Historical Worship

Though we are a part of the worship community at our Protestant chapel service, this past Sunday we took the opportunity to try a British service.  We drove up to Peterborough Cathedral (about a half hour away) to go to the "Sung Eucharist" service there.  The church is part of the Church of England (Anglican) denomination, which isn't our background, but one I have a deep appreciation for.   
The building itself was amazing, and was built in the 1100's. I would be one of the first to jump up and say "You can have church anywhere"... "The church is the people, not a building"... and so forth... All true.
And yet... there is something about the architecture of the cathedral that to me hints at the glory of God in ways that "modern" churches cannot.  The height, the symmetry, the detail, the grandeur all point to a God that is so much bigger than we can comprehend.  And yet he is a God who loves us and invites us to sit in his presence and worship him.  Mind-blowing.

There is also something special and awe-inspiring to realize you're getting to worship somewhere that has been lifting up Christ for about about a thousand years, give or take.   Regardless of your theological background or opinions on that denomination, take a minute to ponder that.  Christians have been coming in THAT building for ONE MILLENNIUM to worship the Lord.  Incredible.  That's just something we don't have access to in the States.

As we are part of a Protestant chapel that has Christians from all sorts of denominational backgrounds worshiping together in one service, I thought it was only fitting that the sermon the priest gave was on Christian unity: our focus should not be on what divides, but on Christ, the cross, and the gospel, and how we can be taking that to our community for the kingdom.  It was a great reminder that we can worship and serve the Lord wherever we are, and at whatever church we are.

Probably what ministered to me the most though was the music.  The acoustics were incredible, and getting to hear their choir sing the Nicene Creed and the Sanctus before the Eucharist (Communion) was absolutely beautiful.   It re-instilled a sense of reverence and awe of the Lord that I often just assume without really taking time to let it sink in.

I pray that I and my family can regularly have experiences like this as a good reminder about the God of history, space, and time who we serve.

Already / Not Yet: The Follow-Up

Per a suggestion from a friend, here's the update on the "Already / Not Yet" post from just over a month ago.  You might think they'd all be done by now... but not quite:

ALREADY
Have Internet
      - This was a huge win and help around the house!
Gotten work visa approved
       - Per the UK Home Office, we can officially stay 3 years now!
Gotten rid of the straggling fleas
       - This was the biggest win for Ginger's sanity.
Unboxed everything
       - Well, essentially at least.  Anything still in a box is supposed to stay there.
Kids started in school
       - And they love it (except the "every day" thing, per Liam)
Gotten heat turned on in office
       - I can work there now and not see my breath!
Played my guitar for Club
      - It's fun to hear the kids sing, and "The Banana Song" is a must.

Ginger delivered the baby
       - See previous post.

Figured out the middle school weekend retreat
      - More on that in a post to come, but it went great, and was beautiful, as seen here:

SORT-OF / PARTIAL
Understand the best way to manage two accounts in the States and two in the UK
      - It's getting easier, but still confusing at times.
Have a washer, dryer, dishwasher
       - Still no dishwasher, unless you include "my hands".
Bought boys’ bunk beds, vacuum, TV, lamps
       - Still no bunk beds.  Nothing wrong with mattresses on the floor when you're a kid!

STILL NOT YET
Gotten clearance to use the military computers (i.e. the computer in my office)
       - It's kinduva inconvenience to always have to email files to Sgt. Wilson
          for her to print for me, but she loves to be helpful and is super efficient!

Registered Chris and the boys for healthcare
       - It's a lot of paperwork.

Ginger gotten her drivers’ license
       - Something about a baby has taken precedence.

Sold our house back home
       - Pray for this one.  It sure would be nice to have this one done.

Visited Highclere Castle
       - We'll do this one day.

Met the Queen
      - We'll do this probably never.

Gotten a speeding ticket on British roads
      - We'll do this hopefully never.

Eaten bangers and mash
     - We're in no rush to do this.

Full House

November 15th is the latest of November birthdays that the Nichols family will be celebrating!

Evangeline Malcolm Nichols showed up at 1:29 am, and clocked in at a substantial 9 lbs 15 oz.  (Already she's trying to keep up with her brothers: Eli was 10 lbs and Liam 9 lbs 5 oz).  She joins her aunt Lissa, brother Eli, aunt Charmaine, late great Grandmom Malcolm, and Papa among our November birthdays!

 

 (Warning: This next section will only be of interest/relevance to parents who have been a part of the "birth in a hospital" thing.  The rest of you, skip on ahead, for your own sake....)

Giving birth in a U.K. hospital is considerably different than in a U.S. hospital.  They generally have a more "hands off" approach.  No hook-up to a monitor.  No cm dilation check.  Epidurals are available but seem rare.  For pain, they offer an "air and gas" breathing mask (i.e. nitrous oxide) for the mum to use at her discretion.  They just kinda let things go their course.  When Ginger asked (or perhaps "yelled" is a better verb) if it was okay to start to push, their answer was "Whenever you're ready... oh, I see the head crowning... you can go ahead, dearie."  After she was born, there maybe was an Apgar test, but we never heard for sure.  Most of the meconium fountain that came out when she was born was cleaned up... most.  Evangeline had a nominal wipe-down, was given to Ginger wrapped loosely in a couple of hospital towels.  No diapers provided, you're on your own for those. The nurse and midwife then rolled out with a lovely "Call us if you need us!"  The baby is never taken from you, you're just expected to parent and ask for help if you need it....  We were SO glad we had done this a couple times before, otherwise we would have been freaking out!

As far as the stay itself, we checked in at midnight, and Evangeline was born by 1:30 am.  They moved Ginger from the labour ward to the maternity ward at 6:30am... and kicked me out!  Spouses can't come back to visit until 9:30am.  Absolutely NO other visitors until 6:30pm.  The pediatrician stopped by in the morning (who was Nigerian and had a lovely accent!), and the nurses briefly popped by a couple times, but that was it.  We then realized: "There's no reason to stay here longer."  After a brief delay for some bloodwork results and paperwork, we checked out same day at 4:30pm... only 16.5 hours after showing up! 

So we now have a British citizen to round out our "full house" of three boys and two girls.  Eli and Liam were super excited to meet and welcome their baby sister.  Soon after her arrival, Eli went and scooped up a bunch of things, sat down in front of her, and began to display one item at a time: "Lego... Lego....   Book.... book....  Daddy, look, I am teaching the baby new words!"  After a couple of weeks, her charm hasn't worn off, but reality has set in; at one dinner Eli said: "Mommy, having a baby is a lot harder work than I was expecting."  Liam has observed: "She's kinda loud sometimes."  My reply was: "You're one to talk."

Several have asked about her name.  You're welcome to pronounce it as you like, but we're going with eh-vange-a-leen (as opposed to LIN or LINE or LINOLEUM... ha!).  We picked it because it means "bearer of good news," which is both what she was to us, as well as what we are striving to do with teenagers.  

People have also asked what we're going to call her... call me crazy, but I'm calling her "Evangeline".  Some of the nicknames being bandied about now by others are "Em" (her initials) or "Evie".  

(For those musically inclined, I think you can call her Al, or call her Maybe.)

    

So far Evangeline is doing great!  At our appointments, the midwife - who makes house calls, another new adjustment for us - has been pleased with both Ginger and baby's progress.  Evangeline has even gained another full pound!  She's also already visited Ely (pictured below), ridden the Tube, and "seen" the Tower of London!  We're excited about the new adventures ahead for the Nichols family... we just need a super hero nickname for the newest Unbelievable!

Already / Not Yet

And just like that, we’ve been in England for five weeks.  We’ve certainly started a new life in many different ways, and have been working on adjusting our expectations, lifestyles, and culture accordingly.  One of the biggest lessons learned has been “Everything takes longer here.”  And that’s everything: travel, deliveries, getting approvals/clearances, cell phone data speed, shopping, restaurants/fast food, finding a place to park... you get the idea.

One quick way to summarize all the progress we’ve made, as well as all we have left to do, can be captured by one of my favorite theological ideas: the “Already / Not Yet”.  The idea is that by what Christ has achieved on the cross, some things have “already” happened (sins forgiven, we’re called his children, etc.) but some things are “not yet” (all tears wiped away, evil destroyed, etc.).  So with that, now that we’ve been in England for awhile, here’s the list of the “Nichols’ Already / Not Yet” for our first five weeks…

Already (have or done)                              Not Yet

Adjusted to our time zone                            Ever feel like we get enough sleep

Got military IDs                                               Gotten clearance to use the military

                                                                                   computers (i.e. the computer in my office)

Started a sterling and a dollars                  Understand the best way to manage two  

         bank accounts here                                      accounts in the States and two in the UK

Registered Ginger for healthcare               Registered Chris and the boys for healthcare

Filled out paperwork for kids’ school      Kids started in school

Submitted work visa application               Gotten work visa approved

Found a house                                                  Gotten rid of the straggling fleas

Gotten our stuff from the States                 Unboxed everything

Have heat, power, water in the house       Have Internet

Got a fridge, microwave                                Have a washer, dryer, dishwasher

Cleaned out office                                           Gotten heat turned on in office

Bought a car and a minivan                         Ginger gotten her drivers’ license

Sold our cars back home                              Sold our house back home

Bought a GPS, hair clippers                          Bought boys’ bunk beds, vacuum, TV, lamps

Ginger had doctor appointments               Ginger delivered the baby

Visited London and Cambridge                  Visited Highclere Castle (Downton Abbey)

Met the Colonel (base commander)          Met the Queen

Gotten a speeding ticket on base               Gotten a speeding ticket on British roads

Eaten fish and chips                                       Eaten bangers and mash

Played bass for Sunday worship                Played my guitar for Club

Run 8 Clubs and 5 Bible studies                Figured out the middle school weekend

                                                                                  retreat next month

Getting Established

Our first week at Alconbury was a blur of activity, orientation, coping from jet lag, meeting new people, and diving straight into ministry.  Stephanie Hardy (pictured left) was the outgoing Community Director.  She did a great job of welcoming us and filling us in on everything we needed to know... sometimes to the point of information overload! 

She introduced us to the Bowling Center: not just a place to bowl, but a popular lunch hangout with a full menu.  (Our boys had to get in game too.)  In the weeks since, I've already been here several times to meet kids for lunch.  The high schoolers can leave school for their lunch break, and it's a short walk to the Bowling Center.

We have been housed on the base in the TLF (Temporary Living Facility), which is basically a hotel, each suite with a bedroom, small kitchen and a living room.  Cozy and liveable!  It's been especially nice because there are a couple other families with young boys that have become friends to Eli and Liam and a nice playground just outside!  We were also blessed by some beautiful weather our first few weeks in England.

Our first Club (pictured) was Tuesday, the day after we arrived!  It was cool to dive right in with meeting kids and leaders.  Tuesdays are full days: the middle school kids come over to the chapel annex right after school for snacks, then it's middle school Club, then high school dinner, then high school Club! The next night was my first Wednesday night Bible study with both the middle and high school kids.  I was encouraged by the small group that showed up and with their interest and questions.  We've started studying the book of Mark, but I anticipate a number of healthy "rabbit trails" of topics of discussion as we go week-to-week!

The hardest part of week one (as well as since then) has been adjusting to different life, and a different pace of life.  The slogan I often repeat is "Everything just takes longer here."  Sometimes it's due to the military culture.  Sometimes it's the British culture.  Sometimes it's just our own unfamiliarity or insecurity!  For instance, to do ANYTHING on base we needed an ID card, which I didn't get until then end of our first week.  Which meant we couldn't shop on base, start a bank account, get a cell phone, go on/off base by ourselves, buy groceries, get our PO box... You get the idea.

But we've learned a lot since then, and (sometimes) things are moving faster now.  We've met lots of great people at the chapel and feel well taken care of.  We're excited to see what God does in our lives and with kids on base as we go forward!

A Tale of the Travel Day (in photos)

  The adventure started in Grayson, GA, as Andrew and Hilary so generously offered to drive us to the International terminal at Hartsfield in Atlanta.  We left their house around 6:15pm.  About four minutes later, Liam was already out, and slept all the way to the airport.  (Note: This wasn't a good thing.)













After we got there, the slow meltdowns began.  Liam was grumpy about being woken up. Eli was tired. The British Airways check-in line was about 3.2 miles long.  We were SO thankful to have good friends who waited with us and helped with the kids!   We spent a while in line desperately trying to find the children's Benadryl we packed for the journey.  We searched every bag... but never found it.  You can see below how frazzled Ginger was, how unamused I was, how tired Eli was, and how patient Andrew (and Hilary) were!

 Once we got to check-in, everything improved.  Never-Shy Liam made a new friend, and we found out how accurate the Wii-Fit was to weigh all of our bags.  ALL of them were right on 23.0 kgs - the max allowed without overage charges! Whoop whoop!

We were a comical sight with our many bags, pregnant waddle, and sleepy boys; but we made it to the gate, got pajamas on, and life was good.  The boys were super excited about being on the plane and it wasn't long before they were asleep.

 BUT Liam didn't sleep super great.  So he was awake a lot (as was Ginger, who had to walk around often - y'know, being pregnant and all).  She watched two and a half movies, and Liam got to see most of Monsters U again.














Not surprisingly, Liam was tired through border crossing and customs, and kept wanting to lay down.  Eli was a trooper, and kept trying to help.  God was gracious to us through customs - the line was rather long, but after waiting only about 5 minutes, an agent approached me: "Are you with the pregnant lady?"  I am.  "Follow me."  She led us to the front of the line, and we were through pretty quickly.  Hooray!

Eli's picture to the right is his first official picture in England!  The picture at the bottom is the 4 metric kilotons of stuff we brought on the plane.
... And now the REAL adventure begins!

Figuring it out

One of the challenges in this move is helping the boys to understand not just where we're moving but WHY.  Though Eli wasn't initially too excited about the idea of selling our house, they've been excited for some time now about moving to the land of Mary Poppins, and where they can see "that big clock tower."

On our last night in our house, I opted to read them the first story of Abraham (or Abram at the time, for purists).  We talked about moving with your family to a country you've never seen, just because God wants you to.  We talked about how it's scary and exciting and hard, all at the same time.  But Abraham did it, and we're going to do it, because for some reason God chose him (and us) to do something that would help more people know about him.

So at the end, I asked them what they thought about us moving to England to "go tell military kids about Jesus"...  Liam said: "Hey Dad!  We could call England - Canaan!"   Well... that's not quite as figured out as I hoped, but close enough. 

And I told Liam: "That's a great idea... but we're not really going to do that..."