  When I had to choose the dates for my trip I was under massive pressure. nbsp;  It was the week of my final finals,  two weeks before graduation. nbsp;  I was also packing up all my belongings so I could send&
nbsp; everything I didn't need& nbsp; home with my parents. nbsp;  I hadn't communicated much with the folks here in England.
nbsp;  All I knew was that they wanted me to come and work,  they were expecting me in June,  and I was to stay for a month or two. nbsp;  June 23-
August 11 sounded good to me,  so I booked the flight.  The first week here was& nbsp;  extremely & nbsp;
hard. nbsp;  Reality hit as I boarded the plane. nbsp;  " What the crap am I doing ?
nbsp;  I was literally at the mercy of God,  because Debbie doesn't board planes with& nbsp; overseas destinations& nbsp;
all by herself. nbsp;  I missed my family. nbsp;  I missed my friends. nbsp;
 I actually missed my classes and professors ( well,  some of them) nbsp;  I was happy in Waco,  going to class,
 going to church,  hanging out with friends,  etc etc.  Watching Friends tonight reminded me of those days. nbsp;  It was an episode from the first season -
 the one where Chandler's mom kisses Ross;  Monica and phoebe " woo- hoo"  at the guy in the street and he ends up getting hit by an ambulance. nbsp;
 Then,  One Tree Hill came on after Friends. nbsp;  I was able to watch through the theme song but eventually& nbsp; had to turn it off.
nbsp;  *  sigh * nbsp;  All these shows bring back happy memories of staying over at friends houses,  cooking dinner,
 eating sweets,  and drinking wine. nbsp;  ( Actually,  during this past year it was mainly Elaine and Kristen's house where all this took place.
 So now I feel nostalgic and slightly homesick. nbsp; nbsp; Two days& nbsp; ago it would have been okay because I knew I would be going home in two weeks.
nbsp;  But now I'm not going home for two months .  It's amazing how complicated human emotions are. nbsp;  I want to leave and stay all at the same time. nbsp;
 A few weeks ago I decided seven& nbsp; weeks wasn't enough time to spend working on Project. nbsp;  I looked into staying longer,  but found I couldn't afford it.
nbsp;  Then,  urlLink King's Arms offered to& nbsp; help me pay and they wanted me to stay. nbsp;
 Silly me decided to& nbsp; extend my& nbsp; stay& nbsp;
through September,  and I rushed off to London to change my flight.  Don't get me wrong,  I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to stay. nbsp;  I know I will be grieved to leave come September 30.
nbsp;  But at the same time I miss home. nbsp;  I miss worshipping with the body of Christ& nbsp; at urlLink Antioch .
nbsp;  I miss late nights in the library,  laughing with friends when we should be studying and writing papers. nbsp;  I miss heading over to my brother's house to play with my nephews and niece, nbsp;
and those evenings where we all get together as a family and have dinner and watch movies. nbsp;  I miss Friday night Friends binges and late nite& nbsp; coffee shop& nbsp;
runs. nbsp;  I miss home.  If home is where the heart is,  then my heart is in San Antonio with my parents,  in Waco with my brothers and my brother's family,
nbsp; in a& nbsp; swing on& nbsp; the urlLink Baylor campus,
 and in countless other cities my friends have dispersed to over the years. nbsp;  And I know come October 1,  my heart will also be in Bedford,  England.  But for&
nbsp; now,  my whole body is in Bedford. nbsp;  I cherish the time I have here and I love the new friends I've made. nbsp;
 I also know these three months are preparation for the rest of my life.  Blessed are those whose strength is in You,  & nbsp;  who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.  .
 .  .  They will go from strength to strength .  .  .  &
nbsp;  - Psalm 84: 5, 7a 
