Apr 18, 2012

North and South.

In March, we went to Savannah to visit my grandparents. Over Easter, we went to visit his family in Boston.  Two cities, both full of history and beauty and people that we love. Between his really nice camera and our iPhones, we managed to document the trips pretty well.

We've been reading Sheldon Vanauken's A Severe Mercy out loud.  It's taken a surprisingly long time to get through it, probably because we stop so often to talk.  On our drive down to Savannah, we read a pretty good chunk of it, which took forever because the girl who was reading it was crying the whole time. (Oops.) If you haven't read it, you should. It's a beautiful story of God's work in a couple's lives.



We spent Saturday morning in downtown Savannah. Josiah had never been, so we did a lot of walking around squares and spent some time on River Street.

 Downtown Savannah.
 
Savannah River.
River Street.
 

When we got back to my grandparents' house that afternoon, we ate a quick lunch and tried to figure out what all of the cousins could do for the afternoon. It was supposed to rain, but after about thirty minutes of just clouds, we got everyone in the van and headed to the beach.  This is the only picture we have, and it's on the way down.


The cousins didn't have bathing suits, and it was only 70 degrees, but that didn't stop anyone. We all ended up in the water, and drive home soaking wet with the heat on.  It was so fun.

During dinner, it was decided that there needed to be a birthday cake to celebrate my 22nd, which was the following Tuesday. My dad and uncle ran to the store, and we had a family celebration.


 Happy Birthday to me!
After church on Sunday, we had baby sister take pictures. We were both dressed up, which doesn't happen very often. Might as well take advantage.



In between Savannah and Boston was my birthday. I'll post about that later. (I have great friends. The end.)

I had never been to Boston.  It's one of the cities that's been on my list, so when we decided to go, I was super excited.  I'm one of those people that freaks out about the possibility of missing a flight, which resulted in a rushed morning of me picking up Josiah from Covenant, him packing my clothes in my suitcase, and us jumping in the car to hurry to Atlanta to get to the train station on time. We got to our gate and sat for over an hour and did NOT miss our flight. Thankyouverymuch.

I packed everything for four days in a carry-on. As an over-packer, this was a big deal. 
Back in his city.
We spent time with his family Thursday night, and had Passover dinner. I had never done Passover before, and I loved it. Friday, we spent the day in Boston walking around and taking a trolley tour.


Faneuil Hall.
His family takes a picture on this bench every time they go into Boston. 
 Long Wharf.
Friday night, we went on a date.  He took me to a sushi restaurant and then to the Top of the Hub.  I had never had sushi, and I'm still not sure what I think about it. I loved trying it though.  The Top of the Hub is a restaurant at the top of the Prudential Building downtown.  This was our view.


Saturday, we went to see his grandfather and then went to Rockport.  It was real cold and cloudy, but so fun.


 



We went to an Anglican Easter vigil on Saturday night, and then church on Sunday.  It was a wonderful celebration of Christ's resurrection, and so great to spend time getting to know his family.  A weekend wasn't long enough. Guess that means we'll just have to go back.

Mar 20, 2012

March Scotland Update

Scotland support raising is in full swing!

Hours have been spent in coffee shops writing notes and stuffing envelopes.

The first batch.
(There have been four since then.)
Notes.
Hundreds of prayer cards, newsletters, and envelopes.

As promised, here's a little update:

I'm at 15% of my total amount needed for the year.  85% is a long way to go in 72 days.  There are times when it seems incredibly overwhelming, but I've been really encouraged talking to people who are interested in the ministry I will be doing in Fort William.

How you can be praying:
For Kilmallie:
-Kilmallie Free Church is being rebuilt.  Watch the video below to learn more!  
-Please be in prayer that the money for this project will continue to be provided. 
-The congregation is a true example that a church is not a building, but a body of believers. Please pray that their community and fellowship will grow stronger, and that God will continue to draw the congregation to himself.
For Me:
-Please pray that the money will be provided by June.  I need to be at 100% in order to buy a plane ticket.  It seems like a lot, and it is.
-Pray that I will remember that God is in control and that his timing is perfect.

Thanks so much for reading all of this!  Watch the video to learn more about Kilmallie Free Church and their building project.




Feb 29, 2012

The Little Things, Number Twelve.

142. Leap Day.
143. My middle school girls and our time together during small group.
144. The time before it rains, when the wind is blowing and the smell of the coming storm fills the sky.
145. I am redeemed.
146. Strawberries on my salad.
147. Planning adventures.
148. Dreams (literally) about flying to Scotland.
149. Spring is coming!
150. Avocados.
151. Sleep. And lots of it.

Feb 28, 2012

I'm moving to Scotland.

I'M MOVING TO SCOTLAND.

I announced this back in September, but haven't really talked much about it since then. It's because I had to do things like graduate from college. Now that I have, and details have been worked out, I can tell you all about it.

I will be moving to Fort William, Scotland to work with Kilmallie Free Church's youth group for one year.  I'll be leading small groups, discipling girls one-on-one, and participating in other aspects of church ministry.  It will be very similar to what I was doing during my time there this past summer, but it will be for a longer period of time.


Fort William

The goal is for me to be there by this June.  That's 93 days from today.  I have to raise about $3,750 for each month that I will be spending in Scotland.  I'm just beginning this support raising process, and I'm excited to share that I'm already at 10% of my support needed for the year!

So. Here's the deal. In addition to my usual (and rare... sorry) blog posting that already happens, I'll be using this blog to share stories about my journey to Scotland.

This is the plan:
-Prayer requests will be posted on here.  I recently received an email from Kiki and Anna MacRae (the pastor of Kilmallie Free Church and his wife) giving me a bunch of things to be in prayer about.  I will be posting those soon, and would love to have you jump on board and pray with me.
-I'll fill you in on the support raising process, sharing how God is providing the money every step of the way.
-Once I get there, this will be where I will keep you updated with what's new.

The MacRae Family + Me

To the right of this post towards the top of the page, there is a banner that says Emily Morris Serving in Scotland.  (This was made by the lovely Megan Walter.)  If you click on it, it will take you to Kilmallie Free Church's website where you can find out more information about the church.  Under this, there is a banner that says MTW.  If you click on it, it takes you to Mission to the World's website where you can learn more about the organization I will be going through.  (Also, you can make donations there... just in case you were wondering.)

The 2011 Holiday Club Team

If you would like to know more about Fort William, Kilmallie Free Church, or the ministry I will be doing there, PLEASE contact me at emilyemorris{at}me{dot}com or leave me a comment.  I would love to tell you more about it!

Feb 23, 2012

Because we could.

It was one of those beautiful days that popped up in the middle of winter.  It was in the 60's and sunny, and we went on a date at the park.  We read and talked, and snapped this photo of ourselves with his fancy camera. Because we could.


Feb 22, 2012

Sick Days.

For the last two days, I've been stuck in bed with this awful cold type thing.  I haven't been this sick since I was in Scotland last summer.

I've been filling my time with all sorts of things.  By all sorts of things, I really mean all sorts of TV shows.




Ok, and I'll admit that I actually watched this too...


And I liked it.

Monday afternoon, Josiah pulled off surprising me and came over and brought me medicine and tea.  He spent his afternoon taking care of me and reading out loud to me.  He prayed for me, made me guacamole (because he knew that if I'd eat anything it would be something involving avocados), and made me drink TONS of water and tea.  It was the best surprise ever.  I am so thankful for him.


Caroline came over Monday night and brought me Moose Tracks ice cream.  We ate way too much of it, and just sat and talked for a couple of hours.  It was so good for my heart to be with her, and to have these people that I love drive 30+ minutes to see me while I was sick.

Tuesday pretty much looked like this:


Allie and I had Tuesday night dinner dates every week for the last two years.  We were supposed to have dinner together last night, but I was sick.  She texted me and said she heard I was sick, and she was coming over and bringing me Moe's for dinner.  I tried to argue, but it didn't work.  She came and hung out for a few hours.  Our friendship is one of those that was completely unexpected, but I'm so SO glad she's in my life.

Today, I got up and got ready in hopes that acting like I was better would make me better.  It didn't work.  But, I did spend today working on Scotland support raising.  Get ready for a fairly long blog post explaining my upcoming move to Scotland!

Feb 8, 2012

Learning.

I am waiting.
God is working.
I am learning.

"And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, 
because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God." 
Romans 8:27