Day 5--Bath

We can’t believe that our trip is already half-way done!  This has been an amazing trip, and tomorrow it only gets better as we reach our final destination of London.  Today, though, was spent exploring the beautiful luxury of Bath. The weather promised rain, and this time, it did not disappoint.  It was fortunately a light rain, and it didn’t damper our spirits (though it did dampen our clothes a bit).  We all are getting pretty good at using these things called umbrellas. :)

We started the day off with a tour of the city on a double-decker bus.  Part of the top was enclosed, so even though there was rain, most in our group was able to enjoy riding at the top of the bus.  The girls got off at the Fashion Museum, while the boys continued on their way to see the rugby field.  The girls enjoyed trying on various clothes and learning about the fashions that make England (and Bath) a fashionable place in the world.  

While the boys would have probably enjoyed running around a rugby field, the rain pretty much put an end to that, but we were able to still get a photo op under the goal posts.

The boys met up with the girls at the Assembly Rooms.  These three ball rooms were (and still are) the centers of important events.  In the past, anyone who was anyone would have wanted to be seen at these events.  While we did not attend a ball, we did take a moment to strike a pose as though we were ready to dance a round or two.

After all this fun, we were definitely ready for lunch and so we headed off to Jane Austen’s house for tea with Mr. Darcy.  The tea, sandwiches, scones, and sweets were all delicious, and I think many had seconds and thirds.  We all think it would be appropriate to change out nutrition break at school for tea. :)

While this would have been a full day as it was, we were not done.  After tea we took another bus ride to Bath Abby (some chose to ride on top with no cover and enjoyed getting a little wet).  

The Abby is a beautiful building architecturally and is really awe inspiring.  It is always fun to see our students marvel at the beauty this country has to offer them.

Right next to the Abby is the remains of the Roman Baths and Temple built by the Romans when they conquered Britain.  These ruins give a glimpse into a time of English history shortly after the life of Christ as the Roman Empire reached its furthest boundaries.  The Victorians discovered these springs and the city of Bath sprang up from the belief that the springs had healing powers.  Besides touring the ruins, the students had a chance to taste the mineral water that comes from the spring…not everyone’s favorite.

The rest of the afternoon was given to the students to break up into small groups with a chaperone and shop before dinner.  Bath is now a thriving tourist destination, and is one of the best places to shop if one wants to really go shopping.  It was a much needed break from all our activities from the day.

We now head off for a quiet night’s rest before heading off to Stonehenge and London in the morning.

Please pray that…

we would have eyes to see the needs of others and a desire to be the one to meet them;

we would find several people today to give demonstration to what sets us apart from the selfishness of the world; and

we would desire a deeper level of less of us and more of Christ. 

Day 4--The Cotswolds, Oxford, and Bath

Each day we are reminded of how amazing it is to wake up in England. Even a bus ride becomes an exciting experience as the scenery constantly provides new and wonderful views of this amazing country. We left beautiful Stratford behind us to make our way to the city of Bath, stopping along the way at the Cotswolds and Oxford. 

After a brief bus ride, we arrived in the small village of Stow-on-the-Wold where the footpath for our hike through the Cotswolds began. We then took our 3+ mile hike through fields, woods, and small villages, taking in and enjoying the English countryside. The recent rains made for muddy paths, but nothing seems to dampen the spirits of our group...we're having too much fun! We are all truly blessed with how well everyone has gotten along, and we have all enjoyed the conversations and laughter that are the results of these times spent together. 

After our hike, our bus took us to the quaint shopping village of Bourton-on-the-Water. It is the quintessential Cotswold village with little shops and cafés situated along a meandering river running through the center of the town. We didn't have much time here, but it was enough for us to get a quick bite to eat (the ice cream is really good!) and do some shopping. 

After a 45-minute ride on our bus, we arrived in the bustling city of Oxford. This is an eclectic, modern city filled with people from all around the world who come to visit and study at the university. The main focus of our visit was the central library at the university, the Bodleian Library. Established with the university in 1425, the library originally held just 22 books. Today, it has the second largest collection in the UK with over 11 million items. Some of its more famous items in its collection are a copy of Shakespeare's First Folio, the Gutenberg Bible, and the Magna Carta. We were able to get a tour of the original library as well as get in some shopping for all the Oxford gear we wanted. We capped off the day with a delicious meal (pizza served in a castle of course!) before getting back on the bus once more for our trip into Bath. 

We have had another fun-filled but exhausting day taking in all that we can of our time in England.  This literary tour gives us a glimpse into the lives and works created by the authors of this country. Even so, our devotions reminded us that "all human books grow stale after a time, but with the Word of God the desire to study increases, while the more you know of it the less you think you know" (Spurgeon).

Please pray that...

God would protect our students from wrong thinking and theology especially in the next months and years as they attend college;

we would be disciplined to saturate our minds with Scripture as a habit every single day; and

our love for the Word would be contagious to those around us who desperately need its Truth.

Day 3--Stratford-upon-Avon

Happy Birthday, Bill! Today is Shakespeare's 450th birthday, and we had the pleasure of being in the town of his birth on this very special day. After a hot breakfast (and some coffee to get us going for the day), we walked two blocks from our hotel to Henley Street to visit Shakespeare's birthplace. 

We were literally the first people to go through the house and pretty much had the house and garden to ourselves. After touring the house and leaning a lot about the life of Shakespeare and his family in 16th century England, we walked around the gardens a bit. Inspired by the day, a few in the group performed scenes from some of Shakespeare's plays. Two of the museum's actors came out and did a couple monologues for us as well, but the highlight were the two musicians who taught the group a song as well as a fun little dance.

Because rain was predicted for the day, we decided to punt (row boats) down the Avon while the weather was still pleasant. The kids had a blast menuevering their boats, while avoiding the many other boats that move up and down the river. As if on cue, just as we finished punting, the sprinkles of rain began. The rain didn't put a damper on the day, though. It was light and really did not last long.

After lunch we visited two other homes connected to Shakespeare...Nash's House and Hall's Croft. Nash's House belonged to Shakespeare's only surviving grandchild and her husband. What's important about this house, though, is that the house Shakespeare himself bought for his own family (New Place) once stood next door. It has not survived, but the history is still alive there. Hall's Croft belonged to Shakespeare's oldest daughter, Susanna, and her husband, the town physician.  He was a wealthy man, and with Susanna inheriting nearly all of Shakespeare's wealth, their house stands as an example of what money could buy in the early 17th century. 

From there we finished out our day of Shakespeare at Holy Trinity Church. This is the church he was married in and where he and his family are buried. It is a beautiful church, and it's bells rang all day celebrating the life of Shakespeare. It was a nice end to all our touring today. 

The rest of the afternoon and evening was given to us to shop and to find a nice restaurant or cafe to eat at for dinner. While the shopping was an excitement for the girls (they just had to get to Jack Wills) the guys were excited that they could eat again. :) Some also made their way to the Starbucks in town and did what they could on the free wifi to connect to family and friends back home. 

Seeing the life of Shakespeare celebrated is exciting, but it is a sobering reminder that this man used all his God-given talents to serve himself rather than to give glory to God. Our devotions reminded us today to use our accomplishments to give the Gospel a platform to help a lost world see how great God is.

Please pray that...

our greatest joy in this life can be traced back to Christ and His victory over our sin;

our enjoyment today wouldn't be self-indulgent, but rather, because of who we now are in Christ; and

we would have at least one chance to speak of our living Lord to a Brit today.