Marlen Walton is a missionary working with marginalised women in London. She shares a day off that turned into something far more meaningful.
Marlen Walton is a missionary working with marginalised women in London. She shares a day off that turned into something far more meaningful.
10:30 AM – I wake up late. It’s Friday, and I have some time off in lieu, so I take the opportunity to rest. My husband Thomas has already left for work – he doesn’t want to wake me. I get up slowly and start getting ready to go for a swim.
11:00 AM – Instead of making tea at home, I walk to the café near my church. They do a great matcha latte. The staff there are mostly Latino, and we always have good chats. Today, we discuss politics in Mexico, where I moved from when I came to London to work for LCM. We also talk about the brokenness we see in the world. The Colombian lady behind the counter gives me a free pastry – “for the journey,” she says.
11:30 AM – I leave the café and walk to the bus stop. But the one I usually use is closed because of road repairs. So I walk on.
11:50 AM – To my frustration, the bus at this other stop is delayed. I decide on the spur of the moment to go to this nail salon to see if they can fix a chipped nail. As I sit down, I notice a familiar face – Winnie*, a woman my husband Thomas and I have been praying for.
12:00 PM – Winnie begins talking to others about my wedding from earlier this year. How she loved my colourful dress. Others in the salon join the conversation and are curious to see how I incorporated elements of my culture into my wedding dress. I find a photo on my phone and before I know it, all seven people – the clients as well as the staff – are looking at my dress. One conversation leads to another. From the dress to the ceremony, Winnie shares how surprised she was to see Jesus so central to the event. We talk about the authority of the Bible, and Pentecost. I also share where I go to church and invite everyone in the nail salon to join us and experience the goodness of Jesus.
1:00 PM – A quick fix to a chipped nail takes almost an hour. I leave the salon amazed. We’ve been praying for Winnie after she left the church, and I just happened to bump into her. If the roadworks hadn’t closed the bus stop, I wouldn’t have gone in. I text my husband straight away: “God is amazing.”
1:30 PM – I finally make it to the pool and swim for an hour. It’s a good way to process everything that just happened.
2:30 PM – I walk home slowly, using the time to reconnect with God. I love walking in nature – listening to the wind in the trees feels like hearing creation praise the Lord.
3:00 PM – Back home, I do my devotional while heating up some leftover Mexican food – crunchy tacos from a meal I shared with friends earlier in the week. I send a photo to my parents in Mexico, as I always do. It reassures them that I’m eating well and still connected to my roots.
4:00 PM – I do some chores – washing clothes, tidying up – and listen to Revive Our Hearts, a podcast specifically for Christian women. It often helps me support other sisters in Christ better.
6:00 PM – I have a video call with my mum and niece in Mexico while I start preparing dinner. It’s always a joy to see their faces and share life across the distance.
7:00 PM – Thomas comes home, and we eat together. After the main meal, we do a short devotional on the Psalms – reflecting on God’s faithfulness and presence. We end the evening with dessert and quiet conversation. “I was just going to leave my nail chipped,” I tell Thomas later. “But something moved me to go back.” I believe that something was God.
*Name has been changed
A day "off" in the life of a missionary is a series in Changing London, our free magazine that gives you an insight into the incredible things God is doing across this amazing city. Subscribe today and see how God is at work drawing people from all over London to Jesus through our missionaries.
LCM shares the gospel alongside the local church of London, equipping everyday Christians to lovingly bring a message of hope in Christ to those least likely to hear it.
Registered Charity No. 247186
