Greetings from Britain,
It’s been a while since I’ve written a true post, so I wanted to reconcile that.
A lot of things have been going on here in the Greater Manchester Area. Saturday we participated in a community event at St. Andrew’s Church, which is pastored by one of the vicars with whom we work closely. I think it was a success–many people came to see the balloon launch, the hot-air balloon, food, and football. I mainly helped out with the football. When I say football, I mean soccer. The man who ran the football clinic used to help coach Manchester United, and now works in the stadium doing something else. I got to talk with him for a bit before the participants showed up, which was very uplifting. He said to me, “you know my favourite time of day is in the early morning when i can run with me dog? It’s quiet, and I get to spend time to thank God for giving me another day to live.” I was very encouraged by him, and the fact that he has a really good status in this area is great for the ministries he does. The conversation with him ended when he asked “do you know where i can find the tea?”
Yesterday was spent helping out at an afternoon luncheon for the elderly. It was great talking to the people there, especially the ones who like history. I was talking to a guy for the longest time who was a radioman during the war, which was neat. He told me a lot about the British involvement, and I got to tell him details about the American involvement. It was fun. However, in interest of being honest with you all, I must admit that the best part was the “sweets.” I had a little old lady show me what each delectable was on the table, and i tried every one–some once, twice, thrice…
I’ve been reading a book by Francis Schaeffer titled “How Should We Then Live?” It’s interesting in that it gives a history of what man has thought throughout the ages. He discourses the rise of man starting with the Ancient Greeks and what they thought, all the way to now. What I think is the “key understanding” is that, simply put, life is good when man depends on God. Back in Eden, Adam and Eve were just fine when they depended on God. However, as Schaeffer showes throughout his book, when man tries to answer the big questions without depending on God as being exactly what he says he is, his conclusions are inconsistent and depressing. Things got ugly for Adam and Eve when they started juggling whether or not to depend on God, and his words to them. Schaeffer mentiones that Leonardo Da Vinci saw the conclusion of this humanistic (not God-dependent) thinking all those years ago: man is a machine (at best). Thus, as a christian who is called to depend on God, i need to remember this as i reach out to a world that is captivated by these humanistic philosophies.
Finally, I have a prayer request and a question for you. The request is for my college essays. I have three done, and had to “scratch” the fourth and start all over. My request is that you pray that I finish these promptly, to the best of my abilities. The question I have comes from a sermon I was listening to while ago. I think it’s a good question to meditate and pray upon: What is a christian’s greatest privelege?
