Kev and I are still recovering from our ten day mission in London. We had been preparing for the mission since July, so we still can't believe that it has finished.
We arived in London of Friday 26th November, and were welcomed into the homes of parishioners. The Mission Team consisted of 50 people, including the ESM Team and students, past students, and members of the Emmanuel Community from near and far. In true form, the Anderson family were all there!
During the mission, we met with and visited local people in the schools, streets, the shopping centres, restaurants, cafes, homes, hospitals, pubs, and of course in the church.
The weather on the first couple of days was very nice, but a bit chilly. Then we woke one morning to a picture of beauty...........
The street in front of the church
The snow was a great treat for some - especially the ESM students from Nicaragua, Brasil and Egypt. The local children would also have been pleased, as many of the schools closed down. This made things difficult for us, as we had been planning the school visits for months. We even had Fr Benoit and Fr Xavier come especially for the Reconciliation Programme on the Wednesday. We had to come up with other things to do on those days.
Fr Benoit taking aim... unware of the student behind him!
Some of the missionaries came up with their own way of evangelising, by making known the message of God's love on every single car in sight. Little did they know that this car belonged to the parish priest's neighbour who is a Freemason. Oops.
"God loves you"
The snow also meant that we didn't have as many people attending the evening programme as we would have liked. But those who came received a great deal from the mission. On the Thursday night, we had a Eucharistic procession through the street in front of the church. An Anglican friend of one of the missionaries said that he was so touched by the procession that he decided to come to all the events after that.
Eucharistic Procession
On the Saturday night, we had a youth event called, "Nightfever". Kev and I helped organise Nightfever for WYD in Sydney. This was the same type of thing, but on a smaller scale. We had a band (Kev was on acoustic guitar), a talk by Msgr Armitage - it was fantastic! We also had a play and a testimony, followed by a time of prayer in the church. It was definately a highlight of the mission.
Nightfever band
The crowd loved it!
The next morning was the last day of the mission. Archbishop Peter Smith celebrated the final Mass. Then we had a party in the hall. Many of the students were getting sad because the mission was coming to an end. That's what we want!
Archbishop Peter Smith and the Mission Team
On Sunday afternoon, we took the ESM students into the city for some sightseeing. It was nice to relax after such a hectic week.
Kev and Hele and Big Ben
On Monday morning we said our goodbyes to the parish. I will miss Laura - she did all the ground-work in preparation for the mission. She was a student of the ESM two years ago. It was great working with her.
Hele & Laura
We made our way to the airport via train. Lost a few students on the way because it was peak hour and they couldn't get on the train. But all turned out well and we ALL made it back to Rome safely.
Here is the Mission Prayer that Laura and I composed:
Jesus,
I seek Freedom
I look for Peace
I await Fulfillment
I crave Comfort
I need Security
I long for Happiness
I want more...
You know the desires of my heart, and you say,
“COME TO ME...
Let not your hearts be troubled”
You are the source of peace, joy and hope.
Let me know who you really are.
Let me become who I was created to be.
Let me know the truth.
Let me be more loving.
Let me know that that I am loved.
Let me come to you!
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