The Close of the Kickstart Event
Returning home with a lot to process!
On Saturday evening, following my baptism experience, I spent some time walking by the river and sitting in the sunshine. I felt I needed rest and plenty of time to digest and process everything that had happened on Friday and Saturday at the kickstart event.
Delighted to be returning to the room that the kind lady from Switzerland had booked for me, I walked back to the hotel. I was a little hungry and felt that I should eat, but having no money I wasn’t sure what to do. I asked the lady on reception whether, if there was any leftover food from the restaurant at the end of the evening, she could save some for me. She said she had a couple of slices of pizza in the kitchen that I could have, which was a wonderful blessing, and she also kindly gave me two Kitkats which she said were for later.
Having eaten the pizza, I had a lovely hot shower and the Lord told me that I would be going home tomorrow, which was a relief and a worry - a relief because the two days had been so eventful and quiet time would be welcome, and a worry because the thought of the journey home caused me anxiety.
I did some writing and had some hot drinks that the hotel had provided before going to bed.
On Sunday morning, I encountered a problem with the lock on the door to my hotel room. I was unable to reenter using the swipe card for the lock - the lock flashed red when I inserted my card. I spoke with the man on reception and after several attempts to fix the issue, he asked me to wait for fifteen minutes and said that I could help myself to a free breakfast by way of an apology in the meantime. This was a great blessing and mercy from the Lord as I had no money to buy breakfast myself.
After a delicious full English breakfast I spent some time resting and praying about the journey home. The Lord gave me some direction and I left the hotel. There was disruption to the trains and many stations were closed, but I walked as the Lord led.
There was so much spiritual darkness in the area. In my mind, I was continually saying Scriptures over and over so as not to be overwhelmed by the dark atmosphere. I got on a bus which was almost empty upstairs (thanks be to God) and got off where the bus terminated. I had no idea where I was, other than I suspected I was going in the opposite direction to the station I needed for the journey home.
I found myself in a spacious park, next to what I suspected was the Thames Barrier on the river, and reflected a little on how man tries to control nature, and how profoundly far away from the natural order of things the world is. I felt quite sad thinking about this. I was also wrestling in my mind with some matters of theology, around the divinity of Jesus especially.
Eventually, I found a bus that would take me to a station which was open and from which I could continue my journey home. The bus ride was stressful, due to the forces of darkness that were at work in some of my fellow passengers, but I had soon arrived at my destination. In the underground station I prayed for a homeless man who had pain in his leg, before getting on the tube and feeling mightily relieved to be on familiar ground and returning home.
To read my reflections following the event and what happened after I returned home, check back soon.