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| ICO has ended and I am home again where I belong. It has been so great to see family, cadets, officers, and other friends again. My thanks to all who helped cheer Jeff up while I was gone, and for telling me how sad he looked most of the time. (He denies it now...) Today, 10 days later, is the first day I could bear to contact my ICO sessionmates - although we're now called "Cedarlights" since we're graduates of the program. I made up an email group and sent out a short message asking people to check in and let us all know how they got home. I heard from a couple of the Americans right away so the messages are getting out there. I think it will take awhile longer to get to the far reaches of the globe - like Hong Kong or Sri Lanka. I can't believe how much I think about them even though we were told that we would. Maybe when the cadets return from Spring Campaigns and classes begin again ICO will recede, but most people who I've talked to do experience a lasting bond with sessionmates. I pray it will be. ICO is The Salvation Army's closest approximation to a sabbatical and I am thankful that I was allowed to experience it. God has always been faithful to me and I thank Him for the taste of extended time together there. It is difficult, if not impossible, to put into words the sense of His presence and love I experienced anew. I'm not sure I'll write on Xanga again as this was set up by Catherine (my daughter) to communicate with home while away. Thank you for your encouraging notes and prayers. God bless you! 
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| Dear All: These past two weeks have flown by, at least it seems that way now that they're gone. I've just returned from a visit to Blackpool which is on the northwest coast of England. My friend, Liz, felt sorry that I had no place to go on our free weekend and invited me to her home and corps. I met her husband and 3 teenage kids and we had a great time. The boys were actually looking forward to meeting me because I could tell them about America which they are fascinated with(!) They showed me around Blackpool which is one of the summer entertainment centers for England - lots of (tacky) hotels along the coast, gambling, family fun places like Madame Toussau's Wax Museum, an Eifel-like tower to go up in and observe Blackpool and the sea, and a truly awesome and menacing-looking roller coaster called the Big Dipper - highest one in England. It looked too high and steep for any sensible person. Kelly, Liz's daughter had been on it and lived so I guess it isn't as bad as it looks. We also went up into the English countryside with the sheep, rolling hills, patchwork fields, babbling streams and one lane roads. I wanted to take pictures but since I've lost the camera I had to rely on Nathan's which we couldn't get to upload onto the computer. Oh well - picture "Babe" combined with "Shadowlands" and you'll have an idea of some of the beautiful scenery. The most fun was visiting with some of the corps people. One lady cut our hair, we visited another lady who had been dog-sitting for them, and then a third lady stopped by to pick up Geoff's (Liz's husband) ironing for the week, and to collect empty casserole dishes that she plans to fill for him again this week. Interesting...Liz thought Geoff was really coping well with three teens and the corps to look after alone. Now we know how he's doing it. I talked a little about America and told the boys about CMI which they might be interested in coming to next year - and I was able to help interpret the movie "Coach Carter" for them as they don't have the same educational systems and didn't know some of the terms, such as MVP or freshman. I also brought them Orville Reddenbacher microwave popcorn which Liz really enjoyed. This week we had a great day on the unlimited love of God as seen in the story of the Prodigal Son. It was actually a four hour sermon (in one hour bites) by Major Jean-Paul of Paris, France. He spoke in French while we all wore translation headphones. It was amazing to think that the father gave everything he had to his sons even though they both rejected him. I don't want to be the prodigal or the servant. I give Him my all so that I can truly be in the special relationship of daughter to Father. God bless you all. Thanks for reading. | | |
| This week has been such a varied one that time went quickly and as of Sunday, the 3rd, I will only have four weeks left... The weekend began with a trip to Worthing. Worthing is a seaside resort town on the southcoast of England, looking over the English Channel, just about 30 miles from France. There is a great corps in Worthing, led by one of our delegates, Katrina, and her husband, Darryl. So 13 of us went there and were treated like royalty. "Worthing Welcomes the World" was the banner on the corps announcement page for the Sunday! Worthing has a very special place in Salvation Army history because it was here that the Skeleton Army was formed to harrass the Salvationists who were having open airs and services in the town and the merchants were getting worried about the drop off in their businesses, so they encouraged the start of a gang to scare the Salvationists away. They used to attack them down on the docks and an officer was actually killed there. Now there is a placque in the area where he was killed and the Army holds it's Sunday Salvation Meetings right there in the summer as the area is full of tourists and locals enjoying the beach. On Saturday we had great fish and chips by the sea. It was wonderful to see water again and enjoy the sunny weather. (See pic of me by the water.) After an inspiring Sunday at the corps, we came back "home" and had three very interesting days of classes. My favorite was the day on Social Justice. There now is a new position created that the General has determined should have higher priority and visibility in our work. Today was a quiet day for 7 1/2 hours. One of the options was to meditate on the 139th Psalm. I was amazed to spend 3 hours on this Psalm and thank God for the riches of his word and His Spirit to apply the word to my life, to my inmost being. If I were more creative I would write him a poem in response but I will just have to echo David's words: "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain."(v. 4). This day was a gift to me. It reached down deep into my soul and let me enjoy a time of communion with my Savior and Lord. That is the best way I can explain it. I experienced His love again today. | | |
| Well, Tuesday and Wednesday were really incredible. Here is a short account: Yesterday General Shaw Clifton and Commissioner Helen Clifton were our guests for the day. He shared a devotional sermon on the marks of genuine religion from James 1:26 & 27: the controlled tongue, taking care of the vulnerable, and keeping oneself uncorrupted by the world. He emphasized that these are not the only signs of genuine religion, but if any of them are missing, we have a problem. Then Comm. Helen spoke about The Salvation Army's contribution to women in ministry/leadership, and the most exhilirating thing she said was: "Opposition has a motivating effect on women who accomplish great things for the Lord." I never realized that dynamic before. Opposition is motivating, not frightening. I have to do some more thinking about that...I usually get frightened Today Major Ian Barr came and gave a (very) quick course in the Biblical foundation for holiness and historical development of holiness teaching. Interesting, both days centered on purity of heart; the ability to keep oneself uncorrupted by the world, by living in the power of the Spirit. These days have been rich and full. It's a privilege to have time to learn, interact, meditate and pray. | | |
| Attached you'll see a few photos that I didn't include with last week's entry: There are two of John Wesley's home: one the parlor where he met and talked with people; the other is a close-up of a machine that was in his parlor - an electric shock machine, designed by Benjamin Franklin and he to cure "melancholia." He believed it was very helpful and thought it really made people feel better. Maybe an 18th century version of the aspirin. The next pic was taken in Whitechapel (the east end of London) at a statue of Wm. Booth. Liz from England is standing next to it. We share several things: our session - Proclaimers of the Gospel, we are assigned to sit next to each other so naturally we chat..., we're walking partners along with anyone else we can talk into it, and we've discovered things that we enjoy talking about such as having our own appointment, or serving in another country, or officer life in other cultures. She also has a good sense of humor and, of course, an interesting accent. And one more thing - her husband's name is also Jeff. What can I say? Yesterday the General and Commissioner Helen were guests for the morning. The service was very uplifting - on "Vision" from Acts 26. He challenged us to discover the vision God has for us these 8 weeks and then be obedient to it. I think I have - I'll share more about that tomorrow. Thanks for reading. I pray God's blessings on you all. I miss you! | | |
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