_________________________________________________________________
Mid-Exchange Reflections by Charlie Schindler and Hatley Loop
Hi, my
name is Charlie Schindler and I am from Lynchburg, Virginia. I have been
staying in England for the past week now and have found out some pretty
interesting things in that time. When we first landed there was a sense of
fulfillment, our Jet lagged bodies trying to process the time difference. We
were all extremely excited and ready for the weeks ahead. We hit the ground
running with only stopping by the hotel to drop off our luggage. We then made our
way through the city of London as touristy as we could. We went on a river boat
cruise and to the London eye to get a bird’s eye view of the city. Although we
all knew in our heads we were in not only in a new city but a whole new country it
still felt like we were just in another big city, except for the mass amount of
public transit. Everywhere we went we took at least 2 different trains and then
walked another couple of blocks. After another action packed day of tourism,
food, and enjoyment we caught a train to the city of Leeds. From Leeds we took
another train to Bradford, we all quickly brought our stuff into our rooms and
hit the hay, exhausted from all the walking we had done while in london. When I
woke up the next day I truly felt like I was in England. We were staying in an
estate called Holme Wood, and I was staying in the vicarage next to St.
Christopher’s. We attended not one, not two but three church services that day
and none of them the same. The first was a bit more traditional and was held in
the church. The second was held at St. Christopher’s but in their meeting hall,
this service was more laid back and focused on bringing the community of
Holme Wood together. There were games and arts and crafts for the younger
children and conversation with activities for the adults and youth. After the
services we had lunch with the families. Finally the third service of the day
was a night prayer held at a Methodist/Anglican Church. The church had invited
us for dinner and we congregated after we ate. The church itself was perched on a hill with a big field and a moor behind it ( a moor is what we typically
think of when we say countryside England, big open fields with stone walls
dividing it). The next day we went to a science museum in the morning and a
mosque in the after noon. The mosque was a very interesting experience as the
islamic population in America is not only small but dispersed. While here there
are immense amounts of citizens from India and Pakistan. This influences a lot
of the culture as seen in clothing, cars, and most importantly food. We went of
for curry that night and I ate my heart out. It was safe to say that I was in a
food coma. We had tons of authentic Indian cuisine from appetizers to entrees
to the absolute best food ever Naan, with butter and garlic. The next day we
went to the seaside village of Whitby, now when I say it was beautiful, it was
beautiful! Amazing architecture and a gorgeous landscape. We visited a church
and the ruins of an abbey. We then got into the ocean which was frigid but felt
extremely nice as it was almost 90 degrees. The town of Whitby is supposedly
the town where Dracula landed from the boat that took him from Transylvania.
The next day we helped with a children’s day trip put on by the church, just
one of the many things they do to help the kids in the neighborhood. We took
the kids to a beautiful old manor of sorts. We helped them complete a scavenger
hunt around the house and then took them to a playground on the property. We
met plenty of kids that ranged from 6-11 and all full of energy. Later that day
we helped arrange a USA trivia night for the older youth of the area, it was a
lot of fun and we enjoyed some pizza afterward. The next day was the day of
record breaking for England for the month of July and this was only made worse
by the fact that no where in England is there Air conditioning or at least a
ceiling fan. It was intense, but we made up for the heat by staying inside as
much as possible. We helped at second chance cafe that employs volunteers to
give them job experience and potential new jobs in the future. Cailin and I
worked in the kitchen with one of the other volunteers. We got to know him and
found out he was an ex convict and was now sober for three years. It was truly
powerful to see what the church does for the community and the people in it.
Their focus on bringing new lives to the people of Holme Wood was quite amazing.
That night we packed our bags and were off to Scargill, where we are now, but
not not without stopping in Skipton. We went to a true medieval castle that was
restored so that we could walk around. The castle even had a dungeon, castle
towers, and wall surrounding it. We then traveled to Scargill and quickly fell
asleep. I unfortunately woke up the next day, today, congested, cold and all
around sick. That pretty much recaps our whole trip so far, I know it’s a lot.
Now that we are at Scargill we have time to just relax and reflect on the
amazing week we have had. I have thoroughly enjoyed your time here and have
felt such a deep connection to God while here. Our group had gotten extremely
close during our time here and have made many new friends from across the pond
and helped to deepen the connection between our dioceses. ~ Charlie Schindler
As we
flew over the ocean on to the island I looked behind myself to Cole and over to
Nora and Cailin, then over to my left, Abi and Charlie. Reflecting on all the
laughs we had in just eight hours, I knew then it would be a great trip. We
settled in to the Ibis hotel and enjoyed our stay in London as very typical
American tourists. We then got on lots of trains and tubes to head to the small
town of Holme Wood. This town is weighed down by poverty, however as our stay
there progressed we all quickly realized how much their tight-knit community
and church do to help each other. We spent a day with children, ages 5-11,
venturing around an old estate and playing in the playground. By spending time
with the young people of this community we were exposed to the love they all
have for each other. Now, as we are in Scargill, a beautiful retreat center, I
have time to reflect on our trip thus far. I’m thankful for all the people I’ve
become closer to and the people I have met. My eyes have become open to other
communities and different ways of doing things. I’m excited to see what Scargill
and the rest of the trip brings to the group and myself. ~ Hatley Loop
No comments:
Post a Comment