Rebecca's 21st Birthday?

Allison, Ellen & Rebecca with their cake!
I am blessed! I was able to turn 21 for the 14th time in my life. I had a party like I have never had before. They party slightly different across the pond. In England a costume party is called a fancy dress party. Everyone was meant to dress up in costumes beginning with A, E, or R in honor of the birthday girls, Allison, Ellen, and Rebecca. The night was amazing. Everyone put real effort into the costume portion as you can see from the photos. We played games, had a bit of talent, and then danced the night away. It will definitely be a significant memory of my Bible college experience! Enjoy the photos! I am Ronald Mcdonald in case you couldn't tell. Earl is an American footballer, thanks Jeremy Mac for the jersey, my housemate Jazz is the Easter bunny, and my other housemate Rachel is dressed as the infamous Earl!


Mary, the academic dean and Simon, the principal


Blondy Lookin Vain, a.k.a. Amy Hippsley and Mark Eley

Rockers: James Allen and Janson Gunn

Above: Rebecca, Jazz, and Rachel

To the Right: Us

Below: Me with Tash Bita and Beth Young

A day off again?

Whilst here in Oxford it seems as though the number of days off has not been many, but this week because of scheduling we have Friday and Saturday with no commitments to KBC. This is very exciting as the norm is having Saturday, but all other days filled, and usually to the brim with activities, lectures etc... So get this, today in a couple of hours some friends are coming over for breakfast, then we are going to Blenheim Palace (pics coming up later) to walk around the grounds and enjoy the beautiful, crisp English afternoon. We had snow the other day, it was the first time it has snowed here in quite a while and since then it has gotten quite chilly, and crisp is the word that best described it. After going to the grounds of the palace we are then going to a little town to have a cream tea, this is another way of saying scones with jam, cream and then a cup of tea on the side. Evidently it is a very English thing to do, especially after a walk in the countryside. Following that outing we are going to stay overnight with friends at their house, and simply enjoy being in someone else's home and seeing their village as well. Not everyday at KBC is tightly packed, for this I am grateful, because as I look at next weeks diary it is very full compared to this week. By the way last week was Rebecca's birthday party, she is dying to write about it and show oodles of pics, when we get some batteries for the camera she will be able to download the pics and write the blog, so please hold on. later

earl

Sleepy Sunday

I know that Sunday is usually a day of rest, here at KBC it is sort of that, and sort of not that. We drive to Basingstoke (an hour drive) to help set up for the church meeting, then we participate in the gathering, talk with people and drink some coffee. They have a rota that someone from the church has the three of us come over for lunch and usually we end up staying until about 6:00. So we are there for around 5 hours, it is a great time, today we helped put together a puzzle, one week we played a game, went to a soft play area, chatted and of course we always get a great Sunday meal. I write sleepy Sunday because for many Sundays have been reserved for sleep in the afternoon, but now that is not the case. I'm not ranting or anything, just realizing that I am sleepy, maybe tonight while people watch Ice Age at our house I might take a nap. Is that ok if there is a group downstairs for me to go take a nap? i think that it is, not being antisocial just being sleepy, so for now I am going to sign off, by the way the party last night for Rebecca, Ellen and Allison's birthday was a blast, Rebecca is going to write about it, and have a myriad of pics as well, maybe that is why I am tired, or because we went to Basingstoke yesterday also, I'm sleepy by for now
earl

Still having fun?

The answer to the title is yes!!! Life here at KBC is not easy, there is much study, reading, writing, talking and thinking but it is a lot of fun as well. We have been learning about spiritual formation last week, actually it has been one of the most important themes that has run throughout the year. Everyone gets "formed" their thinking, ways they do life, and reactions to culture, the question is how is life formed. We are looking at that from a perspective of spiritual transformation, trans meaning change, so changing the formation we have to a more spiritual focus. This applies to the whole of life, one of the main understandings that I have walked away with lately is the idea of there not being a divide between sacred and secular. This divide is usually evident but it should not be, we are whole beings that live life, not separated out beings that are spiritual sometimes and human others. I have asked the question to some friends how is it that the church has missed out on one of the most important teachings of Jesus - the Kingdom of God. He taught the Kingdom when talking about what you do and why you do it, yet it seems like what I have heard and still do is getting saved. That is a piece, but that is by no means anywhere near the end point, that begins the process which then leads into a life transformed to be the best usherer of the Kingdom as possible. It seems as though much of what I have heard and do hear is about a personal relationship, and personal quietime, when much of the Word was written for community, to be lived out by the church in the world, ushering the Kingdom of God into the earth as much as possible. This is where I am at lately, thanks for letting me "preach" it has felt good to get at least a piece of my thoughts into writing. do comment back if you would like to and have a great day. later
earl

Hello to students

Hello all you elementary students,

I have been meaning to write a blog just for you for a while, but it has been Christmas break and now you are back in school. You would be surprised to know how often I think about Ox Bow, especially my students from last year ( a special hello to any of you :). My wife and I are really enjoying our time here in England, below you will see some great pictures from some travel that we did over the holiday. I am reading alot, writing papers, and even taking some tests. I'll bet that you are doing the same, although you are in school for 7 hours per day, and I am there for 4 hours per day. Each morning though I walk a half hour to school, and then another half hour home. That does not sound too bad but it is a HUGE hill so going home is hard, and you wouldn't believe how much it rains here! It is worse weather than Indiana or New York where I used to live. I really enjoy all that I am learning about God, He is amazing and everyday I learn something new. The people in the house that I live talk quite often and you wouldn't believe how often we have big groups of friends over to our house, one night we had 31 people to watch a movie. For those of you who like fantasy books you will enjoy knowing that C.S. Lewis lived in the city I am in, and J.R.R. Tolkien lived here too. For those of you who don't recognize the names Lewis wrote the Narnia stories and Tolkien wrote the Lord of the Rings stories. By the way I have written this in just a little harder language than might be used to, that is to push you just a little bit even from England. Enjoy the pictures and enjoy school!

Mr. Robinson

This is a barn that was bulit out of the original Mayflower Boat

Here I am in Trafalgar Square in London, if you look behind me you will see Big Ben in the distance, and lots of traffic and people

Here is a street in Oxford, look how thin it is compared to a regular street in America

Back at the grind?

So I'm sitting here at the computer, it is raining outside, somewhat windy, I'm feeling sleepy (had a very tasty lasagna) but hey the house is empty. Today was the first full day (other than last Friday) without any guests, to say the least we have been somewhat of a hotel. With that being said our guests have been anything but unwanted or unhospitable. Kristine, my parents, Anthony and Julli have been wonderful guests and we saw many great sites, people and parts of England that we have not seen before. So now the break is officially over, we are getting back into the swing of things, next Monday I give a message to a small group, the following Monday a paper is due, we are going to be having more responsibility at our church placement, and I continue to read like a worm. It has been a little difficult getting used to sit in the lecture room for the morning, but I'll bet after another morning of listening, praying and thinking I'll be ready to go for the next term. During this term we are going to be covering many books of the Bible, and quite specifically at that. Also during this term we are going to Prague, Czech Republic for a little get away, Teeside in the North of England for the Salt and Light Leadership Conference, potentially Spain to visit Anthony and we have some guests coming to see us a couple of times as well. So ya we are back in the saddle again, and ready to ride, do drop an email if you would like, I'll do what I can to get back with ya. later
earl