Our "see you soon's" and three different flights were no small feat. After a bittersweet goodbye at the Little Rock Airport, we jumped on a short flight to Chicago. Because of some ticket complications, we had to collect and re-check our bags. Somewhere along the way, the airport lost one of the suitcases. After an hour and a half of waiting, we were able to file a report and go find our terminal (which took another 45 minutes). Scrambling to get to our plane on time, we grabbed some food and got into the boarding line for our 9 hour flight to Lisbon, Portugal. Neither of us were able to sleep very much. We landed in Lisbon at around six in the morning local time. Pretty soon after, we boarded a plane to London Heathrow Airport.
We have now been in England for three weeks. Each week has had its own unique characteristic.
Week one was characterised by being a tourist. Pretty much every day we toured a couple of flats (apartments) and then went to some random part of the city to walk around and experience what the city had to offer. We saw priceless works of art, ate incredible food, and came home exhausted but content. With no cell service yet, we relied on random wifi networks and screenshots of Citymapper to get around. We were also able to meet some of our new church family at a picnic in Queen's Park.
Week two was characterised by challenges. We found a flat that we loved and put a deposit down on it. However, the second transfer we needed to make ended up taking significantly longer than expected. Because of the delay, we weren't able to get into the flat. There was about half a day where we weren't sure where we would be sleeping that night. One of our pastor's graciously offered us their spare bedroom after having just arrived from the States that day. (Fun Fact: the extra floor at the top of a flat is called the "Tippy Top"). The next day we continued to pray that the money would go through. And at about 5:30 pm, it did and we were able to move in on Thursday the 19th. This was only one of the many challenges we faced during that week.
Week three was characterised by settling. We finally have furniture in the house. We have dishes and silverware, towels and blankets. We have phone service (still working on wifi, but our downstairs neighbours kindly gave us their password for the time being). Megan has toured her school and got her technology squared-away. We have become familiar with our very sweet neighbourhood and found our favourite grocery store.
In all of this, God has walked with us. One of the biggest reminders He has given us is to have grace and patience, not only with the people around us but ourselves as well. He has continued to be faithful to provide and faithful to call praise to Himself in the strangest of things: beautiful architecture, incredible diversity, peaceful streets with rose bushes adorning the fronts of peoples' flats. We continue to stand in awe of how God has worked things out for our good and His glory. One piece of wisdom the associate pastor's wife gave us is that the "good" we experience isn't always "good" as we would define it. Sometimes it is sanctification, which is good because it brings us closer to Christ and helps us to reflect Him better. This insight has stuck with us and helped us through both the days that are super exciting and the days that are more challenging.
Please continue to pray for us as we are growing and learning here in the UK!