Ahhh this post is disgracefully late, especially since I traveled to Arkansas last September! Nevertheless I thought I would share some of the
highlight from my trip
1) Flying solo
It’s been a while since I’ve been on a long haul flight that
I actually forgot how much I enjoy flying alone. I absolutely love flying on my
own, everything from checking in, finding my terminal, departure gate, boarding
the plane and flying! I would actually love to go on a full blown lone holiday
but I don’t think I’m brave enough for that yet!
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| Ready for take off |
2) Making friends
The main reason I was in Arkansas was to attend an annual
camp meeting/bible prophecy school. I met a lot of people at the camp
meeting from all over America and I found it strangely interesting how it felt
like I had known them for years, having only just met them a few days prior. We
all got on so well, I honestly felt like I was around family. Making friends in
Arkansas reinforced to me that in Christ, His children share such deep and
meaningful commonalities and are bound together with cords that go beyond age,
nationality, culture, distance, life circumstance etc
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| Blessed be the tides that bind... |
3) Hot Springs
…or should I say boiling springs.
I visited the Hot Springs National Park and thought I could put my whole arm
into the water! Never again!!!! What I did was equivalent to putting my arm into a pot of boiling hot water on a stove…very silly, I know! :-\ Other than that, I did enjoy the warmth of
the water, the steam coming from the flowing streams and the beauty of the actual
park.
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| Hot Springs National Park |
4) The Weather
We didn’t get much of a summer in the UK, so I was so
thankful for the super-hot summer weather and the extra vitamin D of course J
5) Singing
During song service I always manage to request a hymn
that no one knows, and then end up having to sing a solo (I really hate
singing solos...I just don’t do them L)
in order to teach the congregation the
song. This awkward moment proved to be a
blessing as I was approached to help lead out in song service during the camp
meeting. I haven’t lead out in music in such a long time and it was such a
blessing to serve and minister for the Lord in this capacity especially in a
foreign land.
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| Singing with wonderful people |
6) Mousegate
Now this wasn’t a highlight but I thought I
would mention it since I can actually laugh about it now. I live in the
countryside so it’s not uncommon for me to have some field mice come in as the
weather begins to turn. I usually catch and get rid of them quite quickly as
they come in and stay downstairs and only ever come out at night when I am
asleep and it’s completely quiet. I’m
writing about this so casually and calmly but I absolutely loathe the fact that
I get mice; I am completely petrified of them! Even knowing of their presence
in my house freaks me out. I was so happy to be away from home knowing that I
wouldn’t have to deal with them for a while….you could probably imagine my
great distress when I saw mouse traps in the room I was staying in! Where I was
staying is very country and I had a very brave and daring American mouse who
not only came out to play while I was making noise in the kitchen, but who managed
to wrestle itself off a sticky trap and
also eat the bait clean off a carefully
laid snap trap. My most memorable moment of “mousegate” is when the mouse had
the audacity to enter my room, get into the closet and chew through items in my
handbag. To conclude this tale the mouse never got caught and is probably still
on the loose, let’s just say that I left America with a new found respect for
the rather sophisticated, reserved and
quiet British mouse.
7) Gardening
There’s something about cultivating the
ground that leaves deep impressions on the heart and character. I don’t know
how to describe it; I don’t know whether to describe it as therapeutic but the
more I worked in the greenhouse and spent time selecting and planting seeds the
more it awakened a great sense of carefulness, love, humility, tenderness and
attention to detail. At first I hated it, I was so hot and bothered while
gardening but after getting past the first hurdle of keeping myself from
passing out in the green house I actually really enjoyed it. I planted 3 quarters of the greenhouse and
felt so sad when I realised that I would never get to see what would come of
the seeds that I had planted but God reminded me of this scripture: 1
Corinthians 3: 4- 10 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am
of Apollos; are ye not carnal?Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but
ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God
gave the increase.So then neither is he that planteth any thing,
neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth
are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own
labour. For we are labourers together
with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. According to the
grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another
buildeth thereon…” Though I planted the seeds, I am happy to know that the
Lord has someone else there to follow the process through to the end. So looking forward to
growing session in the UK this year!
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| In the green house |
8) The Camp
Meeting
The camp meeting was such a blessing! I was truly convicted
of my duty before God. It was such a joy to spend endless hours listening to the
word of God from the lips of men and women who have given their lives to serve
Him. It was also a blessing to spend much time with like-minded people
discussing the message and to see such deep dedication manifested towards the study of God's word. I was deeply moved and humbled to see that the spirit of God is
moving all over the world, to know that there are people separated by sea and
land and yet we all come to the same conclusions when we study the bible. What
a privilege it is to have the bible so readily available to us, that we might
have the opportunity to understand truths that angels desire to look into (1 Peter 1:12)! God
has given us such a great work to do for him in these last days, and it’s so
humbling to know that I can be a part of that should I choose to follow his
appointed way. O to be faithful to Him, and to avail myself fully to His service!
This has been my hope and prayer since leaving Arkansas.
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| Elder Jeff and I |
Not sure if I will be travelling in 2016, but you never
know! Thanks for reading my travel diary,
till next time
Love, your girl forever,
♥ Miss Daisy ♥
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| Till we meet again... |
