots and a back pack. Hahaha apparently they do nature walks in a private park close to the church. I really wish I would have not looked left.
Off to the church now to skate.
Tomorrow I will have been in England for exactly 4 weeks already. Which means I will only be here for 5 more months but when people ask me how long I am staying I still answer 6 months out of habit. Some of the kids I skateboard with have already been asking “what are we going to do when you leave?” I tell them not to think about it because it is a long way off, but it is going to be a sad day here.
Right now I am at McDonalds, using their free WiFi, I looked into getting a device which would allow me to access the internet from my house but it cost way too much money. So for now I will make the long bike rides to McDonalds.
Monday is my day off each week, which sounds kind of funny because before I left I thought I might get bored during the week because of too much free time. I have actually been quite busy. So far my average week consists of hanging out with Jon (person who had the idea for me to come to England) during the day. On Fridays we go down to the Chippenham market, he has a trailer he parks there and gives out free Christian literature. We spend most of the day sitting and talking with people that stop by. We also go over to his dad’s barn and work on the new trailer he is building.
I also go with him into the schools and help him with his talks. Tuesday we went to St. Paul’s and taught the story of Zacchaeus to a group of first graders. There were about 30 of them and it was an interesting experience. Jon read the story and since my name is Zac, I had the role of acting everything out. He would say something like “Zacchaeus was really short”, then look at me, and I would have to convince the kids that I was really short. The majority of the commands were fairly easy to act out, but when he read the line “…so Zacchaeus climbed the tree” I was totally lost. He then proceeded to say “and I am the tree”. I wish what happened next would have been caught on video, because the kids died laughing as I tried to climb up Jon. It was a really funny day. I think we are going to a high school this week to do a more serious talk.
In the afternoons I go to the church to ride my skateboard and hang out with some local teenagers. I sometimes do not get home until after 11pm. We have a lot of fun right now; hopefully the weather will not get too severely cold for a couple more months. None of the kids who skateboard and scooter at the church actually go to the church; they just really enjoy how smooth the pavement is in the parking lot. So recently I have been answering a lot of questions related to God and the Bible. A few of them have even come to the 11am service on Sunday.
Wednesday night the church opens up their gym for what is called kids zone. They allow anyone to come in and play soccer or basketball for about 50 minutes and then we sit and talk with them for the last ten minutes. From 7-8pm is the younger group, and 8-9pm is for the older ones. We had about 20 of the skateboard/scooter kids come in last Wednesday for the 7-8pm session and I gave the ten minute talk. I was really encouraged because they can be extremely crazy at times but they were very quiet while I spoke.
Someone came to pick me up from the church last Tuesday and as we were leaving the parking lot all the kids were saying “see you Zac” and “what time you coming back?” I did not think much of it because it happens everyday, but he was totally shocked. I listened as he told his wife when we got to his house, he said “you should have seen it, they were all waving goodbye and asking how long he would be gone.” For so long the people who go to the church have had a really hard time communicating and relating to the kids that hang out in their parking lot, but it has come really easy to me. I guess it has something to do with the fact that I am younger then most of the people in the church, along with the fact that I skateboard and am from America. I remember talking with my dad the day I was leaving, and he said I had nothing to worry about because I was a very likeable person. A part thought he was just saying that because he was my dad, but so far the people here do seem to like me.
Wednesday a lady from the church brought down 20 burgers and 20 fries from McDonalds for the kids while we were skating, there was about 25of us so some did not get one of each but they were super excited anyway. And Saturday some people volunteered to drive us to a skate park about 45 minutes away because Jon was unable to start the mini bus. The kids are starting to notice that the people in the church do care about them; I have already seen the gap close a little bit.
The day at the skate park was a day to remember. Haha it was an outside park and it had rained before we got there so everything was wet. We tried to dry off the bottom of the mini ramp by kicking the water off the side. It was working, but it also made my shoes soaking wet. As soon as it was almost dry enough to ride it started to rain again. This pattern carried on through out the day. We took about 14 kids, and spent most of the day sitting or standing around waiting for the rain to stop. By the end of the day, around 7pm, everyone was in a bad mood. Most of the kids, including myself were starving and cold. All I had eaten that day was candy from the vending machine. Some of the cars arrived to pick us up about 7:30pm; they did not have enough room for everyone. I had to stay with 2 of the kids and wait another 45 minutes for Jon. Driving home it was hard to feel my feet because my socks were still wet. All I could think about was what I was going to eat when we got back. Plans changed though when I got dropped off at the church and saw 5 kids sitting outside the door. One of them asked if they could use the bathroom. I said sure, I had to go as well, when I came out I saw that the rest of them were sitting in the church café. A side of me wanted to tell them to leave so that I could go home and eat but I could hear them talking about how warm it was inside the church and I decided to sit and talk for a while. After about 30 minutes of talking about random funny things that happened at the skate park one of them asked why it was called “café three hundred and sixteen” (cafe3.16) I told them it was because of a verse in the Bible called John 3:16. That then got us somehow talking about Adam and Eve and creation, I asked them what they believed and shared with them what I believed. It was a good talk; I enjoy sharing truth with them because they are not hearing it in their schools or homes. That’s why I am here. I was glad I sat and talked instead of going home to eat.
Two boys came to church yesterday morning who had never been; we got some pizza and hung out in the youth room playing pool and video games after church. A lot of other kids showed up through out the day, around 5:30pm I realized it was almost time for the night service and I had not even been home yet.
Off topic, I was in a town called Malmsbury last week, walking around a church that had been built over 1,000 years ago. We were outside looking at some of the gravestones and one of them was 200 years old and it was for a girl who was eaten by a tiger that came into town with the traveling circus. As we were walking away, someone said “don’t look left”, obviously I looked left across the river and saw a overweight man wearing nothing but hiking boots and a back pack. Hahaha apparently they do nature walks in a private park close to the church. I really wish I would have not looked left.
Off to the church now to skate.
Monday, September 12, 2011
First Entry From England
Sunday – September 4, 2011 – 9:15pm
I am home earlier than usual after Sunday night church because it started raining (soaking wet clothes from the bike ride home as proof) but the change of plans has forced me to write my first entry. Hard to believe I have been here almost two weeks, the days fly by, I will try to sum up the main events of my trip without making this incredibly long.
The flight over from D.C. to Heathrow went very well. Although I was unable to fall asleep, it did not seem like a long flight and the lasagna they served was the best tasting meal I have ever had on an airplane. The trouble started when I got off the plane. I was detained for over an hour and a half at border control because I did not have the proper paperwork needed for someone who wants to stay six months (I was under the impression that you could stay for six months with just your passport). The lady behind the desk said that I was probably going to have to board another plane back to America. She called the people who had come to pick me and up and they tried to convince her to let me stay 3 weeks, haha it ended with her saying “this is your lucky day – don’t ever try this again” and she gave me a special stamp in my passport that they normally don’t use. Handwritten inside of it were the words “six months”.
It was a bit nerve wrecking sitting in a chair and thinking how I might have to fly back home the same day I arrived, so I will definitely take her advice and never again try coming to England for six months without the proper paperwork. In that time though when I did not know whether or not I would be allowed in, I remembered something I saw in Baltimore on the drive to the airport. We were stopped at a red light and there was a guy across the intersection to our left wearing yelling pants and holding a sign. He had his back to us and Kayla saw him first, she asked us what we thought his sign said, we were still taking guesses at it when the light turned green. I thought it was a sign to promote a clothing store but as we passed him I was shocked to see it only had three words – “God never fails”. Although the majority of people that drove by him that night thought he was crazy, I was glad he held that sign, more importantly I am glad that it is a true statement.
So far I have spent a lot more time that I thought I would hanging out in the church parking lot (people here call them car parks). Yesterday I was there from about one in the afternoon until seven at night, riding my skateboard with about 15 other kids. Majority of them ride scooters, one kid even had a go kart that peddled like a bicycle. Before leaving to come here, I envisioned youth work as showing up on Sundays and Wednesdays to teach/“babysit” the church kids but so far it has been way different. I sat and talked for about an hour yesterday with 6 kids, they asked me 101 questions about America and I asked them a lot of questions about England. Funny how God uses random things like Spongebob and skateboards to help you relate with strangers. At one point in the conversation they asked me if I went to the church and I told them yes, it was the perfect opportunity to ask them what they believed. A few of them said they were not sure, but think there might be life after they die. I shared with them what I believed and they seemed to listen but not say much. Looking forward for the chance to speak with some of them one on one in the future. Really praying that one day the might come into the church for services.
There is a problem at the moment between these kids and the church members though. Most of the members don’t like the kids because they leave trash (rubbish) outside, make too much noise while they are trying to pray and “damage” the building with their scooters. The kids know that most of the church people don’t like them. So it is going to be an uphill battle convincing them that going inside the church is a good idea. Haha I was even yelled at on Thursday night, by someone who I guess thought I was one of the kids. I was riding a scooter down near the church café entrance and the guy opened the door and yelled “stay away from the building”. If I wasn’t a believer, I doubt I would ever want to go in.
The neighbor to the church doesn’t like the kids either, while talking to them yesterday they said on Friday night he came over and started yelling at them, and was even saying terrible stuff to one of their moms (“mums”). They called the police on him when he took a swing at a 15 year old; the police did not do much and basically told them they shouldn’t be hanging around the church anyway because the church people don’t want them there. Ironically enough, there was some excitement in the church lobby tonight when people looked out the window and saw the neighbor’s 12 foot high hedges in a fiery blaze. Haha it actually looked really cool, but the neighbor was very upset. Really hope they don’t try burning down the church next.
On Fridays I go down with Jon to the market, he sets up a stand where he gives away free Christian books. I enjoyed just sitting around and meeting people. One older man informed me that he was diagnosed with cancer this week; he lifted up his shirt and showed me the marks where they took the skin samples. Maybe he thought I did not believe him? The day before that though I went downtown with someone else from the church who was working with a group called Open Air Mission, they basically just start preaching on the main sidewalk and try to draw a crowd. I felt out of my element but it was a good experience watching them doing it and being in conversation with people that stopped to talk.
Food wise I have been eating a lot of cereal, also found this microwavable pizza that tastes very similar to what I ate back home. I am staying with an elderly woman in the church from Jamaica, she is super nice, but I told her I would rather buy and cook my own food. Tried Dominoes pizza last night for the first time since being here, it was funny because right before we ordered this guy brought a half eaten pizza to the register and said “umm I found this in my pizza”. We looked in the box and there was a black bug crawling around. It was definitely gross but I still ordered my pizza and it was really good.
The gym here, called the Olympiad, is very nice. Has a huge pool along with steam rooms/ saunas/ hot tubs/ etc… but becoming a member is way different than what I was used to back home. I have to go to five “introduction sessions” before I can use all of the equipment. I went to my first one Wednesday and the kind trainer showed my not only how to turn the treadmill on but also how to step onto it. It’s ridiculous that I can’t use any of the weights yet because I have not been shown how to use them but I have my second session tomorrow at 10am. At least they let me work out in the same shoes that I wear outside, unlike in Bosnia.
I am home earlier than usual after Sunday night church because it started raining (soaking wet clothes from the bike ride home as proof) but the change of plans has forced me to write my first entry. Hard to believe I have been here almost two weeks, the days fly by, I will try to sum up the main events of my trip without making this incredibly long.
The flight over from D.C. to Heathrow went very well. Although I was unable to fall asleep, it did not seem like a long flight and the lasagna they served was the best tasting meal I have ever had on an airplane. The trouble started when I got off the plane. I was detained for over an hour and a half at border control because I did not have the proper paperwork needed for someone who wants to stay six months (I was under the impression that you could stay for six months with just your passport). The lady behind the desk said that I was probably going to have to board another plane back to America. She called the people who had come to pick me and up and they tried to convince her to let me stay 3 weeks, haha it ended with her saying “this is your lucky day – don’t ever try this again” and she gave me a special stamp in my passport that they normally don’t use. Handwritten inside of it were the words “six months”.
It was a bit nerve wrecking sitting in a chair and thinking how I might have to fly back home the same day I arrived, so I will definitely take her advice and never again try coming to England for six months without the proper paperwork. In that time though when I did not know whether or not I would be allowed in, I remembered something I saw in Baltimore on the drive to the airport. We were stopped at a red light and there was a guy across the intersection to our left wearing yelling pants and holding a sign. He had his back to us and Kayla saw him first, she asked us what we thought his sign said, we were still taking guesses at it when the light turned green. I thought it was a sign to promote a clothing store but as we passed him I was shocked to see it only had three words – “God never fails”. Although the majority of people that drove by him that night thought he was crazy, I was glad he held that sign, more importantly I am glad that it is a true statement.
So far I have spent a lot more time that I thought I would hanging out in the church parking lot (people here call them car parks). Yesterday I was there from about one in the afternoon until seven at night, riding my skateboard with about 15 other kids. Majority of them ride scooters, one kid even had a go kart that peddled like a bicycle. Before leaving to come here, I envisioned youth work as showing up on Sundays and Wednesdays to teach/“babysit” the church kids but so far it has been way different. I sat and talked for about an hour yesterday with 6 kids, they asked me 101 questions about America and I asked them a lot of questions about England. Funny how God uses random things like Spongebob and skateboards to help you relate with strangers. At one point in the conversation they asked me if I went to the church and I told them yes, it was the perfect opportunity to ask them what they believed. A few of them said they were not sure, but think there might be life after they die. I shared with them what I believed and they seemed to listen but not say much. Looking forward for the chance to speak with some of them one on one in the future. Really praying that one day the might come into the church for services.
There is a problem at the moment between these kids and the church members though. Most of the members don’t like the kids because they leave trash (rubbish) outside, make too much noise while they are trying to pray and “damage” the building with their scooters. The kids know that most of the church people don’t like them. So it is going to be an uphill battle convincing them that going inside the church is a good idea. Haha I was even yelled at on Thursday night, by someone who I guess thought I was one of the kids. I was riding a scooter down near the church café entrance and the guy opened the door and yelled “stay away from the building”. If I wasn’t a believer, I doubt I would ever want to go in.
The neighbor to the church doesn’t like the kids either, while talking to them yesterday they said on Friday night he came over and started yelling at them, and was even saying terrible stuff to one of their moms (“mums”). They called the police on him when he took a swing at a 15 year old; the police did not do much and basically told them they shouldn’t be hanging around the church anyway because the church people don’t want them there. Ironically enough, there was some excitement in the church lobby tonight when people looked out the window and saw the neighbor’s 12 foot high hedges in a fiery blaze. Haha it actually looked really cool, but the neighbor was very upset. Really hope they don’t try burning down the church next.
On Fridays I go down with Jon to the market, he sets up a stand where he gives away free Christian books. I enjoyed just sitting around and meeting people. One older man informed me that he was diagnosed with cancer this week; he lifted up his shirt and showed me the marks where they took the skin samples. Maybe he thought I did not believe him? The day before that though I went downtown with someone else from the church who was working with a group called Open Air Mission, they basically just start preaching on the main sidewalk and try to draw a crowd. I felt out of my element but it was a good experience watching them doing it and being in conversation with people that stopped to talk.
Food wise I have been eating a lot of cereal, also found this microwavable pizza that tastes very similar to what I ate back home. I am staying with an elderly woman in the church from Jamaica, she is super nice, but I told her I would rather buy and cook my own food. Tried Dominoes pizza last night for the first time since being here, it was funny because right before we ordered this guy brought a half eaten pizza to the register and said “umm I found this in my pizza”. We looked in the box and there was a black bug crawling around. It was definitely gross but I still ordered my pizza and it was really good.
The gym here, called the Olympiad, is very nice. Has a huge pool along with steam rooms/ saunas/ hot tubs/ etc… but becoming a member is way different than what I was used to back home. I have to go to five “introduction sessions” before I can use all of the equipment. I went to my first one Wednesday and the kind trainer showed my not only how to turn the treadmill on but also how to step onto it. It’s ridiculous that I can’t use any of the weights yet because I have not been shown how to use them but I have my second session tomorrow at 10am. At least they let me work out in the same shoes that I wear outside, unlike in Bosnia.
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