Monday, November 07, 2005
Come together - The Beatles
I had a brilliant lunch yesterday. Derek and Beryl invited me over to their place.
Derek asked me over the week before and I turned him down. I told him that the next week (yesterday) would be better.
I kinda regretted that as I sat during the service on Sunday morning. You see, the service starts at 9:30 am with the Breaking of Bread Service - this is similar to the service at The Life Chapel - open worship, communion, ministry announcements. Then we have a break (wif coffee and tea) before the Family Service starts at 11 am. We finish at around 12 noon.
I was feeling really tired and I just wanted to go home. But altho Derek told me not to feel obliged, I did. And I told him after the service that I'll go.
I din regret it!
So for the first time since I got here, I sat in a car(!) and had a home-cooked meal.
Derek and Beryl are two lovely old couple. Derek had been an elder of the assembly and a long standing member. After his heart atack (followed by some major by-pass operation) a couple of years ago, he stepped down from the oversight (yes, the elders here do recognise that there could be time when they have to step down - and not cling on steadfastly to their position).
Still, they serve the Lord by doing visitations and extending hospitality! In fact (I'm sure by no coincidence) there was another young couple from Ireland around last weekend and they were promptly invited over for lunch too.
I must say I had a lovely time wif the 2 couples. While Derek and Beryl prepared the lunch, I sat in the den wif Jon and Sara and chatted wif them. Remember that post in me old blog when I said how I fell in love wif the Irish accent? Well, I was reminded why!
Jon is in church planting along wif a few other missionaries in Ireland. Sara is working at the hospital in Colchester - just a one year posting. Oh, and she has the most wonderful laugh! I could swear that her laugh had an Irish accent to it!!!!
And for some fleeting moments, I kinda regretted a little coming to Colchester instead of going to Queen's Belfast... Yeah, Ruey, the Irish people are really sumthing, aren't they?
It felt good spending the afternoon wif them. Lunch was excellent! Nothing special - roast chicken but there's sumthing about eating a home-cooked meal that makes it stand out! Oh, they had Yorkshire pudding too which was lovely. And we top it all off wif apple pie and vanilla ice cream before adjourning back to the den for coffee and more chatting. Oh, we oso sneaked out for a moment to check out their wonderful yard at the back which had a pond wif many kois in it!
And if the weather had been good, Derek would have driven us to the countryside nearby - we were after all in Constable country (I remember years ago when a mate came back from the UK and gave me a Constble painting postcard - I've been a Constable fan since then). But the weather really has made a turn to bad.
We still see the sun! But in the evening, it gets bitterly cold.
But the fellowship and company I had was the totally opposite! Praise God for that. :-)
Derek asked me over the week before and I turned him down. I told him that the next week (yesterday) would be better.
I kinda regretted that as I sat during the service on Sunday morning. You see, the service starts at 9:30 am with the Breaking of Bread Service - this is similar to the service at The Life Chapel - open worship, communion, ministry announcements. Then we have a break (wif coffee and tea) before the Family Service starts at 11 am. We finish at around 12 noon.
I was feeling really tired and I just wanted to go home. But altho Derek told me not to feel obliged, I did. And I told him after the service that I'll go.
I din regret it!
So for the first time since I got here, I sat in a car(!) and had a home-cooked meal.
Derek and Beryl are two lovely old couple. Derek had been an elder of the assembly and a long standing member. After his heart atack (followed by some major by-pass operation) a couple of years ago, he stepped down from the oversight (yes, the elders here do recognise that there could be time when they have to step down - and not cling on steadfastly to their position).
Still, they serve the Lord by doing visitations and extending hospitality! In fact (I'm sure by no coincidence) there was another young couple from Ireland around last weekend and they were promptly invited over for lunch too.
I must say I had a lovely time wif the 2 couples. While Derek and Beryl prepared the lunch, I sat in the den wif Jon and Sara and chatted wif them. Remember that post in me old blog when I said how I fell in love wif the Irish accent? Well, I was reminded why!
Jon is in church planting along wif a few other missionaries in Ireland. Sara is working at the hospital in Colchester - just a one year posting. Oh, and she has the most wonderful laugh! I could swear that her laugh had an Irish accent to it!!!!
And for some fleeting moments, I kinda regretted a little coming to Colchester instead of going to Queen's Belfast... Yeah, Ruey, the Irish people are really sumthing, aren't they?
It felt good spending the afternoon wif them. Lunch was excellent! Nothing special - roast chicken but there's sumthing about eating a home-cooked meal that makes it stand out! Oh, they had Yorkshire pudding too which was lovely. And we top it all off wif apple pie and vanilla ice cream before adjourning back to the den for coffee and more chatting. Oh, we oso sneaked out for a moment to check out their wonderful yard at the back which had a pond wif many kois in it!
And if the weather had been good, Derek would have driven us to the countryside nearby - we were after all in Constable country (I remember years ago when a mate came back from the UK and gave me a Constble painting postcard - I've been a Constable fan since then). But the weather really has made a turn to bad.
We still see the sun! But in the evening, it gets bitterly cold.
But the fellowship and company I had was the totally opposite! Praise God for that. :-)
# posted by imissw : 9:49:00 pm
