Podcasts about Yulia

Sielmann, Lara www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de, Studio 9

Sielmann, Lara www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de, Studio 9

Sielmann, Lara www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de, Studio 9

Sielmann, Lara www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de, Studio 9

ЩΣᄂᄃӨMΣ ƬӨ GӨӨB ƬЩӨ!!! The most wacky, weird and wonderful art show of the year!

Welcome back to season 12! Going Places features weekly interviews with people near and far who make our world better. At the core of it, it's about cultivating hope. And we need that feeling of hope more than ever right now.Here's a preview of who you're going to meet in Season 12:Natasha Hakimi Zapata, an award-winning journalist who wrote a book called Another World is Possible: Lessons for America from Across the WorldAlex Reynolds, a traveler building a radically different hostel in Pakistan's Ishkoman ValleyMarie Ostblom from Stockholm Archipelago Trail reminding us about the human right to roam and why we should not be afraid of the forestToday, I have a BIG announcement to make. We just launched Going Places as a reader-supported platform. On it, we feature Indigenous art collectives in Algeria and Quechua language guardians from Peru to center and celebrate Indigenous voices and build bridges, not walls.Reader-supported means that you can be in community with us on this journey. Become a Going Places member for as little as $6 a month and get the perks like getting on a group call with Yulia every month to ask questions, get advice, and be in community with each other.Visit our reimagined platform at goingplacesmedia.com to learn more.Going Places is a reader-supported platform. Get membership perks like a monthly group call with Yulia at goingplacesmedia.com!For more BTS of this podcast follow @goingplacesmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on YouTube!Please head over to Apple Podcasts and SUBSCRIBE to the show. If you enjoy this conversation, please share it with others on social and don't forget to tag us @goingplacesmedia!And show us some love, if you have a minute, by rating Going Places or leaving us a review wherever you listen. You'll be helping us to bend the arc of algorithms towards our community — thank you!Going Places with Yulia Denisyuk is a show that sparks a better understanding of people and places near and far by fostering a space for real conversations to occur. Each week, we sit down with travelers, journalists, creators, and people living and working in destinations around the world. Hosted by Yulia Denisyuk, an award-winning travel journalist, photographer, and writer who's worked with National Geographic, The New York Times, BBC Travel, and more. Learn more about our show at goingplacesmedia.com.

Note to listeners: our new season returns next week! Today, we're speaking with Janine Jervis, a dear friend who's worked for Visit Jordan for 17 years and who currently serves as their North American Communications Director.Reminder: I'm running a 10-day group trip to Jordan this May. The trip runs from May 18th to 27th and you can get all the information by visiting here. The last day to join our trip is Friday, April 18th.Original Air Date: Jan 24, 2024.What you'll learn in this episode:Janine's extensive experience in the travel and tourism industryWhat Janine's initial perceptions of Jordan wereThe ongoing tragedy in Gaza and its impact on Jordan's mood and tourism industryThe role of tourism in supporting local communities and economiesJanine tells us about the women in Jordan who are making a positive impact in Jordan and the regionJanine and Yulia reflect on the hospitality of Bedouin communities in Wadi RumFeatured on the show:Connect with Janine on LinkedInRead Janine's Visit Jordan blog, Falling in Love with JordanLearn more about our upcoming trip to Jordan in May hereGet more information at: Going Places website Join our Going Places newsletter to get updates on new episodes and Yulia's travel storytelling work. Subscribe at goingplacesmedia.com/newsletter!For more BTS of this podcast follow @goingplacesmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on YouTube!Please head over to Apple Podcasts and SUBSCRIBE to the show. If you enjoy this conversation, please share it with others on social and don't forget to tag us @goingplacesmedia!And show us some love, if you have a minute, by rating Going Places or leaving us a review wherever you listen. You'll be helping us to bend the arc of algorithms towards our community — thank you!Going Places with Yulia Denisyuk is a show that sparks a better understanding of people and places near and far by fostering a space for real conversations to occur. Each week, we sit down with travelers, journalists, creators, and people living and working in destinations around the world. Hosted by Yulia Denisyuk, an award-winning travel journalist, photographer, and writer who's worked with National Geographic, The New York Times, BBC Travel, and more. Learn more about our show at goingplacesmedia.com.

In an emergency episode of Circling Seattle Sports' weekly UW women's basketball show, "The Husky women's hoops show," CSS Storm writer and contributor Rowan Schaberg joins CSS founder and editor-in-chief Charles Hamaker to discuss the now official transfers of Yulia Grabovskaia and Avery Howell to Washington. "The Husky women's hoops show" is Circling Seattle Sports' weekly show/podcast covering the University of Washington's women's basketball program, as CSS Storm writer and contributor Rowan Schaberg and "The Next" women's basketball writer and CSS contributor Bella Munson join CSS founder and editor-in-chief Charles Hamaker weekly to discuss games, news, rumors, and other information surrounding the program throughout the year. Circling Seattle Sports is a credentialed media outlet that covers over 30 teams in the greater Seattle area, so you know you're getting legitimate Seattle sports coverage from people who know what they're talking about.

Note to listeners: we're currently on hiatus, returning with new episodes in April 2025. Until then, we're sharing some of our favorite episodes from the archive each week. Today, I'm sharing with you perhaps one of my most personal stories. It was published in AFAR Magazine in 2022. Reminder: I'm running a 10-day group trip to Jordan this May. The trip runs from May 18th to 27th and you can get all the information by visiting here. The last day to join our trip is Friday, April 18th.Original Air Date: July 5, 2023.Featured on the show:AFAR: In Barcelona for Vacation and Fertility TreatmentLearn more about our upcoming trip to Jordan in May hereGet more information at: Going Places website Join our Going Places newsletter to get updates on new episodes and Yulia's travel storytelling work. Subscribe at goingplacesmedia.com/newsletter!For more BTS of this podcast follow @goingplacesmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on YouTube!Please head over to Apple Podcasts and SUBSCRIBE to the show. If you enjoy this conversation, please share it with others on social and don't forget to tag us @goingplacesmedia!And show us some love, if you have a minute, by rating Going Places or leaving us a review wherever you listen. You'll be helping us to bend the arc of algorithms towards our community — thank you!Going Places with Yulia Denisyuk is a show that sparks a better understanding of people and places near and far by fostering a space for real conversations to occur. Each week, we sit down with travelers, journalists, creators, and people living and working in destinations around the world. Hosted by Yulia Denisyuk, an award-winning travel journalist, photographer, and writer who's worked with National Geographic, The New York Times, BBC Travel, and more. Learn more about our show at goingplacesmedia.com.

Note to listeners: we're currently on hiatus, returning with new episodes in April 2025. Until then, we're sharing some of our favorite episodes from the archive each week. Today, we're speaking with Nikki Vargas, a senior editor at Fodor's Travel, founder of Unearth Women, and author of "Call You When I Land." In this travel memoir, Nikki shares her experiences navigating cultures and finding love.Reminder: I'm running a 10-day group trip to Jordan this May. The trip runs from May 18th to 27th and you can get all the information by visiting here. The last day to join our trip is Friday, April 18th.Original Air Date: Feb 21, 2024.What you'll learn in this episode:How the memoir writing process differs from other non-fictionAre books easier to write than articles?How Nikki overcame self-doubt and fear in the writing processNikki shares practical strategies for tackling a writing projectRecognizing the privilege of travel How Nikki's work supports women in travel, amplifying their voices through conscious consumerismHighlighting women making a difference, like Manal Kahi's Eat Offbeat.Nikki's upcoming book project inspired by a trip to NorwayFeatured on the show:Check out Nikki's travel memoir, CALL YOU WHEN I LANDNikki's book Instagram: @callyouwhenilandNikki Vargas website: nikkivargas.comNikki's Instagram: @niknakvargasEat OffBeat: eatoffbeat.comPitch your story idea to FodorsReview Fodor's pitch guidelinesListen to Episode 87: The Driving Force Behind Unearth Women with Nikki VargasLearn more about our upcoming trip to Jordan in May hereGet more information at: Going Places website Join our Going Places newsletter to get updates on new episodes and Yulia's travel storytelling work. Subscribe at goingplacesmedia.com/newsletter!For more BTS of this podcast follow @goingplacesmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on YouTube!Please head over to Apple Podcasts and SUBSCRIBE to the show. If you enjoy this conversation, please share it with others on social and don't forget to tag us @goingplacesmedia!And show us some love, if you have a minute, by rating Going Places or leaving us a...

Yulia Lilith Rose - The way to infinite healthMay 19, 2024As an adult, Yulia discovered that food is the true medication. With the help of raw vegan diet and other holistic tools that help to detox the system, she decided to take control over her health instead of relying on doctors and on her parent's opinions. Since 2010, she has not used a single pill for any kind of ailment. She hasn't experienced severe allergic reactions to anything, nor has she suffered from cold or flu. She improved her overall health to a level which she thought she would never achieve. In this book, readers will be enthralled to learn her discoveries and secrets of how to be on the Way to Infinite Health—from harm done to healing achieved. (Learn about how to proper detox, what foods are bad for us, and what foods are good. What supplements and superfoods could be helpful. What medicinal mushrooms could be used. How to detox liver and gall bladder. And many other tools that helps to heal and restore the body. )https://www.amazon.co.uk/infinite-health-Yulia-Lilith-Rose/dp/1950576299Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-opperman-report--1198501/support.

Note to listeners: we're currently on hiatus, returning with new episodes in April 2025. Until then, we're sharing some of our favorite episodes from the archive each week. Today, we're speaking with Algerian-French language coach Feriel Temmar, who is based in Paris. Feriel was born in Algeria, grew up in London, West Africa, and New York, and worked in Canada before leaving it all behind and starting over in France. Reminder: I'm running a 10-day group trip to Jordan this May. The trip runs from May 18th to 27th and you can get all the information by visiting here. The last day to join our trip is Friday, April 18th.Original Air Date: Oct 21, 2020.What you'll learn in this episode:Growing up in a multicultural homeHow moving to New York was not as fabulous as it soundsWhy Feriel chose to pursue the path of “a real job,” inspired by her father's career at the United NationsHow Feriel's now-beloved-career started by a questionHow “fake it till you make it” is the advice that worked really well for FerielThe secret to a successful—and sustainable(!)—freelancing careerFeatured on the show:Follow Feriel on Instagram | @ferielisalanguagecoachConnect with Feriel on LinkedInLearn more about our upcoming trip to Jordan in May hereGet more information at: Going Places website Join our Going Places newsletter to get updates on new episodes and Yulia's travel storytelling work. Subscribe at goingplacesmedia.com/newsletter!For more BTS of this podcast follow @goingplacesmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on YouTube!Please head over to Apple Podcasts and SUBSCRIBE to the show. If you enjoy this conversation, please share it with others on social and don't forget to tag us @goingplacesmedia!And show us some love, if you have a minute, by rating Going Places or leaving us a review wherever you listen. You'll be helping us to bend the arc of algorithms towards our community — thank you!Going Places with Yulia Denisyuk is a show that sparks a better understanding of people and places near and far by fostering a space for real conversations to occur. Each week, we sit down with travelers, journalists, creators, and people living and working in destinations around the world. Hosted by Yulia Denisyuk, an award-winning travel journalist, photographer, and writer who's worked with National Geographic, The New York Times, BBC Travel, and more. Learn more about our show at goingplacesmedia.com.

Independent journalists Kit Klarenberg and Tim Norman have conducted significant investigations into the alleged 2018 assassination attempt on Sergei Skripal, a former Russian intelligence officer turned British spy, and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, England. The episode also covers the related death of Dawn Sturgess in nearby Amesbury, which was recently the subject of a UK inquiry. Skripal, who betrayed Russia for MI6 in the 1990s, was settled in Salisbury after a spy swap in 2010. On March 4, 2018, he and Yulia were found unconscious on a bench, allegedly poisoned by the nerve agent "novichok," which the British government attributed to Russian operatives. The official narrative claims this poison was smeared on Skripal's door, though inconsistencies—such as the delayed onset of symptoms, the survival of the Skripals, and lack of definitive evidence linking the agent to Russia—raise doubts about the UK government's story.Months later, Englishwoman Dawn Sturgess died after reportedly spraying herself with "novichok" from a sealed perfume bottle found by her boyfriend, Charlie Rowley, prompting further accusations against Russia. However, the apparently sealed bottle and the inability of scientists to confirm the nerve agent's origin undermined the government's claims. The British narrative was shaky and possibly propped up by intelligence-linked entities like Bellingcat and the Institute for Statecraft's Integrity Initiative, which may have pushed disinformation. The recently concluded Sturgess Inquiry, designed to control the narrative, inadvertently exposed its weaknesses.To find out more about the people and music featured in today's episode, visit the Assassinations Podcast website, www.AssassinationsPodcast.com You can find Tim's work on the Propaganda in Focus website (https://propagandainfocus.com/author/h7_2q94aatnh5/) and UK Column (https://www.ukcolumn.org/writer/tim-norman), as well as on X.com @timtron2020Kit writes for The Grayzone website (https://thegrayzone.com/author/kit-klarenberg/), including on the Skripal/Sturgess case: https://thegrayzone.com/2025/01/13/british-inquiry-skripal-poisoning/. He's also on X.com @KitKlarenbergYou can also contact the show through our website — we love to hear your comments, questions, corrections, and suggestions!And you can find us on X @AssassinsPodAssassinations Podcast was created by Niall Cooper, who researches and writes the show. Lindsey Morse is our editor and producer. Our theme music was created by Graeme Ronald. If you'd like to hear more from Graeme, check out his band, Remember Remember. You'll find them on iTunes.

Note to listeners: we're currently on hiatus, returning with new episodes in April 2025. Until then, we're sharing some of our favorite episodes from the archive each week. Today, we're speaking with Katalina Mayorga, the founder of El Camino Travel, a travel community for women with a passion for culture.Reminder: I'm running a 10-day group trip to Jordan this May. The trip runs from May 18th to 27th and you can get all the information by visiting here. The last day to join our trip is Friday, April 18th.Original Air Date: Oct 7, 2020.What you'll learn in this episode:Growing up in a bilingual Colombian-American immigrant familyWhat taught Katalina to be vocal from an early ageThe pressure of success as an immigrant in the USKatalina's human rights activism in Latin America and D.C.How Katalina disrupted a major coffee corporation during her college yearsThe danger of the American DreamHappiness in Nicaragua versus the United StatesWhat it was like building El Camino TravelWhat being a global citizen means to Katalina Featured on the show:Follow Katalina on Instagram | @theyoufinderCheck out El Camino Travel Learn more about our upcoming trip to Jordan in May hereGet more information at: Going Places website Join our Going Places newsletter to get updates on new episodes and Yulia's travel storytelling work. Subscribe at goingplacesmedia.com/newsletter!For more BTS of this podcast follow @goingplacesmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on YouTube!Please head over to Apple Podcasts and SUBSCRIBE to the show. If you enjoy this conversation, please share it with others on social and don't forget to tag us @goingplacesmedia!And show us some love, if you have a minute, by rating Going Places or leaving us a review wherever you listen. You'll be helping us to bend the arc of algorithms towards our community — thank you!Going Places with Yulia Denisyuk is a show that sparks a better understanding of people and places near and far by fostering a space for real conversations to occur. Each week, we sit down with travelers, journalists, creators, and people living and working in destinations around the world. Hosted by Yulia Denisyuk, an award-winning travel journalist, photographer, and writer who's worked with National Geographic, The New York Times, BBC Travel, and more. Learn more about our show at goingplacesmedia.com.

In this episode, we speak with Yulia Bassan, Managing Director of Woman2Woman, a powerhouse program dedicated to advancing women in leadership and management roles in Israel. Under Yulia's leadership, the program has grown into a key force shaping the future of female leadership, expanding its reach, forging partnerships with industry giants, and driving measurable impact. Her mission? To break barriers and create equal opportunities - not just talk about change, but actively lead it. “The mental load is not evenly distributed. Women are still expected to juggle it all. But leadership isn't about waiting for change - it's about making it happen.” In this conversation, we dive into what it really takes for women to rise in leadership: The reality of balancing career and family - especially in times of crisis. From the war in Israel to the daily demands of leadership, Yulia sheds light on how external forces impact women's choices. “Some women don't have the privilege of choice.” How workplace biases still persist - and how to push back. Yulia shares her own experiences - being asked to take notes in meetings, expected to play a supportive role rather than a leadership one. “The way you say ‘no' matters. Confidence isn't just about what you say - it's how you say it.” Why speaking up is a career strategy. Many women hesitate to claim their achievements. Yulia explains why enthusiasm and visibility are key to professional growth. “If you don't put yourself forward, no one else will.” How resilience isn't about doing it alone but about having the right support. Whether in war, career, or personal life, sisterhood and community make the difference. Yulia shares how Woman2Women pivoted during the war to providea sense of belonging and strength. This episode is for anyone who believes leadership should be built on talent - not gender. If you're looking for inspiration, practical career strategies, and a deeper understanding of the challenges and solutions for women in leadership, this one's for you.

Note to listeners: we're currently on hiatus, returning with new episodes in April 2025. Until then, we're sharing some of our favorite episodes from the archive each week. Today, we're speaking with Chicago-based journalist and photographer Karthika Gupta. Her work has been featured in Vogue, BBC Travel, USA Today, Condé Nast Traveler, Fodors, AFAR, Travel & Leisure, Robb Report, and more. Karthika is also the founder of Culturally Ours, a platform dedicated to promoting cultural understanding and celebrating global diversity. Reminder: I'm running a 10-day group trip to Jordan this May. The trip runs from May 18th to 27th and you can get all the information by visiting here. The last day to join our trip is Friday, April 18th.Original Air Date: Feb 28, 2024.What you'll learn in this episode:Meet a sustainable farm by one of the smallest tribal nations in CaliforniaThe flower markets of MumbaiThe misconceptions about traveling to the Middle East How Karthika travels with her two children Featured on the show:Read Karthika's Vogue Story, How One of the Smallest Tribal Nations in the U.S. Is Redefining Sustainable Living Follow Karthika on Instagram: @karthikaguptaListen to Episode 07: You're Good Enough To Do This Work with Karthika Gupta Learn more about our upcoming trip to Jordan in May hereGet more information at: Going Places website Join our Going Places newsletter to get updates on new episodes and Yulia's travel storytelling work. Subscribe at goingplacesmedia.com/newsletter!For more BTS of this podcast follow @goingplacesmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on YouTube!Please head over to Apple Podcasts and SUBSCRIBE to the show. If you enjoy this conversation, please share it with others on social and don't forget to tag us @goingplacesmedia!And show us some love, if you have a minute, by rating Going Places or leaving us a review wherever you listen. You'll be helping us to bend the arc of algorithms towards our community — thank you!Going Places with Yulia Denisyuk is a show that sparks a better understanding of people and places near and far by fostering a space for real conversations to occur. Each week, we sit down with travelers, journalists, creators, and people living and working in destinations around the world. Hosted by Yulia Denisyuk, an award-winning travel journalist, photographer, and writer who's worked with National Geographic, The New York Times, BBC Travel, and more. Learn more about our show at goingplacesmedia.com.

Note to listeners: we're currently on hiatus, returning with new episodes in April 2025. Until then, we're sharing some of our favorite episodes from the archive each week. Today, we're speaking with Sarah Munir, a journalist and tech executive who split her time between Karachi and New York before moving back to Karachi full-time. Reminder: I'm running a 10-day group trip to Jordan this May. The trip runs from May 18th to 27th and you can get all the information by visiting here. Throughout February, you can save $150 off your booking by using code GOINGPLACESFEB when you join our trip. The code expires on Fri, Feb 28. Original Air Date: Oct 13, 2021.What you'll learn in this episode:Sarah's philosophy: your life is always a work in progressSarah's principle of failing forwardShuttling between New York and KarachiWhy your passion and career don't have to be the same thingSarah's lessons from a career in media and journalismWhy women enjoy sex (and other things) more as they age Featured on the show:Follow Sarah on Instagram ​​@sarahmunirLearn more about our upcoming trip to Jordan in May hereGet more information at: Going Places website Join our Going Places newsletter to get updates on new episodes and Yulia's travel storytelling work. Subscribe at goingplacesmedia.com/newsletter!For more BTS of this podcast follow @goingplacesmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on YouTube!Please head over to Apple Podcasts and SUBSCRIBE to the show. If you enjoy this conversation, please share it with others on social and don't forget to tag us @goingplacesmedia!And show us some love, if you have a minute, by rating Going Places or leaving us a review wherever you listen. You'll be helping us to bend the arc of algorithms towards our community — thank you!Going Places with Yulia Denisyuk is a show that sparks a better understanding of people and places near and far by fostering a space for real conversations to occur. Each week, we sit down with travelers, journalists, creators, and people living and working in destinations around the world. Hosted by Yulia Denisyuk, an award-winning travel journalist, photographer, and writer who's worked with National Geographic, The New York Times, BBC Travel, and more. Learn more about our show at goingplacesmedia.com.

What motivates someone to dedicate years of their life to learning one skill?Ruth Alexander finds out what it takes to master a craft, the exacting standards one must meet, and why it's all worth it.Sushi chef Eddie Chow tells us how it took more than ten years to achieve the title of 'master sushi chef', and the pain of getting there.What does it take to become an illustrious master butcher in Germany? Claus Bobel explains the importance of tradition, and his daughter Yulia tells us why she's following in his footsteps.And 'Lady of the Ham' Cati Gomez describes the process of becoming a cartadora, and why ham carving is getting more and more popular around the world.

What if influencer marketing wasn't just for fashion brands and B2C companies? In this episode of SaaS Fuel, host Jeff Mains sits down with Yuliya Gorenko, an influencer marketing expert at Mischka Agency, to uncover how B2B SaaS companies can leverage influencers for sustainable growth.Yulia has built influencer programs for SaaS brands like SE Ranking, Hack Chinese, and UnaCheck, scaling them from 0 to 8 figures. In this episode, she reveals how to find the right influencers, build lasting relationships, measure ROI, and avoid the biggest influencer marketing mistakes in the SaaS space.Key Takeaways00:00 – Introduction: Influencer marketing for SaaS—does it work?03:20 – B2B vs. B2C influencer marketing: What's the difference?06:45 – How to pick the right influencers for SaaS marketing12:10 – Why influencer marketing is a long-term game18:30 – Finding the right platform: LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, or Twitter?25:50 – How SaaS companies can create viral influencer campaigns32:40 – Best metrics to track ROI on influencer marketing41:15 – AI influencers: Future of marketing or a total gimmick?49:30 – Why human influencers outperform AI-generated influencers56:20 – How to balance brand messaging & influencer authenticity1:03:10 – How SaaS founders can start an influencer campaign todayTweetable Quotes"B2B influencer marketing isn't just a campaign—it's a long-term strategy." – Yuliya Gorenko"SaaS buyers need multiple touchpoints. Influencers can accelerate that journey." – Jeff Mains"AI influencers might be the future, but human trust is irreplaceable today." – Yuliya Gorenko"Measuring influencer ROI is more than sales—it's about trust, visibility, and conversions." – Jeff MainsSaaS Leadership Lessons

Ukrainian Field Notes - 19 February 2025 - with Danya Isaenko (aka Aspen Grove), Tetiana Khoroshun and Yulia ShcherbakProduced for Resonance FM by Gianmarco Del RetracklistTetiana Khoroshun - I see the seaAspen Grove - GlybynaTetiana Khoroshun - Crimean TitanAspen Grove - Ne Zabuwai meneTetiana Khoroshun - YaltaAspen Grove - Druzhe

Note to listeners: we're currently on hiatus, returning with new episodes in April 2025. Until then, we're sharing some of our favorite episodes from the archive each week. Today, we're speaking with Lola Akinmade Åkerström, an award-winning storyteller, travel photographer, writer, creator, TED speaker, and multi-book author. She's a Hasselblad Heroine and she runs the Stockholm-based travel consultancy, Geotraveler Media and the Geotraveler Media Academy. In this episode, Lola shares how the manuscript for her novel was rejected 70 times (that's right, seven-zero!) before being picked up and how the book is now out with four different publishers. We cover pitching, rejections, and being prepared when National Geographic comes knocking on your door. Reminder: I'm running a 10-day group trip to Jordan this May. The trip runs from May 18th to 27th and you can get all the information by visiting here. Throughout February, you can save $150 off your booking by using code GOINGPLACESFEB when you join our trip. The code expires on Fri, Feb 28. Original Air Date: Aug 18, 2021.What you'll learn in this episode:Lola shares the story behind one of her most memorable photographsWhy Lola defines herself as a multipotentialiteLola's advice for those reliant on a job but eager to make the transition to full-time creative work: find anchor clientsTips for navigating rejection during the pitching processHow to stop putting yourself in a box and live beyond the expectations of others; the power of asking “why not?”Why blindly following trends is like trying to swim in a raging sea; be a surferLola speaks candidly about the challenges she has encountered on her journeyWhy Lola believes that comparison does not benefit creative entrepreneursFeatured on the show:Follow Lola on Instagram | @lolaakinmadeFollow Lola on LinkedIn | Lola ÅkerströmCheck out Lola's website at akinmade.comLearn more about Geotraveler Media AcademyWatch Lola's TED Talk, The power of asking "Why not?" Order Lola's book, In Every Mirror She's Black on AmazonLearn more about our upcoming trip to Jordan in May hereGet more information at: Going Places website Join our Going Places newsletter to get updates on new episodes and Yulia's travel storytelling work. Subscribe at goingplacesmedia.com/newsletter!For more BTS of this podcast follow @goingplacesmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on YouTube!Please head over to Apple Podcasts and...

Why did Yulia's husband, Alexei Navalny, return to Russia, knowing he'd be imprisoned? Is there any credible opposition to Putin left? What does the West get wrong about Putin's Russia?  TRIP Plus: Become a member of The Rest Is Politics Plus to support the podcast, receive our exclusive newsletter, enjoy ad-free listening to both TRIP and Leading, benefit from discount book prices on titles mentioned on the pod, join our Discord chatroom, and receive early access to live show tickets and Question Time episodes. Just head to therestispolitics.com to sign up, or start a free trial today on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/therestispolitics. Instagram: @restispolitics Twitter: @RestIsPolitics Email: restispolitics@gmail.com Video Editor: Josh Smith  Assistant Producer: Alice Horrell Social Producer: Jess Kidson Producer: Nicole Maslen Senior Producer: Dom Johnson Head of Content: Tom Whiter Exec Producers: Tony Pastor + Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Note to listeners: we're currently on hiatus, returning with new episodes in April 2025. Until then, we're sharing some of our favorite episodes from the archive each week. Today, we're speaking with Emy Rodriguez, a freelance journalist from Arecibo, Puerto Rico, and a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community. His writing has appeared in Condé Nast Traveler, Fodors, and many more magazines. Emy currently lives in Barcelona, Spain, which is how we initially connected. In this episode, Emy shares his experiences as an immigrant in Barcelona and navigating the challenges and joys of living in a new country. Reminder: I'm running a 10-day group trip to Jordan this May. The trip runs from May 18th to 27th and you can get all the information by visiting here. Throughout February, you can save $150 off your booking by using code GOINGPLACESFEB when you join our trip. The code expires on Fri, Feb 28. Original Air Date: Oct 11, 2023.What you'll learn in this episode:The impact of AI on the writing industryHow being part of the LGBTQ+ community influences Emy's writingPersonal perspective versus objectivity in travel writingDispelling misconceptions about the Middle EastThe vibrant creative scene in Amman, JordanYulia and Emy reflect on the privilege of being able to travelWhat it was like for Emy to relocate to BarcelonaFeatured on the show:Follow Emy on Instagram @emyrodriguezRead Emy's article in Condé Nast Traveler, Returning to My Hometown in Puerto Rico, Where I'd Struggled to Come Out as a TeenagerRead Emy's article in AFAR Magazine, What It's Like to Be a Queer Traveler in the Middle EastLearn more about our upcoming trip to Jordan in May hereGet more information at: Going Places website Join our Going Places newsletter to get updates on new episodes and Yulia's travel storytelling work. Subscribe at goingplacesmedia.com/newsletter!For more BTS of this podcast follow @goingplacesmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on YouTube!Please head over to Apple Podcasts and SUBSCRIBE to the show. If you enjoy this conversation, please share it with others on social and don't forget to tag us @goingplacesmedia!And show us some love, if you have a minute, by rating Going Places or leaving us a review wherever you listen. You'll be helping us to bend the arc of algorithms towards our community — thank you!Going Places with Yulia Denisyuk is a show that sparks a better understanding of people and places near and far by fostering a space for real conversations to occur. Each week, we sit down with travelers, journalists, creators, and people living and working in destinations around the world. Hosted by

On this episode I sit down with Yulia as she talks about her experience being a Russian citizen in Korea. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

She's had the organist. Now she wants the Vicar.A Series in 17 parts, by Blacksheep. Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories. Mia weakly raised her hand and switched off the shower."That was amazing, Gordy-pie. Organists really are good with their hands!""Not so bad yourself," he panted. "Wow. I enjoyed that immensely! You're quite a lass, Mia.""I'd like to see you play the organ," she said, stepping out of the shower and reaching for a towel."I need to get my breath back first!" He laughed, as Mia began playfully drying him off. "God, you're an eager little beaver aren't you?""Hee hee. Yes, but what I meant was, I'd like to see you play the church organ. I've not been inside a church for years. Jenna said that St Michael's is cool.""It's a nice church." I wonder what else she's told her? Gordon thought. "Why not come along to the Sunday service? You can see me in action there, so to speak. After the service, you can have a go on the organ if you'd like. Do you play any musical instruments?""Guitar and violin, but I've not practiced for ages.""Ah, so strings are your thing? That's good. It'd be nice to have a violinist in the choir. One of the choristers plays the trumpet. Which keeps him from singing and I'm glad of it as his voice is bloody awful."Mia sniggered. "You're funny, Gordy-pie. I really like you. Are all organists as fun as you?""Nay lass. I'm one of a kind. He pulled her close and kissed her neck and lips. He was an incredible kisser, and she was curious to know more about him."Are you married?""Long divorced," came his reply. "I'm married to the pipe organ, as they say." He wondered if Jenna had mentioned anything about their various liaisons over the past year, and was about to say something, when the bathroom door suddenly opened."Jen! Ever thought of knocking before entering?" Mia gasped, covering herself with a towel."I can't leave you alone for five minutes can I?" She turned to Gordon, who grinned sheepishly at her."Um, hello!""Funny place to have organ lessons, Gordon," Jenna said, as she watched him squirm."Gordy-pie was just showing me how good an organist is with his hands, weren't you?" Mia said, kissing him. "And you know what, he's amazing!""Oh I'm well aware of how good he is," Jenna replied, folding her arms.Sensing disapproval, Gordon attempted to explain. "It just happened. I didn't know your cousin was here," he prattled. "I put the plant pots in the yard, went into the kitchen and she was just there, wearing nothing but a towel!""You don't need to explain yourself, Gordy-pie. We've not done anything wrong," Mia said. "We're both single. Why are you so uptight, Jenna? Is it because we're in the vicarage? Is that like, a sin or something?"Jenna was in no position to claim the moral high ground. "No, no of course not. I was, just a bit surprised, that's all. It's fine. Just, try to be a bit more discreet, Mia. What if Simon had walked in?""Oh I'm sure the good reverend would approve," Gordon smiled, winking at her.The perceptive Mia noticed his gesture and wondered what he was hinting at."Jenna took a deep breath. "Okay, well I'm going to have a coffee. I'll leave you to get dressed. Do you want a drink, Gordon?""A tea would be lovely. I'm parched. Thanks!""I'll have tea as well, please." Mia added.Jenna left the bathroom."She's acting weird," Mia said. "There's something she's not telling me."Oh boy, wait until you find out, Gordon thought. Your mind will be blown."Maybe she's a bit envious!" Gordon said as he picked up his clothes, and wondered where his underpants had gone."Can I keep these, Gordy-pie?" Mia giggled, holding up his white briefs."Think they're too big for you!""I don't want to wear them. I want to keep them under my pillow and sniff them at night.""In that case, they're all yours! But I want your knickers in return!""Fair's fair!" She tossed him her pale pink cotton undies to him."Thanks!""I loved our shower time," Mia said, kissing him again. "And I loved your big cock. You're a sexy man, Gordy-pie.""Gordy-pie hopes Mia-pie can play with his organ again very soon!" the organist replied as they got dressed and headed downstairs.Jenna brought them both a cup of tea as they sat down in the lounge."Gordon, you're not going to put up with her calling you that cringey nickname are you?" she said, handing him the cup."I like it. It's cute," he said, as Mia rested her head on his shoulder."It's childish. If someone had called you that a year ago, you'd have bitten their head off. You used to have a terrible temper.""Ah well that was before I saw the light," he said, sipping his tea. "When you, showed me the way." He smiled at Jenna as she sat opposite them. "For that, you know I am forever grateful," he added."Did you become a born again Christian like Jenna, Gordy-pie?" Mia asked."I've always been a Christian," Gordon replied. "I just sin a lot, that's all. As we all do, right?" He raised an eyebrow at the vicar's wife. "But we keep praying for forgiveness every week, and luckily for us, God is the forgiving sort, eh?"The front door opened and Reverend Morris came in."Good lord, I need a large brandy!" He gasped, tossing the car keys on the table."What I have seen, can't be unseen, and what I've heard, can't be unheard!""Whatever's the matter Simon?" Jenna said, standing up."You were right, Jen. Gladys Wilcox and the churchwarden. They're, at it!""Told you so," Jenna said. "Actual sex? I'm not being ageist but can Gladys manage that at her age?""No. Regular vanilla sex would've been easier to deal with. Actually, I think gerbilling would be easier to deal with. But seeing Norman, naked in her backyard, wearing a pinny and being struck on his arse with a riding crop,”Jenna cleared her throat, trying to silence him, given that they had company." She treats him like a slave and he enjoys it!" The vicar continued, unaware there was an audience. "And there's more. She knows about the storeroom threesome, and you won't believe this, she proudly told me, that sometime during Lent, she performed oral sex on Gordon.""Ahem. Simon, shush, we've got," Jenna cringed. "Wait, what? She gave Gordon oral?"Mia's jaw dropped."Sucked him off whilst he was sat at the church organ! She'd wanted him to be her slave, but he declined. So she set her sights on Norman instead. Well we both know Gordon prefers a younger woman, right?" He turned round, and noticed Gordon sat on the settee, and Mia sat next to him."Oh, good afternoon Gordon!""I brought those plant pots you wanted," the organist meekly uttered.Later,Jenna and Reverend Morris sat on the settee watching an episode of Father Brown, although neither were really paying attention to it."I can't get that image out of my head. Gladys giving Gordon a blowjob and whipping Norman's bare buttocks. I know we've, engaged in some naughtiness, but I never imagined one of the oldest members of the church was into that sort of thing!""Good for her," Jenna replied. "Kinkiness aside, it's nice for her to have Norman as a lodger. I mean, she lives alone and in this day and age, older people can feel vulnerable. I know Gladys misses her hubby a lot.""Oh Bert. Yes. He was dead long before I came to St Michaels. Bishop George told me more about him. He was the organist before Gordon took over. Apparently he was quite a character.""I'm sure he was. And the current organist seems to be going the same way.""Jen, you seem a bit unhappy about Gordon having intercourse with your cousin today. Is that because you're protective of her or because of, well, I know how close you are to him?"Jenna sighed. "Oh Simon. I'm ashamed of myself. I actually felt jealous when I saw the two of them together. How selfish is that? After everything you did for me last year when it was my birthday, and you gladly accepted my dalliances with the other male members of the church. Can you forgive me? I wish to say a prayer of forgiveness."The vicar took his wife's hands in his. "Of course I can, my love. And I understand how you feel. You see, with Mia here, I think you've got something you've never had to deal with before.""What's that?""A rival!"Mia was eavesdropping from the staircase. A mischievous grin formed on her face as she listened."Holy shit, Jenna's had more men than Elton John's had wigs. She had the nerve to have a go at me for seducing Tom. And she's slept with Gordon too? No wonder she looked so tense. Ha! And sweet, Reverend Simon is okay with that? That's not what it teaches in the Bible, surely?"She slipped back to her bedroom."Let us pray together," Reverend Morris said."Father, I return to You with my sins before me. Nowadays, I lack compassion for my brother and sisters, my eyes are clouded with wrongdoings my heart is against. Opposing Your Words, I sinned and done evil in Your eyes. I drained myself off Your kindness and followed my worldly desires. Father, guide me as You are right in Your verdict and justified in Your judgment. Do not leave me astray as I pray for a blissful life with You and a life free of evil. In Your Mercy, I pray.Amen."-(Luke 15:18, Psalm 51:3-4)"I feel better," Jenna said, opening her eyes. She ran a finger down her husband's cheek. "Simon, let's go to bed. Mia's asleep. The guest bedroom is right at the other end of the landing. She won't hear us. Tonight I need my Vicar's touch,”"What a good idea! All this talk of Gladys Wilcox getting her hands on men's dicks, I'd quite like some hands on mine!"A Girl With FantasiesMia lay back on the bed in the darkness, her mind buzzing with the events of the day. Reaching under the pillow, she pulled out the pair of Gordon's briefs."Enjoyed you, Gordy-pie! You were a total sweetie."She sighed, pressing the crotch of the underwear against her nose and inhaling deeply, whilst fingering herself with her other hand. Gordon's undies bore a pleasant, musky, manly scent, a faint mark which she assumed was pre-cum, and a couple of wiry grey pubic hairs. Perfect. Knowing that the organist's thick cock had been snugly contained within was enough to make her climax again. She wondered if he was wanking off and sniffing her knickers."Hope he likes mine too." She wanted to see the organist again, as sex with him had been amazing, but Mia had her sights set on a bigger prize - and this one wore a clerical collar.InsomniaGordon was in bed, but having difficulty sleeping. His mind was a complete whirl. He reflected how in the past year, he'd gone from being completely sex-starved, to having more sex than he'd ever had during a whole fifteen years of marriage, and during his late teens, when he'd been a horny youth, desperate to sleep with any woman. In the Eighties, those halcyon pre-Internet days, just stumbling across a discarded porn magazine in the bushes was more valuable than gold. He remembered his time at university, when he used to spy on the nurses undressing at a nearby hospital.He chuckled as he remembered losing his virginity to his piano teacher - whilst she was giving him a tour of Blackpool Tower ballroom. He credited her with starting his interest in wanting to play organs,"Look at me now," he said out loud. "I got seduced by a woman young enough to be my daughter. Who is now the vicar's wife. I fucked a Ukrainian woman in the church. I've been fucking the vicar's wife every week in the church. I took part in a threesome with her and the vicar. I and several other men gave her a facial in the church. I got my dick sucked by an eighty-six year old pensioner too. Now I'm fucking the eighteen-year old cousin of the vicar's wife, and exchanging underwear with her."He reached for the pair of pink knickers and gave them a good sniff, stroking his cock at the same time. The crotch had dried, but earlier it had been wet and sticky with Mia's pussy juices. A heavenly scent."The world is a bloody mess right now, but I'd say my life is pretty good," he smiled. "I hope Mia wants to see me again. She's a lovely, horny little thing. I hope she comes to church this Sunday."He wanked himself off happily, before slipping into a blissful slumber. For the first time in a year, he dreamt of a woman other than Jenna.Mia's DelightMia was edging closer to an orgasm as she continued to pleasure herself. Gordon's briefs pressed against her face were having the desired effect, but oh, God, she wished she had a large dildo as well. Her sopping pussy was aching to be filled again.Hearing muffled laughter on the landing, brought her back to her senses. The sound of a bedroom door closing. More laughter.She slid off the bed and wiped her hand on her t-shirt. Tiptoeing to the door, she opened it, and listened. The inky darkness of the landing was disturbed by a light under Jenna's bedroom door.With the stealth of a cat, Mia slunk down the landing. Standing in front of the door, the sounds from within were clearer. The creak of a bedframe. The headboard bumping against the wall. The low moans of the reverend, followed by the higher pitched gasps of Jenna.She bit her lip as she listened to their carnal sounds. Squinting, she peered through the keyhole. The tiny opening barely allowed an interested voyeur to see a thing, but just briefly, she glimpsed Reverend Morris' bare backside rising and falling. Lying between her cousin's legs which, likewise entirely bare, were extended straight upwards into the air."Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna, in, the, Highest Heavens!" Reverend Morris yelled, to which Jenna responded by screaming in ecstasy.Mia clamped her hand against her mouth to stifle a laugh. At the same time, her pussy tingled like crazy. That the good vicar quoted Biblical phrases during sex, turned her on in a way she never expected."I am coming soon! Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown!"This quote from the Book of Revelation proved too much, and seconds later, Jenna climaxed, with a scream.Mia tried to remain silent as she too, came. With a wildly beating heart, she shuffled back to her bedroom."I want him. I want Reverend Morris to fuck me like that."Reverend Morris is seduced, but can he satisfy her?Lightning flashed, followed by a crash of thunder so powerful it rattled the kitchen windows. The storm began not with a sprinkle or drizzle but with a sudden downpour, as if clouds were hollow structures that could shatter like eggshells and spill their entire contents at once. So far, July was proving far less flaming than June."Blimey," Reverend Morris said, as the rain made him look up from his laptop. "Not a good start to Mia's first day in her new job, is it?""A bit of summer rain won't bother her," Jenna replied. "Her mind's probably fixated on Gordon.""Heh, give her some credit, Jen. She's shown initiative. I think she'll work hard and be a good cleaner for the church. She did an excellent job tidying up our kitchen.""That's true. She should be about finished in around twenty minutes. Ten hours a week isn't much. I wonder what her long-term plans are? I mean, she can't clean the church hall toilets for the rest of her life can she? And I must phone Aunt Kathleen, I keep putting it off. She'll go berserk when she finds out what's happened."Reverend Morris sipped his coffee. "Have faith in her, Jen. She's chosen this path for herself. And as my dad always says, never put off until tomorrow what can be done today. Right, I have to pop over to the church. I'll check in on Mia and see if she's okay with setting the alarm system. Don't know if she wants some lunch with us or if she has plans of her own?"Jenna picked up the phone. "She didn't say. Okay, I'm going to bite the bullet and phone Aunt Kathleen."In the church hall, Jenna had finished using the floor-polishing machine on the wooden floor. The two hours had flown by. As well as making the floor spotless after this morning's yoga class, she'd cleaned the toilets and emptied the bins. The work was boring, as the vicar had warned her, but an absolute doddle. For £12 an hour, she couldn't complain. It was the easiest cash she'd ever earned. It was far better than stacking shelves in Aldi and having to deal with abusive members of the public. The church toilets hadn't been the horror show she'd braced herself for - even the gents were reasonable. The good chaps of St Michaels had good manners and good aim it would seem!Outside, more thunder boomed. The sound of the rain. The rain. The cold merciless sound of the rain."Ugh," Mia muttered, looking out of the window. "I hate weather like this."It was typical British weather. The storm had washed all the color out of the day. The sky was as charry as burnt-out ruins. Wind-driven rain, grey as iron nails, hammered every surface, and road gutters overflowed with filthy water.Mia returned the machine to the store cupboard and locked it. She checked her phone. Nearly 1 o'clock.The sound of the main door opening made her jump."Oh Reverend Simon!""Hello Mia. Just checking to see how you're getting on. Have you finished?""Yes, I'm done. I was just going to set the alarm thingy." She noticed how wet his black shirt was."Great stuff, you're okay with setting it?""Oh no worries there.""Little tip if you're working in the hall by yourself, be sure to lock the main door. Anyone could walk in. We're lucky we don't get a lot of crime round here, but for your own safety, it's best to lock yourself in. There are lots of places someone could hide. Right, well I'm just heading into the church to sort a few things out ready for the curate's ordination on Sunday. Jenna's prepared some lunch if you're hungry, oh and be warned, she's phoning your mum.""What? Oh no! Why's she doing that?" Mia pouted."Look, don't panic, she's just letting her know that your safe and well and staying with us. You don't want your poor parents to be worrying themselves to death not knowing where you've gone do you?""Well no. But I don't want Mum turning up.""I don't think you need to worry. Your mum lives in Buxton doesn't she? That's a good fifty miles from here. I don't think she'll drive up here today. But at some point you'll have to speak to her."Mia looked down. "I like it here. I don't want to go back to my parents. Of course, I don't want to be a burden to you,”"You're no burden Mia, please don't think that. If you want to talk, why not join me in the church when you've finished locking up?" He left the hall and Mia took that as an open invitation."Oh I'll join you, Vicar, but I want to do more than talk!"A few minutes later, having successfully set the alarm, Mia dashed over to the church, trying to avoid getting soaked by the rain. The ancient oak door's handle turned stubbornly. She wondered why Reverend Morris hadn't bothered to lock himself in either, then she remembered something Jenna had said about the church "always having to be open for those in need."And Mia was in need all right.Reverend Morris was in the vestry, having just changed out of his damp shirt and into a dry one. He'd donned his regular cassock and surplice, as he always did when in the church, even though he was off duty. He inspected the row of church vestments on the clothes rail. Some items were missing. Some members of the choir weren't the tidiest, and often neglected to hang their surplices back up after the services.Mia walked down the aisle of St Michael's church, glancing round. The incessant pounding of rain on the roof seemed magnified here in this old, airy building. Then the organ pipes to the right of the altar caught her eye. The highly-polished silver colored pipes reflected what little light was shining through the stained glass windows."Impressive," she muttered, admiring the many pipes. "But where are its, keyboards? No wait, manuals. He called them manuals." She looked round, and noticed the organ console behind the pulpit."Ah!"Mia walked over to it. She ran her hand down the wooden stool. "So this is where Gordy-pie sits." Giving a little mischievous giggle, she looked round. There was no sign of Reverend Morris anywhere, so she slid herself onto the stool."Look at this thing. It's like, unreal. All these buttons and stuff It's like a flight deck." Her feet touched the organ's pedalboard. "How the hell does he remember all these? She looked closely at some of the stops. They all had weird-sounding names on them. Diapason, Mixture, Gemshorn."I wonder what these knobs do?" She switched on the small lamp above the manuals, in order to get a better look.Curiosity got the better of her and she fiddled with a couple of stops and pressed a few keys on the lower manual. Nothing happened, seeing as the organ was switched off."Hmm, must be like an electronic piano." She idly pressed down several more keys, pretending to play."Witness the great maestro Mia at work," she said out loud, putting on a fake Geordie accent to mimic presenters, Ant and Dec. "Here on Britain's Got Talent, Mia will now play some of her favorite songs for the audience. Starting with Titanium by David Guetta!" She flung her arms around, as though conducting an orchestra, and accidentally hit the red on/off button above the manuals."This is being live-streamed. Be sure to vote!" Mia slammed her fingers down hard on the middle manual. "I am Titanium!"The organ responded at once, with a deep, radiant sound that seemed to rattle the entire foundations of the church. It was so loud, the stool seemed to vibrate."Shit!!" Mia gasped as she got the shock of her life. Fearing she'd damaged the organ, she panicked and froze on the spot.In the vestry, Reverend Morris had finished re-arranging the vestments, when the booming note from the organ shattered his peace and quiet."What the," He almost jumped out of his skin. "Bloody hell, Gordon. You sure pick your moments to come and practice."When nothing but silence followed that ear-splitting note, he headed out of the vestry to investigate.Mia's fingers were trembling. "Fuck, what did I do?""Well, well. What do we have here?" Reverend Morris chuckled as he appeared beside the console."Eep! I didn't mean to, Simon. I was just, I,”"Ha, it's alright, don't panic!" He said."I caught something and it made that noise.""You managed to switch it on, that's all!" He indicated the red button."Oh, so it's not broken then?" Mia said, getting her breath back."No, of course not. It's seen a lot of heavy use. It can cope with a lot!""It looks so complicated. How does Gordon play it?""With ease, because he's had years of practice. Jenna's just learned to play it, and said how hard it was. No use asking me. I haven't a clue. I'm not musically talented it all. In fact I'll tell you something. I can't even read music.""Really?" Mia replied."I'm hopeless," the vicar continued. "Jenna's tried to introduce me to the piano, but I've got poor co-ordination. My fingers go all over the place. My attempts sounded like Les Dawson."Mia blinked. "Who?""Never mind. He's from before your time." He pressed down a couple of the organ's keys and made a feeble attempt at playing a few notes."Gordon says you have to use your whole body when playing a pipe organ." Mia said, giving him a dreamy grin."He's right, you do.""Do you have to use your whole body when preaching to the congregation, Simon?""Ah, well that depends," he said, switching off the organ and the lamp. "I definitely have to keep my mind focused. Especially during the sermon.""I can imagine. I bet you're amazing. I like your church robes.""Oh thanks! It's called a cassock and surplice. Um, why not come to the Sunday service if you're curious? You don't need to take communion if you're not comfortable.""I've been confirmed," Mia replied. "I'm okay with that.""It's the curate's ordination service on Sunday afternoon too. "That will be quite a spectacle. The Bishop will be performing the ceremony. We're expecting lots of people to attend. Afterwards there'll be a buffet in the hall. Nice social occasion. There'll be more people your own age there."Mia shrugged. "I'm not mad keen on people my own age," she said."I see. Well, Gordon will be there, so that's a reason to attend, surely?" Reverend Morris cleared his throat. "You like him a lot, don't you?""Oh yes. He is lovely. He's really sexy! But you know what? You're sexy too. I hope it's not a sin to compliment a vicar in church?"The flustered reverend's cheeks turned pink. "Oh not at all! Very kind of you to say, Mia."Yes, very sexy,” she purred, and without hesitating, stood up and kissed him on the lips."M-Mia, what are you doing?" Reverend Morris spluttered, backing away.She ignored his question and slipped her arms round his shoulders. "I am worshipping you, Reverend Simon. Like I said, I think you're really sexy,”"B-but, but, I am a married man!" He stammered.Mia breathed in the scent of his aftershave. "And? Jenna's a married woman, yet she seems to have slept with half of the men of this church. And you're like, okay with that?""Did Jenna tell you all this?" He gasped. This time, he made no attempt to free himself from her grasp."She didn't need to. I overheard.""You shouldn't eavesdrop, Mia.""Yes I know, but come on. Seriously? What kind of open marriage do you guys have? Is that church rules or something? How can you be cool with that?"Reverend Morris still made no attempt to move. "Well it's not like you think. I love Jenna so much. I just fell for her big time. She had quite effect on the men of this church when she first started attending, not just me. I was trapped in a sexless marriage at the time. I er, thought the first time we had sex, it was a wild one-off."This explanation failed to satisfy Mia. "And Gordon?""The thing with Gordon, well before Jenna came along, he was a very unhappy, angry man. She made him feel happier than he had been in years. And the choir were beyond grateful for his change in personality, let me tell you.""I see. So Jen just has this natural talent for seducing all these lonely men and cheering them up? A gift from God? In that case, what I'm doing isn't a sin then is it?"She kissed the vicar again, longer and harder."Mia, wait!" He protested. "I can't,”"Of course you can, Reverend Simon. "You've been so kind to me, letting me stay at the vicarage and getting me this job. It's time I repaid that kindness.""Yes, but, I thought you liked Gordon!""I do like Gordon. I just like you too. Don't you find me attractive, just like you find Jenna attractive?"He would've been lying if he'd said no, and his erection was already proof."Yes. You're beautiful," Reverend Morris said, running a finger down her cheek. "Such smooth skin,” Instinctively, he bent down and pressed his lips against hers."Heavenly,”Mia unbuttoned her top, and guided his hands to her small and beautiful tits for him to squeeze and play with."Give me a blessing, Reverend," Mia whispered.The vicar took her hand, led her into the vestry and quoted a passage from Numbers."May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord's face shine upon you and be gracious to you, may the Lord turn his face to you and bring you peace.""Amen," Mia said. After a brief silence, something seemed to snap in Reverend Morris, and he cast off his reluctance."Let me get your legs," he whispered, his voice quavering a bit with sexual tension.Stroking from the knee down, to start. Then Mia felt his holy hands open and slide up the back of her thighs, pushing her skirt up."Spread your legs a bit."His thumbs caressed her inner thigh, and came close, oh so close to her pussy. She wasn't wearing any underwear and he bent down to smell her sex. His thumbs tantalizingly close. Now his hands were on her arse. Seductive massage, strokes, and squeezes nearly sent Mia over the edge. She moaned."Oh yes," he breathed. "Praise the Lord,”Mia's hands roamed across his surplice, and her eagerness surprised him. "Hold on a sec," he said, removing the garment, and starting to unbutton his cassock. When it was open, his black trousers were revealed, along with a straining bulge. She squeezed his hard arse cheeks and pulled him against her. His cock throbbed. Mia unfastened his belt and unzipped his trousers. Seconds later, she pulled his boxer shorts down.He groaned when she took his hot cock into her warm hand, cupping his balls with her other. His cock was thick and of decent length, though not, she noted as big as Gordon's or Tom's. Gordon's was the biggest of the lot. Mia couldn't help be a little disappointed, though of course what one did with something was what counted, not the size.I wonder if this is why Jenna goes with all the other church guys, because Reverend Simon just isn't enough to satisfy her? She thought."Mia, I can't hold back, do you want me to bless you properly or not?""Yes Reverend Simon, I want you to purify me! I need you to fuck me!"Mia wrapped her leg around him, opening up for his cock. He rubbed the head of it on her clit. Reverend Morris was out of control now and she let him take her how he wanted. He entered her and pounded her hard on the vestry's small wooden table.Mia rode his cock and enjoyed his thrusts, but, as good as it felt, the vicar wasn't satisfying her in the way Gordon had done.How can this be? She thought, as her cousin's husband continued thrusting fast and hard into her, grunting as he did so.It must be because he's just not old enough for me, she mused. After all, he's only forty! Still, I've achieved what I wanted to do. I wanted to experience sex with a vicar, and a married one at that. And I've finally got my own back on Jenna after all these years,"Oh Mia I'm cumming!" Reverend Morris slammed into her for one last time and shot his load deep inside her."Well,” Reverend Morris said, after he'd got his breath back. "I hope you enjoyed that Mia. I certainly did, I can't believe I did that."Mia was about to say something, but at that moment, the vestry door opened and Jenna appeared.For a few moments there was nothing but stunned silence."Mia, why? Why Simon?""Now we're even, Jen," Mia said with a wink."Even?""Remember all those years ago when we were at primary school and I was in love with that older boy, Darren Grimshaw?""Er, what?""You knew how much I fancied him.""Mia, you were only ten at the time. You had a bit of an innocent crush.""Well at the time it felt like true love. And you had to muscle in and ruin it. He took you out to Burger King instead of asking me. I was so upset at the time. I vowed that one day, I'd get my own back!""Uh, yeah. I do remember you saying that, now I recall. So, this is your idea of getting your own back, is it? Seducing my husband, in his church?""Jen, you can't really complain. You've seduced half the men of this church!"Reverend Morris looked sheepishly at them both. "Look, I didn't say anything, she overheard us talking!"Jenna took a deep breath. "You're right, Mia. Guess I'm nothing but a hypocrite there. But where do we go from here?"Mia turned to Reverend Morris. "I've seen the light. And had a revelation. And the truth is, vicars just don't float my boat after all. No offence, Reverend Simon. You were really great. But, you're too young for me. Give me a gorgeous older organist any day! I've already found my perfect man and his name is Gordon!""Lucky Gordon," Jenna said at last."Jen, I want you to promise me one thing. I'll never lay a finger on your vicar again, if you'll promise not to get it on with Gordon again."Jenna's face suddenly fell. "What?"Reverend Morris nodded. "Fair's fair, Jen. And you don't need any more organ lessons - you can play the organ perfectly fine now."Jenna thought for a moment, remembering all the fun times she'd had with Gordon - they'd engaged in some fantastic sex over the past year, and at Easter, she'd got the impression his feelings were becoming stronger than just mere lust."Okay, I promise.""Make it a proper promise. We're in church, remember?""In the name of God, I promise," Jenna said."That's better.""Right, now that we've got that out of the way, how about we all go and have some lunch?" Reverend Morris said, fastening his trousers and belt. "I've worked up quite an appetite!"Jenna shook her head as she watched Mia head down the church aisle in front of them."Is she seriously going to ask Gordon to be her boyfriend? He's so much older than her.""Just like I am to you," Reverend Morris replied."Yes but it's double the age gap that we have. What if Mia wants kids ten years from now? Gordon will be in his mid-sixties! He doesn't have any kids of his own. Can you see him being a dad?""I think he'd be a great dad. You're assuming Mia will want to be a mum. Lots of women choose not to have children these days.""Guess you're right.""Isn't it great, all the people of our church and nearby churches have met someone? I've got you, Josh has hooked up with Yulia. Father Aiden has Róisín. Norman's moved in with Gladys, now there's an odd couple, but they're happy! My ex-wife Lucy married Debbie. Gordon's got your cousin, before you arrived, all these people were unhappy. I'd say your work is done, my love!"They walked down the aisle, hand in hand.Privately, however, Jenna smirked to herself."My work isn't fully done. At least I still have Bishop George, Gordon's cousin Barry, Mayor Buckingham and a few other chaps!"By Blacksheep, for Literotica.

Audio from the 2024 Charleston Conference Leadership Interview Series. Meg White, Senior Consultant, Delta Think interviews Yulia Sevryugina, Senior Associate Librarian, University of Michigan. Yulia is an active researcher and an author. She transitioned into a career in librarianship specializing in scholarly communications to achieve a better work life balance.   She says part of the research life cycle is sharing the results of your work with the world so that others can continue and improve it further. Yulia believes scholarly communication is very important for sharing research findings and that publishers are important in creating mini communities and combining people with similar research goals to share their experiences.   Yulia emphasizes the role of librarians in supporting researchers and in educating researchers about publishing ethics. Collaboration among librarians, publishers and researchers is key for research integrity and for the credibility of academic work. Video of the Interview is available at: Social Media: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megmorelandwhite/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/yulia-sevryugina-v/ Twitter: Keywords:    #Research, #ResearchIntegrity, #ResearchSupport, #ResearchLifeCycle, #LibrariansInResearch, #PeerReview, #PublishingEthics, #LibrariansAndResearchers, #ProfessionalDevelopment, #LibrarianJourney, #LibraryEducation, #InformationAccess, #LibraryCommunity, #libraries, #librarians, #librarycareer, #libraryschool, #librarylove, #LibraryScience, #academic, #AcademicPublishing, #scholcomm, #ScholarlyCommunication,  #learning, #learnon, #information, #leaders, #leadership, #2024ChsConf, #publishing, #LibrariesAndPublishers #libraryissues, #libraryneeds,#librarychallenges, #libraryconference #podcast  #LeadershipInterview

Vicar's wife, Jenna, decides to give up sex for Lent!A series in 17 parts, by Blacksheep. Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories. The Jenna series started with ‘Jenna Goes To Church', followed shortly after with ‘Jenna, the Vicar's Wife'. It resumed recently with Jenna's New Year'; and now it continues with a Lentil 2-part story. Other episodes will follow.It was the last Sunday of Shrovetide, known as Quinquagesima. At St. Michael's Church, Reverend Morris had amassed a pile of old palm crosses, intending to burn them on Ash Wednesday."Shouldn't be long before the first members of the faithful arrive," he said to his wife Jenna, who was adjusting the flowers at the side of the pulpit."Oh before I forget, I've got something for you to burn on Ash Wednesday," she smiled, handing him a pair of her panties."This is an unusual-looking palm cross!" He replied. "I think I'd better burn this separately from the others! Is there some reason why you want your undies reduced to ash?""Well Simon, I've been thinking. And I've finally decided what I'm going to give up for Lent.""You're giving up wearing underwear?""Ha-ha. Tempting, but no. I'm giving up sex."Reverend Morris almost dropped the box full of crosses. "What? Sex? No, you can't be serious!"Jenna nodded. "I'm 100% serious, my love. Lent is supposed to be hard, and you're always going on about how part of being a good Christian is making sacrifices and so on. It's traditionally a time of fasting and abstaining from something to repent and focus our hearts and minds on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.""Yes, but within reason, Jen! I don't expect you to suffer hardship as bad as that!""I can do it, Simon. I'm committed to seeing it through. It's only forty days.""B-but, that's six weeks!" the vicar whined, looking as if his entire world was about to end. "I, I'm not sure I can, er, go without for so long!""Now Simon, you're a man of God. You're stronger than most. I know you can do this. And just think how wonderful it will be when Easter comes, everything in calf, bursting out in spring glory, sap rising, mating seasons beginning, shoots thrusting upwards, days getting longer, ""Vicars dying of horniness, " Reverend Morris sighed."Exactly. And it won't just be you going without. The other chaps of this church will have to go without as well!""Oh my goodness, Jenna. There's going to be a lot of frustration building up in this church! When you say no sex, does that mean, ""No physical contact whatsoever, my dearest! No blowjobs, no kissing, no cock in cunt, nada! Just like social distancing."Reverend Morris' lip was trembling. "Not even a kiss?""Nope. I'll be sleeping in the spare bedroom until Easter. I can blow you a kiss. And whilst we can't do anything involving physical contact, there are other naughty ways we can get through Lent.""Like what?""Use your imagination, Simon!"He thought for a moment. "So I'll have to make do with dating Rosie Palms until Easter?""If it helps you cope, yes!"The reverend took a deep breath. "You're absolutely right, Jenna. I can get through this. I admire you so much for deciding to have a sex ban. In fact, I think I love you even more, and I didn't think that possible!""Aww. Ditto." She kissed him. "We'll make the most of Shrove Tuesday," she added, with a wink. "I'm going to do some creative things with pancakes."He slipped his arms around her. "Remember that morning after the Candlemas service, when we got soaking wet in the rain and we just ravished each other once we got back to the vicarage?""Hee hee, yes. Or that time last month during that short holiday in Lincolnshire when we stayed in that weird hotel, and the ghost gatecrashed our passion?""Bit early in the morning for that, isn't it? Then again, I'm not complaining!" A voice shouted, and they both looked round. Gordon the organist had just arrived.Moments later, Josh the curate appeared."Morning guys!" Jenna smiled. She turned back to her husband. "You'd better get your robes on. Looks like some of the congregation are here already. I'll go and hand out some hymn books."He nodded and headed off to the vestry. "Forty days," he sighed. "God, .I will really need your help through this difficult time!"And just how were some of the other male members of St. Michael's Church going to cope for forty days without any 'spiritual guidance' from the vicar's wife?Shrove Tuesday (the eve of Lent)On Shrove Tuesday, Jenna spent all afternoon mixing pancake batter. It would've been quicker to buy some ready-made pancakes from Tesco, but where was the fun in that? She looked at the kitchen wall clock."Come on Simon, you're late. How long does a meeting with the Bishop take?"Her husband had been out all day. At last, she heard his car pull up on the drive."Good. Now the fun begins."The front door opened and Reverend Morris came rushing in. "Sorry I've been so long. Bishop George kept prattling on for ages and then coming back home there's been a road accident so I had to take the long way home, oh I see you've been busy!" He noticed his wife was completely naked except for an apron."Welcome home," she smirked. "It's time to flip some pancakes. Is my randy reverend able to provide some batter?"He licked his lips. "What sort of batter would you be requiring?""Hmm, let's see. That special 'anointing oil' you used during my 21st birthday?" She whirled a frying pan in her hand and flipped a pancake. "Here's one I prepared earlier."His hands found her shoulders, and turned her to face him. His hands moved up to cup her face and Jenna felt his lips close around hers in a tender kiss. She returned it with rising passion, slipping her tongue into his mouth. As their tongues danced, Jenna quickly unfastened her apron, letting it slide down over her smooth skin to the kitchen floor.She could hear Reverend Morris unfastening his own garments, and when he embraced her tightly, she felt his bare skin press against hers with delicious warmth. Her husband's mouth left her lips, trailing down her neck to her chest. He took a nipple in his mouth and teased the erect tip. It was perhaps the upcoming sex ban enhancing his senses, but Jenna's breasts had never felt so full, and had never tasted so sweet. His hands roamed down over her arse, savoring her curves.Reverend Morris moved back up her body, his lips playing over her breasts, then back up her neck. Jenna's hands slid down his chest and at last reached their goal. She gripped his throbbing member, took a few steps backward, pulling gently but firmly, and he promptly followed her. She felt the edge of the kitchen countertop meet her lower back, and she swiftly heaved herself on to the cool granite surface and lay back, spreading her legs.Reverend Morris had a sudden urge to taste his wife; his tongue met with her soft skin just above her clit, then down into her folds, tasting, discovering and exploring all that she had to offer. He began to suck and lick her clit. How he loved to worship at this altar.Jenna reached for the bowl of pancake batter. A wooden spoon was sticking out of the bowl. Without hesitation, she began spooning the batter down her breasts."It tastes alright," she murmured, placing a blob of batter on her husband's nose. "But it needs an extra ingredient, ""Umm, I think I can help you there.""Fuck me religiously, darling." Jenna said hoarsely.A pair of strong, silky legs wrapped around the vicar's arse. He lowered himself onto her and felt those glorious batter-coated breasts rub against his chest as he began thrusting into her. He tried to set a steady, leisurely pace to begin, but the legs around him urged him on faster and harder. Reverend Morris responded with enthusiasm, and within moments he was pounding into his wife with all his strength, mindful that after tonight he wouldn't be able to do this for six weeks."Yes, yes, oh my God yes, I've never felt anything like it!" Jenna moaned."Bloody hell, I'm coming, oh Jenna!" Reverend Morris yelled as his stream of hot cum filled up her cunt and flowed back out onto the kitchen countertop.Jenna lay back on the countertop, eyes closed. It was several minutes before her breathing had calmed enough for her to speak."Did I provide enough batter?" Reverend Morris asked."Your holy offering was more than generous!""Forty days without from this moment on. You've still time to change your mind.""I'm sticking to it, Simon. We'll get through Lent. We'll have to think up some creative contactless ways to get our rocks off."The smell of burning interrupted them. They both glanced at the stove. To Jenna's dismay, the pancake she'd been cooking had been virtually cremated in the frying pan."Oh dear," she said, gazing at the remains of the pancake, which now resembled a lump of coal."Now that's what I call a perfect burnt offering for Ash Wednesday!" Reverend Morris replied.The Organist is Entertained.Gordon Leesmith always looked forward to Thursday evening arriving. This was when he had organ practice at church, and for the past few months he'd been teaching Jenna to play the organ. These lessons were really just an excuse for a passionate romp with the stunning vicar's wife, who was always more than willing to get her hands on the organ in his trousers, rather than the church one.Gordon hummed to himself as he brewed himself a cup of tea. He checked the time. It was only just after midday. Six hours to go. He was impatient and horny, but in a very happy mood. He'd just returned from seeing his Primary Care physician. That in itself something of a miracle in modern Britain; and received good news. His benign prostate enlargement wasn't as bad as he'd feared. Despite being a bit overweight, the doctor had given him a clean bill of health. His blood pressure was low, and so was his cholesterol.Today was his birthday. He was fifty six. A year ago, Gordon had been a miserable, short-tempered man who didn't endear himself to anyone else in the church. Long-divorced, impotent and frustrated with being alone for so long, his life had turned upside down when a young woman by the name of Jenna Fox had started attending St. Michael's Church. A few months later, she'd turned her attentions to flirting with him. Never in a million years did Gordon think he'd end up getting his cock sucked by a stunning redhead whilst he sat on the organ stool.As Gordon sipped his tea, his phone vibrated."Oh, an email from Jenna," he smiled, checking the message.Happy Birthday Gordon! About tonight. I'm afraid I can't make tonight's organ practice. I won't be able to until Easter arrives. Thing is, I've chosen to give up sex for Lent. I know you won't to hear this and it's going to be so hard for me to stick to this, but you've got to test yourself and set a challenge, right? It's what being a Christian is all about. I truly hope you'll understand. But - that doesn't mean we can't still have some fun! Make sure you visit the church - I've left a birthday present for you on the organ stool, trust me, it'll see you through this hard time. And when Easter comes, Jesus won't be the only person that rises, wink wink. It'll be worth the wait, keep your organ pipe warm for me.Love Jenna. xxx"She's abstaining from sex?" Gordon almost dropped his cup of tea. "Wait, what? Oh no! This is a nightmare! I won't be able to have a fuck for six weeks? Bloody hell! I'll go round the bend, I can't even call on Yulia's mate Martika anymore. Damn it, why did she have to bugger off back to Ukraine?"He wasn't sure whether to scream or burst into tears, but after he overcame the initial shock, he took a deep breath and composed himself."Well if she's gone on strike that means the vicar, the churchwarden, the curate and the bishop won't be getting any cunt either. Ha! Misery loves company, as the old saying goes. Gordon suddenly felt much better, knowing he wasn't the only one being denied the pleasure. Still, six weeks, God, this was going to be a struggle."Hmm, oh well. I've endured worse. I once had to endure that ‘Brotherhood of Man' tribute act in Skegness. I wonder what Jenna's got me for my birthday?"He picked up his car keys. There was only one way to find out.When Gordon arrived at the church, he discovered that the door was unlocked. Usually he had the place to himself, and he was thankful for that, given the sort of "organ practice" he liked to engage in with Jenna. Cautiously, he entered the church. The sound of a vacuum cleaner could be heard. Mrs. Wilcox, one of the many "old church biddies" as Gordon secretly called them, was busy cleaning up the aisle. Noticing the organist approaching, the slightly-built pensioner switched off the vacuum."Ah, hello Gordon! Are you here to tickle the ivories? I'm just finishing off here and then I'll be out of your way." It wasn't at all fair to describe Gladys as an ‘old biddy'. She kept herself fit and classy, and besides the rotation of sanctuary cleaning which she took part, she also headed up an outreach to single mothers in the community."Hello Gladys. No need to stop on my account. I usually come here in the evening, but, er, change of plans. You know, you really should lock yourself in when you're here by yourself. You know what it's like these days. Quite a few crackheads and drunks hang around the churchyard, some can be intimidating."The old woman rolled her eyes. "Oh they don't concern me, dearie. I carry a small can of mace in my apron pocket. My grandson Dwaine bought it for me online. He'll be arriving soon to give me a lift home."Gordon raised an eyebrow. "Blimey. There's more to you than meets the eye. Is that stuff even legal?""Maybe not, but you won't rat on an oldie, will you?" She looked back over her shoulder at him, then winked.Gordon laughed. "My lips are sealed, Gladys."Gordon's Lentil Gift From JennaHe hurried to the organ. "Crafty old gal," he said to himself. On the stool was a red gift bag. "Ah, this must be Jenna's little present for me," he said sitting down on the stool and opening the bag. A large red envelope and something wrapped in pink tissue paper were inside. He opened the envelope, and pulled out a birthday card. Inside, Jenna had written a little rhyme.Organists are sexyNone more than youOpen your presentIt'll help you get through!Xxxx"Ha-ha," Gordon chuckled. "Well whatever is this present?" He began tearing off the tissue paper. "What's this? A torch?" He held up the plastic object, then removed the cap on the end. "Bloody hell. She's bought me one of those fleshlight sex toys!" He peered closely at the silicone vagina. "Nice cunt lips, even if they are artificial, oh wait, there's a piece of paper stuffed inside." He pulled out the note.Hello Gordon. I had this specially made for you. Now you can still put your organ pipe inside me all through Lent! P S - don't forget to use the lube!"Wow, she had a cast of her own cunt made just for me! What a great birthday present! Last year all I got was a pair of slippers from my cousin." He noticed the small bottle of clear lube in the bottom of the gift bag, but didn't pay much attention to it, being too distracted by the sex toy. His erection was straining painfully against his underpants and trousers. Despite Mrs. Wilcox still busily vacuuming the pew cushions, Gordon unzipped and pulled out his cock. He peered over the top of the organ. The old girl had her back to him and besides, you had to walk round to the side of the organ to see anything. He was safely concealed behind the instrument. She wouldn't notice him having a quick wank,"Never used a sex toy before," he muttered to himself, sticking a finger into the fleshlight. "First time for everything though. It feels really tight, let's give it a go." He attempted to slide his cock inside."God, this is really tight, oof!" He managed to slide his cock halfway in, but instantly regretted it."Bit too tight, ouch!" He tried to pull out, but his cock was fully stuck inside the toy.The realization hit him. "Shit. I should've used the lube."Gordon bit his lip, as he tried to ease the thing off this manhood, but to no avail."Oh no."Gladys the paramedicMrs. Wilcox switched off the vacuum cleaner and glanced round. She could just see the top of Gordon's head. The organ was completely silent."Is he playing with the volume turned down?" She wondered.Gordon was starting to panic. If he didn't get this toy off soon, things could become embarrassing. He didn't want to have to drive up to an emergency medical center to get it removed."Come off, damn you, come off!" He grunted."Having problems, dearie?" Mrs. Wilcox said, appearing at the side of the organ. "Oh my!"Gordon looked mortified. "Um, hello Gladys," he mumbled. "I've got a bit of a problem.""I can see that, you silly boy. What on earth have you been doing? I trust that's not an outsized organ stop?"The organist blushed crimson. "Er, no. It's not. It's a, look, it's got stuck. I can't get it off my, thing.""Let's have a look." Before he could protest, she grabbed the fleshlight and pulled on it."Oww!" Gordon yelled. "Don't yank it like that, Gladys! I don't want to end up like John Wayne Bobbitt!""Needs some lubricant or something. That should help. When I was a child, I got my father's chamber pot stuck on my head. Mother used lard to get it off.""There's a bottle of lube in that bag," Gordon winced, as his cock started to hurt.Mrs. Wilcox wasted no time, and squirted a generous amount of the clear gel on her hands, before smearing some round the base of Gordon's cock. He gave an awkward cough as her gnarled old fingers probed around his privates. He'd never be able to look this eighty-something woman in the eye again during a church service. Going to A & E would be more embarrassing, he kept telling himself. Then again, perhaps not!"Alright, let's try easing if off. Nice and slow." Mrs. Wilcox gripped the base of his cock, and with her left hand began to gently pull the fleshlight. It began to slide off. "That's it! It's coming off now! Gently does it!""Almost," Gordon said, gritting his teeth.She continued to pull and finally, the toy slid off, with a popping sound."There we are! Pop goes the weasel!" Mrs. Wilcox smiled. She handed him the offending toy."Thanks so much," Gordon gasped, relieved that his cock hadn't come to any serious harm."What a big, thick willy you've got!" Mrs. Wilcox replied. "No wonder that thing got stuck!""Er, thanks," Gordon mumbled, feeling more embarrassed than ever."No need to be shy, dearie. A man who is blessed like you shouldn't hide his light under a bushel, no! It's so much bigger than my late husband's was. Dear old Bert, he used to love it when I played with his willy. Of course that was over twenty years ago. I wish I could give yours a proper sucking, but I'd have to remove my dentures, and I've used the Poligrip, "The mention of dentures being removed was almost sufficient to make Gordon lose his erection. He was about to say something, but she continued."On the other hand, an opportunity like this doesn't come my way very often! You don't mind letting an old lady have a little bit of fun before she ends up down the cemetery or in a nursing home do you, Gordon? I'm eighty-six. My mouth is pretty much all that works these days, so that will have to do. Think of it as my reward for rescuing your phallic treasure." She dragged over a nearby kneeling bench, knelt, and motioned for Gordon to step to offer her some ‘communion'.He hadn't the heart to say no. "Um, you go ahead, Gladys." Gordon closed his eyes as she removed her false teeth. He hadn't planned on getting a gum-job from a granny. He presented His cock on the padded velvet counter of her communion kneeler. She gasped in marvel at the glorious treat laying near her covered breasts. Then took his shaft slowly in one hand, and cupped his balls with her other hand. Her eye's sparkled as she beheld the phallus. And then her mouth engulfed his cock.Grasping the base of the shaft, Mrs. Wilcox took the organist's throbbing cock in her mouth and started to move her head back and forth, taking it deeper and deeper."Oh," Gordon sighed. He leaned back, gripping the sides of the organ stool and enjoyed the wonderful sensations as she sucked his manhood. She was good, no, she was very good! This was better than he ever could've imagined. The white-haired pensioner's head continued bobbing up and down on Gordon's cock, tasting some of the pre-cum."Oh yes!" He gasped. God, it felt so good!She withdrew and licked the tip of his cock, swirling around the purple head, as her fingers softly stroked the shaft. Her old skills began to come back to her. Her head and lips moved in an erotic performance. Her tongue provided a private performance that only his cock would ever experience. And the sultry ora she exuded was masterful. This woman was a sex god that only her husband ever worshipped. And now, Gordon was added to that exclusive clan of devotees."Gladys, I'm going to come," Gordon panted. "Uh!""Then fire away, dearie! I'd love a taste!" She felt him tense and then he climaxed. With that, he filled her mouth with streams of his thick, sticky cum as it spurted to the back of her throat. Mrs. Wilcox slurped and swallowed it all. Then she pressed her nose hard against his pelvice, and his thick meat pressed her larynx.As his final spurts tapered off, she very slowly pulled her head back, until his cock flopped down on the velvet padding where Gladys' grandchildren receieved their first holy Eucarist. "Umm, tastes just as good as I remember! There we go, Gordon. I'm sure you feel better now that you've emptied your plums!" She patted his cock, before lovingly tucking it back into his briefs and trousers and zipping him up. "You know something, a fine young man like you could easily pull a lady. Why, I bet there's loads of ladies who'd jump at the chance to get their hands on you! You're such a talented organist too, and you've been divorced a long time. Oh, If I were thirty years younger."Young? She thinks I'm young? I suppose to an octogenarian, fifty-six is young."Oh, I don't want to get married again," Gordon replied, wiping his brow. "I'd prefer something, casual." He cleared his throat. "Thanks for, helping me Gladys!""Well we're all good Christians here, yes? We should help each other!" Gladys looked at where she was kneeling. “Did you know, Gordon; The Greek word for communion is ‘koinonia'. It's also the Greek word for ‘intercourse'? I'll always cherish this special treat you've shared with me.”The door of the church opened and a hulking, six-foot young man came strolling in. He was covered in tattoos and obviously a regular visitor to the gym, as his massive upper arms and shoulders proved. The man looked like he could break necks merely by flicking his finger."Gran, are you here?"Gordon froze in horror as he peered over the top of the organ. "Who the hell's that?" The man resembled Lewis Hamilton bulked up on steroids."Oh that'll be Dwaine, my grandson," Mrs. Wilcox replied. "Be with you in a minute, sweetie!" She called out. "I've just been helping Gordon to polish his organ!"A Sermon That's More Stimulating Than Usual.Reverend Morris was struggling to write his sermon. It was only the second week of Lent, but he was finding this one harder than he ever imagined. The sex ban that his wife had imposed was starting to bite. Jenna seemed to be coping much better than him, and he felt ashamed at his weakness."Help me to be strong, Lord!"Suddenly, his phone beeped. A message from Jenna.Hello Simon. It's lunch break here at work. I figured you're still home alone and maybe feeling a bit, stressed? Why not look up Write-Erotica for some inspiration?She added a winking emoji"Write-Erotica? What's that?" the vicar wondered. He eagerly opened the laptop's browser. "A site for writers of erotic fiction? Hmm. I've never heard of this before. I'm always years behind everyone else, when it comes to things. Okay, let's have a browse. I wonder if there are any naughty fictions about clergy on here?"Reverend Morris soon discovered that the tags for "priest" "vicar" and "church sex" brought up a massive number of results. He was spoilt for choice and clicked on several stories. Some were much-better written than others."Jessica and Father Andrew broke the kiss, a trail of saliva still connecting their lips together. Their mouths were still so close to each other. Jessica let out a small breath as the priest grabbed her tight little ass. "You can go inside, if you want," she told him, then she pressed her lips on his mouth again and soon enough Father Andrew's tongue was in her mouth now, not that she minded at all. They had to be very quiet because they were in the confessional booth,"Reverend Morris read out loud."But the church was empty, so why did they need to be quiet? Eh, I'm just nit picking. This is a pretty hot story!" Feeling himself getting hard, Reverend Morris unzipped his trousers and slipped a hand inside, pulling out his cock. As he continued to read, he started jacking his cock slowly.Jessica unzipped the priest's pants, ‘oh yes,' he said. He began to moan and groan as he continued pleasuring himself.Her sweet, heavenly lips worshipped his holy shaft in ways he never imagined,It felt so wonderful jerking his throbbing cock whilst reading this erotic fic. Reverend Morris began to move his hips around and his legs straightened out under the desk. Soon he laid his head back and stretched his body further. Next thing he know, he let out a rather loud, "Oh, yes, yes that's it!" and started to cum.His milky fluid spurted out and all over his laptop keyboard."Ah,"Write-Erotica had done its work and provided Reverend Morris with some much-needed relief, as well as inspiration."I still don't know what to write about for my sermon, but I'd love to have a go at writing an erotic story just for Jenna," he smiled, getting some wet wipes and cleaning up his keyboard. "I've never tried writing erotica before, but first time for everything! Maybe we could write a chain story or something, and get it finished just before Easter? That could be fun!"Excited by this new idea, the vicar opened a new Word document and began typing away."I'll just write a few paragraphs of smut and then I must finish my sermon!" At the Sunday Eucharist,Reverend Morris was joined by another vicar, who was standing in for Josh the curate, who was attending a conference in Birmingham, as part of his ongoing religious training."A very warm welcome to everyone this morning," Reverend Morris began, addressing the congregation. "As we continue our journey through Lent, I'd like to introduce Reverend Jones from St. Wilfrid's church in Manchester. It's a great honor for her to be here today - she'll be reading the sermon I've been laboring over all week,""Poor woman," someone in the congregation muttered, leading to some muffled sniggers.While the vicar was talking, Gordon was idly peering over the top of the organ. He noticed Jenna sat in the front pew and winked at her. Moments later, Mrs. Wilcox, who was sat next to her, winked back at him and gave him a little wave. Gordon gave an awkward smile and shrunk back behind the organ,"Without further ado, I shall now hand over to Reverend Jones," Reverend Morris said.The vicar of St. Wilfrid's was a dumpy, bespectacled woman, aged about fifty, with grey hair in a bowl cut."Looks like the identical twin of that MP woman," an old man muttered. "What's her name? Therese, something. She's the secretary of state.""No idea," another old man replied. "Oh wait a minute! I know who you mean. Norman Lamont! I thought those eyebrows looked familiar,""No you daft git, he's a bloke!""That vicar looks like a lass to me. Mind you, one can't tell these days,"Reverend Jones stepped up to the pulpit and placed some papers on the book stand."I haven't had a sneak-peek at this sermon," she began. "So it will be a wonderful surprise for me as well as you. I'm sure Reverend Morris has gone the extra mile, as he usually does, and written something that'll make us all think."Reverend Morris gave a proud smile as he looked up at her.Gordon gave a subtle yawn. He always dreaded this part of the service. Reverend Morris had the ability to cure insomnia with his sermons, despite Jenna's best efforts to inject a bit more fun into them,"They say the Devil makes work for idle hands," Reverend Jones said, as she began reading the sermon. "That's a phrase we're all familiar with. This morning, I woke up, and my hands were rotting in idleness. My mind had been drifting to places, sinful places all week. I wouldn't say I'm a regular user of PornHub but," she paused.A look of horror appeared on Reverend Morris' face. "That isn't my sermon," he said to himself. "Oh no,"In the pews, there were a couple of awkward coughs and raised eyebrows. At the organ, Gordon suddenly perked up. This had to be the first time ever that the word PornHub was mentioned in a sermon!"The site just wasn't doing it for me," Reverend Jones continued, "so I decided to go for a walk in the park. I can't tell you how my spirits were instantly lifted. Light was filtering through the trees. It was golden and bright. How blessed we are that God has made all this for us, I thought, and then something in the bushes caught my eye. There was no-one else around. It was then that I saw her, naked as Eve in the Garden of Eden, about to take a dip in the lake. Her sweetly, up-tilted bare breasts reflected the glorious morning aura and her rose-pink nipples were as full and hard as ripe apples,"Reverend Jones paused. "What an excellent use of adjectives. I'm sure we can just imagine this scene in our heads can't we?"Never had the congregation of St, Michael's been so engrossed by a sermon before!"Not half," someone said out loud.Poor Reverend Morris' face had flooded several shades of red. He stood up and hurried to the pulpit."Angela, that's not the sermon I wrote!" He mumbled, begging her to stop."I've started, so I'll finish," she replied. "Everyone seems to be enjoying this.""Her name was Giselle, and she loved to unburden herself and swim in the lake. Freed from her clothes, I watched her in the nude and was convinced I was seeing the embodiment of an angel. She knew I watching, and she knew I liked to watch. I knew she liked me to watch, but this morning, we decided to do more than watch.""How romantic," Mrs. Wilcox said, turning to Jenna. "Your husband has a fine turn of phrase. It's better than his usual sermons, dearie. You should encourage him to write more like this. This church will soon be packed to the rafters if he keeps this up!""Oh, thanks very much!" Jenna replied innocently. She gazed at poor Reverend Morris, who was squirming with embarrassment at the side of the pulpit. He'd mixed up his sermon with some erotic fic, did he write the fic himself or find it online? She was curious to find out."What could be more divine than seeing a beautiful woman naked in a park?" Reverend Jones continued, reading out the story without a care in the world. "Personally, I think Tom Hiddleston naked in a park would be more divine, but that's just my opinion, ""I shouldn't say such things as I'm in a church, but I wouldn't mind seeing the organist naked," Mrs. Wilcox whispered to Jenna, who did a double take. This was one of those rare occasions when even she was left speechless for a few moments!"Really Gladys! You dark horse. Didn't know you had the hots for Gordon!""Just because there's snow on the roof, doesn't mean the fire's gone out!" the old lady replied."Oh this next paragraph has been all scribbled out," Reverend Jones said. She flipped the page over."My pearly-white ejaculate looked perfect dripping off her pink-nosed puppies. I got some on my hand and remember being surprised that it was so hot. I pulled my cassock off and wiped the cum off my hand with it. I walked home that night with a huge smile on my face and love bites on my little reverend."Reverend Morris snatched the papers off the book stand. "Er, my sincere apologies everyone, I made a terrible mistake!""Such a shame, it was building up to a nice conclusion," Reverend Jones said."No, that wasn't my sermon at all. I, I have no idea how that piece of writing ended up mixed up with my church papers!""Dat some good shit right there, Vicar!" Tony the reformed drug addict said, standing up and clapping.The flustered vicar attempted to move on. "Hymn, let's all stand for the hymn! Lo, He Comes With Clouds Descending!""You know something Simon," Reverend Jones said as she headed down the pulpit steps, "you need to get yourself signed up to an adult fiction site. You have talent. I'm on A o 3 myself - under a pseudonym of course. I like writing slash fanfiction about British politicians, I can send you a link if you're interested in reading them?""Er, no thanks, Angela. I'm sure they're very good, but I prefer to avoid anything relating to politics!"To be continued in part 2.By Blacksheep, for Literotica.

Yuliia Setdikova is a Ukrainian dentist working in Ireland. She is highlighting what she is describing as a “serious issue” affecting many of her colleagues – Ukrainian doctors who despite being highly qualified and sometimes fluent in English, are unable to work in their profession due to what Yulia believes is Ireland's “difficult and restrictive recognition process.” To tell us more, Yuliia joined Alan Morrissey on Thursday's Morning Focus. Picture (c) by Kubra Cavus from Getty Images Signature via Canva

Today, we're speaking with Vanessa Abbe, a travel advisor who joined me on my trip to Jordan last October. In this conversation, which we had live on Instagram recently, I wanted to hear her take on what it's like traveling in the country right now. Reminder: I'm running a 10-day group trip to Jordan this May. The trip runs from May 18th to 27th and you can get all the information by visiting here. Throughout February, you can save $150 off your booking by using code GOINGPLACESFEB when you join our trip. The code expires on Fri, Feb 28. What you'll learn in this episode:How Vanessa approached the safety question of traveling to JordanGaining a new perspective on the region through long conversationsThe impact of tourism cancelations on Jordan's tourism communityWhat it's like traveling in proximity to PalestineMeeting the people of Jordan: an Ammani photographer, a sustainable farmer in Madaba, the Bedouins of Wadi RumWhy hospitality looks like home-cooked meals in JordanWhy Petra By Night was one of the top experiences for VanessaWhat Vanessa has to say to someone considering going to JordanFeatured on the show:Follow Vanessa on Instagram: @adventures_vkabbeLearn more about our upcoming trip to Jordan in May hereGet more information at: Going Places website Join our Going Places newsletter to get updates on new episodes and Yulia's travel storytelling work. Subscribe at goingplacesmedia.com/newsletter!For more BTS of this podcast follow @goingplacesmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on YouTube!Please head over to Apple Podcasts and SUBSCRIBE to the show. If you enjoy this conversation, please share it with others on social and don't forget to tag us @goingplacesmedia!And show us some love, if you have a minute, by rating Going Places or leaving us a review wherever you listen. You'll be helping us to bend the arc of algorithms towards our community — thank you!Going Places with Yulia Denisyuk is a show that sparks a better understanding of people and places near and far by fostering a space for real conversations to occur. Each week, we sit down with travelers, journalists, creators, and people living and working in destinations around the world. Hosted by Yulia Denisyuk, an award-winning travel journalist, photographer, and writer who's worked with National Geographic, The New York Times, BBC Travel, and more. Learn more about our show at goingplacesmedia.com.

微信公众号：「365读书」（dus365)，有不定期赠书福利；微博：365读书v。主播：潮羽，365天每天更新一期。 文字版已在微信公众号【365读书】发布 。QQ：647519872 背景音乐：1.伍々慧 - Waltz in your dream；2.Yulia - 새벽 그림자；3.Khatia Buniatishvili - Cantata, BWV 208： No. 9, Schafe können sicher weiden (Arr. for Piano)；4.Arthur Rubinstein - Sonata No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 13, ＂Pathétique＂： II. Adagio cantabile；5.久石譲 - マルコとジーナのテーマ。

A sequel to "Jenna Goes to Church"A Series in 17 parts, By Blacksheep. Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories.  More fun with the ever-horny Jenna and the good chaps of St. Michael's church and beyond!At the Vicarage Social, Jenna meets an ordained Catholic Priest.A full year had passed since Jenna Fox had started attending St Michael's church. During that time, she'd carried out God's work and in the true Christian spirit, brought much happiness to several male members of the church, thus helping them to become better Christians. In her new role as a vicar's wife, she finds there are still many other men of the church in need of guidance,Reverend Simon Morris and his wife Jenna were holding their annual November social at the vicarage. November always seemed such a depressing month, when, after the initial excitement of Guy Fawkes Night, nothing much happened. Christmas was still a little too far away, although the shops had been selling festive stuff since September. It got earlier every year.The usual members of St. Michaels church were in attendance, Gordon Leesmith the church organist and choirmaster, Josh the curate, Bishop George, Yulia et al, plus a few new faces from other churches that Jenna hadn't seen before.Jenna was wearing a low-cut, black velvet dress and a diamond encrusted cross necklace. A couple of times, she caught a tall, serious-looking man in the corner of the room staring at her. He quickly averted his eyes when she looked at him."Wonder who he is?" The chap was clad in black and wearing a clerical collar, so evidently a vicar or priest of some kind. She knew most of the clergy at the local churches, but had never seen this guy before.Gordon was circulating, and on the hunt for a toilet. Beer always went straight to his bladder."Great atmosphere Jenna," he said, winking at her. "You look lovely by the way.""Why thank you," she winked back. "You look rather fine yourself. That navy blue suit, Umm. We need more men in suits. Down with casual dress I say!" The organist still turned her on, despite her offloading him onto Yulia's willing friend Martika. "A shame Martika couldn't attend tonight.""Yes, she's been struck down with flu. Been in bed all week.""Aww." They looked at each other. Gordon's face bore an expression that was pretty much screaming, "I am unbearably horny and really need a fuck right now, I know you're the vicar's wife now but I still fancy you like crazy and miss your lips on my cock, ""Er is there a downstairs loo here?" He said. "There's a queue for the upstairs one and I'm bursting for a pee.""Afraid not. Hard to believe in a house this size I know. There's always the back garden. Plenty of bushes and it's dark." Jenna replied, and tossing him a crumb of hope, added. "I might join you out there later."Gordon's face lit up. "Okay. Thanks!"Jenna scanned the living room. Presently, her husband appeared. "Nice to see so many guests. I didn't think so many would turn up!""I know, It's great!" Jenna couldn't help but notice that there were way more male guests than female ones. "I wonder why that is?" She grinned to herself. "By the way, who's that guy in the corner over there? He looks like he's at a funeral rather than a vicarage social. His face could turn milk sour."Reverend Morris looked. "Oh. That's Father Aiden. He's a Catholic priest. Only been in this neck of the woods for a few weeks. He's taken over at St Gregory's. Prior to that he was based in Liverpool. Huge Irish community there of course, and I believe he was born in Dublin.""Can't get more stereotypically Irish, can he?" The name, the look: Father Aiden had black hair, pale blue eyes and a bone-white complexion. His hairstyle struck Jenna as being somewhat old-fashioned, with sideburns."He'd be good at playing a vampire. Why's he looking so miserable? Is it because he's in a Church of England vicarage?"Reverend Morris laughed. "Ha! No, my love. All denominations are welcome at this vicarage, we've got the Oakwood Road Methodist guys here too and the Living Earth Free Church. From what I've heard, Father Aiden is just a very serious man. It's just how he is. He's probably enjoying himself, even though he looks miserable.""If he's a Catholic priest does that mean, ""Oh yes. Vow of celibacy.""That's the real reason he's miserable then!" Jenna replied."Indeed. Whilst I respect his vows, personally it's something I could never adhere to!""Nope. You like pussy too much, Rev.""Jenna, shush! You're making me blush!""I'm right though.""You know I can never get enough of your pussy," the vicar whispered in her ear. "I must go and mingle, before I get another hard-on."Jenna sensed the moment was right to get to know the mysterious Father Aiden a bit better. The priest was currently being bored to death by an elderly woman from St. Michael's who was lamenting the state of modern Britain.", And like I keep saying, this country went to the dogs long ago. Useless, lying politicians, rising crime, rising cost of living. Unbridled filth peddled on every street corner. I imagine, Father, coming from a big city like Liverpool, this small town must seem like paradise to you. Don't be fooled! County lines are a big problem! And the local park. Would you believe it? It's become a dogging hotspot, "Father Aiden said nothing and just nodded patiently at her. Sensing he needed rescuing, Jenna cut in."Sorry Mrs. Grimes, can I just interrupt and borrow Father Aiden for a minute? I need to discuss something.""Oh be my guest," the pensioner replied. "He's not got a lot to say.""Probably because he couldn't get a word in," Jenna muttered under her breath as Mrs. Grimes shuffled off. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Jenna, Reverend Morris' wife. Nice to meet you, Father Aiden." She held out her hand, and he reluctantly shook it."Hello." The priest spoke at last, in a thick Irish accent, his dour expression unchanging."You look rather trapped. Too many people here for your liking?""A little." Father Aiden replied. He looked extremely uncomfortable in Jenna's presence. "I'm still, finding my feet around this area.""I'm sure you'll settle in just fine, Father. Have you tried any of the buffet? My husband's a great cook; he's made some great cakes and, ""Maybe later. I, I would appreciate a cup of tea if possible.""Oh no problem. Why don't you take a seat in the snug? You'll find it more relaxing in there. Less chatter.""Thanks." He skulked off. Jenna took a deep breath. "Blimey, what a cold fish. I'd get better conversation out of a statue. Still, early days. With a little bit of help, he's bound to open up sooner or later." Far from putting her off, Father Aiden's stern exterior only served to fascinate Jenna further. And the fact he was a celibate priest, .hmm. That couldn't possibly be good for him, could it?Moments later, she brought him a cup of tea. "Here you go," she said, putting it on the side table by his chair and taking a seat opposite him."Thanks, Mrs. Morris.""Jenna, please."He twitched. "Jenna.""I've never met a Catholic priest before," Jenna said, and Father Aiden straightened in the chair and braced himself for the usual questions he was always asked, usually concerning vows of celibacy. He swallowed as he noticed how close Jenna was to him.Damn. She looks so much like Róisín, but even prettier. I can't believe this."Well, we're not that rare," he mumbled, sipping his tea."I know very little about the Catholic church," Jenna continued. Nobody in my family is Catholic. Mostly Church of England, and a few Methodists, ""I'm sure your husband can help you with any questions you might have," Father Aiden said, and Jenna wondered if this was his polite way of saying "please leave me in peace."Pretending to be upset, Jenna stood up. "I, I'm sure you're right, Father. I'm sorry for bothering you." She hurried out of the snug.Alone at last, Father Aiden smacked his forehead. "Why does this keep happening to me? Why do I always end up saying the wrong thing?""Definitely a lot of issues with that one," Jenna smirked to herself. A couple of chips on both shoulders methinks. I'm not giving up on the good Father though. Maybe in time, he'll soften a little."Gordon had successfully relieved himself on the rose bushes in the vicarage's back garden. "Ah, that's better. I'm sure those plants needed a good watering," he muttered, zipping up his trousers. Hearing the back door opening, he spun round."Hi there," Jenna smiled. "It's a bit cold out here, Gordon. You'll be getting a chill in your organ pipe.""Umm. I was hoping you might be able to warm it up."Jenna glanced round and took him by the hand. "In that case, come with me, "In the garage, Gordon's face flushed red with lust as Jenna leaned against a car, hiked up her dress and slipped her hand inside her drenched black panties. Her aroused smell met his nose and made his stiff cock throb more than ever. Already his pre-cum was leaking out. The fact that she was now the vicar's wife, was turning him on even more."Oh God, Jenna. You always know what buttons to press," Gordon groaned, as she ran her hand down his crotch, cupping his bulge."Don't you mean which stops to pull out?" She teased, unzipping his trousers. "Your cock is like the Wurlitzer organ in Blackpool Tower. It's always rising.""Ha-ha. That's why it needs you to play it," he chuckled. Jenna ran her hand down the front of his y-fronts. "Ooh, I'm not the only one here who's got damp undies!"Gordon groaned again. Jenna pulled out his cock and squeezed his balls. As she groped his manhood, she realized just how wet with pre-cum it was."Nice and sticky, just how I like it." She knelt down and teasingly licked the head of his cock before putting it in her mouth."Umm yes!" Gordon hissed as the vicar's wife began giving him a good blow. He'd remembered just how brilliantly Jenna was at giving blowjobs. Back during that day in church, she'd given him some superb head.Jenna withdrew and reclined on the bonnet of the car. She rubbed her neatly-trimmed bush of pubic hair and Gordon knew what she wanted him to do. With just one finger at first, the organist began tracing circles around the outside of her wet pussy. Jenna moaned, enjoying the attention, but wanting more. Sensing this, Gordon spread her pussy lips with his finger and pushed inside her, spreading her walls and began to fuck her with it. Then he lowered his head. Very slowly at first, teasing her into a state of desperate pleasure, he tongued her, savoring her juices."Oh Gordon!" Jenna screamed. She began moving her body in time to his motions, trying to get his tongue to go even deeper. Then without warning, Gordon stopped his treatment, as he felt her hand brush against the head of his prick. "Slide your organ pipe in," she purred, knowing he got such a kick from these corny phrases."With pleasure!"Positioning the tip of his dick right up against her wet opening, he slid inside her and was soon thrusting with vigor."Umm, more Gordon! Yes!"He continued pumping her hard and fast, pulling almost all the way out and then slamming his dick all the way back in. He grabbed her hips to steady himself, still fucking her rapidly. Then their coupled bodies convulsed ferociously, and Gordon's pulsating member filled Jenna's snatch with his cum."Here endeth the organ lesson," Jenna said, planting a kiss on his lips.Gordon kissed her back. "Oh thanks Jenna. I enjoyed that immensely.""And you really needed that!" She replied, adjusting her clothing. "It's not good for an organist to have so much cum building up like that, there might be a risk of a ruptured bellows."Gordon zipped up his trousers. "Far worse than trapped wind!"They both laughed. "We'd better get back to the party. I'll go first, okay?"Jenna headed out of the garage. As she walked round the side of the house, she almost walked straight into Father Aiden."Oh!" He recoiled in shock. "Mrs, er, Jenna.""Father Aiden! You made me jump! Don't tell me you're looking for a downstairs toilet too?"He blinked. "Um no. I was, er, I wanted to apologies for earlier. I was very rude. Whatever must you think of me? You being the vicar's wife and all.""I'd say you're a chap who's just finding his way in a new place," Jenna smiled. Even in the dark, his watery blue eyes seemed to be staring right into her soul. "Anyways, apology accepted!" Before he could say another word, she planted a kiss on his cheek. "Would you like another cup of tea, Father?"Father Aiden clutched his chest as though he'd glimpsed Satan himself. A look of horror on his face."What's the matter?" Jenna said, glancing back at him. "My tea isn't that bad is it?"The Priest is caught masturbating"Holy Spirit, come into my heart and show me my sins. Give me a proper spirit of repentance and the grace to make a good confession. Give me your peace that I might not be anxious but rather trust in your abundant mercies."Father Aiden said a prayer to himself. He was anxiously sitting in his confessional, awaiting the arrival of any lost sheep who were in need of his guidance. Here of all places, he needed to be focused on his job as a priest, yet his mind was on other things. Last night, he'd attended a gathering at St. Michael's vicarage. He hadn't really wanted to go, as social events made him uncomfortable, but had gone along to show willing. It had been his first social since he'd left Liverpool.It had all been going well until he'd met the vicar's wife, Jenna. The woman had shocked him to the core. She reminded him so much of Róisín, a twentysomething woman whom he'd developed feelings for back in Liverpool. He'd come perilously close to breaking his celibacy vows with her, they'd kissed passionately a couple of times in the confessional booth, until Father Aiden's nerves and guilt finally got the better of him and he'd pushed her away. Feeling it best to move on before things developed into something more serious, he quit his post and requested to be moved elsewhere. He'd narrowly avoided a scandal.Father Aiden was thirty-five, and had been a priest for eight years now. He recalled his early years, growing up in a small village near Dublin. As rigidly as he'd stuck to his celibacy vows since joining the priesthood, Father Aiden was no virgin. As an eighteen year old, he'd been an altar boy at his local church, and lost his virginity to Sara, a much older married woman who was a member of the congregation. They'd enjoyed passionate romps in the confessional booths, in the vestry, just about everywhere. Sara had a very high sex drive and didn't get any from her dull husband. Then a nightmare situation. Sara had fallen pregnant. Aiden's world had been rocked.In their strict Catholic community, even the thought of getting an abortion was out of the question. Aiden had resigned himself to becoming a young dad, but then just as he was starting to like the idea, fate intervened and Sara suffered a miscarriage. He didn't think it would have affected him so badly, but it did, and he blamed himself. It had been a punishment from God. From that day on, Father Aiden made up his mind to become a priest, much to the delight of his parents.However, much as he tried to bury any sinful urges, Father Aiden struggled. After Róisín, he hoped he wouldn't be attracted to another woman, but now he'd seen Jenna Morris, and been immediately smitten."Dear God, help me not to be so weak in body and mind. I must cast out these sinful thoughts."He was interrupted by the sound of someone entering the confessional."Bless me Father, for I have sinned." A middle-aged man said. "It's been a week since my last confession."Father Aiden composed himself and did his duty as a priest.Jenna grinned as an Amazon delivery van pulled up outside the vicarage."Oh good. It's arrived. That was quick."Reverend Morris was coming down the stairs as she was eagerly opening a parcel."What do you think?" Jenna said, holding up a nun costume."Ooh sexy. That'll turn heads at the church hall's fancy dress party next month! How very naughty and sinful. Better hope that Father Aiden doesn't turn up to that, eh? Might prove a bit too much for him! Talking of which, would you mind calling at St. Gregory's and dropping off that book he wanted to borrow?""No problem," Jenna replied. She picked up the paperback. "The Seeker by S G Maclean. Oh, he's into historical fiction is he? Well good to know he has other interests."Reverend Morris started laughing. "Heh, I don't know how I coped when the curate made that joke to him at the social. I know Josh had had way too much to drink but, dear God, I could've died when he started going on about Catholic priests lusting after choirboys.""What? I must've missed that! It must've been when I was f, er, talking to Gordon.""Yes. Father Aiden didn't see the funny side at all. I don't think Josh will even remember what he said to him. Anyways, I had to apologies!"Jenna couldn't help but snigger. "By the way, who are you going to dress up as for the party?""Haven't decided yet. You once said I looked like Prince Edward, perhaps I should dress as up in Royal robes and get a crown? Anyways, I must get going. I've got a meeting with Bishop George. What a busy week. Christopher's coming round tomorrow.""It's be lovely to see him. If the weather's nice, we can have a day out somewhere. I know how much he loves dinosaurs, why don't we take him to the museum?""Sounds great! Okay, I'll be back around four. Take care my love. Do give Father Aiden my best wishes." The vicar embraced her and they shared a lingering kiss, before he reluctantly tore himself away.Alone in the house, Jenna turned to the nun costume. Just how would Father Aiden react? "That would be a risk worth taking," she said out loud.Father Aiden had retired to his study. Saturdays were always quiet, and he relished this calm period. Reclining in a chair, he closed his eyes,Slowly, he unbuttoned his cassock. Before long he'd unzipped his trousers too. He was alone in the privacy of his study. His dick was now standing fully at attention. With mental images of Jenna Morris filling his head, Father Aiden took it in his hand and stroked it. He started talking out loud, as though reading out an erotic story where Jenna was pleasuring him."She settles to her knees between my thighs, opens my cassock and reaches up to open my trousers."He stopped and moaned."My willing lamb Jenna starts by licking the tip, tasting my precum. It is like silk. She then takes the head into her mouth and sucks it, darting her tongue into the slit. By now, I am rock hard, but still silent. She then takes my entire shaft into her mouth and keeps it there, running her tongue along the bottom. My cock shivers in her mouth; my only reaction. For what she is about to receive, I know she is truly thankful."Father Aiden was furiously pumping his cock up and down. "I gently place my hand on her head, and utter another prayer. My eyes are closed. I am about to come. I can't explain how glorious a moment this is. My lamb is so skilled, and now her sins shall be absolved."He was panting as he felt his orgasm building.Jenna parked the car in the street opposite St. Gregory's. The church was a grand old building, double the size of St. Michael's. The plaque on the railings described the church in eloquent fashion: ", an edifice in the Early English style, consisting of a basidial chancel, nave, transepts, north porch, lady chapel, and an embattled western tower, added in 1894 and containing 8 bells.""Never been in this church before. Oh well, first time for everything." with her usual bold as brass demeanor, she entered the church. "Wow, this is pretty ornate," she remarked. The place appeared deserted. No churchwardens or other staff anywhere. There was no sign of the priest. Jenna walked around the church, nosey-parkering here and there. She waited for a while, wondering if someone might come out of the confessional, but evidently that was empty too. Then she heard a muffled voice coming from a door at the back of the church."She knows I am ready and expects me to moan or yell, but all I do is tense slightly, for there are still other members of the congregation in the church. Then she feels my load in her mouth. She swallows everything, letting the last bit rest on her tongue so she can savor it." Father Aiden continued muttering to himself, in between moans.Jenna put her ear to the door. It was Father Aiden's voice alright, and he sounded like he was talking to someone on the phone. Then a load groan made her take a step back.."What the hell is he doing in there?" She wondered. She was about to knock, but what he said next made her gasp."She continues to suck my cock, a soft and gentle motion, caressing me with her lips and tongue, the feeling of this is indescribable. When she removes her mouth, she kisses the tip of my cock, and I moan, oh dear God, yes, yes!"Jenna squinted and peered through the keyhole. Her eye widened as she witnessed the priest reclined in a chair, masturbating furiously. He had that same miserable expression on his face, but his pale complexion was tinged with a blush, and he was grunting, seconds later he climaxed, shooting his seed into his free hand."Oh wow!" Jenna couldn't believe what she was seeing. "No wonder he was so miserable. Just look how horny the poor man is!" She licked her lips. The priest had an attractive uncut cock and to say it was large was an understatement. Though tempted to walk in and suck it right there, Jenna decided against it. "No. Not yet. I must wait for the right moment. And then I'll finally put a smile on this face."As he recovered from his orgasm, Father Aiden finished with a prayer."God, I thank you for your abundant mercies. No sin of mine is beyond your power to forgive, and your forgiveness has restored my soul to friendship with you. Thank you for never ceasing to love me even when my actions show that I do not love you fully. Thank you for seeking me out as the shepherd seeks the lost sheep."A dull thud outside the door brought him to his senses. Quickly, he wiped the cum of his hand with a tissue and zipped up his trousers. Cautiously opening the door, he looked around. The church was deserted, but there was a vague scent of a familiar perfume in the air, where had he smelt that before? He glanced down. And saw the book. He bent down to pick it up."Holy Mother of God, "Jenna had been here!Beauty and the PriestFriday night presented a perfect opportunity. Jenna's heart was pounding as she made her way to the clergy house where Father Aiden resided. The nun costume was proving to be quite itchy and uncomfortable, seeing as she wasn't wearing anything underneath it. To be expected of cheap Chinese tat purchased on Amazon. Still, the costume would serve its purpose, she hoped.Father Aiden reclined in an armchair as he read a chapter of the book that had been left in the church. Normally, he would be immediately engrossed in the story, but his mind was elsewhere."Did she hear what I was saying? She must've heard something."The thought that the vicar's wife might have overheard what he'd been saying was mortifying. Suddenly, the doorbell rang, jolting him back to reality."Who could that be at this late hour?" The priest mused as he got up. Usually the odd lost sheep called round, mostly Eileen Hattersley, a lonely old widow always in desperate need of a chat and reassurance. Then there was Bernard, a troubled fifty-something man whom Father Aiden suspected was closeted.He opened the front door. What he saw was almost sufficient to make him faint."Forgive me Father, for I have sinned.""Uh, Jenna? What, the, what are you doing here?""Well Father, I would've thought my intentions were rather obvious. Please may I come in?"His stern expression remained the same. He took a deep breath as he ushered her inside. "I know why you've come," he said at last. "You left the book the other day, didn't you? You obviously heard me, in my study.""I did," Jenna replied. "And yes, I heard."His ice-cold calmness slipped a little. "Celibacy, is hard," he murmured, staring at the floor. "I can only apologies for the disgraceful things you heard."Jenna raised her hand and touched his cheek. "But you have nothing to apologies for, Father. "Hearing you saying your erotic thoughts out loud was a huge turn-on. And a relief as well. Nice to know that priests have lustful urges like the rest of us.""Oh dear God Jenna, that's just the problem. I'm having too many of these lustful urges. I'm a poor servant of God. I can't stick to my vows. I'm sinning whilst in church, what is God to do with me?"Jenna thought for a moment. "Your opinion of God is different from mine. I was always taught that because he sent Jesus, who died for us, we do not need to fear eternal punishment for sin. You seem such an unhappy man, Father. Why not be truly honest, as God knows your thoughts anyway. Tell me, what do you truly want?"The sight of her dressed as a nun and giggling in a coquettish manner was sufficient to send blood surging to his manhood. He didn't reply, just put his hands to her face and planted a soft kiss on her lips."Oh Father!" Jenna whispered.The priest recoiled at once. "I-I'm sorry. Please forgive me.""You are forgiven. Now please kiss me again."He gazed at Jenna, moving his head in closer to kiss her on the lips. She pressed up against his body, feeling his hands on the small of her back. He broke it off. Jenna used the opportunity to gently bite the side of his ear, running over his inner ear with her tongue. He stiffened as she moved across his ear, going down until she got to the lobe.Father Aiden moaned, his breath warm on her cheek. His open mouth pressing into it. He didn't respond further. Jenna dislodged herself from his ear, causing him to look up as he moved his head."Come," he said, taking her by the hand and leading her into the sitting room. Jenna liked the way he was taking control like this."Yes, Father."In the middle of the room, he stood facing her."Kneel."She did as he asked. Father Aiden unbuttoned his cassock, revealing a straining bulge in his black trousers."Please, heal me," he whispered.Jenna needed no further encouragement. Putting her hands together in a prayer, she smiled up at him. "For what I am about to receive, may the Lord make me truly thankful." Slowly, she unbuckled his belt and started on his trousers. Father Aiden's huge cock sprang free the moment she unzipped them, and Jenna was surprised that he was commando under there."Are all Catholic priests as well-endowed as you?" She commented as she lowered her mouth over the end of his erection.Father Aiden simply shrugged.Jenna sucked on the head, tasting him as she ran her tongue over the sensitive opening, while pumping the shaft with her hand. She took more and more of his hardness into her mouth until she felt him hit the back of her throat. She relaxed and pushed on until she had his entire holy tool in her mouth and she was nuzzling his pubic hair. He groaned as he grabbed the back of her head and thrust into her mouth. The priest could not believe his eyes as Jenna took him into her mouth. Never would he have dreamt that his dull evening would have ended like this. And yet here this beautiful young woman was sucking on his hardened member. He groaned with pleasure at the sensations of her warm mouth on him. He was afraid to move at first, so he stood still, giving her free reign.Jenna continued to suck and was amazed to see Father Aiden's erection become even thicker and harder under her ministrations. She had never seen anyone so well-endowed, putting even her husband to shame. Her hands pumped the bottom of his shaft up and down as she continued to suck.Without saying anything, Father Aiden beckoned Jenna to stand up. He led her to the armchair and raised the nun costume, above her waist. He let out a sigh as Jenna's unclothed pussy was revealed to him. He liked the fact she was unshaved down there, unlike so many of the women he'd seen in porn videos, waxed and plucked so much that their pubic areas reminded him of supermarket chickens. Father Aiden slid down and began to slowly lick, nibble and suck her clitoris."Oh my God Father, " Jenna exclaimed.Hearing her utter his title like that, emboldened him. He licked and fingered her some more, and could feel her impending climax building, her hips rose up, she arched her back and started to yell."Oh Father; oh, yes!Father Aiden worked his tongue up inside her womanhood, swirling it around. His upper lip brushed her clit and moments later she exploded, squirting on his tongue and face. With a single finger, Father Aiden took some of the juice and marked the sign of the cross on his forehead. Still, he said nothing! After she'd recovered, he stood up and gently helped Jenna to her feet. He looked deeply into her eyes, and brought her lips to his.They kissed passionately, Jenna tasting her own juices on the priest's tongue. Finally, Father Aiden withdrew, and removed his clothes. Jenna did the same, glad to be free of the itchy nun costume."Oh," she smiled, noticing his dark chest hair. She ran a finger through it. Father Aiden took her hands in his and pulled her down to the floor. He reclined on the sheepskin rug. The warmth and light from the wood burning stove played across her body as Jenna straddled the priest and slowly lowered herself onto his erect pole. His thick head slid into her, stretching her to the limit. She paused to get adjusted to the mass of flesh inside of her, then continued to push down, filling herself.Father Aiden groaned with pleasure as he felt himself enter Jenna's tight opening. She kept moving up and down his shaft, each time lowering herself further and further until he was completely buried inside of her. The feeling of his erection deep inside her tight wet opening was incredible. He reached up and caressed her breasts as Jenna rode up and down his throbbing rod.Pressure began to build in Father Aiden's groin as Jenna continued to slide up and down his erection, slick with her juices. Her hot tunnel gripped him like a vice and seeing this beautiful redhead riding him, eyes closed, mouth open gasping with pleasure as he kneaded her breasts was too much for him. He felt the pressure continue to build, then a tightening at the base of his balls until he felt like he was about to explode.The waves of pleasure built to a peak until the continuous pummeling pushed Jenna over the edge and her body convulsed as she climaxed a second time. As she writhed in pleasure above him, Father Aiden felt himself explode as he released his load deep into her womb. His cock seemed to spasm forever as he shot spurt after spurt of cum, filling her until he was completely drained. Jenna collapsed on top of him, also completely spent.When Jenna opened her eyes, Father Aiden was staring right back at her, and he was smiling. A truly lovely smile.To be continued.By Blacksheep, for Literotica.

A Visit From The BishopA series in 17 parts, By Blacksheep. Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories. Reverend Morris anxiously paced back and forth in the lounge. He was in turmoil; he'd just received a letter from Bishop George, who was planning to visit him. On top of that, he'd been agonizing all day how to finally tell Lucy that their marriage was over. The past few weeks had seen his safe and somewhat dull life turned upside down. Ever since that romp with Jenna Fox in the vestry. What seemed to be a wild, one-off had now morphed into a passionate relationship. Now the vicar was seriously falling in love with the much younger woman.And what about Christopher? His four-year old son had just started school. Now a way would have to be found to gently break the news that Mummy and Daddy would no longer be living together. How would he cope with that? Then there would be the gossips at church. Some of the older members of the congregation would tut and register their disapproval. A vicar of all people, a role model and pillar of the community, cheating on his wife with a woman twenty years his junior! Every week he preached about being a good Christian. Now he couldn't help but feel he was nothing but a hypocrite."Bishop George won't take kindly to this," he remarked. The man was known not to suffer fools gladly.Hearing Lucy's car pull up on the drive, Reverend Morris took a deep breath. It was confession time. He fiddled with his thumbs as the front door opened."Hello, um, oh you're back a bit later than normal? Um, where's Christopher?""I dropped him off at your mum's," Lucy replied. "Simon, we need to talk. I have to tell you something really important. It can't wait.""I, had a feeling you might say that. There's something I need to tell you too, you see I,”Lucy took his hand and beckoned him to sit next to her on the settee."Simon. I've not been honest with you for some time now. It's not fair, and you have every right to feel angry. I've treated you terribly these past few years, pushing you away, shutting you out. Then six months ago, it happened. This is hard for me to explain,”"Please tell me," Reverend Morris replied. "Is there, someone else?"Lucy sighed. "Yes. I, I'm so sorry, Simon."Suddenly, the reverend felt less guilty. That they'd both met other people made it more bearable. But there was still their son to think about."I see. Is he, someone from church?""Yes, but, it's she," Lucy replied.Reverend Morris blinked. "She? Oh,”"Debbie Adams, you know, she teaches at the Sunday school? That's why it's been so difficult. So yeah, it's 2022, but it's still hard to be gay, and a vicar's wife. Especially in a tight-knit community like St Michael's. Many nights, I have sat and prayed to God. I asked him for courage and forgiveness. For how I have sinned."He took her hand. "I'm happy you found the courage to be yourself. And to fall in love isn't a sin, Lucy.""You're a wonderful man, Simon. You're being so understanding about this. I've been dreading saying anything, but I needn't have worried."Reverend Morris awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "I would've supported you no matter what. Um, but I guess now's the right time to confess that I've been seeing someone else too."Lucy smiled. "Oh really?""Um, you know Jenna? She goes to church. Jenna Fox?""Blimey, Simon. Oh yes. I've seen her. She is really attractive, not my type, but a stunner. I can see why you fell for her."Reverend Morris' face was turning red. "I worry about the age gap though, I mean she's twenty and I've just turned forty, that's not a good look is it? Others will disapprove.""Simon, love is love. These others you speak of will just have to deal with it.""Bishop George won't approve. He's planning to visit me in the next few days.""I don't think he's the monster you make him out to be. He seems pretty liberal deep down. Didn't he once have a much younger wife?" Lucy asked."Yes, she was called Julia. She left him for a Catholic priest.""Ouch.""Who was older than him! The priest was defrocked of course and he and Julia emigrated to the Costa del Sol, where they now run a beachfront bar called Unholy Orders,”"About Christopher," Lucy began. "We should tell him together."Reverend Morris nodded.Another Sunday and another morning Eucharist at St Michael's. Josh the curate was at the door, welcoming the faithful. Yulia and a group of other young woman grinned at him as they went inside. Normally, Josh would've nodded and blushed, but not anymore. Today he shook their hands, smiled back and had a little chat with them. When he noticed Jenna approaching, the curate's smile widened some more."Hello Jenna!""Good morning!" Jenna said. "Nice day for it.""Nice day for what?" Josh replied, winking at her."Naughty boy. Nice day for a church service of course! Looks like you have some female admirers over there," she said, glancing at Yulia and her friends.There was a notable absence in the church - John Norris and his wife were nowhere to be seen. The gossip-mongering pensioners who sat in the front pew wasted no time in digesting this new information."Well I heard that he moved out for a few days. They had a blazing row at the Harvest Social.""Margaret saw Patricia on the bus. Talk about having the wind taken out of your sails. She was beside herself.""Best place for her. A poison-tongued harpy of the highest order! I feel sorry for John. He doesn't need that sort of upset. He's on beta-blockers. They've decided to have a few days in Wales, to try and patch things up.""If my husband had been writing the sort of stuff like Patricia put on the Internet, I'd have told him to sling his hook!"Tony had volunteered to read the first reading, which was from the Book of Revelation. He twitched and sniffed as he spoke, and got a little carried away as he went on."Then I saw coming from the mouth of the dragon, the mouth of the beast, and the mouth of the false prophet, three foul spirits like frogs. These spirits were devils, with power to work miracles. They were sent out to muster all the kings of the world for the great day of battle of God the sovereign Lord!""He'll have a stroke if he carries on like that," the old ladies whispered.Tony continued. "This is the day when I come like a thief! Happy the man who stays awake and keeps on his clothes, so that he will not have to go naked and ashamed for all to see!"Some small children sat at the front looked terrified."This is the Word of the Lord!"Tony sat down. The second reading was a much calmer passage from Romans. Jenna smiled when Reverend Morris took to the pulpit, ready to deliver his sermon."Today, I'd like to talk all about love, forgiveness and honesty," he began. "I'm sure you've all heard that old saying. If you love someone, let them go. Why not hold onto them if you love them?Isn't love supposed to be fighting for that person no matter what?Through the fights, the struggles, and the pain, shouldn't we keep trying to keep the relationship going? The true meaning of loving someone and letting them go starts with being selfless, not selfish. There is another old saying. Honesty is the best policy. Ladies and gentlemen, I am going to be honest with you all today. My wife Lucy and I are getting divorced.Several loud gasps arose from the congregation. Jenna glanced round, trying to remain composed. She shifted anxiously in the uncomfortable pew. Was the vicar going to mention her name?"That's right. I know this will come as a shock to you all. You see, both of us have fallen for different people. Now, whilst we may no longer have romantic love for each other, we still care about each other. As you know, Lucy and I have a young son, Christopher, and his welfare is of paramount importance. Our split has been completely amicable. Lucy has moved out of the vicarage and we have agreed a 50/50 shared custody,”Josh looked up at the vicar in sympathetic understanding, as did Gordon. Meanwhile, some of the old ladies looked to be on the verge of nervous breakdowns. Jenna's heart was pounding."I'm not asking for forgiveness," Reverend Morris continued. "I know what some of you must be thinking. What sort of vicar preaches about the sanctity of marriage, and seven deadly sins, the shame of sin, and lo, he has sinned himself. I won't think ill of any of you. I have spoken to God and believe he has forgiven Lucy and I."Suddenly, Tony stood up. "Good for ya, Vicar! You're a top bloke. You helped me get off the crack. So like, I'd forgive you anything, man." He started clapping. Jenna joined in, and moments later, the rest of the congregation broke out in applause.Sat at the organ, Gordon was clapping furiously. He noticed Jenna gazing adoringly at the vicar and gave a wry smile. "I wonder who his new woman could be?" He said to himself.Jenna made her way straight to the vicarage after the service ended, intending to prepare herself ready for Reverend Morris. She was hornier than usual, and had much to discuss with the vicar. He'd given her a key to let herself in with.Alone in the house, Jenna removed her conservative clothing and changed into a far racier outfit - a short black dress, with lacy red panties underneath. She was just touching up her makeup, when there was a knock on the door."Oh he's back already," she smiled. The vicarage was only five minutes from the church. "Guess he didn't bother to go to the church hall,”Jenna opened the door. "I'm feeling sinful, oh! Er, hello!"Instead of the vicar, a stern-looking man who was the spitting image of Frollo from Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame, was standing there."Good morning," the mystery man replied. The clerical collar, purple shirt and cross round his neck were obvious indicators that he was a church person, but Jenna had never seen him before."Um, can I help you, sir?""Is Reverend Simon Morris in?" the man replied."No, he's still at the church. He won't be long. Can I take a message?""I'd prefer to come in and wait. I'm Bishop George. The Reverend is expecting me."The bishop? Yikes, Jenna thought. He's the vicar's boss. I'd better behave myself. She glanced at him as he entered the lounge.At least, I must try to behave myself,Bishop George sat down on the couch. "You must be the babysitter?"Jenna was tempted to lie, but lying to a bishop felt like a great sin, so she declined. "No. I'm, a friend of the vicar."Bishop George nodded. "Ah yes. I didn't think you were a babysitter. Seeing as Lucy and Christopher have moved out. I admire your honesty, my dear."Jenna froze. Shit. Does he know everything? Did Reverend Morris have to confess everything to the bishop in private? Or had he been lurking somewhere in the church earlier and left before she did?"Would you like a cup of tea?""Tea please. Milk and one sugar," Bishop George replied."Right, coming up,” Jenna turned and bumped into the coffee table, knocking some books onto the floor."Clumsy me," she muttered, and bent down to pick them up, exposing her red lacy panties.Bishop George wasn't prepared for such a sight and let out a gasp.A few minutes later, Jenna returned with a cup of tea. "Here you are, um, Reverend? I'm sorry, I don't know how to address a bishop, I've never met a bishop before!""Just call me George." He replied, taking the cup. "Thanks so much. You must be Jenna, yes?""Yes.""I know about you," he continued. "I spoke to Reverend Morris by phone a few weeks ago, when the Queen died. There was a notable increase in his happiness, and I could tell he was really excited about something. He was eager to tell me that there'd been an increase in people attending St Michael's. Then he mentioned you. Several times. And then I realized,”Jenna sat directly opposite him in an armchair. Her legs were crossed. "What did you realize, George?"She uncrossed her legs.Bishop George felt his cheeks flush. She'd removed her panties in the kitchen!Jenna Pleases the BishopBishop George twitched as a brief tantalizing glimpse of something forbidden was revealed to him.But the panties, those glorious red lace panties! What had she done with them?"Well,” he began, a little hoarsely, "you've obviously had quite the effect on him.""It's like history repeating itself," he added."What do mean by that?""Oh, nothing." Bishop George muttered, sipping his tea. "You just reminded me of someone I once knew, that's all."Jenna thought carefully for a moment, trying to read the bishop. So far, his self-control was admirable. Had she finally met her match with this man of the church? Behind that stern exterior, she sensed there was a man in need of some attention. She didn't know how old Bishop George was, but at a guess he was in his sixties. He was the oldest man she had encountered so far.Still, as the old saying goes - many a fine tune played on an old fiddle!"What do you think of St Michael's, then? You must know all kinds of churches." Jenna continued, trying to think up idle conversation.He finished his tea. "Some churches are drawn to controversy in the same manner that flies are drawn to shite. I'm pleased to say that St Michael's has resisted that.""Right. I see. I'm surprised you haven't cut yourself with that tongue of yours, Bishop George!"He reclined slightly in the armchair. "I have drawn blood on several occasions. I speak my mind, Jenna. I can't stand these churches who abandon their core purpose in an attempt to woo those who have no interest in ever following the teachings of God. I'm talking about those "trendy vicars" who install helter-skelters, massive art installations and the like in ancient churches and cathedrals. A church is a place of worship, not bloody Alton Towers,”"Oh yes. You're right," Jenna said. "I'd better make sure I keep on your good side, then!"Bishop George gave a slight grin. "And tell me, how would you keep on my good side, Jenna?""I prefer to show rather than tell!" He straightened in his chair as she walked over to him. "You seem rather tense, Bishop. I think you need to relax!" Jenna chuckled and sat in his lap. Initially shocked, Bishop George soon slid his arms around her."There you are. Beginning to enjoy yourself?" She said, playfully running a finger around his clerical collar."It's been a long time since I enjoyed myself like this," he murmured, planting kisses along her neck and jawline. One of his hands slid round and inside her low-cut dress. Bishop George cupped a breast, gently squeezing it, pinching the nipple. Jenna moaned at his sensual fondling. A powerful desire deep within the bishop began to stir also. The ease at which this young woman had penetrated his unforgiving exterior, stunned him. He was pleasantly surprised at how painfully hard he quickly became, and his cock ached to be freed from his clothing. Jenna's lips met his and their kisses grew ever more hot and demanding. Her hand slid down and brushed his crotch. There was no hiding the bulge of his arousal."Oh Bishop!" Jenna cooed, rubbing it. He let out a moan. She unbuttoned the lower buttons of his shirt and started on his belt. Resigned to his fate, Bishop George happily reclined in the chair.And then Jenna got a surprise as she unzipped his trousers. "Oh my. What pretty panties." She never imagined the bishop would be wearing women's underwear.Bishop George froze, as his secret was revealed. "Damn." He'd forgotten he'd put those on. "It's a fetish," he prattled nervously. "I, I can't help it. It's a need I have.""Hey, nothing wrong with that, Bishop." Jenna replied. "I love wearing silk ones too. But right now, I'm more interested in what's inside your panties,”She pulled them down, wrapped her fingers around his cock and gently stroked it. For an older guy, the bishop certainly had a nice-looking cock. "Umm. How tempting!""It's been quite a while since it last saw any use.""What a shame. Let's change that, shall we?"Jenna moved down between Bishop George's legs as he sat up slightly with a cushion behind his back. She took his cock in her hands and while she looked into his dark brown eyes, she began licking and sucking the thick shaft. On her knees so she could get the entire length in her mouth, one hand holding his balls gently. Soon her head was bobbing on the bishop's cock, the shaft wet and glistening.Bishop George was in heaven; groaning in ecstasy as this red-haired beauty worked his member. It had been too long, and he relished every second of this sweet pleasure."Oh Bishop, I have to convince myself to stop licking and sucking it, and fight the impulse to have you cum in my mouth." Jenna said, as she stopped. "I want your cum in my cunt."Without further hesitation, Bishop George rose from the chair and led her over to the dining table. He didn't even bother to push the table mats aside as he heaved her up on the oak surface, lifting up her dress and pushing her backwards. His tongue ran long, hard strokes up her inner thighs. He shoved her clothing up more, exposing her mound to him. Jenna lifted a leg over his shoulder, giving him full access. He lapped her outer lips, tasting her tantalizing wetness. What a cunt! It was as divine as he imagined.She gasped and curled her fingers when he slipped a finger inside her folds. Whilst his bony fingers worked their magic, he sucked on the nub at the top of her sex. A low moan escaped Jenna's lips. Bishop George hurriedly cast off his jacket and pushed his trousers and panties down to his ankles. He grabbed her hips, his cock finding her waiting passage. Jenna wrapped her legs around his arse and pulled him into her.Bishop George filled her completely. His thrusts started soft and gentle, almost loving, but then his pace quickened. He kept an intense rhythm, hammering in and out of her, with the vigor of a much younger man. Jenna screamed as she climaxed, burying her face in his shoulder. Moments later he came, filling her with his pearly cum.Jenna sat up, feeling his jizz leak from her as he slowly pulled out. Her hand fell to his deflating member, cupping him."Well Bishop. I expect you to give a glowing report on St Michael's Church. And its vicar.""You have my word," Bishop George gasped, getting his breath back."Excellent. I have another little gift for you. Jenna slid off the table and hurried into the kitchen. She returned and handed him her pair of red lace panties."I think they'll look good on you, Bishop!"Five minutes later, the front door opened and Reverend Morris came in."Sorry I've been so long Jenna. I got roped into doing a charity raffle and, oh!" He froze as he noticed Bishop George sat there. "Um. George. How are you?"Bishop George beamed broadly and rose to his feet. "Great to see you again, Simon!" He shook hands. "Your charming partner Jenna here very kindly made me a cup of tea."Stunned by the bishop's change in demeanor, Reverend Morris didn't know what to say. "Oh? You, know about us?""Jenna filed me in, so to speak. I think you've handled things marvelously at St Michael's. I can see for myself how happy the two of you are together. I'm pleased that you and Lucy had an amicable split. Your face tells me you weren't expecting such a reaction?""Er, no, I wasn't!" Reverend Morris replied. "I, I'm glad you're alright with the situation.""Simon. We may be men of God, but we're still human!" Bishop George said, and gazed adoringly at Jenna. "And what could be nicer than the love of a fine lass, eh?" Jenna winked back at him."Well! It's time I was going. I have much to do, other vicarages to call at. A shame all churches aren't as well-attended as yours, eh Simon? Then the Church of England wouldn't be in such a mess. Keep up the good work! Lovely to meet you, Jenna. I'll be calling round again sometime! Cheerio!"Reverend Morris thought he was going to faint. "Wow. Praise indeed! I wasn't expecting that. I thought he was going to read me the riot act!""God works in mysterious ways," Jenna replied, sliding her arms round him.Bishop George got into his car, a very happy man. "I can't wait to try these panties on!" He smiled to himself.What's Ukrainian for ‘Big British Cock'?A full year had passed since Jenna Fox had started attending St Michael's church. During that time, she'd carried out God's work and in the true Christian spirit, brought much happiness to several male members of the church, thus helping them to become better Christians."It feels wonderful being a vicar's wife!" Jenna said as she helped Reverend Morris into his cassock and surplice ready for the Sunday service.""And you fill the role so well, my love." He replied, kissing her. "I couldn't have managed without you these past few weeks. Having to do a morning service at St John's for four weeks in a row, then here at St Michaels. And after this, some members of the Good luck Ministry Gospel Choir are visiting, to practice with Gordon.""God knows you're more than capable, Simon. And it was so wonderful when Lucy and Debbie asked you to conduct their marriage ceremony too. I'm so glad everything has turned out okay.""What a difference a year makes. A shame John and Patricia Norris stopped attending our church. I heard they were having a lot of marital problems. Perhaps they'll return to us one day?""Mmm, perhaps," Jenna replied, knowing that Patricia Norris' absence wasn't missed by anyone. "Still, Yulia's friend Martika has joined the congregation. I think Yulia is planning to live in the UK permanently. She's settled in well, and has taken a fancy to Josh I believe." Jenna ran her fingers down the front of her husband's cassock.Reverend Morris chuckled. "Oh lucky Josh. Well he's desperate for a girlfriend. He's really come out of himself these past few months. I remember the first day he became curate, he was so damned shy, he would blush every time a woman spoke to him!""He just needed his confidence building up," Jenna smirked. Suddenly, the sound of Gordon playing the organ was heard, indicating the start of the morning service."Guess it's time for me to do my duty," Reverend Morris said. "Jenna, you do realize that I have a raging erection?""Being a good Christian is such hard work! Try not to get too excited when you do your sermon," she added with a wink.As he hurried out of the vestry, Jenna followed him and then made her way to the pew where Yulia and her friend Martika were sitting."Morning!" She said to Yulia."Ah! Good morning Mrs. Morris!" Yulia replied."Hey, you can still call me Jenna. So, is this your friend who's just arrived from Kyiv?""Yes, this is Martika, she's twenty, her English isn't that good yet, but I speak for her. She'll learn quick, yes? I wanted her to start attending Sunday service at St Michaels because she really likes British hymns, and back in Kyiv, she played the pipe organ."Martika whispered something in Ukrainian to Yulia."Oh yes. She has a huge thing for older British men. You know a nice older man she can get to know?"Jenna gave her famous smirk. "I know the perfect man."After the service, Yulia flicked back her long blonde hair as the curate walked past."Go and speak to him," Jenna urged her. "Josh is a lovely man.""You really think he'd, like to go out with me?""Of course he would!"Gordon had been in a happy but thoughtful mood this morning. As he tidied up his music books, he hummed Jerusalem to himself. What now? He wondered. Now that Jenna had become the vicar's wife, he sensed that their erotic couplings would now be coming to an end. Unless she and the vicar planned to have some kind of open marriage. He wasn't complaining. The past few months had been some of the happiest times he'd had in years. He had no interest in getting married again. He didn't want it all. Thanks to Jenna, he'd been afforded a delicious morsel of fun, and had felt desired again.Presently, Jenna appeared at the side of the organ, bringing him to his senses."Hi there, gorgeous!" He blurted out. "Oops, beg your pardon. I mean, Mrs. Morris!"Jenna chuckled. "Hello there, Stud of the Organ. Thanks for playing Shine Jesus Shine for Tony. I know you loathe that hymn.""Hah, well it'll never be a favorite of mine, but if it's requested, I'm glad to play it. Tony seems to be really doing well these days. Hope he stays clean and on the straight and narrow.""So do I. I think he'll be fine. He's started a course at the adult learning college, along with Amir."Gordon nodded. "Good for them. Um, Jenna, I was wondering, could I talk to you about something?" He fiddled with his robe. "Now that you're the new Mrs. Reverend, .well I, er,"She moved to reassure him. "I know what you're thinking. You're wondering if our little "organ lessons" are no more?""Well, yes. I, understand completely of course, I mean you married Simon in this church and Bishop George did the service."Jenna smiled at the mention of the bishop. It had been so kind of him to do the service, and to lend her one of his favorite pairs of silk panties, in the old tradition of something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue,”Gordon, how would you feel if I told you that I have the perfect replacement lined up for you? She's really lovely."He thought for a moment. "Hmm, I'm not sure. I don't think any woman could thrill me in the same way you have, Jenna. Who did you have in mind?""I'm flattered, Gordon. Give her a chance, eh? Her name's Martika and she's Yulia's friend. Back in Ukraine, she used to play the pipe organ in her local church. It's her English skills that need a bit of help. And I know you've become quite fluent in Ukrainian,”Martika appeared. "Martika, this is Gordon," Jenna said, introducing her to the organist.The blonde beauty looked like she was about to faint. "Oh Mr. Gordon! I like a lot!""She really likes older men," Jenna added with a wink."Wow," Gordon murmured, before speaking to her in her native tongue. Martika giggled. She grinned devilishly and began to undo her top enough to uncover one of her breasts."Bloody hell!" Gordon gasped. Martika slapped her breast against his face and was pleased at how eager he was to suckle on her stiff nipple. Her hand reached down and firmly groped and massaged his cock and balls through his trousers. She forced a muffled groan out of the organist as she unzipped him."I must tend to my man of the cloth," Jenna said, leaving the two of them.Martika slid her thong down to her knees and slowly lowered herself onto Gordon's throbbing, aching cock."Mr. Gordon! Big cock like British Bulldog!" She smiled.Gordon replied to her in Ukrainian, something along the lines of "I will fuck you so hard, your screams will be heard back in Kyiv."Gordon buried his meat into this eager young filly, letting out a long moan as he let it pulse and twitch inside her. Slowly, Martika began to rise and fall back down on his manhood, stopping at every third or so bounce to grind herself on it, each round picking up speed and force. She began to grope and rub her tits as her momentum continued to increase, pounding down harder and faster onto Gordon's cock. What a heavenly view. Big luscious tits bouncing up and down while she rode his pole. They looked so amazing jiggling around, it was driving him crazy. His groaning, muffled whimpering filled her with satisfaction.Her bounces became faster and she landed down upon him with more intensity, leaning in on every downward gyration to get him to reach her favorite spot. She screamed out, not just for the immense physical pleasure but from the psychological high she was experiencing. The quaking of her body and passion of her final yell was enough to bring Gordon to his own explosive finish, emptying his load deep inside her,"Mr. Gordon, awesome!""Ahem," someone cleared their throat and Gordon looked to his right. Josh was standing there, along with several horrified-looking older black women."Gordon," Josh began, struggling to hold back laughter. "These ladies are from the Good luck Ministry Gospel Choir. When you've, finished what you're doing, they're ready to practice the pieces for the upcoming Jesus Christ Superstar tribute concert."To be continued.By Blacksheep, for Literotica.

The Curate loses his virginity.A series in 17 parts, By Blacksheep. Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories. At this Sunday's service, there was much talk of the upcoming harvest festival. Members of the congregation were encouraged to donate fruit and vegetables, along with non-perishable items for the local food bank.Jenna had made an effort and brought along a bag of apples. She placed the bag on the side table in the church hall."I don't know how a brazen hussy like you has the cheek to set foot in a church."Jenna remained calm, as she turned to face Mrs. Norris. "Well I'm a Christian, the same as you.""Huh! Christian my foot. I saw what you and the organist were getting up to and I think it's disgusting! In the church of all places! And he's old enough to be your father!""Well if you clutch those pearls of yours any tighter they'll crumble to dust. And Gordon and I happen to be consenting adults. Single consenting adults. So there.""Why you, you, .horrid little slag!" Mrs. Norris fumed, lip quivering. She stormed off.Jenna exhaled and rolled her eyes."Coffee or tea?" a friendlier voice asked. It was Debbie, the Sunday school teacher, who was volunteering to do today's hot drinks rota in the hall."Tea please," Jenna replied."You ok?""Yeah. I don't think I'll be on her Christmas card list.""Don't let that old bag get to you. She's a nasty one. She's horribly ageist. Not to mention xenophobic too. I overheard her mocking Yulia's English skills last week. I can't stand her. Her husband's not that bad, he's a tedious fusspot, but there's no malice in him. But her, she's poison.""I heard her hubby spreads gossip on Facebook." Jenna said."More likely that's her doing." Debbie replied. "I'd be surprised if John Norris even knows how to switch on a laptop."A brief chill ran through Jenna. What if Mrs. Norris were to post some bile about her online? "I don't use social media anymore," she said. "Briefly poked my nose into Twitter as a teen, but didn't like the pile-ons.""Wise. I'm on Facebook, but only to keep up with church stuff. I never post anything about my private life. I imagine Mrs. Norris would have a stroke if she knew I was dating a woman. A married woman at that. Keep it to yourself. I'm not ready to come out yet.""Don't worry, I won't say a word."Jenna sipped her tea quietly as she observed the other members of the congregation file into the hall. She was hoping Reverend Morris would soon arrive, but after fifteen minutes, there was still no sign of him. Then there was Gordon; he never came into the hall after a service, and he'd sent her that amusing text message on Friday, about Charles Wesley and his "bulging hymn book."She headed out of the hall, in search of Gordon, when Josh the curate came staggering in, carrying a massive pile of hymn books. He almost collided with Jenna and dropped a couple of books."Oh! I'm so sorry!" Josh stammered. "How clumsy of me."Jenna bent down and picked up the books. "You're loaded up like a pack horse. Let me give you a hand. Where are you taking all these?""Um. So kind!" His pale cheeks went pink. "The storeroom at the far end of the hall. These are spare hymn books.""Ok. Lead the way. By the way, you haven't seen the vicar have you?"""Oh, he and the organist are in a meeting. One of the organ pipes has just been repaired.""Damn," Jenna muttered under her breath. "Oh dear. How sad. I guess he'll miss his tea and biscuits."She followed Josh down to the storeroom. She'd never paid much attention to the curate before, but looking at him now, she realized that he was rather cute. Mid-twenties, tall and stocky with fair hair and a chubby face. There was an endearing innocence about him. Reverend Morris had said he was hoping to complete his ordination next year and become a fully-fledged vicar. He'd been impressed by his devotion to the church - but he needed to come out of his shell a bit and interact more with worshippers. Josh was a shy man and lacking in self-confidence. Remembering this information made Jenna smile.I think this innocent curate needs some other kind of help,The storeroom was vast, and crammed from floor to ceiling with box files, books, old furniture and plastic crates."Holy sh,, I didn't know this room existed. And what a lot of stuff for one small church!" Jenna exclaimed."Heh, yeah." Josh said, putting the books down. "It's not just for St Michael's. We share it with St John's and the Methodist church on Oakwood Road."Jenna began putting the books on the shelf."Um you don't need to do that,”"Jenna."Josh blushed again. "Jenna. It's kind of you to do that but,”"Oh I don't mind. Why should you have to do all the donkey work? This room is a tip. Besides, a good Christian should help others, right? Especially the vicar's right-hand man. That's what a curate is, yes?"Josh relaxed a bit. "Pretty much, yeah. Like Batman and Robin.""Have you always wanted to be a curate?"Josh sat down on a stool. "In truth, no way. I wasn't religious at all when I was a kid. I suffered from crippling shyness. I used to dread being asked to read in front of the class. When I was ten, my dad walked out, and that affected me a lot. Haven't seen him since. Mum turned to drink, I relied on my grandad for support. He became a father figure to me. He used to be a vicar. Thanks to him I survived my teens and passed my exams. I was eighteen when he died. That's when I decided I wanted to follow in his footsteps. Without him - and God, I fear, well I may have gone down a dark path. Got in with a bad crowd. Taken drugs, self-harmed, maybe ended up in jail.""Wow." Jenna replied, realizing how cosseted and safe her upbringing had been. "Well I'm so glad your grandad was there for you.""There are still days when I doubt myself and I'm in a bad place. I feel useless.""Don't put yourself down," Jenna said, walking towards him. "You're an amazing role model, especially for younger people."Josh blinked. "You, think so?""I do. Plus, you're really cute. Has a girl ever told you that before?"Josh blushed. "Err, no-one except my Nan. I don't think she counts.""Women round here must be blind," Jenna added, making him squirm with embarrassment. She leant forward and planted a kiss on his lips. He trembled, cheeks turning redder."J-Jenna, don't,”"It's alright Josh. You're not committing a sin or anything. We're not inside the church, if that's you're worried about.""N-no, it's not that. I, um,” The curate sighed. "I, I'm just scared of, I don't know if I can, do this."She already knew he was single and straight, but decided to question him. "Do you have a girlfriend?""No, but, um, that's the problem really. I'd like one, but I wouldn't know how to tell her,”Jenna stroked his arm. "Tell her what?""I worry she'd laugh at me.""Josh. Whatever it is, I promise I would never laugh at you. And I will understand."He looked down. "Shit. I'm twenty-five. And I'm still a virgin! I've never gone beyond kissing a girl."She kissed his cheek again. "Oh Josh. That's nothing to feel awkward about. In fact I admire you. In this age when we're bombarded with over-sexualized imagery 24/7 both online and offline, finding someone who's chosen to wait is pretty awesome in my opinion. I lost mine just days after reaching the age of consent. I couldn't wait to lose it. But that's just me,”"Yeah but, I, um,”She pulled him to his feet and gently coaxed the truth out of him. "You want to lose your virginity, yes?""More than anything. But, dating today is scary. It's a minefield. Especially after Me Too. I'm afraid. I don't want to say the wrong thing and come across as some horny creep,”Jenna held back a chuckle. Mrs. Norris probably thinks of me as a horny creep. She thought."I get that. But trust me. I don't think a sweet, kind-hearted man of God like you could ever be a creep. Horny yes, nothing wrong with that of course." She winked at him and he gulped. "How about it? I think you're ready right now."His eyes widened. "W-what? Here?""Why not? It's nice and private, And you're a really sexy curate!" Her face was just inches from his own, hovering there. Then her lips were on his, dancing there softly for a moment before pulling away."Jenna,” He was already rock hard, and hoped his cassock had disguised this fact."Shush. You're very special." She whispered, barely audible. "You're warm, caring, You're strong. You deserve to be experience the joys of the flesh." She kissed him again. It's okay to feel nervous. First time is always a bit nerve-racking. But just relax. You'll be just fine,”What an adorable lamb to the slaughter, Jenna thought to herself. He's so scared and unsure. I've never seduced a virgin before, so I'd better not go too hard on him. I do love a challenge. With a bit of encouragement, this sweet guy could have real potential.The touch of her lips sent a fire through his body, a jolt that brought a tingle to every micron of his skin. "Oh, Jenna!""Shhh." Her lips caressed his own, then his nose, his ear. "Don't talk just now, okay?""Mmm?"She kissed him again, gently caressing his upper lip between her own. At last, he responded."Josh." Jenna smiled cheekily. "You're a pretty good kisser, you know that?""Really?"Just relax. I'm not going anywhere, there's no rush. All we have to do is discover each other. There's no hurry. No-one's going to come in here. I imagine the vicar will be busy for ages."Jenna ran her hand down the front of his black cassock. "Oh my, you're more than ready. "Let's get these buttons unfastened." She knelt before him, opening the cassock and revealing the black trousers underneath. And another straining crotch bulge."I'm going to worship you," she whispered, unbuckling his belt and unzipping his trousers. Josh was wearing plain black briefs underneath. It was fun seeing the different types of undies men wore. First there was Reverend Morris with his "holy boxers," then Gordon and his sensible white y-fronts, now Josh with smart black tight-fitting briefs."Everything will be fine. I promise. Close your eyes if it makes you feel better, okay?"The curate hesitated still, but Jenna's smile was reassuring and gentle. "I promise you'll like it." With a shudder, Josh squeezed his eyes tight as his trousers and underwear were lowered, and he could feel the cool air of the room, then Jenna's warm breath on his manhood."There we are."He couldn't resist a peek, through half-closed eyes. He was painfully stiff, of course, harder than he'd ever been in his life, but he didn't need his eyes to tell him that. He shivered as Jenna ran her hand through his pubes and stooped to kiss him there. He gasped as her smooth palm encircled him."Oh my God!""Mmm. So beautiful. Truly God's gift to women. Just relax, don't fight the feeling. Isn't it nice?" Jenna kissed the very tip of his member, and he gasped and moaned, his muscles tensing. "Don't fight it now Josh, just let the feelings come. Relax and let it take you. You don't have to hold it back, just let it come." With that, she closed her lips around his head, tasted him with her tongue."Uh! Oh Jesus!" The curate groaned. The crescendo was boiling in him now, wonderful and frightening and exhilarating. Nothing could have prepared him for the warm embrace of a woman's mouth, the slight roughness of her tongue as she rolled it up and down his length. No porn, no fantasy could have approached the sensation of her lips gently drawing on his cock, coaxing him towards a peak of indescribable pleasure. The fire was in him and around him, consuming him and his thoughts until all that he was became the connection with her, his flesh and her mouth. Her hands cradled his cock gently as he built towards climax, his breathing becoming rapid and shallow."Oh,”"Let it come."Josh sighed deeply in relief as Jenna enveloped him again, shuddered as he felt himself swell between her lips, as he released himself to her, surrendered to her, spurting his cum. She lingered over his manhood, slowly coaxing him down from the heights of his ecstasy. She gently licked his shaft and kissed a drop of his essence from the tip, and smiled up at him."That wasn't so bad, was it?" She said, standing up. "Did you enjoy your first blowjob?""Jenna. Fucking hell!""I'll take that as a yes?""Yes!" he gasped."Oh good. Because we're not done yet. You don't get off that easily you know!" Jenna began unfastening her skirt, letting it fall to the floor. Josh's eyes widened. She wasn't wearing any panties.An old, battered table was in the middle of the storeroom. Jenna cleared it and reclined on it, spreading her legs and unfastening her blouse. No bra!"Your turn."Josh crossed himself."Just trust your instincts." She whispered, lowering herself onto her back. Josh stared at her for a second, dumbstruck by her beauty and timid as a deer. Her gently smiling face and the flowing red hair that framed it, the round fullness of her breasts, her long legs, and the tantalizing lure of her wet womanhood between,Finding his courage at last, Josh moved close. With a shaky hand he reached out and tentatively cupped her left breast. Tracing the nipple with his thumb, ever so gently."Mmm nice, Josh. Keep going!"Encouraged, Josh lowered his mouth to her other breast, the memory of the delightful sensations she'd given him earlier fresh in his mind. He felt her run her fingers through his short blonde hair as he tasted her with his tongue, heard her sigh as he closed his lips around her nipple."Gently now.""Sorry!"The curate feasted on her breasts for a bit longer, before moving down to her abdomen, planting more kisses, then he paused for a moment. Jenna said nothing, silently urging him to carry on, and he did. Tentatively, he kissed the inside of her thighs, tracing a finger through the trimmed hair above her slit.Josh continued to lovingly kiss her thighs, his nerves beginning to fade. The heady scent of her was overpowering, emboldening him to trail a finger between her cunt lips. The wetness he felt there surprised him, and he glanced up."You're doing great, Josh." Jenna answered in a throaty whisper. "Please don't stop."He ran a finger over her clit, causing her to let out a moan. Lowering his head, he caressed her softly with his mouth, tasting her."Oh Josh,” He suckled gently on her clit and she let out a scream."Jenna?" He pulled away from her, his fear returning. "Did I hurt you?""No Josh. It was incredible, that's all. When you licked me down there, wow. You sure know how to thrill a woman. You learn quick! But don't make me cum just yet. Because I want you inside me when it happens."Josh's heart leapt into his throat. "Oh,”"Are you ready?""Um, but protection, I-I don't have a condom,”"It's okay, you don't need to worry. I'm on the Pill.""Oh, right. Good,”"Think of this as doing God's work," Jenna purred, urging him to get on with it. She was eager to feel that virgin cock inside her.Slowly he positioned himself above her on the creaking table. Jenna took his cock in her hand, guiding him. He felt the head of his organ nestle inside her."Lord in Heaven!" It was such exquisite torture, fighting the urge to cum as fast as he could. The feel of her cunt as it sheathed him was beyond even the joys he'd felt already.At first, he slipped in and out of her slowly. He buried his face in her neck."Umm, oh God Josh. Yes! Go harder!"Jenna slowly relaxed her control, allowing him to work his cock in and out of her more forcefully. He thrust in deep, as far as he could, and gasped, savoring the sensation."Oh Josh, that's so good!"He speeded up, as she wrapped her legs round him. Soon he was pounding her like a pro."Jenna!" He could feel his climax coming now, a mighty force of almost Biblical proportions. Just as Jesus drove out many devils, Josh drove out his virginity, casting it aside forever. He'd been freed."Ugh!" With a roar of release the curate came, filling Jenna's womanhood with his seed. Josh wasn't sure how long his orgasm lasted. But he knew that it was wonderful, an epiphany of sensation, and that Jenna writhed and gasped in the throes of her own climax in perfect harmony with his.When they'd both calmed down, Jenna held him close and kissed him. "Are you okay? You were amazing, Josh, do you know that? How are you feeling?""Just fantastic, absolutely fantastic! I, wow. That was, incredible. Um, do you mind if I say a quick prayer for both of us?""Not at all. You go ahead."When he'd finished, he opened his eyes and looked at Jenna, who was smiling broadly. "You are going to become a bloody amazing vicar!" She said.An Erotic Dream & an organ lesson.T'was the Year of Our Lord 1739, and on a road bound for London, weary preacher and hymn writer Charles Wesley had just arrived at a tavern."Innkeeper! I hath been riding all day and my poor horse be in the great need of water and rest. As am I." Charles said."Fear thee not, good fellow, I'll tend to thine horse!" The innkeeper replied. "If it's a room for the night you're looking for, then ye hath come to the right place. Here at the Lamb Inn, there's always a warm greeting for a weary traveler. I'll leave ye in the capable hands of my fine wench Jen, who is adept at making gentlemen feel welcome,”"Greetings to you sir!" Jen said, and Charles was a little taken aback by this stunning redheaded wench. "If you'd like to follow me, I'll lead you to your bedchamber." She picked up a candle and gave him a seductive smirk."Gladly, Miss!" Charles replied, following her up the creaking wooden staircase. In the main room, sounds of merriment filled the air as many men supped ale and enjoyed the company of willing wenches."I see you're a man of faith, sir," said Jen as she reached the top of the stairs. "Have you travelled far?""Aye, all the way from Bristol. I write many hymns. I'm going to visit my older brother John, who's in London. He's a preacher too. In fact he,”"Oh gosh, of course! Your brother must be John Wesley, founder of that Methodist movement I keep hearin' about!""That's right! I'm Charles Wesley."Jen entered the bedchamber. "Here we are, Mr. Wesley. I trust the room is to your liking? This happens to be a new room - never been used before. Bed never slept in, chair never sat on, chamber pot never,”"Ah, glorious!" Charles interrupted her. "It looks most excellent. I am indeed blessed to have been afforded such kindness. God is good!""Mmm, thanks be to God," Jen replied, eyeing up Charles. He was young and rather attractive for a man of the cloth. Most of the clergy she'd encountered in her life had been very old men."There be a fresh jug of water on the table for you, Mr. Wesley. We're lucky here. The Lamb has a deep well which provides safe, clean water to drink. That's why we get so many visitors desperate to quench their thirst without worry of getting the flux."Charles nodded as he put his bag down on the chair and removed his black robe. That four poster bed looked so inviting."Why don't you sit on the bed, Mr. Wesley? I cannot help but wonder, after all that riding, do you not grow a little stiff?""Um, I am a little stiff, yes.""Then come over here and sit beside me." Jen said, patting the bed. "I'd be interested to hear about your hymn writing."Charles bashfully did as she asked. "Well right now, I am working on a "Hymn for Christmas Day." But I confess I have only written the first verse."Perchance could I hear this first verse?" Jen replied.Charles nodded."Hark how all the Welkin ringsGlory to the King of Kings,Peace on Earth, and Mercy mild,God and Sinners reconciled!""I'd say that's a marvelous first verse," said Jen. "Very stirring, very uplifting. It makes one, rise to the occasion." Her hand had somehow ended up on his thigh."Oh do you think so? That pleases me greatly, Miss! Now if only I could complete it."Jen removed her mobcap, revealing long, tumbling red locks. Charles gazed, mesmerized. "By all the saints, you're a pretty woman, Miss,”"Jen, Mr. Wesley, perhaps I can be of some help to you." She blew out the candle. "Oh my! Now we're in the dark. How careless of me! We'll just have to,”"Oh Miss Jen!" Charles gasped as her hand groped him in an intimate place."I think you've risen to the occasion Mr. Wesley!"A few moments later and the good wench had relieved the dear Mr. Wesley of his breeches and cast off the rest of his apparel, including a periwig. The preacher produced naked, stiff, and erect, a wonderful maypole. Jen put her hands to this fine example of maleness and her actions had the desired effect."Ah! I think my inspiration is returning!""I'm filled with joy, Mr. Wesley! Tis an honor to help you!""Joyful all ye Nations rise,Join the Triumph of the Skies,Universal Nature say"Christ the Lord is born to Day!""That's a wonderful second verse!" Jen ran her tongue round the preacher's erect member, before taking his entire length into her mouth."Oh Lord in Heaven, I have given in to sin, but if the sin results in a completed hymn, will thou look upon me with mercy?" Charles gasped, as the pleasure overwhelmed him.Jen withdrew. "The Lord will indeed pardon you, Mr. Wesley. Now please relax and enjoy my help!""Ah, oh my God, thine tongue is divine, it feels so good!"Jen sucked, licked and teased Charles' cock until he could take no more."Miss Jen! I'm going to spend! Oh, yes!""Ahh, I have been anointed by your holy essence, Mr. Wesley!" Jen giggled as she eagerly gobbled up his seed.Charles' face bore an expression of utter bliss and satisfaction. "Oh Miss Jen. I am so grateful God delivered me to this inn. What sweet pleasures you have afforded me this evening!"A furious knocking on the bedchamber door disturbed the blissful ambience."Jen! Jen! You need to get up!" a woman shouted."Is that, the innkeeper's wife?" Charles wondered, still dazed after his powerful orgasm.Jen licked the remaining cum off the preacher's softening cock. "Mm, sounds like Mother. But wait, Mother died of smallpox ten years ago, so how, ?"Everything seemed to fade away in a strange haze."Jen! You're going to be late for work! Wake up!"Jenna finally awoke. "Huh? What?""Are you alright?" Her mum shouted. "Answer me or I'm coming in.""Um yeah. I'm fine Mum!" She rolled over and reached for her smartphone. Squinting, she looked at the clock."Shit! I overslept!"Breakfast was a rushed affair, with Jenna barely able to drink half a cup of coffee and a piece of toast."For goodness cake, slow down before you choke on that," her mum said."Can't believe I overslept. I set my phone. I've never done that before." Jenna said."Hey, we all do it sometimes. Though your exertions at church no doubt kept you up late. Your dad and I noticed how much time you've been spending at St. Michael's. Now feel free to tell me to mind my own business, but what's with the sudden obsession with church? You've never been interested before. You used to laugh at Gran for being in the Mother's Union.""I guess the pandemic made me think about things differently," Jenna lied, trying to think up a good excuse. "I know I never attended church much before, but I never stopped being a believer.""That's great, Jen. I'm glad it makes you happy. I just hope you're not spending all your time with old people, though. It's good to mix with people your own age.""Oh there's a good mix of different ages at St Michael's. They're not all boomers, Mum. The curate, Yulia and Debbie aren't much different to me. And Reverend Morris, .he's amazing.""I'm sure he is," her mum replied, with a wry grin. "You out tonight?""Yes. Choir practice." Jenna grabbed her bag and car keys."By the way, who's Charles Wesley?""Um, what?""You were yelling his name over and over in your sleep. You must've been dreaming.""Oh. Well he's a guy who wrote a lot of great hymns. He lived in the 18th century. He wrote that famous carol "Hark the Herald Angels Sing", although the original words were different. Gotta go. Love you. Bye!"Jenna's mum shook her head. "Charles Wesley? When I was growing up, I used to dream about Brad Pitt.""I have got to get a place of my own," Jenna muttered to herself as she headed to the car. "That was cringe."Jenna had prepared herself for her evening "choir practice" with Gordon, by wearing her best lingerie and a sexy dress that perfectly highlighted her curves and cleavage. The organist himself had also made an effort, by wearing his best suit and tie. With his black robe unfastened, he resembled an old-fashioned headmaster."Hello there!" Gordon said, grinning from ear to ear. Whoa, she looked drop-dead gorgeous. He was practically drooling like a dog in heat."Not so bad yourself, Gordon!" Jenna replied. "Love the suit. Now all you need is a cane.""A cane?""To punish me with. You see, I've been a naughty girl. I forgot to practice that piece of music you mentioned.""Oh dearie me," Gordon said, walking over to her. "Whatever am I to do with such a naughty girl? Never mind. I'm sure you can make it up to me some way,”He sat down on the organ stool. "Come sit in my lap, Jenna. We're going to play a little tune together. I'm sure you can do it.""Why Gordon, I'm not sure I can play this. It's a bit of a step up from the piano.""Just give it a try. I'm sure you'll learn quick!" He winked. "Try the third manual," he added, indicating one of the keyboards.Jenna bit her lip and slid onto Gordon's lap. She deliberated wiggled about a bit, causing him to let out a groan. "This seat is a little, hard!"Jenna began playing the first few notes. "You're right, Kings and Queens does sound fantastic on a pipe organ. I'd have never guessed you were an Ava Max fan, Gordon.""Hah, I'm not. Can't stand modern pop music. But the younger members of the choir are always begging for this song. You're great at this!"As Jenna continued to play, Gordon began massaging her breasts and kissing her exposed neck."Oh Gordon," Jenna sighed."There's a part-time job available,” he continued, between kisses. "An assistant choirmaster and pianist at the Sunday school. Three days a week. The school isn't just open on Sundays anymore. There's a crèche and breakfast club on Wednesdays. They do after-school sessions for kids who have special needs. It's not bad money. I know you've got all the relevant qualifications. If you're interested, I could easily pull a few strings and get you in."Jenna suddenly halted her playing. "Wow, are you serious?""Of course I am. Look, the young 'uns think I'm some kind of ogre. And they're probably right. But you, you'd be such an asset to the school. And tell me honestly, do you truly enjoy working in a call center?""I hate it. The pay is shit and I hate my boss. Now she's a real-life ogre.""Exactly. Your talents are wasted in a dead-end job like that, Jenna. It's up to you of course, but please give it some thought."She turned round to face him. Kissing him hard the lips, she slipped her arms round his shoulders. "I've given it thought. I accept! Now why don't you let me thank you properly, Gordon?"Jenna hiked up her dress, and unfastened Gordon's belt. She unzipped his trousers, pushed down his underpants, and his rock hard erection sprang free from its encumbrance. Unable to contain himself any longer, Gordon pulled aside the crotch of her damp panties, positioned himself to her entrance, and pushed himself into her. The soft lips between her legs parted, and she threw her head back in sudden ecstasy as the organist began thrusting himself in and out of her warm body, slowly at first, then building in speed.Outside, a black 4 by 4 had just pulled up in the church car park. John Norris got out of the driver's side and furiously slammed the door shut."John please, don't do this!" his wife pleaded. "Not in the church!""Look Patricia, I want to get to the bottom of this. First Gordon angrily accuses me of spreading lies on Facebook. He called me "the biggest shit-stirrer in this church" to my face! Now the chaps at the Rotary Club have frozen me out. They said I've been making sexist jokes and racist comments about Ukrainians! I ask you, when have I ever made a racist comment? I haven't a racist bone in my body! And I've never signed up to Facebook either. Someone is trying to smear my name. If you ask me, Gordon's the one behind it all! Well, we'll see what he has to say, man-to-man."A look of horror swept Mrs. Norris' face. "You can't go in there! I can hear the organ - the choir are in there!""I don't care if the whole bloody town is in there!" John yelled, a display of anger that was most unlike him. "This has gone too far. I can't believe Gordon could be so vindictive. He'd a bad-tempered sod, but I never thought he'd do this. Libel is a serious offence."He stormed into the church and marched down the aisle, his panicking wife rushing after him."Alright alright, it wasn't Gordon. It was me!" She grabbed his arm. He halted."What?""I did it."John shook his head. "Why are you trying to protect him? Do you fancy him or something? Is there more to this?""No! No of course I don't! Look, I signed up to Facebook so I could access the church page but I used your name. I know I shouldn't have but, well surely you must know how members of this church treat me? I'd have been blocked immediately!"John's face had gone through several shades of red and was now the color of raw steak."You, Did what? You've been spreading lies and racist comments using an account with my name? What the hell am I married to?" He walked round the side of the organ. "Bloody hell!"Mrs. Norris shoved him aside, wondering what had shocked him. "That's her! She's the one who's caused all this! The little tart! She's bringing filth and depravity to this church!"John glared at his wife. "I'd say your own venom has done that already, Patricia." He turned and stormed off. "I'm going home. To pack a few things. I'm going to stay at my brother's for a bit. And you, well you can go to Hell.""Gordon, do you hear somebody shouting?" Jenna sighed as she felt his warm cum fill her."Probably just a bit of rowdy teen behavior outside," Gordon replied with a smirk.To be continued.By Blacksheep, for Literotica.

Today's episode is a field guide for traveling to Jordan in 2025. We'll answer urgent questions about travel safety in Jordan, look at some of the most incredible places in Jordan you shouldn't miss, and hear from our past travelers who went to Jordan with me last fall. Reminder: I'm running a 10-day group trip to Jordan this May. The trip runs from May 18th to 27th and you can get all the information by visiting here. Throughout February, you can save $150 off your booking by using code GOINGPLACESFEB when you join our trip. The code expires on Fri, Feb 28. What you'll learn in this episode:Is it safe to travel to Jordan in 2025? Flight disruptions and cancellations in JordanFive places in Jordan that you should not missHow to get a different perspective on the Middle EastLiving close to nature versus an urbanized way of lifeWhat do The Dune, The Star Wars, and The Martian have in commonHow a stranger paid for our meal in JordanGoing Places travelers share their experience of traveling to JordanFeatured on the show:Follow Rum Planet Camp on Instagram: @rum.planet.campFollow Carob House on Instagram: @carob.houseCheck out my Condé Nast Traveler story, In Jordan, a Community Disrupted Awaits Travel's ReturnCheck out my profile of Jordan in AFAR's Where To Go In 2025 listCheck out this Jordan Times article about the receding of the Dead SeaLearn more about our upcoming trip to Jordan in May hereGet more information at: Going Places website Join our Going Places newsletter to get updates on new episodes and Yulia's travel storytelling work. Subscribe at goingplacesmedia.com/newsletter!For more BTS of this podcast follow @goingplacesmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on YouTube!Please head over to Apple Podcasts and SUBSCRIBE to the show. If you enjoy this conversation, please share it with others on social and don't forget to tag us @goingplacesmedia!And show us some love, if you have a minute, by rating Going Places or leaving us a review wherever you listen. You'll be helping us to bend the arc of algorithms towards our community — thank you!Going Places with Yulia Denisyuk is a show that sparks a better understanding of people and places near and far by fostering a space for real conversations to occur. Each week, we sit down with travelers, journalists, creators, and people living and working in destinations around the world. Hosted by

Jenna enjoys sexuality without shame, in the church.A series in 17 parts, By Blacksheep. Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories.< Jenna seduces the Vicar.St Michael's parish church was a charming place of worship that dated back to the 12th century. A quaint little church, the sort that one could see in countless towns and villages across England. Within its walls however, all was not well. Ill-feeling festered among some of the male members of the church, the vicar included. But God, in his great mercy and wisdom, saw fit to send a beautiful angel to this church, in order to bring happiness.And so, our story begins,Reverend Simon Morris was a vicar who hadn't gotten laid in a long time. Aged forty, he'd been at St Michael's for nearly three years now. He prided himself on the success he'd had in increasing the congregation of this little church. The previous vicar, Reverend Smith, had died very suddenly from a stroke back in 2019, leaving the community devastated. Reverend Morris knew he had big boots to fill. So far, God had been with him all the way. He'd steered the church through the Covid pandemic and defied orders to close it during the lockdowns. This action had earned him a lot of respect, not to mention he'd gained a few more loyal sheep who'd deserted other churches.There was just one area where God had been unable to help him - his sexless marriage. He'd been married to Lucy for nearly ten years now and they had a four year old son, Christopher. Unfortunately, it was shortly after Christopher's birth that the avenue of carnal pleasure was closed off to him. He'd tried everything to re-ignite the spark, but nothing worked. Now Christopher had started primary school, Reverend Morris had hoped that things would improve, but instead, he and Lucy drifted further apart. He kept up the appearance that everything was perfect, during the many social functions he had to hold at the vicarage. Inside however, his frustration threatened to overwhelm him."O Lord God, who hast called thy servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown: Give us faith to go out with a good courage, not knowing whither we go, but only that thy hand is leading us, and thy love supporting us; to the glory of thy Name.Amen."Reverend Morris said a quick prayer to himself as he shook hands with the last of the members of the congregation. He let out a sigh of relief. Another Sunday service had passed - with an increase in numbers. He looked at his watch. He had a brief few minutes to head to the vestry, change out of his cassock and surplice, and pop over to the church hall for tea and biscuits. The usual chit chat with his faithful flock.The nosey old ladies, Josh, the new and nervous curate, Yulia the Ukrainian refugee and her two young children, Amir and Majid, the Iranian brothers who'd fled persecution in their homeland due to being Christians, Debbie the single mother and Sunday school teacher, Tony the reformed drug addict, Mr. and Mrs. Norris, the church's resident do-gooders; a pair of boomers who made it their business to know more about the C of E than the Archbishop of Canterbury,Then there was Jenna Fox. Twenty, red haired and absolutely stunning. And too young for him.He'd spotted her in the congregation earlier, but not on the way out. Which could only mean,"Good morning Reverend!" Jenna said, bold as brass, sauntering out of the toilets, where she'd obviously been waiting for the others to depart."Oh, good morning Jenna," Reverend Morris replied, staring at her and then quickly averting his eyes downwards. She was wearing attire that was barely suitable for church - a low cut black top and black pleated miniskirt."I wore black today. For the Queen. Loved your sermon reflecting on her long reign. It was really touching.""Thanks. Glad you liked it. It's been hard to write. So, are you heading over to the church hall? I'll be there shortly.""Mmm, maybe later," she grinned. "Did you know Reverend, that you actually resemble Prince Edward a bit?"Feeling a little uncomfortable at how close she was, he felt color rise in his cheeks. "Uh, well thanks. I'll take that as a compliment! Do excuse me Jenna, I just have to ditch these vestments, then I shall be going to the hall."He hurried off to the vestry. In there, he looked at himself in the mirror. He was an average-looking bloke, not the sort that a stunning younger woman would lust after."Well at least I'm much younger than Prince Edward." He smiled. Suddenly, the door opened."You're not getting away from me this time Reverend," Jenna whispered, shutting the door behind her.Before he could say anything, she'd cornered him. Glancing into his pale blue eyes for a moment, she covered his lips with hers, feeling him tense up as her arms reached round his back. After a few seconds, he relaxed, as if he knew resistance of any kind was futile. Jenna could feel the heat of his body through his cassock."I've wanted you for a long time Reverend," she murmured. "Ever since you taught me that Introduction to Christianity course six months ago.""J-Jenna, this isn't appropriate. I, I am a married man!""Not a very happy one, I suspect. I can always tell." A shuddering sigh escaped him as her lips brushed his again. Jenna broke the kiss. "Is there any space in here to conduct unholy activities, Reverend?"Powerless to resist this angel of sin, the smitten vicar grabbed her slim hips and motioned her to straddle his lap. "Jenna," he mumbled, rubbing one thumb over the outline of her hardened bra-less nipple through her thin top. "It's, er, been a long time since I was in a situation like this.""Your wife,”"Lucy and I have been leading separate, and sexless lives for years.""I'm sorry to hear that. So let me bring you some salvation."He leaned in to kiss the exposed skin of Jenna's neck; his lips leaving a hot trail from just below her ear to the center of her throat at the neck of her black top. Then he took the lower hem of the top and pushed it up to bare her belly, and then her pert C-cup breasts. Leaning her back, he took one nipple with his lips and she gasped. He was not only willing, but rampant; as Jenna had suspected, it had been a long time since this man had got laid.Even with the cassock and surplice on, there was no disguising the Reverend's raging erection. Jenna explored eagerly, desperately, reaching under the cassock, feeling his hard erection through his trousers.Lord Jesus, Jenna was trembling so much with excitement. She'd had a clergy fetish for years and fantasized about seducing the vicar for such a long time. Reverend Morris returned his attention to her breasts and she was so wet she could almost feel herself dripping into her panties.Without further ado, she unfastened his belt before reaching for his zipper. Reverend Morris attempted to remove his surplice."No, no, leave that on," Jenna said."As you wish." He mumbled holding up his cassock, almost unable to comprehend what was about to happen.Jenna knelt in front of the vicar, pulled down the zipper of his trousers, and exposed white boxer shorts - adorned with little Christian crosses."Oh wow. Where did you get those, Reverend?" Jenna grinned.He blushed. "Um, a church event I attended in London. The gift shop was quite varied,”"Umm." Jenna pulled down his trousers and boxers, freeing his heated cock."Ah. The staff of life."She took his hot length in her hand, feeling it, and stroked it up and down as she licked and sucked at the tip."Oh dear God," Reverend Morris groaned.As she groped his shaft, she realized just how wet with pre-cum it was."Ooh, Reverend you certainly have sinned," Jenna smiled. "Nice and wet - just how I like it." She teasingly licked the head of his cock before putting it in her mouth. She began to suck him off furiously, her head bobbing up and down faster and faster, her tongue licking the sensitive underside of his shaft."Oh, I am blessed!" He gasped.Jenna licked every inch of his love pole, running her tongue cross every vein, igniting every nerve ending. The vicar cried out in joy. Then she withdrew and looked up at him.In her throatiest, most sexy tone, she said, "Well Reverend, are you just going to stand there, or come and tame your lost sheep?"Like a bolt of lightning, Reverend Morris kissed Jenna's lips as if they were the sweet fruit of Eden, and lifted her up. He pulled her drenched lacy panties off. It had been too damn long since he'd had pleasure so willingly offered to him like this. He parted her legs quickly, and, with no further warning, plunged his holy rod deep into her waiting cunt. He began to establish a fast-paced rhythm which soon had them both moaning in pleasure."Ah hah!" Jenna gasped. "Oh, Reverend. Yes! Right there. Deeper. Deeper! God that feels amazing! Oh! Ah! Oh, Yes!"Jenna was in a state of complete euphoria. She had dreamt about what it would feel like to be fucked by a vicar, but never in her wildest dreams did she ever think it would be this incredible. He was a skillful lover, hitting the sensitive nerves within her tunnel, bringing her ever closer to that heavenly pinnacle.Reverend Morris began to quicken his thrusts and rammed his hard staff deeper into her yearning vagina. He felt his climax coming; it was an uncontrollable wave of ecstasy. Faster and faster he thrust, the sound of colliding skin echoing throughout the vestry. Jenna kept on riding the vicar until he blasted his cum into her like a fire hose."Ah! Praise the Lord!"Jenna looked at Reverend Morris, and for the first time in years, he looked truly satisfied."For what I hath received, I am truly thankful," he panted."Me too," Jenna replied, her insides filled with his thick cum.In the afterglow of their sinful fun, they kissed each other softly, caressing one another lovingly. Reverend Morris couldn't stop smiling. So that was what he'd been missing out on. Dear God! He doubted that Lucy could ever match Jenna's standards, even if she suddenly turned into a raving nympho."I suppose, we should head over to the church hall," Jenna said, idly fingering his clerical collar. "More tea Vicar?"Jenna Plays the Organist's OrganGordon Leesmith was not having a good day. Another Sunday, another morning Eucharist at St. Michael's, where he dutifully played the organ and directed the choir. It had all gone as planned, until the end of the service when that damned busybody John Norris had felt the need to vent his spleen."You played the wrong opening hymn, Gordon," John exclaimed, as the congregation departed. "Great is Thy Faithfulness was selected, not Love Divine.""That's not what the vicar told me," Gordon muttered, not looking at him. He loathed this odious pedant."Anyways I just thought I'd let you know. Patricia and I were a little confused.""No change there then," Gordon replied, unable to restrain himself. "Do you think maybe just for once you and wife might refrain from poking your noses into every bloody thing?"John was so taken aback, he couldn't speak for a moment. "Well really! There's no need for language, Gordon. I was merely saying,”"Don't come the innocent with me, you're the biggest shit-stirrer in this church. I've seen the gossip you spread on Facebook. And I'll play whatever bloody hymn I like, thank you very much.""I wouldn't argue in a church.""I'll argue anywhere as long as I'm in the right. Now bugger off!"Thus suitably chastised, the subdued John left, and Gordon was left to sort through his music sheets in peace. He adjusted his black robe and continued grumbling to himself. He wasn't always as grumpy and short-tempered as this. Years ago he'd been a jolly, fun-loving chap who enjoyed joking with other members of the church.That was before his divorce.Gordon was fifty-five, and had been organist and choirmaster at St Michael's for almost twenty years. Ten years ago, his wife Marjorie had run off with a man young enough to be her son. She was fifty and her lover was a twenty-five year old personal trainer. They'd met online. Gordon's world had been knocked for six. He never imagined Marjorie would cheat on him. They'd always been so happy, with a very active sex life.Jenna had been quietly observing the little outburst with much interest. After expressing an interest in joining the choir, Reverend Morris had warned her that the organist had the "shortest of short fuses." When she'd pressed him further, the vicar had revealed the details of Gordon's marital problems and sworn her to secrecy.Jenna licked her lips. She was aching for a romp with Reverend Morris right now, but he'd been asked to conduct a service at another local church this morning, and a female vicar had stood in for him. What was a horny lass to do?"Poor, miserable Gordon." Jenna mused. "I doubt he gets much action. He needs cheering up." Looking at him, she thought him quite good looking for an older man. He had a full head of silvery hair and unlike Reverend Morris, was of a stocky build. On the occasions she'd seen him minus his long black robe, he possessed quite a paunch. Jenna idly toyed with a strand of her hair, considering her next move. Gordon was giving off daddy kink vibes."I wonder if the organist will let me play with his organ?"Gordon was busy rifling through hymn books and didn't notice Jenna saunter over at first. She cleared her throat and he glanced round."Uh. Can I help you with something?""Oh hello," Jenna replied, acting rather coy. "I, hope I haven't caught you at a bad time, Mr,”"Gordon. Bad time? There's never a good time," he muttered, giving the usual gruff response. "Nothing personal.""Well I just wanted to thank you, Gordon. You played my favorite hymn, Love Divine. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed it."His attention captured, Gordon finally put down the books he was fiddling with and sat on the organ stool, facing her. "You did?""I love anything by Charles Wesley. His hymns are amazing.""Indeed they are. He wrote thousands during his lifetime."Gordon certainly was hard to read. Jenna wondered if she was having any effect on him at all. His dour expression didn't give anything away. It looked like this chap was going to be quite a challenge."Every week I come to church and I hear you play these lovely old hymns on this fine organ." Jenna continued. "I love hearing you play.""I've had enough practice. I've been doing this for many years now."Evidently, Gordon wasn't used to receiving any kind of compliments whatsoever.Jenna walked closer. "You're so talented.""Ah, well. That's, nice of you to say. What's your name?"Her persistence seemed to be paying off, and the organist appeared to be getting a little flustered at her flattery."Jenna.""Do you play any musical instruments, Jenna?" Gordon replied."Just the piano."He nodded. "Good, good. For work or just a hobby?""Oh purely as a hobby," she smiled, flicking her red hair. "I was wondering, please could you play a bit of Charles Wesley for me?"Gordon's stern face finally relaxed into a smile. "Why certainly. What would you like to hear?""Oh how about And Can It Be?"He shuffled around on the stool. "Very well. I often practice a bit after the morning service, when the others have left. I'm not one for idle chatter in the church hall.""Me neither," Jenna said, walking up to beside him, so close that her cleavage was at his eye level. Gordon couldn't help but give a side glance, and then quickly looked ahead."Right, are you ready?"The strains of the great Wesleyan hymn filled the church as Gordon's fingers graced the mighty organ. Jenna hummed along, and then an idea came into her head. Suddenly, Gordon stopped playing."I don't hear any singing, Jenna. How about you sing whilst I play?""Ok!" She grinned, and he resumed playing."And can it be, that I should gain - An int'rest in the Savior's blood?"Jenna deftly unfastened the first button on her white top."Died He for me, who caused His pain,For me, who Him to death pursued?"Gordon happened to glance to his right again, and almost played a wrong note. Jenna continued singing."Amazing love! How can it be, That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?"She unfastened another button. Gordon continued playing, and as the chorus approached, the third and final button of her top was swiftly unfastened."Amazing love! How can it be, That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?"Gordon's eyes almost popped out of his head and he cleared his throat."Go on, play a second verse!" Jenna said.He continued to play, but could feel his face burning. Jenna was singing her heart out, and seemed to be blissfully unaware that she'd suffered a wardrobe malfunction, she wasn't wearing a bra! Bloody hell, what a beautiful pair of tits, Gordon was uncomfortably hot all at once. He was no stranger to internet porn - after his divorce, porn was the only thing he could turn to in order to get a bit of relief, not that it really relieved him all that much, in fact it didn't turn him on at all anymore, he'd become impotent. Suddenly, with the young and beautiful Jenna inches away from him and, somewhat exposed, his dormant cock had surged back into life and was now straining against his underpants and trousers,"Just one more verse, Gordon! I'll give it my all."He continued playing and she resumed singing, her pale, pert breasts jiggling, inches from his face."Oh dear God," Gordon thought to himself. What a situation to find oneself in. "Should I say something to her?""My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed Thee!"Jenna pretended to lose her balance. "Whoops!" She said, toppling over and putting her hand on Gordon's thigh. He jolted and played a note that was so off-key, Les Dawson would've been impressed."Oh Gordon that was such fun! I love that hymn so much!"An embarrassed Gordon quickly rose to his feet. "Um, I'm glad. Er, would you excuse me a minute, Jenna? I need to visit the gents."Jenna struggled to hold back a giggle as he hurried off to the toilets. "He must be rock hard by now," she smirked. "Probably having a wank. I'll give him a few minutes, then I'm going in there after him."Gordon had to relieve himself more frequently these days, due to that most troublesome of male organs - the prostate. Today however, it wasn't an enlarged prostate stopping him from peeing, but a raging boner. He couldn't remember the last time he'd got as hard as this. Unfastening his belt and trousers, he slipped a hand inside his underpants and pulled out his cock. He stroked himself and wondered what to do. That Jenna - was she actually flirting with him?That was ridiculous, she was young enough to be his daughter. What woman in her right mind would want to flirt with a fat old git like him?Still, how could she not have noticed her tits were hanging out like that? It seemed so deliberate. That stunning, red-haired vixen! He couldn't hide in the toilets forever. She might come in looking to see if he was alright. He zipped up his trousers, adjusted his robe and went back into the church,Jenna was sitting on the organ stool, legs crossed, but top wide open."There you are, Gordon. I was beginning to think you'd flushed yourself down the loo. You're not trying to avoid me are you?"Gordon blushed crimson. "W-what are you playing at? Someone might come in at any moment?"Jenna shrugged. "So what?" Whoever is sat at the organ can't be seen from the door. You have to walk right down the side aisle and come right up close. Nobody can see us. And you played the hymn so good. I just want to show my appreciation."He blinked, mesmerized. "Was I really that good?"Jenna walked over to the organist. "Better than that," she said. She looked up at Gordon with dreamy, lust filled eyes. He was about to say something, but Jenna shut him off, grabbing his neck and pulling his head down to her level. She kissed him hard on the lips. Gordon didn't resist or try to pull away. Spurred on by this, Jenna wrapped his arms round Gordon's sides and pressed her body against his. The organist struggled to stay upright for a second, but regained his balance. He lowered his head and feasted on her hardened nipples, until Jenna pushed him down onto the stool, his back to the organ."What's that passage in the Bible, something about the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak?" Jenna teased, running her hand across his robe-covered thighs."Uh, I just play the hymns," Gordon sighed, as her hand brushed his crotch. "You're leading me into temptation, that's all I can say. Look what you've done to me!""I haven't started yet," Jenna smiled, lifting up his black robe, revealing black trousers. His crotch bulge was enormous. "I'm going to have fun playing THIS organ," Jenna said. She felt bolder and more in control than she had ever before, more than when she'd seduced Reverend Morris last week. She unbuckled his belt and unzipped his trousers, revealing his underwear. Gordon was wearing white y-front underpants, and his cock was straining against the fabric; a large wet spot had appeared. Jenna caressed the bulge, then carefully pulled down his damp y-fronts, revealing his painfully engorged cock. It was average in length but girthy. She began kissing his shaft, which twitched and leaked precum.Gordon gripped the sides of the stool so tight, his fingernails turned white."Oh God,”"Gordon could you stand up for a sec? Your undies are in the way."Immediately, he did as she asked, and she pulled his underpants and trousers down to his ankles. Half an hour ago, such actions would've been unthinkable, he could barely think at all right now. All his anger and frustration and pent-up desire were released at once, when he felt Jenna's hands slip round his shaft."That's better." Jenna said. "What a magnificent organ you have!"Sweat ran down Gordon's brow as the temptress licked the head of his cock. The taste of precum was like nectar to her tongue. He was groaning louder now, as Jenna reached his most sensitive areas. She deep throated and sucked him hard and he yelled in pleasure. His balls were so full, he feared they'd explode."Oh Jenna, harder, more! Yes!" Gordon groaned, putting his hand on her head. She gripped his bare thighs and buried her face deeper between his legs, sucking him. His wiry grey pubes were tickling her nose. Gordon cried out in joy.Jenna withdrew, only to run her tongue around the underside of his cock."Oh fuck, I'm coming!" Gordon yelled. He lay back, forgetting the organ was behind him, and his elbows pressed against the lower keyboard. A horrific cacophony of wrong notes filled the church, but neither he or Jenna cared.Gordon reached his peak quickly and it was impossible to stop himself. He repeated Jenna's name, over and over again, as she licked his throbbing member. He let go, feeling that intense wave of pleasure spread up from his balls and across his whole body. A huge stream of cum spurted down Jenna's throat. She swallowed the seed greedily. Cum tasted so good, and Gordon's was especially thick, tangy and delicious. A second spurt landed right between her breasts, while a third and final load sprayed right across her face, leaving her coated in the gooey, sticky essence."Mmm, Gordon, that was the best!" She slowly licked around his cockhead, as some final drops of cum dripped out."What on earth is Gordon doing?" Mrs. Norris wondered as she hurried to the church. The din from the organ was so bad, it could be heard in the church hall. She pulled a face and adjusted her horn-rimmed glasses. "What a dreadful noise!" Marching down the aisle, she shouted Gordon's name, but there was no way he could hear due to the deafening din of the organ.Gordon sat up on the stool and the awful noise ceased."What a delightful mess you've made!" Jenna giggled, as his cum trickled down her face and breasts."I, I'll get you some tissues," he gasped, still in a blissful stupor."I really enjoyed playing your organ. Can I play it again sometime?"Gordon's heart jumped in his chest. There was going to be a next time? "Of course you can!""Gordon, what are you doing? Ah, Oh my God! What the hell is going on in here?”"Oh shit," Gordon exclaimed as he noticed Mrs. Norris standing there. The look on her face was priceless."What's your problem?" Jenna replied. "Have you never seen a woman playing an organ before?"Passion at the vicarage.After another boring day in her dead-end office job, Jenna was glad to be on her way home. Friday at last, thank God. And speaking of God, her smartphone had just vibrated. Rummaging in her bag, she pulled it out and smiled as she read the message.Hi Archangel JenGod's servant on Earth wondered if you'd like to spend some time with him tonight? Can't wait until Sunday. He has of you the great need and is all alone in the vicarage. L is away visiting sis until Monday. She's taken C along too.xxxR.M"Oh yes!" She said out loud. The vicarage would be more comfortable than another fuck in the vestry. Quickly, she composed a reply.Praise the Lord!Just got to go home and change into something holier, or not! will be there in half an hour. xxxJenna got into her car. A fun night of "worship" beckoned.St Michael's vicarage was set back from the main road by the church, down a long driveway flanked by beech trees. The trees were already on the turn, ready to show off their autumn color."Nice," Jenna mused as she admired the attractive garden. "This place is huge." It was way grander than the two bed semi where she'd grown up, and was still living at, with her parents. The cost of living crisis had meant that fleeing the nest had been put on hold. She knocked on the door. She hadn't been waiting for long, when Reverend Morris opened it, No cassock and surplice on tonight, just his "everyday vicar garb" as she termed it - black shirt, clerical collar and black trousers."Hello Jenna." he said, his voice a little shaky with nervous excitement. He took a deep breath. She looked absolutely stunning, in a figure-hugging black dress. "Wow, um, come in. You look lovely."Jenna flashed him a winning smile. "Why thank you, Reverend! Great place you have here. Your garden's really nice.""Ah, yes it is. Not my efforts, I'm afraid. I have many volunteers who keep it looking good. After all, it's only my house for as long as I'm vicar at St Michaels." He tried not to keep staring, but it was hard not to. "Have, you eaten?""Not really. Didn't have time. I grabbed a few biscuits on the way out.""Oh good! I was so hoping you'd say that. I thought I could cook us something. I really enjoy cooking."Jenna hadn't been expecting this. "Oh that's so nice of you." It was best to ravish the reverend on a full stomach."What sort of stuff do you like? You're not veggie or vegan are you?""Nope. I love my meat. I pretty much eat anything."Reverend Morris smiled. "Same here! Okay, how does fillet steak, chips, side salad and a glass of red wine sound?""Heavenly!""By the way, I was at the midweek hymn practice, and Gordon the organist seems to have undergone a personality transplant! I've never seen him so happy. Was he like that when you spoke to him about the choir last Sunday?"Jenna bit her lip. "Hmm, he was a little moody at first, but after I paid him a compliment, he sort of brightened up.""Blimey, whatever did you say to him? He's like a different bloke. He's bitten my head off a few times in the past.""Well," Jenna said innocently, "I thanked him for playing one of my favorite hymns, and said how much I admired his organ, er, his organ playing. I'm a big fan of Charles Wesley.""He did write some great hymns.""Umm, yes. Over 6000 hymns. And he somehow found the time to father eight children. How did he find the time?" Jenna added with a mischievous grin.Reverend Morris chuckled. "Perhaps writing hymns made him very horny!"They both laughed at this.The vicar rose from his chair. "I'd say that steak is just about ready," he said, hurrying into the kitchen. At that moment, Jenna felt her phone vibrate. Quickly, she slipped it out of her bag. Another message. Who was it this time?I have a message from Charles Wesley. He wonders if u would to see his hard, bulging hymn book. Hope 2 c u at church this Sunday.G [heart emoji]"Oh Gordon," Jenna giggled to herself, and switched the phone off. "It's hard work being such a good Christian and helping those in need."The meal was delicious, and to add to the mood, Reverend Morris had some relaxing Gregorian chant music playing in the background. Jenna had never been wined and dined like this before, and after they'd finished, felt it only right to thank the vicar for his kindness.In an instant, Jenna's lips were on his neck again, lingering, tasting him. His hands were in her hair and they were kissing, her sweet breath making him feel light, weightless even. If it was a dream, Reverend Morris never wanted it to end. This woman had awakened something in him that he couldn't quite describe. At this point, as Jenna took his hand and led him upstairs, he realized his marriage to Lucy was well and truly stone dead.The reverend's hands were at Jenna's side, unzipping then lifting the silky material of her dress slowly, over her navel, over her chest, over her head, off. Nothing could have prepared him for the sight of her breasts, round and perfect, the stuff of many a dream but beautiful beyond any imagining. His hands cupped them gently. His mouth left her lips, trailing down her neck to her chest. He took her nipple in his mouth and teased the erect tip. His hands roamed down over her arse, lavishing her smooth curves.Jenna was amazed at Reverend Morris' confident handling of her body. His sensual, hallowed hands moved over her, sending her heart racing, and she wasted no time in freeing him from his clothing.As Reverend Morris moved to lay over her, he could sense her need. It was almost as palpable as his own desire, and he was eager to satisfy them both. Jenna's hands guided his pulsating member, and at last he thrust boldly into her waiting cunt. The reverend gasped in spite of himself as his rod slid into this tight, warm pleasure hole. She held him so tightly and the sensations that coursed through his loins were beyond what he'd experienced back in the vestry a fortnight ago.Jenna's eyes rolled back as Reverend Morris' cock filled her with perfect execution. She bucked her hips up in time with his forceful thrusts, her hands gripped tightly around his shoulders. His grunts of pleasure were deep and resonant, arousing her even further. His hot shaft bore into her over and over again, gaining intensity with every thrust. Jenna began seeing flashes of light behind her eyes, and she knew that their moment was near.Moments later, they climaxed together; Jenna's cunt was filled to the brim with another load of holy spunk."God in Heaven! I think we have sinned, a lot!"To be continued.By Blacksheep, for Literotica.

Today, we're meeting Dana Barqawi, a multidisciplinary artist and urban planner based in Amman, Jordan. Dana's stunning multimedia work challenges colonial narratives and explores Indigenous identities and aspects of womanhood and community.Growing up with women who painted, sewed, designed, and made art, Dana has a long-standing fascination with detail. She works from a workshop studio in Jabal al Weibdeh - one of my favorite neighborhoods in Amman – fusing elements of painting, photography, and applied materials like gold leaves and beads in her politically and socially engaged artwork. Reminder: this May, you can join my 10-day group trip to Jordan where we'll meet artists like Dana and see their art. Get more details here.What you'll learn in this episode:Dana's path from architecture and urban planning to socially engaged artThe main element in Dana's artThe stories behind Dana's latest exhibit, (Re)Narrate: A Visual Commentary on Colonial Narratives in the Levant & AfricaHow the Black Panther movement in the US is connected to the Palestinian liberation struggleFeatured on the show:Follow Dana on Instagram: @dana_barqawiLearn more about Dana's work on her websiteCheck out the (Re)Narrate exhibit Shop Dana's art postersGet more information at: Going Places website Join our Going Places newsletter to get updates on new episodes and Yulia's travel storytelling work. Subscribe at goingplacesmedia.com/newsletter!For more BTS of this podcast follow @goingplacesmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on YouTube!Please head over to Apple Podcasts and SUBSCRIBE to the show. If you enjoy this conversation, please share it with others on social and don't forget to tag us @goingplacesmedia!And show us some love, if you have a minute, by rating Going Places or leaving us a review wherever you listen. You'll be helping us to bend the arc of algorithms towards our community — thank you!Going Places with Yulia Denisyuk is a show that sparks a better understanding of people and places near and far by fostering a space for real conversations to occur. Each week, we sit down with travelers, journalists, creators, and people living and working in destinations around the world. Hosted by Yulia Denisyuk, an award-winning travel journalist, photographer, and writer who's worked with National Geographic, The New York Times, BBC Travel, and more. Learn more about our show at goingplacesmedia.com.

Today, I'm sharing with you a conversation that is going to be quite different from anything we've done on the show to date. We're going to do a studio visit to meet a dear friend, a renowned calligrapher, artist, and designer Hussein Alazaat who lives and works in Amman, Jordan. Hussein is the founder of Elharf Studio, a platform showcasing rare books, design products, and sources of Arab visual inspiration. Most recently, Hussein worked on a project of re-designing the Jordanian currency.Hussein also teaches calligraphy workshops and travelers joining my 10-day group trip to Jordan this May 2025 will be able to meet him in person. The trip is now open and you can get more details here.What you'll learn in this episode:The ancient civilization that made gods for people in the regionThe origins of the world's first alphabetWhy Hussein is obsessed with coins Why a letter is a universe in itselfHow Hussein aims to preserve the vast trove of Arab cultural heritageFeatured on the show:Follow Hussein on Instagram: @hussein_alazaatFollow Elharf on Instagram: @elharfhouseLearn more about Hussein on his websiteCheck out the Beautiful Book Trove projectRead the article based on this interview, Guardian of CultureGet more information at: Going Places website Join our Going Places newsletter to get updates on new episodes and Yulia's travel storytelling work. Subscribe at goingplacesmedia.com/newsletter!For more BTS of this podcast follow @goingplacesmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on YouTube!Please head over to Apple Podcasts and SUBSCRIBE to the show. If you enjoy this conversation, please share it with others on social and don't forget to tag us @goingplacesmedia!And show us some love, if you have a minute, by rating Going Places or leaving us a review wherever you listen. You'll be helping us to bend the arc of algorithms towards our community — thank you!Going Places with Yulia Denisyuk is a show that sparks a better understanding of people and places near and far by fostering a space for real conversations to occur. Each week, we sit down with travelers, journalists, creators, and people living and working in destinations around the world. Hosted by Yulia Denisyuk, an award-winning travel journalist, photographer, and writer who's worked with National Geographic, The New York Times, BBC Travel, and more. Learn more about our show at goingplacesmedia.com.

Today, we're continuing part two of our conversation with Justine Abigail Yu, a Filipina-Canadian storyteller, community builder, and activist. Justine is the founder of Living Hyphen, a community and multimedia platform that explores what it means to live in between cultures as a hyphenated Canadian – that is, an individual who calls Canada home but has roots elsewhere.Get 20% off of any issue of the Living Hyphen magazine with code GOINGPLACES at the Living Hyphen online store. The beautifully produced magazine features artists and writers from all across Canada hailing from over 30 ethnicities, religions, and Indigenous nations who explore various themes of this multi-hyphenated identity in a collection of poetry, prose, photography, and visual art. Announcement: my 10-day group trip to Jordan in May 2025 is now open! Get more details here.What you'll learn in this episode:Seeing nature as a deity, rather than a resourceHow Indigenous languages shape our worldviewLearning Chuvash languageWhat radical imagination looks like to Justine Growing up in the Filipino diaspora in Canada Filipino identity versus Philippines as a placeHow we process our identity and look for belongingWeaving complexityFeatured on the show:Follow Justine on Instagram: @justineabigailFollow Living Hyphen on Instagram: @livinghyphenLearn more about Justine on her websiteFollow the work of Living HyphenCheck out the Living Hyphen podcastRead Justine's 3DR newsletterCheck out Dismantling The Master's Tools by Mathura MahendrenRead Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall KimmererGet more information at: Going Places website Join our Going Places newsletter to get updates on new episodes and Yulia's travel storytelling work. Subscribe at goingplacesmedia.com/newsletter!For more BTS of this podcast follow @goingplacesmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on YouTube!Please head over to Apple Podcasts and SUBSCRIBE to the show. If you enjoy this conversation, please share it with others on social and don't forget to tag us @goingplacesmedia!And show us some love, if you have a minute, by rating Going Places or leaving us a review wherever you listen. You'll be helping us to...

Read along to practice your English and to learn the English phrases TO TAKE SIDES and FROM ALL SIDESIn this English lesson, I wanted to help you learn the English phrase to take sides. Now I'll tell you this. It's actually better to not take sides. When you take sides, it means you agree with one person when two people are arguing. So let's say two of my kids are arguing, I usually try to not take sides. I don't try to say she's right and he's wrong. Instead, I try to resolve the situation without taking sides. So when you take sides, it means you agree with one person in a situation where two people are arguing or more people. Like there might be a hundred people that think one way and 100 people that think another way and you say, I'm going to take sides. I'm going to agree with these 100 people over here. But in my opinion, it's usually best not to take sides.WANT FREE ENGLISH LESSONS? GO TO YOUTUBE AND SEARCH, "BOB THE CANADIAN"If you enjoy these lessons please consider supporting me at: http://www.patreon.com/bobthecanadianThe other phrase I wanted to teach you today is from all sides. Sometimes you get in trouble from all sides. If we had leftover pizza in the house and I came home from work and no one was home and I ate all the pizza, I would get in trouble from all sides. Jen would be annoyed with me. My kids would be annoyed with me. Because in our house, leftover pizza is kind of considered super yummy. People usually like it when they come home and there's some pizza leftover in the fridge. But if I ate it, I would probably get in trouble from all sides. Everyone would be annoyed with me.So to review. To take sides means to agree with one side of an argument. At school, when I see students arguing, I don't take sides. I usually try to help resolve the situation without taking sides. And from all sides means that everyone is annoyed with you. Sometimes the government does something and then they get in trouble from all sides. Everyone is annoyed with them.But hey, let's look at a comment from a previous video. This comment is from... I printed this at school, so it's hard to get this completely open. From Yulia. Bob, good morning. Thank you for this lesson. Please tell me which province you are from and my response? I am from Ontario, Canada. I live north of Lake Erie and south of Lake Ontario, outside the city of Hamilton, Ontario. So thanks, Yulia, for that comment for that question.Hey, we're going to walk out for a bit but it's windy so I hope the audio stays okay. Yeah, I live north of Lake Erie. It's one of the Great Lakes. I've actually featured Lake Erie in some of my English lessons and I live south of Lake Ontario. So Lake Ontario is to the north of me, I live south of it. Lake Erie is to the south of me, I live north of it. I actually live almost exactly in the middle of the two. So it's about a 45 minute drive to Lake Erie and it's about a 45 minute drive To Lake Ontario.And I do like living between the two lakes. It's pretty cool. If you drive to Lake Erie, there are nice sandy beaches and you can go swimming. If you drive to Lake Ontario, there's usually a cool northern wind in the summer that kind of cools off as it comes across the lake and it makes for a really nice visit. It's a nice place to... There's a few nice restaurants along Lake Ontario. So yeah, that's where I live, right in the middle of what's called the Niagara Peninsula.Actually, If I drive 45 minutes east, I end up at the border, the border with New York State. The city of Buffalo is that way to the east of me. So it's a pretty cool place to live. I think I mentioned in another video that as I was growing up I could watch Canadian TV and I could watch American TV as well because the antenna that we had on oSupport the show

Yooshita has traveled to 108 countries Hey now, I am your host, Ric Gazarian.  A giant Happy New Year to all of you country counters!  We are back today with a new episode after a small break.  Over the past year, you've likely heard me mention many times the Extraordinary Travel Festival on this podcast. In November, I had the privilege of organizing this incredible sold-out event in Bangkok, hosting 250 participants over four action-packed days. With 30 inspiring speakers and lively evening events and some amazing sponsors, it was a truly memorable experience. I'm excited to share that planning is now underway for the next festival in 2026. Stay tuned for updates! Today, we are speaking with Yooshita Fathi.  I had the pleasure of meeting Yooshita in Bangkok at ETF after seeing her for years on social media and having many common acquaintances.  Besides travelling to over 100 countries, Yooshita has lived in 9 different countries.  She shared many stories and experiences but I will definitely not forget her story travelling to Mozambique.  Thanks to Tembo for his guest introduction and whose role will become more clear during our conversation.  Tembo epitomizes the type of person we all hope to meet on the road.   Besides producing my own podcast, I also love binging podcasts.  I subscribe to dozens of them and listens to scores of them every week.  And I have also been fortunate to be a guest on many podcasts as well.  I want to thank Yulia Denisyuk for hosting me on her podcast, .  And I just met Yulia at a event in Chicago where I also ran into patron Ted Nims. I also want to mention and recognize three other podcasters who have all hosted me on their podcasts.  Of course I subscribe to Francis Tapon's , Palle Bo's , and Matt Bowles's .  All three also appeared at the Extraordinary Travel Festival.  Thanks guys and great to see all of you in person.     I would like to thank everyone for their support of Counting Countries, especially my Patrons.  You know them, you love them!  Bisa Myles, Ted Nims, Adam “one-away” Hickman, Steph “Phuket” Rowe, Simen Flotvik Mathisen, Ed Hotchkiss, Barry Hoffner, Katelyn Jarvis, Philippe “BC” Izedian, Gin Liutkeviciute, Sunir Joshi, Carole Southam, Sonia Zimmermann, Justine, Per Flisberg, Jorge Serpa, Phil “Marmaduke” Marcus, Sam Williams, and Scott Day for supporting this podcast.  You can support this podcast by going to .  My patrons will hear extra content with Yooshita that you will not hear and be part of our members only FB group.  I also want to welcome Scott Day to our patreon community.  I have had the pleasure of meeting Scott a couple of times when he passed through Bangkok.  And I virtually connected with Scott after appearing on Francis Tapon's podcast several years ago.   A quick thank to Arvi Bahal who gifted me a stupendous gift, his book The Tireless Traveler.  Arvi has completed 193 as well as the South and North Pole, and is on the waiting list for Virgin Galactic.  This book is a true treasure.  Arvi did a limited run and is not even selling these but gifting his limited supply.  Check out his from the other year.   I was in Boston for this recording while Yooshita was in Spain.. Please listen in and enjoy.    Thank you to my - you rock!!  ….  Bisa Myles, Ted Nims, Adam Hickman, Steph Rowe, Simen Flotvik Mathisen, Ed Hotchkiss, Barry Hoffner, Katelyn Jarvis, Philippe Izedian, Gin Liutkeviciute, Sunir Joshi, Carole Southam, Sonia Zimmermann, Justine, Per Flisberg, Jorge Serpa, Phil Marcus, Sam Williams and Scott Day. And now you can listen to ! And Alexa! And write a review!About Yooshita Fathi Counting Countries Stay in touch with Yooshita:https://www.tiktok.com/@yooshitaaa About Counting Countries Counting Countries is the only podcast to bring you the stories from the dedicated few who've spent their lives on the singular quest of traveling to every country in the world. Less people have traveled to every country in the world than have been to outer space. Theme music for this podcast is Demeter's Dance, written, performed, and provided by .  About GlobalGaz Ric Gazarian is the host of Counting Countries. He is the author of three books: , , and .  He is the producer of two travel documentaries: and .   Ric is also on his own quest to visit every country in the world. You can see where he has and keep up with his journey at How Many Countries Are There? Well… that depends on who you ask!  The United Nations states that there are . The British Foreign and Commonwealth office states that there are . The Traveler's Century Club states that there are . The Nomad Mania The Most Traveled Person states that there are 1500 . SISO says there are .     Me? My goal is the 193 countries that are recognized by the UN, but I am sure I will visit some other places along the way. Disclaimer: There are affiliates in this post.  Yooshita Fathi Counting Countries    

Friends, welcome to 2025! I hope this parable inspires you to reflect on what you want to achieve and what you're willing to give to achieve your goals in this new year. This parable was written by Yulia Minakova, inspired (possibly) by Stephen King's thriller "Needful Things," and translated by me. If you would like to learn to work sustainably in 2025, I invite you to check out my resources at my course page: https://courses.elenamutonono.com/ More new projects are coming, especially for all of you podcast lovers, so stay tuned!

Welcome back to the show and welcome to 2025! Thank you for being with us all throughout this season.Today, we're talking with Justine Abigail Yu, the founder of Living Hyphen, a community and multimedia platform that explores what it means to live in between cultures as a hyphenated Canadian – that is, an individual who calls Canada home but who has roots elsewhere.Justine is a Filipina-Canadian and in our conversation, we discuss identity and belonging in the diaspora communities, radical imagination, and storytelling as a soft landing. This conversation was so big and important that we're breaking it into two equally powerful parts. In the next two episodes, Justine shares with us a healing and hopeful way to approach the new year.Get 20% off of any issue of the Living Hyphen magazine with code GOINGPLACES at the Living Hyphen online store. The beautifully produced magazine features artists and writers from all across Canada hailing from over 30 ethnicities, religions, and Indigenous nations who explore various themes of this multi-hyphenated identity in a collection of poetry, prose, photography, and visual art. Announcement: my 10-day group trip to Jordan in May 2025 is now open! Get more details here.What you'll learn in this episode:Growing up in between culturesConnecting the dots between local and global strugglesWhy travel is an inherently political actExpanding the idea of what activism looks likeHow Justine holds multiple truths at the same timeHow Vent Diagrams can help us with the complexity of the worldThe origin of Turtle Island and the power of wordsThe practice of pleasure activismFeatured on the show:Follow Justine on Instagram: @justineabigailFollow Living Hyphen on Instagram: @livinghyphenLearn more about Justine on her websiteFollow the work of Living HyphenCheck out the Living Hyphen podcastRead Justine's 3DR newsletterCheck out Vent Diagrams on Instagram: @vent_diagramsRead Pleasure Activism by adrienne maree brownGet more information at: Going Places website Join our Going Places newsletter to get updates on new episodes and Yulia's travel storytelling work. Subscribe at goingplacesmedia.com/newsletter!For more BTS of this podcast follow @goingplacesmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on YouTube!Please head over to Apple...

We squeeze in one last 2024 episode of Fantastic Tennis to spotlight a player that experienced a rollercoaster of a 2024 season. From winning her 3rd WTA title in Birmingham and beating the world #1 on the grass at Wimbledon, to becoming the villain of the U.S. Open after a strange 3rd round match incident, Yulia Putinseva is no stranger to doubters or controversy. Join host, Jon Guerrica as he talks with this wily veteran on the cusp of her 30th birthday. and playing the best tennis of her career. Yulia discusses fun highlights and moments from over a decade on tour and a game-style that has watched her frustrate opponents and drop shot her way towards the top of women's tennis. Yulia also chats honestly about the aftermath of that US Open match and what her message is for anyone that doubts for ambition or drive for the 2025 season. I hope you join this highly entertaining chat and get to know, the fantastic....Yulia Putinseva. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jon-guerrica/support

Today, we're talking with Eliot Stein, a journalist, writer, book author, and deputy editor at BBC Travel. Eliot and I first got to know each other through our shared passion for stories that reveal something about a place through the lens of tradition and unique cultural practices.Eliot has edited a few of my stories at BBC Travel, where he started a column called Custom Made that highlights cultural custodians preserving vanishing customs. Eliot's book, Custodians of Wonder: Ancient Customs, Profound Traditions, and the Last People Keeping Them Alive, is now available.Original Air Date: Feb 14, 2024.What you'll learn in this episode:Writing "The Last Surviving Sea Silk Seamstress" for BBC TravelHow to build relationships and trust with people you're reporting onHow traditions shape places and peopleGoing beyond tourist attractionsEliot and I discuss changing reading habits Eliot's book "Custodians of Wonder" is now availableHow Eliot's journalism background set him up for the process of writing a bookThe intense commitment required to write a bookEliot gives advice to aspiring authors and shares resources like the Writer's Digest conferenceThe story behind a photo featuring traditional soy sauce production in JapanFeatured on the show:Eliot's book, Custodians of Wonder, is now available wherever books are soldFollow Eliot on Instagram: @eliot.steinRead Eliot's article on BBC Travel: The last surviving sea silk seamstressLearn about the Barrel-aged soy sauce, also available online at trf-ny.comPitch your book idea: writersdigestconference.comRead the BBC Travel author briefGet more information at: Going Places website Join our Going Places newsletter to get updates on new episodes and Yulia's travel storytelling work. Subscribe at goingplacesmedia.com/newsletter!For more BTS of this podcast follow @goingplacesmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on YouTube!Please head over to Apple Podcasts and SUBSCRIBE to the show. If you enjoy this conversation, please share it with others on social and don't forget to tag us @goingplacesmedia!And show us some love, if you have a minute, by rating Going Places or leaving us a review wherever you listen. You'll be helping us to bend the arc of algorithms towards our community — thank you!Going Places with Yulia Denisyuk is a show that sparks a better understanding of people and places near and far by fostering a space for real conversations to occur. Each week, we sit down with travelers, journalists, creators, and people living and working in destinations around the world....

Today on the show, we're traveling to Scandinavia because it's almost Christmas time.The holiday season is probably my favorite time to be in this region. I grew up in Estonia, a small country just south of Finland that, while not technically part of Scandinavia, has strong cultural ties with the Nordic countries. In my childhood, these Nordic ways to celebrate Christmas were common and today, I'm sharing these traditions with you from a story I did for Fodor's Travel called 12 Strange Things You Didn't Know About Nordic Christmas.Plus: as a special bonus, my very own AI clone, which I created just for this story, makes an appearance.What you'll learn in this episode:Growing up with Nordic Christmas traditionsThe pagan roots of ChristmasMeet Nordic Christmas characters: Grýla, Bjúgnakrækir, and JoulupukkiWhat Christmas feasts look like across ScandinaviaThe Finnish tradition of Christmas Sauna Featured on the show:Read my Fodor's article, 12 Strange Things You Didn't Know About Nordic ChristmasCheck out the Descript app Get more information at: Going Places website Join our Going Places newsletter to get updates on new episodes and Yulia's travel storytelling work. Subscribe at goingplacesmedia.com/newsletter!For more BTS of this podcast follow @goingplacesmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on YouTube!Please head over to Apple Podcasts and SUBSCRIBE to the show. If you enjoy this conversation, please share it with others on social and don't forget to tag us @goingplacesmedia!And show us some love, if you have a minute, by rating Going Places or leaving us a review wherever you listen. You'll be helping us to bend the arc of algorithms towards our community — thank you!Going Places with Yulia Denisyuk is a show that sparks a better understanding of people and places near and far by fostering a space for real conversations to occur. Each week, we sit down with travelers, journalists, creators, and people living and working in destinations around the world. Hosted by Yulia Denisyuk, an award-winning travel journalist, photographer, and writer who's worked with National Geographic, The New York Times, BBC Travel, and more. Learn more about our show at goingplacesmedia.com.

Firas Zreik is a Palestine-born, NY-based composer and player of Kanun, a traditional Arabic string instrument. He has performed and recorded in varied styles including Arabic Maqam and jazz and collaborated with many international artists such as Residente, Pink Floyd's Roger Waters, Shreya Ghoshal, and others. His debut EP "Solo" came out in 2021 and his most recent release is a 2023 full-length album called "Salute.”Take a journey with us today to the land of Kanun, the Arabic tradition of Maqam, and world music.What you'll learn in this episode:Understanding the Kanun and its historyMaqam: the language of Arabic musicHow colonization and racism show up in the music worldGrowing up Palestinian and second-class citizen in Haifa and GalileeWhat it was like collaborating with Grammy-winning artist ResidenteThe role of artists and activism in the Palestinian causeFiras tackles the question of diasporaFeatured on the show:Opening credit: Prelude to Salute by Firas ZreikSee Firas play Kanun in my three other favorite compositions:Fields of FigsShamsLullaby for NatureListen to the song dedicated to the children of Gaza, in collab with Residente Learn more about Firas on his website Follow Firas on InstagramGet more information at: Going Places website Join our Going Places newsletter to get updates on new episodes and Yulia's travel storytelling work. Subscribe at goingplacesmedia.com/newsletter!For more BTS of this podcast follow @goingplacesmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on YouTube!Please head over to Apple Podcasts and SUBSCRIBE to the show. If you enjoy this conversation, please share it with others on social and don't forget to tag us @goingplacesmedia!And show us some love, if you have a minute, by rating Going Places or leaving us a review wherever you listen. You'll be helping us to bend the arc of algorithms towards our community — thank you!Going Places with Yulia Denisyuk is a show that sparks a better understanding of people and places near and far by fostering a space for real conversations to occur. Each week, we sit down with travelers, journalists, creators, and people living and working in destinations around the world. Hosted by Yulia Denisyuk, an award-winning travel journalist, photographer, and writer who's worked with National Geographic, The New York Times, BBC Travel, and more. Learn more about our show at

Ric Gazarian is an avid traveler who has visited all seven continents and 181 countries on his quest to visit every country in the world. He is also the host of the popular long-format podcast Counting Countries and the founder of the Extraordinary Travel Festival. Travel with us to some of the world's lesser-known places like Abkhazia and Mauritania and hear what Ric learned about humanity by visiting 181 countries. What you'll learn in this episode:Chasing 193: the quest to visit every country in the worldExploring Abkhazia, a de-facto nation between Georgia and RussiaThe hospitality of the Caucasus regionDesert life in Mauritania and riding the Iron Ore trainThe Amazigh culture, identity, and quest for self-determination (why you shouldn't call them Berbers)The nature of borders and national identityHow we should think about visiting countries with inhumane recordWhy Ric founded the Extraordinary Travel FestivalWhat Ric learned about humanity from visiting 181 countriesFeatured on the show:Check out Ric's podcast, Counting CountriesCheck out Ric's blog, Global GazLearn more about the Extraordinary Travel FestFollow Ric on InstagramGet more information at: Going Places website Join our Going Places newsletter to get updates on new episodes and Yulia's travel storytelling work. Subscribe at goingplacesmedia.com/newsletter!For more BTS of this podcast follow @goingplacesmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on YouTube!Please head over to Apple Podcasts and SUBSCRIBE to the show. If you enjoy this conversation, please share it with others on social and don't forget to tag us @goingplacesmedia!And show us some love, if you have a minute, by rating Going Places or leaving us a review wherever you listen. You'll be helping us to bend the arc of algorithms towards our community — thank you!Going Places with Yulia Denisyuk is a show that sparks a better understanding of people and places near and far by fostering a space for real conversations to occur. Each week, we sit down with travelers, journalists, creators, and people living and working in destinations around the world. Hosted by Yulia Denisyuk, an award-winning travel journalist, photographer, and writer who's worked with National Geographic, The New York Times, BBC Travel, and more. Learn more about our show at goingplacesmedia.com.

Aisana Ashim is a Kazakh journalist and civil movement activist. She is the founder and head of the independent media agency The Village Kazakhstan, and the co-founder of Masa Media, a political education project. In 2021, Aisana launched Batyr Jamal, an independent media platform aimed at empowering women and girls in Kazakhstan, with educational resources focused on their rights, safety, and self-worth.Get ready to learn more about Kazakhstan and Almaty, the city I was born in, through one of its most prominent voices today.What you'll learn in this episode:Aisana's path to founding independent mediaLearning about Kazakhstan's history and geographyThe legacy of colonization in KazakhstanThe state of women's rights in Kazakhstan and the parallels Aisana sees in the USCan journalists be activists too?How our work can fit into the current landscape in the world Aisana's favorite places in Almaty and KazakhstanFeatured on the show:Watch Qazaq Tili, a documentary about the Soviet erasure of the Kazakh language and culture (English subtitles)Learn more about the ancient Kazakh warrior queen, TomirisLearn more about the unrest in Almaty in 2022Learn more about the role of radio in Rwanda's genocideRead Yulia's BBC Travel article about KazakhstanFollow Aisana on InstagramFollow Village Kazakhstan on InstagramFollow Masa Media on InstagramFollow Batyr Jamal on InstagramGet more information at: Going Places website Join our Going Places newsletter to get updates on new episodes and Yulia's travel storytelling work. Subscribe at goingplacesmedia.com/newsletter!For more BTS of this podcast follow @goingplacesmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on YouTube!Please head over to Apple Podcasts and SUBSCRIBE to the show. If you enjoy this conversation, please share it with others on social and don't forget to tag us @goingplacesmedia!And show us some love, if you have a minute, by rating Going Places or leaving us a review wherever you listen. You'll be helping us to bend the arc of algorithms towards our community — thank you!Going Places with Yulia Denisyuk is a show that sparks a better understanding of people and places near and far by fostering a space for real conversations to occur. Each week, we sit down

Rebekah's first Cesarean was a birth center transfer after her baby boy unexpectedly flipped breech during labor. Though she was confident in her decision to consent to a Cesarean, she was devastated and left with a lot to process. Right away, Rebekah's midwives instilled confidence that she was a great VBAC candidate and introduced her to The VBAC Link. Rebekah thoroughly researched and prepped for her VBAC knowing it was the path she wanted to take. She decided to stay with the same birth center as she felt so loved and supported by them. Her second pregnancy was filled with physical, mental, and spiritual preparation for her VBAC. Rebekah developed a deep connection with her baby girl and shares precious stories during both her pregnancy and labor when she knew just what her baby was trying to communicate. Rebekah's VBAC was healing in so many ways. It was particularly special to birth in the same suite that she labored in with her first and have such a different outcome. All of Rebekah's intentional work paid off to help her have a very sacred birth and postpartum experience!How to VBAC: The Ultimate Prep Course for ParentsFull Transcript under Episode Details Meagan: Hello, everybody. Welcome to The VBAC Link. We have our friend, Rebekah, here today and she is local to me here in Utah so it's always so fun to hear a Utah story especially because I usually know the provider and the location and things like that or I've served with them so it's fun to hear the stories that I have served with the people who are serving these amazing VBAC mamas. We have our friend, Rebekah, like I said and she is a mama of two. She is a stay-at-home mom and is in Spanish Fork. She is passionate about birth and hopes to one day pursue birth work. She hired one of our VBAC Link certified doulas so just as a reminder, if you guys are looking for a doula, let me just tell you that our doulas are amazing. These doulas truly love birth and love VBAC and are all certified in VBAC so you can check that out at thevbaclink.com/findadoula if you are looking for a doula. Rebekah left us a note. It says, “The after-birth high doesn't always happen. I have heard so many stories of women who experienced it and I was expecting to feel that. I however did not.” She says, “Don't feel robbed of it.” She was confused why she didn't feel it but she is going to talk a little bit more in her story. I love that message because I didn't feel the birth high with some of my kids either and it is weird. I remember sitting there thinking, Wait, aren't I supposed to be crying right now or aren't I supposed to be screaming how happy I am right now? It just didn't come. Please know that if you didn't have that immediate birth high, it's okay. It's totally okay. We do have a Review of the Week. It is from Yulia and this is actually on our VBAC Course. It says, “This is an amazing VBAC Course that helped me understand how I can educate and support families in the best way.” She is actually one of our VBAC doulas so again, if you guys are looking for more information on VBAC and you really want to learn just all of the history of VBAC and Cesarean and how you can increase your chances of VBAC, check out our course at thevbaclink.com and let us know if you take it. Let us know what you think about it. All right, Ms. Rebekah. Your hometown is Utah, same as me. We are here together. You're in Utah County. You're probably 45-50 minutes away from me so just shy of an hour. Where did you give birth for your VBAC? Rebekah: It was the Utah Birth Suites in Provo. Meagan: Okay. Awesome, awesome. Well, I'm so excited to get into your stories today. I know that with your first one, you went through it. It was spontaneous labor turned unplanned Cesarean. Now if you are listening, I'm sure you can raise your hand. How many of us are having the same situations? We are going into labor and we have that unplanned Cesarean. It's so, so hard. Before we get into your story, are there any suggestions that you would give to the listeners or any tips for moms just like us for moms who went into labor and had an unplanned Cesarean?Rebekah: The heartbreak and the trauma that comes with that is really hard to navigate so in planning a VBAC, my number one piece of advice is hire a doula. Hire a VBAC-certified doula and do all of the hard work you can to mentally prepare. Try not to blame yourself for the C-section because I know we all do that at some point if it wasn't planned. Meagan: Yeah. I love that you said that. Don't blame yourself but at the same time, let's arm ourselves up with information and even first-time moms, there are so many times that we go in and we think we sort of educated ourselves but we didn't. If we can try and educate ourselves a little bit better, we can hopefully be a little bit more armed for the unexpected and even then when the unexpected happens, it's not easy to be armed. It's not easy to be prepared. Okay, so let's talk about that first birth that was an unplanned Cesarean. Rebekah: Yeah. I got pregnant in 2020 so COVID insanity and I had known even before I got married that I didn't want to be in a hospital. I'm number 6 of 7 kids and my mom had all of us unmedicated. I was a home baby. Some of us were born at home. Some were in a hospital. Some were in a birth center. I just really felt that in my bones and in my genes that I can give birth. It's not scary. My mom did this this many times without medication. My sister did it 5 times so I really felt confident. With everything happening in hospitals during COVID, I just was like, I don't even want to try to mess with that so let's go the midwife route. I got in contact with a friend of mine who was a doula and she recommended the Utah Birth Suites in Provo. I reached out to them. We toured a couple of different birth centers and that birth center just felt right. We met almost the entire team that first day in the interview. They spent almost an hour just chatting with us. I was about maybe 18 weeks, 20ish weeks. I was about halfway through my pregnancy. I had two or three meetings with an OB because I didn't have a midwife and it just wasn't my favorite. It was so long between visits and they lasted about 15 minutes. I saw a different person each time. It felt very impersonal and I don't like repeating myself over and over again to all of these different people. It didn't feel right. It wasn't really what I was looking for. I found the Birth Suites and they took care of me for the rest of my pregnancy. I had a little bit of hypertension issues toward the end so the last three or four weeks were really juggling this game of, are we looking at induction this weekend? My blood pressure would read really, really high then I would do all of the things to bring it back down. I was watching my nutrition and taking the vitamins and everything to bring it down. It would come down just within a safe enough range to keep giving me care. Legally, if it crossed that line into worries of preeclampsia, then legally they had to transfer me into the care of an OB. My midwife was really working hard with me to keep it down. It was doing this up/down thing and by the end of each week, it was like, “Okay, we might have to induce you in a couple of days if you want to stick with us.” I was okay with that. My midwife had talked with me about that so it wasn't pushed on me. I was doing everything to stay within their care. That was my whole goal so if I had to be induced, that's what I would do. But every weekend came and passed and my blood pressure would come back down. Finally, it was the day before my due date. I went into labor in the middle of the night. It was maybe 2:30 in the morning. I felt my first contraction. I could tell it was labor because it was different than all of my Braxton Hicks. The only sign I had that labor was going to start was that I had cramping the day before. I was like, “Oh, this is kind of uncomfy.” I didn't think anything of it. As a first-time mom, I didn't know a ton. I did as much research as I possibly could but labor is so random with every mom and baby. There really is no way to tell. I go into labor early in the morning and I woke up my husband. I said, “I think I'm in labor. I think these are contractions. They're not stopping. They're getting really intense.” Intense compared to the Braxton Hicks I had been feeling. I let him sleep and I went into a different room and classic first-time mom mistake. Instead of resting, I got up and started moving and trying to get things going because I was all excited. I didn't want things to slow down. I was timing them and texting my midwife. She said, “See if you can lay down. Take a Tylenol if they are super uncomfortable and try to get as much sleep as possible because you've got some time.” I tried doing that. It wasn't working for me. I was super uncomfy laying down. I did not like it at all. I felt good when I was up and moving because I think that slowed things down but I didn't know the difference. I just knew it was less uncomfortable. I was like, “I'm not going to be sleeping. Let's just go do something.” We went on a drive. We did a little shopping. We walked around. We went back home. We hung out for a little bit. Then my husband was like, “Do you think I'm okay to go to work?” I was like, “I think you are. You can go to work. I think we have plenty of time. Things are still pretty spread out right now. We can call our doula and she'll come hang out with me at home.” So that's what we did. Our doula came over and my husband went to work and everybody was like, “What are you doing here? Your wife is having a baby. What's going on?” He was like, “She's fine. She has our doula.” Our doula was with me for a couple of hours and things had picked up enough to where I felt like he needed to be home so we called him back home. Things were moving on not slowly but slower than I wanted. I was just trying to be patient and let things go–Meagan: Trusting the process. Rebekah: Yes, exactly. I'm not a very patient person so this really was a big learning experience for me. So my doula is keeping contact with our midwife and eventually, it was like, “Okay, I think you're good to head to the birth center. It looks like things are pretty steady now.” We got to the birth center. I really wanted a water birth so they drew a tub and I relaxed in the water and tried some different positions. Hands and knees in the water were hard and uncomfortable. They gave me a towel to keep from slipping around but it was really uncomfortable. My knees didn't like staying in that position and I didn't want to be laying back. So I just wiggled around in the water a little bit. They were like, “Let's see if we can get you in a different position and try to get things moving a little bit.” So they got me out of the water. We tried the birth stool. I did not like the birth stool but it helped me progress a ton so that was good. I think I lost my mucus plug on the birth stool. I was feeling tons of pain in my lower back, like lots and lots of pain in my lower back. My thighs were shaky and I felt a lot of intense sensations in my thighs whenever I would have a contraction. There was a lot going on with my body that I wasn't really prepared for or expecting. I got back in the water to help relieve my back a little bit and I ended up getting stuck on my back lying back in the tub. It was getting to the point where I was almost passing out between my contractions because I was so, so tired. My body had been working for so long and it just felt like things weren't quite where they needed to be with how long I had been working. Again, my midwife said, “If you pass out, we will have to transfer you.” They gave me the oxygen and some essential oils to smell to keep me awake. They were trying to help me as best as they could. I guess my husband was out in the hall with the midwives and it was student midwives who were taking care of me and there was the head midwife who was overseeing them. They had a little pow-wow about what they thought we should do. The midwife was very big on mother-led labor. She was like, “Well, she's a first-time mom.” I had been in labor for so long that things were concerning at this point so it was just, “Let's give her a little bit more time and try to keep her awake and see how things are going. She's doing great. She's tired and this is normal.” A bit more time passed and one of the student midwives was like, “We need to check her. She should be farther along by now. She says she's pushing. She feels like she's pushing but we are not seeing the water separation and as much opening as we would like to see.” They got me out of the water and onto the bed and the head midwife performed a cervical check to see what was going on. I had a contraction while she checked me and my water broke. It was just full of meconium. She said, “I can feel his bum. He's breech.” It was crazy because we thought he had been head down the entire time but when I was in the water, there was a big movement in my belly and I was like, “Oh, that was kind of crazy.” We thought, did he flip? When we realized he was breech, was that movement him flipping while I was in labor?Then my midwife also made a comment later, “Well, maybe he was bum down longer than we thought he was. Maybe that wasn't the flip.” It had everybody baffled. My midwife has been practicing for a couple of decades. She's very experienced and this had everybody stumped. She had never really seen anything like this happen before so at this point, she said, “Well, you have two options. We will send you home and send you a midwife who can deliver breech babies,” because she was licensed and in Utah, licensed midwives aren't allowed to deliver breech babies which I think is silly. She had the training and experience. She just legally wasn't allowed to do it. She said, “We can send you home and send you a midwife or you can go to the hospital where they will definitely do a C-section.” She gave us a couple of minutes. We weren't in any emergent situation. The baby wasn't in distress. His heartbeat had been great the whole time so there was no reason to believe that he was struggling at all. She gave us a couple of minutes to decide. Earlier in my pregnancy, I received a blessing from my husband and was told something like, “However our child is supposed to come into this world–”, and I was like, “Well, that's silly. He's going to come how we are planning on him to come.” I remembered that in this moment and said, “I think this is what that meant. I think he was always supposed to be a C-section.” It was a very interesting combination of feelings happening at the same time, remembering that and knowing this was how it was supposed to go but also being beyond devastated that this was the path things took. So we chose the C-section not because first of all, the thought of having more contractions in the car was like, I'm not going to do that. I just knew it wasn't safe. I was almost passing out and I knew that a breech baby can sometimes be a bit more work. I was in no position to do that. So my husband drove us to the hospital and I had maybe three contractions in the car. Our midwives called the hospital to tell them what was going on and that we were coming so they were ready for us. It was very quick. We got there. They took great care of us and had me in the operating room and the rest was history. We had the C-section. The anesthesiologist was so sweet. He was this old man who spoke really softly and assured me that everything was going great. He stayed with us the whole time through the surgery. I heard him cry and it was great. They wrapped him up. They held his cheek against mine for a minute and then they took him out. My husband followed him and then they stitched me up. That was my C-section. We spent 3 days in the hospital. My birthing team came to visit me one by one in the hospital and every single one of them told me that I was a great candidate for a VBAC. They told me about The VBAC Link so that's when I started on my whole journey listening to you guys and started to really plant those seeds that, “You are capable. You didn't fail. You are able to do this still.” I know that some moms after having a birth experience don't really want to hear these things and they weren't in a place to hear those things, but for me, it was really great to immediately have that confidence spoken into me. That was my C-section. Meagan: Yes. I love that your team knew you so well to know that that was what you needed to hear in that time. Those were the things that you needed to hear. So knowing right away that you were a good VBAC candidate, was it something that stayed with you and you were like, this is what I want to do?Rebekah: Yes, absolutely. It wasn't ever a question if I was going to have a repeat Cesarean. That was never part of my plan. You can't really plan birth but I had never really had that fear of, Am I going to need another C-section? There's always a little bit of it there, but it was always, I'm going to have a VBAC. That's what we're going to do from that point forward.Meagan: You knew. You felt that it was right. You found out about us at The VBAC Link. You had your providers already. Did you stay with the same providers or did you switch? Rebekah: Yeah. Meagan: Okay, stayed. Rebekah: Well, technically yes. I stayed with the same Birth Suites and the head midwife who was overseeing the student midwives who cared for me in my first pregnancy was the one who cared for me during my second. I got to know her a little bit better during my second pregnancy and she was ahead of everything at that time. Meagan: Okay, awesome. So you are pregnant now for the second time. Tell us about this amazing VBAC journey. Rebekah: Yeah. So I got pregnant– when was it? It was probably late summer, early fall when I got pregnant with my second. I immediately reached out to– she's a licensed midwife now but the student midwife who was in charge of my care the last time. I reached out to her because I loved her so much. I said, “I'm pregnant again and I would really love for you to take care of me.”She said, “Well, when you are due is right when I go on leave.” I said, “That's great timing.” I reached out to another girl who was on our team who I loved and the same thing. They were taking their leave at the same time. She was like, “But it's within a week. You're due within a week of when I go on leave. If you end up having your baby before I go on leave, are you okay with me being there?” I was like, “Yes. I would love for you to be there if you can to support.” That's not what ended up happening, but it was fine.I reached out to Melissa. She's one of the owners at Utah Birth Suites. She started that whole business. I got to know her with my first so I reached out to her and said, “I'm pregnant again and would love to be in your care.”It was really great that she already knew my history with my first pregnancy and first birth. I had stayed in contact with them. They do a lot of things in the community and they try to stay in touch with their moms who they take care of. It's not like it had been 3 years since I had seen her. I had seen them here and there so I felt really comfortable with her. I had a couple concerns with this pregnancy with the hypertension issues and stuff that we had with him being breech. There were just things that I really wanted to stay on top of and keep an eye on. My blood pressure was fantastic throughout this entire pregnancy. It was at such a healthy level the entire time. We never had that concern of preeclampsia or hypertension because it just wasn't a factor. It was really nice. I was doing all of the things this time around with the vitamins and supplements and nutrition and water intake and all of the things that I neglected with my first pregnancy. I was super, super determined to have this VBAC. My midwife really pushed protein– lots and lots and lots of protein. We really wanted to strengthen that uterus and try to be as strong as we possibly could so I really took that to heart and tried my best. I got really excited when I came up with a new recipe that had a ton of protein. I would take a picture and send it to her and write up the recipe. I was like, “I'm so excited about this one.” It's like when a kid draws a picture and is so excited and their parent sticks it on the fridge. That was how I felt. I was like, “Look at me. I'm working so hard this time.” I was worried about her flipping breech but that was never an issue either. She stayed head down the whole time. This was a little side note that was interesting. During my anatomy scan to find out the gender, the ultrasound tech was looking over everything and he said, “There's no way to really tell for sure because your uterus has expanded now,” but he said, “I wonder if you have a bicornuate uterus.” He said, “Because your birth was breech, right? He flipped?” We had seen this ultrasound tech for the first so he knew everything that happened there. So I said, “Yeah. He flipped breech.” I had never heard that word before. I didn't know what that was. He explained it to me and said, “It's really common for women with a bicornuate uterus to have babies who flip breech.” So I was like, “Okay, that's interesting.” He said, “After you have this baby and your uterus shrinks back to normal, we should take a look at it.” I have yet to do that but I'm curious too. She never flipped breech so I don't know. Maybe I just have a goofy-shaped uterus. I don't know.Meagan: Maybe or it was just a freak thing. Baby needed to be head up. Rebekah: I don't know. That was interesting and I'm curious to see what the results of that are. But anyway, we got in contact with a doula, a VBAC-certified doula in the area. Her name is Isabelle and she is fantastic. She is absolutely phenomenal. She is also a birth assistant so she is fully immersed in this birth world. She is so knowledgeable and has tons of experience. We clicked really fast and I knew that I wanted her to be our doula. She really just was invaluable the whole time. She recommended that I do some fear-release exercises and meditations to work through some of the trauma that I didn't really realize that I had from my first birth. I thought I had processed and accepted as much as I could but I think healing isn't a linear process and being pregnant again and having another baby brought up a lot of stuff and a lot of fears. On a personal note that I won't really get into, I had a different set of fears surrounding this pregnancy for different reasons so there was just a lot to work on emotionally and mentally. I took that very seriously. This was a very sacred and spiritual pregnancy for me. Maybe it's just like that mother-daughter bond. I don't know. I felt way more connected to my baby this time and I really wanted to do my due diligence in making sure that my mind and my spirit were in a good spot for this pregnancy and this birth. One of the fear release exercises she sent me was one provided by The VBAC Link. It was a little worksheet to get your mind going and there are specific questions on there about what are some fears you have and where do you think those fears come from? It was that kind of stuff and toward the bottom, it helps you reframe those a little bit. Meagan: Yeah. Rebekah: It had me write out what my fears were and then to write an affirmation to counter each fear. I had 20 affirmations all written down just to go along with this list of fears. Then I actually used a couple of those and printed them out as my visual affirmations for when I was in labor. So fast forward, we're about 38 weeks and I was thinking for whatever reason that this baby girl was going to be early. So 38 weeks came around and I was starting to get excited. I'm like, “I think she's going to be here pretty soon.” I was starting to have some prodromal labor which I didn't experience with my son so that really reinforced the idea that she would be here soon and that was not the case. I had 2.5 weeks, well yeah. I guess it was about 2.5. Normal labor started around 39 weeks. So every night on the clock from 8:00, I would start getting really intense contractions that felt like early labor with my son but I also had much stronger Braxton Hicks this entire pregnancy so I was like, “I can't really tell the difference.” I told my doula that. I was like, “I'm afraid I'm going to miss you and I'm not going to reach out to you in time or you're not going to make it to us in time because I won't know when labor is actually happening.” That was a big worry of mine this time around. It was so different than with my son. She said, “It's okay. You can just text me as much as you need to and as much as you want.” So I did. I texted her a lot the last few weeks and she was like, “Your body is doing great.” She told me that in her experience, she said, “Just from what I've seen with my VBAC moms, I actually see prodromal labor happen a lot. I personally think that it's the body's way of being more gentle rather than doing all of the labor hard and fast at once. It's lots of little bits of labor to get your body ready and ease into it so it's not as intense on your body.” I was like, “You know, that makes sense.” I don't know. I don't think there are any studies around that that I know of, but that made sense to me. I really tried to just internalize that and not get too discouraged when things would stop as soon as I went to bed which they did every time. At 8:00, they would pick up and be there for a couple hours then it would stop when I fell asleep then I'd be fine until the next night when it would pick up again. My husband and I would go on a walk every single night and on these walks, I could have sworn that she was going to fall out. I could feel that she was right there. I could feel that my body was literally opening. I could tell that I was dilated. I never got cervical checks this time around which was oddly empowering. I really trusted my body and knew that things would happen regardless of the number that my body was dilated. I had no idea but my midwife was like, “You know, it wouldn't surprise me if you are sitting at a 4 right now.” So if anyone has experienced prodromal labor, you know how exhausting it is and how discouraging it is mentally, physically, emotionally– all of it. It had been a couple of weeks of this and I had officially gone past 40 weeks. I'm officially overdue and my son being born right on time, it was really frustrating that I was going past my date with this one. I didn't want to be induced. There was really no reason for it other than I was getting tired of being pregnant. My midwife was supportive if I wanted an induction. After I hit 40 weeks, I think she would have done it. She said, “Oh, we can do this,” but she also was really encouraging and assured me that my body was doing what it needed to. It was normal to feel discouraged, but let's just give your body time, especially with a VBAC. Induction can come with its own set of risks. I knew that. It was just such a mental battle trying to remember that. I know the risks sometimes can be small, not that it would worry me personally. For some moms, I know it would but for me, the risks that came with induction weren't enough for me to say no to it completely. But also, you never know so let's not play that game. Let's just be as patient as we can. A couple of days before I went into labor, I had it. I was over it. I was in the middle of a breakdown in tears just exhausted. I was with my husband and I said, “Why isn't she here yet? Why doesn't she want to come?” I was just processing things out loud and I said, “I know my body is ready. I can feel it. My body is open. She is so far down there. I feel like her head is going to pop out any second. What is going on? Why have I not gone into labor?”Then he just was really comforting to me and letting me process how I needed to and then I said, “I feel like she's scared.” That was a really interesting feeling. Like I said, I felt more connected to this baby and it was like a lightbulb that was the answer. Your body is ready but your baby is not. We were overdue at this point so I said, “I feel like she's scared. I'm not quite sure why, but I'm almost positive that's it.” So I took a moment to kind of then go into myself. I went into a different room by myself and again in tears was just sobbing and praying and spent some time talking with the Lord and then I spent some time talking to my baby. I told her, “We're ready for you. We are so, so ready for you. I know you are scared. I don't know why but you're not going to be alone. We're going to go through this together. You're going to be safe. Mommy and Daddy are going to take care of you. You're going to be okay.” It just was a really, really sweet moment. Two days later, I went into labor. Meagan: Ohh. Rebekah: I guess she just needed that reassurance that things were going to be okay. Meagan: She needed the okay. Yeah. Rebekah: Yeah. I think she felt that something was coming with all of this prodromal labor. She knew that things were picking up and she just needed a little pep talk. So this time around, again, around 3:00 AM– I guess that's when babies like to come. I hear that so, so many times between 2:00 and 3:00 AM is when things start to happen. I don't know why that is the magical hour, but it is. This time, because we know I was afraid I wouldn't know when labor had started, this time is started with my water breaking. My water didn't break until after 17 hours of labor with my son. I was asleep and woke up to re-situate myself and I felt this pop inside my body. It kind of hurt a little bit. I was like, what was that? It was a really weird sensation. I thought, Was that my water? I reached down and I feel around. I'm like, Well, I'm not wet. I stood up just to see what was going on and there was this huge, giant gush. I was like, Well, yep. There it is. This was probably my favorite part of my entire labor. My husband was asleep and I said, “Honey, honey, my water broke.” He was still half asleep and he said, “Do you want me to fill it up for you?” He thought that I had dropped my water bottle or something. I was like, “No, honey. My water broke.” He jumps up and he's like, “Oh, oh.” He started freaking out and he was like, “What are you supposed to do?” He was frantically looking around. He was still half asleep. I was like, “Okay, take a breath. Go get me a towel first of all,” because I was gushing all over the floor. “Get me a towel and then text Melissa (my midwife)” or my doula. I didn't know who it was. I said, “Let them know.” He said, “Are you okay? Do we need to go somewhere? What's going on?” I said, “No, we have time. Water breaking is not a big deal.” I had done lots and lots of research and listened to a million birth stories so at this point, I feel like a pro because I am fully immersed in this birth world. I said, “No, I'm okay. I'm just going to change and lay back down because I'm not having contractions yet. I feel fine, but I do need to rest so I'm going to change myself and lay down.” That's what I did. I wasn't going to repeat the mistakes of my first birth of moving too fast. Meagan: Getting too excited and yes. Rebekah: Yeah, especially with the exhaustion that I was feeling toward the end of my labor with my son, I was like, I don't want to feel that again. I lay back down. I know myself well enough that I wasn't going to fall back asleep. There was no way that was going to happen, but I was like, But I need to stay as relaxed as possible. We kept the lights really low. I put my birth playlist on and just really did some breathing to keep myself relaxed and as open as I possibly could. That's how I labored for the next several hours but things got intense really fast. As soon as my water broke, I knew that my contractions were going to be more intense. Even though labor had technically just started, I had a feeling that I wasn't going to be in labor for very long because it had been 2.5 weeks of prodromal stuff. I was like, I think this is going to be quick. I was really unsure of what to do though because I was timing my contractions. I have screenshots and was sending them to my doula. She said, “Oh, those look great but let's wait an hour and see how that goes.” But I was feeling like things were picking up. I felt like things were getting more intense but people kept telling me to wait. My midwife was like, “Oh, you have time.” My doula was like, “Oh, you have time.” I told my husband, “I don't know what to do because everyone is telling me that I have time but I don't think we do.” Every time I stood up to go to the bathroom or get in the shower– I tried the water in the shower because my doula said, “Sometimes that can make things a little bit more comfortable. Some women like to labor in the shower for a little bit.” I thought I'd try that. I loved the water but I did not like being upright. I did not like standing because it made contractions so, so intense but they were short. They were half the length than when I was lying down. I think they thought I had time because there were still several minutes between contractions and they were still pretty long. They were like, “We want them just a little bit shorter and a little bit closer together,” or longer contractions. I don't remember. I was like, There is something in me that is telling me that this is moving pretty quickly. I don't like being upright and I feel like I need to rest. It was a lot of weird stuff going on in my head trying to figure out how to handle things. I stayed in bed. It was this instinct in me, “You need to stay lying down.” Any time I stood up, it picked things up and for any birth with other moms, that's what you want, right? You want things to pick up and you want things to progress and technically standing upright was progressing things, but it didn't feel right to me for whatever reason. I knew I needed to be resting and lying down. I was starting to get tired. I texted my midwife and said, “I'm starting to get worried because I don't feel like I should be this tired this early, especially with how much I've been lying down and resting.” She said, “I think you need a little boost of energy.” She said, “Eat a snack and go outside and take a walk. Get some fresh air. Get some sunlight.” In my head, I was like, I don't want to do that. I don't want to be up. Every time I stand up, I can't explain it. Everything in my body and spirit was like, “You need to stay lying down.” I was like, “You know what? She's been doing this longer than I have. I'm going to trust her. I'm going to do it.” I make my way upstairs and as I'm getting a snack, I have a contraction that just had me seeing stars. I almost passed out. It was so, so intense and I told my husband, “I'm going to throw up. I'm going to pass out.” I leaned against the counter. He rubbed my back and when it was over, I ate my snack really, really quick. It was a sugary snack to give me a blood sugar boost. I ate my snack really fast and then immediately went to the living room and got on my knees and leaned against the couch. Again, I can't be standing. Meagan: Yeah, and gravity is causing it to happen too much. Rebekah: Yeah, and I was like, I don't have the capacity right now to handle these standing. I need to be more grounded. I got on my knees on the couch and my husband was like, “Are you okay?” I was like, “Yes, I just can't stand up.” I had a few contractions on the couch because everyone was telling us to wait so I was like, “Okay, let's just do a few more contractions and see how these were going.” That's when I hit transition. It was a little before 9:00 AM or it would be 8:30-8:40. I had a few contractions and they got really, really intense really quickly. It was starting to get a little bit more painful. I was feeling a lot more pressure in my bum and I had to physically relax my pelvic floor and open it because things were starting to feel a little bit pushy. I say that's when transition was. I actually don't know. I feel like I breezed through the transition phase because things just happened so fast. I would guess that's when it was. We called our midwife. Our doula hadn't come to us yet. I called maybe an hour before and said, “Why don't you make your way to us because things are starting to pick up?” She said, “Okay.” She lives maybe an hour away. So she's on her way to us and hasn't made it to us yet. We call our midwife and say, “Things are pretty intense over here.” She listened to a couple of contractions over the phone and she said, “Those sound great. You're doing awesome.” These contractions, I was getting really, really vocal through them, and having gone through labor unmedicated with my son, I knew that I was pretty close just based on the noises that I was making and the way my body was feeling. I was like, We're pretty close here. She said, “Okay, do you want to meet me? Let's meet at the birth center at 10:00,” which means we would have had to leave 20 or 30 minutes from that time or from the time we were at. I said, “We can't do this at home for another 20 minutes.” I had another contraction and my husband and I both go, “No, we're coming now. We can't stay here and do this for another 30 minutes. Things are moving too fast.” She said, “Okay, great. I'll meet you there.” We called our doula and we said, “Go straight to the birth center.” The birth center is kind of in the middle of us so she didn't have to backtrack. We get to the birth center. Our doula met us there. She said, “You had one contraction after you got there and the next one, you were pushing.” My midwife was there maybe less than 10 minutes after we showed up, between 5-10 minutes but I had a couple of pushing contractions with just my husband and my doula at the birth center. When I got to the birth center, I assumed the position. I got on my knees and leaned against a chair because that's how I had been doing it at home. I loved it. Every time I would have a contraction, I would put my hands on the ground so I was on hands and knees and I would lean back a little bit. Everything in my body just told me to get as low to the ground as you possibly can. Any amount of pressure or sensation on my body was amazing. It just kept me feeling grounded because of my son, when I was in the tub leaning back, I kept reaching up like this saying, “Help me. I need help. Help me.” I felt so untethered and nobody knew what to do for me because I was in the tub. They couldn't do counterpressure on my hips or my back because of the position I was in. It was just like, there's nothing we can do for you. I refused to move so it was like I got stuck in this position where I felt so ungrounded and untethered. But this time around, I was solid. I loved it and I actually had a bruise on my forehead the next day because I was pushing my forehead against the chair every time I had a contraction. But it was awesome. I loved that feeling of feeling so solid and grounded. I had pushed for maybe an hour before she was born and I felt that ring of fire. It made me say a bad word. I was like, “Oh my gosh,” because I didn't feel it with my son. When I leaned back during a contraction, I could see some blood on the chucks pad on the ground that I was moving on and I asked them, “Am I tearing?” There was a pause and my midwife said, “Your body is stretching exactly how it's supposed to.” So that was tearing. She was not going to tell me, “Yeah, you are.” She was really encouraging and she was like, “Your body is stretching the way it is supposed to,” but in my head, I was like, I know I'm tearing. I could feel it. It wasn't horrible, but I could tell. I had this memoir going on in my head the whole time where I literally had to tell myself, You're not going to break. You're not going to break, because those sensations on my pelvis while pushing her head out were so intense. Meagan: Intense, yeah. Rebekah: It just felt like my pelvis was going to crack but I knew that wasn't the case. My body was made to do this. It was doing what it was supposed to do. It was really a big mental battle. I've heard a lot of women talk about how they go into labor land and it was this out-of-body experience, but when I tried to do that and let go I guess is the term, that's when I started to feel fear set in and I felt really uncomfortable when things got more painful so I really had to keep myself in my body. I am not the type that can just close my eyes and say, “Okay, my body is just going to do the work.” I couldn't do that. I had to really stay fully present. I guess I needed to feel that sense of control so I was talking myself through it the whole time. “You're doing okay. Keep your voice low.” I was very, very loud. “Keep your screams and your moans in a low tone and keep yourself open. You're not going to break.” I had to keep telling myself these things. My husband was talking to me, “You're doing so great. You're amazing. Our daughter's going to be beautiful. You're doing such a great job.” My doula was scratching my back and doing counterpressure. Everybody was just amazing. The vibe in the room was just absolutely incredible. She started to crown and my midwife said, “Rebekah, why don't you feel down and you can feel her head? That might be encouraging to you.” I think she could tell I was getting frustrated. Every push I was sure she would come and she didn't. I would get so mad and I would push harder than I probably should have and maybe that's why I tore because I was being impatient. I feel down. I could feel her head crowning. I started talking to her. I started crying. I'm like, “Sweetie, I'm so excited to meet you. Hi, sweetie. You're doing great.” A couple of contractions later, her head came out. Then we chilled with her head out. We chilled between contractions. One of the girls on our team got an awesome shot just from right behind. She took a picture of her head sticking out so it was just a straight shot of my bum with her head and it was just a beautiful, beautiful picture. So I feel down and I feel her head. I'm rubbing her head. I'm talking to her and I'm breathing. I got water between every single contraction. I took a drink of water. I took some electrolytes. Oh, between contractions, I would sit up and lean on my husband. I would lean on his lap and then during a contraction is when I would go down on all fours. It was just this up, down rhythm that I got into. That's what I did. Meagan: That is awesome. Rebekah: It was awesome. I really got into a groove. I felt safe and comfortable. After her head came out, the next contraction, her entire body just slipped right out and I got to reach down and grab her and pull her up onto my chest. It was just amazing. But I didn't feel that birth high. I was expecting to feel it. Everyone talks about this incredible rush of endorphins and “I wanted to do it again. I had just done this amazing thing and I got a rush of these feel-good hormones”. I was expecting to feel that and I didn't. It was a beautiful moment and I was so happy to be there but I kept waiting for that high to hit me and it wasn't hitting me. I was like, “Oh, that's weird, but okay.” I had hemorrhaged after my placenta came out. It wasn't enough to really be emergent, but it was kind of concerning. They were doing the fundal massage. They were putting pressure on it. I was holding my baby the whole time leaning on my husband and my husband was like, “Is she okay? What's going on?” I asked him to say a prayer and to pray for us. So the midwives were working on me quietly. My husband says this quick, beautiful prayer just that everything would be okay and that things would go the way they were supposed to. My midwife asked if I would be okay with Pitocin to help stop it and that was fine with me so we did a quick shot of Pitocin and a couple of minutes later, it completely stopped and I was good to go. It was just a few minutes of this and even hearing the word “hemorrhage” or “You are losing more blood than we would like,” I still never really panicked or felt afraid because I trusted my team so much and I knew that if things were emergent, things would be going differently. There would be a different energy but no one was concerned. No one was rushing around. No one seemed panicked. It was just like, “You're losing a little bit of blood, but–”Meagan: We're taking care of this. Rebekah: “We're taking care of this.” It was so quick. It was so quick. It was taken care of and I'm so blessed that that was how things go because I know sometimes that's not the case for other moms, so in my case, it really wasn't that big of a deal. Meagan: Yeah. Rebekah: I got to take a postpartum bath. Well, I guess they did the stitches first because I had a second-degree tear that required stitches, and when they were checking my tear and they told me, “You're going to need some stitches,” I immediately burst into tears because for whatever reason, that sent me back to my C-section because to me, stitches meant, “We're stitching you up. We're closing you up.” Meagan: Yeah, yeah. Rebekah: It was this weird flashback moment that caused me to panic and I started crying. I told them it reminded me of my C-section and I know that sounds silly. It's just a few stitches from tearing in comparison to stitches from a C-section.Meagan: It doesn't sound silly. Rebekah: But to me, it wasn't. Oh, also, I was in the same birth suite that I was laboring in with my son the first time around. I was on that same bed when the midwives told me, “He's breech. We have to do something else.” So it just was like I was back in that same space where I was being told that I have to do something that I don't want to do that was scary to me. My doula was really sweet and talked me through it. My whole team talked me through it. They were like, “You're fine. It's okay. It's not a big deal.” They were very validating like, “I understand. That's why you are scared and why this is bringing things up again but you are safe. We're going to take care of you. You're not even going to feel it. We're going to numb you.”Meagan: Numb it up, yeah. Rebekah: Yeah. My doula stayed with me through my stitches and she was like, “Let's put on some music,” because I was talking about this music that I loved. She was like, “Let's find this album and let's listen to it.” So she found this album and she talked with me the whole time through the stitches. Then I got to take my beautiful postpartum bath in the salts and the flowers and stuff. It was just beautiful. My doula got a picture and she was like, “You look so angelic like a mermaid.” I was lying sideways and my hair was all draped. She was like, “There are flowers in the water. It is beautiful.”Again, it was a healing full-circle moment when they handed me my baby to take this bath together because the tub was another source of stress and anxiety from my first birth. I felt stuck. I felt abandoned. I felt like I didn't have a ton of help. I had help but it didn't feel like it. So just a lot of little moments throughout this suite that I was in that helped heal me a lot from my first birth that were all of these trauma points from my labor with him. They did the newborn exam. I got to hold her and be in the same room as her the entire time. I held her the whole time they did my stitches. We waited to cut the cord until it was white. My husband got to cut the cord. It all was incredibly, incredibly beautiful and healing. I did have to have two bags of IV fluids because of the blood that I lost which kind of helped rebuild that. My doula fed me soup while I was in the tub snuggling my baby. It just was a night and day difference. Meagan: Yeah, such a different experience. Rebekah: She's 7.5 weeks old and we're doing great. I healed very well, so much faster than with a C-section. Again, night and day. I don't even feel like I had a baby. Healing this time has been incredible this time especially having a toddler and worrying, Am I going to be able to do these things?Meagan: Yeah, that was actually one of the reasons among many that I did want a VBAC too. A lot of people were like, “What are your reasons?” One of them was that I want to have a better postpartum experience physically as I'm recovering because I just remember being so– and it can happen with vaginal birth too. Vaginal birth doesn't just eliminate your chances of not a great experience. You can still have a not-great experience with that with a vaginal birth, but yeah. I was like, “I want to be able to pick up my kids. I want to be able to drive if I needed to. I want to be able to–”. Rebekah: Go to the bathroom and shower by yourself. Normal human things. Meagan: Right, not have my husband holding me up showering. Yeah. That, for me, was such a big difference too in my recovery. That alone. Yeah. I'm so happy for you. I'm so glad that you were able to not only just have a different experience that was healing just in general but then all of these little things that you were able to heal from in addition like you said with the tub and these peaceful experiences and your connection with you and your daughter like, “Hey, I think she's scared and I need to go talk with her. I need to be with her.” And even during the pushing, you had that connection again. “Hey, honey, we are excited.” You were touching her and talking to her. It just goes to show so much how much more connected these babies are than we think they are. They really, really are and your body was ready. Your baby wasn't ready and sometimes that is the case and we have to understand that usually when spontaneous labor is going on or whatever, it's a team effort– body and baby together. Sometimes it's not and we have to help them. Rebekah: Yeah, exactly. It was crazy actually pushing a baby out. I don't want to say that I'm scared of doing it again but I wasn't expecting it to be as intense as it was. With my son, I was complete. I had dilated to a 10. I was fully effaced. His bum was right there. I think if we hadn't known sooner that he was breech, I wonder if we would have had an accidental breech delivery at the birth center because I was complete. I was ready to push a baby out. My body was already pushing. I had done all of the labor up to the pushing a baby out part. I think I had just built it up in my head, “Oh, you've done this before. You've done this before. You'll be okay.” I had done everything but the pushing phase. Feeling her actually coming out of my body was such a bizarre sensation. After her head was out, I actually felt a little wiggle. She wiggled her body in there and I said, “I can feel her moving.” My midwife was like, “Yep. She's getting ready to come out.” It was incredible that I was able to actually feel all of these things even though it was painful and it was hard. That's the only thing I wanted. I wanted to feel what it was like to actually birth my baby out of my body and do what it was designed to do. It just was incredible and it doesn't take away from the experience with my son at all. Both labor experiences and both birth experiences taught me so many things in completely different ways. When I tell my birth story with my daughter, I really hope that it doesn't come off that I was trying to rewrite history or trying to erase the way things happened with my son because it's not the case. The stories don't exist without the other. It's just been incredible to see how their personalities are different just based on how labor went with them. I really believe that the way your labor goes and the way your pregnancy is, you can almost tell what your baby's personality is going to be like based on those things and how they go. Definitely with my kids, that has been true. Meagan: Yeah. A lot of people especially with breech are like, “Oh, this stubborn baby. This baby wouldn't flip. This baby threw us a curveball,” then they come out and they're like, “They're still throwing curveballs. They're still stubborn.” I mean, I've heard that is definitely something that can happen. The babies set the stage. Rebekah: Yeah, absolutely. I kept saying when I was pregnant with her that I felt like she was going to be a feisty baby and be fiery. That is how she is. It was beautiful. Meagan: Well, I'm so happy for you. I absolutely love, love, love your birthing team over there. They are just so amazing and I'm so glad that you had a doula and you had the support and that you were able to find healing through this birth experience. You know, every single birth is unique. You're going to heal and grow through every single experience. It's the most beautiful thing. Rebekah: This podcast helped a ton. That was another thing that I did during my prep. I was listening to The VBAC Link Podcast and a couple of other podcasts. I watched lots of birth stories so for VBAC moms, it is another piece of advice I have. Really just soak in all of those VBAC stories and instill that confidence in yourself because I have heard some moms who stay away from podcasts and they like to just have their thoughts and their experiences be their own. That's great and that's fine, but for me, I really needed that support and I really needed that constantly spoken into me. So hearing birth stories, especially VBAC birth stories for VBAC moms is invaluable. It was incredibly empowering. I'm so thankful for your podcast and the fact that you do this and put this community together for moms who listen to it.Meagan: Thank you. It's definitely something that I missed out on in my pregnancies and wanted. I was searching and searching and searching. There would be VBAC stories here and there but I really needed something more. That's why we started this so we could hopefully help people along the way and have more and have that community and that support and just that drive. I feel like you hear these stories and it really helps you be like, “Oh, okay wait. These hundreds of women before me have done this. These are not even half of the women out there.” The amount of submissions that we get and the amount of stories on social media, there are so many stories out there. You are all Women of Strength and you can do this. I think you are right. Listening to these stories, you're going to find something. You're going to find connection and nuggets. You might even find healing through other people's stories. It's weird to think about that but truly, yeah. Rebekah: Even the repeat C-section stories, I loved hearing those and that was what my mental and emotional prep this pregnancy revolved around. I was like, If we're going to have a VBAC, we're going to have a VBAC. That's not what I was worried about. It was that I wanted to make sure that my mind and my spirit and my body were in a place to receive another C-section if it needed that. If I have to have another one, I'm going to make sure that it's a positive experience this time around. So hearing those stories from women who had repeats and even that was healing for them was awesome to hear. Meagan: Yeah, and you were talking about that in the beginning with that unexpected. Your unexpected was that you had an unexpected breech, surprise baby and you were exhausted. That was the route that felt right and some people go into spontaneous labor and it turns into a Cesarean for whatever reason or they go into an induction and the body wasn't responding and baby wasn't responding. We have these unexpected experiences and it's hard because when we are preparing for unmedicated vaginal birth or a medicated vaginal birth or vaginal birth in general, we don't want to think about that Cesarean. We don't. It's easy to push it aside. That's one of the reasons why I think sharing CBAC stories and scheduled C-section stories on the podcast is so important because it does happen and it's important to learn your options there. We just share stories here and we want everyone to find what's best for them and if we limit what we can learn, I think we are doing ourselves a disservice. Rebekah: Absolutely, yeah. Yeah. I hope to get into birth work someday. Ever since I got pregnant with my son, I have been completely immersed in all of it. My Instagram feed is 90% birth workers. So I have learned so much and I used to do that. I used to only really pay attention to the holistic, natural, unmedicated side of things but now, I follow several labor and delivery nurses and OBs and take little pieces from here and little pieces from there. As you are preparing for a new baby, you can't possibly know everything or prepare for everything but knowledge is power and knowledge helps to dissipate fear. As much as you possibly can, learn and arm yourself with it. Like you said, I think that's why doulas are so important too. They can help you in that process of figuring out what education you can focus on or should be focusing on based on what you want. Yeah, it's just incredible. Birth is incredible no matter how it happens. It's hard and it's gritty and beautiful. Meagan: Absolutely. I couldn't agree more. Well, thank you again so much for being here with us and sharing your stories. Rebekah: Thank you so much. ClosingWould you like to be a guest on the podcast? Tell us about your experience at thevbaclink.com/share. For more information on all things VBAC including online and in-person VBAC classes, The VBAC Link blog, and Meagan's bio, head over to thevbaclink.com. Congratulations on starting your journey of learning and discovery with The VBAC Link.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-vbac-link/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

In today's Hot Topics, the co-hosts weigh in on the vice president taking the stage for a CNN town hall after former Pres. Trump turned down a second debate. Hasan Minhaj talks getting real on his beefs with therapy and dog owners in his new special, “Off With His Head," and reminds everyone to call their mom! The late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's widow Yulia Navalnaya joins to discuss how she's continuing her husband's fight for justice, her message to American voters and how she's sharing Navalny's life story in his posthumous memoir, “Patriot.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices