Walking the Streets of Llay

For three afternoons in a row my family and I visited every house in Llay, passing out leaflets for the September Sing--a Saturday evening of hymns and food--and a Harvest Display the following weekend. So now I can say I've seen the whole town, and my aching legs will attest to that--I'm more out of shape than I realized. But that is a conversation for another day...

Anyways, seeing where my family will be serving was a very poignant experience. The village is beautiful to look at on the surface; the houses are functional, not elaborate, but just about every other domicile has a flower bed that would put any American garden to shame. Every shade of yellow, orange, purple, and blue is on display here, even some black flowers that were foreign to me but striking nonetheless. Even after the first jillion this feature did not grow stale, and the floral wall of color was always a welcome treat.

Beneath the colorful houses and the laid-back, not-quite-suburban bustle, there is an undercurrent of...emptiness. That's a vague description at best, but I really don't know how else to describe it. There is a veneer of cordiality, but there is no real joy, in fact it seems like a sort of hopelessness. The people you pass on the street have a resigned look about them, save for the roving bands of teens, who have more than a hint of hostility. It is a dark place, in terms of cloud cover and spirituality. I definitely see my parents' burden for these people, and I have caught that fire, if to a lesser extent. Pray that something would come from the literature put out, and that over these next couple weeks Bethel Baptist Church would see souls changed by God and through Christ.

On a brighter note, we now have a house!!! Nothing is set in stone yet, the contract needs to be signed and the background check still needs to clear, but if we could be there when our shipping container arrives on Friday, that would be the perfect scenario. I have always heard about the lackadaisical passive approach to business dealings in Europe, and stories about friends who get bogged down by the unique pacing is always good for a laugh. But let me tell you, it is a pain to actually deal with it. Both the estate agent (realtor) and the bureau covering the background check have been dragging their feet, and hopefully this state of limbo is resolved by the end of the week.

More posts to come soon! Especially if the house deal goes through and the September Sing lives up to its billing, which I believe it will. And an entry on British food coming soon...mmmmmmm...