The Fog

Good day!

Sorry for the delay since the last post. We left Thursday night for London and we arrived to a hotel with no wi-fi, so any chances of a field report were lost.

I’ve recently been informed that most blogs are updated more frequently with shorter posts, but as I’ve said, I’ve never done this before, so we’re making up the “rules” as we go along.

Much has happened in the last week or so.

Last week, we had a “house sorting” ceremony. The scene was a direct imitation of the scene from Harry Potter with the exception of the presence of the hat, the magic, Emma Watson, and Dumbledore. Myself and Mason were sorted into the house of “Mercia”, named after the term used to describe Harlaxton in pre-Norman England. Effectively, Mason and I have changed the name of the house to “ ‘Merica’ “ to touch base with our roots and give us a little more intimidating name. Try saying “Mercia” in a British accent. That’ll put the fear of God into the other houses, no doubt.

Additionally, one morning I looked out the window to an interesting sight. A poor little rabbit has been killed and was wedged between two stones at the base of the exterior wall in the garden. So what did we do? Mason, Evan and I went out and looked at it. As we poked at it and manage to pry it out of the crevice, we came to the startling realization that it was missing its head. Clean cut. There weren’t any dangling organs or anything of that nature, just straight across the neck…  So what did we do? Picked it up with some rocks, took a picture, threw it back on the ground and got away from it as soon as we could. (find the picture on FB, I still haven't mastered getting pictures into these posts)

We left for London Thursday night and started our trip then. Friday morning we went to see Big Ben, the Parliament building, the London Eye, and the other large tourist-y sites. The immensity and size of the city couldn't help but humble me in every way. Saturday we visited the British National Museum which even further blew my mind. Getting to see sections of the Parthenon, the actual Rosetta Stone, and tombs for dozens of mummies was one of the neatest experiences of my life. We then boarded the subway system and traveled to Fulham to see a Premier League soccer match featuring Fulham and Wigan. Due to a shifty find by Mason, we sat in the second row and got to see the players up close and personal. The atmosphere was as they describe it with insults being hurled in every direction and pure passion being worn on everyone's sleeve. Especially intriguing were the four 11-year-olds sitting in the row in front of us (the first row if you're following along), that took jabs at opposing players and let the four letter words fly like it was their job.

That evening we ate a nice little pub and made our way to see some more sights such as Piccadilly circus, where we got to visit the M and M museum that smelt like a combination of sweat, poop, and dark chocolate, Westminster Abbey, and Buckingham Palace.

So has been my life over the past week. "Merica", a rabbit from Sleepy Hollow and one of the most incredible experiences in one of the most incredible cities on this planet.

I'll close with a little story.

Thursday morning, I woke up frustrated. I was frustrate with planning for travels, with a sense of homesickness, and things were just kinda off. I took a walk into the woods on the grounds here and I can rarely remember a exact specific time in which God has ever spoken to me so clearly. I walked outside and there was fog everywhere. I literally mean everywhere. Disgruntled and frustrated that I wouldn't get any super-sweet pics of the manor in the early morning, or that I wouldn't be able to deep into the WWII airfield behind the house, I continued with my walk. I took a path I had never been on before, and the mud started to rise up my shoe with each step, but I continued.

In a startling moment, I stepped of of the sidewalk, took a couple steps over a small ridge, and set eyes on one of the most beautiful sights I've ever witnessed. Boulders and creeks and small rolling hils ran through a miniature valley, and in the early morning sun, the sight was one of a kind. The visibility of the fog stopped just at the end of the small scene, and it stopped me in my tracks.

I started to think. And more importantly I started to pray. I asked God to soften my heart, to take away the worthless stress that was blockading my mind from enjoying the experience. In an almost scary series of events, I continued on the path, with signs at each turn directing me "This Way" or "Right Ahead". I walked through the trail and saw dozens and dozens of unique, incredible landscapes and scenes.

God rocked my world on that walk. Here I was, upset with this thing and frustrated with that thing. By showing me how pretty the land was that was right in front of me, God was showing me to have peace and joy in the life that is right in front of me. It's easy to get caught up in worry about the future and frustrated over small things in everyday life, and so was my case that morning. I'm living in a castle in England with some of the people I love most in this life. I get to travel every weekend to some new cool place that has incredible sites and rich history. Heck, I go to school four days a week. But more importantly than all of that, Jesus' sacrifice saves me from my sin every single day, and for that I am eternally blessed and humbled. Always remember to look right in front of you to see how God is working in your life and trust him to not see the entire picture.

You see, I started the walk expecting the fog to hinder what I would see, but instead it showed me so much more than I could've ever imagined: a gentle reminder that God loves.

Kyle