RobertRierson

2011-10-31T15:27:00.000-07:00

It has been over a year since I posted. Now doing most of my posting on facebook. Looking to see you there.

2010-08-12T04:49:00.000-07:00

As part of his Christmas present (Yeah, we know Christmas isn't for a few more months), James wanted to go to the England - Vs - Hungary International football (that is soccer for you Americans) match. We got great seats, 2nd row right on one of the corners so we could see all the match. The match was at Wembly Stadium in London. WOW!

James shows off the Hungary/England scarf and prepares to enjoy the game.
We wish this was the final score but England battled back to win 2 - 1. Steven Gerrard scored two goals in less than 5 mintues.

Welcome to the Stadium. 72024 were in attendance that night. Quite a few people.

The soldiers carried the British and Hungary flag around the stadium as they played the national anthem.s This is the Hungary flag of course.

James outside the stadium right before we go in. The game was at 8:00 at night. We got home at 12:30 AM. Quite a late night for the little man.

I spoke and heard more Hungarian tonight that I have in quite a while. It was good to get to use some of the knowledge again.

2010-08-04T04:13:00.000-07:00

This past week, I got the privilege of visiting Moscow. It was totally unexpected. I expected the American Mindset of Russia. Concrete buildings and absolutely no beauty or architechure. What I found was beautiful. Apart from the excessive heat (over 35C with no A/C) or the smoke caused by the drought and wildfires outside the city, I loved it and would go back in a heartbeat. Here are some pictures from the trip

Beautiful buildings but not a faith of lasting effect. The Orthodox Churches were incredible. This one is outside Moscow State University (The Harvard of the East).

This sign was just hilarious. Do we stop (that is what CTON says in Russian)? Do we Go for the green light or do we need to yield.

I tried to capture the cross through the lamp.

Cathedral of Christ our Savior. An incredible church. Too bad they don't trust Christ as our Savior.

The traditional photo op from Red Square. An incredible place. Never thought this Kansas Farm boy would end up here.

2010-06-15T12:19:00.000-07:00

James and the Year 4 classes from all across Horsham participated in the sixtieth (60) annual Dancing in the Park. This is where a bunch of British schools and children gather in the park for country and western dancing (actually square dancing) to Irish dance music. Talk about your cultural mixing.

There were about 150/200 children dancing. It was a great evening. Dry and the sun was shining. A great time.

2010-05-15T14:24:00.000-07:00

Well, James BDay part was Thursday and Nathan's was today. Actually there were four boys in the Y6 at St Mary's were having birthdays in the past month, so we all got together and threw a Birthday Disco Party for the Y6 class. This is the last year they will all be together as next year in Y7, they go to different secondary schools across the area. I think the entire class showed up and we had a wonderful disco with almost no one dancing. Well, there was some dancing but thankfully, not boys and girls together yet. It was a movie disco where the boys and girls came as their favorite movie character. Can you guess who Nathan was. Yep, you guessed it, Harry Potter. Wow, thankfully the birthday party's are over until next year.

2010-05-13T14:15:00.000-07:00

There are advantages to having two sons with birthdays 17 days apart. You get both birthdays overwith in one shot. The disadvantage is that you have two birthday parties to plan days apart from each other. So, While technically, Nathan's Bday was at the end of April, James Bday Part took place first. Today, we had 20 boys from his class at school and some church friends descend on the sports hall at the church for some Sock Wrestling, Dodge Ball and other sports. A great time was had by all and no one got hurt too much. PTL. James has had a great Bday party with a boat load of presents and some great friends. Looking back, at the beginning of the school year, I can remember, crying our selves to sleep wondering and praying that God would let us have one friend. God has blessed abundantly more that we could as or think. All the boys in attendance were James friends. Thank you God.

2010-04-18T06:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we took the short drive and 30 minute ferry ride to the Ilse of Wight. This is a beautiful island about a 30 minute ferry ride south of PortsMouth Harbor. I truly is a different world from England. Clifts galore and sandy beaches. The weather cooperated and it was an incredible day. On the edge of a clift. Don't walk to close boys. Great family shot.

Syara, Elaine, James and Nathan at Needles Point Park. Rocky beach here.

Finally a sandy beach, The boys built chairs in the sand with built in cup holders. I got a nap and a sunburn on the beach. WOW!

James riding the ski lift down to the Needles Point Beach. Awesome views

We are trying to get Dad and Mom to sell their property in Kansas and by some land here. Farm country with beaches all around less that 30 minutes from your house. Probably could get an acre for all they have in Kansas. Not a good deal or exchange rate.

Today, We had two wonderful services in church. This afternoon, the Ladies Bible study that Elaine is working with had an afternoon tea for the families. There weren't many in attendance but we had a great time getting to know a few of the families from the church. The boys played dodge ball and street hockey. The weather again was won derful, sunny and dry. Walking Syara this evening in the park and the evening is like a brisk fall evening in Oklahoma. Good football weather. (American Football that is.)

The weather is cooperating but the Iceland Volcano is playing havic with the flights into the country and most of Europe. More flights canceled in the past 4 days that after 9/11 according to the news. Most of Northern Europe air travel is completely shutdown. It is effecting everything from the mail to cruise ships, fruit and vegetables and everything else. Back 100 years. God reminded us He is in control no matter how much we think we are.

2010-04-04T01:16:00.000-07:00

Up from the grave He arose

With a mighty triumph o'er His foes;

He arose a victor of the dark domain,

And He lives for ever with His saints to reign:

He arose! He arose!

Alleluia! Christ arose!

HAPPY EASTER!

The Lord Is Risen, He is Risen Indeed!

Happy Easter to you. We pray you are celebrating the Risen Lord. This Sunday morning, we went to the Brighton Road Baptist Church Sunrise service. (Well it was near sunrise). About 30 to 40 of the congregation showed up on the hill overlooking Horsham to celebrate. As you can see from the pictures, it was wet, muddy and cold. Part of the service was a Scottish tradition of the egg roll. Why an egg roll? To symbolize and remember that the stone was rolled away. Having dyed eggs yesterday, the boys were ready for the egg roll or more like a toss.

Ready for the egg roll.

Headed out for the egg hunt

Instructions for the egg roll.

2010-04-03T10:34:00.000-07:00

Today, we visited the British Musuem where they have an incredible collection of ancient artifacts. After the Louvre in Paris, the boys weren't much in for a long tour of more statues and stuff. We did see some unique sites that are only in Britain.

Nathan taking a punch to the cheek from a statue or Ramses.
Three statues, three Riersons

These wall hangings used to decorate the Palace of the Assyrian Kings. Wonder of David or any of the other Israelites in the Bible saw them or perhaps carved them. Awesome.

DumDum Where my GumGum

The Rosetta Stone - This was a replica that you could touch. The original was in a glass case.

2010-04-02T10:09:00.000-07:00

The boys began the Easter break today and also with the celebration of Good Friday, the office was closed so we decided to go into the city for the day and to celebrate Easter, the boys decided they would forgo Easter baskets for a trip to the Hard Rock Cafe. While I don't recommend the online reservations system because it doesn't work, we finally got sat down and ordered. Above, Nathan ordered a full rack of ribs with the idea that we could share them.

So much for sharing meals with the kids. Nathan ate the whole rack and after that, he finished off the chips (french fries). Can you believe it. We had forgotten how good fat filled American food can be. The meal was delicious, huge and great. Highly recommended.

2010-03-16T05:26:00.000-07:00

"And everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved." - Acts 2:21

Today, I left work a little early to go by the phone shop and see if i could get my phone unlocked. It turned out the shop has moved and is no longer in business. I was feeling really down. I bought a new phone in the states and now, I can't even use it because I can't unlock the phone. This seemed to be just another step in a long list of disappointments in my life. I was feeling pretty blue walking down High St when I was approached by a young man asking for donations to the Mental Health Foundation. He was selling the foundation as a way that mental health patients could find hope and restoration. I began to talk with him about the real hope found only in Christ. Long story short, as I talked, he listened and I began to share what God wants for his life. I told him how God wants to release him from his sin and guilt and make him white as snow. Steve that day, made the ultimate decision to turn his life around let God give him a positive mental health. Steve came into the kingdom today.

Please pray for Steve, we know that the enemy will do everything to discourage him. He will be faced with incredible pressure to doubt his conversion.

2010-03-15T03:00:00.000-07:00

On the beach at Selsey UK. Lovely girl.
The boys look for rocks to skip. A beautiful Mother's day in Britain

Holding up the Royal Naval Lifeboat Rescue ship.

Syera enjoying a dip in the cold English Channel

Wow, Sunshine

Yesterday was Mother's day in Britain. So after a home cooked meal by the boys, Elaine wanted to take a drive down to the coast. We visited the city of Selsey which had a great rock beach. The town is known for having the most days of sunshine in the UK and the sun did not disappoint yesterday. It was a great day. Somewhat brisk but I think the UK will always be that way. There was a great rock beach, typical for the UK which the boys looked for flat rocks to skip. We took Syera and she enjoyed rolling in a couple of dead crabs. Yuck, there was definitely a bath in store for her when we got home. We stopped by McDonalds on the way home for a snack supper. There wasn't much open at the beach. We will definitely have to visit in the summer when things will be more lively.

2010-02-15T08:33:00.000-08:00

James with a Mummy in the Louvre
This pastry shop opened in 1760. They sold great Pastries.

This was about the best picture we could get of the Mona Lisa. There was such a crowd around it. Such a great sight to behold.

Nathan and James with the Venus de Milo statue. This was a great statue discovered in 1820 that was sculpted sometime around the 1st century.

Nathan, Elane and James outside the entrance to the Louvre.

2010-02-14T06:12:00.000-08:00

This past week, we spent in the City of Lights, Paris. In fact, Valentines Day, we went up the Eiffel Tower. The spot where more proposals happen than anywhere in Europe. We were without internet during the vacation. Actually I forgot the power cord to the computer so God made us spend a week without a computer. What a blessing.

The tower when it was built in 1889 was the tallest structure in the world at the time. It was surpassed by the Empire State Building. When it was built, it was supposed to be temporary as it was for the World's Fair. The Parisians hated it because it was ugly and without style. Boy are we glad they didn't tear it down now.

We had an awesome Valentine's Day. While we rode to the top, James and I walked down from the tower all 700+ steps. The weather, while cold was awesome and sunny. We didn't actually see any proposals during our time at the tower but there were many couples so I am sure we just missed it. The good news was that Elaine decided to marry me. So, she did say yes!!!

2010-01-08T13:34:00.000-08:00

Nathan, Syra, and James on a great BIG snow ball.

Hiding out in an Igloo they didn't build

Syra - Camouflage

This past week has been the worst winter in over 20 years. The entire nation of Britain is covered in snow and has been all week. In fact, it is supposed to snow even more this weekend. Needless to say, in this country that doesn't even have a snow shovel in the store, this is unexpected and they are completely unable to cope. School has been canceled the past three days and will probably be cancelled Monday if we get more snow. Here are some pics and a little bit of video from where the kids played in the park. See previous posts for a view of the park without all the snow.

We have been having a hard time adjusting to the time zone. It seems that this trip has been the hardest. EVERYone in the family is having time sleeping, getting to sleep and staying asleep. Thanks for your prayers, whilst the snow has taken the kids out of school, it has provided a needed break from work, school and helped us relax and just chill out.

2009-12-25T22:00:00.000-08:00

This year we flew home to America for a Christmas vacation in the states. We flew out of the UK to Wichita where Robert's parents live on Sunday, Dec 20th. We celebrated Christmas day at Robert's Grandma Ruths house "Like almost all Christmas's at the Rierson's". It was suprisingly a good time spending time feeding cows, seeing some cousins and relatives we haven't seen in a couple of years. Christmas Eve the weather turned bad and there truly was a blizzard. about 10" of snow and 30-40 mph winds caused massive drifts. We had to feed the cows with tractors as the pick-ups wouldn't work.

Christmasa at Grandma Ruths

Clearing the string off the bails.

Drawn to Life (2x) for DS and Wii

Here is Elaine - All decked out in farm gear feeding the cows.

2009-12-18T06:36:00.000-08:00

Ok, I have been slowly updating the blog on our expeditions but I had to show you the pictures of the beautiful snow at our offices. We got about 4 inches of snow and that shut down most of the services in the area. They just don't know how to deal with it. It did make for some glorious pictures. All these pictures were taken on the grounds of the office. ENJOY!!!

2009-10-31T13:53:00.000-07:00

Britian is just like America in that it really gets into Halloween. They celebrate with fireworks, bonfires and huge festivals in almost every city. It also corresponds with Fall break from school nationwide so many people travel or take small vacations during this time. We celebrating by carving a real pumpkin into the famous "Jack-O-Lantern". Above, you can see the boys pulling out the seeds, drawing on the face, cutting out the figure. They had a wonderful time. I think it was the first time we have actually made a real "Jack-O-Lantern".

Happy Halloween from Horsham, UK.

2009-10-17T13:37:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to give you a small picture of the park behind our flat. It really is wonderful place to play, walk the dog, go for a swim, etc. God has really blessed us here by providing all that we need. The boys love to go walk or play football here. We love to fly kites, feed the ducks and enjoy the weather.

2009-10-13T13:14:00.000-07:00

Master Chocolateer - Explains how they make Chocolate in France
Can you guess what these are. Check below and I will explain

All the "Special" stuffed animals from the Boys Room Booboo is second from left.

Here are all the owners of the stuffed animals above.

Here are some pictures from Nathan's trip to France. He stayed with 5 other boys in his room. That must have been one messy room! The trip was very informative. The boys visited a bread making factory, a chocolate factory, the beach, a WWII cemetary and memorial. They did have daily inspections on their rooms so I know that the rooms weren't that messy. Nathan did request to stay with one of his school buds because he knew that the boy didn't believe in Christ. We prayed that Nathan would be a witness for Christ to the 5 boys by reading his Bible each morning.

What are those black things above. Cocoa beans. That is what chocolate is made of.

2009-10-12T12:47:00.000-07:00

This week the Year 6 class from St. Mary's school went off to France for the week. Nothing like sending your 10 year old off to another country to realize time has really flown. It seems like yesterday that we just brought him home on the airplane from Korea. Now he is off to France for the week. Talk about trusting God with your children. After all, they aren't ours, they are just entrusted to us to care for a short while. Stay tuned for the rest of the story and some pictures from Nathan's trip.

2009-10-08T12:49:00.000-07:00

2009-10-07T12:31:00.000-07:00

Today the boys participated in communion at St Mary's Church as part of the Harvest Festival with the church. The children of St Mary's school led the worship for the service. All the children brought food items to give the the local food bank. We were blessed to have the Bank's family from Romania with us during the week. They were able to participate in the service. It was a blessing to host them for the week. We were able to take them to the coast one day and had a luncheon on the rock beach with the white clifts in the background. We continue to have a mild fall with absolute beautiful weather. The Banks took a couple of days to go up to LegoLand near Windsor Castle.

2009-10-02T22:40:00.000-07:00

Susan at the Tower of London Bridge
Nathan at St Pauls Cathedral

Nathan, James and Susan in Piccadilli Circus Square (Times Square of London)

For several weeks now, we have been trying to get together with Zsuzsi (Susan), a friend of mine from Calvary Chapel Choir in Budapest. She is working for OM in Birmingham and we wanted to get together on this side of the Channel. She is a wonderful Hungarian Christian serving the British people. We finally worked out the date and was able to see some of the sites of London with her. It was great to get back together, We saw a lot of the London city, went out to eat at a great "American" Diner and had a great time for the day.

God continues to amaze me in how He has placed people in our path continuing to connect us with Hungary. We truly love the people of Hungary and miss them greatly. Continue to lift up the people of that Nation. That God will draw them to Himself.

2009-09-28T22:44:00.000-07:00

Just behind our flat in Horsham is the Horsham park and Pavilions. This is a wonderful city park with trails, skate and biking ramps for the teens, a huge play ground with loads of equipment to make you dizzy. A swiming pool and lap pool as well as a huge workout center. Tennis courts and soccer courts. A duck pond and loads of football "Soccer" courts. The boys love to go out and play and feed the ducks. So when we get an almost empty bag of bread, we head that way for an evening walk if the weather is nice. Lately, the weather has been terrific and we have really enjoyed the park. It almost makes up for not having a garden "yard" to play in.

We are almost settled into life in Horsham. God has blessed us beyond measure here. We continue to search for a church home where we know that God wants to use us. It is so different than Budapest. In Budapest, there were about no choices in the matter. Here, anything is open and we can go where God leads us. In the surrounding communities all within 15 minutes drive, there are loads of churches that would be suitable. Sometimes, when faced with overwhelming choices, you just want the decision made for you. (HA)

Blessings

2009-09-27T22:27:00.000-07:00

Today, we took the opportunity of another wonderful fall day to visit the longest running monarchy in the world. Windsor Castle has been the seat of royalty for almost 1000 years. It is a sprawling complex in Windsor just outside of London and about an hour drive for us. We were able to see the famous guards that don't ever smile. Touring the castle is a must. The doll house of Queen Mary is really incredible. Even the boys liked seeing it. But the armory and decorations in the state rooms are unreal. Beautiful tapestries that cover entire walls. Huge walls! The only thing that would have topped off our visit was an audience with the queen. We think she was there but we didn't get to see her. Oh well, next time.

God continues to help us adjust to life here. Nathan won the head teacher award this month for the fastest and easiest adjustment to a new school. That is Nathan. Easy going, likable and friendly to everyone.

We ask for your prayers for James. He is less easy going and thus has a hard time making friends. He crys almost every night wanting friends and a head teacher award like his brother. We know God will answer those prayers in time.

Blessings

2009-09-26T13:23:00.000-07:00

One of the common items around here is the neighborhood boot sale. Now to understand this you must understand what a boot is. That is the trunk of your car. So every Saturday/Sunday in some Farmer's field, you pack up the junk you want to sell, pay the farmer 8 quid for messing up his field and open the trunk of your car and start selling it. It is kind of like a great neighborhood garage sale. We visited them quite frequently when we were first here looking for some good deals on stuff for the house. As we were walking the aisles when James ran across this antique that he HAD to have. It was 5 pounds, in excellent condition and works great. No electricity with this one. However, it it truly British. The traditional $ above the four is the British Pound signe of which I don't know how to insert here. He is learning to type on the real thing. No computer keyboard for him.

2009-09-19T13:00:00.000-07:00

The weather continues to be an Indian Summer fall. Today we drove down to the coast to see the English Channel. It is about 30 minutes south of us. We went to the city of LittleHampton and played in the sand and ocean for a while. The weather was awesome again. The beach was crowded. Although we didn't go swimming, there were children playing in the water. The tide was going out and the signs warned about a very strong undercurrent. On the way back, we happened by the town of Arundel with the awesome castle on the hillside. This quaint little town has an awesome castle and a great cathedral. It was a really neat place to visit. We will definitely be back here. We arrived as the castle was just closing so we didn't get to go inside or see some of the stores as everything in Britian closes at 4:30-5:00 in the evening.

2009-09-09T12:56:00.000-07:00

Since God has ordained that we will stay in England for at least this additional school year, we checked around and there is a great school within walking distance of the house. St Mary's Church of England Primary School is a great ranked school and "Just Happened" to have one position in Year 6 for Nathan and one position in Year 4 for James. So, the boys went and got their uniforms, started learning to tie a tie and here is their first day of school in England.

2009-09-06T12:45:00.000-07:00

This weekend was unseasonably mild. The sun was shining, weather was awesome so we took the afternoon to see a local

sight., Box Hill near Dorking has some WWII bunkers and lots of trails through the woods. The blackberries were in season and we spent the afternoon walking the trails and picking and eating blackberrys. YUM!!!

2009-09-05T22:40:00.000-07:00

On Aug 30, we took a small road trip to see the famous Enland landmark, Stonehenge. It is about a two hour drive from our home. While it was wonderful to say "been there, done that", it really is just a big pile of rocks in the middle of a field. Supposedly over 6000 years old, some of the stones were moved from 250 miles away.

Just this last week we finally got the internet connection setup. So I am sorry we have somewhat been out of touch. We did have a mobile internet stick for email but, when you are paying for each byte of bandwidth, blogs don't make the top of the list. So, over the next several days, I am going to update the blog with pictures, etc to fill you in on our lives in Horsham.

Life in England is settling in but it was surprising to me how difficult the adjustment has been. The language is the same (Well somewhat). Driving on the left isn't that diffucult and I can almost do it without thinking now. But our transition was just as difficult as moving to Budapest in different ways. Getting the house setup consumes all your energy and free time. Learning where things are on the aisles of the grocery store. Learning what grocery store has what items. Where can you find thumb tacks. Who has the cheapest prices. Things that you take for granted each day where you live because you know them are all now UNKNOWN. Choices and decisions about school, etc.

We are pleased that the boys are attending St Mary's Church of England school. They are in a Christian environment yet just as in any school, there are many who don't know Christ.

Thanks for your prayers. I will update another post tomorrow about another trip and some more adjustments

2009-09-03T12:28:00.000-07:00

While Dad was a work one day, the boys and Mom went into London for a field trip outing. They stopped by and had Tea with the Queen at Buckingham Palace (Just kiding) and then went to the home of that famous detective "Sherlock Holmes". They also stopped by the home of the famous writer "Charles Dickens" but that wasn't near as fun as dressing up like Sherlock.

Life continues to adjust here for us. A challenge recently has been trying to make internet/television/phone decisions. In additon, Robert's work is about 1 hr away from the house. There is a 15 minute walk to the train station, a 30-35 minute train ride and finally a 15 minute walk to the office. Having never lived more than 15 minutes away from any workplace, this is quite an adjustment. In addition, because of the office being behind on schedule and work, they are asking us to work a full 40 hour week. That makes it about 50-55 hours adding the commute. We are definitely missing Budapest!!!