My childhood friend (and when I say childhood, I mean I’ve known her since I was but a few days old) Jessi Gates goes to school in Bath Spa in England. When Kendra and I were buying tickets to fly back to America, we decided it would be fun to stop somewhere along the way. Visiting Jessi sounded like a brilliant idea, so after we left Nairobi, we flew to England and stayed about 4 days.

The first day we took a bus to Bath and got to see the cute town in which Jessi currently resides. It was a fascinating, beautiful place, and we really enjoyed our time there. After Bath, we took a train to London where Kendra and I saw the musical The Lion King. It was an incredible show, and it ended up being a great way for me to say good bye to Kenya. The animals and colors reminded me so much of what has been my home for the last 2 years.

The next day we went to church in London with some of Jessi’s friends. I don’t think I’ve ever been to church in a building that old, and I really enjoyed the service. That afternoon we went to the Tower of London and had a tour there. Then we went to West Minster Abbey for the evening service. The pipe organ was incredible, and though the service was nothing exceptional, it gave us a great opportunity to see the abbey for free. Outside of the abbey are the Houses of Parliament. We were surprised to see a Bush demonstration going on there. Apparently he was in London that day.

That night we slept at one of Jessi’s friend’s houses and then left in the morning to see St. Paul’s Cathedral before we went to the airport. Just like Westminster Abbey, this cathedral was also beautiful and indescribable. I think my favorite thing about both St. Paul’s and Westminster is that there is a reverent awe that comes over everyone as they walk inside. Everyone is silent and looking up. Sadly, there are few things in this world that evoke such responses from multitudes of people. Perhaps this is why people find it hard to find God. There is an unwillingness to be silent and stand in awe.

That afternoon, Kendra and I hopped on a plane back to Seattle. We left London around 4:30 pm and landed in Seattle around 6 pm. I’ll let you do the math. Brother Dayn picked us up from the airport and drove us to Portland. The end.