Rain in Glasgow

I must apologize, I haven't been posting on here as much as I originally anticipated. This has been one of the most interesting tours I have ever been on and I will try my hardest to fill you in on what my life has been like over the past week.

London: We flew into Heathrow last Sunday morning at about 11 am. When we finally got into our hostel, which was atop a small pub called the Green Man, we got a beer to celebrate our long awaited arrival to the UK (It was around 7 in the morning our time and we had been up all night). That night we were all too tired to go explore so we find some food nearby and headed back to the pub for happy hour with the intention of meeting our fellow travelers at the hostel.

That night I met a wide veriety of people from different cultures and background.

Mikhail was a canadian atheist jew with a love for politics and a quest for knowledge. I ended up talking to him for hours about his views on politics, religion, God as a whole, and music. I could tell he was a genuine person. Although we didn't agree on much in any of those categories we had a mutual respect for each other.

Ester was a feisty one. She moved to London from spain in pursuit of a career as an actress. I think she would be really great at that if she learned a little more english. But her sweetness and broken english were endearing to say the least.

Patricia, also from spain, was in London on holiday but she was actually living in Glasgow finding work as an intern for the film industry. She comes in later in the story as well.

*There are so many more people to talk about but the starbucks I am in is closing so I have to make this quick.

After 3 days in london we were ready to start our tour and play a show. We waited for about 4 hours for the van to arrive. We said our goodbyes to our new friends and got in the van. The van is a sprinter van, not much more than a utility van with a couple seats and a table bolted to the floor. It is definitely not to welcoming.

The first show was in Basingstok on the floor of a club called "the bang bar". I believe that will remain one of my favorite shows on this tour, at least so far anyway.

I'll skip some of the boring stuff and lead you up to wear I am now and fill you in on the overall feelings in the group. We are all broke and the tour isn't doing quite as well as any of us hoped. It has been a long time since any of us toured at this capacity and it is wearing us thin. Rain has been a frequent visitor in most of the cities and we are used to being damp most of the time. But overall we are hanging in there and we are trying to make the best of every situation. Right now I am sitting outside a starbucks in Newcastle and admiring the old buildings. Getting a good dose of people watching as well.

I've had a little bit of a hard time figuring out why God has me out here as I still believe I am supposed to be here. Last night I had a very encouraging talk with a guy named Ali from a band called dweller and it made everything feel right. Even if I was only meant to come here to encourage and be encouraged by him and a few other people I think it was worth it. (not to mention how much fun it actually is to play music with some good people). I have to say I am pretty homesick though and I can finally say that I don't feel at home anymore on the road. Funny how things change like that. God has showed me the power of personal prayers as I have needed constant communication with him while I am out here. And for that I am eternally grateful.

To all of you who are important to me, I miss you emencely and I can not wait to see you again to tell you in more detail about this trip. this post was incredible rushed and I left out a lot of incredible details do to a lack of time. Ill post again as soon as I have time. Love you all.


stephen

First leg: the beginning of 3 days off in London

Secret shows, luggage consolidation, airport goodbyes, airport layovers, coffee, airport beers, in flight movie, trains, hostel, hostel pub, and now I am texting loved ones using a travel miracle called iMessage. All of these things have led me to this moment of sitting on my computer in a busy pub while a drunk local spews an increasingly loud cockney slur. I am alive in a country thousands of miles from home. I have never stayed in a hostel before. Turns out it is pretty much nothing like the 2005 horror flick that disappointed audiences across the world. It is actually pretty rad. There is a pub that is connected to the rooms upstairs and our room is a collection of about ten three story bunk beds. The pub has only been playing Red Hot Chili Peppers and sum 41 since we arrived. It is almost comical. I've started trying to meet new people in this strange collection of passerby's and short stay but its a slow going process. There will be more about that later as I don't have much information to share. Tomorrow the fun starts as we will be headed to Camdon town. Im sure Ill have more stories then. As for now I'm going to enjoy my surroundings and create something interesting to read.

There is always new

It has been a long time since I last posted in this journal. I forgot about the therapeutic value to sharing my thoughts. It helps me process what goes on in my day to day life along with shedding light on things of my past.

In three days I will be leaving for a UK/European tour with As Cities Burn. It has been a year and a few months since I have last been on tour and the things God has healed in me since then have been uncountable. I don't plan on touring full time again anytime soon if ever, but I am definitely excited to see new parts of this world and let the beauty of travel challenge my thinking.

In the transition from touring with Haste the Day I went from being in a new place daily to working at a restaurant a block from my house and never having to leave a 3 mile radius. This drastic change in lifestyle brings a new (and much more important) weight to the word "commitment". The idea of relationship changes from a short term warm and fuzzy to an investment of time, emotion, compassion, and encouragement. This was no easy pill to swallow. But now that the lesson is learned, and I am on corse of truly living in commitment to the people around me, I feel a sense of security where I am. Something that life on the road could never provide.

Although, this tour is not necessarily long (about 2 weeks), it is important to me that I keep these things on the forefront of my mind. Most importantly that my identity does not rest in a band or an musical instrument but in that I am the image of the invisible God. Redeemed by grace and made humble by failure. The battle has already been won and I now stand victorious with Christ as my right hand.

Now I can say, as I type, I am becoming giddy with excitement for what the Lord will bring over the next few weeks. I want to be submerged in God's love as I meet new people and hear their stories. I want to be challenged by a culture not my own and pushed to become more understanding in the character of God and His children.

So, if you pray(or even if you don't) please pray that I do not fall back into my old ways of thinking and that I can move forward in what God has for me.

thank you.

ps. I am overwhelmed with joy that I get to play music on the road again even if it is for such a short time. Not to mention that it is one of my favorite bands and a great group of guys to hang with.


I hope to be posting more of these while I am traveling, not for your benefit but for my own.