Greetings from a wet and windy Cumbria. This weekend I am staying with my most lovely friend Laura in Wigton, which is near Carlisle. After all the rain that the north-west of England has enjoyed over the last week, I thought that it was definitely the place to be! Because I just love rain. Luckily, my train from London wasn’t cancelled, though I was slightly concerned that we might end up going up water at one point, as the land became wetter and more and more water-logged the further north we came. But I have been able to stay relatively dry all weekend, and my train back home is still going, hurrah! I don’t think Phil would appreciate being left to try to teach his English classes and look after Gracie!

Laura and I have had such a wonderful weekend. Chatting and catching up on life, love, and God. We have been friends since we were at University, and although we don’t live near to each other, whenever we see each other, we just get on so well together. It is a real blessing in my life to have special friends like her.

I was hoping to go for a nice long bike ride yesterday, but the rain had other ideas, so I guess I’ll have to try and get a couple more days of bike-age into my week this coming week. I leave for Copenhagen in 17 days..! Oh my word! On Friday I was really freaking out about it, I don’t know if I’ve done enough training and I am quite terrified of getting lost or being left behind. I still have a couple of weeks to do some training, so hopefully I’ll be OK. I’m just praying that I will be!! And hopefully it won’t be raining or ultra windy, because the winter in London has been so mild that I really haven’t felt too cold when I’ve been going out riding. Anyways, I just have to do what I can and hopefully prayer will make up the difference. I do have some ultra snazzy bike gear now… some in slightly shocking colours… I chose them separately but forgot that I’d have to wear them together. Just imagine bright pink cycling shorts, and bright orange wind-jacket thing and you’ll get the idea. I certainly won’t go unnoticed by traffic.

Anyway, I have just a few more ours to relax and chat with Laura, so I’ll going to say goodbye for now. I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has sponsored me so far. If you haven’t sponsored me yet, but you would like to, please go to: http://original.justgiving.com/alexalexander

All the money goes directly to Christian Aid, and its very easy to do. Thank you and enjoy the rest of your weekend! A. x

Tonight it was our monthly ‘Celebration’ in church… which basically involves eating a meal together, all-age worship, some prayer and a short piece of teaching or something else. Tonight we had some very tasty food and we were thinking a bit about how we are all part of the body of Christ. I had added to and modified a short skit that I found online, and I got a few of our kids to act it out. I had also created big a cardboard eye, hand, foot and heart for the thespians to wear to identify who they were to the audience. And it worked really well! I was really happy with it, because I had been quite nervous about how it was going to work out. Drama in church is usually pretty aweful, so I was really really chuffed that it worked out well! Worship was good too, and some of the teenagers who usually come in for the food but then leave, actually hung around too. And there were quite a few people who joined us for the first time, which was really brilliant. It is good to be surprised like that sometimes, to not expect that it will be anyone except for the usual suspects (!), and then actually have quite a few new faces. It was just great. Ah, it was brilliant, a special time.

Today I had the privilege of attending the Urban Expression Induction Day which was held at the London Mennonite Centre. It was a great day of meeting other people who are moving into urban areas to live alongside people and witness to the kingdom of God. It was really brilliant meeting other people who are at a similar stage to Phil and I, although we are moving into a place that already has some kind of expression of church already, our church still feels like its in a very precarious position alot of the time! One of the things that I found particular helpful was that a number of people there today have young children or babies, and will be thinking through some of the same issues of bringing up children in the inner city, that we will. So although we’re now having those conversations just yet, it is good to know that there are people who are in the same position as us that we can get to know! It was also good to share some of  the challenges that Phil and I have discovered so far. Getting other people’s ideas and insight was very encouraging. So, a great day in all.

I came straight from the Induction Day and went straight to church. I wasn’t really in the best frame of mind after finding out from Phil that Gracie hadn’t slept or eaten well at nursery today. I’m finding the whole ’settling in’ week that Gracie has been having this week very difficult. Basically every day this week, Gracie has been going for lengthening periods of time, and today she was staying until 2:30pm. But it seems that she didn’t really think that sleeping in a place that wasn’t her bed was a good idea..! I’m sure that she will be fine and that in a couple of weeks she will get used to it, but I’m finding it so stressful..! It will only be for 2 days a week, but still, at the moment it feels like an eternity. I’m trying to be positive, but I’m finding it hard going!

Anyway, that aside, I really didn’t know how church was going to go. But Phil.W and I had a chat before church and talked through what we were doing, and things went really well. I think that people were listening and engaging with what was being talked about, and quite a few people stayed after church to chat and have a cup of tea. It was fab, especially because over the weekend Phil and I had been talking about how we missed ‘normal’ church every now and again, and also felt like we weren’t always able to relax and sort of just ‘be’ in church because one of us is usually looking after Gracie and the other might be doing something in church! So yeah, it was great to really feel like we could take some time to worship God and also have that time after church to just chat and be with people.

In other news, we went to Edinburgh this past weekend and packed up our flat so that we can put it on the market and also so that we can finally sleep on our own bed and not on a stupid airbed which we have been sleeping on for the last (nearly) 3 months! So our living room is now pretty packed full of boxes and we are slowly trying to get things sorted. It takes time, but its exciting seeing the things that we packed away 3 years again thinking that we would only be in Prague for a year! We’ve got some gorgeous wedding presents which we haven’t really been able to enjoy yet which we are looking forward to using. It’ll be great to have some pictures on the walls to, and just generally to start to feel like our house is a home.

Well, that’s enough for now. My comfy bed is calling. Love from Shadwell!

Just got back from church. We usually meet on Wednesday and Sunday evenings. I feel tired, and confused and so many other things. Church is wonderful and difficult at the same time. It is wonderful because it is based on and around things that I believe in so much. The vision, values and distinctives of the church are absolutely what I believe they should be. The 4 key distinctives are to be a church seeking peace church, a local church, a multi-voiced church, and a church at the edge. While I was a student I was reading about so many interesting things going on with churches like ours, and churches trying to work in a challenging urban context. And I knew that God was calling us to this kind of church, and I still know that, but the reality of church life can sometimes be really hard. I’m struggling at the moment because I never know if something if going to work or not, whether people will get on board and like an idea or hate it and totally disengage. I feel frustrated because I don’t have a comfort zone yet, I don’t know what might usually ‘work’ or get people thinking or engaging with a topic in a new way. I think that the problem is that I don’t know what ‘normal’ is for our church yet, so its difficult to try something new because to me everything feels new! I’m struggling because I want to experiment with difficult kinds of worship, or different experiences/expressions of worship but I feel like I don’t know how to involve people in the journey of what that might look like. I feel like we’re all quite disconnected sometimes from each other, but I don’t know yet know to make us feel like we’re one in Christ. And I just have so many questions that don’t have easy answer (or answers at all yet!) that I don’t know what to do with myself. I want to be real, authentic and true in my discipleship, and I want to walk alongside others who are trying to do the same, that is my dream and my hope… that with God, we can work out who and what we are, and live out who God has made us to be in his world, calling others to live whole, forgiven and grace-filled lives.

Over the past few days I have been doing some research on nurseries and childminders for Gracie. I’m only working part-time at the moment, and up til now Phil has been at home, but he will hopefully be getting into work soon, so we need to have some options for Gracie is Phil is working full-time. Our real hope is that Phil and I will be able to combine our working weeks so that Gracie won’t have to go to nursery or a child-minder, but we have to think about plans B and C for if that can’t happen. Gracie is doing so well, and she’s such a little sociable baby, I think that she will really enjoy a couple of days in a nursery or with a childminder, but the tough part for us is trying to find the right place or person. There is lots of information around and loads of different places to try, but that’s almost the problem… there are too many choices. I have seen 1 nursery so far, I have appointments to see 2 more, and I’m meeting with childminders too. Its pretty time-consuming, but obviously we need to find the right person or place for our little princess. Argh, wish me luck!

Oh yes, it is possible (well, I hope!) and I am planning on doing it! In the warm, balmy loveliness of an English summer’s day, I made the quite huge decision to join Christian Aid’s bike ride from London to Copenhagen, arriving in time for the UN summit on climate change, and raising money for poor communities around the world in the meantime. It is a brilliant idea, and I am really excited about doing it… although slightly nervous about a) raising £2000, b) getting fit enough that I won’t die along the way. But, the good news is that a) some people have already sponsored me so they think that I can do it (or perhaps that think that I can’t and that their money is safe!) and b) I have finally started training! Hurrah! Today I rode 11 miles. 11 miles! I’m quite chuffed with myself. I mean, the ride from London to Copenhagen is 140 miles, so still a bit of training to do, but I’ve taken the first step… (or spin).

It was a lovely afternoon for a ride, so I just decided to head out and follow my nose… I ended up riding along the tow path and up to Victoria Park, which was gorgeous. I didn’t realise how huge or how beautiful this park was, I was very excited to discover it! However, I did get a teeny bit lost on the way home, but nevermind, its all part of the experience. So, the count down to Ride Day has begun… bring it on!

p.s. If you would like to sponsor me on my epic journey and help raise money for Christian Aid’s work amongst poor communities, please go to: http://original.justgiving.com/alexalexander

I am aiming to raise £2000, but it would be amazing if it could be more.

- £26 could pay the monthly salaray for a literacy teaching in Afghanistan, providing education for children in remote rural areas.

- £12.50 could pay for the tube needed to instal a well in El Salvador, providing access to a safe and constant supply of water.

- £22 could buy a kid goat in Angola to provide milk, meat and manure for families returning from war.

Please sponsor as generously as you can, and if you can’t at this time, please keep me in your prayers and thoughts… I think I’m gonna need them.

My grandfather, on my mom’s side, and my step-gran on my dad’s side, died within 4 days of each other two weeks ago. Whilst my grandfather had been getting more frail over a number of years, the death of my step-gran was unexpected and a great shock. I went to South Africa last week with Gracie to be with my family, and to go to my step-gran’s funeral. Matt had gone to my grandfather’s funeral. It was a challenging week, but it was good that we went. It was great to have Gracie with me too, she was wonderfully therapeutic. We spent special time with our family, on both sides, and it was good to have that time together. It is really strange to have gone from 3 grandparents to just one in the space of a few days, and I feel really sad that my step-gran, Aunty Enid, did not get to meet Gracie. She really would have loved her so much.

I had a special and wonderful childhood, and my grandparents were a huge part of that. I want to thank God for them, and for their love, warmth, generousity, support, and so so much more. This well-loved poem penned by Mary Elizabeth Frye comes to mind when I think about them.

Do not stand at my grave and weep,

I am not there, I do not sleep.

I am in a thousand winds that blow,

I am the softly falling snow.

I am the gentle showers of rain,

I am the fields of ripening grain.

I am in the morning hush,

I am in the graceful rush

Of beautiful birds in circling flight,

I am the starshine of the night.

I am in the flowers that bloom,

I am in a quiet room.

I am in the birds that sing,

I am in each lovely thing.

Do not stand at my grave and cry,

I am not there. I do not die.

Ma, Moppa and Aunty Enid, we love you. Thank you for your love for us.

After a lovely week in Switzerland with my parents, brother and sister-in-law, Phil, Gracie and I arrived in London on Tuesday. We can’t really believe that we live here now! We are staying temporarily with the pastor and his family of the church that we joining. His name is Phil, his wife is Sarah and they have two great kids: Naomi (11) and Ben (9). They are a lovely family and we are really enjoying staying with them. They are good fun. We will hopefully be moving into our own home in a couple of weeks or so. There are tenants currently in the flat, but they plan to move out around the middle of the month. It is a really nice place: a 3 bedroom maisonette, with a communal garden outside too. We are really looking forward to moving in somewhere and making it home. During our time in Prague we lived in 4 different places (all very close together, but still!) and we are really excited about making a little space that is ours.

Gracie is doing well and getting used to life in London. She has many people to dote on her, so that helps. She is learning a few new tricks… she can sleep on her side and on her belly now… and she is grabbing and holding rattles and things like that. She is smiling loads, and giggling, but not very chatty yet. She is just brilliant, we are enjoying playing with her and spending time with her so much.

Well, not much else to say for now… although I want to give a mention to the ‘Family Services’ room in Zurich airport. They were brilliant! If you’re ever travelling through Zurich and you have babies or kids, you have to go through there. For babies, there are proper changing stations, wipes, basins and towels. Also facilities for warming up bottles etc. For toddlers and children, there are 2 rooms, one with toys, small tables and chairs for kids to sit and draw at, and in the second room there is a snooker table, board games, art stuff… just amazing! I was so impressed. It was just gorgeous! So, there you go… I never thought I’d blog about airport facilities!

The last post that I wrote, although I didn’t know it at the time, was exactly one week before our beautiful baby girl, Gracie, was born. She was born on the 17 February at 13:00, weighing 3.2 kg. My labour was a bit long and had to be encouraged along quite a bit, which made it a little more complicated than I would have liked, but the hospital staff at Horovice Hospital were really brilliant, and I had a good experience there.

 This is Gracie just a few hours after being born.

Gracie is now just over 3 months old, and she is just amazing! Phil and I are having so much fun with her. The first 6-8 weeks were pretty tough sometimes, but we are getting the hang of this parenting lark and Gracie is so delightful!

 Gracie was being a bit grumpy, so we were trying to plicate her with her bunny on her head..! (Don’t know if it worked!)

I will put a few more recent photos of her here soon.

In other news, on Wednesday evening, I was called by E1 Community Church to work with them! Phil and I had been to visit the church and the area on two previous occassions, and on Wednesday the church had to decide whether they wanted to call me or not. And they unanimously decided that they did! I am so excited and really looking forward to working with the pastor, Phil (yeah, another Phil!) and the other people involved in leading the church. There are some great possibilities and also great challenges facing the church, but I am looking forward to learning, growing and contributing to the life of the church. I don’t know when I will start yet, or when Phil and I will be moving over to London, but it will be sometime in the summer.

I apologise for the long silence before this, but a baby is so demanding! I didn’t realise how much time the little things can take up! I hope to blog a bit more often now that Gracie is a little older. In the meantime, hugs and love from Phil, Gracie and I. xxx

I just finished reading this a moment ago, and I had to say something about it. (Although, being on the silence of God, and how we need to try to practice economy with our words in order for people who listen to us to hear God, or not hear God… I don’t want to say too much!) I don’t think that I have ever read a non-fiction book that was as beautifully written as this book by Barbara Brown Taylor. The book is mostly addressed towards those who have the frightening, awesome and beautiful privilege of preaching within their communities of faith. Taylor addresses the role of preachers in talking about, of, to, and with God. She talks about what has happened to language, what it means to try to stand before your community and speak truthfully, and how we try (unsuccesfully) to name God. The language that she uses is simply exquisite, I found myself reading and re-reading phrases that she wrote, just to enjoy again the way she expresses her thoughts. The words are so beautiful, its like they leave a sweet taste in your mouth: sweetness that is true, real and names the feelings and thoughts that you know but have not or cannot express with such eloquency. There are so many bits that I would like to share with you, but I just cannot here, but you should try to read this book if you can. I will leave you with the closing two paragraphs:

“Whatever preachers serve on Sunday, it must not blunt the appetite for this [God's] food. If people go away from us full, then we have done them a disservice. What we serve is not supposed to satisfy. It is food for the journey. It is meant to tantalize, to send people out our doors with a taste for what they cannot find in our kitchens. When they find it, they understand why we did not say more about it than we did. It was not that we didn’t. It was that we couldn’t.

Our words are too fragile. God’s silence is too deep. But oh, what gorgeous sounds our failures make: words flung again the silence like wine glasses pitched against a hearth. As lovely as they are, they were meant for smashing. For when they do, it is as if a little of God’s own music breaks through.”