IN ENGLAND!

Hey you all.

So waking up to a fresh, crisp, England air with lambs and sheep bahhing while laying in a bed in the castle is NOTHING SHORT OF AMAZING!!!!

So sorry it has taken me forever to get this written. Its been CRAZY! basically friday i flew out of minneapolis an hour an a half later than expected cause they couldn't get some screws tightened on the airplane. As soon as I arrived in Chicago I found out there is not ONE airport terminal but there was FIVE different ones. I was in the first one so I asked a security guard and he walked the opposite way and I told me he didn't know how to get there so he wasted about fifteen minutes. and finally he asked someone else and they told me i had to catch the train and go to the fifth terminal. so i did and finally after having to go through security at the chicago airport three times I got to my gate, only to run up and the lady standing there said it was leaving at that time. So they put me on a flight two hours later.

When I was on the plane I was able to sit next to a guy who was English and he was the funnest guy I have ever met. He kept me laughing the ENTIRE way to england it was great. There was an older gentleman sitting behind him and he complained about EVERYTHING. first his t.v didn't work, and his light didn't work. I asked him if he tried pressing the on switch and he looked at me like I was stupid so I showed him and the light "magically" turned on... lol. than he kept complaining so the flight attendents were getting annoyed by him so they moved him to the seat next to the bathrooms.. where it didn't smell to good... cause of the 8 hour flight.. haha. it was great. than he saw me getting something from my bag up top. I swear I didn't even touch his coat and he flipped out saying I need to refold it so I did but his wallet than dropped out and he yelled at me for picking it up and putting it in his pocket so I just put it all up top and started laughing. The flight attendants were laughing as well.. It was funny.

I finally arrived in england and was lugging around all my stuff when a really nice old grandpa came up to me asking if I needed help so I said ya, and he carried most of my stuff and helped me get to the bus station a mile away and a half away. The whole time he carried on a great conversation and was a great help. Than I was met by Britta and Britt! It was SOOO great to see them again...

Than we took a 7 hour bus ride to Caper. It was great to finally meet everyone finally face to face. I got an amazingly beautiful room and I have two roommates. It was great to finally go on walks around the loop like savannah has been telling me all these months and meet the staff, literally LIVE in a castle, and have an amazing time meeting everyone..

The lectures are more than amazing. I have gotten SOOO much out of them. its CRAZY. they are better than anyone I have ever heard. honestly I can't believe how much I have learned in just the four days of being here, its unimaginable.  I can't even begin to tell you what they are like. But right now we are studying First John, also Solomon("His life, loves and legacy") we also did a lecture on the the first chapter of Song of Solomon last night. It was SO funny. but it was really interesting to hear it from a different view point and I learned a lot. 

This Saturday I am going to the Lakes District and it will be cool to take some amazing pictures there cause from what I have heard it is nothing but beautiful. Than next saturday I am going to go on a hike THROUGH QUICKSAND! its going to be great. Apparently LOTS of people have died on this trail(not caper people) but ya... hopefully the next one won't be me.

Than in a couple weeks I am going to be going to the Oasis concert with Zach, Albert, Stephen, Dave, and some of the other guys. That is in Manchester so that will be a great night. 

Other than that I have been REALLY busy... We are required to read the entire New Testament by the time school ends, along with two books that we have to do book reports on, still do our devos, and have to be social along with a bunch of other things going on. So i apolgize in advance if I don't update this a lot or don't put up a bunch of pictures. I will try my best. But we only have internet for four hours during the day and its really hard. 

The hours I will be online(if i find the time to be online during the days) are: 8-11am(minnesota time) and 3-4pm(minnesota time)... I have skype and I would LOVE letters!!!!!! If you write me I promise to write back. Its amazing here! Thanks for everything guys! missing you guys!

Traveling to London...

So right now I am sitting in the Chicago Airport waiting for my new flight to board in an hour.

It all started this morning when I got to the airport and I found my gate. No sooner did I find my gate and got settled in when they announced that it was going to be delayed because of mechanical issues. Than 30 minutes later there was another delay and you guessed it after that one they still didn't have the problem fixed so they had a THIRD delay. Once we finally boarded the plane there was a lot of wind and so they were "flying oddly" as the Pilot put it. So we landed in Chicago's airport at 5... which I ended up running across the airport only to have a security tell me I needed to go to the opposite side as he took his sweet time talking to me asking a billion non-needed questions he realized he didn't have his walkie-talkie on him. After that he had the smarts to ask someone else where my gate would be since my flight was not listed on ANY of the departure screens... They told him I needed to go to terminal 5 which mind you I had to take three trains to get there cause the flight attendents on them did NOT know what they were talking about. After going through security three times at Chicago I FINALLY ended up at my gate(sprinting all the way... thank goodness for Track) Well when I got to my gate the airplane was literally leaving the gate. EVEN BETTER. It left early. So now I am supposed to get on a flight that leaves at 7:15 chicago time and get to London, Heathrow at 9:30am. lets just say it is going to be a REALLY long day. thanks for the prayers and encouragement! I appreciate it!

ENGLAND/Skype Name/Address for England!!!

So as you all know I will be taking off for England in one hour. I am about to head off to the minneapolis airport. I will NOT be having my phone on for the next three months, which means NO texting and NO calling. SORRY! Please DON'T text me or call cause it costs lots of money which I don't have. Thanks!! But you can chat on facebook or whatnot. I do have Skype for anyone who has that. its great and its free!!!! my Skype account name is jess13089. I will have internet from 7am till 11am(minnesota time) and also from 3pm to 4pm(minnesota time) starting on monday. Just so you know. But the internet is REALLY slow over there and only loads a page every few minutes. so excuse the long awaited responses. I will try to update and put up lots of pictures. but it will be hard. Also my address is: 

Jessica Smith

Capernwray Hall, 

Carnforth, Lancashire

England LA6 1AG

Thanks everyone for everything!!! 

miss you guys!!!

Jess

Off to England..

So here is my last post until I get in the airport next Friday. It's honestly really weird all the mixed emotions I'm having. From sadness about leaving friends/family, to GREAT joy to see all my friends from Canada, Russia, Spain, and other countries. I can't wait to meet everyone finally in person & be able to see the school that I have waited to go to since last March. It is going to be great, and life changing from what I have heard from those who have been there since September.  After mom had heart surgery in August I really didn't think that we would be able to get enough money to go to Spring School. But somehow we were able to get enough to let me go!

             Some of you may be wondering what exactly I will be doing there. Well I am going to go to a Bible school for 2 months. The school is called Capernwray Hall.. www.capernwray.org.uk

It is pretty amazing. Basically it is a castle with a pool/sauna/hot tub in the basement. I won't find out till I get there who my roommates are or how many roommates I will have.. I could have anywhere from 1-7. It's going to be great though. They have three meals with Tea Time which is cookies and tea.. which as most of you know I'm not a big fan of tea.. so it will be interesting. They have a HUGE field that you can play almost anything in. From fut ball(soccer for those who didn't know what it is), to American football, cricket, etc. There is a town about 20 minutes away that most people either take a taxi to or just walk to. There is an amazing old bookstore there with a coffee shop, and some restaurants. Pizza is a rare over there I will probably have it maybe at the most 2 the time I'm at the school. Other than that the food is pretty plain. Fish and Chips and other really Blane food.. so that will be interesting. But I am really looking forward to everything over there and experiencing the English culture. 

              As most of you know I moved up to Fargo/Sabin area in September and stayed with a family friend until this coming Sunday. They have been nothing but amazing. Yes the young boys would wake me up practically every morning at 5:30 but there is something about them that has made me appreciate the boys so much & just make me love them more. For example: Austin the youngest.. who I love to death has made it a routine for him and I to get up in the morning & read books together. Than also before he goes down for a nap and before he goes to bed each night. We usually end up reading about 5-6 books all the same books every time. But it is our little bonding/quiet time and I will def. miss that!! I have learned a lot about myself and others while being up here in Fargo/Sabin and have grown a lot more this year. I have met some amazing people all of which I will greatly miss. I promise to come back and visit when I can.

       As I embark on this new adventure I look back over the past year of how greatly I have been blessed to go to England. I have been to a lot of places: Hawaii, St. Vincents, and almost every state in the U.S. its crazy to think that every time I went on a trip somewhere it was almost impossible to think that I was going to come up with amount of money that I needed. Cause my parents made me grow up thinking that I wouldn't get everything handed to me on a silver platter I had to work towards what I wanted. I did and I have appreciated it a lot more than I would have if my parents paid for every trip and everything I had ever wanted. It really makes you consider the value of what you really need and what you don't. Thanks mom and dad.

       Sorry for writing so much and if your still reading.. your probably wondering when I will be done sorry about that. I just want to say in a closing note that I am really appreciative of everyone who has prayed and thought about this whole England thing with me. I will miss you all greatly.

Getting ready for a new adventure...

  So if you know me at all you know that I LOVE adventures... there is just something about not knowing what exactly is going to happen or what I will see/feel. But I know that where ever I go there is bond to be new friends, lots of new experiences, a TON of fun, and a lot of laughs. 

    A lot of you know I will be leaving in April for England. As far away as 35 days seems from now, it seems really really close as well. I am really getting excited about England, meeting people/friends, having roommates, touring england, I am even really excited about school...  I can't wait to get on that plane from Minneapolis and land in London, it truly excites me and I can't wait to see what adventures I will have.

      I have had a lot of fun in Fargo as well as learned a lot from the people here and how to grow as a person from different experiences, both good and bad. I have really had a great half a year here. It has been a LOT better than last year, where I was taking senior classes and working two full time jobs at the same time as well as being a JH leader, and trying to help out with a bunch of other things that were going on. I will miss some of the people here and manly my close friends here like the Minions(the family I'm staying with), Madison, Alex, Meg, Ryan, Jared, and of course all my friends from Scheels. I will miss having peanut butter m&ms while talking to the Cashiers and walking around the store getting people to sign up for Visas.. but I know that I am more than ready to move on to England and see what lies there.

      I honestly can't say I know for sure where I am going to go to college this coming fall. I have three different places to choose from(Calgary(Canada), Montana, or Fargo) but I am planning on making that complete decision by the time I return home the end of June... there is a lot to think about and decide what I want to do with my life.

      I can say I am torn between my two career choices. I have ALWAYS wanted to be a cop or something to do with criminal justice that or else I would do something with computers... my cousin chad went into computers for ten years, granted I don't think I could do ten years. but I have to see what is out there for those two and decide which college would be best, which I must say is a pretty big choice. 

      Anywho... I have probebly bored you all to death if you are still reading I'm sorry...

But I promise that there will be much MORE interesting blogs when I get to England!!! 

FARGO

So Fargo has treated me VERY well since arriving here back in September... it amazes me how fast time really does fly. I mean honestly it feels like yesterday when I was a JH leader at my old church on a missions trip, or going on the CHALLENGE trip to Salt Lake City, UT. or sitting on the dock fishing, tubing with the family, and hanging out with extended family. and all sudden it is 8 months past and here I am. its CrAzY how life works isn't it? 

Well I am staying with a family friend who has three boys and they are expecting their fourth.. it has been a lot of fun, early mornings(which aren't fun), wrestling(or "wrasling" as the young cowboys that i stay with call it), trips to the General Store(when the boys are good and I buy them a piece of candy), or trips to Scheels(the place I work) to ride the ferris wheel, or do some practice hunting, or get some fudge... there is so much to do. I have bought over ten goldfish all with names ranging from Bob to Lucy to Bubble face to Tom & Jerry. lol. I have jumped off the top of the roof into way over 8 feet of snow, got my car stuck so many times I cant remember how many, lived through SO many blizzards... and discovered that pouring black coffee on your windshield is a quick fix to deicing it. but than will freeze over with brown ice... how nice. not. I have found out a lot of random things like that though. But overall I have not regreted moving up here for this short time. I have met some amazing people that I am sure will be life long friends and who knows I may just end up moving up here someday. That is if I can withstand the cold/wind/blizzards... but who knows... which if you think that Seattle is horrible for wind you should come to Fargo, and if you think that Minnesota is worse than any other state for snow... you haven't even seen it. 

I have learned a lot though since being here.. and a lot of it has to do with the church I have been going to. As most of you know, I left the church my family went to because I did not feel at all that I belonged there and that God wanted me somewhere else. I did not get along with many people at that church, nor did I agree with anything that was going on there. Not to say that the church was HORRIBLE cause it wasn't completly horrible, it just was defintly NOT the church for me. Ever since my family decided to go there when I was 15 I felt out of place. The people my age did not accept me for who I was and thought less of me since I went to a public school, which shouldn't be. So when I turned 18 I decided to leave, and I found a much better church for me. I was a JH leader and really thought things were falling into place(finally) and I LOVED saturday nights because thats when the single group would meet and I got SO much out of those nights, more than I ever had at any church. It was amazing. My notes became really deep those nights expecially and now since moving up here for this short term, my notes have gotten deeper. The church I am attending defintintly would not have been my first pick, only due to my misconception that all Baptist churches are the same. But I have learned a lot from the messages that have been preached and from the people here. I defintly have a different background than most of the people up here but I have learned to accept that and to learn from them. At first it was a major struggle to say the least but it has been becoming easier. Thankfully.  Also the family I am staying with could be nothing better,(except if the boys didn't wake me up every morning at 5:30 to play with them) but they have treated me as if I were their daughter. It has been amazing. and I will be eternally thankful for them. Anywho.. I have been working at a place called Scheels... and I was a cashier from October till the end of December, in which I was promoted to the Visa Booth getting people to sign up for Visas. It was cool from Oct. to Dec. I broke all the Scheels company records of having the most visas sold. It was pretty amazing, considering they have been in buisness since 1902 and I have broken those records. It was pretty amazing to be promoted to. I work for such a great store. I really hope that someday I will be able to come back either to Fargo, or when I eventually move out to Montana and work at least part time at Scheels. Which another cool thing about Scheels is that they are a Christian based company, another thing that God provided me with is a great job that was Christian based. Anywho. besides all that... I have been working/babysitting/sleeping/going to church everytime I can and hang out with the lovely Madison ALL the time.... she will def. be one that I keep up with hopefully for the rest of my life. and thats about my life here in Fargo in a nut shell...

wow.

So I just noticed that it has been a LONG time since I have last blogged. A lot has happened since July. For one thing my mom had a major unexpected heart surgery that went much better than could have ever hoped for. She healed fast, and the surgery even though it took a very long time went very well. She is in great health and better than ever. In other news I did a medical study on sleeping pills in September through October and it went really well. It really helped my sleeping habits, due to me not sleeping well the past two years, it really kicked it in the butt and I haven't slept better. When I was doing the Medical study it was in Fargo, ND and I was able to stay with a family friend and their three boys. They ended up asking if I would stay longer and nanny their boys for food and rent and whatever else. I thought and prayed about it, and I accepted. I am still currently living with them until April 11th when I will return to good old New Hope, MN, before I leave for Spring School in England. Which is another thing that I should probebly mention. I am going there from the middle of April to the end of June. I will be studying the Bible everyday, learning about the history of the church, different books of the Bible and their authors, and other such things. After that I plan on touring some days in London. I am really looking forward to meeting new friends and really studying the Bible intensly. Please pray for others that are going and that are there right now that they will be impacted and take as much away from it as they can and so will I. Also pray that when everyone returns to their homes from being there that we will not only be changed but also be able and wanting to change other peoples lives as well and that God will be able to speak through us clearly. Thanks! 

I have found my time in fargo to be great. I have really got a lot out of the messages that the Pastor preaches here at Fargo Baptist. It defintly would not have been my first church to pick from since I have moved away from the Baptist setting a while ago and did not see myself going back so fast to a Baptist church. But I will say that I am very happy that I have been attending there due to some great messages and things that I have gotten out of the messages, as well as really close friendships... 

I hope that all is well for everyone. I miss everyone at home, as well as everyone that is elsewhere. There is more to come about everything in Fargo.