Temporarily lost

The other day I decided to go for a walk to take advantage of the sunshine and mild weather. I wanted to go somewhere I hadn’t been before, and having been advised on a particular route, I set out alone. Eventually I came upon a roundabout in the road where I could not remember which way to turn. I chose a direction I thought made sense, but as I continued walking I began to realize that I had never been that way before. About the time I decided I should probably turn around, I heard the sound of water ahead. Continuing on a bit further I came upon a beautiful sight: not far away was a small bridge underneath which water cascaded down through three arches and flowed over the rocks below. I was so excited, because I realized that in the process of getting “temporarily lost” God had led me to one of my favorite things; a waterfall!

Halfway point

I am now at the halfway point of my time here in Wales. The time has been full, which I am so grateful for and it is an answer to my prayer that the time would not fly by too quickly. Besides my usual weekly schedule I have had the opportunity to hike a mountain again, participate in the church cleaning day, play violin in various settings including two different church branch meetings, some youth gatherings, and a recording opportunity with the worship leader of the church, attend a school rugby game (which is like football but the players don’t wear any padding), and experience a school assembly, where the students of the school are all gathered together and whoever has come in to do the assembly (in this case, a handful of people from the church here in Wales) may share whatever they like with the children, including the gospel, Christian songs, etc. It was interesting to me that this is still allowed in UK schools, and I was quite surprised when the head teacher actually led all the students in prayer to Jesus at the end of the assembly.

Spiritual climate

Wales has quite a history of revivals, including the Welsh revival of 1904-05 in which Evans Roberts was heavily involved. However, from what I have been told, it seems that the overall spiritual climate of this area has been fairly religious (without true relationship with God) for quite a while, with many people attending the traditional Welsh chapels in the recent past, primarily as a way of fulfilling their duty as a good person. Even more recently however, many of the chapels have emptied and closed, and people are not even interested in those anymore. There are quite a few spiritist “churches” in the area, and witchcraft is quite real. Depression and hopelessness is pervasive, which is also partly related to the amount of rain and general cloudiness of the climate. It’s been good to see the sun shine (more than usual for this time of year, I have been told) and to be part of building relationships with people in the community, bringing them hope and encouragement.

More cultural adventures

Though I am getting more familiar with the culture here, I have continued to encounter small challenges such as simply crossing the street; one morning I crossed one lane of traffic and then waited for an oncoming car, which passed behind me and I was left feeling quite embarrassed since I had waited unnecessarily as if I was in America and the cars were driving on the right side of the road instead of the left! Then a couple days later I almost got hit by a car by stepping out onto the road at the wrong time and because my brain is still a bit confused! Oh dear… 🙂

I have learned a few more British words and phrases such as posh (of high quality or from a high social class), lorry (a truck), ramble (to walk for pleasure, especially in the countryside), and having a row (to fight with someone). Some interesting facts about the UK are that no one is allowed to have a gun in their home, there are more sheep in Wales than people, and people enjoy playing a game using conkers (horse chestnuts) where each person has one on a string and tries to break the other person’s conker first. Bacon can be bought in large slabs rather than small strips, “pickle” is a relish made of vegetables preserved in vinegar, and crumpets (similar to English muffins but with holes in the top and not as dry) are delicious. I have also enjoyed learning a few Welsh words and phrases, such as bore da (pronounced “boh-ray dah”), meaning “good morning”, sut wyt ti (“sit oy tea”), meaning “how are you?”, and nos da, “good night.”

Learning to rest

This has been such a sweet season of rest, but partly this time has involved learning how to find that rest and to be content with being myself. I tend to compare myself to others and try to figure everything out in life, wanting answers to every question and reasons for every experience. But like the day I found the waterfall, perhaps I don’t have to have everything figured out and planned perfectly, because by doing so maybe I would even miss some of the adventures God has for me. So I will continue to make it my goal to seek first the Kingdom, serve others, and be obedient to the Lord in every situation, even when it means not over analyzing things but letting my mind rest instead, because God is in control!