This afternoon the Vicar called me over to the church to exercise my world class form filling skillz. Well, not so much world class so much as a bit better than his (he’s dyslexic). I was there to help a lovely young couple from church fill out some driving licence application forms. They need some help with forms because they have not been living in the UK all that long and aren’t confident in negotiating government bureaucracy hoops, especially in interpreting the vast ream of information that you have to wade through. And who can blame them?!
After we’d worked our way through the forms, all masked up and socially distanced, the Vicar showed them around the building. He talked about some of the plans we have to improve access and to make our building more visible to passers by. Our friends are an engineer and an architect/interior designer, so they started getting excited by the possibilities we have to make changes to help people by improving our building. It was lovely to see them thinking with their professional expertise. Neither of them have been able to use those skills since they’ve been in this country but are hoping that they will be able to soon.
And then we had the joy of speaking about the world and about Jesus. We talked about the countries that the Vicar and I used to live in, and others we have worked in. We have a world map on the wall of the church, so we were able to point and make sure we all knew which places we were discussing. And then we spoke about the country our friends come from, and some of its history – especially the parts that are in the Bible. Fascinating.
I think I probably already mentioned how much I love living here, among people from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages (Revelation 7:9). Today was a great taste of that once again.

Thank you
Reminds me too of how much I enjoyed talking to peeps from other places and welcoming them . And that is still important at a distance.
Hebrews chapter 13 verse 2 … you don’t know who you welcome (could be angels) so be hospitable … at all times.
It’s such a blessing, and I’m sure we’ve met many angels over the years.
How encouraging! The help provided, the plans shared, their encouragement with those plans, mutual stories of other lands and tribes … I perceive the Holy Spirit at work among you!
~ And may God grant your friends all they need to resume work in their expertise. May he order all their steps.
It was so encouraging. Amen to your prayer!