Safe and Sound

We're here! Had a slightly mad dash to catch the connection but the team were BRILLIANT! Really on the ball, did absolutely everything perfectly, looked out for each other; couldn't have been a better start.

We had a massive welcoming committee at the airport and we're now all at our host families homes for the rest of the evening and then bed! Tomorrow is a full but slower day getting to know each other and what we'll be up to. We're excited!

Thanks for praying!

And they're off...well nearly!

In about 23 hours we will be touching down in Knoxville, Tennessee.  I'm not sure if any of us really know what these next ten days will look like...which I think is great actually.  Ten days of living life together; loving God, serving the folk of Knoxville and wondering about how big or small the world really is!  We leave Gatwick at 10:10am UK time tomorrow, Friday 24th August.  We'll arrive pretty much 12 hours later.  And the adventures will be just beginning!

Just one more thing right now...

Lea Kelly will be postingon LINK 09 from her perspective on www.kellylondonmission.blogspot.com.

Whoever you are...

Whoever you are as you read this; this is a place to read all that is written.  It's a community blog I suppose!  It may be that folk will write comments to you, the readers, as much as to the LINK team, the writers.   In fact that's already happened!  Feel free to explore what others are saying...

You're welcome in the story...

This is a place to come to to get updates on our time in Knoxville.  We'll try and post daily but that won't always be possible.  Others may also post on our behalf.  I can't guarantee that there won't be some ponderings and musings from me along the way!  Please do comment, so we can share those together.  Looking forward to some adventures together...

Beginnings...

LINK 09 : London is Near Knoxville began way back in 2002 when I spent 2 months at an outdoor centre in Costa Rica and had the opportunity to work alongside a team from Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church when they came to that same camp for a week.  Funny how some folks just connect isn't it?!  Several emails, phone calls and years went by and I found myself on staff at that same church, as High School Intern working for Damon Kelly and Lucinda McCay between June 2004 and June 2006.  A fantastic 2 years working alongside new friends and high school students was not, thankfully, to come to a close in a neat fashion and buried deep in the annals of church history.  LINK was born! In 2005, I led a team from Cedar Springs, back here to Wallington to get stuck into some locals schools.  This was followed by a visit from the Kelly family in October 2006, a team in Summer 2007 and again in 2008 and most recently 2009 (last week in fact!)  Now it's time to REVERSE THE TIDE.  We are heading West to serve and learn and grow alongside our American friends.  What God is up to in all this is yet to be seen but it's exciting to be a part of His big story!