Holidays

Guys, my computer is really ill. Sorry for the lack of updates. Here are the cliffnotes:

After Easter, things didn't die down as much as we expected. Nights are still spent hanging out with whatever friends happen to be in town.

Saturday, March 29th: Aubri and I took the train north to Carlisle to visit our friend Laura, who is a second-year sociology student at Uni. Her boyfriend has become good friends with Patrick and Josh (they went to visit him in York recently); that's how we met her initially. She'd been asking us to come and stay with her family, so we booked our ride and spent a stunning four hours travelling through English countryside. Her beautiful little town is on the north side of the lake district, near the border of Scotland. Her mom made us shephard's pie; we spent the night and saw a bit of the lake district on Sunday. She already has plans to come and visit us in the states next spring. (Pray for our Laura.)

Tuesday, April 1: Late afternoon, the doorbell rings. It's our friend Pete. Kevin and Leah had called earlier to let us know Pete's apartment had been broken into the night before, and K and L went over to help clean up. I wasn't exactly sure why he was here at the Canvas house (the boys were all in York), but played like I did and set Pete up with some tea and bread-and-butter pudding I had made with friends really early that morning after staying up all night. I guess he just wanted a refuge. His place was a wreck; lots of things were stolen. The boys came home late that night and Pete was crashed out on the couch (he and Aub and I watched "Indiana Jones"); we let him stay the night.

Turns out, as Aubri finds out when she's on facebook later, while Pete was sitting in our living room on a laptop that afternoon, he took "athiest" off of his facebook profile. Didn't say anything about it, just removed it. Interesting. Unbelievably exciting, actually. God is definitely at work. (Pray for our Pete.)

Thursday, April 3: I board a flight to Paris and arrive, not exactly certain what to do from that point. I don't speak a word of french. Phones finally work and I hook up with my friend Jessie who's currently living with a family in Paris. That night I see the eiffel tower in lights.

Friday, April 4: I board a train to Angers to stay the weekend with my dear friend Devon. Have such an amazing time catching up and an unexpected conversation about God with her friend Jeremy. Life is so empty without Him! I feel it more and more, the more I see of Europe. (Pray for Jeremy.)

Monday, April 7: Back in Paris with Jessie. All the sights. Lots of bread, wine, and paninis. Ohh goodness.

Wednesday, April 9: ...Is it strange that flying back over England felt so comforting and good?

Friday, April 11: Aubri, Josh, Patrick and I get on an early train to London. We tour Westminster and see the sights; next day, Laura joins them to spend the rest of the weekend and I leave to spend the rest of the weekend with Tom and Matt (the band) at Tom's family's house in the suburbs of London. They are so sweet to us; Tom had a sister my age, Kate, who will be in the states this summer, and I'm trying to convince her to come through Nashville and stay with me. It occurs to me while I'm there with the Leechs that if God moves in the hearts of our friends, He can move in their families as well. I believe in the awakening power of your Holy Spirit, God.

We work music nonstop and play a gig in Soho on Sunday night. Here's the best part: the guys overheard me playing a song to myself called "Out of Eden" that I wrote last semester. They were sold. We learned it, played it at the gig, spent all day Monday recording it...and it is, without question, a love song from God. These awesome guys are instruments of God as they sing and don't even know the weight of it (though they definitely know what the song is about).

Go to myspace.com/transatlanticmusic, listen to "Out of Eden," and be sure and read the lyrics. You'll get it.

Last night, I went with Helen and Suzi to the Yardbird to hear some bands. There have been some deaths lately, affecting different people, and Helen and I ended up talking about it quite a bit.

I have nothing wise to say. I need God's Spirit so much; I need Him woven into all these friendships and moments. Whenever it comes to mind, please ask Him with me so that walls can be broken down. I can't pretend not to care about these people. If I love them so much after only three and a half months...how badly does God want to be reunited with them? I believe in the strength of His love to cut through the droning background noise of tasks. Can't help it. He allows me to see the world in color.

I miss you all.