Merry Christmas Eve!

 "And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest, 

and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Luke 2:10-14

Grace and peace to you.

Things just got crazy.

Actually, they've been a bit crazy. Christmas Unwrapped is finished. Christmas parties for Sunday School and Youth Club were a blast. Christmas concerts, nativities, and pantomimes have been attended.  Pictures for proof:

Lochaber High School's Pipe Band.

Christmas Unwrapped at Banavie Primary School.

Sunday School Christmas Party.

Banavie Primary School Nativity.

Banavie Primary School Pantomime.

Kilmallie Free Church Nativity.

 This past weekend, I had back to back Bible study sleepovers. The first night, we went into town for the Christmas festivities in Fort William. It was all lit up and so busy and fun!

Kara and Hannah.

Pipe Band.

My parents and my sweet friend Caroline sent me Christmas!

Santa mug and peppermint hot chocolate.

My parents are the best.

We've gotten a bit of snow in the past month! It's absolutely beautiful.

 Saw some real reindeer in town at the Christmas fair in November!

I went to Edinburgh with some friends to see the lighting of the Christmas tree on the Mound at the end of November. They set off fireworks from the Castle and had a kilted Santa. Amazing.

Fireworks.

Kilted Santa.

Christmas Markets and Scott Monument.

I was FaceTiming with my parents the other day, and my mom read me 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. It was fantastic. 

On Sunday, Kilmallie Free Church's new building opened for our first services! Here's a sneak peek into the building:

You can go watch this video on Facebook and see more!

In other news, I've been loving John Piper's Good News of Great Joy Advent devotional, as well as The Park Forum's Advent devotional. This has been a really sweet time. Hard being away from home for Christmas, but wonderful to really focus on Christ and understand more about the sacrifice that God was making when he sent his Son to Earth. I have some friends from Covenant here for Christmas. Erica is studying in Edinburgh and Rashad has been at L'Abri in Holland. We figured since we are on the same continent, we might as well be together. I have really enjoyed spending time with people from church and am loving learning about how Christmas is celebrated in Scotland. We are having a Watch Night Service at church tonight. It starts at 11:30 pm, and will go into Christmas day. I'm really looking forward to it. Tomorrow we'll have Christmas lunch with the MacRae's, and then Christmas happens again for me on Friday morning when Josiah gets here!

So much happening. So much good.

Christmas Unwrapped

Things have been busy over here, and I'm loving it. We've been going to different primary schools around Fort William and presenting the story of Jesus' birth in a fun and creative way.

It starts with kids being divided into groups, and the leaders asking the kids what they have been waiting for. Their answers range from Christmas to baby brothers and sisters being born. They all come  to the middle of the room and give their answers, then sing a couple of Christmas songs. They play a round of Christmas story bingo just to get their minds going, and see how much they can remember.

Singing.

They head back to their groups and play a game and put pictures of Christmas story scenes in sequential order. After they are finished, they get a visit from Simeon and Anna. They do a craft, making a candle that they take home reminding them that Jesus is the light of the world. We conclude with singing and a prayer.

Simeon and Anna.

Candles.

The story of Simeon and Anna is found in the end Luke 2, when Jesus is presented at the temple. We learn that God told Simeon that he would not see death until he saw the Lord's Christ. He had been waiting for years, and when he saw the Christ child, he took him in his arms and prayed:


“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation
that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.”
                     (Luke 2:29-32 ESV)

Anna was an elderly woman who had become a widow at a young age. She worshipped in the temple day and night. The passage says that she gave thanks to God and began to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

Please be praying that as we visit schools and interact with both students and teachers, we will be able to clearly share the story of Jesus and the message of the Christmas season.

Thank you!

Thanksgiving in Scotland.

Thanksgiving was celebrated in Scotland this year!

We started with making turkey gobblers in Bible study. I have been making these since I was in kindergarden, and my family sent over the ingredients!

The girls, the turkey, and the aftermath.

The MacRae's fixed a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner! Mairi pulled together decorations, and my family sent a sign over that they had made! Hand turkeys and all. 

Decorations.

We made sweet potato casserole with marshmallows. They were a little iffy about it until they tasted it.

The recipe will be shared with them in the near future.

Ready to eat!

(please note the American flag in the coke bottle in front of me.)

After watching the movie Nativity!, I came home and FaceTimed with my family. I was passed around to say hello to everyone, and I even made it in the cousins picture!

Cousins in Savannah, Ga.

 
Thanksgiving was wonderful. Hope you all enjoyed yours as well!

Pardon me.

Please pardon my lack of updates.

The past month or so has been challenging. The kind of challenging that is hard to put into words. The kind that makes a person keep to themselves and sleep a lot.

Darkness comes early, and the cold is quick to follow. Thankfully, I have been given all kinds of things to keep my American self warm. My fiancé made sure I had my share of flannel and thick socks. Friends here have given me blankets, heaters, and thick wool sweaters. And let me tell you. Heinz makes fantastic tomato soup. Winter, I'm ready for you.

It's sinking in that I'm here. I'm actually here, and it's amazing. For a while, I was kind of in a daze and couldn't really wrap my mind around the fact that I am finally living in Fort William. I am in the place I have been dreaming about for the past year.

Living here is absolutely everything I had hoped and prayed for. I'm getting into more of a rhythm now, and I promise to update more.

For now, know that God is working. Please keep praying for this place and for these people. And for me.

Thank you!

Resting.

By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us. 

1 John 3:19-24

This morning.

The Little Things: New mornings.

The last couple of days haven't been the easiest. I'm not a huge fan of living alone, and it seems the more I settle in the more I miss things about home. If I were to be specific, I would tell you that my heart aches for people like the wonderful women in my life, my family, and my fiancé. And then there are things like queso, chick-fil-a, Starbucks, and Lookout Mountain in the fall that I would just love to have.

But here's the thing. It's all in my thinking.

For the past year or so, I've been learning to find joy in the little things. The things that happen throughout the day that just make my heart want to burst because I know that God loves me and although I'm one of billions of people, he pays attention to me.

Psalm 107:9- For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

This morning was a new morning.

To continue with my Little Things lists:

175. I woke up and looked out the window to a snow capped Ben Nevis. It's beautiful. (Let's ignore what it probably means for the weather in the coming months.)

176. I was doing dishes, and found a spider in the sink. Spiders are my least favorite things in the world, and Scotland has big ones. The last couple I've found in the house have been when other people are here, and they are happy to take care of them for me. (No, really. These people have no fear of spiders. Lucky them.) But this morning, I was all on my own with this big guy. All that was necessary to take care of him was some hot water. If he had been crawling up the wall, it would have been a bit more challenging and there would have been a lot more squeals coming from this girl.

177. Last week, I helped Ishbel paint a bedroom in her house late at night. This meant good music and even better conversation as we tried to avoid paint hitting the carpet and our hair.

178. Isabel took me to Oban, and we stopped at the best coffee shops along the way.

179. New Mumford and Sons- SO GOOD.

180, I went on a walk with Joanna and her kids along the canal and fed the ducks. I hadn't fed ducks since I was probably 4 or 5, maybe younger. Apparently, if you throw a whole piece of bread in the water, ALL of the ducks will go after it. Watching the "war" is a favorite with these guys.

181. No matter where you are in the world, give women good food and good tv and they are happy. Spending time with new friends, eating Indian food and too much chocolate while watching Downton Abbey. Hopefully this will become a weekly occurrence.

182. Lunch with Moira and Lynne is refreshing every time.

183. Live Scottish music.

184. Wednesday night dinners at Fiona and John's is guaranteed good conversation.

185. The MacRae's are in Harris, and before they left they gave me flowers that would have died if they stayed in their house. They've managed to stay alive for over a week here, and I am loving them. Also, can't wait for that family to be back.

186. I couldn't sleep the other night. Since it was early evening in Chattanooga, Josiah read the Bible to me until I feel asleep. Seriously?! This amazing man is going to be my husband!!

187. I've gotten iMessage updates from Caroline on how Fall Break 2013 in Dallas is treating my wonderful friends. So thankful they are having time to be refreshed.

188. Emails and FaceTime with my family, getting to hear how they are and what's happening.

189. Catching up with Josiah's mom/soon-to-be-my-other-mom.

190. Cozy evenings are perfect for coming up with wedding ideas.

191. Starting tonight, I am watching the Murray's dog Jess while they are on holiday. Looking forward to having some company and a reason to go for a run each morning.

So. Today, I will be thankful. I will remember these little things, and rest in the blessings that God is providing. I will choose to let these outweigh the little things I am missing from home, and I will praise Him for bringing me back to this place that has my heart.

Engagement Photos.

A few days before I headed across the ocean, Josiah and I had an engagement photo session with Annie Huntington. She did a fantastic job capturing "us," and we could not be more excited to have these! She sent them to us the day after I arrived in Scotland. Pretty perfect timing, considering I was missing my man too much already. Only 77 days until he comes for a visit!

All photos taken at Sunset Rock.

The Big Free Rally

During the summer, the Free Church of Scotland hosts camps in various places throughout the UK. Each camp is in a different place and has a different focus. There are football (soccer) camps for guys, all-girl camps for girls, co-ed camps, extreme sports camps... basically there are all kinds of options for camp. Regardless of the camp activities, the Word of God is always taught, giving teenagers the opportunity to be refreshed and encouraged in their walks with the Lord. 

Last Saturday, we took a mini-bus of 15 teenagers from Kilmallie Free Church up to Inverness. We were meeting up with 200 or so other teenagers to fill Smithton Church for the Big Free Rally. Countless hugs and squeals of excitement erupted from throughout the church as camp friends were reunited. They came from churches all over the country for a few hours of fellowship.

They sang, they played games, and they listened intently as a speaker reminded them that Christ loves them more than any person in the world ever could.

In between sessions, the teenagers were asked what their favorite part of camp was. When “friends” was offered as an option, hands shot up all over the room. Aside from coming together to worship God, this was why they were there. They had come together because they were given the opportunity to be with their friends.

Kids in Scotland attend huge public high schools, where they would be lucky to find another Christian in their grade. For most of these teenagers, the majority of the people in their close circle of friends are not Christians. If they were asked, the teenagers that attended the Big Free Rally would probably say that some of their closest friends were those that were sitting with them in that room. These friendships that I had the privilege of observing are strong because they have a common bond. Yes, the camp experience is great and there are tons of inside jokes and a shared experience can always bring people together. But this bond, this bond that is stronger than any other, is the bond that they share as a result of being brothers and sisters in Christ. 

Fall in Scotland - according to my iPhone Photos

Fall in Scotland feels like winter in Chattanooga.

Frosty mornings.

Caledonian Canal.

Welcome Home!

View from my front door.

British money fits together!

I went on an adventure the other day with a friend from church. She took me to all kinds of beautiful places on the way to Oban. When we got there, I was too distracted how beautiful the town was to take pictures. Oops. Next time.

Glencoe Lochan.

Trees.

Glencoe Lochan.

Glencoe Lochan.

Stalker's Castle.

Don't even remember where this was but it's beautiful.