Week Seven

Tuesday, October 11, 2011
I have been here exactly 7 weeks, crazy to think I spent 8 weeks in Bosnia last summer because I would be really sad if I had to leave next week. I feel like there is a lot more that needs to happen here before I go home.
The past few days have been very exciting and also strange. We will start with the exciting, Sunday morning I woke up very tired, I was so tired I had actually forgotten what time church started. So I fed the cat (Giles) for the people I am house sitting for this week and then rode my bike to church. There was no cars in the parking lot, and I thought it was because I was ten minutes early, but I was actually 1 hour and ten minutes early.
The night before I was hanging around the church with some kids and they usually stay till about 11 or 12 (the latest ever being about 1:30am). This boy came up to me with the biggest smile on his face and said “we are sleeping over his house (points to his friend) and his mom says we don’t have to be in until 3!” I smiled too, matching his excitement, but in my head I was thinking there was no way they were going to stay here that late. (Needles to say they did) We played in the gym for a while, then we all skyped with Loretta, she showed them her house and shoe collection. Then at about 1am we skyped with Nathan and Ashley, they thought it was really cool to meet my brother. But they kept referring to Ashley as his girlfriend. We then went back in the gym until about 2:50am. Lucky for them, they did not have to be up for church in the morning.
I usually text some of the boys about an hour before church to wake them up and see if they are interested in coming, but this Sunday I was so tired I forgot. To my surprise though about 15 minutes before the service started a boy texted me and said he was on his way but might be a few minutes late. He showed up, and after the service we went to Dominoes and shared a pizza. It was good to talk to him one on one, he told me a lot about his family life and plans for the future. I shared with him how God changed my life, and how when I was his age I would have never imagined moving to England to skateboard with kids at a church.
We talked a lot about Heaven, and also what Jesus taught. On our way back to the church, he thanked me for the conversation; he also thanked me for coming to England. We skated with our friends the rest of the afternoon and that night he came to the evening service. The guy who spoke prayed a prayer at the end, and asked that if anyone was interested in becoming a Christian to pray along with him. My friend prayed it and said he believed it, I met with him after and we prayed, he was choked up as he thanked God for all the He has done. If nothing good happens for the rest of this trip, it will still be 6 months well spent because of that night.
Now for the strange;
Monday Jon and I loaded the mini bus with 15 people who have struggled with addiction to drugs and alcohol and took them to a soccer tournament in Oxford. The tournament was comprised of teams from local areas who use soccer as a way to help people rehabilitate themselves. The original plan was to drop them off at their tournament and then go sight seeing, maybe take some pictures at Oxford University and get some lunch. But that morning when we arrived at the church, they told us they were a player short and needed either Jon or myself to play with them. Obviously Jon volunteered me.
I could not have felt more out of place. The shorts were way too short, I know barely anything about playing soccer, and I was somewhat apprehensive about who we were going to be playing against. Seemed to be a lot of prison tattoos out on the field, I gave it my all though. My team ended up winning 2 games and losing 2 games so we did not qualify for the next round. The other team we brought also did not qualify for the next round so we got to leave early. When I say “early” I mean 5pm, cannot imagine staying much longer. I was so hungry by the end of the day. Our team did receive a medal and little backpack filled with surprises though. Haha I got a drug and alcohol handbook along with shower gel, socks, and a water bottle. You can imagine the conversations that took place on the way their and back in the mini bus, I wont go into detail.
In a strange way the soccer tournament felt like a church camp, they gave each player a piece of paper with about 12 squares on it and you had to have each square signed by someone that you did not know. I know I have played something like that at youth group or camp before. The guy on the microphone kept saying stuff like “remember, today is all about meeting new friends and helping each other through this…” By “this” I guess he meant the addictions they were facing, it was funny though because the other players were really friendly. Had a lot of people tell me “bye” as I was leaving. I felt strange when the staff would smile at me, I wanted to tell them that I was not an addict looking to meet friends to help me through “this”, but I just kept silent. It seems like something out of a movie, but it’s my life.
Today I went into two schools with Jon, our first talk was to a younger crowd about the Prodigal Son, and then we went to a local high school and gave a presentation on marriage. After we came back to the church for the Moms and Toddlers program, Haha I got up from the chair I was sitting in today at the church and noticed my shorts felt wet, I looked at the seat and noticed there was a circle of something on it. I tried to convince myself it was water, but I think the baby that was sitting there before me needed a diaper change.
Mom and Dad, if you’re still reading this I love you guys, be home before you know it. : )