HAPPY 88TH, GRANNY LIZ!

What a blessing it has been to have Granny Liz with us these past 3 week and especially today as it is her 88th birthday. For those who have asked, she has done amazingly well while she has been here. There have been days when she has been visited by pain in her legs and back, which is a regular occurrence; however, considering all that she has done since her arrival on May 7th, she has done very well. So, as a birthday tribute to her today, we wanted to share some pictures of her recent trip to London.

We (Brenda and Liz) boarded the train in Oxford for the short 58 minutes ride to London’s Paddington station. Our quaint little hotel was only a 3 minute walk from the train station and was reminiscent of the beautiful row house of Professor Henry Higgins in “My Fair Lady.”

Once we were checked in to our hotel, we headed around the corner to hop on one of those double-decker sight-seeing buses and spent the next 3 hours taking in the sights and sound of London from our birds-eye view on the top deck. We were delighted to find that our front row seats were directly across the aisle from a mother and daughter from Austin, Texas. We’ve found that Texans are just about everywhere!

Taking the bus tour on this first day give her a chance to decide which places she wanted to venture back to and spend time at the next day. We ended our day at St. Paul’s Cathedral where we attended their evening worship and prayers – Evensong. Evensong has taken place every evening since the cathedral opened in 1697. This beautiful place was the site of the wedding of Princess Diana and Prince Charles in 1981. The beautiful pipe organ and the voices of 20 little boys were truly heavenly.


Rising early the next day, our first stop was the London Eye.
We enjoyed clear skies for our 30 minute “flight” around this giant Ferris wheel on the bank of the River Thames. From our “pod” we had incredible views of the House of Parliament and Big Ben as well as Buckingham Palace in the distance across St. James Park.

Then we were off to the Tower of London which is the most historic site in London. Begun by William the Conqueror in 1066 A.D., it was home to the British monarchy until the mid-1500s and there is a house within the walls which can be stayed in at any time by the Royal Family. To see the entirety of the Tower would take no less than 3 hours and a lot of walking. Therefore, Granny was quite satisfied to just hear the stories of the beheading of Anne Boleyn and others rather than stand in the place when it took place.

It was at a dock close to the Tower that we hopped on a boat to cruise back up the River Thames toward Big Ben and Westminster Abbey.

From there we were back on the sight-seeing bus and on our way to Buckingham Palace for the final stop of our day.

It has been an incredible blessing to spend these past few weeks enjoying this beautiful country with such a lovely lady. We’ve visited the villages, admired the flowers, been awestruck by the enormity of the castles and the history they represent, and been humbled at the realization that somewhere in the ruins and records of this ancient country lies our ancestry. Yes, Thomas Gooch, Granny’s great-great-great . . . grandfather, left England in the early 1700s to start a new life in America. Maybe we’ll check into that someday. However, for today, her 88th birthday, we’ve enjoyed a Cream Tea and been thankful once again for the goodness of our God to give us this amazing experience.

Fritilleries, Picnics, Granny & AWANA

Thinking back over the last month we have such sweet memories of the many activities that we have been involved in both in the village, in the church, and in the neighboring villages. It seems that the Lord has had bigger plans for us than just ministering at Ducklington Baptist. We’ve found that we can now easily attend meetings and events in the village and end up being treated as real members of the community. It has become a regular thing to see a smile of recognition and enter into what sometimes turns out to be lengthy conversations with other village folks.

We participated in our first ever “Fritillery Sunday.” Fritilleries are small flowers that grow wild in only a couple of places in England and we enjoyed discovering that one of those places is just up Church Street and across the River Windrush from our house. So, on April 18 we ventured (with about 400 other people)
across the bridge and out into a field where we saw our first Fritilleries. Events of the day involved a Cream Tea (which is when you get to eat something wonderful like homemade cakes, pastries, or scones with clotted cream and jam while you enjoy your cup of tea) at the Village Hall followed by a time of Songs of Praise at St. Bartholomew’s Parish Church. We were thrilled to encounter some of the Mums & Dads that we have come to know from the toddler groups and have an opportunity to enjoy visiting with them in that casual and fun surrounding.

The following weekend was our regularly scheduled Dads & Tots morning which was attended by 7 Dads. It was also a time of celebrating the church’s anniversary, but no one could tell us exactly how many years. We enjoyed a pot luck lunch in the back room and, as typical Baptist, we had more food than we could eat. Later in that week we rode the train to London for a brief little 3 day whirlwind trip (see pictures on Facebook). We returned to a Sunday where Dennis preached in two different churches – our regular Sunday service here in Ducklington and then at Burford Baptist Church 8 miles west of here. 100% of the church membership was present – 2 ladies. They have been holding their little church together for several years and we were very touched by their faithfulness and hope that the Lord would once again ignite a fire in the hearts of the people of Burford. Their little church building is 300 years old (complete with tombstones in the churchyard) and it grieves their hearts to think of it being sold and turned into a residence or business.

May 3rd was the most anticipated day we have had since we’ve been here. It was a Monday bank holiday for all of the UK and so we chose that day to host the 1st ever Mums & Dads & Tots picnic. Over 50 people had signed up to come. On that day we woke up to cloudy, drizzly skies but by 4 p.m., when the picnic was scheduled to begin, there was bright sunshine. In spite of the cool temperatures we grilled burgers and sausages Texas style and enjoyed playing a couple of games with the little ones. It was a great success! There were 10 of us from the church who came to help out, so all together there were about 60 people.






This past weekend we drove to London to pick up Granny Liz who will be with us until May 27. She was quick to join in last Monday at Mums & Tots and is enjoying all the new sights. She is not, however, fond of our cool temperatures. Thus far, we’ve taken in the sights of Oxford, several Cotswold villages, and Warwick Castle. She and Brenda will head to London this week for a couple of days and then the next week we will see Blenheim Palace (Home of Winston Churchill) and Sudeley Castle. She will definitely need a few days of rest when she gets back to Abilene on May 27th but we are having a great time and enjoying her being with us.

One of the most thrilling experiences we’ve had since coming to the UK was an invitation to participate in an AWANA “Tester” which is basically an introduction to AWANA clubs.

Opening Ceremony

There has never been an AWANA club in a UK church even though AWANA has been on UK soil for some time. AWANA clubs have operated quite successfully on the US Air Force bases or on bases where Americans were in residence. Fairford AFB/RAF has hosted an AWANA club at their base chapel for the past 2-3 years. The pastor at Arlington Baptist Church in Bibury has taken his children to Fairford’s AWANA club ever since their daughters made the acquaintance of an American youngster from Fairford at their local primary school in Bibury.

Counsel Time

That child’s parents have been leaders in the Fairford AWANA program, but in July all the Americans will be going back to the States. Arlington Baptist Church has made the decision to move that program to their church. This past Thursday evening we had the wonderful opportunity to take part of that first club meeting. There were 8 children and we all had a blast!

Game Time in the Garden of the Manse (parsonage)

They are hoping to begin the actual club meetings in the fall. May God bless this great effort and through AWANA reach many boys and girls, as well as their parents, for Christ.



Arlington Baptist's First AWANA clubbers










This past month our Monday night Bible study time has been focused on a DVD series which was produced by the Baptist Union of Great Britain. It is based on information compiled through a survey that was done a couple of years ago on the condition and potential of the small churches in England. It contains wonderful information and encouragement for these little churches as well as offers many practical ideas and possibilities for new ministry. It has challenged us and caused us to talk about many things that would probably never have been discussed as ways of offering ministry and services here in the village. It has stretched us to think of different ways to do ministry that might be more effective within the setting of our church. We would certainly appreciate your prayers as we begin to brainstorm new ideas.

It’s hard for us to believe that we will be heading home two months from today. Brian and Paula Brewer will take our place and serve until January 2011. Hopefully, the work that has begun will flourish under Brian and Paula’s watch and the people of Ducklington will continue to hear the name of Christ spoken unashamedly in their streets, on their sidewalks and in their homes when possible. We have become so attached to these quiet, little curvy streets and these beautiful old stone homes that are now covered in brilliant clematis and fragrant wisteria. But, we’ve also come to love our neighbors, our sweet Mums, Dads & Tots, and most of all, our church family here. We have prayed week after week for the Lord to show us His plan and we wait patiently as He continues to work in ways that we have yet to see. May His Name be lifted high over these gorgeous green hills and may many come to know Him through the ministry of Ducklington Baptist Church.