She travels... Budapest

| Lows: -3°C || Highs: 0°C | I'm going to have a go at writing, in a few words, about our trip to Budapest last week. For those that prefer pictures, there will be plenty of those as well, so just keep on scrolling! We flew out from London Gatwick, and the trip started a little different to any other flight I've taken. We had special assistance this time around for various medical reasons. This meant a speedy trip on an indoor airport vehicle (caddy?) through passport and boarding, straight onto the plane. A new and pain-free experience!

Upon arriving at the hotel, our hungry stomachs led the way to food! I ordered a Weiner Schnitzel with a lemonade. It turns out that Hungarian lemonade is nothing like the lemonade we drink in England! It's flat, and way more full of flavour.

Mum and I went for a late-night spa trip before heading to bed. The spa entrance certainly set the scene for the salt caves, saunas, and aroma rooms that greeted us through the doors.

Day 1 Breakfast consisted of freshly squeezed orange juice, lightly toasted bread, and miniature croissants with homemade jam for me. Whilst dad and the grandparents tucked into scrambled egg and hot dog sausages!

Satisfied that we had fuelled up for the morning, we hopped on the metro and made our way into Pest (pronounced: pesht). 

Our first stop was the cat café, but upon finding that closed until later in the afternoon, we wandered over to the City Park where we found an interesting permanent art installation, and walked past a lake that had been dammed and turned into a real ice skating area! It was huge! 

Heroes Square was just nearby too, and then our stomachs called us towards any place that sold decent food at decent prices. The first place we came across was going to cost us 41euros per meal(!) so we kept searching. We stumbled across an excellent burger place, with it's seating area set up inside a shipping container! I was more than content.

Next, we had a spontaneous trip to Budapest zoo! I wanted to see the penguins, the sloths and the Komodo dragon. Becca wanted to see the Elephants and mum was desperate to see the Giraffes! We were not disappointed.

The lonely bear did make me sad, though. Next stop, hot drinks. And where better to go than head back to the cat café which would now be open! We even got a 20% discount with the card we picked up from the hotel.

This little fella loved dad, whilst another curled up on granny's coat. Following our purr-fect drinks, we made our way through old town Pest, dipping into souvenir shops for warmth! We found a beautiful Italian restaurant for dinner and tried a Hungarian drink: 'Palinka' afterwards - I wasn't a fan! On our bus trip back to the hotel we saw a magical-Disney-looking tram! We were all very excited at the sight.

And the magic didn't end there! Not long after getting back to our rooms, some fireworks were being displayed across the road and we had the perfect view from our top floor windows! Day 2 Another morning, another breakfast. Becca, Granny and I had a slow, chilled morning at the pool whilst mum, dad, and Gramps went to the Holocaust museum. Reunited in the early afternoon after some bus complications, we ended up at the nearby McDonald's. They sell much the same in Hungary - but pork burgers are an addition to the menu, as well as double quarter pounders! Dressed in jeans, 3 tops, a jumper, a coat, a scarf, and a hat - I felt more prepared for the minus numbers than I had been the day before! Tonight was all about the Christmas markets.

Granny and Grampy headed into the warm after the first market and some mulled wine, whilst we went in search of the cinnamon chimney cakes.

The lights around all of the markets are absolutely amazing!

After watching a light show projected onto the front of St Stephens Basilica, we found Granny and Gramps waiting for us in the Hot Stone restaurant. This was an interesting meal, and although tasty it was definitely the most stressful meal I've ever eaten! Becca and I ordered chicken breast. The spices were spectacular, the 'steak potatoes' were amazing, and the miniature vegetables in oil were oh so cute. There was one problem... we didn't realise the chicken would be served the same as the steak: 'cook it yourself'. We'd been served raw chicken on a hot stone!

Day 3 This day was more action-packed than the other two. So I'm going to bullet point it and fill it with even more pictures! - Breakfast - Late start, chill at the hotel - Metro into Pest - St Stephen's Square market - full of police arming the area during mass - Cute Café - I've decided the decor is what I'd like in my dream shipping container home!

- A walk around the inside of the Basilica

- Lunch: Hungarian Pizza! Deep fried dough with fried chicken and peppers placed on top.

- The ICE BAR! -1°C

 - Danube Shoes at the side of the river

- Tram rides... (we nearly didn't get out before the doors shut, leaving dad on his own outside!)

- We walked from Pest to Buda, across the bridge to see a waterfall which had no water in it! :(

- We decided it was too many steps to climb to the Citadel in -2, so we hopped on the venicular railway to get a bird's eye view of the river from Buda
- Hot chocolate at the top of the Buda hill, in a café who's door handles were giant forks and knives! - Bus back down to Pest - Italian for dinner again! Celebrating Granny and Gramps 51st Wedding Anniversary - We crossed 6 zebra crossings on the way back before realising we were going the wrong way, and crossed them all back again to the right bus stop - It snowed!!!! - Bed If you made it to the end, congratulations! Here are a few spare pictures from the trip whilst I wait for my disposable ones to be developed!

 Amy xo

To the Women in the Red Coat...

// 13th November 2016 //

On this day, I picked up my mostly disused camera and drove, with a friend, to a lake near to our homes. We found our way from footpath to footpath, walking on ground we'd never set foot on before. We were greeted with the sight of beautiful transitions from Autumn to Winter.

There was one footpath in particular that grabbed our attention. As we walked across the frequently trodden grass, I wondered who might've walked this path before and where they were now. The path seemed to go on forever, the only thing keeping us from turning back was our curiosity about the small house at the end. But before we reached that small holding, a lady in a red coat appeared from the gate ahead. She'd been walking a while, trying to find her way to the lake. She was staying in a hotel not far from where we were. We gave her some *fairly accurate* directions back towards the lake, and let her know how stunning it was looking. She went on her way.

We walked to the end of the path, saw nothing special, heard the nearby traffic speeding past, and turned back to the peaceful fields. Now we were following the lady who we'd not long sent up the path we'd just walked. She stopped around the corner, taking in the views of the lake and the silhouetted trees. We soon caught up with her, and just as we went to walk past we got into conversation with her again. As we walked back to the car, I was overwhelmed with the thought that we'd never see her again, yet we'd shared such a nice conversation with her. But some encounters are meant to be just like that. A single, significant encounter. So,
To the lady in the red coat, 
Thank you for brightening our day. Thank you for not assuming we were as young as we look. Thank you for asking about our aspirations. Thank you for not judging what we want to do in life and how we want to get there. Thank you for your encouraging words. Enjoy the rest of your year in England and I wish you all the best back in New York!
Amy xo

One Month On...

Where am I now?
I moved out of my first home a few weeks ago, and moved in with another family. And today I moved into a new room in this house! A constant adventure :)

I'm officially no longer the newest person to join the office because we had a lovely member of staff start working with us today.
I'm feeling totally blessed with my job, my colleagues, my temporary home, my friends, RE:FUEL worship night events, etc.
I'm extremely upset about what is happening in Calais right now so I'm constantly looking out for what I can do to help practically whilst helping to increase the awareness of the awful things that the media are not circulating.
I'm excited for a mini adventure soon to a European country with my sister early in 2017!
I'm hoping to do a bit more photography between now and Christmas - my camera hasn't been used for such a long time.
I'm thinking about my future shipping container home - I've constantly got my eye out for genius space-saving ideas and a piece of land to build upon (if you've got some land you'd like to lend me whilst I build it, I'd be ever so grateful!). 
I think that's about all for now! Loads of love,
#bethelighttonight
Amy xo 

How To Fly The Nest

Image Source: Google

'T o   F l y   T h e   N e s t' - (Of a young bird) leave its nest on becoming able to fly. 1.1 informal (Of a young person) leave their parents' home to set up home elsewhere.

Having moved out almost a month ago, I've gained some fresh wisdom on leaving the nest. It's an adventurous task and one I chose to see as something really positive. I'm writing out some of my experiences in this post partly for your benefit but mostly for mine - so that I can look back and show my kids what I was up to! 
P a c k i n g: I began scribbling down a list of things I needed to pack just a few days before I left. Once I'd 'finished' the list I went to bed and woke up with 20,000 more items I'd forgotten to write down! It was a weird process deciding what I would need and realising how much stuff I use throughout the week. It was also the perfect opportunity to leave, at home, the stuff that I didn't use all that often, making my new room so much less crowded and easier to tidy! I packed my stuff into beautiful boxes which have become my storage in my new room. Eliminating the idea of 'living out of a suitcase' for a year!

T h e   M o v i n g   I n   D a y / W e e k: I met my host family on the Thursday, moved in on the Sunday, and started work on the Monday. I really had no time to panic, I had jumped in at the deep end and started to swim. All that was new was an adventure for me! Everything that got thrown at me that would usually make me panic, I chose to see as a new adventure: an opportunity to embrace something new. I chose to get excited and rejected worry; I was leaning fully on God.
This first week started very differently to my first week at my internship last year. This year I knew who I was and I went straight in as myself, not as shy as before because I know that God has chosen this place and season just for me. Last year I was constantly scared of not being 'liked' or 'accepted' that I cowered away so only a select few got to know me. I've learnt that that doesn't allow freedom to reign. So this year is a whole new ball game.
E n j o y i n g   T h e   R i d e: Two weeks were spent 'enjoying the ride': I made new friends, met loads of exciting and influential people, realised amazing connections, and embraced new activities. I tried a bit of an assembly ready for my first 'full assembly' in my third week. I got stuck in with after-school clubs and loved helping S in the office with the admin and organisation side of the charity. Totally content with the blissful journey I was on, I felt at 'home' already. 
(M e e t i n g)   K e y   P e o p l e:
You hear all of the time that a big life change shows you who your true friends are... But what if a big life change brings you key people? I'm still back in my 'hometown' every weekend seeing my good friends and making great memories. I have made use of the internet and kept in touch with so many friends. But I've also been blessed with some key people in my new town who are keeping me grounded. Big life changes don't eliminate friends, they add new ones!
A   S p a n n e r   I n   T h e   W o r k s:
Week three and four have thrown various things at me. My adrenaline levels have dropped causing the re-introduction of my high levels of fatigue and pain. I've visited the doctor about a problem that has progressed in my knee and been referred for an MRI. My amazing host family and I have come to the joint decision that it isn't right for me to stay here for now, so I will be moving out this weekend.

M o r e   A d v e n t u r e   A w a i t s:
Never a dull moment, I now have more adventures to get excited about!
* I'll be moving in with a colleague on Sunday night *
She is brilliant, has a lovely husband, a gorgeous dog, and a chilled out tortoise. I'll be staying there for a few weeks until somewhere more permanent is found for me.
* I'll be starting a course on youth mentoring *
* I'll be doing more assemblies with new people *
* We will start planning the Christmas Panto *
That's all for now!  A few ramblings about month number 1 in a new town,

Amy xo

The BIG Move!

So, I did it. I moved out.  ...sort of. Following a new job position, I have packed up and moved homes to a different town during the week. From Sunday night to Friday afternoon every week I will be at my new home, whilst coming back to see my family at weekends.

Image source: Google

If you were to tell me 5 years ago that this was coming I'd have run into my mummy's arms screaming 'please don't let me go!' In fact, if you'd have told me this 6 months ago I'm not sure that my reaction would have been too dissimilar from that! But still, here I am.
When I ponder how I ended up here, it's a pretty amazing story* (see the end of the post for the details). If you don't fancy reading the ins and outs of my 'adventurous' life then trust me when I say that so many loose ends have fused together this summer in an explosion of love, faith, and excitement!

Not only has there been a BIG move in terms of accommodation, town, and job, there has also been a BIG move of God in my heart and mind. I've felt so much peace, entirely God-given, and I feel so blessed to be able to enjoy this season after a few seasons of disappointment and grieving.
I have taken that leap of faith so now I am reaping the rewards and it's such a beautiful process. If you find yourself right now in a season of doubt, distress, and fear - fear not! For He is with you, He is laying the path out ahead of you. In fact, the path is already laid, slowly and bit-by-bit He is illuminating that path to you. Do you have the courage to take the next step?
NEVER let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game. What's keeping you from playing the game?

Take it to God, ask Him for help, ask Him for the specifics! He's waiting to give you what you need, and He loves to hear you speak to Him. No prayer is silly! I prayed with my parents that I wouldn't see a spider when looking around my new home and bedroom last week. Lo and behold I saw no spiders, and my first 36 hours here were spider free! When one joined me at work today, I was totally cool with it and let him sit on the beam next to me all day! If that's not a God-given peace then I don't know what is! Keep on asking and keep on trusting! Keep the faith. You can do this; He loves and cares for you.
Here's to many happy memories and encouraging challenges and so much joy!


* the ever-so-slightly-longer-and-more-explanatory story:
Born Started going to summer kids camps every year as a leader's child Got a sister Went to nursery Moved house Started school Attended Girl's Brigade Went to church Became house captain in year 6 Went as a youth to the summer kids camp, in my own dorm Started secondary school Moved church Started youth group Helped out with school community production/panto (4 years running) Started doing more talks at youth group Ran a charity campaign at school resulting in a 1000 balloon launch Spoke in assemblies at school Got baptised Took my GCSEs Got a piece of art selected for exhibition Became an older junior youth leader (helping to run clubs) Took my A-levels Ran a summer youth camp (4 day event) Became deputy community captain Ran the community panto show set design! A year-long internship: kids and youth work Ran another summer youth event (one whole day) Started up monthly youth worship nights (June 2016 onwards) Approached by my new work place Moved out Started my new job
My new job includes: running after-school clubs, running assemblies, youth mentoring, preparing Christmas panto (inc. set design), planning and being a leader at the summer kids camp (week long), doing prayer spaces in schools (arty space + prayer).
If you have a look at what I've done and what I'm now doing, you'll see that so many of my skills and so much of my experience is being utilised this year and for that I am so excited! There's so much more I could mention too; many more of my interests and hobbies come into play in my job for this academic year.

Yay! Be blessed, 
Amy xo