Excursion Day

Hey Everyone!
**Sorry about the picture layout, I couldn't really control it the way I want!**


I just wanted to fill you in on what's been going on here! We had a pretty busy day today. We left the house at 7:30 and headed out on a three part excursion: Salisbury, Stonehenge, and Avebury.

Salisbury first: 

We got to Salisbury and stopped in at a parish church where there is one of the oldest "Doom Paintings" in Europe. It shows Jesus coming back to earth and the saints rising. The church was small by European standards, but it was still a pretty large cathedral! (That's the picture you see to the right)

Then we went over to the Salisbury Cathedral. (On the Left) It has the tallest church spire of any church in England. Once inside we were guided around by a lovely British lady. She told us all about the different quirky things inside the church--misspelled tombstones, funny carvings, and interesting facts. She also told us all of the reasons that the cathedral shouldn't be standing. I'll list them here for emphasis: 

1. There is a 29 inch bend in the spire. It's so heavy that the columns actually bend, and it's visible to the naked eye. (Or, in this case, my camera, as you can see it for yourself in this picture on the right!)

2. There is only a 4 foot foundation to the cathedral. Underneath that is a bed of shale with water running through it. Our tour guide dipped a broomstick through the foundation and it came up wet. In all of the acres around the church, the spot where the church is located is the only spot where there is a layer of shale. (Here you see our sweet tour guide demonstrating this idea. She dipped the broomstick down into the foundation and it came out wet!

3. The front part of the church has four columns. Engineers say it shouldn't be possible for those beams to support the weight, but somehow they do! 

Inside the Cathedral they have a beautiful little cloister with open corridors running around all four sides. The grass was perfectly smooth, and there were two trees growing inside. 

 These first few days have been a little difficult, and I've been struggling with some homesickness and culture shock issues. I am so glad we went to the cathedral, because I was really encouraged by some of the artwork they had there. Maybe they will inspire you too! At about 10:00 one of the priests came over the loudspeakers and led all the visitors in a prayer. It was really, really cool. Salisbury isn't somewhere I would have visited on my own, so I'm glad that we went as a group.

 The picture of the anchor below represents the anchor of hope. It made me think of Hebrews 6:17-20, which I've pasted below:

So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, ¹⁸so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. ¹⁹We have this [hope] as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, ²⁰where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

 After the Cathedral we ate lunch at a little pub called "the New Inn," and then headed to our second port of call--Stonehenge. I don't know if I can say much about Stonehenge, because I don't think anyone really understands what it was. I did learn that the rocks are cut and grooved to fit together, they aren't just stacked on top of each other. It was interesting to see Stonehenge basically on the side of a road in the middle of nowhere. And about 20 feet to the left there were sheep grazing.

 Apparently it's a common thing for sheep to graze near World Heritage sites, because the same thing happened at Avebury. Avebury is another collection of standing stones, but there are a lot more and you can actually go up to them and touch them. There were a lot of hiking paths around Avebury, and, as you'll see, some ineteresting characters...

This was one of the first signs we saw upon entering the stone circle.

I guess these little guys really like ancient history.

This man was actually doing tai chi near the standing stones, and among the sheep. 

After that we went back to Oxford and ate our first dinner "In College." I don't have pictures of that yet, but I'll have plenty soon! Thanks for reading, and thanks for keeping me in your prayers!

S.