What We've Been Talking About

Facebookers will have to go to our blog, http://wbsenglish.blogspot.com, to view these videos of Sophia.

As these videos reveal, a large portion of our daily conversations deal with pottying and naughtiness.




Transcript of beginning: "Yeah, you can try to. Let's take your diaper off. Can go pee pee on the potty. Get some chocolate."

IFES/World Mission Prayer Night

Wes and a colleague are responsible for organizing this event on November 6 for London students to pray for ministry among university students around the world. What's IFES? Read on...

UCCF (our organization) is part of a global mission working in over 150 countries: the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship is the US branch). IFES is a fellowship of students, staff and supporters: a third of a million people with one goal - to bring glory to God by establishing a vibrant gospel witness among students in every nation. We're an evangelical movement, committed to a high view of Scripture - its preaching, teaching and study. We seek to help students recognize the Lordship of Christ in every aspect of life and thought. Staff aim to provide Biblical models of leadership and ministry, where possible encouraging students themselves to take leadership responsibility on campus. All IFES national movements seek to present a culturally-relevant witness to Christ, working in close partnership with the Church in their country, wherever that's possible.

Source: http://www.uccf.org.uk/links/ifes.htm

Spelling Bee

Facebookers will have to go to our blog, http://wbsenglish.blogspot.com, to view this video of Sophia.

How British!

I wish I had a picture of it!

This afternoon I walked past a man making cement in a mixer on the sidewalk. The electricity supply cord to the mixer had several outlets on it, and plugged into one of them was an electric kettle (THE way to boil water here). I wondered if the kettle were simply used to make tea while working or if boiling water was necessary to make cement. On the way back, I stopped to ask. The man assured me the kettle was used only for tea--"You need plenty of tea to keep you going," he said. I chuckled to myself because if one wanted to capture Britishness in a snapshot, this scene was certainly a good candidate.

Only One Life: This Thursday

We'd appreciate prayers for this event, which is taking place Thursday night, and at which the director of UCCF is speaking. Please pray that a lot of students from our 4 operating CUs (Guy's, Goldsmiths, London South Bank, and Avery Hill) will make the effort to attend. This evening is meant to encourage Christian students to make the most of the short time they have in university to live for Jesus and share Him with their friends and peers.

Photo Shoot

Facebookers will have to go to our blog, http://wbsenglish.blogspot.com, to view this slideshow.

My friend Julie wanted to practice her budding photography skills on us last week, and here are some of my favorite results.

Like Uncle, Like Niece?

Bobby, this one's for you...

A few days ago Wes was feeding Sophia in the kitchen while doing something else at the same time. I was in another room and heard Sophia repeat, "It's here; it's here." Initially Wes struggled to understand what was where--what was she talking about? Then, with some more help from Sophia, he figured out that she had a raisin up her nose! We're still not sure how it happened. Did the bright idea dawn on Sophia that her minuscule nasal passage was just the place to shove a raisin? Or was it that in her effort to shove a handful of raisins into her mouth, a stray specimen was inadvertently shoved in the wrong orifice?

Now whenever Sophia eats raisins, we repeat to each other that raisins don't go in noses; noses are just for breathing. Naturally, Bobby, this episode made me think of your tendencies at a similar age.

I Fought the Pie, and the Pie Won

Perhaps I should've known after 28 years of avoiding making a homemade pie crust it really wasn't going to be as easy for me as I'd watched it be for my mom. Those of you who know my culinary tendencies will not be surprised to learn that up until Saturday, I've always purchased a pie crust and added a homemade filling--on the three occasions I've actually ever made a pie at all. My mom makes this crust that almost tastes of shortbread--very buttery--a recipe she got from her mom. I watched her make it for my birthday; then she wrote out the recipe and just about convinced me it really wasn't that hard. So I was thinking I'd try to make homemade pecan and pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving this year but had the sense to realize I should practice first. I'd been asked to bring a dessert to church Sunday, and so I decided I'd try to make a pecan pie (canned pumpkin is hard to come by here). Making the filling wasn't too bad, but the pie crust wouldn't. Without boring you with a play-by-play of what went wrong, I think the consistency was off, which then made it impossible to get the rolled out crust off the countertop and into the pan. Wes had taken over by this point, and he tried I don't know how many times. In the end, in exasperation, he just patted the dough into the pie plate with his hands. He told me I still ought to take the pie to church, but I was utterly ashamed of how it looked--not a fluted edge in sight. He called it rustic-looking. It did look better once it came out of the oven, so we ended up taking it, me with my tail tucked between my legs. The filling tasted fine; Wes thought the whole thing tasted fine, but the crust was anything but shortbread-esque. Wes assures me if he takes over the whole process from start to finish, next time he'll be able to produce a superior pie crust. Perhaps like our children's birthday cakes, pie crust making will now be handed to Wes, or else we may be having store-bought crusts for Thanksgiving after all.

Freshers and Following

The first couple weeks of the fall term were quite busy but with a lot of positive things happening in our CUs. Here's an overview:

London South Bank University--Now has a CU meeting on Monday nights. Through a UCCF website, Wes connected with several Freshmen keen to get the CU up and running again (there wasn't really one operating last year). Bev, who's taking the lead, has experience starting up a CU from her time at post-secondary school and her contact with another UCCF staff worker. A couple of local churches are willing to help lead Bible studies, etc., which is a great help to Wes and the students. There were about 6 at the first meeting, but it looks like some others may join shortly. See a poster they've created to advertise the CU above.

Goldsmiths-—A lot of Freshmen (around 10) came to a pancake party the CU gave the week of Freshers, and there were 30 at the first CU meeting, including a lot of new faces, which is huge compared to the 7-10 we had at an average meeting last year. A Freshman named Wes has already gotten involved by leading worship at the first CU meeting. Sadie, a student impacted by her time at Forum earlier in September, is the main leader and is keen to put some more structure in place. Chris, who also went to Forum, will still be helping but feels leading's not for him right now. Dave, Wes' relay worker this year (intern), might train some Goldsmith’s students on how to lead Bible studies in the next couple of weeks.

University of Greenwich, Avery Hill Campus—-Saw 5 new Freshmen at the first meeting, which is great, but they're all nursing or midwifery students who are often super busy on their courses and training in hospitals, etc. Please pray for Alex, who's leading the CU on his own and has a lot of other things on his plate, as well. It would be great if one of the new students, who did an internship at his church, might be able to share the leadership load, but as he's studying nursing, time might be a problem.

University of Greenwich, Maritime Campus—-A lot of Freshmen signed up for information about the CU at Freshers Fayre, but only two came to the first meeting besides David from last year. Please pray that David won't get discouraged.

Guy’s—-1) Wes' relay worker, Dave, chatted with a non-Christian guy during Fresher's week while he was helping people move into their dorms. The two of them might continue to meet up this term. 2) A lot of people attended a Starbucks quiz night/gospel presentation that was a joint effort between Guy's CU and another campus. There Wes talked to a nominal Iranian Muslim, a British atheist, and a German Catholic. Please pray that the German girl will come to more CU events and be loved and listened to by the students there. 3) Dave, Wes' relay worker, has started leading a course for students interested in investigating the claims of Christianity. It will run for about the next month.