October UK -- 26th October 2006

Well it seems as tho October is nearing an end… and we can tick off another month in London!

At the moment we are on half-term break (a week) so it is halfway to Christmas! It will seem quite strange for us to build up to Christmas with the weather getting colder & colder!

I have had only 2 days off in the last 6 weeks of work, so the initial 3 weeks extended quite far. I really enjoyed my time there, and don’t want to go back to supply teaching, so I am applying for a fulltime job there working as an “inclusion support assistant”. This basically is a person who works with children who have behavioral problems etc. I have been interested in this area for awhile, so would enjoy the experience, plus the stability of a fulltime job!

Jon is enjoying his job as the music teacher (although it’s not that challenging) but not at all enjoying the other part of his job which is to release the deputy head’s class for about 4 periods a week. They are a really problem-filled class, and not at all fun! I have been in there for an afternoon, and if I had to do that on a consistent basis, it would drive you insane. It is hard to separate it out from you as a person, and thinking you are not a good a teacher, whereas in fact it’s that there are some issues beyond the actual teaching that need resolving. Jon had a positive meeting with the principal about it, so we are praying for a good resolution after the break and as the term wears on.

We took the opportunity last weekend to travel to Brighton (which for some reason reminds me of a mixture of Wellington & Dunedin!). We went down on Friday night on the bus, (£4 each, each way!) spent Saturday exploring the beach, pier & town area, (very windy & massive waves!) then stayed Saturday night in a 200 year old house that was built for the Mayor way back then. It was an interesting experience, now owned by a strange man, and I had a very strange shower!! We then spent Sunday (in the pouring rain) exploring the different places where my Dad grew up, his house etc. Was good to see, and hard to imagine what it would have been like 58 years ago when my Dad left there to come to NZ. The rest of this week we are spending at home catching up on things and also taking the time to visit some London attractions.

We went and watched the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, saw Big Ben, Westminster Abbey & then explored the Tower of London, and saw the crown jewels. We were going to have a trip on the London Eye too, but the queues where just horrendous, so we will go back at another time. Also looked around locally & took a walk up to Harrow on the Hill, and went into the church at the top of the hill that has been there for 900 years. Very impressive!

We are struggling at the moment to enjoy our time here, but have to keep reminding ourselves that it is just for a reason & a season. Organising travel and seeing different sights & countries will help us to pass the time. We are realising that where ever else we have lived doing things with people & having people around has been a huge part of our lives… and now we feel very lonely & isolated.(But getting very good at playing settlers online!) We are praying for some people to be able to spend time with, and also a church where we will feel comfortable to attend. We will try a few more out… but that gets tedious after awhile!

On a positive note, having to walk everywhere has been good for us, we have both lost quite a bit of weight and enjoy the forced exercise of about 30 mins walk each day. Jon has also joined a chess club, and enjoys extending his brain this way. The staff from school are also very friendly, but we feel if these were our only friends, we wouldn’t have any spiritual encouragement. We know God is teaching us, and growing us through our experiences here. At times we want to just pack up and go home (or back to Ukraine), but we know that pushing through to the end of the year is what we need to do, and that precious jewels are found on the hard road.

That’s about all from us I think… o wait… Jon has a cell phone now too (surprise!) and the number is on the email signature.

God Bless,