this and that...

Thank you for praying for me during my healing retreat last weekend. Some of you have been asking how it went. I'll be sharing it with you once I have had a little bit more time to process. In the meanwhile, here are some highlights since my last blog:

Classes/teaching

For the NETS curriculum, we recently had fewer classes than normal because of two healing retreats and a bank holiday. Last week was all Deliverance Ministry Training. The last several days of this week: Blessings and Curses, and Intercessory Prayer and Spiritual Warfare.

Several times a year, Ellel Pierrepont offers one day courses to the public called the "Understanding Series." On 4/23, my fellow NETS students and I got to sit in on Understanding Successful Relationships. The course explored some of our behaviour cycles and how we can change to enable successful relationships. Altogether, about 140 people attended and it took place in the conference hall.

worship

soul ties demonstration

the conference hall

bustin' out

This past Monday was a UK bank holiday, so we didn't have classes. So I finally had the opportunity to leave Pierrepont and explore some of England. Now I love it here at Pierrepont; it's so beautiful and serene, but I basically haven't left the site or the city of Farnham since arriving here. Thankfully, Ashley (Australia) and Hannah (UK) let me tag along with them and we spent the whole day in Oxford. A friend of mine from the States is studying at Oxford University and she gave me an excellent tour. Let me tell you: it is the most beautiful campus I have every been to. I've visited Harvard, Stanford, Princeton... they pale in comparison to Oxford U.

Ashley and Hannah (yup, they are married)

front quad of Exeter College (one 39 colleges at Oxford U.)

Exeter College Chapel

Inside the Chapel

The super highlight of visiting Oxford was visiting some of the areas where a couple of my favorite authors hung out. I walked through Magdalen, the college C.S. Lewis attended while at Oxford U. Finally, I went to the Eagle and Child pub, the meeting place of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R Tolkien, and their friends.

Magdalen College housing (where C.S. Lewis dormed?)

me in front of the Eagle and Child pub

other tidbits

My Chinese stinks. I initially thought it would get even worse since I really wouldn't be using it at all during the next several months. Thankfully, God has provided a handful of people here who are more than willing to help me out with my Chinese. I think I am actually using more Mandarin here than back at home. Wouldn't it be funny if I left the UK speaking better Chinese? Here is a pic of some of my fellow Chinese speaking NETS students (from Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, and Malaysia):

Next blog: healing retreat aftermath. Be there or be square...