Because it took less of our sky miles to fly into London, we spent our first and last night of our trip with Witt's dear friend from college who is a native Thai now living, working, and following hard after God in the 'City of London.' His name is Yod and he showed us around the city, shared a glimpse into his life and how hard it is to be a Christ-follower in a city that is steeped in traditionalism and catholicism.
London, UK
Buckingham Palace
St. James Park right next to Buckingham Palace
My fav pic if I could just crop the street out!!
The infamous red telephone booth!!
Witt and My Dad in front of Big Ben
A glimpse of Big Ben from The Eye
Witt and Yod in front of Tower Bridge
Riding the 'Tube' aka Subway
The popular kids tune: 'London Bridge is Falling Down' in the UK is actually 'Tower Bridge is Falling Down'... thought that was funny to learn)
ARRIVING IN ITALY:
Next, we hopped over to Italy which has been a dream of mine and Witt's since before we were even married!! We thought we better mark it off our bucket list before babies or it might never happen!! Leading up to our trip, I dived into the book of Rome and really studied about Paul's missionary journeys around this area. It was so neat being able to see all the churches, cathedrals, and learn about Constantine and how Christianity flourished after he made it possible for Christians to worship freely under his ruling. Before that time, Christians were heavily persecuted, flogged, ostracised, tortured, eaten by lions, and crucified upside down. We have it so easy these days thanks much in part to Constantine, Martin Luther, and many other brave Christ followers of that time period!!
Here's a glimpse into our journey through Italy:
The canals of Venice
Santa Maria Cathedral
No trip to Venice is complete without a Gondola Ride through the ancient canals!! Thanks dad for that memorable part of our trip!!
Love how the street signs are all on the buildings and not cluttering the streets
Ahhh! Venice!!
My fav part of the trip: a bird's eye view from San Giorgio's Cathedral's Clock Tower
The Colosseum
Inside the Colosseum
Had an exhibit on Constantine which was so intriging!
The Parthenon - I didnt know that there are only two other full-size Parthenon replicas.. Greece and Nashville, TN! Very cool!
A fortified castle on the Amalfi Coast in Naples - free entry .. yes please!!
Hi-Ya!!
St. Paul's Cathedral - supposedly the Apostle Paul is buried here
Inside Vatican Museums
It is said that if you look at each piece of artwork inside the Vatican just for 1 minute each, it would take you a total of 4 years to finish!! This place is steeped in history!! Not to mention it has Micheangelo's famous Sistine Chapel which unfortunately 'no photography is allowed'. I think we sat and admired all the paintings on the walls and ceilings in that one room for at least an hour!!
I didn't know before but this statue is so popular because it marked the end of 'paganism' and the beginning of Christendom in the Roman Empire!! Praise the Lord!!
WELCOME TO BRUX
We ended the trip with the best part of all: visiting LifePoint Brussels! We loved being a part of the Sunday morning gathering where Amy spoke for Mother's Day with a French translator and the Ebensbergers led worship with Phoebe and Even at their side and then right after the message, they have 'small groups' with coffee and croissants in which they have 4-5 open-ended questions to just be able to dive even more into what was taught and apply it to our own lives. I love this idea!!
Other highlights from our Brussels trip were:
- Stayed at the OM Missions House and enjoyed hearing how all the missionaries and staff with OM are making an impact in Brussels
- Had lunch with the Christensens who have truly immersed themselves in the French culture and are passionately serving with refugee groups and women in the red light district.
- Loved spending time with the college interns and the group of friends they are investing in! They showed us the main highlights around Brux!! It was so fun to hang out with them and hear how God is moving through each of their lives!!
- Was inspired by the Cafe Anglais ministry outreach that Amy and Kyle Goen's started up a couple years ago and am excited to take some of these ministry ideas back to Bangkok!!
- Such a blessing to have dinner with the Laws on Cynthi's very own birthday!! Their love for the people in Belgium was so inspiring!!
- Love how one of the biggest impacts being made is through the school system and the relationships the kids are making but even more so that the parents are making with other parents!! So in awe that the Goen's kids and the Ebensberger kiddos are fluent in French and even working on Dutch too!! Wow!!
- Got to walk through and pray over their new 'worship space' which could potentially hold 130 people!! What an answer to prayer which they have been lifting up for many months now!!
Sorry for the lack of pics... this was the end of our trip and we were burnt out on taking pics!! haha!!
The Gates in BRUX
Loved hanging with the interns and their friends
Kyle, Witt, Ryan, and my dad Wendell
