Stuck in Snowed-in London but God is good.

Saturday was an adventure to say the least. We planned to leave our campus at 2pm, take the uni bus into town and see our church's Christmas program at 4pm and then take the coach into London at 7pm and then stay with our friend Charlotte.

God had other plans.

At about 1pm, the skies turned white and snow fell and fell and fell. We packed up and got ready as soon as we could but by that time (2:30pm) no uni buses were running. We called taxis and they weren't running. We asked our friend, Josh, to pick us up. He tried to get up the hill but roads were closed. So our only option was to take all 3 bags of luggage each and trudge through the 8 inches of fresh snow a mile and a half into town. It was probably the hardest thing we've had to do since we got here. My suitcase handle broke too so that didn't make things easier. Two very very very long hours later with blistered hands and sore backs, we arrived at the train station (Our coach was cancelled when one inch of snow fell).

God allowed the trains to be running. We had just enough time to run into town and give our friends, Josh, Dave, David, and Laurence, a good-bye hug.

 Then we hopped on the train and arrived in London. That was the last train of the day and the trains were probably not going to run the next day due to ice.

Charlotte and her brother, Justin, picked us up and the Chin family welcomed us into their home. We were so blessed to be in a house with all our luggage and all in one piece. Their church small group was having their Christmas dinner that night, so Kevin and I joined in the carols, games, and feasting. Their family is the best.

Yesterday, we went to church with their family right by parliament, big Ben, and Westminster abbey. Then Charlotte, Kevin and I enjoyed [what we thought would be] our last day in London.

We went to one of Jamie Oliver's Italian restaurants. They make all their pasta on site. The rabbit ragu was quite nice I must say.

My favorite part was that the children's menus were viewfinders. AMAZING.

Then we went to the British Museum to see a special exhibition on the Egyptian Book of the Dead. Kevin and I took a class on Egyptian art dealing with the afterlife so it was really neat to see all the things we learned about.

Then we headed to the 2012 Olympic Village which is still being constructed. We saw the Olympic Stadium.

And the Aquatics Centre.

Hopefully, I can come back and see them completed and during the summer when there is no snow.

Speaking of snow, our flight for tomorrow was cancelled. Thanks to Mr. King and our travel agent, we were able to book a flight for Wednesday, so two days later. Thank you God for the Chins who are allowing us to stay with them. Things could be so much worse. We could be stranded in a hostel in London with all our stuff or sitting in the airport without blankets and food for three days. They are amazing and we appreciate them so much.

It's funny how England can't handle the snow. We haven't even seen a snow plow since we've been here. England shuts down with 6 inches of snow, the US shuts down with 6 feet. Despite all of this, I love still love England. Life's an adventure.

We woke up this morning and found a fox sleeping seeking shelter under a bench in the Chin's backyard.