Teri’s Thoughts Since Moving to London
How can someone that is so in love with Northern Ireland be willing to move to London? The only answer to that question is GOD!!! If you had told me a year ago that at this time next year I would be in London, I would have laughed at you. Moving away for 10 months to return to America for furlough was bad enough, but to move away from my beloved Northern Ireland permanently? NO WAY!
But I’m so thankful that I serve a God that knows BEST. His plans for my life are so much better than my own plans. And I must add that He was very gentle with me as He impressed upon Travis’ heart to move to London. I remember back in October when we had only been in America for a few weeks, I was very homesick for Northern Ireland. And I was crying and praying and just talking to God about my feelings. And I felt like He impressed on my heart that things would not be the same when we returned to the United Kingdom. I told Him that I loved the past 8 years, but He delicately started preparing my heart for a change. I didn’t know what it meant. I definitely never thought that He meant we would be moving. But I honestly just left it there and figured I would find out soon enough. And I did.
From the beginning of 2014, Travis started mentioning that God was doing something in his heart, and he felt like we would not be returning to Londonderry. And miraculously, I was okay with it. And then, when God placed the burden for London on Travis’ heart, I was immediately able to surrender. God had done a BIG work in my heart, and I’m so thankful for such a loving heavenly Father.
Fastforward to today. We have now been in London just over 2 weeks. We have a house, a car, nice neighbours, and a settled, normal routine already. We opened a bank account, found a huge mall, set up the trampoline in the back yard, visited one of the National Museums, and met some British Christians. So far so good. I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better transition.
Here are my first impressions of this great city:
- There are lots of people with all skin colours and languages (I actually don’t hear English as much as I thought I would)
- People are actually very friendly (I thought I remembered reading somewhere that British people are not friendly, but I have NOT found that to be true)
- There are a lot more big green fields in the city than I expected
- We went to a park the other day that had about 300 kids playing (I’ve never been to a park that crowded before)
- The weather is definitely better here than in Londonderry
- There are more bugs here than Northern Ireland but still less than America
- We saw a Baptist Church sign and a Muslim mosque sign on the same street corner (never seen that before)
- There are foxes that come out at night looking for food (not sure how I feel about that)
- Hearing the Bible read out loud in the British accent is amazing!
- There is a lot of traffic (you have to plan to double your travel time if you want to get somewhere on time – we learned that after we were late to our first house viewing appointment)
- People need the Lord just like anywhere else in the world
Life is still life no matter where you live. I still have to fix three meals a day, just like I did in Northern Ireland and in America. I still have to wash the clothes and clean the bathroom. I still have to make the beds and train my children. I just get to do it in a different place which I feel is a privilege. It’s an honour to serve the Lord and to join the ranks of God’s servants that are already serving in London. We are looking forward to what God has for us to do for Him here.