Day 1 in Europe was good but veeeeerrrrrrrry long.  Aunt Mary picked us up from the airport around 11 a.m. which at home is 6 a.m. so needless to say we were exhausted after traveling all night and on an extremely odd time schedule.  She first took us to her lovely home in Worthing, England which is just a few hours south of London then we quickly showered, packed an overnight bag and headed straight for London. 

In London we had dinner at a lovely little Italian restaurant with Aunt Mary and her sister-in-law Pauline (who is hilarious) then fairly quickly retired to our hotel room...which happened to be in the old County House (courthouse) just across the River from Westminster Abbey and Big Ben...WOW.  the next day was full of exciting adventures in London such as an incredible 'proper' English breakfast with a fun (and good-looking) Brazilian waiter called Fabio.  Later we ventured out to Buckingham Palace, The National Gallery (where we saw works by Botticelli, Michaelangelo, Raphael, and many other incredible artists!), Trafalgar Square, the frightening underground.  Courtney also got her picture with one of the guards outside the palace AND she made him talk!  ...she must be special!  He said 'yes' TWICE!

THEN we stumbled into the most beautiful church we've ever seen, Westminster Abbey.  The archtecture left us speechless and in awe.  There were people buried in the walls of the amazing 900-year-old church.  What we experienced next, words can't describe.  We attended the daily church service called Evensong.  The Westminster Abbey Boy's Choir sung...we've never heard such pure voices.  That purity mixed with such a richness of Christian history was enough to give us chills and make us stand, once again, in awe.  It was incredible to worship God in such an ancienct place with people from all over the world.  again, there aren't words to say what an amazing experience we had there...God is big...HUGE, and really old. 

London was exactly how we expected with a few fun surprises intertwined.  Tea 5x a day is AMAZING, and Aunt Mary has spoiled us rotten with hot showers and good meals.

This morning we went to church with Aunt Mary.  We held back tears as we stood again in God's presence, but in a completely different environment.  It was a small church full of warmth and full of life and passion.  Its exciting to see a church that alive in a continent that seems so spiritually dead.  

We are seeing God's blessings daily...he continues to be so faithful to answer every prayers- even the small ones.  He has already opened and closed quite a few doors for our travels to come.

We went shopping today (but painfully bought nothing) with Aunt Mary's granddaughter Xanthie.  The whole experience felt like a movie...again.  From the small alleys full of warm, quant shops to the cold rainy weather, castles, and seaside walks.  Its been incredible so far!

we love you lots- please write, and we'll update soon!

p.s. susannah currently can't check her aol mail so please email her at [email protected].