Hello everyone! Now that I've managed to get the holiday pics up I wanted give an update on my 2015 so far. Well, before the new year began I went and visited two fellow YAGMs at their placements. Pics below, and then brought in the new year with beautiful sights, some mud, and many more new experiences. Already I feel like the new year has given me a fresh outlook on my time in England. Now that I have reached the curve in my year where I'm not just adjusting to life here, I finally feel that I am really embracing and absorbing what this year is teaching me. I feel so blessed to be on this journey and every day I feel that my relationship with God is growing stronger and stronger. (A quick note that some pictures were provided by Time for God and other volunteers and not just me).

Before new year during the holiday break I went and visited fellow YAGM volunteer Elise. We dog-sat a beautiful golden retriever and spent some much needed downtime catching up on movies.

Waiting for the train

A few days before new year I hopped over to see YAGM volunteer Ashlyn. 

Where Ashlyn lives in the beautiful country

We spent new years with Ashlyn's supervisor and his wife where we watched A Christmas Story and rang in the new year with Big Ben in London. It was a really bizarre and wonderful experience watching Big Ben chime in the new year with fireworks around the London Eye instead of the ball dropping in New York City. Also five hours ahead of everyone else at home. Definitely a new years I will always remember. 

Happy 2015!

Hiking up to Bunker hill the next day with Ashlyn

It was a little muddy. Luckily we ran into some members of Ashlyn's church who helped us down the hill.

Later in the month my host family took me to Kingston

where I knocked over a bunch of red telephone booths ;)

Another Saturday was spent with other TFG volunteers walking in the park where we met some curious new friends.

Who were very curious indeed.

Fellow TFG volunteers Nora, Aliescha, and Hanna and I at the Natural History Museum 

This month all the Time for God volunteers got together for our midyear conference in Wales

YAY TfG

All 88 volunteers together at last!

Our week included hiking up a snowy hill complete with fog

also snow angels

These are the moments I treasure. A game of spoons played with friends from at least eight different countries. What could be better than that!

there was more fun and fellowship

also worship

and workshops

At the end of the week we held a talent show where different countries and groups gave some wonderful performances

German group leading us in the German program theme song

also there was dancing..

our YAGM group performed church appropriate dance moves inspired by a YouTube video found by our fellow YAGM Justin. Here is the link if you want to check out the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6VjTwaWJEU 

#resurrection 

YAGM UK love #favorite dance move

This year Time for God also celebrated its 50th anniversary! 

Congrats TfG

Christmas adventures continued...

I was fortunate enough to spend a weekend with my fellow YAGMs celebrating Thanksmas (Thanksgiving/Christmas).

And what else do you have to eat on Thanksmas than hamburgers, coleslaw, and pumpkin cookies!

Good eats

Yay food and fellowship! Merry Christmas!

The whole team together including Ashlyn who couldn't be there physically but was able to skype in.

Christmas party with co-workers Torben, Beth, and Daisey

Silly pose 

Playing Mary twice in one Christmas season is hard work. Sometimes Mary needs a coffee break too.

I got to pet a real reindeer!

Baby reindeer!!!

Had Chestnuts roasting on an open fire for the first time. Quite nice. Oddly enough tastes like a mix between a potato and popcorn.

Ice skating with my host family

Christmas Eve dinner...tacos!!

Christmas Eve at church

Christmas Day dinner

After presents my host sister prepared a Christmas quiz. It was neck in neck until the last round where host mom Claire took the lead and won.

Watching the Queens annual Christmas speech.

Hi everyone! Happy New Year! Here is are some pictures of my adventures in the month of December.

Going to get the Christmas tree with my host family

deciding on the tree

putting the star on my host families tree this year

Playing Mary in Christmas Through the Keyhole 

Nativity selfie

Joseph and the wiseman on their coffee break

One of our churches held a walk through nativity for school children called Christmas Through the Keyhole. The children came to the church and decorated biscuits, did a craft and then followed a star on a journey through the Nativity story. They started out in this room, on a modern day Christmas Eve in a living room with presents and the family snoring loudly upstairs. They were asked what Christmas was really about?

The keyhole biscuits for children to decorated

Next the children followed a star

Their first stop was Mary's house but she wasn't there. An angels voice appeared and told the children the great news that Mary was to have a son who would become the savior of the world and she had gone to Bethlehem with soon to be husband Joseph. 

Next the children found the shepherds fields and even though you could hear the sheep in the fields, the shepherds weren't there either. It was really strange because the Shepherd handbook says the #1 rule of being a shepherd is not to leave your sheep! Where could the shepherds have gone?

Then the children found the wise men's observatory where the wise men had spotted a star prophesied in their ancient scrolls that would mean a king was born. The children just missed them as the wise men were on their way to see where the star would lead them.

The children also came across Josephs carpentry shop where they found a note saying why Joseph had to take Mary and the baby to Bethlehem. 

After a really long journey where the children had to stop for food, rest because the donkey was tired, and other problems of a long journey, they came to Bethlehem to the Inn where they thought their journey had ended. Unfortunately, as the grumpy innkeeper told them, there was no room in the Inn and if the children wanted to stay they would have to sleep outside in the stable with the other couple who arrived a few days ago.

Finally the children found Mary and Joseph, the Shepherds, and the Wise Men and they had all found the baby Jesus who had been born and was lying in the manger.

My first mulled wine and mince pie.

Seeing the Christmas lights in London with friends David and Marianne.

                                                       Keeping warm with some hot coco

Christmas carnival in Leicester Square (pronounced Lester)

Mince pies everywhere!

Found a Five Guys in central London!!

Covent Garden

Big tree from far away...

...from close up. (me hugging the tree)

Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square donated each year by Norway

haha I've only seen signs like this in movies