Wintry Wonderland





Looking out at our back "garden" covered in snow. We love watching the cows!

 

Living in Scotland is both challenging and delightful! Having lived in milder climates these past several years, getting use to snow, ice, sleet and temperatures that are frequently belowing freezing is challenging. The driveway, known here as the "brae", is at quite an angle and becomes very hard to navigate with layers of ice and snow on it. The former minister made quite a stir when he lost control of his car going down the brae and unable to stop, ended up in the fence across the highway. Fortunately there were no cars coming on the highway, so he avoided being broadsided. Coming up the brae can be a challenging thrill as well. Robert reves the engine and starts several yards back on the highway to get enough momentum to fling us up the brae. Sometimes we'll get halfway up and start sliding backwards, other times we can just barely make it up the hill. All the time we are both yelling and straining forward hoping that will encourage our wee Nissan "Note" to make it. And sometimes we just can't leave the manse at all in our car. But, that's not so bad! It's kind of fun to be "snowed in"! It makes time for good reading with numerous cups of hot tea !

A couple of weeks ago, Robert preached at a Communion service at the Church of Scotland in the Staffin Parish. We saw some wonderful winter scenery on the way. "Old Man of Storr" is a famous rock formation here and it looked quite majestic! Oh, the handiwork of God! He is so awe-inspiring! The sharing of communion with another congregation is very uplifting. The churches like to have "guest ministers" to preach during the communion time, and it give us good opportunities to fellowship with others outside our own parishes.



Looking out over the front garden towards Snizort Loch






Jonathan, Bethany, Lydia, Elizabeth and Nathaniel joined up on Christmas Eve at the Manse

  Reinforcements Coming!!!     In a previous blog, I mentioned the Tink family who came to help us with our "Holiday Club" this summer. Well, we are so excited that they are moving into our parish and want to help us with the work here! They are a delightful couple who have been working in Elgol, at the southern tip of Skye, starting a new Christian fellowship there. Jonathan is from Wales and was involved in ministry in Ireland before relocating to Scotland. His wife, Elizabeth, grew up in a missionary family here in Scotland. They both have a heart for starting new work and supporting pastors with their responsibilities. They have two daughters and a new baby boy. They will be helping us in outreach to families with children! That is exactly what we have been praying for! We currently have no children in our churches. We are so blessed that the Lord has called them to our parish! Would you please pray for us as we work together?

 

Johnetta and Cleo in Colorado

Our Families.......Since our last blog, we have made a trip back to the states. We concentrated on visiting our families as much as possible, which included a trip to see Robert's mom and sister Mary and her husband Bill in Nacogdoches, Texas. Robert's mom is 97 years old and in fairly good health. Mary and Bill take wonderful care of her and we appreciate that so much, since we are so far away and can't help them with that responsibility. They are truly inspirational to us in their loving patience and consideration for her every need. We couldn't be doing what we are doing without that kind of support back home!  We also had a chance to visit Robert's sister Johnetta and her husband Cleo in Colorado. They have had a very challenging year adjusting to Cleo's spinal cord injury. The Lord has blessed both of them with patience and endurance throughout this difficult trial.



Our three daughters: Melody, Liz and Sarah with two grandsons, Brennan and Cal



I could go on and on about family and friends who inspire and encourage us. God is so gracious to us. In the midst of our struggles and challenges, He is at work. He is good. He is working out what is best for us. He is conforming us to His image. Romans 8:28-29. We know that some people might think we are really "doing something for the Lord" over here. We are just endeavoring to live out a life of obedience to God's calling in an unusual place (at least from a Texan's perspective!). But we look at our family and friends back in the states doing the same thing. Living in obedience to God's calling where He has placed them. Demonstrating His love to those around them. That honors and glorifies Him. We are most grateful He has given us such wonderful examples and encouragers as you all. It really does help us want to be where He wants us to be and be who He wants us to be. We pray that in this coming year that God's rich grace will abound to you in all that you do!! Thanks for your prayers and those who have contibuted to the work here this year through Heart Matters. Those contributions help us do things we couldn't consider doing on our own. We love you and as always would welcome you eagerly here in Bonnie Scotland!!

It's been One Year Already!

We have now been here at Kensaleyre for a year!  We feel like we are settling in and understanding the culture here a bit more now and learning so much about God's love and grace. We are looking forward to our next year in God's "vineyard" here on the Isle of Skye! The weather is changing and the heather has faded and the bracken(fern) has turned brown. There is a coolness of autumn in the air. Robert is wearing his jumpers.... yes, jumpers. That's what they call sweaters here. They don't even say sweaters. He has had a hard time with that one. He told some church members the other day that most men would never wear a jumper! Speaking about differences in language....how about "I will give you a tinkle later?" I really like that one! It's a phone call. Or "Quit blethering!" Which means to stop just going on and on. We learn new words almost daily. I should write them all down.

Garden dinner...with fork and knife

We are also adjusting to table manners. Fork upside down in left hand, knife in right. You know there is something to say about scooping your food onto the fork upside down. It is definately a more leisurely way to eat and it's not as difficult as using chopsticks! Robert's much better at it than Linda.

Fruits of our labors!

 
For a first year garden, with a plot totally covered in grass and weeds, we have been pleasantly surprised at the produce. Some of the turnips have been as big as footballs! There is quite a variety of potatoe types, and enough harvested for a big sack stored in the garage for the winter. The carrots are sweet and plentiful, and we had a sampling of several other kinds of vegetables as mentioned in  previous blogs. Murdo, (my head gardener) tells me that the soil here is really good. Adding lots of cow manure sure helps too. Since it was such a success, we will double the size next year. You know I could go into business, selling organic vegetables. They are in demand here and quite expensive. But I rather give them away.

 

Sheep continue to delight and entertain us. We were watching out the bedroom window today as the next door crofter had his dogs in training herding some sheep. It is fascinating to watch them in action. Those poor sheep were just running back and forth as fast as their skinny little legs would take them. The dogs kind of crouch down like that cartoon character, Road Runner. You'll see some of the sheep jump straight up into the air they get so agitated. Our neighbor has won several sheep herding competitions with his dogs. We also saw some dogs herding a flock of geese this summer. Now that was funny...all of them stayed in a line like little soldiers. Quite different than sheep.

 


   

Marianna and her husband Pete



 We have been encouraged by a number of things this summer and early fall. Marianne Naylor is a very sweet lady in our Uig church who this year started coming back to church after a long absence. She also began coming to the Women's Bible study. She has recently recommitted her life to Christ and was so joyful and delighted to share in communion this time. We are thankful for her growth in the Lord. 

DI, his dad and one of elders singing at communion fellowship

 DI Murchison, who I mentioned in a previous blog, prayed and asked Christ to be his Savior recently. He made a public profession of his faith and joined the church as well.  He has been coming to prayer meetings on Wednesday evenings and his commitment to the Lord Jesus has been encouraging to all our members. We are still meeting with the youth every other Friday (fortnight) at the manse and recently participated in an event at Uig for youth. We hosted several of the volunteers and enjoyed hearing their testimonies of God's grace in their lives. One of the young men had been a heroin addict and was saved just two years ago. He had a wonderful testimony of God's power in delivering him from that addiction. We appreciate your prayers for us as we challenge these youth here to respond to Christ.

After communion fellowship...lots of tea and biscuits



The Cullin mountains

 Robert has been preaching through the book of Philippians on Sunday nights and the Sermon on the Mount Sunday mornings. He recently went on a "Mission" where he preached up in the north end of Scotland at a place called Wick. He preached 7 times over a period of 4 days. There was a wonderful response to his messages and many there told him how the Lord had used his messages to really speak to their hearts. That was a refreshing experience. He also had an opportunity to do some "street evangelism". He and some others preached and handed out tracts in the town square. He thoroughly enjoyed that experience and talked to several people hanging around the area about their need for the salvation. Seeds were planted there. While there, we had a guest preacher come to the Kensaleyre church on Sunday night to fill the pulpit. His name is Stevie Boyle. He is from a notorious Glasgow drug dealing family. He and his whole family were drug addicts. His father was imprisoned for quite some time and Stevie also jailed on numerous charges through his young years. At 27 years old he said he thought he was dying as his heroin habit was so severe. about that time, some Christians invited him to a retreat on Iona. (It is an island off the west coast of Scotland famous for being a place where Christianity started and spread to the rest of the Scotland).  He said the Christian love for him and their acceptance of him gave him hope. He prayed and asked Christ to save him. The Lord did, and he went to work with Teen Challenge in Wales and lived with Christians there. He is now married to a lovely woman and they have two young children. They live here on Skye and he is attending the Highland Theological Seminary and hoping to start a substance abuse program. What a testimony of God's grace! What encouragement that no one is beyond hope. And what a challenge to us as believers to love those who at first glance we might "write off" as being hopeless. Robert and I want to love the people here on Skye with Jesus love. We really appreciate your prayers for us! We are so excited about our visit to the states these next few weeks and hope to see some of you there. And we just want to say again..."you are most welcome to come to visit us on this beautiful Isle of Skye whenever you can!" The Lord bless you.





Summertime in Skye

This has been the coolest summer we have ever experienced! With just a couple of days of high temperatures in the 70's...we haven't had much opportunity to wear"summer clothes." One day we were so thrilled to see sunshine, we spent the entire day gardening and laying on the grass just soaking up the rays! We have heard from several in Texas about the hot weather there, and honestly have felt a little jealous. But, maybe they have been a little jealous of our cool weather! Anyway, that is just a sample of how "Scottish" we have become...starting out every conversation about the weather! That is the common greeting when you first encounter someone. Some comment about the weather is appropriately made, then on to other topics.

Pulling nice white turnips

The Bounty

Who would have ever thought??

Strawberries, cabbages, cauliflower, broccoli, turnips, potatoes, beans, beets....What a garden! We have had so much fun seeing the "fruits" of our labors this summer in the garden. We have been able to share some of it with others too, and that is rewarding. I continually thank the Lord for Murdo MacDonald's offer to help me get it started. It's done quite well considering what a novice I am.

Gaelic Choir at Uig Communion

We have had numerous activities since my last blog...but I will try and digest them.... We had our 4 day Communion services in June. It took place in the Uig church and there were several guest preachers and we ended the Sunday communion with a "Praise Gathering". Our neighbors from the Staffin Parish joined us for great singing and "tea" afterwards. It was especially nice to hear Gaelic songs and a young boy led a Psalm in Gaelic for those there. Gaelic is such a beautiful language and the singing is particularly touching.

The summer brings lots of tourists to Skye and we have had the privilege of meeting Roger and Pearl Page, and their friend, Sandy Sanderson, after church a few weeks ago and invited them to our home for a meal. They were visiting the Skye during our communion time and ended up coming to every service during that week and even sang in the choir. They are from England and work with Christian Literature Crusade Publishers. We had great fellowship and prayer with them and offered to send children's books for us to give out at our Holiday Club. They sent two lovely boxes of books that the kids really appreciated receiving at the end of the club.

Books donated for Holiday club

Ruth and David

Another couple, David and Ruth live in Edinburgh and produce a Christian radio program. They were visiting Skye and heard Robert preach one Sunday recently. They asked if Robert would do an interview for one of their programs. He did and we had such a great time of fellowship that we ended up having them spend the night with us. We will go to a Praise concert in Perth with them next week. It's been such a blessing to be encouraged by these "visitors".

Having a good time at Holiday Club...at the Skeabost Community Center

Casey Ann is a 6 yr old who loved Holiday Club!

Our most recent activity was a "Holiday Club" (a Scottish version of "Vacation Bible School"). We were privileged to get Jonathan and Elizabeth Tink to lead in that. They are missionaries at Elgol. They have been in full-time Christian ministry for several years and felt the Lord's leading them to Skye.They were joined by three ladies from Faith Mission. We shared them with the church in Portree where they did the club in the morning and then came to Snizort parish for a 5 day afternoon club. We weren't sure how it would turn out, there hasn't been a Holiday club here in many years. We were encouraged that around 15-20 children attended each day. The "Names of God" was the theme and there were songs, puppets, and lots of bible verses and stories along with crafts. The children had a wonderful time and were asking if we would do it again next year. Our ladies in the parish volunteered to bring food for the team's evening meals which made it very enjoyable. We had a house full of guests and it was such a blessing! We love company!! (Hint.. Hint!) We are so thankful for those who have contributed to Heart Matters, as it would have been impossible for our parish to absorb the total cost of the club. We are praying that the Gospel seeds planted will take root in the children's hearts.

Another major event was Robert and I passing our UK driving tests. It was a challenge...the theory test was easy, but the practical test proved to be a bit more difficult. Linda passed the first time around, but Robert had a little set back and failed it. However, a month later (after Linda had to be the designated driver!) he passed it. He was so relieved...(and so was Linda.) We both agreed the Lord was continuing necessary sanctification...

We are excited about a trip back to the states the end of September to see family and friends. Hopefully we'll have another blog before then. May the Lord richly bless each one of you!!!

Spring Progress

We can't believe that May has come and gone already! Elizabeth, our youngest daughter, her husband Craig, and our grandson, Cal, came for a wonderful visit in May. We were in Edinburgh for the Church of Scotland General Assembly when they arrived. We enjoyed exploring that area around Leith with them seeing the Scottish Parliament building, the old docks, fantastic seafood restaurants, as well as touring the Britannia Yacht used by Queen Elizabeth for many years. It was "decommissioned" and docked in Leith. That was quite interesting, to see such a historic and beautiful ship that Queen Elizabeth designed herself. It was also interesting to read about all the notable guests who joined the Royals as they sailed all over the globe.

We had tea in the balcony room where they use to gather and play games and dance, etc. It was fun seeing it all with Liz and Craig....Cal slept through most of it! He was a real trooper when we did our sight-seeing jaunts!



We spent a week home on Skye, where they all experienced life in the rural community of Snizort
Parish! We bottle-fed baby lambs, picked fresh strawberries, talked to the cows, visited the only sheep tannery in Scotland and

experienced gorgeous sunsets over the loch. We also had fun playing with Cal. He seemed to thrive on 4 adults making him the center of attention!

He wore his new kilt and sporran to church on

Sunday night and everyone was impressed with his cheerful and quiet disposition as well as his outfit! It was hard seeing them leave after such a good time, but we are comforted in the fact we will be back in the states in October for a few weeks.

Several have asked about the garden...it's starting to grow and it's exciting to see things sprouting. I had to make a scarecrow, and so went online and read about the method of making them. I came up with a pretty good one. She looked better before the rain and wind beat her down though! We have eaten lettuce this week, and anticipate that being the first of many good things...like brussel sprouts, beans, cabbage, carrots, turnips, artichokes, onions, leeks, rhubarbs, strawberries, blackberries, etc.

Murdo left for two weeks, and I know the weeds are bad, but I honestly can't tell exactly which are weeds and which are the veggies in some places...so I'm awaiting his return for guidance and some further instructions!

We are enjoying the youth group. We have grown to 4 youth now, and are getting better acquainted and having fun with them. After we talk about the book, Crazy Love, and have a time to pray, we play games. Can you believe they love the old game "Pit"? We brought that with us...and they are really enjoying it. We played "Taboo" this week, and it was interesting how many words they don't use here.... For example, our word trash is "rubbish" here. A sweater is a "jumper". A driveway is a "brae". A yard is a "garden". The list goes on and on. So, word games are somewhat challenging! It's refreshing to spend time with the youth. One of them, DI, is particularly keen on coming to church every week and very interested in spiritual things. We would appreciate your prayers for him and the others who attend.

Robert is preaching through the "Sermon on the Mount" on Sunday mornings and is spending several weeks expounding on the "The Lord's Prayer". We have had several visitors who are here on "holiday" (vacation). We had a couple from Germany last Sunday and they were so appreciative of Robert's Texas accent. Said they understood him much better than they did the Scots! We appreciate your prayers for him, preaching at Uig and then driving 30 minutes and preaching again at Arnisort. The groups are small in each place, but people want to worship close to where they live rather than combine together further away. We do have a joint service on Sunday nights at Kensaleyre. We are hoping to have an outreach holiday club next month for children and have asked a young minister and his family to come and lead it. We would appreciate your prayers for that.

We have had to study and then take UK driving tests here recently because our Texas licenses are only good for one year...We both passed the theory tests without any problem. Then we got to the practical test. Well, let's just say that Robert was nervous. He failed. Linda is now his chauffeur until he can take it again. She got to watch him while he was taking the test and learned all the "do's and don'ts"! She took the test the next day and passed with flying colors! Robert says it's all part of God's sanctifying work in him. Linda agrees. Now he has to be a passenger! Ha! He will retake the test in July. Hopefully he won't be nervous and will succeed without further delay!

Big News!!! Heart Matters, our 501C3 non-profit corporation, was finally approved for tax-exempt status recently. We have a wonderful board of directors, contributors, Christian lawyers and an accountant who have such a great encouragement to us in this process. We are excited about the possibilities of this ministry. As we have expressed in earlier blogs, the churches here are so small that they lack the financial means for any "extras" ie. training materials, discipleship seminars, children and youth ministry outreach, or perhaps subsidizing some of the youth going to summer camps. If any of you are interested in donating to Heart Matters Ministry, all donations are tax deductible. If you would please send any donations made out to Heart Matters via Craig and Liz Goedecke at 145 Lamont, San Antonio, TX 78209. We appreciate your prayers and support so much! And remember, we are always ready to welcome visitors! If you are interested in coming, let us know. We would love to have you. As Craig and Liz discovered, this is a BIG MANSE! We have plenty of room and there is loads to see and experience on Skye. Bless you!!

Adjusting Our Pace to Rural Living

The reality of living in a rural community is really "sinking in"! It's "lambing" time and that means several of our parishners are sleep deprived! Crofters around here have lots of sheep, and this time of year those sheep are all having their lambs...some of them triplets! They have to be vigilant and make sure that the lambs are delivered without complications and then monitor their progress. Linda visited a couple of crofts yesterday and took some pictures. The sheep that are amost ready to deliver their lambs are kept in the barn with lots of hay and water. They are frequently checked on to see how things are progressing.
The newborns are licked by their "mum" to stimulate their movement and sucking reflexes. If for some reason the mum doesn't take to the lamb or allow it to suck...which fortunately is somewhat unusual, the crofter has to feed it with a bottle. Apparently that is quite a time consuming task as they like to feed alot like a newborn human baby. For those of you who already have all this knowledge, forgive our repeating it! Of course for city folks, all this is new and facinating! Linda wanted a lamb to bring home, and almost had Robert considering it...but everyone says that isn't a good idea if you don't have to do it! One American lady who lived here decided she wanted to have a pet lamb and put disposable diapers on it so she could keep it in her house. The Scots thought that was pretty funny. Linda is not that American woman...but she could definately see how that would be an option if you wanted a pet lamb!


Our gardening project is continuing to expand and make progress. Robert has, of necessity, gotten involved in digging and shoveling. When you have an 89 year old man, and a whimpy woman, someone has to do the hard stuff! Digging 6 rows for potatoes and then shoveling manure on top is not a job for the "faint at heart"! Robert was up to the task, and will be rewarded by hundreds of potatoes...We don't know what we will do with all of them! SIX ROWS! Murdo assures us that they will clear the ground for further planting and that is one of our main goals this year! There are a variety of 6 kinds, so that will keep us from boredom!Murdo has recently donated a Victorian Plum tree to our garden project, as well as numerous vegetables seedlings...and those will be planted in the next few weeks!

TRADITION! We were watching "Fiddler on the Roof" the other night and were amazed at the similarities in that culture and here. In one scene, Topol is talking (or singing) to himself about certain traditions and says "So you ask why we do it that way?" He pauses, smiles, and replies, "I don't know!" We are finding quite alot of that here! Living in a rural community, where so many have such a long history of ancestors and ways of life, has it challenges for "incomers". But we know God has called us, city folks from Texas, and we trust that He will fulfill His purposes in His way and in His time! We are now, and could be for some time to come, in that stage of "preparing and planting"....and waiting to see what comes up! God will produce the growth.

Robert has given out the book "Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands" by Paul Tripp to the Elders and their wives and has started the "Changing Hearts, Changing Lives" DVD series.  We think it is a good opportunity to share with the Elders how to incorporate biblical truths in everyday life. Please pray for wisdom as Robert lead that series.

Linda recently started up a new Women's Bible Study. They are studying "Women of the Bible". She is developing the questions and study herself, rather than using any particular study guide, and that has been a real blessing to her. She also published the first newsletter for the parish, with pictures, events, and upcoming information. We are hopeful that this will contribute to the unity of all three congregations, as they know more of what is going on around the parish.

We have started meeting with the youth. We have 3 at the moment who seem committed and eager to participate. We are using a book called "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan. He is a quite dynamic person and has a great way to communicate with young people. If you want to check him out, you can find out about him at http://www.crazylovebook.com/ . We will discuss the book and watch a short DVD segment, play games, and eat (of course)! We hope to build the group and see more teenagers here come to Christ.

One of Robert's ministry opportunities is going to schools in our parish and sharing a short devotional. It's a great opportunity to meet kids and teachers and share the gospel. He recently took all the makings for nachos to one of the schools and the kids had fun learning how to make a "Texas" treat!


We are looking forward to a visit from our daughter Liz and her family at the end of May. We are missing our family and friends in the states, so this will be a refreshing time! We invite all of you to come visit us!! We live on an absolutely stunning island IN SCOTLAND! We have 4 bedrooms. We are eager for visitors! So, "Ya'll come!"

New Life

There are signs of approaching spring, even with snow and frost all around. The heads of previously planted bulbs are coming up all around our yard "garden" (even the grass part is called the garden). It will be fun to see what kinds of flowers they produce. One of our parishioners, Murdo MacDonald, a retired horticulturist, had asked me when we first moved into the manse if I would be interested in a garden(vegetables and fruit kind). I told him I had never had a garden and he wasn't put off by that, he just said he would help me. There had been a substantial garden on the side of the house in earlier times...and there is a huge fenced off area that is proof of it. He suggested we start with potatoes, as they apparently "clean" the soil. He proceeded to spray a good portion of the garden with "Round Up" to kill the grass that had so thoroughly taken over, and put a big piece of our old manse carpet on top of the sprayed area to make sure it died. He said another parishioner would bring his tractor over in April and plow it up. Murdo has also built us a box for strawberries, as they do quite well here. He said we would need to put netting over the top to keep out the birds. He and Robert recently transplanted a black current bush to the garden area, and we will also plant raspberry and blackberry bushes. I am very excited about Spring's arrival and then the long days of summer. I know I can buy those items at the supermarket, but I think the satisfaction of seeing it come from our garden will be rewarding and exciting. I also know it will be alot of work, weeding and making sure they grow without harm.

Robert and I feel like we are involved in a "garden preparation" in our parish. We have found the "soil" of some hearts to be quite prepared for receiving the Word of God with joy and acceptance. The women's bible study at the manse every Wednesday afternoon is already bearing fruit. One of the lady's daughter told me that she couldn't believe the difference in her "mum" since she has been attending church and bible study. There are others in the parish who have been long neglected, and their hearts are filled with "weeds" of legalism, unforgiveness, and unbelief. Robert has been preaching through the Sermon on the Mount each Sunday morning. Jesus focused on the hearts of people, not their outward religious actions. Here in the Highlands, in particular, there has been such a reaction to "pagan practices" and Catholicism, that many of the ministers have focused on outward practices rather than inward faith and the grace of God. It has resulted in many parishioners feeling like they will never be "good enough" to join the church and participate in communion, even though they have put their faith and trust in Christ as their Saviour. We have encountered this many times here already. We are so aware of our weaknesses and need of God's grace in this place. We want to be instruments of the Great Gardener of Hearts. We want to be available to weed, cultivate, fertilize and plant Gospel seeds that will produce a glorious harvest...all to the praise of Christ. We covet your prayers for us; for wisdom, vision, strength and above all a great love for these people. "For the love of God compels us"(2Cor 5:14).

A Smooth Transition to the Manse

From the "Wee Cottage" days, alot has transpired! Robert was "Inducted" the middle of September, we moved into the manse, Linda left for a couple of weeks of babysitting in San Antonio, and came back with her sister Paula. While she was in San Antonio, our crate arrived, so she and Paula "hit the ground running" when they arrived in Kensaleyre. With Paula's and Linda's creativity on all time high, they were able to get all things unpacked and decorated within the month Paula stayed with us. We all managed to do some sightseeing as well..as many of you have seen through Paula's pictures on Facebook. She is quite the photographer! We so appreciated her coming and helping us with the transition. She benefited from early Christmas shopping and learning how to bake shortbread and scones!




We got things in "full swing" during the holidays with a Christmas party for the parish...first anyone can remember...at the Skeabost Hotel Conservatory. It was so much fun and everyone felt it was a good way to mix the 3 congregations. There were games, crackers (pull apart and they sound like a firecracker), salmon and turkey, sticky toffee pudding, mincemeat pies.... Christmas caroling and a short devotional by Robert. It was a great success and we think we will do it on an annual basis. We had lots of visitors and some expressed an interest in joining us for worship.

Another event we had during the holidays was an Open House. We wanted the parishners to have the opportunity to come and enjoy Linda's Christmas decorating and baking. We have a desire to make people feel welcome at the manse...and show hospitality. Everyone was very gracious and many stayed the whole time. That's a good sign!


For Christmas Eve, the church was filled with visitors who had seen an ad in the local newspaper about the service. It was great having them come and Robert preached a short message and we served tea and mincemeat pies afterwards. Our fellowship hall was packed!




We spent Christmas Day with Ben and Annette Johnstone..they had invited an elderly lady and another couple from their church for turkey dinner...all complete with Christmas cake, and other assorted goodies. Morag joined us later. It was so nice to be with our Scotland "family" on that special day!
Then we had a New Year's Day noon service...that was well attended, as parishners wanted to start the new year in community worship. We had never participated in that kind of a service before, so it was quite refreshing...


During the holidays the whole of the UK went into the deep freeze! I think someone said it had been 50 years since it had been this snowy and cold. All over the country people have been stranded as they tried to travel and salt and "grit" (sand and salt) have been in high demand. We have a 50 yd. incline on our driveway and it has been a great source of challenge to navigate! We have had to park at the bottom of the hill (or I should say the "brae)..that's what they call drive ways. But, we have thoroughly enjoyed the beauty of it!















We just returned this week from a pastor's conference in central Scotland. It was a very uplifting and inspirational meeting...with about 150 pastors and some spouses in attendance. The speaker was from Ireland and he did an overview of 1 &2 Thessalonians, Romans and 1 & 2 Corinthians. It was all geared to encouraging ministers. These pastors are "conservatives" within the Church of Scotland...and hold to inerrancy of Scripture. Some are in parishes that are quite liberal and we heard stories of some whose elders weren't believers..so they are persecuted for holding firm to the Word.

One of the several couples we met are pictured here, Andrew and June MacGowan. Andrew was the founding president of the Highland Theological Seminary near Inverness. He is now a pastor in Inverness. He has traveled in the states alot and knows about Westminster Seminary and we had some common acquaintances...like Steve Cairns, our brother-in law. It was fun talking to them about their strategies for reaching those in their parish. They are very enthusiastic and committed.


I know this post is quite long...but felt like we need to catch up! We'll be better now about keeping you up-to-date !! We covet your prayers for us here!