The Countdown Begins

REMINISCING

Ten days, just ten days till I step foot back in Minnesota. I have been thinking a lot about coming home lately. Well actually I have been thinking a lot about coming back home since I got here. It is not that I was homesick, because I definitely enjoyed my time here, but more that I miss the comforts of home. I miss having the freedom of a car and being able to grab a snack whenever I want. I miss watching movies in our sunroom reclined on the couch, eating chips and dip with my dad. I miss breakfast dates with my mom, seeing plays with my grandma, and chatting about life with my brother. I miss friends who know me through and through and seeing pictures of my family hung up on the walls of my home.Don’t get me wrong, I love Capernwray!

Yesterday the weather was beautiful. I took a walk up the road to this path that leads into the woods. It was so peaceful. I was able to come to a spot that overlooks the land in which Capernwray lies. Fields of green, dotted with lambs prancing about, and lined with mossy rock walls. The hills in the distance were capped with snow and seeing the dainty white blossoms of the snow drops along the path brought on feelings of peace with the renewed freshness of spring. Not only is the landscape here beautiful, but the people here are wonderful as well. In the six short months I have been here, the people have become somewhat of a large family to me. Of course I don’t know them as well as real family, but there is something about spending 6 month in close quarters with a bunch of people all searching to more deeply love the Heavenly Father that brings people together. I think trying to juggle the reality of being back in Minnesota with the desire to continue and grow these friendships will be difficult ground to tread.

As I look back on my time here, there are good and bad memories. Times when I felt like I never wanted to leave this place and others when I just wanted to jump on the next flight home. In some ways I feel like I have been here forever, and in others I feel like I am about to leave Narnia, step out of a huge wardrobe, and be right back in a world where no time has passed at all. This state of unknown, not sure of what returning home will be like, is a little unnerving. Of course, I have experienced slightly similar occurrences upon returning to the “real world” after working at camp past summers, but this is a slightly larger scale. I am excited and eager to see what happens next.

OUTREACH IN REVIEW

As I explained in my last post, my past ten days were spent in the town of Leominster, England. My time there was good, but had it challenges as well. As I look back on my time there I remember the words of Inspiration Point camp director Greg Anderson, “Hard doesn’t necessarily equal bad, and easy doesn’t always equal good.” I loved my outreach team, I enjoyed my host home, the congregation was inviting, and I had a blast working with the youth in the church and schools. The most difficult thing for me was probably being the leader of the team. There is just a weight of responsibility that you feel as the leader that adds an extra challenge to the experience. I was always trying to lead my team to excellence, yet not be overbearing or having too high of expectations. When I say excellence, I in no way mean perfection, I just wanted our team to do the best work that we could to best serve the Leominster community. That pressure combined with being thrust into the introverts nightmare of constantly having small talk conversations with new people, was tiring.
Despite the difficulties, I am happy with my ten day outreach experience and think that God used our team to do some pretty sweet stuff, even if we never get to see any of the fruits of our labor.
Some of my favorite memories from our trip include:

• Getting to answer questions about my faith and belief in God in public schools! I had conversations in the schools here that I would never be able to have back home.
• Spending time painting murals in the church between school lessons and assemblies, it was a relaxing, creative outlet.
• Eating delicious curry and listening to some smooth Jazz performed by my team members at the church’s Curry Night
• Traveling into Wales and getting to explore Elan Valley, a beautiful series of reservoirs and dams.

In Christ,

Jackie

Getting Philosophical

It’s been a while since I have written…oops, sorry about that. There are less than 6 weeks left of school, and it’s crazy to think that I will be returning home soon. I am excited to enjoy my last weeks here, but am also looking forward to being back in Minnesota with family and friends.

As my time here comes to a close, I’m becoming more inclined to think about how God has been working in my life. You would think that reminiscing on your spiritual life would be easy while at Bible school, but unfortunately that’s not really the case. Being constantly immersed in Bible teaching makes me feel less inclined to self-reflect because I am constantly learning about spiritual truths and there is little time to really stop and think about how they apply to my life. So, here we go, I am just going to open the flood gates of my thoughts, so I am sorry if it gets rather confusing…

13 MONTHS AGO…

I was finishing up my senior year at the University of Minnesota, trying to figure out what to do next. My first thought was to do the expected – get a job or internship – and I took steps toward doing so. I applied for a couple internships and even had a couple interviews lined up. Then, out of nowhere, I just felt like I wasn’t supposed to jump into a career; it just didn’t seem right.  So after some careful consideration I decided to contact the companies I had interviews with, cancel the interviews and instead apply to be a counselor at Inspiration Point for the summer. On top of that, I applied to attend Capernwray Winter Bible School in England. I decided I would take a year off to focus on my relationship with God, and pursue a career after that.

9 MONTHS AGO…
I headed off to Inspiration Point. I had worked at Ipoint for three summers previous, but the year before this I had spent the summer interning at The Hershey Company. I was a little nervous about how I was going to fit back in, but God did awesome things and it was such a blessing to have another summer teaching and learning more about God’s love. As always, camp was hard work, and as the summer came to an end I was tired and ready to go back to the “real world,” but my next steps were a little different than they had
been in previous summers. Usually after camp I had about a week before I shipped off to college, but this year I was simply heading to my parent’s house and buying my time before heading to England. I have written about this I more detail in a previous post, so I will spare you the details, but it was a spiritually difficult time. I was definitely excited to head to Capernwray and get my relationship with God on the right track.

4 MONTHS AGO…

I was settling into the routine at Capernwray, but was also processing a lot of things, and my experience was actually more emotionally and spiritually difficult than I thought it would be. Again, you can read more about this part of my experience in another blog post (here).

NOW…

I am ending my time here at Capernwray, and it is crazy to look back at this past year and see all the ways that God has blessed me. And now I find myself at another crossroads. I feel like an empty canvas is lying before me and every step I take is going to add a stroke of color, which is exciting and extremely scary at the same time. I just want to create something beautiful.

My plan when I started Bible School was to finish in March,  go live at my parent’s house for a bit while job searching and then get my own place and just live a “normal” Christian life (not really knowing that meant). Coming out of college, where you are bombarded with the idea that success is found in the next promotion and salary increase, my mind was engrained, subconsciously, with this mindset. Of course, I want to serve God, I want to witness to others, but if I am honest, God wasn’t on the forefront of my mind. My life was focused on what I wanted to do, not what God wanted to do in my life.

NOW WHAT…

So, now comes the difficult part… what now!? And, well, I don’t really know. I have a $50,000 piece of paper that says I know what Environmental Science is and I now have an expanded knowledge of God’s Word in my back pocket. But what about the things I don’t have a piece of paper to prove? What about my interest in acting or writing or theology and apologetics – are these things that I should pursue more intentionally? How? I don’t want to throw aside my environmental knowledge and enjoyment of the critical thinking and organization involved in the business world.

Looking back on my life choices so far, so much of what I do is dependent on living comfortably, not doing anything too risky, and making sure I always have enough money in my bank account. But is that really what life’s all about? Sorry to get all philosophical on you, but it just seems so pointless really. I have interests and talents that God has given me, but have been too afraid to break out of the shell of the world and its expectations to even consider them. God’s promptings have been put on the backburner, and my worldly comfort has taken the front seat. Even when I take seemingly “godly” steps in my life, I have meticulously thought out if doing so will affect my plans, without giving a second thought to God’s plans.

My friends Anna Marie and Madison

With all that being said, I am sorry to have to say, I am going to have to leave it there. At this point I am asking lots of questions, but don’t have a lot (if any) answers. But don’t get me wrong, I don’t think this is a bad place to be in. In fact, I know that it is probably a good situation to be in since I am waiting expectantly for what God has up His sleeve. And now, I have 6 more weeks of time and space to mull it over!

In Christ,

Jackie

There and Back Again

HALF DONE

Well, here I am, the beginning of semester number two at Capernwray. I am sitting in my new room, enjoying time with new roommates; yet I am comforted by the familiar consistency of schedule and the warm atmosphere here at Capernwray. My last few weeks have been absolutely beautiful, but there is just something wonderful about putting your clothes in a closet, leaving your shampoo in the shower, and having a bed to call your own. I am glad to be back.

THE EUROPEAN TOUR

The last few weeks I have been pretty absent from blogging because I have been out adventuring! I have had the last three weeks or so off school. Thus, being in Europe, I figured I would take advantage of the cheap traveling costs and visit a couple fun places! My journey began on the 18^th of December, when I headed to London. I then jumped the pond over to Paris, and from there I traveled to Ireland where I toured the country, beginning in Dublin, bopping up to Belfast, and finally finishing up in the small town of Liscannor, located on the west coast just a few miles from the stunning Cliffs of Moher.

LONDON

As I said, the first stop of Jackie’s European tour began in London. I would have to say out of all the places I visited while on vacation, London was my favorite city. I have never been much of a travel bug, but London is one of the few places I have always wanted to visit. So being able to go there was pretty much a dream come true! It took a couple trains to get there, but upon arrival I met by friend Claire, who is currently living in Paris, and a couple of her friends, Alexa and Beau. It was so great to spend time with Claire and make some new friends as well!

While there I got to see so many classic sights such as Big Ben, Westminster, the Tower of London, the Crown Jewels, among other things. It was so exciting to see and be a part of a city that I have only heard about in books and seen in movies (and in my favorite TV show Sherlock)!

On top of seeing the classic things, I was also able to supplement my trip with a few things that were a little out of the ordinary. One of my favorite experiences was going to the Jazz Club Ronnie Scott’s to see a Christmas performance by the National Youth Jazz Orchestra! It was a fabulous way to get into the Christmas spirit. Plus we had some pretty great conversations with a local named Lawrence who owns a restaurant in London and has been a member of the club for 25 years. Some other fun experiences included a spontaneous stop at the British Museum of Food where we got to participate in a chocolate tasting study and mingle with some winged friends in their butterfly room. We also went to a musical rendition of The Lorax, which was unexpectedly AMAZING!

PARIS

After about six days in London, we jumped on a train and headed to Paris! It was such a blessing to be in Paris and be able to see where Claire lives and get a taste of what life is like for here there.  It was also great to be roommates again, even if it was only for a short while!

The pace of sightseeing in Paris was much more relaxed then in London. Claire and I journeyed out on the 24^th, enjoyed a Crepe under Eiffel Tower, took in the grandness of the Arc de Triumph, and bought some earrings on the Chaps-Elysees.  That night, Christmas Eve, was spent enjoying a delicious meal, wonderful company, and some Sherlock watching with Claire’s friends. It was great to have such a wonderful community to spend Christmas with. We also attended a Christmas Eve service at the American Church in Paris which was a great way to get my mindset back on the Lord during the craziness of traveling.

Christmas morning was another day of relaxation. We enjoyed a delicious brunch and more movie watching. And the next few days consisted of visiting Notre Dame, Claire leaving for a winter conference and enjoying a solo trip to the Louvre, where I got to enjoy all of the stunning works of art
at my own pace, which was actually a very enjoyable experience. In the 2 hour long line to the Louvre I also met this very kind guy named Ben who took some great pictures for me, so that was pretty great!

IRELAND

After spending some relaxing time in Paris it was off to meet some Capernwray friends in Ireland. On the 29^th of December, I left Paris and arrived in Dublin, where I was happy to see signs and hear people talking in a language I could fully understand. When in Paris it was a little overwhelming not knowing what anyone was saying.

At the Dublin Airport I met up with Kaylie, Natalie, Emily, and Sarah; all fellow students from Capernwray. From the 29^th till the 8^th of January we took Ireland by storm! Okay, not really, it was more of a chill tour of the country, but it was a blast spending time with the girls!

Dublin was our first stop and there we enjoyed a few museums, eating at classic pubs, and a group favorite, going on a literary pub crawl. On the pub crawl we were escorted by a couple actors to a few pubs in Dublin and along the way the actors would explain the literary history of writers that once were regular customers there and would acts out some of their works. Although it was a little rainy that night, it was a fun, unique way to see Dublin.

Then we headed to Belfast, where one of our first adventures was walking about half an hour in the rain to an indoor (thank goodness) market where vendors sold crafts, food, and other goodies. We also visited the Titanic museum located at the site where the Titanic was built and embarked. It was really interesting to learn about the history of the ship and its passengers. I thought it was going to be really morbid, but it was actually quite interesting, and was respectful while not being too heavy. My favorite place on our trip was probably Giant’s Causeway, which is a beautiful geographical site with all these really interesting rock structures. It is difficult to explain, but really cool to see and explore!
Finally we headed off from Belfast, took 3 buses and traveled for 11 hours to reach our final destination on the journey, Liscannor, on the western coast. It was refreshing to be in the rural areas of Ireland. The scenery there was breathtaking; looking out our kitchen window we were able to see the sun rise over the bay. We took some time to explore the small city of Liscannor which ended up taking about an hour Along the way we met a really friendly dog and horse, which was quite fun. Twice we ate at the local seafood restaurant, Vaughan’s Anchor Inn, which had the most amazing fish and chips I have ever tasted. And on our
final day we ventured slightly north to the Cliffs of Moher, which were truly a sight worth seeing! They were stunningly beautiful and it was a great way to cap off a great trip.

SCHOOL BEGINS
On the 8^th of January the group headed back home. We got to Carnforth, England, stayed the night in a hotel and got back to Capernwray at about noon on the 9^th. Since arriving things have been a little bit of a whirlwind, but I have found some time to just be alone, relax and reflect which has been a much needed refreshment after the stress of traveling.

I am excited to begin my second, and final, semester here at Capernwray. It is crazy to think that I have less than three months left now. Time flies by so fast! I am excited to see what God has in store for me this semester!

In Christ,

Jackie

Life Without Light

RAIN, RAIN GO AWAY

If you have not heard, the last few days have been quite eventful for the Northern UK as Storm Desmond hit northern England and Southern Scotland this past weekend. Having never been to England before I simply thought the constant rainfall was normal, but I guess it was actually quite uncharacteristic. The rain began Friday night and after about 24 hours of nonstop rainfall, the flooding began. A nearby city, Lancaster, suffered from some pretty devastating flooding, but we are luckily located on higher ground, so few Capernwray buildings were flooded. The most major flooding worry here is the house of a couple that serve in the pastoral care role at the school. You can pray for them as they manage the flooding of their home.

SATURDAY NIGHT

 

Photo by Jinseo Go

On Friday morning Christmas decorations had been put up in the Main Hall and Dining Room and everyone was in a “Christmas-y” mood. On Saturday night, as rain fell outside, inside we were all enjoying a warm, dry Christmas celebration. Paper snowflakes were made, Christmas sweaters were worn, and cider and shortbread were enjoyed by all!

Photo by Madison Mayfield

At about 10:00PM the fun really started as the lights suddenly went dark across the Capernwray campus. It didn’t take long to determine that something was clearly not right. I had just gone up to my room and luckily had not yet headed out for my nightly shower. Others were still scattered throughout the house, socializing and enjoying the unusual circumstances. Luckily at this point small, but bright, emergency lights turned on and provided us with a soft glow of light that allowed all the students to get to bed and fall asleep.

SUNDAY

Photo by Kaitlyn Lyftogt

Sunday morning presented a whole new set of interesting occurrences. I got ready using the faint light coming in my bedroom window, ate cold cereal in the dim morning light, found out that the electricity might be out until Tuesday, enjoyed an acoustic church service, ate melting ice cream, and took a freezing cold shower! Although we were without power we were blessed to still have running water which made the whole situation quite bearable and actually rather enjoyable! Without electricity there was no Wi-Fi which was a nice break that allowed for reading, conversation and story telling that would not have happened otherwise.  Additionally, the school owns a small generator which provided some light in the evenings as darkness usually settles in here around 4:00PM.

MONDAY

Photo by Natalie Ones

The light remained off all Sunday and I was informed of its returning at about 5:45AM Monday morning as I was awoken by tell-tale clicking sound made as the light over our sink flashes on. I got up, turned it off, went back to sleep, and our Monday morning continued as usual. We had breakfast, lectures, lunch, and as I was working on homework in the afternoon at 4:00PM the lights went out once again. The generators that had been employed to give us electricity were either being refueled, had broken down, or we were switching to regular power. We were left in the dark about the reason for the loss of light, but I wasn’t complaining. Again, our evening consisted of supper eaten by dim light, board games, and the reading of stories while cuddled around the fire. All in all I would say it was one of the best evenings I have had thus far at Capernwray. We all fell asleep that night surrounded by darkness and when we woke up the lights were back (they had turned on at about 7:00AM).

LIFE AS USUAL

And now, it’s pretty much life as usual. I assume we are back to regularly generated power, but I never got a conclusive answer about that. However, considering the lights have now been on for over 24 hours I figure they won’t be going off again.

I am happy, for many reasons, that the lights are back on, but there is a piece of me that greatly misses the simplicity of life without electricity. I enjoyed cuddling by the fires, interacting without the internet, and just enjoying the small blessings that we take for granted every day. Overall, I think that this experience was very beneficial for the Capernwray student body and building community. There is something about sharing a common experience such as this that brings people together. In fact, I think that if you asked most people they would say the whole experience was one of the highlights of their semester.

Another benefit of the experience was its spiritual implications. You may be able to come up with some of your own illustrations, but just the idea of being light in the darkness was emphasized greatly in this situation. I think that being disconnected and having time just within our community was also spiritually fulfilling.

So, that was just a small picture of life at Capernwray for the past couple days, but ultimately I realize that there are much more detrimental effects of flooding happening across England and Scotland. I ask that you take just a second now to pray for those who have been greatly affected by the flooding.

In Christ,

Jackie

My Spiritual Journey (Thus Far)

I don’t have a lot of super exciting adventures or travels to tell you about in this post, so I thought I would talk a little more about my spiritual adventures.

TRANSITIONING

A rainy day at Capernwray Hall

Before I came to Bible school I had just graduated from the U of MN in May and then spent my summer serving at Inspiration Point Christian Camp and Retreat Center. It was a time of transition, serving, and learning. I felt filled, but at the same time strangely empty. After finishing up an amazing summer I spent about a month and a half “transitioning” a.k.a. just hanging out, living at my parent’s house. This time was good because I got to spend a lot of time with amazing people, but it was extremely unstructured and my faith walk wasn’t super great. I had just left a place surrounded by great, loving community and went to a place with little community. I didn’t have a consistent church family and my time with God was lacking. Overall I was excited for a little change in my faith life, so I was excited to head to England.

SHOWING UP
As I left my lovely home in Blaine, MN and headed to the airport, the comforts of home suddenly disappeared. I was leaving a place of spiritual mediocrity and was embarking on an adventure that I was hoping would help my relationship with God grow and develop. The trip was intense; a long 24 hours. You would think that I would have plenty of time to think about my transition during my travels, but as I look back my mind was rather numb at that point. So many thoughts and emotions were running through my mind that I kind of just went through the motions. When I arrived at Capernwray to say I was overwhelmed would be an understatement. I was running on little sleep and had no idea what was going on. The next few days were a blur. My faith took a back seat for a few days as I was just getting used to the new environment.

SCHOOL BEGINS

I wish I could say that the next few weeks were wonderful and my faith flourished, but that’s not really true. I was learning a lot, but something was missing. I was gaining a lot of knowledge, but it wasn’t touching my heart. I don’t know if it was the fact that I was missing home, friends, and family or maybe just getting settled in the new culture, but for some reason I was having a difficult time really applying what I was learning.

As the weeks went on, however, I began to dig deeper into what was being said. I began questioning things, diving into the truths the lecturers were addressing and seeking to work through some of the questions that I have had during my faith walk. Now, I am not saying that my relationship with God just took off and I was on cloud nine.It has been more like a fluttering butterfly, flying sporadically up and down, settling down once in a while, drawing nourishment from God’s word and resting in my relationship with the Son. Some days are better than others. Some lectures are better than others. Unfortunately my mood plays a larger role in this up and down pattern than I would like, but that is just the fate of being human I suppose.

SUPPORT SYSTEM

God has blessed me with some amazing friends, both here and back home, and I have been so blessed by that. When I first arrived at school it was honestly pretty difficult to make friends. I was incredibly blessed to have friends and family back in the states that I could rely on for the support that I needed and I rested heavily upon that. It was tiring to invest deeply in relationships both here in at home and I struggled to find where I fit in amidst this new social environment. Luckily as time went by, however, God began placing amazing women of God in my life. It has been fun to get to know people’s hearts, talk through deep questions, and verbally process ideas together. The people here are truly a blessing.

JUST A SNAPSHOT

Rainy day selfie

So hopefully that gives you a little snapshot of my spiritual experience thus far. I know that God is revealing himself to me more and more each day, even though I might not always see it. And sometimes I feel lost and others I feel like I couldn’t be closer to God, but through it all I know that God is consistent, and I am so grateful for his reliable character! There is so much more that has happened and it is difficult to explain it all in a blog post, so maybe you will just have to ask me about it some time.

In Christ,

Jackie

But I trust in your unfailing love;
    my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing the Lord’s praise,
    for he has been good to me.     Psalm 13:5-6

Out and About

Although I have spent a lot of my time in England on the school grounds of Capernwray, the school has also provided some great opportunities to get out and explore the area. As I have previously written I had the opportunity to visit the Lakes District and Chester, England, and now I can add Edinburgh, Scotland and a football match in Sunderland, England to that list!

TRAVEL WEEKEND

After being at school for about five weeks everyone was starting to get a little cabin fever. We were ready for a little break from routine! Luckily, Capernwray staff is very kind and planned in a long weekend where students have the opportunity to get out and about. From Thursday evening, October 29^th till Monday evening, November 2^nd we were free to go wherever we wanted (within reason of course).

One of the most common places to visit during that weekend is Edinburgh, Scotland. For a small fee Capernwray arranged coaches (buses) to take students to Edinburgh, so transportation was taken care of. All we had to arrange was accommodation. This sounded like a pretty good deal to me, so a couple girls and I started making plans to stay at a hostel for the weekend. Soon the number of girls in our group grew to 10. Although this may sound like a lot, it was actually great because we were able to book out an entire hostel room, meaning we didn’t have to share with strangers. This ended being a huge blessing because worries about luggage safety, privacy, etc. were greatly reduced.

So on Friday morning two busloads of excited Capernwray students head out on a three hour bus ride to the neighboring country of Scotland! The bus ride was quite enjoyable; passing by grassy hills, beautiful homes and lots of sheep! We were dropped off in the middle of the city and then it was just a hop, skip and jump to our hostel which was located near one of the main tourist streets, High Street (thus the name High Street Hostel, which you can see on the picture). The hostel was nice as far as hostels go. As I said before our room was all girls, but the bathrooms and shower rooms were mixed gender, so that was interesting at times. But overall our group had a really good experience staying there.

Each day our group of 10 usually split into smaller groups depending on what people wanted to do. All of the girls were pretty relaxed as far as travel planning went, so it was fun to just kind of roll with the punches.

Upon arrival, the first thing on my mind was pizza! Since being at Capernwray I have not had pizza and I was craving it, so a couple girls from our group headed to a restaurant for pizza while others split off to find other cuisine. Later that night we went to a grocery store and picked up some snacks that we ate throughout the weekend. The only meal that we really ate out for was supper, since food was rather expensive. So breakfast and lunch usually consisted of snacking on bread, fruit, cookies, and granola bars. While I was there I had the opportunity to have fish and chips one night and a burger another. Both were delicious. The final morning, two other girls, Caroline and Michelle, and I decided to go out for breakfast so I enjoyed porridge, tea and a scone with jam! Delicious!

Throughout the weekend we explored shops, visited Edinburgh Castle, and climbed up to an overlook of the city called Arthur’s Seat. One of my favorite adventures took place on Sunday night when Caroline, Anna Marie, Mia and I went to the coffee shop where J K Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book, explored the grave yard where she got some of the names for her characters, and walked to the top of Calton Hill. We sat at the top of the hill, looking at the moon and stars and just chatted about life. Our conversation eventually turned to affirmations and we enjoyed building each other up in Christ.

Another added enjoyment to the weekend was a photo competition we had with a group of guys from Capernwray who were spending the weekend camping in a barn in the Lakes District. They had posted a group photo, and we copied it. This spiraled into a couple rounds of back and forth photo copying. We took the photos throughout the city, resulting in some fun interactions with Edinburgh residents and fellow tourists. Overall we ended up with some good memories and funny photos J

FOOTBALL (EUROPEAN STYLE)

This past weekend a large group of students spent a Saturday traveling to the city of Sunderland, England. We were headed to a Premier League Football game between Sunderland and Southampton. After the three hour drive we were all ready for a little excitement. We sat in the nose bleed seats, but they were decent because we had a good view of the whole field. The game was pretty uneventful and ended with a score of 1-0 Southampton. The one goal that was scored was off a penalty kick. But the game was still fun! It was good to get out, be immersed in English culture and spend some quality time with fellow students.

PRAYER REQUESTS

• School work is starting to pick up, so prayers that I would be able to focus on not only completing the tasks well, but also seek to grow deeper in my relationship with God while doing them.
• As Holiday season starts to roll around it is getting a little more difficult to be away from home. I never thought I would say this, but I miss all the hoopla.

In Christ,

Jackie

A Day in the Life

So despite all of the wonderful things I have been telling you about my time at Capernwray I realized I haven’t told you the basics of what a day looks like here at Bible School!

BALANCE

I would say the “feel” of being a student here is somewhere in between being in high school and being in college. The schedule structure is very ridged, but which lectures we have changes every day. We are also given some free time throughout the day during which we choose how we use our time. At first it was difficult to balance it all, but as time goes on it I continue to figure out the ebb and flow of the days and I am starting to figure out how to schedule my days to best meet my needs.

THE DAY BEGINS

I usually wake up at 7:00 AM, a little earlier than my other roommates. I quickly get ready for the day and then it is off to breakfast at 7:30AM. I really enjoy breakfast here. They always have the same set-up: dry cereals, yogurt, toast, and my personal favorite, porridge. I have porridge, toast, a glass of orange juice, and a cup of coffee almost every morning. So delicious! I look forward to it every day. After breakfast I have about 45 minutes of free time while other students work on their duties. Each student who attends Capernwray has a specific duty, or chore, they do each month. This month mine is helping with dishes after tea (supper).  During that 45 minutes I bop down to the Library and read my Old Testament reading for the day and enjoy a little quiet time.

Next it’s off to lectures. At 8:55AM we have a short worship and prayer session before the first of our four morning lectures which starts at 9:00AM . Each lecture runs for 45 minutes and is separated by a ten minute stretch/chat/bathroom break. The one exception to this is between the second and third lecture, between which we have a 20 minute coffee break where they serve coffee and tea and usually a small snack.

The Lectures we have vary from day to day and week to week. Each week we have a guest lecturer that comes in and teaches on a topic of two. For example this week we had a speaker named John Allan come and teach two lecture series, one on Ecclesiastes and the other was called “Facing the Modern World” which basically looked at the timeline of society, culture, and western spirituality and traditions. Other lecture times are taught by full time staff here at Capernwray or are filled with things such as Family Groups or Interactive Groups, which I will explain at a later time.

LUNCH AND FREE TIME

At 1:00 PM, after a short period of announcements, its lunch! Lunch is the largest meal at Capernwray. They do a really good job a making the menu very diverse, but the meal usually consists of some sort of meat, starch, veggie, and salad. And the best part is they always serve a delicious dessert to top it all off! For meals we sit at tables of eight and serve the meal family style. One student from the table will go and retrieve the food from the kitchen and then bring it back to the table for the group to share. Meals are a great time for getting to chat with people you wouldn’t normally interact with throughout the day.

After lunch till about 5:30 we have free time! During this time we can work on school work, socialize, walk the loop (a 1.5-ish mile loop around Capernwray’s property), skype family, or do various other things. This is also when we have to opportunity to take the mini bus into the nearest town, Carnforth, to pick up anything we need (Chocolate J ).  The time usually flies by and we are soon on to the next thing.

FINISHING UP THE DAY

Tea (or Supper) is at 5:30. The meal is usually smaller, but subsidized by a variety of leftovers that we are free to help ourselves to. After tea, I have my duty of helping dry dishes (which will actually be changing tomorrow to something new). I really enjoy doing my duty and it is a really fun way to get to know fellow students. Our final two lectures of the day start at 7:00PM and each run for 50 minutes and are separated by a ten minute break. Following lectures is supper (a snack and hot chocolate) in the dining room at 9:00PM. Then we have till lock-up at 10:45PM to do whatever we want! I usually head up to my room at 10:00PM, take a shower, unwind, read some Harry Potter and the lights are usually out around 11:00-11:30PM. The beds here aren’t the comfiest, but I usually sleep well and then wake up the next day and do it all over again!

BUSY BUT BLESSED

Overall I would say my time here has been busy, but it doesn’t seem that way really. There is time in each day to get filled up and to pour out. It has been a journey so far of how to figure out how to best balance things, but it only gets easier as time progresses.

In Christ,

Jackie

Evangelism is: “one beggar showing another beggar where he found bread and encouraging his friend to eat for himself” – Leighton Ford

Settling In

Today is the second day of my third week here at Capernwray and time has both flown and crawled by. It is amazing to think that I have already been here over two weeks, and I know that time will only continue to go faster. However, at the same time, I feel as though I have been here forever. It is a confusing feeling really.

The leaves are starting to change here and the air is becoming more crisp, as I am sure it is in Minnesota as well. It makes me miss apple orchards, pumpkins, and Caribou coffee. Autumn is beautiful here though; I love the cool air mixed with bright sunshine. Before coming here people said that it was going to be rainy and dreary, but so far, overall, the weather has been quite beautiful; reminds me of Minnesota!

LECTURES
As we start the third week I am excited for the new lecture series we have started. Robert Amess is taking on the task of teaching on Hebrews in just 10 short lecture periods. The lectures are dense and at times hard to follow, but it makes me want to dig deeper into the book which is packed full of interesting content.

We are also currently in a lecture series called “Transforming Friendship” taught by Rob Whittaker. The series looks at various stories in the Gospels that display how Jesus did relational ministry. We have taken an in depth look at His interactions with both Nicodemus and the Woman at the Well and what those incidences teach us about how we should reach others. It is really interesting to see how the way Jesus approached conversations was so relational and natural, and how we should follow His example and do the same; first building friendships and genuinely loving people so that we can point them toward Jesus.

ROOMMATES AND FRIENDS

So I briefly mentioned my roommates in my last blog post, and my roommate Gunnvá was disappointed that I didn’t mention her specifically, so here you go Gunnvá. My roommates are great. I really enjoy the diversity of our backgrounds, yet we are able to build relationships based on our commonality in Christ. We are all from different places (well three of us are from
the US, but different regions). Gunnvá is from the Faroe Islands, Ha Eun is from South Korea, Rebekah is from Texas, and Lydia is from Pennsylvania.  At times there is difficulty in living with four other girls, as would be expected, but I would definitely say the good far outweighs any inconvenience. I am thoroughly enjoying it!

TRIP #2

This past Saturday I got the opportunity to go to the historic town of Chester, England. Chester is unique in the fact that it was once under Roman rule so there are various historical artifacts scattered throughout the city. There is a Roman wall that we walked along and the ruins of a colosseum. The city is also a bustling shopping center. There are streets lined with shops and restaurants and on a Saturday the place is overrun with people. It was a beautiful area but the experience was a little overwhelming because of all the people. 

While there we first visited a cathedral, then walked the wall to the city center, and then ventured off to some clothing stores, a coffee shop, and I purchased some stationary at a paper store. Overall the journey was enjoyable and I was able to spend some quality time with a few of my fellow students.

LOOKING FORWARD

Over the next couple weeks school work will begin to pick up. So far we have only had one test, but over the next few weeks we have a few assignments due. One top of that we have started planning for Travel Weekend, a long weekend that Capernwray sets apart for the students to have some time to travel. Many people, including myself, are heading to Edinburgh, Scotland. I am excited for the trip and am sure I will have plenty to tell you about it after the fact.

PRAYER REQUESTS

• Planning for Travel Weekend, planning for travel always takes time and effort
• School work, that I would be able to integrate more time for school work into an already ridged schedule
• Continued prayer that I would be able to find time and/or a heart to study God’s word for spiritual growth rather than just for scholarly reasons

In Christ,

Jackie

“God is almost always more profoundly at work when we are trying not to be religious” – Rob Whittaker

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

 I have successfully completed my first week at Capernwray Hall Bible School. I arrived Monday afternoon at 4:00PM, two and a half days past the day the school started. I was late because I had the wonderful privilege of being a part of my cousin’s wedding, which was worth the few days of playing catch up here at school.

TRAVELS

My travels to the school were quite an adventure in and of themselves. My plane left Minneapolis at 10:55AM, taking off for Toronto, Canada where I touched back down at about 2:00PM. After a couple hours in Toronto I left for Halifax, Canada, and then finally at 12:00AM I boarded my final flight to London Heathrow Airport. All in all lots of time sitting in uncomfortable airport waiting areas and cramped plane seats.

After arriving at Heathrow my journey was far from over. After getting through customs, I boarded an express train the Paddington Train Station in the heart of London. Then I grabbed a taxi and drove about 15 minutes to Euston station where I ran to catch a train that was leaving in ten minutes to Lancaster, UK. The train trip took about 2 hours, and finally in Lancaster I boarded a train for a 15 minute ride to Carnforth. There I was met by a Capernwray staff member who kindly drove me the final 5 miles to the school. I was pretty relieved, and tired, when I finally reached the front doors of the Capernwray estate which would be my home for the next 6 months. But my day was far from over.

THE PLACE AND PEOPLE

Upon arrival I met a couple of my roommates who were very sweet and welcoming. I live with 4 other girls in a room in what is called the Main House, which is the main estate building. It is a decent sized room and feels very homey. I quickly dropped off my stuff and was then swept around the building, filling out forms, getting a tour, checking in my electronics, meeting people whose names I would soon forget, and going to two lectures. It was quite a whirlwind and considering I probably only got a grand total of about three hours of sleep during my travels I was basically running on adrenaline at that point.

The people at Capernwray are great! There are about 150 students from a variety of countries including The US, Canada, England, Germany, South Korea, and others.  All are very kind and they were very inviting. The estate is in Northwestern England about 25 miles from the western coast. The school takes place in three main buildings. The main hall, which is a castle like building, hosts the social and study lounges, laundry room, main office, many bedrooms, the bookstore, and much more. All the lectures and seminars take place in the Conference Hall which is a really nice facility, and we eat our delicious meals and snacks in the Dining Hall. There is also a sports facility and swimming pool, but I have yet to set foot into either of those buildings.

DAILY LIFE
They keep you very busy here at Capernwray. If you like to just sit around and hang out all day then this is not the place for you. The weekdays start out at 7:30 with a light breakfast, then lectures start at 9:00 following a short worship and prayer time at 8:55. There are four 45 minute lecture periods in the morning which are broken up by a coffee break. Then comes lunch, a two and a half hour free time,  tea (which is like our supper), two lectures, supper (aka a snack), and then a little free time before lock up and quiet hours. I like the structure of it all, but it is also definitely a time management challenge that I am slowly mastering. After a week of being here I feel as though I am finally starting to figure things out.

The lectures are great. So far we have had lectures on Prayer, an Introduction to the Bible, and Transforming Friendship all of which I have really enjoyed and I am looking forward to what the rest of the year holds.

THE LAKE DISTRICT

This past Saturday the school provided an opportunity to take a trip to the Lake District which is a scenic area about an hour south of Capernwray. It is a beautiful, touristy area with a lot of hiking trails and cute towns. It was fun to get out and about a little and just be out in God’s creation.

PRAYER REQUESTS

• Building relationships – all the people here are great, but getting to know people takes a lot of time and energy. Just prayers that I would be able to build God honoring friendships
• Scheduling – prayers as I transition to the schedule of this place and find time to do school work, socialize, and have personal time with God as well.
• Spiritual growth – my life here at Capernwray is filled with studying God and His Word, but even amidst all that it can still be difficult to build up my own personal relationship with God. I would appreciate prayers for finding the time and space to really invest in my personal relationship with God.

Thanks for your support and prayers!

In Christ,

Jackie