Bgonor to Arizona

Time is a funny thing.

When you're "bored" or doing something you're not interested in, time seems to move so slow. But the flip side is, when you're doing something you really enjoy, time can feel like a cruel beat that marches on and waits for no one.

Such is life, I guess.

As I sit here amidst the lovely surrounding hills and distant painted mountains, I can hardly believe that I spent 15 months in England. My last week there was very surreal. I knew that the clock was ticking, and days soon passed into hours, and the hours to minutes.

That last sunday was especially heavy for me. After the service, I was called up front for a "sending off" prayer. As people started to pray, I felt a weight lift from my shoulders, and I was really struck by the sense of "this is it, it's done. No more straining, or struggle to make it through the year in England". Some of the year has been captured here in the blog, but for the most part, I know that there are no words to convey the joy, pain, struggle and excitement that I experienced in my year abroad.

That last Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday all had seperate leaving parties for me. My last tuesday was spent mostly in Cambridge with really good friends, and the rest of the week seemed to fly as i made the rounds to say farewell to so many people. At the farewell party on Wed. I was really surprised by the turnout of so many people who I now not only know by name, but people who I have spent time talking with, laughing with, crying with, and praying with over the last year.

My last night in Bognor was a really good lasting memory. Some of the University students planned to attend the annual winter Snow Ball, and I was invited to go along. With the live music, and general hang-out atmosphere, I soaked up every last minute of life in England with some of the people who made the year laughable and even more than that- actually liveable when I was at my lowest.

It's very weird now to be out of England and back home in the states. I see more of the cultural differences now than I did last year, and I am thrilled to be looking ahead to the next step. But there is also a part of me that misses Bognor. I count myself very privileged to have the expereince of living in another culture, and expanding my worldview. Of course in that experience, it was the people that made it so special.

Now it's another interesting chapter. Where does the road lead next? Who will I meet? What IS God doing with me, anyway? All very current questions for a lot of people, I think. Only time will tell...

Till next time,
~Paul