A little video.

Josiah and I filmed some of our adventures during his time here. I put together a little video. It's pretty rough, but I'm learning. He left his camera (which has become OUR camera) here with me so I can take advantage of capturing the beauty I see here every day. Hopefully there will be more videos to come!

Scotland from Josiah + Emily on Vimeo.

A visit from my fave.

Josiah came to Scotland and spent a couple of weeks here. It was so fun having him! He was here long enough to get to do some touristy stuff and live every day life. Here are a few of our favorite photos from the trip! 

   

Worlds collide. Hanging out at the MacRae's.

A stunning sunrise over Ben Nevis.

So thankful for help with the dishes for those two weeks! 

Us and a highland cow. Of course.

Staying warm in the wind.

My man and my Bible study girls.

Ben Nevis.

Josiah with his "family" during his time here. So thankful for the MacRae's hospitality!

Starbucks in Glasgow for a phone and camera charging break.

We found our wedding attire!

The Royal Mile.

Starbucks in Edinburgh.

(The closest Starbucks is in Inverness, about an hour from Fort William. I take advantage when I can.)

Edinburgh.

The Royal Mile.

It started snowing as we got to the airport!

It was such an amazing time, and so wonderful to have my love with me for a while. He left excited to go back to school, and I came back up to Fort William not wanting to be anywhere else. It was such a blessing to have a tear-less goodbye. We know we are each where God wants us, and nothing could be better.

Here's to the next three months of living life in Scotland!

Cheers.

2012.

It was pretty big.

I fell in love.
Raised thousands of dollars to participate in God's work in Scotland.
Solidified deeper friendships.
Learned how to actually be a part of my family again.
Got engaged.
Moved to Scotland.

And here I sit. Drinking my cup of tea in my little house in Caol.

Instead of reflecting on the past year, I'll go for reflecting on today.

Today, we had a New Year's Day church service.
I got to stand next to my fiancé and sing Be Thou My Vision on the first day of the year we will be married. It's the only piece of music we have nailed down for our wedding. Perfect.
The sun was out and it was glorious. Kiki told Josiah and I to go for a walk along Loch Linnhe to Corpach Basin and up the Canal. We took pictures and talked and learned more about each other and about the necessity of God being a part of who we are.
We hung out at the Manse for a bit and FaceTimed with my future in-laws. It was such a wonderful conversation that made me even more excited to become a Meneghini.
After a few conversations and a phone call, we changed Josiah's return plane ticket. He's staying for six extra days. This makes my heart want to burst.
We had dinner with the MacRae's. For New Year's Day, Scots have steak pie. Probably one of my favorite things. We had mashed tatties, black pudding, corn, and peas. So good.
A bunch of people went to Chris and Alison's for game night tonight. We played Articulate!, and my team lost miserably. It was the most fun I've ever had losing a game.
Now, I'm about to skype with Caroline and AC.

Today was lovely. My heart is so full. Best New Year's Day ever.
Cheers to 2012. 2013, I'm loving you already.

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!