After a very restless night, I awoke around 7:45 in the morning with one thing on my mind:
Gotta get my camera back.
I told Phil and Leslie that I would not make it to Oxford with them today. Instead, I ate breakfast, got changed, and made my way down to the metro station. Before I made it to the station, I went inside a couple of convenient stores that I was at last night to see if they had my camera. No luck. At the station, I had to purchase an all-day pass because I did not have an Olympic event that day. I rode a series of trains to St. James' Park, the area we were at yesterday. I found the nook where we met up with the soldiers before entering the barracks, and I explained my situation to them. Unfortunately, they did not find anything last night in the mess. I was given the manager's phone number and told to call back a little after noon because he was not there. In the meantime, I explored the area a little bit.
I found a beautiful church that was a block away from the barracks. I had caught a tiny glimpse of it yesterday, but did not see much. With the time I had, I went inside and explored a little bit. The sanctuary was gorgeous!!! I learned from a pastor I met that hailed from Tennessee that the church had been around since the 1860s. He said that people who preached in this church used to pass away at early ages because it took a tremendous amount of energy to preach loudly enough so that both floors could hear them. I also learned from him about U.S. seminaries to do research on. He suggested the California Master's Seminary and the Dallas Theological Seminary. I learned from someone in the cafe that the services at this church were actually contemporary, which explained why there were guitars and microphones in the front of the sanctuary. I checked out all of the posters in the sanctuary and learned about the history of Christianity in the UK. I had an excellent time exploring and spending time in this church, and I look forward to potentially coming back on Sunday.
When I left the church, it was about 11:30. I decided to grab some lunch at a pub close to the barracks. I got a burger with chips and an enormous pint of Blue Moon. The meal was more expensive than I anticipated, though. Afterwards, I found a nearby telephone booth and made a call to the manager to see if he found anything. No dice. He gave me his e-mail address and told me to e-mail him so he could send me updates on his search (BTW, his name was Nigel Turner. That name just SCREAMS British, doesn't it?).
Running out of options, I decided to find the lost-and-found area in the metro station because I used the metro to return home last night. I was guided toward Baker Street, which contained the lost-and-found office for the whole station. Luck was not on my side, however. I gave them my information and told them to contact me if they found anything, but all in all, my search was unsuccessful.
I returned to the hostel, defeated and disappointed. With little motivation to do anything else, I whipped out my computer to continue with my blogging. However, after checking Facebook, I learned that people in my family were able to see my Olympic Academic Experience group post that warned others about my lost camera. Word had spread that my camera was lost, so I had to man up and admit this truth. I even decided to go to a local internet cafe and call my father to tell him the news. I broke down and told him how sorry I was that I let him down. He was understanding and encouraging, and he told me to just buy a new camera and forget about what was lost. Feeling a surge of enthusiasm, I decided to channel my newfound energy into a positive way. I went to a board filled with black and yellow revolving circles next to the King's Cross station. People had been using this board to create messages and pictures, and I had taken notice of the board every time I had passed it. Therefore, I decided to create my own message. I started off sluggish, but I quickly picked up the pace, turning circles with the speed of an Olympic athlete. My message was simple, yet it held so much meaning:
JOHN 3:16
"For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him, shall not perish but have eternal life."
I had been inspired by my visit to the cathedral and my conversations with the luge athlete the night before and the pastor from Tennessee today to create this message. I hope and pray that these Olympics will be a highly spiritual event that will help millions of athletes and spectators alike find Jesus Christ and proclaim Him as their King.
Next, after blogging some more, I decided to head back to Oxford Circus and shop for a new camera. Remembering the HMV store we visited yesterday, I tracked it down to see if they sold cameras. They did not, but I was pointed toward nearby camera shop. I bought a small Sony camera with a 10x zoom and SD card compatibility. It was a lot smaller than my older camera, which made it able to fit in my passport pouch. I also proceeded to find a nearby souvenir shop, where I bought a collection of small gifts for my family. Lastly, I went out to dinner at this sandwich shop called "Pret A Mancer." I had a delicious toasted sandwich with pesto and a nectarine (first time!!!). Nectarines are sweet and juicy, but they're also very messy.
I returned to the hostel pretty early in the evening. I did some more blogging and watched some competitions with others in the group. We watched Great Britain's women's football team defeat Brazil and we watched a basketball game where the United States played Tunisia. The U.S. struggled early, but was putting together a run late in the first half before the BBC discontinued coverage. I managed to spend time with a lot of people in the group and talk to one of the locals. We asked him lots of questions about sports in GB, including whether or not people have gone on to embrace US football (doesn't seem like they have).
After this, I went upstairs, did my usual pre-sleep routine, and ventured into dreamland. It was by no means a perfect day, but it ended up pretty well, considering all that I had been through the past couple of days. Tomorrow, off to Wimbledon!!!
Gotta get my camera back.
I told Phil and Leslie that I would not make it to Oxford with them today. Instead, I ate breakfast, got changed, and made my way down to the metro station. Before I made it to the station, I went inside a couple of convenient stores that I was at last night to see if they had my camera. No luck. At the station, I had to purchase an all-day pass because I did not have an Olympic event that day. I rode a series of trains to St. James' Park, the area we were at yesterday. I found the nook where we met up with the soldiers before entering the barracks, and I explained my situation to them. Unfortunately, they did not find anything last night in the mess. I was given the manager's phone number and told to call back a little after noon because he was not there. In the meantime, I explored the area a little bit.
I found a beautiful church that was a block away from the barracks. I had caught a tiny glimpse of it yesterday, but did not see much. With the time I had, I went inside and explored a little bit. The sanctuary was gorgeous!!! I learned from a pastor I met that hailed from Tennessee that the church had been around since the 1860s. He said that people who preached in this church used to pass away at early ages because it took a tremendous amount of energy to preach loudly enough so that both floors could hear them. I also learned from him about U.S. seminaries to do research on. He suggested the California Master's Seminary and the Dallas Theological Seminary. I learned from someone in the cafe that the services at this church were actually contemporary, which explained why there were guitars and microphones in the front of the sanctuary. I checked out all of the posters in the sanctuary and learned about the history of Christianity in the UK. I had an excellent time exploring and spending time in this church, and I look forward to potentially coming back on Sunday.
When I left the church, it was about 11:30. I decided to grab some lunch at a pub close to the barracks. I got a burger with chips and an enormous pint of Blue Moon. The meal was more expensive than I anticipated, though. Afterwards, I found a nearby telephone booth and made a call to the manager to see if he found anything. No dice. He gave me his e-mail address and told me to e-mail him so he could send me updates on his search (BTW, his name was Nigel Turner. That name just SCREAMS British, doesn't it?).
Running out of options, I decided to find the lost-and-found area in the metro station because I used the metro to return home last night. I was guided toward Baker Street, which contained the lost-and-found office for the whole station. Luck was not on my side, however. I gave them my information and told them to contact me if they found anything, but all in all, my search was unsuccessful.
I returned to the hostel, defeated and disappointed. With little motivation to do anything else, I whipped out my computer to continue with my blogging. However, after checking Facebook, I learned that people in my family were able to see my Olympic Academic Experience group post that warned others about my lost camera. Word had spread that my camera was lost, so I had to man up and admit this truth. I even decided to go to a local internet cafe and call my father to tell him the news. I broke down and told him how sorry I was that I let him down. He was understanding and encouraging, and he told me to just buy a new camera and forget about what was lost. Feeling a surge of enthusiasm, I decided to channel my newfound energy into a positive way. I went to a board filled with black and yellow revolving circles next to the King's Cross station. People had been using this board to create messages and pictures, and I had taken notice of the board every time I had passed it. Therefore, I decided to create my own message. I started off sluggish, but I quickly picked up the pace, turning circles with the speed of an Olympic athlete. My message was simple, yet it held so much meaning:
JOHN 3:16
"For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him, shall not perish but have eternal life."
I had been inspired by my visit to the cathedral and my conversations with the luge athlete the night before and the pastor from Tennessee today to create this message. I hope and pray that these Olympics will be a highly spiritual event that will help millions of athletes and spectators alike find Jesus Christ and proclaim Him as their King.
Next, after blogging some more, I decided to head back to Oxford Circus and shop for a new camera. Remembering the HMV store we visited yesterday, I tracked it down to see if they sold cameras. They did not, but I was pointed toward nearby camera shop. I bought a small Sony camera with a 10x zoom and SD card compatibility. It was a lot smaller than my older camera, which made it able to fit in my passport pouch. I also proceeded to find a nearby souvenir shop, where I bought a collection of small gifts for my family. Lastly, I went out to dinner at this sandwich shop called "Pret A Mancer." I had a delicious toasted sandwich with pesto and a nectarine (first time!!!). Nectarines are sweet and juicy, but they're also very messy.
I returned to the hostel pretty early in the evening. I did some more blogging and watched some competitions with others in the group. We watched Great Britain's women's football team defeat Brazil and we watched a basketball game where the United States played Tunisia. The U.S. struggled early, but was putting together a run late in the first half before the BBC discontinued coverage. I managed to spend time with a lot of people in the group and talk to one of the locals. We asked him lots of questions about sports in GB, including whether or not people have gone on to embrace US football (doesn't seem like they have).
After this, I went upstairs, did my usual pre-sleep routine, and ventured into dreamland. It was by no means a perfect day, but it ended up pretty well, considering all that I had been through the past couple of days. Tomorrow, off to Wimbledon!!!
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