Mums & Tots; Monday Night Bible Study

Our day began with a brisk walk to the church which quickly filled up with 28 Mums and at least 100 toddlers . . . not really, but it certainly seemed that way. Seriously, there were 28 Mums (all young women in their 20s and early 30s) and about 40 little ones between the ages of 1 month and 3½ years old. Janice and Guinn busily made tea in the small kitchen adjacent to the worship center while Ruth Edy, the Anglican pastor’s wife distributed toys and greeted Mums at the door. We visited with many of the Mums and they were all quite friendly all the while keeping a close watch on their perspective little ones. Tea was served in true English fashion along with biscuits (cookies) for both Mums and Tots. We thoroughly enjoyed visiting with several of them at length and they were quick to make suggestions as to which picturesque village in The Cotswolds should be visited while we are in England. They are all very proud of the beauty of this region and were able to supply us with information that will no doubt come in handy when we finally have a day to venture out in the car again.

We were specifically struck by a young woman who spoke openly about her lack of church attendance. She commented that she knew that Americans were much more interested in God than the British. She offered the fact that she knew that the lack of faith in the UK was “not a good thing.” Dennis told her how much we personally enjoyed the service yesterday and invited her to come on Sunday. She told us that she was not working this coming Sunday and she might talk to her “partner” about attending with her.

In the afternoon we walked to Witney which is about a 15 minute walk and along the way we stopped to take a picture outside of the church. We had no sooner stopped than our neighbors, Nigel and Jill, came walking by and asked if we would like for them to take a picture of both of us. After the picture was taken we continued on with them toward Witney and totally enjoyed the opportunity to visit. They have asked us to have dinner with them in the future and we are thrilled at that invitation. (More pictures from today are posted on Dennis's Facebook page.)

Our evening has ended on a very sweet note as we met with the Bosleys, Ray, Sue and Guinn at the church for a Bible Study that they had begun before Christmas on the subject of angels. Ray led us through Acts 10 and the story of Cornelius and Peter. These folks love God’s Word deeply and handle Scripture beautifully. We ended the study by spending time in prayer for the church as well as for those we have made a connection with over the past 3 days. We all agreed that we must remain sensitive to God’s Spirit in every situation so that we know where God is at work. We have many opportunities each day to capture the attention of others because we are Americans. Being only on the edge of The Cotswolds region, Witney does not get a lot of tourism., therefore ilfe in Witney is very authentic and typical of life in the UK. Ducklington is merely a little village within walking distance of Witney, so they are somewhat puzzled to find Americans walking their streets much less living in the midst of them. Therefore, we will use that to our advantage and it is working wonderfully thus far.

Today we are including some pictures of St. Mary’s Church, the Anglican church in the heart of Witney . . . rebuilt in the 13^th century . . . complete with moss covered tombstones in the church yard. You will also see a picture that we took this evening of the precious, persevering servants of Ducklington Baptist Church. As we listened to them pray, they continue to seek the Lord’s guidance as to the purpose and mission of this little church. They pray for souls to be saved and for more boldness and opportunities to share Christ with those around them. They are encouraged by our arrival because they see the Lord’s hand in bringing them a pastor and are very thankful for your prayers. They ask that you continue to hold them before the Lord as they follow His leading through this season in the life of the church.