"Falling" Forward in His Grace!

 

How does Your Garden Grow?

 



Looking for Slugs and rabbit damage!

Lots of potatoes (however a bit smaller this year), turnips, less cabbage, snap peas, regular peas, lettuce,  and onions have been unearthed, pulled up, picked, etc. Carrots, parsnips, celeric, fennel and beetroot soon to come  and weeds continually competing for prominence! Rain often keeps me out of the garden but not the rabbits! I didn't think we were going to have any cabbage left, they were being so greedy. However, we were able to get chicken wire around the whole perimeter of the garden (and that's alot of chicken wire!) and so far it looks like they haven't been able to wiggle under it and get back in! Robert had tried some techniques (unsuccessfully) previous to the chicken wire to scare them away, which I will leave to your imaginations!

We enjoy sharing the produce with neighbors and friends as well as serving it up for those who come to the manse for a meal.  We have been serving up lots of meals here; visiting ministers who come to do communion week services, church members, visitors to our churches, fellow presbytery ministers and even some hitchhikers!

We had a great "Holiday Club" this summer, with Jonathan and Elizabeth Tink planning the program. This year we had 18 children attend and we were thrilled so many came along!  On the last day of the club, parents and relatives came to watch the kids singing, reciting scripture verses, and hear the bible story for the day. We served up some highland baked goods and tea at the end. It was nice this year to have several from our parish volunteer to help us. We were a bit nervous, only having the Tinks and ourselves to run the club this year (last year we had a team come in). However, several of our folks "stepped up to the plate" and it was great!
Communion in September.....Roger and Pearl Page and Sandy Sanderson came again for our September communion services...all the way from London area! In a previous blog, we wrote about their 40+ years in Christian Literature Crusade ministry. They attended a communion here in Snizort Parish a year ago while they were here on Skye for holiday. Since then, they have planned their holidays to coincide with our communions. What a blessing they have been to us personally. This last communion, Roger and Sandy each preached at one of the 4 "Preparatory Services" before the actual communion service on Sunday morning.

Fall youth meetings have started up and we have increased to 10 youth! They are a lively bunch!  With the 3 new attendees being 12 years old, there is a new dimension of energy in the room!! We are looking at a Norwegian missionary's life story, and the youth are "keen" to hear what will happen next time we meet. Please pray that all those who have yet to respond to the grace of the Lord will do so this year. 

Robert and Jonathan have the opportunity again this year to go into the schools every 2 weeks to do a devotional. They use a puppet monkey "Leroy" and he has captured the kids attention with all his antics. What a rare opportunity it is here in Scotland to go into public schools and share God's Word on a regular basis!  There are 60+ children at MacDiarmid Primary school and 15+ at Edinbane. We appreciate your prayers for them!

Robert and Jonathan also alternate preaching each week in the different churches in our parish. Robert has been greatly relieved to have 2 services on Sunday, rather than 3! We are so thankful to the Lord for bringing the Tinks to help us here in Snizort Parish! We have been so encouraged by their coming alongside us in ministry.
The women's bible study continues to be a big blessing for Linda. We consistently have 9-12 women coming each week to the manse to study God's word. We have been using the book "Lies Women Believe" by Nancy Leigh DeMoss as the guide in our study. The ladies do their homework each week and we have had some good discussions. Our fellowship and love for one another has grown over these past 2 years together.

Even with all these great opportunities for ministry within our parish this summer, there has also been a heaviness in our spirits over the decisions of the recent General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. In the Lochcarron Skye Presbytery, of which Snizort parish is a part, there are 5 out of 9 ministers who plan to leave their parish ministries in the near future. The decision to allow practicing homosexual ministers freedom to keep their positions and to stay on a "trajectory" to ordain practicing homosexuals to ministry has created a great division in churches, presbyteries and the denomination as a whole. William Philip, pastor of the St.George Tron Church in Glasgow, expressed our (and many others in the Church of Scotland) sentiments about this decision quite well in a letter to his congregation. Please take the time if you can and read it yourself: http://new.tronmedia.org/news/from-the-minister/
It's a sad thing when Scripture is basically ignored and a denomination takes a path toward being "culturally correct" rather than standing by what God has revealed to us very clearly in His Word.
Some ministers have said they want to wait until 2013, when there will be more definitive legal moves, but others say that C of S has already crossed the line and it's time to go now. We are among the ones who feel they can no longer stand "under the banner" of the
C of S. It is very grievious to us and other ministers to leave their "flocks".  Many church members are leaving as well. We greatly appreciate your prayers for us as we seek to discern God's leadership in where He wants us to go from here.
We are headed back to states for a visit soon and hope to see some of you there. We are expecting a new grandson this month and are looking forward to meeting him! Blessings to all of you!! 

Highland Spring and Summer

You barely knew it was springtime or summer, as far as the weather is concerned. Yes, the temperatures have been milder and we haven't seen snow lately....but yet....so much drizzle and grey almost all the time. We have had serious talks about getting those lamps that imitate sunlight. Some of our friends have them and say they really help the doldrums you get with so much grey and wet weather. However, the dafodils have bloomed and faded, and it's warm enough to see the purple flowers on the heather poking through. They do brighten up the surroundings! Earlier in the spring we had the snowdrops blooming all over. They are a smalll white wild flower that is rampant around the highlands early March.

Robert, Jonathan Tink and Murdo on the way to shovel
horse manure for the garden! What great guys!

Because the calendar says it's spring, it's time to get the garden ready. Murdo MacDonald will be 90 years old this year, and is still active and eager to help this Texas lady perfect the art of vegetable gardening! I have been writing everything down this year...as my memory is quite sketchy on occasion. I was given a wonderful "Dodos Book of Gardening" that has lots of empty pages and places for notes on your garden. My friend, Marianna, had Murdo write down what I needed to do each month in the garden and then presented the book to me for Christmas. So, the seeds were sown, the electric propagator ran in the garage to keep the plants warm. That was crucial, as it has been so cool here this spring. The horse manure was shoveled into bags and later spread generously over the vegetable plots. We expanded the garden to almost twice the size it was last year. Now it's the middle of June and all we need is some good warm weather!  Hopefully I'll have some good pictures later on of produce harvest time!


It's been quite awhile since I last blogged, so here is a synopsis of some of the activities we've been involved in so far this year.
 

Rosemary MacDonald, Ann Allen, and Linda

We had "North Skye Mission" in March. The Church of Scotland and Free Church congregations get together for a series of meetings with some very good preaching! Martin Allen (he's a retired minister who overseas the Crieff conference for ministers each year) preached for the 4 services and was very inspirational. Also, his lovely wife, Ann, spoke on the Saturday morning to a large group of ladies in our Kensaleyre church. She talked about her 25+ years as a minister's wife. We all appreciated her openness about some of the struggles in ministry. 

World Evangelism Crusade missionaries came and spoke at the different churches here in the Northern part of Skye. We were privileged to host a young couple who are missionaries to the Congo. They were energetic and very committed to bringing the gospel message to a people in a very dangerous and hostile place. What an inspiration they were!  

Steve & Catherine McGoldrick-on left- missionaries to Congo

We enjoyed watching the wedding of the royal couple, Kate and William, at Murdo and Mairi MacDonald's house. Mairi provided an elegant "brunch" with china and quite a delightful assortment of sweets and savories! We felt like we were part of the Royal festivities, and it was fun experiencing it on this side of the "pond".

We continue to have the opportunity to meet with some youth in our parish on
Friday nights, most recently we have been doing "Christianity Explored" with them. We have really been blessed to have the Tinks help us with the youth. There are 5-6 who are faithful to come and we are most grateful for the opportunity to reach out to them with the gospel.
In May we had a great time with Linda's sister, Paula, and her husband, Steve, and their longtime friend, Evette. We spent a week in the Dumfries Galloway region of Scotland and then went on to Edinburgh, Leith, Pitlochry and on to Skye for one week. Unfortunately, the weather was less than ideal...(shall we say gale force winds for several days on Skye?) So, if anyone says May is usually a good time to visit Scotland,weather wise...take it with a grain of salt! It could be, but it also could be terrible! In spite of the weather, we saw alot, and had many laughs!

Caerlaverock Castle near Dumfries

Edinburgh Castle guides

Robert at a Medieval exhibit in Dollar learning how to use a sword!

(There's alot more to say about our time with Paula,Steve and Evette...but you can imagine what went on with this group of grown up hippies! Wild things! Ha!)

In June, Linda went home to Texas for a short visit. Our daughter, Sarah and her husband Josh came to Texas from Norfolk and the family hosted a baby shower out at Linda's parent's home. It was a great time to celebrate the coming blessing of a new little one...our 4th grandson! He will arrive sometime in September.
We would appreciate your prayers for Church of Scotland ministers and congregations at this time. At the General Assembly in May this year, there was a vote for the acceptance of homosexual ministers currently ordained within the Church of Scotland. Many congregations and ministers are against this move and are considering a response. We feel there will be many who will leave the Church of Scotland within the next couple of years. Our own parish, as well as Robert and I are opposed to the Church of Scotland's decision and are considering what response we should make. Please pray for wisdom and direction for us as well as all those who adhere to the authority of God's Word.
We have a Holiday club scheduled for July 12-16th again this year. We appreciate your prayer for that outreach as well. Thank you all for your prayers and support these past couple of years.

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!"