Bringing you up-to-date

Hello everyone,

The last month has passed, sometimes flying and sometimes crawling by. I've become involved in the English classes at an LCM centre in Limehouse once a week. At the moment, I'm beginning to prepare to lead an entry-level class next week and a pre-entry class the week after. The ladies there are lovely, both the ones I work with and the women who come in for the classes. I'm excited for the opportunity to gain teaching skills, and I'm grateful for a slower pace this week. It has given me the chance to catch up on several other necessary items that fall by the wayside in the course of the average week - updating this blog being one of them.

For the month of November, I'll be assisting with youth work at a Centre on the Isle of Dogs once a week. My hope is that this will give me another perspective on youth outreach at Ridley Centre and prepare me to better serve there as well. Work continues at Ridley, with Philippa launching a new English teaching outreach, but it has been slow-going to get students in the door. Please pray that God would give the team fresh energy as well as a shared vision as we go into the months ahead.

I've been asked what I actually do when I'm not working. This Saturday I ran away to Richmond park with two friends to see the deer. The mushroom picture at the top is courtesy of my friend Faith. For some reason, my expectation was that Richmond park would be similar to Hyde park. Hyde park is extremely cultivated and commercialized, with every shrub seeming to have a border around it and an ice cream stand at every corner. It is not my favorite London park. Richmond Park, however, is on the outskirts of London and feels like stepping directly from the city into the countryside. It is the first time I've been in London and had no strangers within a hundred feet of me. We watched deer, climbed trees, and looked out over the treetops from the top of a nearby hill. The park is free to access, and I highly recommend it to anyone staying in London craving a breath of fresh air, as well as to any visitors who don't have a chance to visit the countryside. The bakery and tea-house near the entrance also seem to be well worth a visit, though my little group was too eager to get outside to spend much time there.

Recently, it has come to my attention that I have not posted any information regarding funding on this blog.For anyone interested in partnering with me financially in the next year, I have opened an online PayPal account you can access through this link: https://www.paypal.me/CorneliaGreenidge

(USD is absolutely fine as far as currency selection goes.)

Please note that donations to me this year are not tax deductible, as funds will be going into my personal account. This is due to the fact that LCM is unable to open accounts for foreign citizens, though they are willing to vouch for me that all money raised will be going to service and ministry expenses in London. If you have any questions about this or anything else covered in this email, please feel free to contact me through my work email: Corrie.Greenidge@lcm.org.uk

 Thank you all again for your prayers and encouragement. The Lord bless you and keep you.

- Corrie

Back in London

**I wrote this post in late September when I first arrived in London, but initially forgot to publish it to the web page. Thank you all for your patience with the delay.**

Hello everyone,

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. By the grace of God, I've landed safely back in London, and am currently recovering from jet-lag and preparing to get to work. Autumn has set in here, with chill breezes and occasional rainfall. At the moment, the sky is blue and sunbeams are slicing through the privacy curtains. Despite the city's reputation for continuous drizzle, I've found that the weather is mild more often than not. It is, without a doubt, my favorite time of year.

I'm extremely grateful to have been able to experience the beginnings of Autumn in Colorado this year as well. My family traveled into the mountains before I left to enjoy a few days of hiking and time together. By now, the elk are probably bugling, the leaves are beginning to change, and people are looking towards the all-too-quickly approaching holiday season.

My temptation is to look ahead as well. I'm anxious to see what this year will bring, how our new outreaches will look, in what ways youth work will change, who will return from the community this year, and what new faces we'll see. Then there's the change to when we have our Mum's and Tot's outreach and my time learning more about teaching English as a foreign language. That's not even looking at collecting my residency permit, completing the necessary paperwork at LCM Headquarters to begin work this week, catching up with old friends, and getting to know people who have moved into the intern's house since I've been in the States. I'm grateful that anxiety has not yet caught up with me, but the potential is there, and I'm reminded again of Jesus' words to Martha.

“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” - Luke 10:41b - 42

There is my prayer request for the coming time. Please pray with me that my focus and my priorities would be in their proper place. Pray that that's where the eyes of my team would be as we continue to work in East London, that before we become preoccupied with much serving we would not neglect to sit at the feet of Christ and remember why it is we do what we do. 

Thank you again to my family at Grace Church. You are tremendous blessings to me, and I am always happy to hear from you.

 Love,
Corrie