Over the past few months, our family of four has been on a series of adventures...of the mind, as we journeyed with Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Penvensie to the Land of Narnia! The Chronicles of Narnia, by CS Lewis, have thrilled our senses with the excitement of exploring another world, taking in it sights, meeting its unusual citizens. Today, we are on the verge of our own real-life adventure to a foreign land!
About a year and a half ago, we began the process of applying to participate in a ministry exchange program. This is an exchange between two families of church parishes, homes, cars, culture, and country! In January, the letter arrived at last--we were headed for the village of Dore, near Sheffield, in North Central England. The past months have been filled with much googling, studying travel books, garnering advice from past travelers, conferring with our exchange family, and the thrill and excitement of the unknown. Now in the final days before we depart, we have the usual stresses of packing, making sure our paperwork is in order, trying to leave the house worthy of another family's stay, saying goodbyes...but also the anticipation of the experiences we will have, and better yet, the relationships we will create, and the amazing things God will teach us through this opportunity.
In searching the town of Dore on Wikipedia, it shares that the name Dore comes from the same Old English root as "door", signifying a "gateway or pass between two kingdoms". At the end of Prince Caspian, Aslan creates a doorway out of three pieces of wood which offers a gateway into a different world. How appropriate, then, that our entry into this new land will be through a "Dore" as well! Better get back to work on the packing...till next time, on the other side of the pond!
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