Monday 12 December 2011

Loving God, loving life and loving pople wherever you are

Church is definitely the best place to spend a Sunday!
I was in church twice today which was really awesome even though both churches were pretty different from each other. First I went with my au-pair family to St. Dionis, a church of about 60 people meeting in an old church building singing the same songs we sang in church when I was a kid. What I loved was that the worship was simple and just plain worship which ment I could focus on actually singing the words to God. The people were nice and the sermon was really good. It was about all the distractions we face in life today and how Satan uses them to steal our time away from the most important things in life like God, enjoying life and spending time with the people around us.

In the afternoon I went to meet up with my friend, Jadasa, who lived in Sweden five years ago but now lives in London. We went to Hillsong's Christmas show at the Dominion theatre. The place was packed! Outside the theatre was a huge queue all the way around the corner and when we got inside just about every single seat was taken! The Christmas show was brilliant! Great music, acting, singing and a really good message about the real reason we celebrate Christmas. The people were so welcoming and the whole atmosphere reminded me of my home church United. I'm looking forward to getting connected with people there and all thats happening. Afterwards we met up with Jadasa's sister, Gloria for a nice "fika" at Starbucks.

On the bus journey back it was raining, like you would expect it to in England, but London is a beautifal city just the same and I'm liking it more and more.

Saturday 10 December 2011

Christmas shopping chaos

Today was my first day off. Since I hardly know anyone in London and the few friends I have were busy today I decided to do some Christmas shopping by myself. So I went to Oxford street, probably the busiest place in the world to go shopping 2 weeks before Christmas. The streets were packed with people, singing elves, Santas,and even an odd storm trooper.

After some heavy shopping I rewarded myself with a M&S sandwich and a gingerbread latte... yummy but not as nice as sharing it with a friend. Walking around, looking at all the people, I wondered how friends are made. Could I just go up and start talking to any random person? I didn't try, instead I decided I will make loads of friends at Hillsong Church tomorrow. I look forward to spending Christmas with my relatives. A life without friends and family isn't much of a life I reckon.

Walking down the busy street with all my shopping bags my Primark paper bag couldn't take the pressure any longer and suddenly tore, scattering my things over the pavement. Embarrassing! But then again I hardly know anyone here. Trying to stay dignified I calmly picked it all up and kept walking.
Trafalgar square is one of my favorite places in London so far so I went there for a rest but the place was swarming with Santas! It seemed to be some great Santa reunion organized through facebook and wasn't the best place to relax. In the end I crammed all my shopping onto a bus and went back. Big cities are exciting but tiring and London is a BIG city.

 

Wednesday 7 December 2011

My blog entries are pretty scarce I know, but I'm planning on getting better at blogging in my spare time.
I now live in London which is a funny thought as I just last week was living in Malmö. Life keeps moving on and changing with each new season different from the last.

Today is my second day as an au-pair and I'm learning more about how things work around the house and getting to know the family. They are all very helpful and friendly people and I love having my own room at the top of the house with a nice view of London's roof tops.

Its funny being back in England again, not having lived here for about nine years. The culture, food and way of life is pretty different from Sweden but I will soon get used to it. Some of the English expressions surprise me. Like at the airport on monday one lady was telling her friend she needed to "get Christmas knocked on the head this week". Saying that to a Swede would get you a very confused look.  

Having a break this afternoon I watched a few episodes of this year's Christmas calender to get in the Christmas mood. Its about a band of pick pocketers who steal rich people's Christmas presents. I'm not quite sure what the message is yet but it's cute and entertaining.
I have also started reading a book called "selling Olga" which is about human trafficking in Europe today. It really is a big problem and something I want to learn more about. The A21 Campaign is doing a great job in fighting it and I'm excited to hear that the family I'm living with also are involved in making a difference.

Well my break is just about over for now but I'll be back!