\what's going on?

When we were at orientation there was a day when the post office made it very inconvenient to get our mail. They said that it was to help train us in patience even in routine actions. To be honest, I was a little put off by it all. We were going to the UK, the western world. We don't have to worry about stuff like that. Well, here it is, in writing - I was wrong. And oh how wrong I was.

I told you before about our lack of hot water and heat. We had to wait four days for that to be fixed. But in all fairness, it was my fault that it didn't work in the first place. Hey, who in the states knows how a boiler system works. In any case, it is working now and I understand the system, mostly.

We have been trying to set up our bank account here since the day that we arrived. First, we were told that we needed a utility bill (and only a utility bill) with our names and address on them. Then, we were told that if we had an HSBC account in the states that it would simplify the system. So, since I was told by the utility company that I wouldn't get anything in the mail from them for at least 2 weeks, we set up an HSBC account in the states (that was easier than anything we've tried to do here even though we are across the ocean). Once everything was complete in the states, we went down to the bank again to open our account. But you don't just go down to the bank to open an account. We stood in line for 10 mins. or so to set an appointment for 3 hours later. We returned for our appointment and waited another 15 mins. to meet with a customer service rep. Then, the customer service rep. told us that it didn't matter if we had an HSBC account in the states, we still needed a utility bill as proof of address. Fortuneately, we had received a letter from the utility company in the mail during this process and I had it with me. I showed her the letter and she promptly informed me that it would not suffice. "It MUST be a bill," she said. "Is there any other way that we could give proof of address?" I asked in desperation. She reached in her desk drawer and pulled out a brochure with a list of about THIRTY ways to prove your address. Why weren't we given this before? After browsing through the brochure I noticed that a leasing agreement would suffice. But when I asked about it she said that an employee of the branch would have to personally know of the leasing company for it to be valid. She asked around and one other employee knew of the company, but I didn't have our leasing agreement with us. Two bus rides and an hour later we returned with our leasing agreement only to be informed that this would not suffice after all. But when I picked up our lease I also picked up a tax bill that had come in the mail and the bank decided that this could serve as proof of address. PHEWPH!

So, we now have a UK bank account and a much different perspective on life here in the UK. We are now waiting for our debit cards to come in the mail so that we can connect our phone and internet and purchase cell phones. But, once again, that can't happen until we get our debit cards. Even though we are in an English speaking, western culture, we are constantly reminded that we must leave all expectations at the door. Even in the midst of all of our frustrations, we know that we have a HOPE that can never be overtaken - a hope in Jesus that brings life.

...talk to you again soon...Chris.

Video...

So, I have finally posted some video for you guys. It's not complete but there's a bit up now. Check it out on our photos site at:

http://www.chrisandangie.smugmug.com/gallery/3711792#213276001

Angie's First Blog

Well, Chris finally showed me how to post a blog so I thought I would. I'm pretty tired though so it might be a short one. We have been here a week and a half now and it still seems a little surreal for me that we're actually here. We have been out and about every day making our way around and figuring out what it means to live in London. We are slowly getting our flat set up and it is beginning to feel more like a home. I am still not used to all the walking, but hopefully I will adjust to quickly. I am still a bit confused by the bus system and knowing which one to take and such. Being directionally challenged I have mostly been following Chris wherever we go. Please pray that I will begin to figure this out on my own so that I can go places by myself when I need to.


Here is a picture of us at Big Ben. We went to "the city" last Friday and made a quick stop for a photo op. Well, I guess that's all for now. I will write again when I have something much more interesting to say. Until then...

We Have Arrived...

So, we're here. Sorry we haven't posted 'til now. We have been busy adjusting and setting up all that goes with moving to a new country (although not much really seems to have happened). We do live in a country that is naturally resistant to change. Things move pretty slowly here even though it is so modern. I'll explain shortly.

We arrived safely at the airport and on time. We didn't sleep much on the plane but were surprisingly awake when we arrived. We made our way to passport control and were instructed to go down the hall to see the doctor. This caught us off guard. What in the world did we need to see the doctor for? No one had told us about this. We handed our little white paper to the receptionist. "You're Americans?" she said in her British accent. "Yes, we are." "OK then, no need for x-rays," she said as she stamped our papers and directed us back to passport control. Yes, it was uneventful, but it got our hearts going for a bit. From there we had no problems. Our bags (all 8 of them) were passing by on the luggage carousal when we got to it. We quickly gathered them together and made our way through customs with only a short question about what we had in so many trunks. But a simple explanation that we were moving into the country sufficed, and we proceeded to wait almost an hour outside of the airport for our ride - he hadn't expected us to get through the airport so quickly and ran into traffic due to a car accident on the way.

But after our usually uneventful travel we arrived at our flat. Sorry there aren't any pictures here. Our only internet connection right now is at our supervisors house (about a 10 min. walk) and our camera and pics are at our flat. I will post them soon, though! We have video to share with you as well.

Our flat is really great. It's about twice as much space as we had in California. The heat was overwhelming the first day (i couldn't find my tools to turn down the radiator in the hall and guest bedroom). But after I figured out how the heating system worked the temp was excellent. Well, until the boiler went out on Thursday night. Since then we have had no heat or hot water, and it keeps getting colder outside. So, it's quite frigid in our flat right now. I think that's why we've spent so much time at our supervisors' home the last few days. We also can't take showers or wash clothes since we don't have hot water. So we've taken showers at our supervisors' home. Angie boiled water on the stove last night to wash dishes. I was proud of her for thinking so strategically:)

We still haven't finished unpacking, but we have spent some time trying to get a bank account setup, figuring out phone, electricity, gas, internet, etc. Everything is SO different here. It has been a learning experience to say the least. I'll have to write another time about all of that. It's almost 5p here and we haven't been home today, so I think we're going to head out and try to get things more in order at our flat. We will post soon with pics and more news on our adjustment to life in the UK.

Please be praying for healthy adjustment, that we are able to get our bank account setup THIS WEEK (we really need that to do much of anything), that our heat gets fixed, that we will continue to connect with a girl called Dorota that works in our leasing agent's office (we met her on friday and she is going to spend some time helping us find our way around Ealing some time soon). Thanks for your prayer and support. We hope to see you on here again soon!

Today is Today.

It's Wednesday. The last Wednesday that we will spend in the US for a while. That's even weird to say. We have some incredible friends that begin their journey today. We're praying for you guys.

It's hard to believe that we're actually moving to England. We have trunks stacked almost to the ceiling right now. And all of our worldly possessions piled in the floor waiting to be put in place. It's not easy going through everything that you have and deciding what to take. This constantly begs the question, "What is really necessary in life?" It's early (for me) and my brain isn't working quite right yet so I won't venture at my own response to that question, but we're always interested in yours.



On a lighter note...we now have pictures of the inside of our flat. Yes, the carpet IS blue. Yes, the refrigerator and freezer are each the size of my hand :) But, all in all, it's a bigger place than we lived in California. And it's a roof over our head. God provides for us in amazing ways every day. We pray that you see his provision today.