Chase’s Post

The time I’ve experienced in the United Kingdom has been amazing. My favorite part of this trip has been in Scotland and I wish we had more time to visit. However, after only two days in Scotland, I feel like I’ve seen it all. The streets were crowded with various people and cultural and modern shops. The Edinburgh Castle was a spectacular site to visit with an interesting history and a great view of the city. Sad to say it’s over, but I’m sure we’re all ready to be back home with our families.

At the Edinburgh Castle with the Firth of Forth in the background. 

Natalee’s Post

I’ve been looking forward to going to Scotland this whole trip and it’s definitely my favorite place we’ve visited. On our way, we stopped on the side of the road to see a little herd of sheep and their lambs. Richard honked the horn and called for them and they all ran towards us, but they were disappointed when they realized we didn’t have food for them. 

We spent a lot of the day sleeping in the coach while making stops alone the way. We stopped at the Roman Vindolanda Fort and Museum. There Jenna and I climbed around on the ruins and watched the people continue to excavate the Roman buildings. It was so cold that I couldn’t feel my ears so I had Jenna hug my head.  

We went to dinner at Cosmo in Edinburgh. It was an all-you-can-eat buffet. I actually started crying when I saw how much food there was. There were so many different types of food- it was overwhelming. I ate three plates and I’ve never been so full in my life.

Jenna’s Post

     We started our day off by seeing Churchill’s grave and then taking a tour of the biggest “house” we’ve seen yet, the Blenheim Palace. This mansion is known for its gardens and its size.  The palace was something from a movie. I love touring houses but the mansion was even cooler than I imagined. The decoration was nothing short of extravagant and the ceiling’s paintings and their height were amazing to see in person rather than in a movie.  The garden was filled with fountains and statues and the river behind it was absolutely gorgeous. We traveled along through the gardens and when we exited, we found a huge field of grass which seemed as though it never ended. We took some cool pictures of the palace from the grass and played around with the pheasants and ducks that were around. I think we all felt like royalty for a while at  Blenheim Palace. Once we left the palace we headed to Oxford which is a place I’ve been eager to visit. We went shopping and got some souvenirs and then Mr. Lugg took us to some historic sights around Oxford. We saw the exact place where important bishops were martyred, and we also saw the bridge where C.S. Lewis said he became a Christian. We then began our long journey to our hostel in Derbyshire which was by far the most beautiful and most historic we’ve stayed in so far.

Being silly at Blenheim. 

Colby’s Thoughts on Normandy

Day 5- “D-day We Saw God’s Hand” 

  1. Musiem/Memorial/bomb sight- as I read and watched the men’s letters before the battle of D-day, I noticed a pattern, and that was courage and encouragement. This impacted my life in a new way because it made me realize how an attitude changes the course if a war and a life. They weren’t afraid before the battle because of everything they had faced prior and saw it as just another battle that needed to be won.  They knew they couldn’t talk about the upcoming battle but had courage strong enough to carry on.  They focused on the good part of their past, from a family dinner to their farm animals. If families hadn’t sent letters encouraging their soldiers, then the attitude of the USA men would have been dark and hopeless, but the hope of success drove the people of America to do amazing things. At Pointe du Hoc I saw many craters caused from the bombing and it reminded me how destructive war really is and how many lives were lost on both sides and the dangerous atmosphere the soldiers were in and the courage to run into the gunfire yet never lose hope or nerve in the face of a seemingly invincible army. In my life, I may not be in a physical war but in I’m in a spiritual war and I need to have my eyes on the hope God has given me and my attitude will shape the end product. It takes courage to encourage and that makes all the difference in the world.

Julia’s Post

By far, my most favorite part of our experience here in the U.K. has been Wales. While short, our stay here has been filled with beautiful rolling hills, herds of sheep and their lambs, and fresh Welsh air. Being of Welsh descent myself, it was a surreal experience getting to come to this place. Having the opportunity to experience the beauty of this country has been a dream of mine for many years, and it has been such a blessing from the Lord to stand here today. This morning, I stand outside our sweet cottage of a hostel and listen to the Welsh birds sing their sonnets and breathe the most pure and fresh air I have ever breathed. The views I see this morning could be the same views my bloodline has seen before me. 

I cannot express the sweet joy I have in being able to come on this trip and it will forever be a memory that I keep in my mind and heart forever. 

Thank you Lord for your precious gifts and beauty! 

Morgan’s Post

Friday, March 31, 2017Our group stayed at the Campanile Hotel in France. I began the day with waking up from a soft, cozy, cushiony bed and packed up my things. Breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant was absolutely delicious, which consisted of crepes with Nutella, toast and strawberry jam, an orange, and orange juice. Around 7:30am we headed out to our first stop: Mont St. Michel’s. I was super excited for this stop because this abbey was what Disney used in the making of the Kingdom of Corona in Disney’s Tangled movie, and with so many people calling me Repunzel lately because of my long blonde hair, I felt like the princess side of me was going home to my castle. It took a little while to actually get up to the abbey because of all the stairs we had to climb, but nevertheless, the steps were worth it because of the stunning view and exquisite architecture. After a few hours at Mont St. Michel’s, we wove our to the Omaha American Cemetery memorial site. We saw where 9,000 allied soldiers gave their lives for their country on D-Day, one of the bloodiest battles in American history. All the crosses marking the soldiers’ graves were very impressive. We even went down to Omaha beach and I imagined what it would be like to be a soldier running from the English Channel onto the beach: huge obstacles in my way, gunfire, bombs, my comrades falling beside me… I praise the Lord that I was not one of those soldiers, but I cannot skip over the fact that if those men had not given their lives that day, the war would not have been won by the Allies and I would not have the freedom that I have today. Pont Du Hoc was another one of our stops and it still shows all the devastation and crevasses from the bombs that hit Omaha Beach. On a happier note, the students, including myself, found some happiness in running around and into the crevasses, finding hiding places and bomb shelters. Once we had spent all our energy, we left to go back to the Campanile Hotel and ate a delicious dinner in its restaurant before snuggling back up into our cozy beds. All in all, I can say that this day was by far my favorite day and I will cherish the memories I made during it forever.

Anna’s Post

Anna’s Post
Wow! Another amazing day has come and gone on the U.K./Normandy tour. My morning on March 31st started off with a walk along a quaint French lane, on one side a grey wall spruced with ivy, while a million birds sang their delight. The world was just beginning to wake up as Mrs. Frisk and I viewed the cathedral all alight in the darkness of Bayeux. After a delightful breakfast at the hotel, we all set off for Mont St. Michel, a rather majestic medieval monastery set on top of an island village. This beautiful place is bounded by the sea at high tide but but mud flats at low tide. In fact, the abbey at the top is still used as a monastery. Later on, we headed over to the American cemetery at Omaha Beach. The museum and pure white crosses, row upon row, were a sobering reminder of the lives lost in the D-day invasion of the Normandy beaches in June 1944. The huge craters at Pont du Hoc, caused by bombs in the invasion, were awe-inspiring as well as a fun place to explore. We ended off the day with a leisurely three-course French meal at the motel, accentuated by the pleasure of good company. I thank the Lord for this wonderful day and look forward to the remaining days to come.

Josiah’s Post

The memorial that was dedicated to the British and French men that fought at the Somme was overwhelming. The memorial itself is very tall and on the walls are written the names of 77,000 men whose bodies could not be found. We saw trenches near the Somme River from World War II. The original trenches as well as the trenches that were restored were interesting. After we saw the trenches we ate lunch at a small local restaurant and to my suprise, it was really good. I noticed that a lot of craters were on the battlefield. These craters were actually sites of German bombs. We stopped in Rouen and walked the streets near shops and a large cathedral. France is a very interesting place and I can’t wait to see more of it. 

Em’s Last Day Post

Hey, it’s Em! Today we are taking a flight from Edinburgh to Heathrow, London and then from there to Vancouver, BC! Our estimated time of arrival is somewhere around 6:40pm, so Lord willing we will be on time, but if God has other plans, that’s super too! 🙂 We realized I have yet to write a blog post, so I am writing this as we await our flight to Heathrow.

This journey should only be a couple of hours so more than likely I will be able to journal and write thank yous on that flight. This whole trip has been such a blessing. Although we all shared our ups and our downs, our trip ended successfully and no one was hurt too significantly (just a joke). A few scratches or bruises happened and devices may have broken, but all is well because God is in control of all things. I have come to realize that YES this was a great opportunity for me to see the world and learn more, and YES I got closer to my friends and teachers, and YES I learned more about how awesome of a Creator God is, but I can truly say that I am happy to go home, sleep in my own bed, eat anything but croissants, and see my wonderful family! This was a one of a kind experience and I am SO happy I had the ability to share this opportunity with my brother, Isaiah.

Now what you’ve all been waiting for: my favorite part. By far, my favorite day was April 2…the day we went to Westminster Abbey, the Imperial War Museum, Jane Austen’s Home,  and Winchester Cathedral. We started that day being picked up by our magnificent coach driver, Richard!! This man is a man who loves God with his whole heart, is very witty, compassionate, generous, thoughtful, and a VERY good driver. On many occasions I believed it impossible for us to fit in these tight spaces around crazy UK drivers, but on all these circumstances I was proved wrong. Shortly after being picked up and putting our luggage in the coach, we headed to Westminster Abbey and then the Imperial War Museum. I loved having the chance to learn more about WW1 and WW2 and even the Holocaust at the museum. I am not much of a history major like most of our group, but I still had a sweet time learning new things! I learned that Westminster (what we saw of it) was built by 1245 by Henry III but was originally built in 960! For a building such as this to still be standing was an amazing sight. Of all the Abbeys we visited, this was overall my favorite.

Now to the best part! As most of you know, I am a huge fan of Jane Austen’s writing! Knowing this, Richard went out of his way and drove to her house!! How amazing was that? I was truly in shock when we passed a sign showing us we were nearly there, and I was one of the few to sprint out of the coach, jump over a couple backpacks, and take out my camera. The weather was beautiful and what else could I do but have my picture taken in front of her lovely home and garden? By the way, Miss Callaghan takes WONDERFUL pictures you guys! Pretty sure she could start a business 😉 Since we hadn’t actually had “visiting Jane Austen’s home” in the itinerary, we couldn’t stay long, but then we went to Winchester Cathedral! Winchester is the burial place for many people including the earliest kings of Wessex (Alfred the Great) and Jane Austen. This cathedral  is the longest cathedral in the country, is in Southeast England, and dates mostly from 1097. Having the opportunity to see the burial place of one of the best writers in English history (Jane Austen) was really great! For years I have imagined visiting the town Austen writes about, where she lived, and where she was eventually buried and commemorated. I am so happy to say I have finally had this opportunity to see all of these things!!! Since we were stressed for time, I had to run to the gift shop. I ended up buying many things Jane Austen, and was about to buy this AMAZING mug when someone let me know that it had already been purchased for me by someone else!! That right there had me speechless. For one to do that was so thoughtful!!! If you wish to see this mug, you can! There’s actually a funny story to that… a few days later I dropped all my mugs and that one completely broke. I was SO sad, but being the amazing people that they are, Mrs. Frisk and Richard found one of the last mugs in the UK (got it from Northern Scotland) and had it delivered to this last hostel we were staying! Imagine what a surprise it was for me to see that they took their time AND money to get me another mug! At this point I was in tears and I am forever grateful for the amazing people I had the opportunity to travel with!!!

I can’t wait to come back soon! Richard told me if I come back, I should stay with his family! I am DEFINITELY going to take him up on that offer!

A Day In Edinburth

At the castle  
At Holyrood Palace