Embarking on new Phase in God's Leading

Well, the culmination of what began almost three years ago in an isolated point on the Isle of Skye will come to fruition this weekend in Kensaleyre. God has obviously led us to have a pastorate here and it is about to commence! This Sunday I will be "preaching as Sole Nominee" ( what is referred to as "preaching in view of a call" in the states). Last year the congregations had the opportunity to hear me preach several times and lead Bible studies, however, this is the official preaching before the vote for me to become their pastor. I would appreciate your prayers as I continue to prepare the message. After Sunday, I should be "voted in as the pastor", but I won't start my responsibilities there until after the 25th of Sept. On that evening, there will be an official "handing over" ceremony and then celebration. It is a rather big event. In the Gaelic language, the word for "induction" actually is translated into " marriage." It's considered to be a serious commitment by both the pastor and congregations. All the members of the Presbytery, members of the Isle of Skye churches, pastor's friends and family are invited and encouraged to attend. It is like a wedding feast, with food, music, and congratulatory speeches. We hope to have some pictures of the festivities and will post them on the blog.

I had the joy of being invited to speak in a public school this morning. I had the floor for about 7-8 minutes to share a message with about 60 elementary aged children. I wore my cowboy boots, hat and jeans which caused a little stir! They were challenged to guess where I came from by how I was dressed. I told them that I was proud to be a Texan, and also proud that I had Scottish ancestry, but that I was most proud that I belonged to God through faith in Christ Jesus. I shared the story of Samuel anointing David as King. David wasthe youngest and the most unlikely to be chosen as king, but God saw his heart. I encouraged them to not be so concerned with their outward appearances because what was in their hearts was what mattered to God. This is a wonderful opportunity for the pastors on the Isle of Skye every fortnight (2 weeks). Please pray that even in these limited encounters seeds will be planted in the children's hearts and minds that will one day bring forth a harvest of faith in Christ.

In Scotland, the equivalent of Vacation Bible School is what they call "Holiday Club." The parish we are working in hosts a Holiday Club each year. Unfortunately, the club was the week in which I had to be away for my final evaluation. We did, however, enjoy being involved for two days before having to leave for Edinburgh. The goup that coordinated the club did an outstanding job of incorporating five of the stories of Jesus' miracles that involved food: when He turned water into wine, the feeding of the five thousand, etc. The crafts each day were linked with the Bible story for each day. They had great activities for the children, as well. The songs all involved hand and body movements...this was a problem for me. At my age, I am struggling to get my hands and feet to move in sequence at the same time. Ha! Well, we had a great time getting to know and love on the kids.

After my successful passing muster in Edinburgh, Linda and I took a few days off and spent some time in the Border area of Scotland. We visited some beautiful, historical abbeys, saw some beautiful scenery, saw the place where Sir Walter Scott was burried, visited the original Wallace Memorial (this magnificent structure is literally out in the middle of nowhere) and toured several jaw-dropping castles and the lush gardens associated with each. I just don't think that there is any place in Scotland that is no drop-dead beautiful.

Blair Castle
















The Wallace Memorial





















Jedburgh Abbey










Renovation work on the manse is nearing completion. All but two rooms have been painted and and flooring is being laid down now. We were so eager to get the work done in the manse before the 7th of Sept. because that was the date our household goods were to arrive at Kensaleyre. As it turns out, the shipping company cancelled their departures out of the Gulf of Mexico...which of course includes the Port of Houston. The shipping company is now transporting our crate to Savannah, Georgia where it will be sent on to Scotland. It now looks like it will arrive the last week in Sept. When we read the email, Linda and I looked at each other and said, "Well, praise the Lord!" If we say that God is Sovereign, it means that He is in control of EVERYTHING!! We believe that He has a purpose for the delay, and though we do not know why, we trust that whatever it is will be for His glory and our good. We have some basic necessities in the manse, so we plan to go ahead and move in after Sept 14th and make do until our shipment arrives. Yes, God is faithful and we are so thankful for His provision in all things!

As we move to being installed in our new ministry, I am so very thankful to those of you who have already invested in our work. There will be material and equipment needs that are not provided by the Church of Scotland, and the parish is small and does not have many resources. I want to produce some flyers to hand out around the community and post notices in store fronts advertising our services and ministry. We also need to purchase teaching materials. The Lord knows what we need and we are trusting His provision. If you would like to be apart of our ministry here, we have established"Heart Matters Ministries" as a non-profit organization and your gifts may be deducted from your taxes as a charitable gift. Any amount would be great help towards spreading the Gospel here! You can send your gift to Craig Goedecke, 145 Lamont, SA 78209. Please pray for us above all! That is what we covet more than anything.

Too wonderful for Words!

There are times when there are just no words to describe an experience or something you see. It’s humorous how Robert and I will be driving here in Scotland and we both make a stab at trying to express our feelings about what we are seeing. More often than not, we just weep out of sheer pleasure and the joy of being able to be in this magnificent place and partaking of God’s incredible handiwork. We just don’t have words to express ourselves to each other sufficiently. That person who said “A picture is worth a thousand words” certainly had it somewhat right, however, in some cases pictures just don’t do this place justice! We are making feeble attempts at taking pictures…but the blog is not a very good venue to share those on. It takes a long time to download pictures here, and so we only put a couple on at a time. We are exploring possibilities for sharing pictures, so if any of you have any suggestions, please tell us. At least you could have some idea of what we are talking about here with the beauty we see on a daily basis.

We drove over to the mainland…about 30 minutes or so from here on Friday to a little fishing and tourist village called “Plockton”. It has old cobblestone cottages…a couple with the old style thatched roofs, all with fabulous views of the loch, sailboats, mountains and blue,blue skies. It was one of those fantastic weather days here…for the most part sunny skies, light breeze, around 70 degrees. The air is so clean here that the scenery kind of jumps out at you. Anyway, we were standing on the shore, after having a great meal of fish and chips and someone started playing the bagpipes. We were looking at the mountains, water, sky and hearing a tune that touched our hearts…and all I could do was weep. It was one of those moments where you know that God has given you a wonderful blessing, and your heart is just too overflowing with gratitude to say a word…This “season” of our lives promises to be one of the richest in the sense of just enjoying your surroundings and the place you are at that we have ever experienced. We have been places we would rather not be at, and had painful times like everyone. I imagine this experience won’t be “pain free” either. But it’s nice to have times of refreshing of your body and soul isn’t it? I feel like that is what I’m experiencing here. I am thrilled to be back “under” Robert’s teaching again. The Lord really uses his words to touch my heart. I know his heart desire is to honor the Lord in it…it just makes it more special to me. Others are being blessed by his messages and make comments that they don’t want him to leave here to go to Snizort Parish. They have expressed what a blessing his teaching ministry has been in their lives. I also had a great opportunity to share my testimony of God’s grace at church. It was a blessing to again recount how God drew me to Himself and His work of grace in bringing Robert and I together.

We are thankful for this time here in the Wee cottage. It’s been a good time to adjust to everything new and enjoy our surroundings. Thanks to all of you for your prayers and support. I had a friend send an email today encouraging us to share in our blogs how you could support us financially if you feel led of God to do so….So I will do that. Robert recently established “Heart Matters Ministries” as a non profit organization, anticipating that God would meet needs and perhaps open opportunities for ministry that exceeded the stipend that the Church of Scotland provides for us. As far as needs now, the move over here cost us a bundle and we are faced now with buying some furniture and a vehicle. As far as opportunities in ministry, we are hoping and praying to expand our outreach beyond the one parish…and to do that will provide resources, both people and materials, to reach out in ways that are exceed our wildest dreams. We don’t know what He has in mind, other than we have a couple of good ideas of connecting empty pulpits with godly ministers from the states, or having mission teams come over and have holiday clubs or evangelistic outreach events. We don’t know yet. But, if you are interested in supporting financially….you can send a check to Craig Goedecke at 145 Lamont, San Antonio, Texas 78209 made out to “Heart Matters Ministries”. Craig is handling our banking accounts there in the states. We are hesitant to express any financial needs, but know that maybe the Lord is moving on some of you to share in the work He is doing here in Scotland. Most of all we covet your prayers. We are headed to Edinburgh this week, where Robert will meet with some people from the C of S for another final interview before his placement. That will be on Thursday afternoon our time. They say it’s a mere formality, but it’s still part of the process. Looking forward to keeping in touch through email and Facebook! Bless you !! Linda

Familiarization quickly coming to a close...

Well, as you can imagine, our days have been filled with joy in being together these past three of weeks. I have wanted to blog on two or three occasions, but with ministry needs, wife needs, our new manse going through a total transformation, familiarization meetings, etc., I have just not gotten it done. I love blogging. It helps me to remember the experiences of the days, as well as, helping you to know what is going on in our lives enabling you to better pray for us. I am going to do some on this blog and then Linda will write one later.

One of the great joys of being here and Linda not working is that we have had the ability to be together early in the day to have time in the Word and to pray together. We know the difficulty it is for a couple to have unhindered time together when both are working, or when you have young ones at home. It has been such a refreshment to us and it is one of the great thanksgivings we have to our God that He has allowed this to be a part of our lives at this time. Linda is the second greatest blessing of my life, who is indwelt by the first greatest blessing of my life…the Holy Spirit of God, Who brought Life and Light to me, one who was “dead in my trespasses in sin, but Who being rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved me, [5] even when I was dead in my transgressions, made me alive together with Christ (by grace I have been saved), [6] and raised me up with Him, and seated me with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, [7] in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward me in Christ Jesus. [8] For by grace I have been saved through faith; and that not of myself, it is the gift of God; [9] not as a result of works, that I should boast. [10] For I am His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that I should walk in them.” Ephes. 2:4-10 (personalized pronouns italicized by me).



What a blessing it is that God in His wisdom sent me to the Strath/Sleat Parish, under the guidance of Dr. Johnstone, to be orientated into the ways and protocols of Scottish ministry. He and his wife, Annette, have been such gracious hosts and care givers to us. Ben received his Doctor of Ministry degree from Reformed Seminary, in Jackson, MS., in 2002. He is a great model for me while I am here, for he is a pastor’s pastor and deeply loved by his people.

This is Ben, Annette (on my right), and a thirty-year missionary to
Nigeria friend of the Johnstones, Georgie Orme having, of all things,
fajitas in our “wee” cottage in Sculamus, last week.



I had the joy of administering communion this past Sunday in Elgol, the little village where the Lord began His work of leading us to Scotland. There could not have been a more remote spot on the face of the earth...well, almost, anyway...for the Lord to have put two pastors together at the same tea shop that would later turn into a life-long friendship and a ministry thousands of miles from San Antonio, Texas. Since that time, Isaiah 46:9, 10 has become one of the hallmark verses in my life: “I am God and there is no other; I am God and there is none like me…My purpose will be established and I will accomplish all my good pleasure.” I have come to desire that if there is any purpose that I want established, it is a good thing to make sure that my purposes have been orchestrated by Him and that whatever thing He considers His “good pleasure” well, that is the very thing I want to find my pleasure in, as well.



In just a little over three weeks, I will be preaching in view of a call from the Snizort Parish. The Scottish term is “preaching as sole nominee.” On Sunday, August 30, the parish will gather in Kensaleyre to hear me preach. A short intermission will follow the message and then the parish communicants will vote whether or not to call me as their new pastor. Most say that it is a done deal and that what I will be doing is just a formality. For me, however, it is a very important day, for in the end, it will accentuate the faithfulness of God in His call upon my life; it will allow me to show where my heart is in ministry and my desire to be a loving shepherd to these people. Please pray that God will grant me the freedom to declare His Word in a way that will reveal HIS HEART to these people.

Sola Dei Gloria

Linda's on Skye!

Sunday, July 19th
Robert wanted me to write on blog this time...since I am here now and have alot to say! WOW! So overwhelming, leaving family and friends in San Antonio...had a nice going away dinner at Mexican restaurant in San Antonio...sure am going to miss our family there! However, I have already discovered that Skype makes the separation more bearable! Robert and I just sat and watched Brennan (11 mos) play and eat in his high-chair and visited with Robert's mom and Melody. It is ALMOST like being there...just can't touch! Anyway, we trust the Lord to meet needs and will look forward to hearing from all of you either by email or phone or Skype!

I arrived on Monday afternoon...the weather was perfect...clear skies and gorgeous 78 degrees or so...easy trip to Scotland. You know it's not as far as you think! Delta had plenty of room in seats and individual movie screens...it helps the 8 1/2 hr flight go by more quickly.

Robert and I went immediately to Tesco...the "Walmart" of Scotland. I was pleasantly surprised to find prices on fresh fruits and vegetables LESS than stateside! I can't figure that out...except that they probably buy from local farmers...but very fresh and very plentiful produce! Yea! Then the other surprise was the Italian and French "gourmet" items that were so much less than stateside! Central Market type items...and in abundance. As far as I can tell, the only deficiency in the food arena here is meat. Fish is great...I fixed fresh haddock last night and it was wonderful...smoked salmon too. But beef and chicken are much more expensive here and less of a selection. Other than that, I'm probably going to have to find a WeightWatchers group!

On another pratical note...I made cauliflower soup and it was good! I'll share the recipe with anyone who wants it. Soups are very popular. I am having to learn how to cook again and will start by making soups! We plan on entertaining alot, so I need to learn as many good inexpensive dishes as possible!

I have already been out walking in surrounding countryside...looking at magnificent mountains and sea..listening to classical music on ipod and weeping over this incredible place and the opportunity to live here and share Christ. Robert and I went on a drive and encountered sheep and cows on the road at several points ...you just have to stop and yell at them...it's impolite to honk the horn we were told! They do have cows they raise for meat, but most of it is sent out of the area...too bad!

I met several ladies in a Bible study I attended on Thursday morning. They were using a study,"Seeking God" by Nancy Leigh Demoss. A couple of years ago I had told Annette Johnstone that I thought it was a great study and she was interested in it so I mailed her videos and some books. She shared it with a lady at church, and after looking at it, decided to lead the study. The ladies at the Kilmore church this past week shared what a blessing it was. I was amazed thinking about how the Lord had already burdened my heart for the work with women here two years ago when I mailed it to Annette! I will probably do the study when we move to Kensalyre as well.

Everyone here is very complimentary of Robert's preaching. I think they enjoy the informality and sincerity that Robert has in his preaching. The Texas accent is a plus too! They actually like it!
He preached at the church "Kilmore"yesterday morning and there was a great turn-out. Many are visitors in the area on holiday. The church building is a monument to the McDonald family...lots of memorials and stones. When Bonnie Prince Charles came gathering supporters for his cause, and several refused to help him...there was a revenge taken on those 20 non-supporters when they attended a funeral at Kilmore. You can see the old stone church and very ancient cemetery there...the present building is less than a couple of hundred years old.

I met the president of the Gaelic college here on Skye there as well and am hoping to take a class in Gaelic just so I can read and pronounce people's names and read road signs! I am thinking about sharing this blog with Robert and include what it is like to be a Texan living on Skye...I have found out that we might be the only Texans here on Skye....and are quite a novelty! We intend on making the most of that...when people ask why we are here...we can share the call of God with them!

The simple things of life...

Though Scotland is far more advanced than Taiwan was, when Linda and I were missionaries there, I am struck by how much I took for granted living in Texas.

• having a washer and dryer (the washing machine here takes almost two hours to go through the SHORT cycle...and I have no dryer)
• having HEB and Walmart within walking distance of the house knowing that I could go to either and purchase anything that I wanted...here the store is not a whole lot bigger than a gas station shopping area. To go to anything that resembles Walmart, I have to drive for over two hours over winding roads.
• only having to pay somewhere in the neighborhood of $2.50 for a gallon of gasoline...the price today for gasoline here on the Isle of Skye is the equivalent of $7.15.
• it could have taken me three weeks to get a bank account, had someone had not intervened in the situation.
• oh, yeah, I have not had a Whataburger in four weeks...uuugggghhhhh, but there is some wonderful fish here...I guess fish will be my beef substitute.

I am sorry to say that there are some things that I had in the US that are of a similar nature in this society:

• such a small percentage, and I mean small, like 12% of the youth find any relevance in having a relationship with God
• the Scottish society has truly become hedonistic
• there is a bill before the Parliament that would ban a pastor from preaching against homosexuality...I understand there is a similar one in the US Congress, as well.

So, our biggest need, in both countries, is for those who are called by His name to "humble themselves and pray, and seek His face and turn from our wicked ways, then He will hear from heaven, will forgive our sin and heal our lands." There is a current of unity in Scotland among the evangelicals that it is past time that we were on our faces before God. It is a grievious thing to live and minister in such a spiritually dark place, but it is exciting to know that God, just as He demonstrated to Elijah that He had a remnant, when he thought he was the only one who had not bent the knee to Baal, God, too, has a remnant here and that the swell of desire for revival is so loud. Scotland, at one time, was the spring-board of the Reformation that brought the Gospel to the Americas. Wouldn't it be just like God to revive this country in order to bring revival to the states? Would you commit to pray with me to that end? Revival will only come by means of prayer. Stand with me and all the others who will not be content until we see the healing of our lands for the glory of God and for His name sake.

Thank you for caring enough to pray for our personal needs, as well. Linda arrives in three more days. Yes, I am smiling again. Big time!

God bless you!

Sola Dei Gloria

Again, I am a resident of the "cyber nation"

Wednesday evening I had the joy of seeing the little red "X" covering my wireless icon disappear as the result of broadband being installed in my wee cottage, and, therefore, here I am in my kitchen typing away with a big smile on my face :)) No more hurried trips to the library trying to get my posting done before they close, or getting there in time, only to find that I had left the transfer cable at home or some other goofy thing like that.
I have already used what I am claiming to be one of the greatest blessings of my life...I am talking about Skype. Residing thousands of miles from my family and using a computer that does not even have a wire attached to it, I have talked to my wife, each of my girls, two of my son-n-laws, my parents-n-law and have seen and heard both of my newly born grandsons expand their lungs!!! How sweet is that?! Ooops, here I am smiling again!! I remember when my family and I moved to Taiwan 28 years ago, if you were fortunate, a letter send back home might receive a response in ten or eleven days. On Christmas day, 1982, we called home and talked for ten minutes. The phone bill was $120. In 2009, I can talk to my loved ones, see them at the same time, talk for as long as I want.......and it is FREE. How that happens I don't know, but I guarantee you, I am going to enjoy it immensely!!
Hey, and if you think that is amazing and spectacular, Salvation in Christ is eternally more so. I cannot comprehend how a Holy and Rigtheous God condescended to extend to me mercy, grace and love in the person of His Precious Son. I don't know how all that is, but I know it is true. His love and forgiveness, measured so deep at the Cross, has set me free from the bondage of sin and death. He changed me giving me joy and peace. He rescued me and adopted me making me a joint heir with Christ, only by grace...certainly not by any righteousness that I have done, but solely according to His great mercy. And, as Paul stated to the Romans, "He (God) who did not spare His only Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not, with Him, freely give us all things (8:32). And I guarantee you that I will enjoy the blessing of that for the rest of this life and for eternity. Yep, you guessed, there is that smile again!

Ooooohhhhh, I feel another big smile coming on....Linda arrives in Scotland in nine days. Whooohoooo!!!!! Last year when we were separated for over a month we said that we would never do that agin...I have gained a new appreciation for never saying NEVER! We will be spending our first night in a B&B in Muir of Ord, a small village not far from Dingwall, where the Highland Theological College is. It is a quaint little town. Linda has never been there and I wanted to show her the college, as well as take her on a stroll through the town.

Well, I am sure that you have had about all of my joy that you can stand. But before I close, I would like to remind you that our expenses have piled up beyond what we could have imagined. I will barely be making a living wage for the first five months and we, as yet, have to invest in two cars. They will be used, of course, but costly, none-the-less. Just a reminder that anything you contribute to the ministry counts as a tax write off. We have heard from a few folks wanting to share in the ministry, but anything you might give would be greatly appreciated, remembering that a contributor has noted he will match any and all contributions, up to $10,000. I assure you that all contributions will be used strictly for the ministry and for the glory of God.

I am preaching Sunday in Kilmore and in Elgol, two communities separated by about 50 miles. I preached last Sunday on Psalm 37, and a good number of people were deeply touched by the Word. I praise God that He has called me to preach the Gospel and I take great delight in being His Kingdom steward. Pray that I will a glad, generous and compassionate shepherd of His sheep.

Always keep me in prayer for my traveling. Much of the driving is done on single lane roads and often, in foggy, misty weather. This is the heighth of the tourist season and watching many of them drive, you can tell that they have never driven on the left hand side of the road before. A lady pulled out in front of a huge bus, and had the driver of the bus not been alert there would have been serious injuries.

Till later,

Sola Dei Gloria

On The Move

Saturday, June 27

I just finished meeting with a couple of people who are on the Manse Refurbishing Committee at the manse. We did a walk-through looking at stuff that has to be done to get the house ready for our move-in date…sometime around the middle of September. I do wish Linda had been here for she is the real expert on the decoration side of things. The manse is in pretty good condition, but has quite a few minor jobs to be done. We are painting the inside something like this color throughout the house with the exception of the kitchen and the bathrooms, which will be done in a creamy white color.

The committee has been very accommodating to the things we want to do. They will re-carpet most of the house. I will go up several days, on my day off, and assist them with the painting. We are getting the house all “spiffied up” so that we can start receiving guests as soon as possible.

I will be preaching three times tomorrow, twice in the morning and then for the evening service at Broadford. Once a month, the Free Church in Kyle and the Broadford church, where I am doing my familiarization, have a combined service and I have been asked to preach for that service. I will be doing an exposition of the first eleven verses of Psalm Thirty-seven.

I was hoping to have some pictures to add to my blog, but it seems that the USB cable that came with my camera is in the crate. I was so certain that I had it with me. I will continue to look. Please pray that I find it!

One of the great blessings of my stay so far is that I have met a man who is excited about my book. I gave him the synopsis of it and he said that he knows someone who would be willing to publish it. My book deals with things that not dealt with could lead to depression. He had been in a state of depression for over a year, until recently. He is a very passionate man for the gospel. He said that the little bit of the book that I have shared with him resonated in his spirit and has helped him a lot. He is quite a prolific writer himself in the Gaelic language and so I am thankful that God has put him in my life and me in his.

I am deeply grieved that the death of a Hollywood personality, yes, even the “King of Pop” could have become such a platform for such horrible dribble. Psalm 37 gives us the perfect antidote for overcoming such a condition of godless aspirations in our own lives, or in our sharing with others the emptiness of living a life of absolute self-consumption. I wonder how many godly men and women died on the same day as MJ that the culture of the world will never hear about and yet, had their lives been broadcast as his was might have made an impression for good in someone’s life. God knows who they are and has welcomed them into His glory with the chorus of angels singing Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty. When we delight ourselves in the Lord, the essence of our lives is not about how important or popular we have become, but it centers on His majesty and glory and that alone…Sola Dei Gloria!!! May it be so each moment of the day for each of us who are called by His name!!!

Till later, I remain His glad servant and your brother!

PS....only 15 more days till the love of my life joins me in Scotland! :-)))

Here We Go Again.....

Wow, it has been a long time since I did a blog...hope I can remember how it is done :) Almost eight months ago I wrote my last blog saying good-bye to Scotland and saying hello, again to family, friends and country. Now, everything is in reverse....hello to old Scotland friends and good-bye to family, friends and country. It is really a bitter sweet experience.



So much has transpired that I feel that I can best relate it all to you by way of bullets:

• Sept 14: I interviewed with the Church of Scotland (hitherto referred to as CofS)


• Oct. 10: Received word that the CofS approved my selection to be a pastor in the CofS


• Nov. ??: The CofS made application to the government of the United Kingdom be a sponsoring agent for me as a foreigner to have the privilege of ministering in Scotland


• May 12; The CofS received their sponsor number


• May 14; We submitted our application to the Border Agency of the UK


• May 21: We received our work visas opening the way for us to go and minister in Scotland.

****************************************

This is Monday, June 22, 2009 and I have been in Scotland for a week now. I am residing at Half-of-two, Skullamus, Breakish, IV 42 8PY, Isle of Skye, Scotland, UK. My phone number, should you desire to contact me is 011-44-1471-822-112.

It took me a couple of days to get acclimated to the time change and jet lag. I have been running ever since I arrived. I met with my supervisor on Tuesday going over business stuff. I spoke at the Wednesday prayer meeting. My cousin, Kande, her husband, John, and their children, Jonathan and Rachel and her husband, Dustin, arrived on Thursday and we had a whirlwind of an around-the-island trip until Friday. I had a Session meeting on Thursday night. I did my wash, grocery shopped and did sermon preparation on Saturday. I preached last night at Elgol, a little village about thirty minutes from Broadford, the place where Linda and I had our “chance meeting” with Ben and Annette Johnstone, whom God used in our conversation with them, to plant the seed which matured in our moving to Scotland.

I will send you a pic later of the little cottage that Linda and I will be living in until the middle of September. I have to do a three month orientation (familiarization, as they call it) in the Strath and Sleat Parish and upon completion of that we will move to Kensaleyre (Kin-sa-liar). There are a few things that you could certainly be in prayer for us about:

Since Linda is not with me, as yet, please pray that her time with our children, grandchildren and her family will be rich…and for her safety and health as she travels to be with me on 13 July.
That I will have a teachable spirit. Having been in ministry for 35 years there are certain ways I have learned to do things that will not fit in the “Scotland box.” I do not want my ways to be a hindrance to the Gospel.

Pray for our finances. I had planned for every contingency…I thought…before coming. However, when I arrived in Scotland I was told that I owed $600 for my second suitcase. Boy, talk about having someone come and kick you in the guts. I asked the counter clerk, “I beg your pardon, did you say $600?” When she replied affirmatively, I thought I was going to buckle. I retired to a bench and began to cry. There was nothing I could do. I had to catch my next flight in thirty minutes, so all I could do way pay. I was already packed to the gills, so there was not transferring stuff from the extra piece to other suitcase or carry on. This incident can be blamed on my Scottish, penny-pinching nature. Trying to save money, I booked from Orlando to Gatwick and separately booked from Gatwick to Inverness. Bad move. But, God is sovereign and He is faithful and I must stand on that. If nothing else, for all of you similar minded Scotts out there who plan on visiting us, let me experience be a warning to you: BOOK AN UNBROKEN TRIP ALL THE WAY THROUGH!!!!!! You will have more money in you pocket in the long run.
Speaking of money (and know that this is a frightful thing for me to be doing), our move and then establishing a “new life” here, has cost far more than we anticipated. A contributor to our ministry told me before I left the states that for every dollar contributed to “Heart Matters Ministries” (which is a 501c3, non-profit charitable organization) he will match dollar-for-dollar up to $10,000. So, if you will pray and ask God for direction in your giving to us, it will certainly go a long way in making up the difference.

Pray for a sensitivity to the needs around me. In the busyness of life, it is so easy to miss an opportunity to speak to someone who God would have me speak to. Paul Tripp says that “ministry happens in the common, mundane time of life”, and I am finding that to be true.

Pray that I will always have a sense of urgency while I am here. I only have a 72 month window of opportunity to minister the Gospel.

Well, that is it for now. I am hoping to have broadband access in the course of the next couple of weeks. Yes, and your can add that to the prayer list. If you are reading this, I am considering you a partner in what God is doing in and through me here. Thanks for your partnership!!

Sola Dei Gloria,

Robert