Moving Forward

First, an update on where things stand for us in our preparations for our England adventure. We would certainly appreciate your prayers for us in these matters:

• Finances are the biggest hurdle for us as we look ahead. We are still hopeful that another financing option will surface which would allow us not to have to resort to loans, but I (Michael) have applied for a government student loan to cover at least my registration fees and perhaps more. We are also looking into other loan possibilities.
• In the meantime we have had a generous offer by someone to act as a guarantor/sponsor for us so that we can go ahead with our visa applications. So, we have applied for our visas to the U.K., and if everything is in order we should receive those back by the middle of July.
• There is a possibility that I may be able to teach a course or two at Birmingham Christian College, a small evangelical college located right near the south campus of the University. Although I will need to devote as much time as possible to my dissertation research and writing, this would be a tremendous experience and would provide some extra cash for us.

In the last update we provided links to some of the local amenities and attractions in Birmingham. This time we'd like to describe the area in which we will be living--a sort of internet pre-tour of our Birmingham neighbourhood, with the eyewitness description (and corrections!) to come once we get there.

Birmingham is divided up into wards, many of which were originally separate towns or villages before being absorbed into what is now the second most populous city in Britain at about one million people, or much more if you include the greater Birmingham area. The ward in which we will be living is called Selly Oak (see picture at left). To help set Selly Oak within Birmingham, click here for a map; to set Birmingham within the U.K., click here for a map. Selly Oak is the home of the south campus of the University of Birmingham, just over a kilometre or so south of the main campus in Edgbaston.

In terms of daily convenience, our housing location couldn't be better. Here's a handy map from the University for some reference points:


Asbury Overseas House, in which we'll live in our cozy two-bedroom flat (apartment), shares the car park (parking lot) with Elmfield House, the home of the University's Graduate Institute of Theology and Religion where I (Michael) will be spending some of my study time (#13 on map). The rest of my study time will likely be spent at the Orchard Learning Resources Centre just across the street and down the block (#6 on map), or at the University's main campus library a couple kilometres to the north. If I do some lecturing at Birmingham Christian College, it is only about a kilometre west of our flat on Weoley Park Road. For basic necessities, there is a Sainsbury's grocery story roughly a kilometre north of our flat up Bristol Road. The local public library is in the same area as the Sainsbury's. We hope we can avoid the need for extensive medical care while in England, but should the need arise the Selly Oak Hospital is up in this area as well. There are some churches within walking distance that we will be checking out when we're there, among them Christian Life Centre just north of our flat and Bournville Evangelical Church just to the south. As for transportation, Bristol Road is a main thoroughfare and you'll see from the map that bus stops are readily accessible. Also, about a kilometre north of our flat (close to the public library, etc.), the Selly Oak train station stands ready to take us anywhere we'll need to go. Now we'll just have to wait and see how accurate our internet map-reading actually is! :-)

Thanks again to each one of you, our family and friends, for your interest and prayers. We appreciate each of you and the various kinds of support you have offered to us in this adventure!