It has been a fabulous weekend (apart from not tackling the work load). Yesterday I went to watch Fulham play Sunderland with David. Although they tied and neither team scored, it was an exciting game with lots of passion and many chances. Afterwards we met his wife Carol and another producer from CBS in a fancy outdoors restaurant. I will go to David's on Friday to wait for the electrical service which is supposed to fix something at the TV because it's hard for them to take time off and I do not have classes in the morning anyway.
Today I went to Christ church, a New Frontiers church. Some people I met at the Christian Union (CU) invited me. The service took place in Piccadilly Theatre, but unlike Hillsongs, which I checked out last sunday and which holds services in Dominion Theatre, it was a lot more personal and they did not make such a great deal of the donation. Afterwards we hung out in the theatre bar and then went to another pub to socialise. Besides many friendly people, I met Karim, who lived in Barcelona for 14 years and went to "El Local", the church I went to when I was on vacation in Lloret de Mar with Tom and Stocki. He is a medicine student at UCL. We had a really cool conversation and I will probably go to his "lifegroup" on Tuesday.
I feel sort of thick again. It looks like a sore throat. So if you believe in prayer, please pray for this and lots of motivation and discipline for next week. Thumbs up if you do not:)
Sonntag, 19. Oktober 2008
Samstag, 18. Oktober 2008
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Freitag, 17. Oktober 2008
Hampstead Residence
As time was running by lots of things have happened.
A month ago I went to my first football match this year. The Cottagers (Fullham) played against West Ham United. I met my English cousin David at the Old City Arms pub where we saw Everton - his favorite team - loose to Liverpool and had a couple of beer. Then we walked on the embankment next to the Thames to Fulham. The picht is right beside the river. It is a small (about 30000 spectators) stadium from the 19th century. The tiny entrance to our stand is about two feet wide (so good I stopped to lift weights;)) and hardly visible in the brick facade. After climbing about 20 stairs in a wooden staircase I had my first view on the pitch: amazing! A beautiful green lawn so close to our seats - about 20 feet away from our seats right in the middle of the pitch.
Fulham rocked in the first half, but towards halftime had a lapse of concentration which Zola's squad used to score. Since then an old 'gentleman' and a chap next to us used the word fuck in most creative ways to talk about the referee. To be honest: the second half was sort of boring, though I saw two more goals. I am just not emotianally attached to these teams like to good old Bayern München or two other German clubs playing internationally in important games. I hope Bayern or Bremen will make it to the knock-out round to face Chelsea or Arsenal:) But I am so glad that David is taking me and actually I will go again this afternoon to see Fulham play against Sunderland.
For about a week now I have been sleeping in my new room in Hampstead residence now. It is a really cool area and all the VIPs are said to live here. So last Friday I went running in the morning in the heath expecting to meet Pete Doherty or so. But I did not see anyone in this huge park. Probably he had better stuff to do, eh;) I am so grateful for my room because it was really hard to get one. I checked out several internet platforms such as gumtree or christianflatshares. But apart from a really cool room in Putney, an ever nicer area than I am living in right now, in a vicar's house who would have even let me have friends over for weeks, the rooms were either to expensive, too far away from my college, or too small and dirty. So I really prayed for the room in the vicar's house. The problem was that two people were in front of me in the queue. On monday he informed me that I would no get the room. Instantly depressed, I decided to trust God in this and continued praying. That night the accommodation office offered me a room which I checked out the following day. It is the biggest by far and 'just' costs 400 pounds. The only disadvantage is the rodent in the fridge who has already eaten my Milka chocolate and ketchup. The people here are all about five years younger, but de buena onda.
Two days ago I woke up from a terrible noise in the morning - the fire alarm. I pulled my blanket over my head to continue to sleep (I thought it is a stupid joke by some British fresher) because I heard no one running out there. But it just did not stop. So after five minutes I went into the kitchen to see if something is on fire. Nothing! So I finally went out barefooted in my green pyjama (the crazy looking 80s-style one). About 200 students were already waiting for me as I was the last one (by far:)) to come out. At least now I am popular with everyone;)
I got my Oyster photocard card now. So now I can use puclic transportation for 30% less.
I also got a new laptop (thank you mum and dad) after my old one broke down. You cannot believe how grateful I was when I had it in my hands for the first time: God provides! Only my mp3-player got lost in the mail. Hiking on the Camino de Santiago I was so yearning for music that I called my good ol' friend Fuchsi Fuchs to buy and send me one because I was constantly in the middle of nowhere. That was one and a half month ago:( But well, God will work that out as well. I do not worry.
I will continue to catch up with the last month tomorrow as I have just four and a half hours of sleep left (I decided to get up at six now during the week so I will time for God, running and my course work).
Dear Jesus,
thank you for always being at my side and rocking my life. I could not live without you! Give me a good night's rest, so I can get up refreshed tomorrow to experience more of God's beauty and to reflect it to the world.
A month ago I went to my first football match this year. The Cottagers (Fullham) played against West Ham United. I met my English cousin David at the Old City Arms pub where we saw Everton - his favorite team - loose to Liverpool and had a couple of beer. Then we walked on the embankment next to the Thames to Fulham. The picht is right beside the river. It is a small (about 30000 spectators) stadium from the 19th century. The tiny entrance to our stand is about two feet wide (so good I stopped to lift weights;)) and hardly visible in the brick facade. After climbing about 20 stairs in a wooden staircase I had my first view on the pitch: amazing! A beautiful green lawn so close to our seats - about 20 feet away from our seats right in the middle of the pitch.
Fulham rocked in the first half, but towards halftime had a lapse of concentration which Zola's squad used to score. Since then an old 'gentleman' and a chap next to us used the word fuck in most creative ways to talk about the referee. To be honest: the second half was sort of boring, though I saw two more goals. I am just not emotianally attached to these teams like to good old Bayern München or two other German clubs playing internationally in important games. I hope Bayern or Bremen will make it to the knock-out round to face Chelsea or Arsenal:) But I am so glad that David is taking me and actually I will go again this afternoon to see Fulham play against Sunderland.
For about a week now I have been sleeping in my new room in Hampstead residence now. It is a really cool area and all the VIPs are said to live here. So last Friday I went running in the morning in the heath expecting to meet Pete Doherty or so. But I did not see anyone in this huge park. Probably he had better stuff to do, eh;) I am so grateful for my room because it was really hard to get one. I checked out several internet platforms such as gumtree or christianflatshares. But apart from a really cool room in Putney, an ever nicer area than I am living in right now, in a vicar's house who would have even let me have friends over for weeks, the rooms were either to expensive, too far away from my college, or too small and dirty. So I really prayed for the room in the vicar's house. The problem was that two people were in front of me in the queue. On monday he informed me that I would no get the room. Instantly depressed, I decided to trust God in this and continued praying. That night the accommodation office offered me a room which I checked out the following day. It is the biggest by far and 'just' costs 400 pounds. The only disadvantage is the rodent in the fridge who has already eaten my Milka chocolate and ketchup. The people here are all about five years younger, but de buena onda.
Two days ago I woke up from a terrible noise in the morning - the fire alarm. I pulled my blanket over my head to continue to sleep (I thought it is a stupid joke by some British fresher) because I heard no one running out there. But it just did not stop. So after five minutes I went into the kitchen to see if something is on fire. Nothing! So I finally went out barefooted in my green pyjama (the crazy looking 80s-style one). About 200 students were already waiting for me as I was the last one (by far:)) to come out. At least now I am popular with everyone;)
I got my Oyster photocard card now. So now I can use puclic transportation for 30% less.
I also got a new laptop (thank you mum and dad) after my old one broke down. You cannot believe how grateful I was when I had it in my hands for the first time: God provides! Only my mp3-player got lost in the mail. Hiking on the Camino de Santiago I was so yearning for music that I called my good ol' friend Fuchsi Fuchs to buy and send me one because I was constantly in the middle of nowhere. That was one and a half month ago:( But well, God will work that out as well. I do not worry.
I will continue to catch up with the last month tomorrow as I have just four and a half hours of sleep left (I decided to get up at six now during the week so I will time for God, running and my course work).
Dear Jesus,
thank you for always being at my side and rocking my life. I could not live without you! Give me a good night's rest, so I can get up refreshed tomorrow to experience more of God's beauty and to reflect it to the world.
Donnerstag, 18. September 2008
God, sadness and cigarettes
My fourth day in London is a lovely Thursday. It is sunny and the thermometer shoots around 19° C. I have been busy over the course of the last days with enrolment (KCL is such a posh place:)), looking for a room, getting a UK simcard, painting (I love it!), a prayer meeting , tuition fee dealings, watching football matches in pubs, etc.
Until last night I felt like in a glass house. I saw so many things in London while cycling through it, but I did not feel like exploring it. Probably I was in the process of adjusting to a new place after Spain and Portugal and this was one of its sideeffects. Yesterday afternoon I was really depressed because I could not find proper accomodation - it was either too far away from my college or too expensive. But the prayer meeting last night totally cheered me up. Even though I am in a pretty conservative household (I don't know if I have been too such a conservative place) the fellowship in prayer in the Swiss pastor's living room was super encouraging. We were such a diverse bunch - a baltic gypsie, who has been translating the bible into his native tongue over the last 20 years; a German Aupair and a German language student, a retired English arts teacher, an American Humanities student and the pastor and his wife with their Swiss secretary - but every single one of us felt so unified in the spirit. It was a really blessed time we had worshipping God and asking him to help us in our daily lives. Since last night I am prodigiously enthusiastic about my stay.
I think God really wants me here and it was no accident:) After the christian roller coaster ride I was on for about the last five years, I hope he rather places me now on a route 66 like christian path - I would not even mind to start a climb a la l'Alpe de Huez or Mount Ventoux - but at least something more steady even though strenuous.
Last night I started to read the gospel of John with Darby's commentary. The verse of the day really inspired me: "If you hold on to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8, 31 & 32)
So I thought to myself I really need to investigate this truth all over again and apply it to my life. I am sick of being a mere believer with a freeway ticket to heaven. I want the real thing again and take up my cross like a real disciple.
This afternoon after lunch we had coffee together. I was so super shaken by my yearning to smoke a cigarette during those twenty minutes that I really needed to make conversation in order to distract myself from this inner yearning. The brownies helped, too. I was feeling a little bit like in Trainspotting. Maybe cutting down on cigarettes added to my instability and sadness.
Monday morning I smoked my last Vanelle and left the rest in a bar in Santiago. On Tuesday I could not overcome temptation and had two with Claire, a South American studies major I met just outside King's. And then at night went to a bar in the neighbourhood to enjoy some Champions Leage action. There I met Melville and David who went out for a smoke and I just could not resist. But, on the other hand, on tons of occasions I said no. I am only realizing what bad type of drug it is and that I was addicted to it to a great extent. I really need ex anastasis power to overcome it.
Yesterday I could do without any. But I feel temptation rising again this night. I am about to meet my cousin David again after all those years. We will watch the Uefa cup encounter between Everton, his favorite club, and Standard Liege. Beer and Coffee really make me want to smoke.
I might have one;) Let's see...
Until last night I felt like in a glass house. I saw so many things in London while cycling through it, but I did not feel like exploring it. Probably I was in the process of adjusting to a new place after Spain and Portugal and this was one of its sideeffects. Yesterday afternoon I was really depressed because I could not find proper accomodation - it was either too far away from my college or too expensive. But the prayer meeting last night totally cheered me up. Even though I am in a pretty conservative household (I don't know if I have been too such a conservative place) the fellowship in prayer in the Swiss pastor's living room was super encouraging. We were such a diverse bunch - a baltic gypsie, who has been translating the bible into his native tongue over the last 20 years; a German Aupair and a German language student, a retired English arts teacher, an American Humanities student and the pastor and his wife with their Swiss secretary - but every single one of us felt so unified in the spirit. It was a really blessed time we had worshipping God and asking him to help us in our daily lives. Since last night I am prodigiously enthusiastic about my stay.
I think God really wants me here and it was no accident:) After the christian roller coaster ride I was on for about the last five years, I hope he rather places me now on a route 66 like christian path - I would not even mind to start a climb a la l'Alpe de Huez or Mount Ventoux - but at least something more steady even though strenuous.
Last night I started to read the gospel of John with Darby's commentary. The verse of the day really inspired me: "If you hold on to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8, 31 & 32)
So I thought to myself I really need to investigate this truth all over again and apply it to my life. I am sick of being a mere believer with a freeway ticket to heaven. I want the real thing again and take up my cross like a real disciple.
This afternoon after lunch we had coffee together. I was so super shaken by my yearning to smoke a cigarette during those twenty minutes that I really needed to make conversation in order to distract myself from this inner yearning. The brownies helped, too. I was feeling a little bit like in Trainspotting. Maybe cutting down on cigarettes added to my instability and sadness.
Monday morning I smoked my last Vanelle and left the rest in a bar in Santiago. On Tuesday I could not overcome temptation and had two with Claire, a South American studies major I met just outside King's. And then at night went to a bar in the neighbourhood to enjoy some Champions Leage action. There I met Melville and David who went out for a smoke and I just could not resist. But, on the other hand, on tons of occasions I said no. I am only realizing what bad type of drug it is and that I was addicted to it to a great extent. I really need ex anastasis power to overcome it.
Yesterday I could do without any. But I feel temptation rising again this night. I am about to meet my cousin David again after all those years. We will watch the Uefa cup encounter between Everton, his favorite club, and Standard Liege. Beer and Coffee really make me want to smoke.
I might have one;) Let's see...
Montag, 15. September 2008
London
I was constantly confronted with problems on the way to London. To start with I bought a train ticket in Santa Apolonia for the ride to Oriente. And the conductor I asked whether it was the right train or not told me I could not go. But I told him I have a ticket and I need to go. Otherwise I would miss my bus and the plane in Santiago. But he did not show any sign of understanding. So I asked him several times why I could not go until he finally said I could try it with the ticket collector. Who let me hop on in the ultimate second. Then at Oriente the ticket office of Alsa was already closed. So those guys I asked for the way told me I had to go tomorrow. But then I talked to the bus conductor who finally let me go. Later I had to purchase a ticket in Porto at around 2 am and then we arrived at 5am. It was so freaking cold. So I had a coffee and read Einstein before I took a nap in the bus station. Finally the nice guy from the bike shop brought me and
my belongings to the airport. But in London it was really a problem to get the big pack with my bike to the house of the Swiss pastor with whom I am staying because no one had the proper tools to put it together.
But finally I am here:) My first impression is that London is not that big and the people were so friendly until now. Many gave me a hand and a group of roamers helped me with the way. Now I am super tempted to go to see the Montain Goats who are playing in London today. But I better save the money:(
my belongings to the airport. But in London it was really a problem to get the big pack with my bike to the house of the Swiss pastor with whom I am staying because no one had the proper tools to put it together.
But finally I am here:) My first impression is that London is not that big and the people were so friendly until now. Many gave me a hand and a group of roamers helped me with the way. Now I am super tempted to go to see the Montain Goats who are playing in London today. But I better save the money:(
Freitag, 12. September 2008
Lisboa
I have been in Lisboa now since last monday. I am staying with this wonderful American family - the Farmers - after having spent the first night in a hostel.
After having finished the Camino de Santiago I was left with a nother week of vacation, so I thought to myself 'why not go to Portugal? You have never been there before!'
It has been such a good idea.
Here in Estoril I have been painting a christian school which is supposed to open next Monday.
Yesterday I had a day off. So I went to Jona's Bar to have coffee and to wait on Stefanie who is here for three years with Young Life. We went cycling, had an ice-cream and then later dinner at this Portugese restaurant with a funny Portugese waiter next to the sea. Stefanie is really a happy person with a contaging laughter. We talked about God and the world and my past relationship. It really helped that she listened so well. I had such a good time:)
I hope to see her again, but don't know whether it works out here. She is coming to London though next week. Maybe she finds time for a coffee?
After having finished the Camino de Santiago I was left with a nother week of vacation, so I thought to myself 'why not go to Portugal? You have never been there before!'
It has been such a good idea.
Here in Estoril I have been painting a christian school which is supposed to open next Monday.
Yesterday I had a day off. So I went to Jona's Bar to have coffee and to wait on Stefanie who is here for three years with Young Life. We went cycling, had an ice-cream and then later dinner at this Portugese restaurant with a funny Portugese waiter next to the sea. Stefanie is really a happy person with a contaging laughter. We talked about God and the world and my past relationship. It really helped that she listened so well. I had such a good time:)
I hope to see her again, but don't know whether it works out here. She is coming to London though next week. Maybe she finds time for a coffee?
Abonnieren
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