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.
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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,
