Hi-ya! You alright? (Yorkshire greeting)

As we sit to write this (well overdue) update we have just clicked over 4 months in York, 5 months in England and 8 months away from the land down under. There has been so much happening, and even more to come that it is difficult to know where to begin. As we mentioned last time, both of us have begun working and are enjoying a better routine in life. In hindsight we have come to realise what an amazing blessing finding work has been. We have met many people who have been actively looking for work for a long time in York and struggling, so to walk up and get straight into it has been a real answer to prayer.

One of the things we have really missed about home has been being involved in our church family at Wagga Evangelical Church (WEC), and having the opportunity to encourage and be encouraged by other Christian people. Once again God has provided for us abundantly in this regard. The week after we arrived in York we went to check out York Evangelical Church (YEC- just one letter different!) The people there are wonderful and we have a great time getting to know them and looking for ways to get involved in the many outreach activities they have going across the city, like the monthly film night at the Knavesmire pub. They have been a terrific support and welcomed us in like family from the very beginning; looking out for us, introducing us to other people and regularly inviting us for meals. A standout occasion of the last few weeks was the baptism of two people from church, an 18 year old girl and a 70ish year old man. It was awesome to hear their very different testimonies of their journey to becoming Christians and was a great reminder to us of the fact that God is in control and his calling will happen at any time he chooses.

Another exciting episode since our last blog was a visit from our dear friend Angela from WEC. It was so nice to hear a familiar accent and to get the opportunity to show off York to someone else from Wagga. Although only a short visit we crammed as much in as possible and really enjoyed her company.

Slowly we’ve been able to get out and see a bit more of the Yorkshire countryside. This included a days walk along a trail in the Pennine mountains ranges with JJ and Katie from Doncaster (soon to be married and moving to sunny Wagga). The weather was fairly ‘pants’ (Yorkshire for not terrific). We experienced all 4 seasons in one day with spells of blasting winds, pelting hail and a smidge of sunshine all happening almost simultaneously. We took some awesome pictures of the countryside, including the stone walls that have been standing for hundreds of years to divide one field from the next. We’ve never seen so much green grass! More recently we took a day trip to Whitby with some friends from church. Whitby is the former home of Captain James Cook and the village where the ‘Endeavour’ was built and launched. We had a lovely day by the sea side, played some beach cricket and ate the traditional English fish and chips for lunch. Again we had some excellent photo opportunities as we walked around the ruins of Whitby abbey and marvelled at the colourful beach houses.

Looking ahead, we are like kid’s at Christmas time waiting for Tim’s mum and dad to arrive in August. We have already planned a couple of days in London and Paris and are also hoping to venture up into Scotland for a wee look. Other than that we would very much appreciate people’s prayers as we consider the next step in what we’re doing. Our lease agreement expires at the end of August with no option of extending. We are currently deciding whether we should be looking for a new place or maybe consider coming home. To be fair, neither feel like wrong choices. All we want is live out God’s will for our lives, whether that be in York, Wagga or on the moon peeling oranges. Please pray that we would find peace in whichever way we go.

We’ve added an assortment of pics for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

Pic 1- Summer Solstice. The longest day of the year. This picture was taken at 11pm!

Pic 2- View of the city centre from the top of York minster.

Pic 3- Statue of Constantine, crowned emperor of Rome on the current site of York minster nearly 2000 years ago!

Pic 4- Our bikes outside the minster.

Pic 5- Sharing a 'half' at the Rooke and Gaskill pub.