The most adventurous adventure.

I have always loved adventure. I love traveling and exploring new places and seeing new things. I caught the “Europe bug” my senior year of high school after a trip to England and Wales, followed by a quick visit to see my cousins who were living in Germany. These couple of weeks sparked my interest in the UK, and as time went on my desire to live here grew. A year and a bit later, Ireland happened. Then two years after, I came to Fort William for the first time.

I had no idea what God had in store. I never would have guessed I would be living in a little house in the village of Caol, with a view of the tallest mountain in the UK from my window. I didn't know how much I would love this place, these people. I didn't know that it would hurt so bad to leave.

But God has a plan. He has a plan for the sadness of saying goodbye, and the joy of saying hello to the man I will marry and the family and friends that have my heart. He has a plan for the processing that is to come, and for the people who will fill the spot I've had while serving in Kilmallie's congregation. He has a plan for all of it. I know that. And I trust that. 

I will follow Him wherever He leads.

"He who has called you is faithful; he will surely do it."

1 Thessalonians 5:24

The Isle of Harris.

I spent last week with the MacRae family on the island where Kiki and Anna grew up. It was wonderful to get away and see more of Scotland, and even better to get time with them and their families. Here's a little glimpse of the beauty that Harris holds.

This was on the drive to Skye. The loch is in the shape of Scotland. I asked if someone made it that way.

Just God. The Creator being creative.

On the ferry.

Harris beaches.

Church in Rodel.

Scalpay.

Post Box.

Scalpay sunset.

Adventures included, but were not limited to:

- Exploring an old church.

- Shopping for Harris Tweed.

- Visiting.

- Eating amazing food.

- Learning to use Josiah's fancy camera.

- Lambing. Let me tell you about this. We walked through hills (I was promised that if I made it over the top of one, there might be a Starbucks. This was only after being called a city girl.) and looked for sheep. It's springtime, and lambs are being born left and right. The goal was to find lambs and mark them so the crofters would know who belonged to who.

- And, last but not least, I LEARNED TO DRIVE A MANUAL CAR ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD. Mission accomplished.

confession time.

I love t swift.

So. For my last couple of days as a twenty-two-year-old, I'm rocking out to this song.
But really. It's on repeat.

The Flu.

I've been meaning to blog for forever. This past week, I was going to do it. Didn't happen.

I caught the flu.

This was my view for most of the week. Yesterday, I got up and did Easter Cracked, came home and crashed, and then went to Kiki's surprise birthday party. (He turned 50 last Monday!)

So. It's the weekend and I'm coughing up a storm, but my body doesn't ache anymore. Goals: catch up on the blog, clean my house, and do some laundry. 

In other news, there are snow flurries outside.

Happy third day of Spring.

Lately, according to my iPhone.

groceries.

bible study sleepover.

sigur ros tickets. happening so soon!

the macrae kids' impressive fort.

love cozy mornings.

took the train over the glenfinnan viaduct. aka harry potter bridge.

spent a day with a wonderful family who has this view from their window.

spring is coming!

to glasgow for the lumineers.

this was the weirdest and coolest thing ever. it was really frosty, and the sun was so bright and beautiful but there were frost particles flying through the air. it made a ring/rainbow kind of thing around the sun. i've never seen anything like it before. it was amazing.

one part of ministry I didn't know about.

As I was explaining exactly how many cookies I had baked in a 24 hour period, Anna smiled at me and said, "I bet this is one part of ministry you didn't know about!"

I baked over one hundred cookies to be eaten at youth club on Friday night and the church café on Saturday. The idea was to have kids decorate them in celebration of Valentine's Day. Friday night, for youth club, cookie decorating was the plan for their craft time. The Army cadets were coming that evening to do some drill stuff with the kids, and when they got there they told us they could do it for the entire two hours. We leaders happily let them, and enjoyed decorating cookies with some of the girls who didn't want to participate. Everyone came in hungry and exhausted, and we had their snack ready. So fun!

I was on the rotation for working the following day in the church café. It's only open on Saturdays for now, and it gets busier every week. The idea was for the kids to decorate cookies while their parents enjoyed tea and scones. I'm pretty sure most of them ended up being used for tea and coffee after church the next day. 

Point of this story: There are so many ways to participate in ministry. The kids at the youth club were so excited that someone had actually baked cookies for them. This little way of showing that the leaders care about them could work wonders in showing them that Jesus is the one who cares about them most. Please pray that God is glorified, even in the baking.

bake and hike.