Sorry guys. I've kinda forgotten to blog for about 2 months I feel like. So much has been happening since I last blogged. So, I'm going to write a separate blog for each event. First, we have my trip with the school to Coventry and Stratford.
Coventry is a really neat town with two cathedrals that we stopped in on the way to see Shakespeare's birthplace in Stratford. During WWII, the original cathedral in Coventry was bombed (Coventry was a huge arms supplier for the war). The very next day, plans were started to rebuild the cathedral. Rather than tearing down the remains of the old one and building on the same site, however, they decided to build a modern cathedral next to the old one. So right next to each other are these two amazing cathedrals, and each is amazing for its own reasons. The first is amazing because even after being bombed, this building that was probably built about 7-800 years ago is still partially standing. The steeple is still there, there are still stairs to where the pulpit probably was, and the outer walls (complete with spaces for windows) are still there as well. It was eerie, but very cool. The new cathedral is just... powerful. It's not really all that "pretty" per say- it doesn't have the typical cathedral (here is the church, here is the steeple) kind of look to it. But that I think is what makes it so amazing. We have been all over the country, looking at different cathedrals and analyzing them for their architectural or historical value- we forgot they were still churches- still places built to worship God, the same God we still worship today. This cathedral however, complete with a tapestry of Jesus that was probably 45-50 feet high and covered the entire back wall of the church, brought me to my knees. Usually people here are pretty rowdy on field trips, but not that day. Not in that cathedral. People were respectful and reverent. At one point, we all separated from eachother and went and sat down. I pulled out my iPod and just put on worship music. All I wanted to do was praise the Lord. I just wanted to sit at His feet and worship Him. I could literally feel the presence of the Holy Spirit there. When I rejoined my friends, even those who are not believers said, "Whitney, why is this place so powerful? All I want to do is sit in a corner and cry." So that gave me an excellent opportunity to be like, "Well, here, let me tell you about Jesus and how amazing He is. He is why this place is so powerful. He is moving in your heart." Praise God for moving in hearts here!
After visiting the cathedral, we got back on our bus (which was a double decker tour bus... strange) and went the rest of the way to Stratford. When we got there we wandered around and went and saw Shakespeare's birthplace, where he is buried, and ended the night at the Royal Shakespeare Company Theatre for a production of King Lear. Seeing where Shakespeare was born and buried was weird. Like... William Shakespeare walked there- he went to the church he was buried in. He played with his sibblings in the house. It was just bizzarre. But cool
King Lear was pretty good too- or at least as good as a tragedy can be. I much prefer As You Like It, or Midsummer Night's Dream to Lear or Hamlet, but whatever. It was still a good show.

Ok. Onto the next entry... the Lake Distrcit!