Along the Way 2

Getting Started

2009-05-17T13:41:00.000-07:00

This does not really look steep, but it was pretty steep! Of course the team up top got a good laugh comparing us going down vs. some nationals that headed down (probably not even on a trail since we were on it!!!)

Our guys helped load a broken moped into a truck.

I was curious what kind of class this was...we didn't interrupt...

A cricket game

Some curious onlookers...we got lots of curious stares going through the village!

This cute little boy followed us for awhile.

More people

Not sure if these were noodles or potatoes. I was scared to ask too many questions because I didn't want to be offered one...flies were all over them.

They wear such beautiful clothes...even to work in! Not sure how she gets the hay that high...maybe she climbs the poles?!

Photo shoot before our first hike!

2009-04-17T03:59:00.001-07:00

I was so excited to be out in the mountains and among the people. I started up on this team......but ended up on this one!

Here was the other team.

Praying before we headed out.

We made it up the mountain!!!

2009-04-17T03:46:00.001-07:00

The ride up the mountain was more tolerable for me this year because of the advice of a pharmacist about the motion sickness medicine...the view is amazing, and it was nice to better be able to take it in this year.

As we neared our hotel, the temperature dropped and storm clouds moved in. Thankfully we were safely in the lobby before the deluge hit...complete with hail! Dinner also got ready just in time to keep us from taking our bags to the room before dinner...the rain was much lighter when we headed to our rooms after dinner. We were so thankful to finally make it!

And they had tomato soup, one of my favorite things they serve. It was a great way to get warmed up from the inside out!

Bus Break Down

2009-04-16T10:40:00.000-07:00

The bus was on hour late picking us up...but we were soon on our way. A few minutes later, the bus broke down and we had to arrange for other transportation.

Will and Doug worked hard to get us up to the mountains...they had to make multiple trips to the airport to pick up teams arriving at different times...arrange a bus to replace the train that did not have seats for our new day of travel...arrange another bus after ours broke down...and arrange flights instead of an overnight train to allow us to have 2 days in the mountain! Great job guys!Tim was not excited getting off the bus while we waited for alternate transportation, but he did help supply muscles to push the bus to the side of the road!

At the airport

2009-04-16T10:22:00.000-07:00

As you know, we had tons of travel changes and problems...however, good did come of it! Our team of 10 came from 3 churches in two states. Because Karen and I joined the team at such a late date and because of scheduling conflicts, our team had only been together one time before we were at the airport. All the extra hours in the airport helped us get better acquainted and comfortable with each other. This employee worked so hard for us!

Trying to get a bit of sleep.

The London gang was the first to arrive...we got to shower (yeah!) and eat at Pizza Hut and do a little shopping...we were also able to get a good night's sleep in a bed!

Heading East Part 3

2009-04-08T13:00:00.000-07:00

MB called this morning to say that 7 men accepted Christ today! Praise the Lord! What a way to end a missions trip. They will be waking up soon to prepare to start heading down the mountain. She said that the moms of the "M's" were going to stay a couple of days extra. They called the airlines to check on the tickets and their tickets were cancelled due to they (the airlines) thought they didn't make it in country - due to missing their original flight. It was a poor connection but MB mentioned something about the return flights being full. YIKES! She didn't sound panicked and it sounds like Doug got it all sorted. My prayer is that the entire team's flights didn't get cancelled due to this same reason. That would mean their return flights would be just as crazy as their going flights:(

Please be in prayer that everything ends well.

Heading East Part 3

2009-04-07T06:27:00.000-07:00

The ministry is going well. MB said that a village that has been negative about the Gospel in the past has been very open to the Message. Praise the Lord!!!! It is awesome to see the Holy Spirit at work. The team is doing well. She didn’t mention any sickness – that is always good. Please continue to pray that the people of South Asia will be open to the Holy Spirit.

Heading East Part 2

2009-04-06T15:04:00.001-07:00

Well MB called me last night to share that the entire team was getting on a bus to travel to their final location. This morning she called and said she was finally there. It took so long because the bus broke down. Wow! Who would have known they would have so much fun before they get to the mountains.
Jeff

Heading East

2009-04-04T07:43:00.000-07:00

This is Jeff reporting in for Mary Beth. The past 24 hours has been crazy for the South Asia team. Due to weather in the North, their flight was postponed 3 1/2 hours. By the time they got to Newark, the South Asia flight already left...oh boy. The team of 10 got divided into three teams. Team one left this morning for England - that is the team Mary Beth is on. Team two will leave this morning also and go through France. Team three will go directly to the location. The team had a nice no sleep night in the airport. MB called this morning at 6:30 am saying she was getting on a flight. She will arrive in the final destination around 11 am local time Sunday. The last team will come in around 11 pm. The overnight train, due to the mix-up, had to be exchanged for a 12 hour bus ride. MB was not happy. The overnight train on the way out was replaced with a flight. That is good. Funny enough, they won't lose out on any ministry time. Be praying that MB gets some sleep and can be ready to hit the ground running.

Scenes from the big city

2009-03-30T07:45:00.000-07:00

It is so fascinating to observe all that goes on in this busy city. Some of it is humorous, some of it is intriguing, some of it is heartbreaking... Getting a shave

This just means that they are good friends.
This little chipmunk was hanging out at our hotel.

It's not uncommon to see whole families on one moped.

Sacrifices to a tree.

Wouldn't want to have to figure that out!

Dumping out coal.

Carrying goods

Selling fruit

A different meaning for a "phone booth"

Working hard

Shopping

Teamwork

Construction site...hope it's safer than it looks!

Not sure what they're doing...seemed like medicine.

This looks like it could fall in.

The BIG Event at the Mall

2009-03-27T16:01:00.000-07:00

We had several hours to kill before we headed to the airport, so we went to this mall. There were red carpets everywhere and we couldn't figure out why...as the night progressed, the excitement built! There were photographers...
lots of security (they wouldn't let you step on the red carpet, which was down every corridor)...

Loud music...

that these teammates couldn't resist dancing to!

A crowd was gathering.

Finally, a sign to give a hint...

The moment arrived...it was a fashion show!

More models...

Models leave...the whole thing took less than 10 minutes by the time the models got to the center stage... was a letdown after the hours of wondering and watching the preparation!

We just pretended like they all came to throw us a going away party!

Some crazy signs!

2009-03-27T15:16:00.001-07:00

This is a cool place to shop...there are separate areas for different goods...wood carved, marble carved, jewelry, etc...it's huge. You pick what you want from an area and take it to the counter. They scan it in and have it delievered to a pick up spot near the exit. You pay for everything at once at the end and then pick up your stuff...no hauling it around! Cool!

This sign reminds me of an experience we had at a mall. JJ, Carolyn, and I were shopping together in this store that's similar to a Bed, Bath, & Beyond. They had tons of employees and at least one in each area. We must have looked like cheats or thugs to them because the employees shadowed our every move. If we picked something up to look at it (which we tend to do when shopping), they would come right up on us.

We got a little sassy in the dish session where there was just one employee...we'd gather in a spot and look at something and then all three head in a different direction at once to look at something else to mess with him...I'm sure he was very thankful when we left the store! They did not shadow the nationals shopping, so it made us wonder what their thoughts about Americans are!

Idols are everywhere at this shopping place.
At KFC

Thanking the Hotel Staff

2009-03-27T14:17:00.001-07:00

The hotel staff takes such good care of us while we are here! We brought them some gifts as a thank you.

Because of the culture, only the men shook their hands in thanks.

End of Day 2

2009-03-27T14:00:00.001-07:00

These women and children were working on the roof of the house near where our bus was waiting...we passed out some candy to the kids.

Heartbreaking visit

2009-03-27T11:10:00.000-07:00

As we were waiting for the last team to get back, Kevin shared with the family right off the path.

It was heartbreaking to hear these women express their fear of punishment from their mother god if we/they talked to our Father.

More from Day 2

2009-03-27T10:46:00.000-07:00

This little girl was our shadow and spent the rest of the time on the trail with us...she is precious!This family was working in a field on our way out.

We left some music with these children.

He was checking out the music.

Other Hotel Happenings

2009-03-27T09:48:00.001-07:00

Is that not an unbelievable view?

Roomies!
Our awesome translators

Another view

Part of the Lodge

Singing

Eating with a beautiful view

It was cloudy/overcast the whole time we were there...this the only time we even got a peek of the snow caps...you can look at my photos from my trip in 2007 to see them better...the Himalayan Mountains are amazing! I think the entry is called "mountains"...creative, huh!? I was sad the first timers didn't get a better view of them.

Fun and Games

2009-03-27T08:46:00.001-07:00

I loved this team...such fun people to be around...here are some of the fun things we did when not hiking.

Kevin trying out a dupata!Each room had this light and frame like it was going to display some artwork, but it was just white...after she came out of the shower with her hair like this, I decided she could be our room's artwork!

JJ was trying to make me "pinky promise" that I would take some sleeping medicine that night...for some reason, I have a horrible time sleeping in that country...and a little delirious and slap happy at that moment!

Then for some reason we arm wrestled...of course I wanted to show this picture...I didn't do so well with my left hand!

The guys played some pool.

A little ping pong.

Not sure what they were playing, but they were having a great time!

And a game of Golf...card style

Traveling on the Mountain

2009-03-27T07:56:00.001-07:00

It's the families and people we encounter...

It's the children in the schools we visit...

and the homes in the remote villages...

and the precious children...

...that make travelling on roads like this...

...in traffic like this...

...all worthwhile!

Our desire is to spread Truth and Light into dark places.

Day 4

2009-03-27T07:16:00.001-07:00

We only did a half day of hiking today because it was time to start heading down the mountain and begin our trek home. Our team headed out in one direction, but we didn't find anyone home, so we went across the street and tried another path.

There were lots of people here! We also got to visit with a couple.

This lady was cleaning her dirt floors. They use a mixture of mud and dung...thankful I don't have to do that! Makes mopping the floor seem not so bad!

Sharing at the end of the day

2009-03-27T06:22:00.000-07:00

At the end of the day, I was able to share with some people we had seen several times throughout the day.

It was precious hearing this young girl read the Word in her language.

Kids along the road

2009-03-27T06:02:00.001-07:00

I was on the prayer team on this day, so we didn't visit houses, but we did get to interact with some children on the road.

Day 3 - Spider Entrance

2009-03-27T04:16:00.000-07:00

They were not joking when they called this the spider entrance. Here is a close-up of one of the spiders.

Here is one of about a million webs that had tons of spiders ..I was getting concerned about our bathroom breaks on this day!

These men were breaking up the rock with the sledgehammer and a pole...hard work!

The team getting some information on the area.

Once we were past the spider entrance, the view was beautiful!

My time with the children

2009-03-13T17:51:00.000-07:00

These girls were so fun! They are precious!

It was such a blessing that he showed up. This family spoke a different language, and he ended up translating for me when I was sharing with the children. How cool it was to see him sharing the gospel after he had just heard it for the first time himself when we were at his house!

We taught them the song, "I Will Magnify the Lord."

They caught on to the hand motions very quickly and I think they tried singing with us as well!

I loved, loved, loved spending time with these girls! Another heart connection! What an amazing day!!!

Day 2 Visit 3

2009-02-25T07:53:00.000-08:00

As you can see, the boy in the striped shirt popped up at our next visit as well.

Checking out the music we gave him. He actually put it on to play right then.

Isn't she beautiful?

There's her smile!

Day 2 Visit 2

2009-02-21T12:45:00.001-08:00

I was able to share with this family.

There seemed to be much interest in what we were sharing...so much so, that we passed on the name and number of a national that would be willing to follow up. I was very surprised to see him go inside and get a cell phone and program the number in! Hopefully they long to hear more...and believe!

Her daughter was sick and we prayed for her. Even though we were strangers that speak different languages, we made a huge heart connection that day. She is precious!

I don't know her name, but she is dear to my heart. Please join me in praying that we will see each other again in heaven!

Unexpected gifts

2009-02-21T12:18:00.001-08:00

We had a small chat here and said we'd stop for a visit on our way back up the mountain. She gave us beautiful flowers from bushes. Little did I know how much of a heart connection I would make with this lady later in the day!

Her son, who had visited with us up the mountain, passed out the flowers.

We travelled down the mountain more and stopped for lunch. The young man that passed out the flowers popped up again...we weren't sure if he was wanting to practice his English (he wasn't bad!), or was just curious, but he spent quite a bit of time with us this day. The two pretty young girls on our team probably didn't hurt either!

He told us more about the valley. Electricity had just come to this part of the mountain a year ago. I can not imagine how they got the huge heavy poles and wires down the mountain and in place...truly amazing. He really wanted to show us the puppies, but it was decided we didn't have time to go that far down the mountain. After lunch, we headed back to his house for a visit.

Day 2 Visit 1

2009-02-21T11:55:00.001-08:00

This sweet little girl was our shadow throughout the day!

These men are all related and live in this area of the mountain. They gave us some apples that looked freshly picked and we had a nice visit. They were heading somewhere and said they weren't able to invite us to tea right then. One of them had new puppies they wanted us to see at their house further down the mountain.

The Enchanted Forest

2009-02-21T04:48:00.000-08:00

This area that we passed through to get to our hiking trails was dubbed "The Enchanted Forest." It was really beautiful and cool!

You can't really tell in the picture, but this trail was so steep and rocky. It was tough going down and back up as well! It was a beautiful hike with some breaktaking views!

A bit foggy, but beautiful...all the trees gave the terrain a very different feel and look.

We passed these ladies on the trail...they had some major nose jewelry.

A little closer look. The women are so beautiful here!

Some beautiful flowers.

The sun was started to set on the way out. There were people that had shimmied up these HUGE trees and were cutting things down to use! Amazing!

The Overnight Team

2009-02-20T17:24:00.000-08:00

This was the first time a team was going to hike out and camp out to be able to penetrate deeper within the mountain. To decide who got to go, names were pulled from a hat. These were the guys that got to go!

Heading out!

One of their visits.

Bryan visiting with some children.

I don't know all the stories from this trip, but I know they had some great visits...a decision was even made! They also met someone who invited them for dinner and allowed them to sleep in a school...what a blessing that they could be protected from the elements and the wildlife!

On the way out

2009-02-20T16:17:00.000-08:00

This picture was for my mom! I came home from a trip without my family and had no pictures of myself. Mom told me it looked like I hadn't even been on the trip...every since then, I try to make sure I get a picture of just me!

We passed these boys who were on their way home from school. These kids deserve to do the "I walked uphill both ways in the snow" kind of stories for their daily trek!

A house we passed on the way out...it smelled like we were very near their bathroom spot.

I was amazed at how agile this donkey was. The path was very uneven and steep in spots. Amazing!

I think we were the last team in that day...we were hot and tired, but it was a GREAT day!

Day 1 Visit Four

2009-02-20T15:57:00.001-08:00

We were fortunate to have so many visits in a day's hike. This lady was sorting beans. I always love seeing the colorful assortment of foods and am amazed at how much work they accomplish.
I was able to share my children's story with these kids. My team members said the girl in the red skirt seemed really tuned in and interested in the message. She is able to read and is hopefully still reading and sharing with others the gift we left.

What a sweet visit it was!

Day 1 Visit Three

2009-02-20T04:18:00.000-08:00

This lady was out doing some dishes as we passed by. Our translator had a short conversation with her.

This child had some type of injury on the head. The purple stuff is some type of medicine. Prayers were lifted up for healing.

I didn't get a picture of the couple we visited and shared with. The kids were being a distraction inside, so I pulled them outside to play with them so the adults could focus on the message being shared.

My normal little games and tricks of the trade weren't working. I resorted to taking pictures of us and showing them to them.

These children were so cute!

Day 1 Visit Two

2009-01-18T03:31:00.001-08:00

Dark clouds and thunder rolled in . I remember thinking how interesting it was going to be navigating these steep trails if they were wet.

He happened to come upon this house just as the skies were ready to open up. As you can see, this family owned an incredible amount of farming land...this is just a portion of it.

We were visiting outside the home, and then the man invited us to go in for chai and cookies.

The stairs we used were right behind the water buffalo. It started raining on us as we were removing our shoes to go in. It poured while we were in there, but we had a nice long visit and it had stopped by the time we left!

I think she was the daughter-in-law...she was so sweet and beautiful. She served us the chai and cookies, but was too busy working to sit and visit with us. I was sad she wasn't able to hear our conversation.

This man was 80, which is quite old for mountain living. He was very strong and his mind still very sharp. It was a very interesting visit. He did lots of talking. He also did quite a bit of debating with our translator. He kept talking about how Brahim made the uppercaste (his family) from his head, the middle class from his hands, and the lower caste from his feet. He talked about days of British rule and war. He also talked about the upper class killing the lower class because they were converting to Christianity and buying into the concept that all men are created equal.

It was sad to hear him so resistant to the truths we were sharing, but despite that, he was very kind and hospitable and allowed someone to read from Romans and teach. Most surprising was as we left, he pointed out where his neighbors were so that we could go and visit and share with them.

His grandchildren were in the room during much of the conversation...hopefully God's Word will stay in their minds and penetrate their hearts and help them know that we were all made by a loving God that wants a relationship with us.

We were able to pray with the family and speak heartfelt words of praise for him being such a man of peace who welcomed us heartily into his home (not all will do this).

Day 1 Visit One

2009-01-17T04:01:00.000-08:00

After getting our assignments for the day, each team headed out to hike. The mountains were beautiful, and I was so excited to be done with all the planes and trains for a few days and be in the mountains among the beautiful people.

Not far into our hike, we passed a home where several women were home and on the porch. The original intent was not to stop yet...we usually head in first and visit on the way out...but my heart was longing to stop. Thankfully our translator, felt we should stop, so we did.

It is common for multi-generations and multi-families to be living in a house. We passed out candy to the children and began to visit. As we were visiting, one of our team members noticed one of the ladies wearing a cross necklace. When he asked if she knew what the cross symbolized, she said no...she just bought it at the market. He asked if we could tell them what the cross symbolizes, and they were fine with it, so I had the amazing opportunity to tell them about Jesus and what He has done for all of us.

There is a place in the story where it is natural to stop and see what they understand and how they are feeling about the message and ask them if it's OK if we share more. It was at this point, that the eldest female talked about her confusion and how she could not understand, and how she was not ready to hear more because of her confusion.

I was reminded of 1 Corin. 2:14, "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are follishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned."

I felt like you could visibly see the spiritual battle within her and the fear and the confusion Satan was throwing at her to keep her from understand the most beautiful truth of love, and hope and freedom that is available to her. It was so heartbreaking.

When we left, we gave the lady with the necklace the pictures drawn to help them understand the message. We told her to keep it and remember the meaning of the cross. Hopefully she will remember it and be able to share it with others and that one day their hearts will be penetrated by the message.

It was so difficult to see all the flies hovering all over the children.

A visit to a temple

2008-12-21T18:53:00.000-08:00

I need to back up a bit...I left out visiting the temple before we headed into the mountains. This was a good reminder of some of the mindsets we would encounter as we shared. We saw people ringing bells to waken their sleeping gods...I am so thankful that I worship a God that never sleeps and can hear me, no matter when I cry out to Him.

The person who built this temple believes that all four of these religions are equal.

People waiting to approach the guru.

Bowing down and worshipping an idol.

So many of the Indians are very religious, but they have yet to discover the One true God.

A Colorful Welcome

2008-11-30T03:20:00.003-08:00

I was so relieved to get off that curvy road and be in the mountains! We received a very warm welcome from the hotel staff.

The guys enjoying their juice...or is it the flower necklaces putting that big smile on their faces?!

The team with our translators and in-country leaders.

First Pit Stop

2008-11-29T04:21:00.000-08:00

We spent the night in a hotel before heading to the train station to get us one step closer to the mountains.

JJ was my roommate. We had lots of laughs as we worked around the fact that our bathroom light wouldn't work. It was pitch black in there. Thankfully she had a head lantern, which we put to full use!
It was quite a stretch to reach the toilet paper.
But we definitely fit in the bed better than Abe and Matt!

Getting there was NOT half the fun...thankfully!

2008-11-21T04:00:00.001-08:00

I am the kind of person that loves visiting places, but dislikes the actual travel it takes to get there....Praise God that I do not live in a time that took months to cross the ocean by boat or the country by covered wagon!

Thankfully along the way, I had some things to keep me going...

...like my sweet friend Melanie, who came to church at 6 a.m. to pray with me (and give me candy) before I left.

Even though our morning started so early, we were still only in Chicago over 12 hours later because of a humongous layover...as you can see...some passed the time reading, some sleeping...we also ate, played cards, etc. etc. etc. Thankfully the team was fun to be around!

Once we were in India, we still had 6 hours of train ride...the train station was quite crowded! Then we had a 3 hour bus ride up very curvy roads (my least favorite leg of the journey!)

But once we get there...it is SO worth it!

Fall Fun

2008-11-01T04:43:00.000-07:00

The girls had a fun Halloween with the school parties, visiting neigbhors, eating out, and going to Trunks of Treats at church. Annye wore an outfit from India. Maddie was a Jedi. Jeff made her costume! Maddie has been telling us for two weeks now what she wants to be for Halloween NEXT year! Of course, the ideas are constantly changing, but are still all things Star Wars. Maddie's class went to the Kentucky Museum and BRIMS Science Museum. We had a really fun day. We had a little dress up session while we were at the KY Museum.

We decided to head to Mammoth Cave to enjoy the beautiful weather and changing leaves while we hiked. The weather was beautiful and although the sites were beautiful...there was not much color there. We had a great afternoon together!

I have been out of the country the last two times my brother has been passing through, so it had been over a year since I'd seen him. Thankfully I got home from India the day before he passed through this time, so we were able to visit.

I have lots of pictures of these events posted on Facebook if you're interested in seeing more! Hope you've had a great fall as well!

The Beauty of Creation

2008-10-25T05:06:00.001-07:00

My friend and I were talking the other day about what a blessing it is that God made the world so beautiful and colorful...imagine the difference if everything was in black and white. I love the mountains and I love fall...so being at the mountains in the fall (with my family no less) was such a blessing! I hope as you experience the beauty and creativity in the world, it will remind you of how much God loves you! These are some of my favorite nature pictures from our trip.

From one set of mountains to another

2008-10-25T04:44:00.000-07:00

Two days after I got back from India, we headed to the Smoky Mountains for a family vacation. It was the first time for my girls to go, so it was fun to show them the places I went a lot when I was a child. Thankfully, some people offered to take some family pictures for us.

Why Not Now?

2008-10-19T08:06:00.000-07:00

We've been on vacation and our home computer has crashed, so I haven't started updates yet...but here is a story I sent to people on my blog distribution list. I'll post it here in case you're not on that list.

One thing I want to pass on about the trip now is from a situation one team experienced. They were talking with a lady that had heard the gospel from one of our translators at an earlier date. As they talked, the lady revealed that she believed that Christ was her Savior and wanted to be baptized. The team talked with her about ridding her home of idols and described different scenarios on how and when she could be baptized. The team said that they would talk to the translator, who could come and baptize her at a later date. One of the team members reported that after they had explained the gospel and situation for the fourth time (they wanted to make sure she understood what she was doing and was truly making this commitment), the lady responded with a question that I just can’t get out of my mind…”Why not now?”

Why not now?...so many times we come up with excuses on why not to go on a mission trip (too much money, too busy, kids too young, too scared of an area, too insecure to share our faith, too used to being comfortable, too addicted to creature comforts…). I know that there are legitimate reasons and excuses to not go…but they are normally valid for only a short season. Please pray about how and where you could go this upcoming year…it truly changes you in so many wonderful ways and allows you to see God at work and better understand how big He is and how much He loves the world.

Thankfully, the team did say, “Why not now?!” and they found (put together) a water spot and baptized her then and there. I happened to be on the prayer team that day. One of my team mates had prayed a prayer about Phillip and the Ethiopian eunuch situation repeating itself in this particular valley (see Acts 8:26-40 for the story). Although she prayed it because of a different situation a team encountered…how sweet it was to know that God answered with a resounding YES that very day and that we were able to experience it firsthand!

What a Great Day in Ministry

2008-10-07T07:48:00.000-07:00

The first couple of days of ministry have gone well. The hiking the past couple of days have been very strenuous. There have been opportunities to share Christ with others. Today there was one lady who accepted Christ as her Lord and Savior. One family that we shared with had a sick daughter that we prayed over for healing. Last year, this happened at a home and a couple of months later the Lord worked a healing. That family trusted the Lord as their Savior and started church. Please pray, that if it is the Lords will, that this will happen again.

Today, the long range trekking team went out. This is the first time that this has ever been done in this area. Nathan Mattingly, Nathan Fish, Bryan Keene, Matt Sheffield, Will, and Moses hiked 6 hours up the mountains. They are in uncharted territories – no one has heard the name of Jesus here. The first person they shared with accepted Christ. Pray for this new believer, that he might lead the area as the first pastor.

The team is having a great time. They are all healthy. Please pray for the team as they work through some jet lag…pray that they get some sleep.

More Travel

2008-10-05T08:09:00.000-07:00

The team should be in the mountains. They hopefully got a good night sleep in the hotel and some in train. If I were to guess, I would say they have gone up the mountain and are very thankful to be in their new home.

Please pray that everyone settles in well. Pray that everyone's constitution will stay good for the week. Tomorrow, they will start their ministry. Pray for the people of this area to have open hearts to the Gospel.

30 Hours Later

2008-10-04T10:55:00.000-07:00

Well, 30 hours later the team arrived in a very large city of South Asia. They are weary, travel worn, and ready for a good nights sleep in the hotel. They wake up tomorrow and back to travelling. They will have around 6 hours of train travel to get up into the mountains.

Please pray that they will get some good sleep and be ready to hit the ground running.

Departure Day has arrived!

2008-10-03T02:30:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited about leaving in just a bit to head out!

God has brought an illustration into my path two times this week that I want to share with you to help give you a visual of something that we hope to accomplish with our trip:

Hearts without Christ are cold and hard like a piece of ice. The gospel is like hot (even warm) water that when poured over the ice, transforms it and melts it. Our team will encounter many hard hearts in the coming days (won’t everyone no matter where you are?!?!). Please pray that we are Spirit filled and Spirit lead as we pour out the warmth of the gospel in this dark land. Please pray that the hearts that are exposed are transformed…that the process of thawing will at least begin….

As you fill glasses with ice this week, I hope that this illustration will come to mind and that you will take a moment to pray for the lost of South Asia.

My theme verse this year is Psalm 105:1 "Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done."

What a great to-do list to fulfill while I'm gone! For all of us to fulfill daily...maybe I should make it my life verse!

My sincere thanks and gratitude who go "along the way" with me through this blog and with your prayers. You are definitely an important part of the team! Be watching for updates when I get back!

My 20th High School Reunion

2008-09-27T05:29:00.000-07:00

We had our first reunion in the 20 years since we graduated! It was fun seeing so many people and catching up after all these years! Mary Beth, Carrie, Tricia, and Glenda

John and I were in first grade together!

We plan on getting together again before 20 more years pass!

My niece's 10th Birthday party

2008-09-27T05:13:00.000-07:00

The cookie cakes were cute and delicious!

Oops, I missed!

Kool Aid mustache!

The girls had a great time at the party!

Dog for a Day

2008-09-27T04:36:00.001-07:00

You just never know what you'll encounter when you work with the Burmese! The girls and I went for our weekly trip to help with homework...but there was lots of excitement that day! First, one of the teens showed up with a dog that someone had given him when they moved out of state. The dog was a big hit, but pets aren't allowed in the apartment complex. I quickly called my friend Caroline and asked her to call the Humane Society and/or Animal Control. Of course, it was after hours for both.

While the calling went on, the baby that had been in the children's hospital in Louisville arrived home, so went and helped them get settled and helped teach how and when to dispense medication. We were so excited they were home!

I had called Jeff, who had also unsuccessfully find someone who would take the dog, at least for the night...so...you guessed it...we ended up bringing the dog home with us! Praise the Lord, there was a small carrying case!

Our neighbor was extremely helpful in getting us supplies to make the dog comfortable during the night and even found a home for the dog the next day! Woo Hoo!
Annye begged to keep the dog...Maddie wouldn't even get close to it!

3 Celebrations - One Day!

2008-09-08T18:55:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning started with the baptism of this sweet couple!

Then the girls and I got to meet the newest addition to the Burmese community. Please be in prayer for him, his family, and the doctors. He is missing several fingers and others aren't developed normally (a couple of toes as well). The family is home now.

The night ended with this couple getting married! Our first Burmese wedding! It was a neat experience...baptism and marriage in one day! What awesome milestones to celebrate together! (She just arrived in Bowling Green from the refugee camp 10 days ago!)

It was quite an amazing day...especially considering it's the 15 year mark for Jeff serving at Living Hope!

James Hamilton Park

2008-08-31T14:20:00.001-07:00

This park was within walking distance of our house in Scotland. It was so beautiful! There were tons of birds, a walking trail, playground stuff, and lots of water activities, like canoes, sailboats, etc.
This is the loch at the park...the girls did ride the boats one day with their friend Olivia.
A family actually lives in this!
I love this picture of Annye!
One of the fun things at the playpark section.

Champions

2008-08-31T13:36:00.001-07:00

Calderwood is definitely a growing congregation, and the number of children involved has grown significantly over the past few years. Champions is an evening ministry for children. We were privileged to participate in their final session before their break for the summer holiday.Maddie playing with the parachute.
Mary Beth teaching.
Jeff and Annye playing around afterwards!

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

2008-08-29T04:10:00.000-07:00

One day in Glasgow, we went to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery (I didn't notice it also said museum until we got home...but it was quite evident once inside). It was huge! There were so many amazing exhibits throughout...we spent hours there, but you could easily do that many times over! We ended up rushing through just so we could feel like we got a glimpse of it all...it was amazing! And free!
The actual building was a work of art...both inside and out!

There were so many amazing paintings

There were lots of hands-on activities for the girls.

There was a bit of everything in this place!

Chris and Brittney's Wedding

2008-08-19T18:23:00.000-07:00

Chris and Brittney are part of our small group and are on the South Asia team with me (both last year and this year). They are such a sweet Christian couple and we were excited to celebrate their marriage with them!

A visit with the Burmese

2008-08-11T19:44:00.000-07:00

One of our top priorities when we got home was to go see our Burmese friends. Looking at my Scotland pictures.

I was excited to see my friend that had moved back.

I got to meet a new family that had recently arrived.

We've been busy this week helping the families fill out school paperwork. You should have seen Caroline and me on Thursday night at a picnic table with paperwork for 11 different children on a windy night! It was an adventure! Can you believe I didn't take a camera!?

Leslie and Zach's wedding

2008-08-07T06:30:00.000-07:00

We were home less than 24 hours before we headed to Mayfield for Leslie and Zach's wedding. Lesiie is Jeff's niece. Everything was beautiful and it was great visiting with his family. Jeff with Zach and Leslie...he performed the ceremony.

The Carlisle clan

Our Carlisle clan. After helping with some of the clean-up, we headed back to his sister's house and crashed so hard that we didn't later hear Jeff's brother-in-law knocking on the door because he was locked out...oops! Sorry Ronnie!

Trouble Getting Home

2008-08-03T12:21:00.000-07:00

During our 4 hour layover in Pittsburgh, we saw flight after flight get cancelled due to storms. Our 10:10 p.m. flight met the same fate. There were no hotel rooms available, so we, along with tons of other travelers spent the night at the airport. At least the girls got some sleep!

After hours of work, Jeff secured us tickets on the 10:10 p.m. flight the following evening, which would have put us in Bowling Green in the wee hours of the morning on the day of his niece's wedding rehearsal...which Jeff was leading...which was in Mayfield. Thankfully our stand-by status on an earlier flight turned into spots on a plane, so we were able to get home, sleep a few hours, repack (our luggage didn't make it home until Friday morning), and head to Mayfield just in time to go straight to the rehearsal!
Jeff trying to get a hotel room.The girls crashing at the airport.
Maddie made a friend, which helped her pass the time.

Going Away Party

2008-08-03T11:19:00.001-07:00

Thanks to all of your prayers, we were able to spend the evening laughing instead of crying. We made some special friendships over the past 5 weeks, and it was nice to have one more night together. Here are a few pictures:

I'll put the rest of the pictures on Facebook!

Girl Trip Part 2

2008-07-22T09:38:00.001-07:00

Lillias was amazing...we were able to stop at six different spots (and then some). On this blog post, Blackness Castle was the only one we were able to go in...all the others were closed, but they were wonderful to see.
Blackness Castle
House of Binns
Houptown House
Cairnpapple Hill
Torphichen Preceptory
This is the well where people from East Kilbride used to get their water. After looking in it, we are thankful that practice has changed!

Heading to dinner in Jackie's Convertible

All Girl Road Trip

2008-07-20T10:28:00.001-07:00

Jeff needed to work on Saturday and it was a nice day, so we called Lillias to see if she'd be up for a road trip with us girls! We ended up going to Linlithgow because I've wanted to see the inside of the castle since it was closed last time we were here. We got a tour and learned lots of information...much of which made us thankful that we did not have to be a servant back then or someone not in good graces with the castle owners...pretty scary stories. Going to all these castles has temporarily shattered my "Cinderella romanticized" ideas that I like to believe about castles! Jackie, Lillias' daughter, came along which made the girls day! They adore her and she always keeps us laughing! We did so many stops that I'll do post the rest on another link...I don't know how many more photos I'll get uploaded before we need to leave for our going away party.
Picnic Time!
This is inside Linlithgow Castle. The outside shot of it is at the corner of the blog at the top right hand side. This is where Mary Queen of Scots was born.
There was a wedding going on at the castle.

Linlithgow Town Centre

Glasgow

2008-07-20T02:15:00.001-07:00

We were going to climb the mountain Ben Lomand today, but the weather forecast was 4 degrees C with 25 mph winds...as you can imagine, we changed plans. We needed to find one item that had been requested from the states but had been unable to find yet, so we decided to head to Glasgow. Thankfully Alan was willing to drive us there instead of to the mountain and was able to help us find the item as well as see the following great sites. It was a great day!Glasgow Cathedral
People's Palace
Oldest house in Glasgow
Museum of Modern Art...some pretty strange exhibits!
We found a fun playground for the girls.

Alan and the church where he got married.

Dunure

2008-07-20T02:02:00.001-07:00

Dunure Castle
Checking out a rock pool.

Maddie was loving all the rocks around!

St. Andrews

2008-07-18T05:47:00.001-07:00

18th hole of St. Andrew's Golf Course...this is for you Dad!
St. Andrew's Castle
St. Andrew's Cathedral
St. Andrew's University, where Prince William went.
The girls couldn't resist the North Sea!
I loved this church along the road.

Other Castle Ruins we've seen

2008-07-18T05:22:00.000-07:00

Craignethan Castle
Cadzow Castle

Dunure Castle

Some pictures

2008-07-18T05:11:00.000-07:00

I've picked out a picture of some of the different places we've been to give you a taste of what we've been up to. I'll add more when we get home, which is quickly approaching!
Front of Chatelherault
Back of Chatelherault
Bothwell Castle

Where we've been

2008-07-15T10:52:00.000-07:00

Jeff's time with the men went great! They set up for 19...added to 25...ended up having 36! Heard some great comments from some of the men who were there! After that, David, one of our friends here offered to drive us east, a direction we hadn't really been yet. We did lots of driving and made a couple of stops at the water and ended up at St. Andrews. We visited a castle, cathedral, and St. Andrews golf course. We also went down to the ocean, where the girls couldn't resist getting wet! The beach was huge!

The next day the girls and I went to the loch with friends where a church was hosting some kids activities! It was fun and actually sunny and pretty warm! It ended up being our first rainless day in Scotland! Someone told me that Sunday's weather was how the weather had been until 2 days before we got here!

On Monday, we went to Dunure with friends, where we visited an unbelievable rock beach. There was a castle ruin and huge rocky crags (not sure if that's the right word...you can see when I get pictures up!) We were with different friends at that beach.

Today, we went to Rosslyn Abbey with an even different set of friends. It was unbelievable all the detailed carving in there. It killed me though because there were no photos allowed inside!!! I probably would have taken WAY too many if I could have though. This is the abbey featured in the end scene of the Da Vinci Code.

Tomorrow another friend (do you get the sense of good these church members are being to us?) is taking us to a castle and then on Thursday yet another friend is taking us to climb the mountain named Ben Lomond if the weather cooperates.

As you can tell...people are helping us squeeze in a lot in our remaining days.

Jeff had to come to church to get some work done, so I wanted to come and catch up. Picture uploads have not been cooperating, so I may have to wait until next time!

Kicked off the internet

2008-07-12T02:10:00.000-07:00

Sadly, I got kicked off the internet on Jeff's computer and didn't have the password to try again. I can get on this from the church computer, but the pictures are on Jeff's so it's not much help! Maybe I can come early for church tomorrow and try again!

MB

Harry Potter Train

2008-07-12T01:16:00.000-07:00

The train used in the Harry Potter movie goes under a bridge right by their house. Here are a few pictures.
Not a great picture...but this is the train from a distance and not "in costume." We didn't want to just stand and wait for it at the bridge...we had too much exploring to do. We did happen to see it here on our walk to the Loch.
This is the view from the bridge.

More Updates

2008-07-12T01:02:00.000-07:00

Jeff is speaking to the men this morning at a breakfast, so the girls and I came along so I can have internet access and the girls are playing hard (and quietly) with toys.

I have so many pictures I want to post, I don't even know where to start! I'll probably try to finish the Ft. William trip (Oh, how we wish we had time to go back!) and then show pictures from our big adventure yesterday.

We braved it out alone (well with the help of the GPS system someone is letting us borrow) and visited three different spots. It was a wonderful day! The GPS has mostly helpful, although it said we had arrived at our destination of a castle when we were on a dead-end street with only houses! (The other day, we were trying to get to a friend's house and it sent us to the police station! I think Jeff couldn't read my messy writing though and put the wrong post code in!)

The day was wonderful. It was cloudy most of the day and I was constantly shifting between 2 coats, to one coat, to no coat, but the rain held out until we were driving home. The amazing thing was these places were no longer than 20 minutes probably from the town where we are staying.

Jeff did great driving despite being on tiny, curvy roads that host 2 way traffic. They have periodic pull overs in case two cars are coming, but it's pretty unnerving. I tried to get a good picture. Here is one to give a bit of a view...hard to show how it really feels though!Yes that's a car coming towards us, but thankfully they had a pull-over because we were on the bridge.

Quick Update

2008-07-10T08:43:00.000-07:00

I realized that I’ve gotten so focused on sending pictures from our Ft. William trip that I haven’t updated you on what we’ve been up to this week.

We love Sundays were we get to visit with the wonderful people at Calderwood. There are so many wonderful believers in this church. They have been extremely accepting and generous towards our family. Annye helps in the crèche (nursery) each week, and Maddie participates in the Sunday club (Sunday School). The girls got quite a shock at communion at the Parish church Sunday night when the drink was not grape juice!

The girls went to see Kung Fu Panda with a friend. Jeff mowed the garden (lawn) with what he calls the Tonka Toy mower, a small plastic lawn mower that you have to plug in! The girls had a play date while we visited with the parents, and we’ve had wonderful dinners and visits with two different families from church. We also went to the Science Center in Glasgow with a church member. This provided hours of hands-on fun.

The pouring down rain postponed our trip to the beach, but is allowing us to do some laundry and household chores and rest up a bit. It has rained everyday here, but we’ve had more downpours and longer stretches of rain the past few days. The rain today made for a quite unpleasant walk to the gym, but I still figured it was better than trying to drive! I had to blow dry my pants before I worked out!

A note from Jeff

2008-07-10T08:42:00.000-07:00

Ministry has been a blur here in Scotland. The people of Calderwood have been very gracious in helping us see their country. We have been in about all of the regions in Scotland. The country is truly beautiful.

The first week I was able to speak in a private secondary school. The time was entitled, “Grill a Christian.” My platform was my military service as a Christian. The group was good, but there were some difficult questions about evolution, being a Christian in the military, and atheism.

I had the honor to be a part of Ian and May McRobbie’s Baptism. It was a very special time. I’ve also had some great meetings and experiences with a wide variety of people including a Baptist minister, a Church of Scotland minister, and a Free Church of Scotland minister.

I have been working with Calderwood Baptist and Claremont Parrish Church in preparation of this fall’s mission trip for high school students and volunteers from Living Hope. The time over has been a great opportunity to work out the details of the trip. The churches have named this partnership opportunity Hope 08.

Preaching every week has kindled more respect for senior pastors. Between all the travel and visiting various people of the church, I have been scrambling to prepare for each sermon. The people have been very kind and patient with my southern accent. Last week the Executive Secretary of the Baptist Union of Scotland came to the service. I am glad I found out after the service instead of before! I have two more sermons. The one this Sunday is to both Claremont and Calderwood. This Saturday I am also the keynote speaker at a men’s event at Calderwood.

Ministry here has been exciting. Like Americans, the Scottish are very busy. Most people choose to attend either Sunday AM or Sunday PM, but few do both services. To work about busy schedules, most meetings don’t start until 7:30 p.m…they tend to last until very late at night though!

Ft. William Hospitality

2008-07-08T05:33:00.001-07:00

The girls love Ian and Marion!
The Smiths welcomed us like family from the moment we arrived.
I had to take a picture of them in the kitchen...they fed us tons of great food. Their grandson told us to pack pants that stretch at the waist...now we know why! They are GREAT cooks!
You can see Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in Great Britain from their yard.
The Smith's graciously opened their home to our family. They were such a blessing. We had such a wonderful time sightseeing, eating, sharing devotion, and visiting together. What a gift from God they were to us!

Shots from the car

2008-07-08T05:23:00.000-07:00

These shots were taken from a moving car...just wanted to give you a sense of a bit of the beauty we observed along the way!

Scenic Stops On the Way

2008-07-08T05:08:00.001-07:00

There was a beautiful waterfall.
Just minutes from the waterfall, was this lovely glen.
The view across the road from the glen.
Girl time!

Lunch Break

2008-07-06T01:12:00.001-07:00

Between our bathroom break and the 10 minute drive to the mountain spot we were going to stop for lunch, clouds and big winds had really rolled in. Thankfully I decided to snap a couple of pictures before we ate, because the rain began and the conditions became unbearable and we completed lunch in the cars!The view was beautiful despite the clouds!
These red deer were hanging out in the rain and wind. We later ate venison from red deer. It was actually really delicious (and yes even I ate a little of it!)

On the way to the Highlands

2008-07-06T01:04:00.001-07:00

The 3-4 hour drive to Ft. William was full of curves, beautiful scenery, and sometimes tiny roads! Jeff did great driving though. We were able to follow Mylene, which was a huge help.

On our bathroom break, we were able to see some sheep getting herded by a sheepdog. It was fun to watch!

The mountains were breathtaking!

Missing our friends

2008-07-01T05:37:00.000-07:00

John and Linda have left for Canada for their 4 week holiday to celebrate their 25th Anniversary. We’ve come to love them dearly in the week and a half we’ve known them. We spent lots more time with John than Linda, and it only took a day or two for him to become like part of our family. Sadly, we will leave a few days before they return. They will always be near and dear to our hearts though!

Here are a few things I learned from John while he served as our tour guide, chauffeur, translator, pastor, cultural broker, and best of all friend:

• Laughter and stories brighten the day.
• It’s the people that are beautiful, and they are eternal.
• Great hospitality makes an impact.
• Small gestures can be very meaningful.
• Focusing on the positive makes a huge difference.
• Relish your surroundings.
• Carry the load – be the responsible one so someone else can savor the moment.
• Get to know those you are serving. Speak highly of them.
• Love and invest in lost people.
• Try to know at least a little bit about almost anything.
• Savor the moment.

John and Linda….we miss you tremendously and we are so thankful for having a season in your path! We love you both! Happy Anniversary! We hope you have a wonderful trip!
John reading to the girls.
John would entertain the girls in an activity so Jeff and I could look around.
Lending a helping hand.
Pushing the girls on the zipline.

Monday, June 30

2008-07-01T05:31:00.000-07:00

Today we took the train into Edinburgh to visit Edinburgh Castle with our neighbors. It sure was nice having a local with us as we had to switch trains in Glasgow…it was several blocks away, so I got to snap some more photos of beautiful buildings in Glasgow.

We went through the Edinburgh Castle. While we were there, we saw a group from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. It was fun chatting with them.
The castle was great…our timing kept working out well…we were able to hit a guided tour, see the cannon get shot off, and hear another presentation. After the castle, we went through a neat art museum (no photos were allowed), and had a snack in Princess Park before heading back on the train. It was a great day! Jeff had to be back for a meeting, but we were so tired, we wouldn’t have wanted to stay any longer anyway.

On Wednesday we are heading to the highlands and will spend a couple of nights there with a church member at her parent’s home. We can’t wait!

The weekend

2008-07-01T05:29:00.000-07:00

We have had rain, rain, and more rain! We’ve spent a lot of time at home, but we’ve still had fun. It’s been neat to watch the girls here, because they have spent tons of time playing with some Lego blocks that were here. We brought some toys and games, but those have been their main toy of choice.

This weekend, we looked in a cabinet and found more games and books that were already here. We decided to work a 500 piece puzzle, and the girls and I played tiddly winks yesterday. Somehow I started out great, but ended up being absolutely horrible by the time we had played round after round!

The puzzle was a bit overwhelming at times, but I saw a lot of life lessons in it…break a big task into smaller tasks, focus on one area at a time, stepping away for awhile and coming back can give you a fresh perspective, team work can make a job much easier and more enjoyable, looking at the creator’s picture of the finished product provides great guidance…the list can go on and on. All the pieces weren’t there, but we were proud of our accomplishment!

The rain stopped for a few minutes on Saturday, so we went to the loch (lake) that is about a block away. It was beautiful. It also had a zipline for the girls and some different swings. America definitely needs to take some ideas from the Scottish play parks!

Jeff did a great job preaching this morning, and it was fun visiting before and after the service. We are seeing more and more familiar faces…It’s hard to believe we’ve only been here a week on one hand, but then it’s also hard to believe over a week has already slipped away!

We’ve also had some blue skies and sun today! Of course it poured down rain in between, but we’ll take the sun when we can get it! Well…in typical Scottish fashion, the rain has already returned!

On Sunday evening, we went to church at Claremont Parish, which is partnering with Calderwood this summer for Sunday evening services.

Edinburgh - Samson's Rib

2008-06-29T01:51:00.000-07:00

This is a view of Samson's rib, the inactive volcano we climbed from a library window.

Thursday

2008-06-29T01:50:00.000-07:00

Thursday morning Jeff and I took turns at the gym, and then we got ready to head to a local elementary school for a school play and awards ceremony. This is a school Living Hope’s teenagers will serve in this October. The Primary 7 grade did a dance to a High School Musical song and then did a play about heading to high school following the theme of the Wizard of Oz. It was very cute. Between the acts, the students would come on stage and share different memories from their time at the elementary school.

There was a tea break after the play and we were able to visit with various church members who were there. After the break, the Primary 7 students had their awards ceremony.

After that, we picked up lunch and headed to John’s house to eat and pick up the car someone is allowing us to use while we are here. Jeff got his first driving experience as we followed John to Stirling (about 20-30 minutes away). While John returned a borrowed car and visited, we went and toured Stirling Castle. We also saw the William Wallace (Braveheart) monument. There are lots of beautiful buildings in Stirling. The weather was really cold (like I was wanting a full winter coat and gloves) and raining, but thankfully after we bought tickets to the castle, the sun suddenly came out and it got much warmer!

John had Jeff drive home. He’s really doing a great job driving. I’m very proud of him and am hoping the occasion never arrives where I have to drive!

After that, we headed to church to Champions, which is a ministry for their children. There were games and snacks and then I was able to share the plan of salvation with the children. They were so fun to talk to and hang out with.

Driving home from church was Jeff’s first true solo driving experience…he did great! When we got home, we had a picnic in front of the TV and watched Spain beat Russia in the soccer game.

We joined a gym!

2008-06-29T01:48:00.000-07:00

While we were in America, we definitely had decided we wanted to join a gym while we were here because 5 weeks is a long time to be away from the gym…especially with all the food that would be around us.
After we got here, I was definitely not feeling the urge! But people in the church had worked hard at getting it worked out where we could join the gym for a month, Jeff still really wanted to, and I knew that I really needed to, so we did.

Right after we joined we took our first ever spin class that is lead by Wee John (Little John) a church member. The class is so popular that you have to get a pass to go. One of our friends from church had gone early and gotten us passes and helped us get signed up for membership. Thankfully I got a bike on the back row of the full class. The first fifteen minutes of class I felt hate toward every person that had invited me to the class! By 20 minutes, I felt like I was actually going to survive it, and by 30 minutes, my competitive nature had kicked in and I was hooked! It was intense, but it was such a great feeling knowing we made it through! Wee John told us that it was the hardest class!

This gym is so phenomenal! The locker rooms look like a 4 star hotel and the machines are really great. I’m so glad now that we joined. It feels good to start the morning at the gym again.

The biggest adjustment is that all the weights are in kilograms. If someone has time to look up a conversion chart and send it to me I would be most grateful! Conversions are definitely not my strong suit! I was excited when I saw a conversion chart, but when I went over to it, it converted stones into kilograms…I know even less about stones than I do kilograms!

The gym is within walking distance so I don’t have to learn to drive to get there! One of the only things missing is all my great friends from Total Fitness in Bowling Green! I miss you!

Wednesday

2008-06-29T01:47:00.000-07:00

It was Lunch Club at church at the church today. They were so sweet. Last week they collected money and bought us a set of sheets so we can have some to put on while we wash the others (Laundry takes a long time here). They also gave the girls some Milka bars, which are excellent chocolate bars. It was so fun visiting with the different tables before we ate. The girls had 4 kids at the table where we ate, and they loved it! They have quickly made friends here. Sadly, it was the last one for the summer.

It started POURING down rain during the lunch club. When we got home, the girls had a play date with a neighbor, and Jeff and I got some work done.

John and Linda took the girls out to dinner to give me and Jeff a chance to go join the gym and try out a spin class that everyone kept recommending (more about that later!) and go out to eat at this pub that everyone keeps talking about how wonderful it is. We did join the gym and were in the spin class within minutes of joining. But after the spin class, we definitely felt like we would throw up if we ate a big meal, so we went back to the house and ate a light dinner. The girls had a wonderful time with the McKinnons and we had a nice visit when they returned with the girls.

Tuesday

2008-06-29T01:46:00.000-07:00

We were going to go to Stirling today, but the weather was supposed to be very rainy, so there was a change of plans and we went to Glasgow today. John had a lunch appointment, so he drove us to Glasgow and dropped us off at the Transportation Museum with directions for other options to do before he picked us up in the afternoon. The Transportation Museum was full of different modes of transportation from the past. There were cars, trains, motorcycles, bicycles, boat models, strollers, etc.

After that, we walked to the Art Museum, which is a gorgeous building. It was huge and had something for most any interest. There were lots of hands-on activities for the girls, and we were all enthralled throughout. We could have spent an entire day there, but we moved through fairly quickly in parts so that we could see it all.

After that, we headed to Glasgow University…again beautiful buildings. Inside was another wonderful museum, and the top floor was full of hands-on activities. John got back while we were in there, so he then took us to the Botanical Gardens he used to take his children to when they were young. It was massive. I went in what I thought was a small building while they were getting ice cream, but it ended up being gigantic and went on and one in multiple directions and took you through flowers and plants from all around the world. It was really neat…I was thinking of some of my friends who love growing flowers such much and wished you could be there to see them.

The girls were really tired at this point, so we saw a few more sights by car and I jumped out at the Town Centre to snap some photographs.

We were going to have homemade pizza, but we got back so late, we made them with flour tortillas instead of crust…they were really good! A new recipe to take home!

An Awesome Neighbor

2008-06-25T06:09:00.000-07:00

We have a wonderful neighbor that stopped by and introduced herself the first day we were here. She has a 9 ½ year old daughter that finished school this week. When we got home that first night, she had left 4 candy bars and an invitation to a play date for the girls that evening, but we didn’t make it home early enough for it to work out.

She stopped by again today and brought her daughter for us to meet. When we told her about the nettles, she told us that the antidote always grows right beside it…all you do is rub the leaf on the spot that touched the nettle, and it supposedly relieves you of experiencing any negative symptoms….wouldn’t that have been nice to know this afternoon! We are SO thankful to know in case we bump into it again!

She also dropped off some cream for us to put on our nettle stings and a bag of warm clothes for Maddie that her daughter had outgrown! It included a wool sweater she had made herself! She even walked down in the rain to show us how to use our oven...which was embarrassingly easy! She has been such a blessing to us.

An Unexpected Adventure

2008-06-25T06:06:00.000-07:00

After we finished the explorer garden, Lillias encouraged us to go see the Footbridge
over the River Clyde. Since a gate was locked, we had to head another way. We saw a sign for a Clyde Walkway that we decided to take. It was a beautiful trail that had some nice views along it. It seemed to be winding back around to take us back to the bridge that we really went to see. Unfortunately at the end, we realized we were at a dead end and were going to have to walk all the way back the same way we had come. On the trail, we all got stung by nettles, thorny weeds, that made us get these burning bumps that tingled and hurt. Thankfully the girl’s stopped hurting after a few minutes…mine on the other hand is still burning and numb hours later. (It took about 24 hours for the burning and numbness to end!) Annye told me I should add it to the list of things I’m allergic to! I agreed to carry Maddie back on my back…Annye was a trouper and knocked it out!

A Synopsis of Monday

2008-06-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

Today we all headed to church to help with the Teddy Bear Picnic, a conclusion of the preschool ministry at the church (similar to Mother’s Day Out). Both morning and afternoon classes came in the morning with an adult for lots of fun and games and activities. They played all morning and then we had lunch together. Jeff and John helped for a bit and then headed off to one of the schools, where Jeff was the panel for Grill a Christian…a chance for the students to ask him questions. He survived it! He said a couple of atheist students did come and “grill” him, but overall he felt it went well.

After all the kids left, a friend from church offered to take the girls and me to David Livingstone’s house. David was a missionary in Africa. We jumped at the chance. They had a play ground, some statues, an explorer’s garden (which was fabulous), and a museum in the actual house (which we did not go through). They had some really cool games in the Africa Pavilion, but tic tac toe was the only one we could successfully complete…guess we weren’t smart enough for that center!

More pictures later...never enough internet time!

Calderglen Park

2008-06-25T05:44:00.000-07:00

This zipline is the girl's favorite part of the park!
They have beautiful flowers and bushes here.
House on the property.
A monkey at the zoo portion of the park.

This is one of the girl's favorite places we've been.

Daily Guarantees

2008-06-23T03:34:00.000-07:00

So far, the following have been daily guarantees while we’ve been in Scotland:

• It will rain.
• You will see beautiful scenery and buildings.
• You will meet at least one amazing person.
• You will get cold (if you’re American anyway!)
• You will receive a kiss on the cheek as a greeting.
• You will eat too many sweets!
• You will be offered hot tea.
• You will be amazed at how well the girls are doing.
• You will wonder why their butter is SO much better than ours.
• You will wonder how many pounds you will gain by the time we get home.
• You will not understand Scottish English and will answer a question that you think you hear but was never really asked.
• You will feel so blessed to have this opportunity to be in Scotland!

Worship at Calderwood

2008-06-23T03:31:00.000-07:00

We had an amazing worship experience at Calderwood. We were blessed by the three baptisms and were honored as the church made special effort to introduce us and pray over us and ask God to bless our time and efforts here. They also prayed for Living Hope.

John kicked off a new sermon series entitled “Love Defined in Love Excelling.” He presented a very wonderful and practical sermon about the patience aspect of love.

On Sunday evening, we heard from a team of teens and their leaders, who are heading to Croatia in six weeks for a mission trip to continue a partnership with a Baptist church in Croatia. It was wonderful hearing stories and seeing pictures of last year’s trip and hearing plans for this year’s trip.

It was so exciting to see the recurring theme of world church partnerships between Living Hope and Calderwood and Calderwood and churches in Croatia. The two were linked together as were able to pray and give to this mission effort! Isn’t God’s church a wonderful thing?!

After church, Jeff participated in a men's discussion group. It is a mixture of believer's and nonbelievers. This week they discussed Phillip Yancey's book about prayer. He really enjoyed it.

A Synopsis of Saturday

2008-06-23T03:30:00.000-07:00

Saturday we went further north into Scotland to cheer on some church members participating in a triathalon or a 6 mile walk to raise money for local charities. The mountains were breathtaking – something beautiful (layers of beautiful to be more accurate) in every direction. I’ll give more details as we get the pictures on.

That evening we participated in the house group leader dinner and enjoyed some wonderful food and the chance to meet more church leaders. It was another late night (despite the fact that we left early!)

Today was their longest day – I wonder if the sun even went down. The night before, the sun was still shining at 11:30 p.m. and then back up at 4:30 a.m. We have no idea when it actually went down!

New Plan

2008-06-23T03:16:00.000-07:00

I have decided I’m going to have to do brief synopsis’s of a day and then go back and give more information with pictures at a later time if I want you to be able to have any idea of what we are up to (while we’re still actually here!). So, if you’re following along, make sure you check and see if I’ve added multiple entries at once. Today I’m typing entries at home on Word and then will hopefully be able to download them quickly once I get to church. At this point, I’ve just had about 15 minutes to update at a time.

Our House

2008-06-23T02:59:00.000-07:00

This is the wonderful house we are staying in.
This is part of the street. Our house is on the right.
This is the view from Maddie's roomWe have a wonderful view from our dining room.

Lunch with the Lunch Club at church

2008-06-22T02:20:00.000-07:00

We had wonderful food at the Lunch Club, a ministry of the church. The food was wonderful and the fellowship was sweet. This sweet lady even sent a tray of sweets home with us.

Thankfully getting there is NOT half the fun!

2008-06-22T02:15:00.000-07:00

Maddie did well on her first flights. She was convinced that she could see the whole world from the plane. She asked halfway through the first flight, "Is someone driving this thing?" She also found out how hard it is to get comfortable on an overnight flight...even when you're little! She did sleep a good bit thankfully!

Day 3

2008-06-20T09:10:00.000-07:00

Sorry...still no pictures. But don't worry, I took 500 the first two days alone! I now have the nickname "Snap Happy!" We don't have internet at the house, and we haven't been back at the church. We're at the McKinnons for dinner, and we have internet, but no laptop with all the pictures!

Here's a brief synopsis of what is to come!

After the lunch, we went to a park that has a wonderful playground, a petting zoo, botanical garden and walking trails...and amazingly all was free! The girls loved the zipline at the park the best.

After that, it was about 4 and we went to the house and unpacked. We pretty much hit the wall with tiredness after having very little sleep on the plane. The girls stayed awake by playing with their toys, Jeff downloaded and worked on pictures, and I had to take a walk...it was in the mid 50's, so the brisk air perked me up...the beautiful scenery didn't hurt either. After that we cooked dinner (the church was very gracious and filled the fridge for us!) and went to bed at 8 p.m. Maddie actually slept 14 hours! We were totally amazed....it's VERY un-Maddie!

The second day we went to Edinburgh...which is quite possibly my favorite city I have visited in the world up to this point in my life....John is from Glasgow and is very biased to that, so I'm open to having a new favorite! There is some amazing architecture there and I don't want to say more until I have the pictures to show.

Today, we exchanged money and checked out the mall in East Kilbride while John had a lunch meeting...after that, we went back to the park from the first day, where we repeated some of the first day activities and then took a wonderful hike along a brook.

We're now at the McKinnons for dinner and then will head to a church for a big band concert that has one of the church member's in it.

Today is mine and Jeff's 16th wedding anniversary, and it has been an amazing 16 years and I feel like we have been celebrating in perfect "Mary Beth" ways for the past three days!

Hopefully I can get pictures up on Sunday. We're heading out of town again tomorrow and then to a dinner for small group leaders tomorrow night!

We're here!!!!

2008-06-18T04:02:00.001-07:00

Our travels went well, and we are now in Scotland! It is so beautiful! We have a beautiful house with a beautiful view. We've been shown around a bit and are about to have lunch at church with the Lunch Club. Pictures will follow! We've only been here less than an hour and Annye is already planning a second visit! We love Scotland!

To Scotland we will go!

2008-06-17T02:38:00.000-07:00

Can you believe this cute girl turned 7 yesterday?! She also finally lost that loose tooth that just wouldn't quit hanging on!

We are all so excited about heading out today! We are all packed and will spend the morning getting the house ready for the girls to move in today! Too bad we can't just wiggle our noses and snap our fingers and have a clean house and be in Scotland in an instant! Hopefully we'll fill our day with laughter and special times together!

We hope you'll check back in and share this journey with us!

An Amazing Experience

2008-05-26T06:09:00.000-07:00

Going to India was an amazing experience....there are so more pictures and stories I could tell... The people were so beautiful and warm and welcoming. The mountains were stunning. The sights and smells and sounds were overwhelming. But the spiritual darkness was very evident. India has one of the highest concentrations of lostness in the world. Thank you for taking this journey with me and for praying for the people I met. Hopefully I will be going back someday.