We started out the day with a delicious English breakfast at our hotel. They had eggs, ham (it was more like a cross between ham and bacon but very yummy), little checkered shaped potatoes, and rolls with jam. After breakfast we made our way to a hotel near Russell Square where some friends of ours were staying.
We were able to connect there (Along with Rodney and Voni Johnston who came to London at the same time as us) with a pastor of a church in Camden Town called Family Life Centre. It was great talking with him because we gained a ton of insight about the people of London and the way they think, churches in London, and even things about the government. There were a lot of things that I had heard about London that I was able to confirm through conversation with the pastor. One was that Islamic people have a very strong voice in the city; another was that churches are closing down constantly.
I also learned a lot of new information about how many people are taking advantage of unemployment, welfare, and disability. So much to the point where young girls are purposefully trying to get pregnant because when they have a child the government gives them a house and cash to live on. Also, young men are trying to get on unemployment rather than get a job because they can make more money that way. Of course this makes life more difficult for those who are trying to earn a living honestly because they have to pay such high taxes (20%!) off of what they make as well as paying an additional 20% tax on purchases (not to mention council tax that you have to pay on your housing)! This means that they are only really living off of less than 60% of their income.
One thing the pastor told us about his church was that they were able to successfully reach many foreigners in the area, but the downside was that they wouldn’t stay long because they eventually have to go back to their home countries. As far as the indigenous people of London who have grown up there, the church has found ways to get them to visit the church and they like it, but they don’t usually come back because they don’t feel comfortable due to the large number of foreigners attending. They need to feel more of a sense of belonging somehow.
After meeting the pastor in central London, we went to Camden Town and Camden Lock, which are in North London. It is an area that reminded me of Deep Ellum combined with some of the markets I saw recently in New York City. There were people everywhere dressed as diverse and outrageous as you can imagine. There were also several tattoo shops, loads of stores, shops, and everything in between. There was also a large area in the middle of all the shops with several little specialty restaurants. I think they call it the food market. We ended up getting lunch at one of the Indian food places, and it was really delicious!
When we finished eating, the pastor took us to see his church, which was only about a 5-10 minute walk from the market area. It was a little building that looked like just a metal shed on the outside but they had done a lot with it on the inside. It used to be a storage facility for some apartments but they were able to purchase it about 3 years ago and they have really transformed it into a beautiful place of worship.
Once we were done at the church, we went to a couple of different leasing offices in the area to find out how much it would cost to live there and what kind of properties were available. Generally the cheapest thing they had was for 500 pounds ($825) per week for a 2 bedroom flat (British word for apartment). The good news was that the pastor said that if we kept looking in other areas of London that we could find better deals.
We took the tube back with Rodney and Voni to an area close to their hotel. We found a little place there to eat dinner that was really good and it was relatively inexpensive. It was there that I drank my 1st cup of non-Starbucks coffee in London. It was actually an incredible cappuccino and it tasted just as awesome as it looked.
Finally, we went back with R & V to their hotel and finished out the night by playing a game that they brought called Dutch Blitz. It was really fast paced and I loved it at 1st, but the longer I played the worse I got and I ended up losing both of the games we played. Meredith on the other hand started out slow but ended up winning the 2nd game!
All in all it was a great day. In fact, Meredith and I felt that the trip was already worth it just because of how much we saw and learned on this one day.
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