Plans - who needs 'em?

Since I arrived in Ashton on Tuesday, the word “plans” has been used roughly, meaning we really haven't had any…

Wednesday, my first day, was a day of errands.  Emily had to go by two banks and I needed to go by one.  This took about 30 minutes and the rest of the afternoon was just whatever we fancied.  We really had no plans except to go to church later that evening.  That night at church, they had a "Praise and Prayer" service.  We sang about 10 praise songs with a scripture reading and a short message in between.  The scripture that was read came from Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."  This was a great verse to hear on my first day!  

On Thursday Ali and I were planning to go into Liverpool.  We ended up leaving later than expected, drove instead of taking the train (as we had originally planned), and at the last minutes we decided to stop by her parents’ house.  Once we got there, we walked around the docks then sat for a while.  It was a beautiful day and we just chatted the entire time.  Once we decided we were both hungry we had to decide where to eat – because there were no plans for tea.  We ate at this delicious French restaurant.  We concluded our time in Liverpool by unexpectedly picking up two friends so they didn’t have to ride the train back to Ashton. 

Friday, was the same.  Ali and I had planned on going to the Lake District to have a stroll around, but that was changed because we watched a few more episodes of Glee and then decided there wasn’t enough time.  So we went to Cedar Farms.  This was a beautiful area with loads of really cute shops.  Once we got back to Ashton we had to pick up Rosie, the youngest daughter in my host family.  The three of us had planned on going to the cinema after dinner, but decided to stay in and catch up.

Saturday was my big move in day.  What time did I move in?  Well that wasn’t really planned it was just some time after ten.  I moved all of my stuff into my new home for the next year.  It feels great to not be living out of a suitcase!  When I sat down with John and Alyson, my host parents, they were very open about being a very “go with the flow” group, you know – no plans.  When I arrived in my room to start there was a card from the Holden’s.  They had written a very sweet note about being a part of their family.  In addition to this note they had written a bible verse, “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” Jeremiah 29:11.

This morning I knew I was going to church, but had three options on when to leave, and we could walk or drive, didn't really matter, there weren't any plans.  When I arrived there were American and South Carolina flags hung across the front of the church.  This had obviously been planned because it was my first Sunday there.  They also “unofficially” introduced me (my official start date is not till tomorrow).  This welcome included a quiz on South Carolina, which was planned, and I failed.  During the service there was a reading that came from Jeremiah.  Yes it was Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

So, plans have been lacking in the past few days, but tomorrow I will be meeting with Jeremy, the Vicar (or Pastor), and his wife Sue.  This will hopefully be a time for us to make some short term plans for my placement and time in Ashton, as well as some long term plans for my year.  I also have personal plans for myself over the year - things I hope to get out of this experience, but I honestly have no idea what is going to happen.  Only God knows the plans he has for me, and it has been very comforting to be reminded of that multiple times this past week, my first week here in Ashton.

 (This is the string of flags that were put up in the church this morning.  I'm sorry it is blurry, it was taken with a phone.)