Debrief!

It’s shocking to realize that I will be departing Manchester in less than 24 hours to come home!  This semester has flown by incredibly quickly.  Monday was our last day of ministry, and then Tuesday morning we left for our debrief in the Yorkshire Dales.  The accommodations were great; the scenery was fantastic.  We had a great time of just hanging out and relaxing… with a few sessions of worship and reflection thrown in there.  It was a great way to close out the semester and to begin processing all that we’ve experienced over the last three months.

On Tuesday afternoon we visited the Bolton Abbey, walking around a cute little village and then meandering through the ruins of the Priory.

A view of the ruins of the East Hall of the Priory

On Wednesday morning we went into Skipton and walked around (I bought a few last-minute Christmas presents).  On the way back, Ian dropped us off at the beginning of some nature trails and we began the long (2 hour) walk back to the retreat centre.  We walked with our roommates having been given the task of processing what God has been doing in, through, and around us over the last few months.  Hilary and I spent as much time taking pictures of the breathtaking landscape as we did talking.  Here’s just one example of the views we got to enjoy:

Wednesday night was spent encouraging each other.  We did the usual method of putting one person in the middle of the circle and having everyone else say nice things about them.  It took us almost 4 hours to finish! (There are 11 of us after all.)  I was so blessed by that time of sharing, not only by hearing what other people had to say about me, but also just seeing the love we have for each other.

I’ll leave you with a couple pictures of the team.  Please be praying for us as we travel home at various points during the next week.  Please pray especially for me and Josh Jacobs who are supposed to be flying into Baltimore and Philly tomorrow night… right around the time the Nor’easter is supposed to hit!

The Boys (minus Jarred)… Robby, Chad, Jacobs, Josh, Drew

The Girls… Christine, Me, Andrea, Shannon, Hilary