Unpacking, Organizing, Adjusting, and Pictures

It's been quite a couple days trying to get back into the swing of things here in Coshocton. The readjustment has been more difficult than Karen and I anticipated though we do feel we're relatively close to being back on an Ohio schedule instead of an English one. Karen has done a magnificent job of pulling our lives and household back together on this side of the ocean, the dogs continue to be very happy to see us, and I'm close to having most of the logistical things taken care of as far as closing out the trip is concerned. I'll head back to the shop tomorrow. You can bet, weather permitting, I'll be on my bicycle.

I do miss the big breakfasts in England. Eggs, toast, beans, bacon, sausages, mushrooms, potatoes, and tomatoes all on one plate with coffee, tea, sugar and heavy cream. Oh my. I climbed on the bathroom scale yesterday and was shocked by the lies it was telling. But while a scale may lie, the waistband of my pants do not. However, the purpose of this blog isn't to focus on my weight gain over the past three weeks (I'm also going through withdrawal from having heavy cream in and on everything). No, I just wanted to post a few photos from our trip to London and get everyone set for our return to regular duties at MMS and life and service in Coshocton.

London Trip
The day before we returned home we were able to spend several hours in London. London is like a real city. Lots of people everywhere, lots of traffic, lots of tourists, every nationality represented, trains, subways, police, fire engines, rescue squads all going about their business at the same time. It was a bit overwhelming to us, but we were able to walk around and see the "big" things from the outside: Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Cathedral, Parliament, Big Ben, red double-decker buses, Millennial Park with the huge ferris wheel, Tower Bridge, and the HMS Belfast.

We discovered the train stations in London are a bit more complex and stressful that what we'd gotten used to in the outlying areas. At least in the rural stations there were always helpful staff to ask questions of...but in the Big City, you better know where you're going before you get there! And with eighteen platforms instead of two to chose from, chances of missing the train you want (or getting on the train you don't want) increase dramatically. It's all part of the London package. Karen and I are both thankful the Lord has called us to ministry in a rural setting.

Here are some pictures from our visit to London:

Buckingham Palace

Palace Guard

Westminster Cathedral

Big Ben

Karen on Westminster Bridge over the River Thames with the Parliament building
in the background.

The Tower Bridge

Thanks for going on our trip with us! It's back to MMS Aviation tomorrow and back to preparing people and planes for worldwide mission service right here in Coshocton, Ohio.

We love you and are so thankful for you. May God richly bless you as we serve Him together!