Current Events :)

Making sand castles with my treasure hunt group.
That's our pastor in the centre.

Have I mentioned how much I love our church plant Brunnen?

Last weekend we had a lovely church retreat on one of the islands of the southern Archipelago of Gothenburg. I ADORE the islands-- everything moves at a slower pace. Most of them are only reachable by ferry and the residents have no cars there. They are small and quaint and the perfect place for a church retreat! 

That Sunday we had our church service in the community centre for the first time-- we've out-grown the living rooms we've been meeting in! This church is such a blessing to me, these people all joining together with intention-- a desire to please God and hold one another accountable to love people well by sharing Jesus.

Praise God for the way He still uses His Church!

Lily and her daddy!

 And in current events-- I've just arrived in England for a special few weeks!

My darling friends from college, Lizzie and Neil, are having a baby! Any day now, in fact :) And they've asked me to come and stay with them around the blessed event to lend a hand with my scrumptious 2 year old goddaughter Lily, so she'll be taken care of when they're off busy giving birth :) And just during the final days of pregnancy when Mummy's pretty exhausted, and the first days of Baby Smith's life, when there are many adjustments to be made!

I am so excited to be here with my "family away from families" :) They live, you might remember, in one of my favourite parts of England, The Cotswolds, and I am so at home in the little honey-coloured villages steeped in history and green, green rolling hills...

I feel so utterly blessed!

Now it's just a matter of waiting for Baby Smith to decide she's ready to come out into the world :) And after my lovely time spent with Lilykins and her family, I'm off for a much-needed week with my man. England always holds so many blessings for me...

The yummy mummy herself and me and her due date.
Lizzie is seriously like a sister to me. So thankful for her!

They live next door to the ancient village church-- so Lily and I like to skip through the churchyard in the sunshine!

My precious little goddaughter, Lily Joy, is such a delight to me :)

 

 

That's my friends' house just beyond the churchyard. Can you see why I love to come visit?