It's been a good week in London for the most part. This week we're introducing "the word of the week..." and taking some time to think more deeply about what it means to rest. We've had a few late nights, a few firsts, and some encouraging bits throughout. Read on to hear more about it all.
Introducing: The Word Of The Week
We have been thinking about a fun way to share some more about what we're learning in London. Of all the things we're learning are some unique terms for different words. So, for the season ahead we are going to open each blog post with a new word and a few things about it. For our American audience, this section might be enlightening. For our British friends, we receive your patient sigh and eye roll.
"Lurgi"
The word for this week is: "Lurgi." We've spent the last week in an on-and-off battle with our first series of colds running throughout our family. One delightful morning, three days ago, all four of us woke-up with chesty coughs and feeling miserable. This, we came to find out, is a"Lurgi" or "the lurgy" and even known as "the dreaded lurgi."
Lurgi sometimes spelt "lurgy" and rhymes with Fergie. This delightful word is informal with comedic origins that can now refer to an annoying (but not serious) illness that hangs around and makes you feel miserable. It's difficult to discern much with the history of the word but it was clearly created by manipulating the word "allergy." Enough on the lurgi for now...seriously, enough already.
Week Before Term Break
God has been very good to us throughout this past week. This week contained a lot of good things for our family. On Monday night we went on a long-overdue and much needed date-night to the John Mayer concert. As part of our ten year anniversary present to each other (which we celebrated a few months ago), we wanted to go hear one of our favourite musicians in person. The week also had a few late nights for Thomas visiting with friends and supporters from the States. It was Arts Week at the Primary School and we were excited to see some of what Perry has been creating.
This week marked the opening of our Community Group to the community as well as opening a second group on Thursday evenings. The Tuesday group meets from 5:30-7:30 and is geared towards families. The newly opened Thursday group meets from 8:00 and is intended to provide a space for working professionals. Our groups will not meet next week during Half Term break.
Pushing through a little bit of "the lurg" (our contribution to the English language), we had a good week. God is good.
Finding A Break
God has been faithful in bringing us to this point. We're four solid months in to life in London. We're constantly asked "how's it going" by people who care for us and genuinely want to know. The answer is consistently: we have some highs and we have some lows and we don't have much in between. We're still figuring out what "normal" looks like in London and look forward to having a string of days that feel ordinary and even mundane. It's like the days are hyper-charged - and it's tiring.
We took a few days to genuinely rest over this last weekend. We have struggled to budget time to rest. From the visits, to the work, to trying to do too much - we've done too much. We're trying to find better rhythms: daily, weekly, and seasonally. We're taking time to explore the heart/motive behind our work and rest. We want our work to be rooted in the faithfulness of God and are trying to really work it out. We hope to share more of this part of our journey with you in the future.
What Else
A few days of rest headed into Half Term is exactly what we needed. Thomas will be involved in a conference for most of the week ahead before the Wests join us on Friday for a visit. We're headed to the Zoo tomorrow and plan to soak up everything an October Monday has to offer.
Would you pray for our family? We face unique stresses and challenges in leading the church startup and we need your prayers and support. While London is an incredible place for so many reasons it's also a stressful environment to be in as well. We are intent on finding sustainable rhythms to do this work for a long time. You support us and join us through your prayers.
Thank you for being on this journey with us.