York - Week 8 (moor sheep than we can count)

Highlights of this week in York included renting a car to explore some of the Yorkshire coast and North York Moors National Park.  Driving on the 'wrong' side of the road was incredibly disorienting at first, but Jay adapted quickly. After a few "Mama, why did you say 'Jay! Jay! Jay!'?" questions from Emma in the back seat, we settled in and enjoyed the freedom of car travel after our weeks of trains and buses.  One of the places we visited was Whitby Abbey, along the coast of the North Sea, where Caedmon, the famous early English hymn writer once lived.  One of Emma's favorite picture books is about Caedmon, so it was very special to get to show her where he'd lived.   The national park was glorious and full of sheep, much to our delight.  We were able to do a bit of hiking and explore several small rural villages as well as stopping frequently to take pictures of the steep moors and golden dales in between, and to pray our thanks to God for the beauty of creation.

On Sunday we attended two 'Family Services,' one in the morning at St Michael le Belfry and one in the afternoon with an alternative worship community called Visions.  Both services intentionally engaged the children in different ways, with varying success.  At St Mike's they had small ribbon/flags for the kids to wave and dance with during the songs, small activity bags (with a few age-appropriate toys and books in them) that they passed out to families on the way in, and a sermon with hand gestures preached from a stage with a large inflatable boat.  At Visions in the afternoon, they had art supplies out for the kids to use throughout the service and instruments for them to play, and plenty of room for them to wander.  There were a couple of stories followed by prayer activities for children and adults, and afterwards one of the leaders recommended some resources for us on multi-sensory prayer that we'll look into when we get back home.  It was a relief in both places not to have to try and keep the kids quiet, contained, and engaged!  We continue, as we visit various places, to be grateful for the wonderful hospitality and care Boston Square gives to our children.

We leave tomorrow for our trek to Northern Ireland, where we'll be visiting with a friend from seminary who pastors the Presbyterian church in Bushmills.  We're eager to see him and to learn more about the church in Northern Ireland.

Elizabeth

Misadventures of the week:  (1) Much of our time driving through the moors, most of it along winding road barely wider than our car, was in pursuit of "some of the best preserved stretch of ancient Roman Road in all of northern Europe".  We stumbled upon several quaint villages and an abundance of amazing views, but no Roman Road.  Signage seems to be a bit less thorough than that to which we are accustomed.  At one point, after having just forded a river with our car, we came across a side path with a sign saying, "Caution: Unexploded incendiary devices in this area.  No camping" (2) Along the way, Emma spotted a ginger-colored cow out the window and excitedly proclaimed, "I see a kangaroo!"  (3) It was biker week in the moors.  We've never seen so much leather in a tea room.