Reflections of a Year

Tristan here…it is time I made my quarterly blog post. Brace yourself: it will probably be a long one but it has to be; I am reflecting on a year's worth of information. My lovely wife is much better at updating than I am. I told her that I would do the one year anniversary post and so here I am.
This past Friday marked our one year anniversary of being in Scotland. It is hard to believe that we have taken one trip around the sun, when in many regards it seems like just a few days have passed. In other ways it seems like ages. We have never gone this long without seeing our families. A week from tomorrow, we are blessed to have Leslie’s parents and youngest sister arrive. It will be awesome to see them.
It is difficult to know where to begin when describing this past year. After some thought, I decided I should begin where all things begun. God said let there be land…and he saw that it was good. Millenniums later he called out and said ‘that good land across the sea, I would like you to go there.’ God is needed in this land. The people are not bad, quite contrarily, there are some wonderful people. But they are lacking God in their life…and therefore, ultimately lacking life itself. It is obvious why he sent us.
I don’t know who said it first, but life is a journey. Journeys are characterized by successes and failures, laughs and tears, joy and pain, certainty and doubt, friends and foes, ease and hardship and a whole other range of dualisms that I can’t even exhaust. Our time in Scotland is characterized this way too. It has been wonderful but not without its difficulties. Thankfully, we have a God that is with us in all stages of the journey. For me personally, this year has taught me that more than any other year in my life.
I have been humbled, rebuked, chastened, disciplined and punished; but I also have been raised, instructed, taught, encouraged and rewarded. I thank God for each of these lessons and attributes of the journey because He was using them to refine my faith. In passing through the fires and the waters I have been brought out stronger and purer than before. I cannot say that my faith would not be the same if we had not come to Scotland because I don’t know what God would have done with my life elsewhere. But I feel confident in saying: it would have taken a lot longer to get me to the point in my faith where I now am had we not come to Scotland.
Some of the HUGE things that have contributed to this growth are the following:
1. Watching Jie, our Chinese Sister, come face to face with Christ our Lord. We were witnesses to Jie but we also witnessed God at work in ways we could not imagine. Even as I write this and reflect on what God has done and is doing in here life, my eyes are full with tears of joy. We have been so fortunate to be a part of God’s work in Jie’s life.
2. Friends: Leslie’s last post was about ‘Friends.’ Here in Stirling, we have been blessed with some amazing friends, who are Family through Christ. A deeper knowledge of friendship has been rooted in us because of the lessons learned from our friends.
3. Education: Being in Scotland, I have been able to read a lot more. I am not a fast reader so living in a culture that is much slower paced than the United States is more conducive to my mediocre reading ability (thanks California education system). The reading I have been able to do has deepened and strengthened my knowledge of God. And as a result I have met Jesus in a way I did not think possible, even though God told me it was possible.
4. Working with Leslie: We work pretty much constantly with each other. This has been both a rewarding and challenging at times (I know Leslie would say the same about me). It has helped me grow to a new appreciation of my wife and God’s idea of marriage. Second only to Christ and His Spirit, Leslie is the greatest blessing in my life.
5. Working for the church and working with this church: Ultimately I know that I work for Christ in the ministry of reconciliation. Technically, I am employed as a missionary/minister. This has been a first for me and it has changed my perspectives. Although, I am a bit uncertain of how long I will hold this post or a post similar to it (at least another year), I suspect that my employment will not always be the church. Working for the church has showed me how I can better work for Christ and help the church when I am not employed by the church. I am anxious to one day put my knowledge to use. The Stirling church has been wonderful. We have learned more about family and the love God has for his people. We are blessed to be a part of this group.
6. Fundraising: There is a lot that could be said about this but I am not going to say it because we as humans (and sadly as churches) place to big of an emphasis on money. To me the most important lesson I have learned from the journey this year is that fundraising teaches you humility and reliance, both of which are given from God. We are grateful to God who has taken such good care of us.
There are certainly more but those are some of the biggest things that have changed my life this year. How has your life been changed? How has your faith grown? If you reflect and realize that it hasn’t, maybe your feet have come to a stop in the journey. Why don’t you start walking again? The blessings of the journey far out weigh her consequences.
What else about a year’s time in Scotland? I love the scenery. Stirling itself has gorgeous views. The mountains to the northwest are impressive but recently I have found fascination and comfort in the little hills that lie right at the northeast door of Stirling. They are called the Ochil Hills or as the locals call them the Hill Foots. They have intrigued me lately with their mystery, their familiarity, in dark weather their ominousness and of course their beauty.
Well, if I am going to eat and do the other things I need to do tonight, I have to wrap this up. If you are still reading this then call your doctor because you need crazy pills! Truly, if you are reading this then it means you have taken a genuine interest in our lives and work over the last year and for that we are in your debt. Thank you very much. We are excited to see what God has in store for us this coming year.

Friends

Recently Tristan and I got to meet Robin and Chrissy, son and daughter-in-law of our supervisors. We'd heard a lot about them for a year and were anxious to get to know them ourselves. We all had the opportunity to climb a hill near to Stirling known as Dumyat. It was a bit of a trek to the top, but had a great view of Stirling and the surrounding area when we got there. Although the day turned rainy (as most summery Scottish days do), we had a wonderful time getting to know a couple who have had and will have a great impact on the church in Scotland.
It was very windy at the top!
This past weekend our friends from Wichita, Ryan and Samantha, were here to visit us. We made the most of our short time together and had wonderful long talks about all sorts of things. We were able to take them around to see a few of the sights of Stirling, but most importantly, they were able to worship with the Stirling Church on Sunday morning and meet the church members. It was a great blessing and encouragement to have them with us. We deeply value their friendship, prayers and commitment to our work here in Scotland.

L to R: Sam, Emma, David, Tristan and Ryan (not pictured: Leslie and Cameron)


Lately I've been thinking about friends that I haven't seen or talk to in a long time. Tristan and I recently had a phone conversation with friends that we haven't spoken with in a very, very long time. It was so wonderful to catch up on their lives and to share ours with them. I have to say it was just absolutely refreshing!
I leave you now with two pictures that were taken exactly a year ago today (July 9th). The first is of friends and family eating "the last supper" together at On the Border. The second is of my dear friends and college roomies Amy, Carrie and Jen as we met at Starbucks for a farewell.

Clockwise from bottom Left: Carrie, Tristan, Me, Nancy (my mom), Jamie (my cousin), Nick (my uncle), Rhonda (my aunt), Jenna (my sis), Blake, Derek (my bro), Megan, Brett, and Aidan
Lambda Lodge Roomies (l to r): Amy, Carrie, Me, Jen... Love you girls!

Rain, Rain Go AWAY!

I love living in Scotland, but I never thought I'd miss the heat of the Midwest so much! I crave hot weather. I know that when you all read this your going to think I've lost it, and maybe I have. But, when your high is in the low 60's it's hard to believe it's summer time. I can remember one day in May when we had an unusually warm day of around 75 degrees, Tristan and I were going out to the car and we opened the car doors, and you know the heat blast that you get when you open a car that's been sitting in the sun, well, it hit us.... and we were elated! I mean we were silly happy about it. We're crazy kids, I know. I'd also like the rain to leave for a few days, even though every plant I see is impossibly green, I'd like a break from it. :) Okay enough of my rambling.

Below are a few pictures of the "angry" squirrel that lives on our roof. He decided to use the pole in our back garden as a sunning post. I took some pics of him inside and then when I went outside, he decided to make an escape by walking the fence.


By the way, Tristan absolutely despises squirrels... a lot of bad childhood memories I believe. Whenever he sees a squirrel, he automatically begins ranting about wishing he had some weapon so that he could get rid of the "evil" animal.