Sorry it has been a while since I last updated! The team has been very busy. We have been doing a lot of door to door work, inviting people to events that are going on at the churches. It has not been easy because there are so many people that think the church is great for the community but it's not for them. God has definitely been pushing me out of my comfort zone on this trip. We have been leading assemblies at the school and have been giving our testimonies at youth groups and prayer meetings, it has been terrifying for me, but it has also been amazing to see and feel God at work each time I have had to stand in front of people. He has given me this calm each time to say what He wanted me to say. The other night the Church of Scotland and the Free Church met together to pray for the body of Christ and for Scotland, and it was very humbling and convicting for me to hear these people just cry out to the Lord for help. The Lord has definitely been opening my eyes to the importance of prayer. I find that I often pray, but don't expect it to happen, but that is not how it should be. God is all powerful and He is a loving God, and He does hear us, and answers in the way that is best for us. I pray that I will continue to remember that.

I have now been in Skye since Monday. It is breathtaking, like straight out of a storybook! I have so far helped the youth director, Dave, film some skits for the Holiday Club, which is like VBS. We were just doing tech work with that, such as sound and recording. We also have been leaflitting around the towns for a question and answer night next Friday with John Blanchard. I forgot to mention that we are working with 2 different churches. Both are Free churches. One is for the area of Kyle and Plokton and the other is actually on the Isle of Skye, they are the towns of Sleat and Strath. (I have probably misspelled those names). Today we worked with the Open Doors Cafe, a small cafe that is run by both the Free Church of Scotland and the Church of Scotland. We cleaned dishes and got to visit with the folks coming in for lunch as well. It was a wonderful time of fellowship. The pastorof Kyle and Plokton, Roddey, has taken us around to make house calls as well, and it has been such an amazing experience. The people are so very giving, and their generosity has really opened my eyes to what the love of God looks like towards our neighbors. The scenery and natural world around me here also is very inspiring. Everywhere we go is beautiful and you can't help but marvel at the work of the Lord; it is indeed very good!!! I hope you are all doing very well!!! I can't thank you enough for your support and prayers! God is good!

The first week in Scotland has been amazing! We are staying in Paisley, a suburb on the outskirts of Glasgow, and we take the bus into Glasgow city center. The people here are wonderful! We are working with the Glasgow City Free Church of Scotland, and they have been so helpful and caring. On Monday we were passing out leaflets for an international Bible study that the church does for university students. So far they have had 15 students attend just from one of these handouts, so it is neat to see God at work there. One thing that is so neat to see at the church has been all of the different nationalities present. There congregation is not only made up of Scottish people, but also Chinese, Columbian, African, and American. The Lord is defiantly at work among these people. Tuesday, my team helped the women of the church make pillowcase dresses to send to little girls in Africa and South America. For people like myself who cannot sew, we were able to put together kits of materials to make dresses, so peopling people who receive them can design their own dresses. Yesterday we were able to clean the church and get to know some of the members better. Everyone is so very kind, and the pastor, Colin Dow, and his family, have gone out of their way to help us adjust to the culture and feel at home. Today we will be doing more leafleting for Bible study on Sunday evening, and tomorrow we are going to a school to put on a skit for the kids. Thank you so much for all of your prayers, it is so special to know that God is listening to your words and looking after us. I would also like to ask that you pray for the GlasgowCity Free Church. They are in need of more leaders in the church because most of the people who are involved in helping also have othe jobs as well, so it is not always possible to be fully committed to church programs. Continue to pray for my team as we serve the Lord, that we will be focused on the Lord in everything we do, and that
we learn from these wonderful people.

Leaving for Scotland

Today I am leaving for  pre-field training and then I will actually be flying to Glasgow on Thursday. I am so excited to meet my team members today, and getting a chance to know them while at training. I am not going to be taking a laptop while I am there, so I don't know how often I will be able to write in this blog, but I will try my best to keep everyone up-to-date with news and pictures of what is going on. Thank you so much for all of your support and prayers, it is a comfort to know that there are so many people with me spiritualy while in Scotland!