THERE is the rain we expected...

Well, we knew the sun wouldn’t last too long.  Today, the weather was what we had expected for
London—cool, overcast, dreary, and even raining at various points of the day.

After our breakfast on Friday morning, Paul picked us up to take us to The Meeting Point (where our team meets).  There we met the 3 other couples that are part of the team here.  We spent some time praying together for the ministry here as well as many of the relationships that our team has formed with Muslims in the area.  Many seeds have been planted here.  Please join us in praying with the team for much fruit from these connections.

After our team meeting, Paul wanted us to meet one of his Muslim friends at a nearby restaurant.  When we arrived, Paul remembered they were closed for their Friday afternoon prayers.  So, we had about a half hour to fill.  We continued down the street and came upon another Pakistani restaurant where Paul has built a relationship with Nevas.  Nevas’ daughter, Sarah, runs the place and was happy to tell us “she liked being her Dad’s boss.”  Nevas wanted us to sit down and have some tea; so, of course, we did!  We enjoyed some sweet treats—jalebies and hubshi halwa.  The jalebies was sort of like a jelly bean, only much larger (as you can see in the picture).  The hubshi halwa was sort of like a potato-y, spicy “stuffing.”  We had a great time visiting with Nevas and Sarah. 

After leaving the restaurant, we still stopped in to the other restaurant for some curry and naan.  Paul had another opportunity to connect with his friend there, who was anxious to pick up the conversation again about Islam and Christianity.  It’s very obvious that Paul has invested much time into all of these relationships.  Please pray that these opportunities would continue for Paul and that one day, these men would choose to follow Christ.

Paul showed us several mosques that are both within 5 minutes walking distance from The Meeting Point.  Once a month, our team will host an evening for Christians and Muslims to gather together, over food, to each share about their faith.  This creates a safe, comfortable, non-threatening environment for everyone. 

We walked to a street market where we met another one of Paul’s friends.  It’s really cool to see how Paul and his family have really immersed themselves into the community here.  At this point, it was about 3:30 in the afternoon.  Paul left us at the Walthamstow Central tube station for us to begin our afternoon/evening of more sightseeing.

We took the tube to King’s Cross Station.  This is significant for all of you Harry Potter fans.  There is a photo op at platform 9 ¾ where in the movie, Harry disappears through the wall.  Bryce is a big Harry Potter fan, so we waited in line to capture the photo op for him.  Then, of course, we had to go into the Harry Potter store, where Bryce proceeded to buy a wand.  It was fun to see all of this; but, I have to say, I think I was the oldest person waiting in line.  L  How did that happen….

Once we left King’s Cross Station, we took the tube to Covent Garden.  I had heard this was a place we had to see, but I didn’t really know what it was.  So, when we got off the tube, we proceeded to climb 193 stairs (the equivalence of 15 stories) to exit to Covent Garden.  When we got outside, it was raining and we were in an area of a bunch of shops and quaint streets.  I didn’t realize that THIS was Covent Garden.  Needless to say, since it wasn’t great outdoor shopping weather…we came, we saw, we left…and back down the 193 stairs to continue on the tube to the next stop.

Next stop was St. Paul’s Cathedral.  It was beautiful!  We proceeded to follow most everyone else as they entered the cathedral, only to find out that we needed tickets.  So, we came, we saw the outside of the cathedral, we left.  We walked the Millennium Bridge and were able to see the London Bridge and the Tower Bridge, along with many other sites along the water.  Even though it was raining, it was beautiful to see.  We walked the streets along the water, in Borough Market.  Loved this area…the brick buildings and brick roadways were beautiful. 

It was getting close to 7:00.  We tried to stop at two different restaurants in the area to get some fish and chips, but both places were booked.  Of course, it was a Friday night.  What were we thinking?  So, we proceeded to just continue to walk to try to find a tube station to get back to Paul’s house.  On our way, we found another small “sort of hole-in-the-wall” place where we enjoyed their fish and chips…without any wait.

Just before we stopped to eat, my phone died.  This wouldn’t have been a big deal, except for the fact that I had put Paul’s address and other information in my Notes.  Without my phone, we would have to go on memory.  Between the two of us, we made it back to Paul’s house without any problems at all.  We spent the next hour or so with Paul and his family, having tea and watching a movie.

It was another great (and full) day--climbed into bed about midnight.  We leave the hotel Saturday morning to begin the OM portion of the trip.