Sunday
We played a game to get the two DTS’s more familiar with one another this afternoon; it was pretty crowded with over 50 people in the Underground milling around asking each other questions in order to fill in a bingo sheet.
I went to the pub in Steplefield - The Jolly Tanners. ‘Twas fun.
I went to the pub in Steplefield - The Jolly Tanners. ‘Twas fun.
Photos: Sunday, Feb 15
Tuesday
We had our first outreach prep meeting today! Email me if you want to know the location I‘m bound for - we’ve been asked to avoid publicly announcing our outreach destination as it’s illegal to evangelize there.
Photos: Tuesday, Feb 17
Thursday
My birthday was most excellent! The girls surprised me with a big “Happy 19th Birthday” sign on my bunk - they put it up while I was down for breakfast. At lunch Peter announced that it was my birthday and all 60-odd students, staff, and guests sang happy birthday to me (with the usual thunderous table drumming between each verse) and my friends set off party poppers while Gina brought out my birthday cake. Then Peter announced that the schedule had been changed for the day - we’d have an hour of work duties then my DTS would meet in the classroom for a birthday party. Another excellent surprise!
We had jelly rolls, tea and coffee and played Pass The Parcel and I’ve Never (I’ve Never is really fun to play when you have a lot of inside information about people; you can target individuals).
We had jelly rolls, tea and coffee and played Pass The Parcel and I’ve Never (I’ve Never is really fun to play when you have a lot of inside information about people; you can target individuals).
Photos: Thursday, Feb 19
Friday
Today was the September ‘08 DTS’s official graduation day, so there was a huge banquet for lunch. My DTS and the staff ran it; the staff cooked, the guys washed up (I and a couple other girls helped - we’d rented hundreds of extra glasses, plates, bowls, and cutlery and even with 10 of us in the washroom it took several hours to get everything clean), the girls from my room served each person each of the four courses and the girls from the other room cleared the dishes away from the tables.
Around 4:00 I went with my outreach team (which is made up of Alex, Turid, Vetle, Ketsia, Melody, and Becky) to a nursing home to sing for the residents. We’d practiced the night before - we sang a couple of old hymns, “Love Me Tender” and “Those Were The Days”. The residents enjoyed it; we spent some time talking with them before giving an encore performance and heading home for dinner.
I went out with Nika, Shea, Felipe, Alex, Gert-Jan and Esther to Crawley for dinner at Pizza Hut and to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (which was quite good).
Nika, Dan, Ruth and I stayed up until 1:30ish hanging out in the Underground - we’ve been staying up pretty late lately.
Around 4:00 I went with my outreach team (which is made up of Alex, Turid, Vetle, Ketsia, Melody, and Becky) to a nursing home to sing for the residents. We’d practiced the night before - we sang a couple of old hymns, “Love Me Tender” and “Those Were The Days”. The residents enjoyed it; we spent some time talking with them before giving an encore performance and heading home for dinner.
I went out with Nika, Shea, Felipe, Alex, Gert-Jan and Esther to Crawley for dinner at Pizza Hut and to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (which was quite good).
Nika, Dan, Ruth and I stayed up until 1:30ish hanging out in the Underground - we’ve been staying up pretty late lately.
Saturday
Someone burnt their toast and set off the fire alarm at 8:30 this morning, so everyone got to stand outside in their pajamas until all of the heads had been counted and the toast was confirmed as the culprit. A fitting start to the September school’s last day at Holmsted - the staff say that they accidentally set off the alarm once or twice a week while they were here.
I went with Peter and Anurag to run a few errands in the morning - we went to an Indian grocery store and returned the dishes we’d used for the graduation meal to Handcross Hardware, a cute mom-and-pop shop that carries a bit of everything.
This evening 17 of us split cab fare to Hayward’s Heath in order to spend a few hours at a nice pub called The Dolphin.
I went with Peter and Anurag to run a few errands in the morning - we went to an Indian grocery store and returned the dishes we’d used for the graduation meal to Handcross Hardware, a cute mom-and-pop shop that carries a bit of everything.
This evening 17 of us split cab fare to Hayward’s Heath in order to spend a few hours at a nice pub called The Dolphin.
Photos: Saturday, Feb 21
Still sounds like you're having a blast...When you go to Hayward's Heath, etc. do you use the transport van, or does one of your friends have a car? Dad
ReplyDeleteDo you know more about your outreach yet? Cities, etc.? (I know you'll have to answer this in a separate e-mail or on the phone)
ReplyDeleteWhat the heck is pass the parcel exactly? And for that matter, how does "I've Never" work?
Sorry, I didn't notice at first that you went by cab to Hayward's Heath, but anyway, do any of the students have a vehicle so you can go places easily?
It's great to hear that you'll be checking out London for a full four days...You'll need all of them. Are the places you're staying near the center of London? I spent all my time in the basement of Westminster Cathedral (next to Victoria's Station where we did our outreach).
No new details on the outreach yet - I'll keep you posted as we find out how things are going to go...
ReplyDeletePass the Parcel: a chocolate bar wrapped in newspaper, then there's a note with a challenge on it and a couple pieces of candy, another layer of wrapping, another note etc for 5 or so layers. You sit in a circle and pass the parcel while the music is playing - when the music stops, the person holding the package unwraps one layer and has to complete the challenge. Then they pass the package again and again until you get down to the last layer. 'Tis fun.
Arianne and Graham played I've Never in youth group at Westbrook, I think - one person stands in the center of a circle of chairs. There are enough chairs for all but the person in the middle. The person in the middle says "I've never ______" and anyone who has done what they haven't has to get up and find another seat. The person left without a seat is then it.
Joel has a car; he drives people places some nights. Hayley also has a car here; she mostly uses it to go see her family and friends on the weekends.
I'm looking forward to London; the hostel is fairly near the city center and Joel and Becky live a short train ride away.
We're not sure what the church we're staying in for outreach this week will be like; I think it's going to be an older church, though.
Cutlery! Pretty soon you will be telling us about the brilliant courgettes and aubergines you found when you popped around to the shop:)
ReplyDeleteSounds like a lovely week!
Yup! I'm going native! :D
ReplyDelete