An Unlocked Door.

Just over a month ago we packed up our suitcases once again and moved to the big capital…London city.

So how would I describe our first month adjusting to London-life? It would go something like this….

- 2 hours each day spent on public transportation heading to and from work.
- Countless moments crammed on the tube acknowledging that spatial awareness doesn’t exist 
- Starting a new job where I am the ethnic minority.
- Seeing 2 theatre shows (and counting).
- At least 5 cinnabons consumed. Because they have it and it reminds me of home… And why not?
- 6 Sundays spent worshipping the Lord together at Hillsong church London!
- 1 terrifying moment that I will never forget.
- 0 times we’ve regretted being on this journey together.

So where to begin summing up all that has happened in the past month? It sounds like a cliché, but God is SO faithful.

My first week in London I decided to put my CV (resume) on a recruitment agency’s website to see if I could find a job for just 4 short months. This always proves to be difficult in each location we visit. But to my surprise the next day I got a call from an organization that just happened to see my resume and invited me to an interview.

Most people who go to an interview have done some form of preparation or at least have some idea what it is they are being interviewed for, but I had NO IDEA what position they were interviewing me for.  It turns out they are a nonprofit IT company that offers free courses to young people, anyone unemployed, on governmental benefits or if they earn under £25,000 a year for free. After thoroughly explaining to them that I have ZERO background in IT or computer software whatsoever (and really should be enrolled into one of their courses myself) they told me that they just needed someone willing to spread the word and speak to young people about furthering their employability through one of the courses. Case in point, you are officially looking at ‘Heidi Duthie, Marketing and Business Development Executive for 5e Limited London.’

The company started through a group of IT professionals who moved to the UK from India over 20 years ago. There are many different ethnic cultures working in the office but ‘American’ is not one of them and I love that. My office doubles as more of an Indian restaurant during lunchtime full of homemade curry tasting and passing around masala chai tea. I love that.

Commuting has become a whole new concept to Daniel and I. It seems to be the buzzword around here… “How long is your commute? “How much does your journey cost you?. Etc. I have been told that if your commute is an hour or less then you’re one of the lucky ones. So I guess we’re officially in the ‘lucky’ category!

London tube culture seems to be engrained in everyone who lives here as there is certainly a standard procedure. Definitely don’t make eye contact with the person in front of you and definitely don’t offer them a piece of gum (whoops my mistake week one). Rush hour has a whole new meaning here in London… Personal space is a rare occurrence on the tube. Week one - I was talking to Daniel about something insignificant, probably about commuting as that’s what’s trending to discuss here in London. We were so jam packed standing in the tube that as I was speaking to him the girl in front of me backed up just slightly and her pony tail went right into my open mouth… Yep, I didn’t even know her first name but her ponytail was in my mouth…talk about London greetings.

One thing we love is the diversity in London. Any type of cuisine you can imagine, we can try. Here, there are local food markets with vendors from all over the world. There are daily performances on the streets showcasing incredible talents from people who came to London in pursuit of making their dream a reality. We’re soaking up all the options in this big city and trying to take advantage of it all.

And now for the terrifying story I promised you earlier. Unfortunately I learned the hard way that the outskirts of London have a large gang presence that still affects certain communities within London to this day.

Before I tell you about the incident, I want you to know that I still love London and would encourage anyone and everyone I meet to go and visit this amazing city filled with an adventure around every corner. This particular adventure, however, was an unwelcome one. A couple of weeks ago, on my way back from a job fair, my colleague and I were making the same commute as we always would – a 7.5 minute walk from the job fair to the office.  As we were walking back to the office, three hooded men whirled past us looking behind them as they ran. One of them signaled to the others, shouting “GO! GO!” Then they all dispersed in different directions, continuing to run as their life depended on it. We looked at each other, confused as to what we had just witnessed but decided to keep walking and not dwell on it. Seconds later, my colleague’s face turned a dark shade of red and a vein began to pop out from her neck as she looked over at me… She had turned around to see what was behind us. As I looked behind me, I saw two masked men running towards us, holding what I can only describe as curved machetes. My colleague shouted to me, “Cross the street, cross the street! NOW!” We hastily crossed, avoiding looking behind us. As they also crossed the street, it quickly became apparent we would not reach the office in time.  In our delirious state, I exclaimed, “We need to get into a house! NOW!” so we ran to the nearest house hoping with everything we had that it was unlocked. By the grace of God it was – no one was home and yet the front door was unlocked. We hid in the front room, periodically looking out the window to see if the men had left. We sat in utter silence with the exception of the sound of our hearts beating furiously and our bodies shaking uncontrollably. Of course in that moment I was asking God for help and protection. And he provided just that. He really did. After what felt like an hour, a silver car screeched past us picking up the masked men and driving off, nearly crashing into other cars in its haste. We had somehow survived being caught in the line of fire. I can tell you that nothing prepares you for an experience like that. Not a thrill-seeking action movie, not news headlines… Nothing. Despite our overwhelming fear, there was the peace and calming protection of knowing that God was with me. If I wasn’t already sure of this before the ‘incident’, I am more confident today that God is ALWAYS ready and waiting to unlock a door just for you. No matter the circumstance or situation, however frightening it may be, there is a God whose refuge is our strength, who is infinitely able and waiting to unlock whatever door you face.

After some strong encouragement from family and friends to consider if returning to my job was in my best interest, I made the same walk back to my work on Monday morning. Instead of taking a route where I could avoid the infamous scene, I intentionally walked past the same street and the same house all the while blaring worship music in my ears and declaring that God has all of the victory and my safety and security are found in him.

I’ve never been scared to walk past the street since.

Again, I don’t share this story to terrify the living life out of you, but to share that even in our darkest moments, where there doesn’t seem to be an escape route, God is preparing an unlocked door for us:

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you or forsake you.” 

-Deuteronomy 31:6 –

God is so much bigger than our fears and my prayer is for the young boys caught up in gang violence, probably from the time they were young kids that they would come to know this God, this protection that I have with me everywhere I go.

 I continue to be thankful for my job and thankful for this big city, the biggest city we will probably ever live in.