As we boarded the plane to come to England back in March, leaving all we had known to come to a place we had never seen and where we knew no other people, Tara prayed and asked God to let us make a lasting relationship during our travel to England. We flew from Arkansas to Newark, New Jersey, and then on to Birmingham, England, eventually landing in the middle of farm land 2 miles from a town of about 60,000 people (Nuneaton) and 1 mile from a village of 500 (Higham on the Hill). During the long flight across the Atlantic Ocean, Tara and Regan sat next to an older gentleman, David Owen, who was returning from a holiday in Florida to his home in Leamington Spa, England.
Although the flight was overnight and I know Tara was exhausted, David and Tara struck up quite a conversation. I thought it odd simply because Tara isn’t one you would describe as “talkative,” and she had told me how much she hoped she could sleep before we arrived in England. As we neared England, I also joined in the conversation as best I could from a seat behind and we shared why we were heading to England, training to be missionaries, going to the Philippines, leaving our jobs in Arkansas, and he asked us where we would be living, so we told him.
It was a very pleasant conversation, but we had no idea what was beginning. Even though Tara had asked God for a lasting relationship, she really didn’t realize how precious David Owen would become to us. We now know him, and he us, so much better than we did on that flight from the States.
We rarely get mail here (we wish that weren’t so), but on our second or third day here we received our first letter (the English say “post”). We excitedly opened our post to find that David Owen had written us a lovely letter and included a self addressed and stamped envelope for us to return the favor. We did so. He also included much information about local attractions and ways to travel because he knew we were without a car. Shortly thereafter we made plans for him to visit the King’s Lodge and for us to go on a trip with him to a few places in his home county of Warwickshire.
Over the past seven weeks, David has personally given us tours of Stratford Upon Avon (the home of Shakespeare), Warwick (of the famous Warwick Castle), Leamington Spa (a lovely spa town with a gorgeous public park and gardens and hard to find places such as the home of Nathaniel Hawthorne), Kenilworth (the site of the famous Kenilworth Castle ruins) and the ruins of Maxstoke Priory. He has educated us on many things English, telling us of such things as the history behind the City of Birmingham, his childhood during World War II, his ancestry from French Huguenots, and so much more.
He “cheekily” obtained for us and Tara’s parents an invitation to a private tour of the Maxstoke Priory, which was absolutely amazing. It is the ruins of an ancient monastery. All of England’s beautiful monasteries were sacked by King Henry VIII when he revolted against the Catholic Church. In fact, the more than 800 monasteries, nunneries and the like were all destroyed in just five years. I am including some pictures from that trip for you to enjoy (we just obtained them because we unfortunately forgot our camera!). The land is now privately owned and is a farm with many lush crops and beautiful horses. It is owned by the Tyracke family, of Cornish descent, and the Master of the Estate, Richard, gave us a thorough and personal tour, providing spotless hospitality even though he had just learned that his mother living nearby was quite ill and needed his assistance. Their home is built around one of the remainders of the priory ruins. We also learned that Mr. Tyracke was a Master of the Fox Hounds for the Atherstone Hunt for twenty years, a tremendous honor.
We will always remember fondly our time at the Priory and the Tyracke’s gracious kindnesses, not only for us but also for Tara’s parents. We have seen things that we never could have seen without David Owen, many of the places things that many English wouldn’t even be familiar with. But David, having lived 73 years in England and ridden thousands of miles on a bicycle throughout it, is rich with information and a love for his country. We’ve even seen such hidden gems as a home built with a moat around it and a beautiful ancient windmill.
God is interested in our every day. God does want us to ask Him for gifts and for good things. When Tara offered up her prayer of faith, God brought it to fruition in our lives. We pray that God will bless David Owen through us just as he has blessed us. And we ask that you would remember David Owen in your prayers, even now, that he would be blessed mightily through the Riley family.
This ceiling is in one of the rooms of the house and was from the original site. The entire room’s ceiling was tiled in this fashion.
Here we are with Richard Tyracke, the estate’s owner and our gracious host.
