The Holmes Family: A Night of "Foreigners"

Two Sundays ago, I was feeling very uncomfortable sitting in the sanctuary, so I opted to go sit in the back, where all the "nursing mums" and families who can't leave their kids in creche are stationed to hear the sermon! And while sitting back there, an American (I quickly discovered this, because of her accent) named Beth came and sat next to me! We got to talking after the service, and we discovered that she was newly married and pregnant with her first baby! Her husband is a graduate student (who is a Scotsman) and she had been student teaching (her last semester of school) when she discovered she was expecting a baby! I couldn't believe the similiarities, I told her, "That's 'my story"!". Both she and her husband are very excited about this baby, but have a lot of the same anxieties that Brad and I had. I told her we will have to have lots of "tea dates" after our babies are born (her baby is due the 3rd of November).

Anyway, after meeting Beth, I decided that we needed to have a get-together with LOTS of couples! And it was an AWESOME turn-out, everyone we invited were able to come! It was so much fun and it was neat for all of us "foreigners" to get together! Mike (American) and Jen (English), Todd and Anna (both American, but Anna was born and lived in New Zealand, with her missionary parents, until she was 12 years old), Cheryl (Irish) and David (Scottish), Beth (American) and Edward (Scottish), Rachel (Welsh) and Nick (English), along with Brad and me all got together! We had so much fun last Friday night!

And I should further explain, you may not think that being Scottish, Irish, or Welsh makes you a foreigner in England, because they are all British citizens and a part of the UK, but you could not be further from the truth. The Scottish, especially, have a lot of national pride, and when I went to visit Edinburgh in April with Cheryl, I saw graffiti all over the city, reading "FREE SCOTLAND". The Scottish have their own parliament, their own military uniforms and their own very distinct culture. The same can be said of the Irish, there is a lot of prejudice toward Irish here in England, and the Irish much prefer Scotland!

Brad was super excited to finally have a big game of Risk with the guys! They divided into teams of two, and Brad and Todd were the winning team! And if you are wondering, Todd is an American. Both "Brad" and "Todd" are very American names, at least that is what my friend Cheryl (who is from Northern Ireland tells me). Brad was so disappointed to discover that his name was so American that he could never pass for a real "Englishman".

The girls chatting with Jillian before we all carpooled over to Jen's for a Girlie's Night. We did what women do best.. TALK and TALK! But it was really edifying, we all shared our testimonies, about our families, where we have lived and just got to know one another a little better.