Transportation in London

Transportation in london is both amazing and easily accessible and maddening and frustrating.

One the one hand there are buses and trains to everywhere you need to go and where I live there are bus stops literally right around the corner and just super easy to get to.

Trains and buses are also pretty regular so there is usually not a lot of waiting for them.

I really don't mind catching public transportation and especially like it when I have been able to get in interesting conversations with people.

I like that someone else has to worry about traffic and for the most part I can enjoy a journey hanging out with my family.

I like getting on random buses as they allow me to see the sites around me and I get to explore this great place called London.

On the other hand it seems that every other day the schedule for these buses and trains change and the train that use to take you to your destination does not go there anymore and the next train is 30 mins away....now thats a pain.

And on the weekends you never know what train line will be down and how many buses and trains you will need to catch to get to your destination...another pain..

I am learning the best times to catch public transport with a 3 year old and a stroller...
Mon-Fri....do not get on anything before 9am if you have children...you and your children will be smothered in human flesh and may not make it out alive.

Do not get on a train between 4:00pm-7:00pm...once again your life and the life of your children will be at serious risk.

I do not get on a bus between 3-4pm as school children with attitudes and no sense of manners will crowd the bus and will cuss and yell and scare your children as they have done to Priya many times.

I also know where to sit on a train in order to be closest to the lift when I get out and when to catch a bus because there is no lift at a certain station.

I know to get on a bus one stop after the hospital and not before as the crowds will have left the bus at the hospital stop.

I know that on weekends I should go into the city on a train super early or go on a bus after 10am as the crowds are CRAZY.

I know that when it is dark I catch a train to one station further down the line as there is more light and more people to keep me safe.

I feel exposed  to more of the world when taking public transportation because you see and experience  a whole lot more of people...both the good and the bad and that can be interesting when you have small children.

I find public transportation both challenging and a blessing. What I love is that it does FORCE me to interact with people...to not just go from my house to the car, to the office, to the car, to my house.

Instead I feel the heat or the cold, I hear the arguments or laughter, I sit with my child and explain why they said such and such and I get to have teaching moments. I get to play a game with priya as we walk to the train and we see a plane and we wonder what country it is going to and she wants them all to be going to some random country. My children make others interact with them instead of staring straight ahead. with a frown...cause really no matter how hard you try you cannot resist Alina saying "ello" over and over until you smile at her.

Its not always pleasant or easy but I believe it's party of the ministry my family has here and I feel we need to keep at it and instead of complaining we need to ask the Lord to bless this small offering of ours.

Expectations

Something that I am also learning on a daily basis is to let go of my expectations and to hold things loosely in my hands and heart.

When you move you can naturally have expectations of how things will be when you get there. These expectations can come from past experiences, things you have read or things that have even been discussed with you.

My advice is let go of them all and just come into the situation zero expectations.

Don't expect that things will work the same way as they did where you came from, don't expect the experience will be the same as last time you were there, don't expect for things to just go smoothly.

Have zero expectations and just enjoy what God places in front of you.

Our family has been incredibly blessed here and we are having a wonderful time. But things have not gone as we expected they would. Our first few weeks were a little different, our ministry was a little different, living in London is different when living there with kids instead of being single. Banks are different and The Salvation Army is different (good but different) child care is different. Everything is different.

We as our family have adjusted well and I think that is because we had very few expectations.

Even now as we truly are beginning to settle and figure out our role I have zero expectations and I am holding my dreams and prayers very loosely.

I want to be ready for whatever The Lord has for us and when we have expectations we can miss the blessings.

Packing

So here is my advice for packing to move overseas (for all it's worth), especially if you are packing to serve overseas with The Salvation Army

When you begin packing have three piles
1) to take
2) to store
3) to give away/ sell etc

Begin sorting it all out and when you feel like you have got your head around it.... Half all the things you are taking with you and all the things you are storing .... Then half the stuff you are taking with you again!! Seriously

We thought we had done really well, we have a lot of things away and we were under the weight we were allowed for storage and shipping. So we felt good.

We get here and begin unpacking and think what the heck were we thinking!!! Why did we bring this, why did we bring that...we still have boxes and boxes of items just sitting in a our garage.

I was actually incredibly ashamed of how many things we had.

So there you have it... If you are planning to move overseas seriously limit what you take...bring only the essentials and a few items that will make your house look like a home...you don't need the rest of that junk...

Great opportunity to simplify your life