Monday
What a contrast today. The first part of the day we visited sites that honored godly men and the last half of the day remembered an ungodly man. All the men have impacted the world dramatically through their God-given gifts. We started with visits to John Bunyan’s church in Elstow and the town Moot Hall. We were able to gain background information on his early life and ultimate conversion to Jesus Christ. Since we had already seen his monument in London’s Bunhill Fields cemetery, we were ready to find out more about his life. The Moot Hall was a community gathering place where he experienced many pastimes that prevented him from faith in Christ. He spent 12 years in the prime of his life in prison for doing nothing more than being a preacher. From there we traveled to Olney where John Newton pastored his church following his life as a slave trader. He was not a normal pastor among his peers because he spent his time among his flock caring for their needs. He is actually buried in the churchyard of the church he led. The afternoon was spent in Stratford-upon-Avon reviewing the life of William Shakespeare. This site should be a significant highlight since he is such a literary luminary, and just being in his hometown made it so. At the same time it was disappointing because there are very few facts that are known about the man and those that are true are not that encouraging. God was gracious however to give us another sunny day in the 60’s that we were able to enjoy as we traveled through the English countryside from town to town. We have had one serious problem since we left London: few Starbucks available. We have seen them every once in a while but they tend to open late and close early. We are really roughing it. On a related note, the food at the hostels has been good enough. Nobody would mistake it for Anthony’s, but it is tasty and plentiful. The girls had some shopping time this afternoon which made them happier. I am trying to think more about making time for shopping, but it does not come naturally. Another pleasant surprise has been the voluntary “tour guide” comments of our bus driver. It turns out that he normally drives and gives commentary along the way. Even though we are really only asking him to drive he gave us a mini guided tour of Stratford today. He says he will do the same at Oxford tomorrow if we would like.
Kim being stylish in the UK; A daffodil in Stratford
