Bristol!

On Thursday morning I checked out of my Hostel and caught the 41 bus to Dublin airport. At 1:50 I boarded the plane to Bristol! It took me quite a while to make my way to Clifton, but at about 5:00 I arrived at the flat of my dear friend Natasha! I can't describe how nice it was to see a familiar face!

Natasha and her three roommates were all running around preparing food: a Baroness was coming for dinner! Now I felt 10 times more embarrassed about my scruffy beard and unwashed hair. Natasha and one of her roommates (Rachael) are very involved in the Christian Union (CU) at the university of Bristol. Rachael had contacted Baroness Cox because the Baroness has done a wonderful job of upholding her Christian Faith in the House of Lords. She has founded a non-profit organization called HART which goes to countries which will not allow the larger, more well known relief programs within their borders and gives aid to starving and war-ravaged villages. After dinner we went to the CU event and she gave a trust inspiring talk and we had a good conversation afterward. I met lots of wonderful Christians who go to the University and I had to try to memorize all of their names.

On Friday morning Natasha hired a car! This is a big deal because she hasn't driven in about three years (but she didn't tell me that). We had an exciting drive to Bath with hardly any scrapes and very little off-roaring. Bath is a very Victorian-looking and touristy town with a fully pedestrianised city center and a beautiful cathedral where we received flyers which explained the gospel very concisely and well.

After Bath we drove another hour East to Stonehenge! We got to the parking lot and looked around but we couldn't see any big rocks. Then we fount out that tickets were £15 per person! Fifteen quid to look at some rocks? We got back into the car and drove around vaguely until we could see Stonehenge. The place was so roped off that the poor people who had paid were almost as far away as we were. Totally worth saving the money.

We then drove southwest toward the town of Chedder. Near the town is Chedder Gorge, a very deep and windy rift in the earth. We drove it several times and then got out and hiked for a bit. It was very scenic with many sheer rock faces that must be very good for climbing. But restrained myself, remembering that it is always easier to climb up to a desired ledge than to come down.

After Chedder we dove back to Bristol and had a wonderful dinner if fish and chips. They tasted great but could feel the ball of grease in my stomach for over a day afterward.

I enjoy so much chatting with Natasha's roommates. Rachael, Esme, and Beth are all from different parts of Britain and have come to Bristol to study. We find lots to talk about (mostly how different our cultures are). They make french-fry sandwiches with bread, ketchup and butter!

On Saturday Natasha gave me a bit of a tour around Bristol. It is a very lively university town with lots to see. We went to the Clifton Suspension Bridge which is one if the oldest suspension bridges. It was very photogenic but I had forgotten my camera. After the bridge we were walking down the street when we passed a museum that was free of charge, so we popped in. It was fantastic! It had huge displays of fossils, and rocks, and Assyrian artifacts, and art galleries, and stuffed animals. It was so cool. Then we went to Will's Memorial, where Natasha spends most of here time going to lectures and studying. It is a very grand cathedral-like building and very iconic. I was pretty jealous that she got to study there. After this we went to Cabot Tower, which overlooks the rest of the city.

In the evening Natasha tool me to "Organic Worship" at her church. It was grand. There were about 60 of us collage-ish aged people standing in the middle of a huge grand church singing our hearts out to the lord. I loved it.

After Organic Worship we went to a house party! One of Natasha's friends has recently become a Christian and was throwing a Jesus party. Sounded like an excuse for a party to me, and it kind of was, but it was fun. People here look for any excuse to dress up and go to parties. Natasha and Rachael tried to convince me to wear towels etc and call myself a Biblical character, but I wouldn't do it. When we got there, every other guy was wearing a tea towel on his head. The girls were much more imaginative in their Biblical character costumes. It was fun but I didn't know anyone. So I stood in a corner and worked on my blog. But now I have been to a booze-ridden college Jesus party in Bristol. I've seen everything.

Sunday morning Natasha and I want to Christ Church for the morning service. There were about 300 people with many families and young children. It was so encouraging to worship the Lord with such a large and vibrant community in such a grand and glorious building.

Natasha is a gem. So are her roomates. I am so indebted to them for thier welcoming spirits and their generosity with time, space and food. 

Now I'm going to go play Ultimate Frisbee with the University team! Wahooo! Then I head to L'Abri. I know that internet will be harder to get to for a while, so blog posts might be infrequent or non-existing until the beginning of April. But I'm excited to live in one place for a week and I'll update you about it afterward.