Eil Ean A'choe

Yesterday, I visited, what the travel magazines have called the “Most Picturesque” village on Skye for the last four years running. If I didn’t leave my camera at home!! I thought I had put it in my back pack, but I had not. I will take Linda there when she comes…22 days, yippee! The pictures of Plockton will be even more beautiful b/c my wife will be in them. Like so many other villages on Skye, Plockton is nestled in and around an ocean inlet with skads of shops and restaurants lining the main street which borders the water. It is a quaint, lazy little place. It is just across the bridge that joins the mainland to the Isle of Skye. I’ll show pictures in a later blog.

Big news, today!!! I am among the living…I have a phone in the manse. I will give out the number in the next blog...I will only have it for two more weeks and didn't memorize it. Talk about taking things for granted. Have you ever been without a phone for three weeks? I have had to go to church member’s homes to ask to use the phone and I have gone to the little red phone booths…you know the ones you have probably seen in British movies. I frequented one more than any other b/c it was just down the road from the manse about a quarter mile away. I started getting a little self-conscious about doing that b/c one day an elderly lady, whose house is just across the road from the booth, was looking out her window when I exited the booth. I could just read her mind: “Well, I never…another man setting up a rendezvous with a strange woman.” I don’t know if she ever saw me again, but if she did, I would not even want to imagine what she was thinking. J or should it be L?

I don’t have access to my blog right now, so I am sure whether or not I told you I am doing a short-story-run-through of Peter’s first letter to the dispersed believers. If I haven’t…I am. If I did, sorry. Tomorrow night we will be looking at 1 Peter 2. Pray that God will use it to encourage this generation “to long for the pure milk of the Word.” Someone recently told me that at one point in the history of Scotland, the people of Skye were know as the people of the Book. I pray that there will be a strong resurgence of that being true.

Yesterday, was a day that was more representative of the name of Skye than any other since I have been here. The name “Skye” is a derivative of a Gaelic term “Eil Ean A’choe” (Ale In A’kheów) that means “Isle of Mist.” That was yesterday. It was so misty and windy. The clouds were thick and heavy and just laid over the mountains like a thick cover. I have never seen anything like it in my life. I thought of Moses on Mt. Sinai as the glory of the Lord clouded the mountain. I did not take a picture, b/c it would not have captured the essence of what I saw. It was one of those “you would have just had to have seen it yourself” moments. And then around 9pm the wind picked up to near gale force and rained all night long. I was awakened several times in the night by the wind and rain. Today, continues to be quite cloudy, but there have been some breaks with momentary sun shine. Though the wind and rain proliferate, it is not what you would call cold. It is slightly cool, but not uncomfortably…at least for me, anyway.

All the wind here brings to my mind the encounter that Jesus had with Nicodemus as He tried to get Nick to see that it was not what He did to get God, but how God moves upon the hearts of people by His Spirit. And with that I close for now.

John 3:8 (NASB) "The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit."


Below is the church at Arnisort.

Blog for 7-14

Today, the Isle is experiencing the kind of weather that is typified in pictorials of Scotland…deep, deep heavy mist hanging over all the mountains…drizzly rain and a cool breeze…oh, how I love it!

I preached to about 90 people yesterday, most of whom, as far as I know, were believers. A couple of the elders have been good to mention to me people who have never made a public profession of faith in Christ who are in attendance. None have indicated a move toward Christ, as yet.

I visited with one of the couples that has been in the parish for over 25 years. They shed some light on why the parish is struggling so. The former pastor, who was here for over 5 years, pretty much tore the churches apart. As you know, there are three separate churches in the parish. Apparently, he played all three against each other with things like, “I don’t know why you guys can’t do things like the other two”; belittling the elders (his actions caused four to leave the churches); playing favorites with different members, etc. The couple told me that the parish is about one third the size it was when he came. They said he was slovenly, crude, never visited the members, was decent in the pulpit, but did not take care of the flock. They are desperate for someone to lead them. There is a young pastor who will do an interim here for the next six months after I leave. I have met him and he is very biblical and has a heart for this area. Please pray for the healing of hearts in this parish. There are some very delightful and committed Christians here.

I apologize for not up-dating you on the funeral. I really thought that I had done that, but looking at the blog, I realized that I had not done that. I know that there were those of you who were praying for that event. The church seats 100 people. There was not an empty seat in the church. Fortunately, Tuesday (the day of the funeral) the weather was absolutely stunning…Monday was windy, cool and rainy…and so the 100+ people who had to stand outside for the funeral were not encumbered by the weather. The man who pass was truly loved and respected. There people from all over the Isle of Skye and several people had come from two of the outlying Hebrides. I spoke about the certainty and finality of death…that no one knows the determinate time when God calls for one’s life…that today is the acceptable day of salvation…that George’s life represented a life a life that had been touched by God’s saving grace. Quite a number of people spoke to me about how meaningful the service was and were thankful that the Gospel had been presented. Only time and the Spirit’s work through the Word will give evidence of the fruit. I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to speak of God love, through Jesus Christ to some who may have never heard of God’s mercy and grace before. Thank you to all who were lifting that opportunity before the Lord.

It looks like I will finally have a phone installed in the manse tomorrow, Tuesday, the 15th. PTL! This has reminded me about just how spoiled I have become to the basics of life. I don’t think I will ever take punching in some numbers on a little black instrument again. Technology is great, but you can sure become dependent upon it. Too much so, I’m afraid.

Only 26 more days until my loving wife joins me. Yeah, yeah, yeah. This has been the longest that we have ever been apart. When I was working on my doctorate, I went to Philadelphia for three summers at 2+ weeks at a time to do my modules. So to be away from her for six weeks has been quite difficult. We have had the benefit of email, but a computer monitor doesn’t do a whole lot on my lips. I am afraid that people in the public library would look suspiciously at my trying to embrace the computer box. All-in-all, the Lord has given us both peace and this separation has allowed us to focus more of our attention upon Him. And that is never a bad thing.

My goal this week is to visit some of the home-bound church people in the area. I am meeting with one of the elders on Thursday for lunch to talk about visiting some of the people who were alienated by the former pastor to see if the Lord would use me to bring some healing in their lives…you know that “good ol’ biblical counseling…speaking about “heart matters”.

Thank you for you continuing prayers. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:3-5 (NASB)
Amazed by His grace

Just knowing Jesus....the greatest blessing of all!

My trip to Dunvegan was a beautiful drive. It is about 25 minutes from where I am living now, in Kensaleyre. Dunvegan is a very small fishing and tourist community. A very old, perhaps one of the oldest castles on the Isle of Skye is at Dunvegan. I did not get close enough for any pictures of the castle. It is nested behind a heavy tree line which means you have to pay to even get pictures. I plan to take Linda when she arrives in Aug. I went by to look at the manse where I will live, but the fellow that is staying there now was not home so I didn’t get a look at the house. The view from the manse is nowhere near as spectacular as what I have here, though I am sure that it will be very comfortable. It is more remote than Kensaleyre. It is about 35 minutes outside of Portree, where I have my internet access, but it is very possible that the manse in Dunvegan has at least dial-up capabilities.

Went to see a gentleman in the parish who fell on Wednesday afternoon and cracked his head open. His wife told me about it on Wed. night at the service. He was doing much better. Still have some slight pain, but all in all he said he was doing well. Murdo and his wife, Mairi, were such lovely hosts and spent a little over an hour talking about the Lord, their children and mine, and about what the needs seem to be in the parish. They were very embarrassed that the manse is still without a phone and insisted that I use their phone to call Linda…which I did. Their graciousness and generosity was very touching to me. They also apologized for the groups kinda “hanging me out to dry” (their words) Wednesday night. I told them that I appreciated it, but that the Lord had me covered all the way.

I have been supplied with a brand new washer/dryer combination. The one machine washes and dries…it is quite remarkable. It is slow however…I washed two dress shirts, two pairs of Levis and an undershirt. That only took three hours…yawn. You have to be impressed…you would have thought this thing would say, “Made in China”, but no, it is made in Scotland. In fact, if you want an incredible read, look for the book entitled, How the Scots Invented the Modern World. The author escapes me, but you could Google it. Quite interesting.

The bright sky woke me at around 5:30 this morning. I showered, ate and began typing in my handwritten notes for my messages tomorrow. I have to make a run to the store in Portree and thought I would drop this blog online. I hope you have a blessed Lord’s Day. Pray for me as I do for you.

Awash in grace

This is the church sanctuary at Anisort

What a beautiful day...

Last night at the Bible study/prayer meeting, the Lord was faithful to His Word…where two or three are gathered in His name…well, we had three times that…six ladies and three men in attendance. Quite frankly, I felt like a fish in a bowl surrounded by nine half starved cats. This was the first Wednesday night meeting I have done in the Snizort Parish. The people of Scotland are very reserved. I have noticed that if I don’t ask them for their name when I introduce myself to them they won’t give their name. Isn’t that weird. It is just one of those cultural enigmas. All in all they are very friendly, but they don’t initiate their feelings well.

I am doing a quick run-through of several of the highlights on trials and suffering in 1 Peter. Last night we were reminded by Peter that because we have been born again we have an imperishable, undefiled inheritance in Jesus that will not fade away that is reserved in heaven for us. The trials of our lives are not there to beat us down, but to perfect in us the very same essence of trust and faith in the Father that was present in Jesus. Just one amen would have been nice to let me know the people were with me. However quiet it was, I had the confidence of knowing that God had led me to say the things I did. Afterward, four or five people said that they were encouraged and two, in particular, made a point of saying that what I said was perfect for that group. Apparently, several of them have had a rough go of it recently. One of the ladies asked me when I was going to share my testimony. She had heard from a friend in Broadford that I had given my testimony and that it had really ministered to several there. I told her that I would do it next Wednesday. So please be praying for that.

Some of you know how much I love the wind. Today it has been howling. Yippee! I have just come in from standing out in the almost gale-force gusts. The wind is coming in from the north and was quite chilly. I could only take it for about 30 minutes. I could have enjoyed it longer but a heavy mist is hanging over the mountains and I could actually feel the moisture. I can’t recall if I have told you this or not, but the sun doesn’t set here in the summer until about 10:45pm and the sky is still full of light until around midnight. And then the sun rises at about 4:30am. It has really messed with my sleep! For those of you who play golf, this is literally golf heaven. Just think, you could tee off at 5am and get in 5 rounds of golf, easy. Anyone ever played 90 holes in one day? Who knows, maybe I will give it a try while I am here….eat your heart out.

Tomorrow, I will be driving to Dunvegan, which is on the west central coast of the Isle. It is there that I will be serving during August and September. I thought I would go and just scope it out and see what I will be looking at. It is quite chilly today and continues to blow hard...I love it!!!

I will be preaching in Uig and Anisort on Sunday morning and then at Kensaleyre in the evening. Usually, an interim preacher is not allowed by the Church of Scotland to preach more than twice. I don’t know the rationale behind that, but the elders didn’t think that it would be a problem, since I am only in the parish for one month. The parish has been without a pastor for almost a year and the elders are the ones who carry the preaching responsibilities and since they have been at it that long, I thought I would give them a break. They each responded with smiles of appreciation.

I am continually amazed that my heavenly Father has blessed me with this opportunity to minister among the Scottish people. I don’t know what the eventual fruit of this time will look like, but I know that I stand on His promise that His Word will not return to Him empty, but will accomplish what He desires and achieves the purpose for which He sent it. (Is. 55:11) Thank you for upholding me before the Father’s throne of grace.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. Jude 1:24-25

The Word going forth...

I woke up this morning to a howling wind. For me, the stronger the better. I love the wind. And there was a light mist in the wind, which made it even better. On my way to Broadford, I just had to pull off the side of the road and stand in the blustering wind and thank God for His power and grace. I want to have the fresh wind of the Spirit on me the whole time I am here...for His glory!

Well, it has been a week since I was able to add to the blog. I was staying in Broadford until the Snizort manse was made ready for occupancy. I had access to the internet, there, but as of yet I do not even have a phone at the new manse. I have been told that one is in process. Every country has its own version of "red tape", and I think the phone system here embodies theirs'. Anyway, I am back in Broadford for the day, due to a funeral.


Ben Johnstone, the pastor of the Sleet Parish, is away in Italy for a wedding (thus, enabling me to stay in his home while away) and he had asked me to cover for him in the case of emergencies or funerals. Guess what? I will be doing my first funeral in Scotland. Though the man was highly respected and considered a wonderful gentleman and church-goer, there is no evidence that he ever made a personal commitment to Christ, in a public way. His family, his surviving children were equally warm and cordial to me (I am sure they never dreamed that their father would be presided over by a foreigner...though they did comment on the fact that, given the fact that my name did have Scottish origins, made them feel like I was sorta homefold). None of them have ever made a confession of Christ and I was able to share the Good News of Christ's saving grace. They gave me permission to say whatever I felt led to at the service tomorrow, so we will have a evangelistic service!! Praise His name!! As I told them, God desires that life come out of this death. The service is Tuesday, July 8, at twelve noon. For those of you reading this, that means if you are wanting to pray for the service, you will have to do so before you go to bed tonight, otherwise you will be praying ex post facto.


The manse that I am staying in, in Kensaleyre, is a two story home, with, get this, five bedrooms, a huge study, 2 1/2 baths, a huge kitchen, tons of storage space, a wash room, garage and a view that would be worth it if it were just a one room house. I will be there this month and then I will go to, what is referred to by others as, an even nicer house, in Dunvegan. I will be there in August and September, while Linda and her family come for a visit.




I preached in two churches yesterday...Uig and Arnisort. Each church had about 25-30 present and there was a warm reception by both to the Word of God. Over the course of the next three weeks, I will be preaching three times on Sunday and leading a Bible study at the midweek prayer service in Kensaleyre.



Please attend yourselves to Colossians 4:2-4. When you pray, pray this passage on my behalf.

What a view

Everywhere you look on this island the beauty of God's creative work is evident. There is another view, however. This view reveals the need for the Gospel in people's lives. There are so many churches here that have been closed. They are used as bed and breakfasts, some are used as civic centers, many former churches have been torn down and others, yet, stand in ruin, with trees and plants as their only parishioners.

So much of the power of God's Spirit worked in the lives of the men and women of the Reformation in this country. Today, there is an ambivalence to the Gospel or even the things of God. The lust for pleasure, the desire things and the rule of self occupy the pursuits of most people. The church itself seems to be in a place of discouragement and frustration. For example, the church I will be speaking in tomorrow night is one of four parish churches that is pastored by only one man. With fewer and fewer people pursuing the Gospel ministry, the fact is that there are many churches without any shepherd. The parish I will be working in for the month of July has three churches. In August and September, I will be in a parish that has two churches without a pastor.

I am terribly excited to be here. I want to be an encourager to the believers and an evangel to the gracious love and mercy of God.

As of now, I have no way to download pictures. I hope to that capability before too much longer. I was told that there will be a young man at the Bible study tomorrow that has some expertise in computers.

One of the Scottish friends that visited us last summer in San Antonio, took me to see the manse where I will be staying in July. The building, itself, looks in rather good shape, and I have been told that it will be well appointed with furniture by the time I arrive. I have been told that there will be a phone and internet hook up soon.

I have also been given the use of a little Ford Fiesta. It is in good shape and gets good gas milage...around 40 miles to a gallon. That is important here, for one liter of gas is 1£ and 30 (the equivalent of $9 a gallon)

For all of God's provision I am deeply grateful.

A funny thing happened on the way to Scotland

Well, after a pretty rough start to my day...I had to pay an $80 overage on my luggage...things seemed to be going pretty well, until I got to Atlanta. I thought that I would have about 8 hours to rest in the Crown Club, but as it turned out, Delta did not send my luggage all the way through to Inverness. I had to walk about 2 miles, all total, to get my luggage and then to the British Airlines counter, which by the way was closed when I got there. I had about two hours to wait befor they opened at 1pm.

I did get to the club room and had a nice four hour stay which was very relaxing. They had good food and comfortable chairs. I got checked-in in good shape. It even looked better once on the plane. The plane was sold out, and yet I and another fellow had the middle seat empty between us. Amazing we commented to each other. And then a woman with a baby moved in behind us. You guessed it. This child screamed almost non-stop for six hours. By the time the baby finally wore himself out, I was so wired I couldn't sleep.

I was picked up at Inverness by our friend, Morag. When had lunch with a friend and then on to the manse. I slept for 13 hours and went to church this morning and then to an open air meeting this afternoon. I was asked to share my testimony and it was a joy to speak about the grace of God and the power of His salvation!

Tomorrow I will go to investigate the areas in which I will be preaching over the next two months.