The Block Letters

Ben A'an and Baby Shower

2010-03-17T22:46:00.008Z

Ben A'an was the first "hill" that we climbed in Scotland back in October 2007.

Here's a picture from the top in the Autumn. A beautiful, but somewhat hazy day.

Two weekends ago we hosted a young man who was traveling on an overseas study program. While he was here, we decided he needed to climb a hill to truly experience the beauty of Scotland. Here's the same view in the spring. The snow really brought out the peaks in the distance and made for a breathtaking view.

Here's a photo of all of us at the top. Thanks for coming to stay Reuben! We were glad for the opportunity to see the beauty of God's creation!

Don't judge me for using walking poles. These things seriously save my knees and toes on the steep ascent and descent. After we climbed Ben A'an the first time, my knees and toes were killing me after so much jarring on the way down. I LOVE my walking poles!!

The spooky forest and trail. Actually it's not spooky at all, but the trees do make an eerie sound when the wind knocks them together.

A photo of Tristan after he walked through the freezing, melted snow stream. Maybe someday we'll have a post on here about all of the times he's done that! It all started with a dare...
On the drive back we stopped at this frozen over lake to take a few pictures. You can see all the rocks on the ice. We had lots of fun trying to break the ice with rocks. (Not all of the rocks are ours. We got the idea from the little kids who we saw doing it.)

This past weekend the ladies from our church through a baby shower for my friend Emma and her second baby boy, Finlay. I was so excited to try my hand a doing a nappy (the British word for diaper) cake. I think my first attempt turned out well. I used this tutorial video which was extremely helpful.

Me and Finlay at the shower. He is impossibly sweet!

The Best Pudding Ever!!!

2010-02-28T18:58:00.003Z

I’ll give you a definition first: The word ‘pudding’ in Scotland can be a reference to a dessert. Pudding is what you have after your main course or the last part of your meal. It can also mean a custard type dessert. You just have to listen for the context, but more often then not, it just means dessert.

Sticky Toffee Pudding is a dessert Leslie and I had just a few short weeks after arriving in Scotland. Let’s just say my life would never be the same! It is simply fantastic. The moist cake is delightful, the toffee sauce rich and the cream brings it all together.

I have been guilty of gluttony on more than one occasion with this dessert. One instance, our good friends David and Emma, once had some at their house. Leslie and Emma did not want any (don’t know what they were thinking that day), so David and I were a lotted two massive portions, things were going well. Well David had a few bites and decided he wasn’t going to finish his portion. Well, couldn’t let the piece go to waste now could I? So in addition to my own, I graciously finished David’s as well! They still give me a hard time about this, as you would expect great friends to do!

It is not a difficult dessert to make either, as long as you remember all the ingredients :) I made this for the first time in January. I was up early on Sunday morning to make it, so that we could have it at a dinner that afternoon. I put the cake ingredients together, stuck it into the oven and about ten minutes later realized I never put the eggs into the batter!!!! Oh, I about died. I had to wake Leslie up and say please get started on the batter, I have to go to the store to get some ingredients that we no longer have. Well, it all worked out in the end and it was a lovely Sticky Toffee Pudding. From the consumers of the pudding, I was told: I needed some more “practice” at it and should make it again soon! So I guess it turned out well!

The recipe I used was from the website Recipe Zaar, it was called Undy Arms Sticky Toffee Pudding. You can read about it a little more on that sight. There are three basic elements to a great Sticky Toffee Pudding! The cake, the toffee sauce and the cream (which is optional but you would be a Silly Sillerton not to have the cream with it. And this is just regular single or double cream, you can used whipped but you would be wrong).

If you have ever read the novel The Shack then you have read a reference to this dessert. In the book, the author believes this would be the dessert of choice by Jesus. In his research WM. Paul Young must have asked What Would Jesus Make? And he came up with Sticky Toffee Pudding. The excerpt is:
“Mack to Jesus: "You don't really have to eat, do you?" he asked, as he began to ladle something into his bowl that resembled a thin seafood soup, with squid and fish and other delicacies. "We don't have to do anything," Papa stated rather strongly. "Then why do you eat?" Mack inquired. "To be with you, honey. You need to eat, so what better excuse to be together." "Anyway, we all like to cook," added Jesus. "And I enjoy food- a lot. Nothing like a little shaomai, ugali, nipla, or kori bananje to make your taste buds.”happy. Follow that with some sticky toffee pudding or a tiramisu and hot tear. Yum! It doesn't get any better than that."

Take it for what it is worth...I’ll I am saying is it is a fantastic dessert.

A Fun Find!

2010-02-23T13:40:00.008Z

Saturday, Tristan and I decided to take a quick trip out to the village of Doune. Doune is located just a few miles from Stirling. We'd been out to visit Doune Castle before. (You may recognize Doune Castle from this movie.) But, we'd never been through the town, and we always enjoy looking through the little shops in villages around Scotland. So, we parked and started out in the Kilmadock Information and Heritage Center. We ended up spending most of our time in that place because of these little beauties....

Really Old Postcards!!! Most of them are of places that we've visited in Scotland. This is how we know they are really old...
The dates range from 1904 to 1965 and a couple of them have half-penny stamps on them.
We love finding unique things like this! Our plan is to mount them in frames to put on the wall, but we would like for those frames to be double-sided so that you can see the back of the postcard with out taking it out of the frame. We'll see how that goes... something we'll try for when we move back to the States.

It was fun trying to decipher the writing. Here's our favorite...In case you have a hard time reading it... "Everything okay. Dorothy not dead yet. Still going strong. Weather fair. Colin and Dorothy." The "Dorothy not dead yet" part makes me laugh every time I read it.

Burn's Supper 2010

2010-02-10T15:06:00.007Z

Once again we were able to participate in a Robert Burns Supper at the end of January. We thought that it would go by without a church get together, but as this will be our last Burn's Night with the Stirling Congregation, a family in the church took on hosting and organizing it. This event is quite possibly our favorite with our Stirling church family.

Please enjoy the pictures... we'll let them tell the story of the night.

Who due u spel dat?

2010-02-09T17:11:00.010Z

Okay, so I have no authority to correct someone else’s spelling and grammar, coming from a guy who one day was convinced “stew” was spelled “stu” (among other words that I am choosing to block out right now) .... but it is always fun to see these mistakes on signs and notices. I saw these misspellings and other mistakes from a MSN UK page. I had to share! So hope you enjoy.

Yes, someone fluent in English might be able to help

Sorry but “friut” from the Penny Pincher does not count as one of your five a day

I have heard of "Do Not Climb" and "Do Not Cling" but what is "Do Not Clinb?"

I guess in one sense they got this one right, if you don’t tighten the security on your car, it will be loose to thieves.

Yikes....this one could use with a nice prepositional phrase to make it wholesome

Two possibilities: 1) They have misapplied the apostrophe and should read - Ladies’ or 2) They have misspelled “Laddies” AND misapplied the apostrophe. What do you think? This could cause some serious confusion!

I spell “tomatoes” you spell “tomatos” (These are supposed to be pictures from the UK, this one from the region of Kent in England. But I am having a hard time believing this one is in the UK. Look at all those SUVs in the background. I am sorry but you rarely see that many gathered in a group like that. If it is in the UK then something dodgy is happening, are we sure those are tomato plants)

At least something is right...the spelling this time! Poor illiterate souls who get hit by the double decker bus just because they followed the arrow!

Welly Boots

2010-02-04T23:34:00.004Z

Wellington Boots, or more commonly referred to as Welly Boots, are pretty much a traditional Scottish footwear. They are an important part of the culture and an especially practical item of clothing for the Scottish climate. To prove to you that they are such an important part of the culture, I am going to share with you one of my (Tristan's) new favorite Scottish songs. Just learned about this song this past month!

You can listen to a Primary 4 (7-8 year olds) class sing part of the song by clicking here and pressing the blue play button, warning it is pathetic but sweet! Enjoy and may your life be a little more enriched and cultured by your new knowledge of Welly Boots!

The Welly Boot Song by George McEwan
Chorus:
If it wisnae fir yer wellies where wid ye be?
You'd be in the hospital or infirmary,
For you wid ha'e a does o' the flu or even pleurisy
If you didnae ha'e your feet in your wellies.

Oh, wellies they are wonderful. Oh, wellies they are swell.
For they keep oot the watter and they keep in the smell
And when your sitting in a room you can always tell
When somebody takes aff his wellies.

Chorus

And when your oot walkin' in the country wi' a bird
And you're strolling over fields just like a farmer's herd
When someone shouts, 'Keep off the grass!' and you think, 'How absurd!'
Then SQUELCH! You find why farmers a' wear wellies.

Chorus

There's fishermen and firemen, there's framers an' a'
Men oot diggin ditches and workin' in the snaw.
This country it wid grind tae a halt and no' a thing wid graw
If it wisnae for the workers in their wellies.

Chorus

Greenacres is the place to be...

2010-02-03T17:35:00.006Z

Our new(est) home is located on Greenacre Place, and when we first moved in I was always singing that song that I only know the first few words too. I annoyed even myself! Here are a few pictures of the inside of our flat. We have found it to be a very comfy, cozy place! We feel very blessed to have such a wonderful place at a great price (the least expensive of all our previous residences)!

Let's take a tour shall we?

Here's the view as you walk in... loads of doors.

Take a left to enter the bathroom. Probably isn't totally proper to take a pic of your bathroom. :)

Our bedroom is first on the right.

The second left is our kitchen and dining table.

Directly down the hall is our second bedroom/storage area. It is always the same temperature as outside and always in a constant state of disarray. Obviously, I was quite reluctant to post a photo of this room, but I couldn't neglect to show you my favorite thing in the entire house... the dryer!! Yes, it isn't as big as most dryers in the States, and yes, the hose is hanging out the window, but I love it!! Now our house isn't constantly covered in wet clothes!

Second right is our living room. We love the size; it comfortably accommodates our Thursday night Bible studies. It was awkward to take a picture of, so I put 3 on here. But, you do get the "whole picture" so to speak! :)

And the front door.... the end.

Restart once again!

2010-02-01T23:17:00.005Z

Hello again from Scotland! We've been back in Stirling for almost 2 months now, so I figured that we needed to get back into the habit of blogging... well, I guess you need to have been in the habit before to get back into the habit. So in an effort to be more consistent about blogging, I've decided to post more often, but with less content (as some of our previous posts have been a bit long.)
Here are a few pictures to get us started.

Photo taken in December after a big snowstorm. Taken near Stirling Castle, Wallace Monument in the distance.

Our new flat. We are on the ground floor. (A post to come dedicated to our new place.)

First photo of the new year! Taken a couple of days before I (Leslie) decided to get about 8 inches cut off my hair.

Update on our current situation

2009-10-22T21:38:00.005+01:00

This is from an email we sent out earlier today. If you are reading this here, but didn't get the email let us know so we can add you to our distribution list!

Dear Friends and Family,

First, if you are receiving this email it is because we believe you were on our Newsletter distribution list. Long story short, the computer with the our email distribution lists has been replaced. The lists were one on the very few things we did not have a back up of. Thankfully all the important stuff we had on a back up drive. So if you are getting this email and you don't want to be, just email us back and tell us. Undoubtedly, we will miss some people and we're sorry for this.

The church leaders in Stirling met with an official from the U.K. Border agency this morning. The purpose of this meeting was to evaluate the church's ability to manage foreign workers (that would be us). As you may recall, the British government implemented a new system of issuing work visas. This new system took effect earlier this year. In this new system, an organization must apply and receive 'sponsorship' before the workers (us) can apply for our visas. This morning's meeting was a step closer for the church receiving sponsorship.

Our supervisor Mitch Vick informed us that the meeting went very well. He was very positive with its outcome. Unfortunately, the outcome was NOT Tristan and Leslie can get on a plane tomorrow. The next step is: the U.K. official will send a report tomorrow to the office in Sheffield, where a decision will be made. Once again we are uncertain of how long it will take to get a decision. However, we believe it will not be more then a few weeks (hopefully even sooner than that). Once a decision is made, a letter by mail post will be sent to the church in Stirling. Once they receive this, they must register the workers (us) online (thankfully an online process). After they do that, then we can apply for our visas, which will take another week or two.

We (us and the church in Stirling) have no one to tell us about this process. There is no one we can ask: "how long did it take you to get this or do that." So our estimates on time are all guesses. However, if all goes fairly smooth, we could look to be back in Scotland by early December, maybe earlier if things are processed faster. One potential problem is that the British Postal Service has been going on and off strike for sometime and will continue to happen in the coming weeks. So that doesn't help things.

We appreciate your prayers, support and understanding. So many of you have just overwhelmed us with your generosity and hospitality. We are extremely undeserving of such wonderful friends and family. We are so blessed to be supported by the Northside Church of Christ in Wichita. They have been so wonderful to us. Thank you all very much.

Please continue to pray for this process. We are not at the end of it but we feel the end is near. If you would please also say a prayer for Jed and Shiloh Lovejoy. They are HIM workers in Morley, England. They have to return to the U.S. in November because of this very same problem. They will also have to wait, as we have been waiting, until the church in Morley gets sponsorship. It is a frustrating process and we pray that their wait is shorter than ours has been. Thank you all very much. We love you. If you have any questions about any of this, please email us.

With the Love of Christ,
Tristan and Leslie

And a picture because our blog has been sadly missing them with our last few posts!
Fall colors in Stirling

Controlled Excitement

2009-10-17T17:28:00.002+01:00

Have you ever had a moment where you just need and want to jump up and down and scream with joy, but you were a little nervous to do so? All three of you who follow our blog might just be able to relate.
Leslie and I can't help but ooze with excitement right now! We have a date to look forward to! It is NOT a departure date, but it IS a date. Thursday, October 22, 2009 the church in Stirling meets with the U.K. Border Agency to discuss what essentially is our fate and the fate of the Central Belt Scotland Team. The Border Agency will meet with the church leadership to review their application for sponsorship of international workers. Once the church is approved for sponsorship, we then can apply for our visas.
That is what we know. Here is what we don't know. We don't know if approval is given on the spot after the meeting or if there will be more of a paper trail. If they are approved on the spot, we don't know how long it will be before we can apply for our Visas; the hope is that we can apply almost immediately. If they are denied on the spot...we'll were not going to go there just yet.
So, you can see why we have "controlled excitement." We ask that you please pray for the meeting this coming Thursday. It is huge! Not only for our work but also for previous mentioned Scotland missions team (check out their website from the link above). Please pause right now and say a sincere prayer for this work. Thank you so much for your prayers and support as we wait upon the Lord!
Proverbs 19:21 "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails."

Wait upon the Lord...

2009-09-28T07:32:00.003+01:00

Leslie and I have been waiting for I won’t tell you how long. Not because I haven’t been counting, oh believe me I have been counting. I won’t tell you because no longer should it matter to me. If I wait, then I wait upon the Lord.
I, Tristan, have been doing the Beth Moore study “Esther: Its Tough Being a Woman.” (Leslie has been as well) I started it as some study material for a class I was going to teach. Now I am finishing it because God has been blessing me through this Bible study in my own personal situation...imagine that Bible study helping your own personal situation. Who knew?!?!
I was in the car listening to one of the audio sessions of the study. And because I was traveling (not driving) and a little sleepy my focus wasn’t as good. I was divinely interrupted with a phone call and a conversation that lasted until we arrived at our destination. But that meant I still had 25 minutes left in this session to listen to. God knew, HE KNEW my focus was not where it need to be in that car for the final portion of the audio, and he had me finish the session later this evening.
Let me share with you a portion of this session. Sorry you have to read it because I couldn't get the audio clip to play. Use this also as a little highlight and advert for doing this study. Ladies and most of you fellas would really benefit from doing this study.
This quote and these scriptures speak to our situation so clearly it frightens me a little bit.

“Never, ever in our wait, is God inactive. NEVER. We have got to trust that if ever he puts a stay on something, if ever he has put a hold on something, if ever he has called us to wait upon Him: SOMETHING is up. Something is happening in the heavenlys. There is someway that things on earth are coming into the will of the things in Heaven. And we have got to trust Him.
“ Isaiah 40:31 in the KJV: ‘But those who wait on the LORD, Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.’
“What is more exhausting than waiting? What? And here scripture says if we wait upon the Lord, he is going to renew all our strength. Whereas to us it (waiting) feels the more we wait the weaker we feel. (The Lord knows) we will lose our strength, our strength will be depleted if we wait upon ‘The Thing.’ When we wait upon a person, a thing, an event, we will lose; but if your waiting on the Lord, you will renew your strength: you’ll renew strength, you’ll mount up as eagles. Do you see the difference? We’re waiting on the THING. We’re waiting on the...(fill in the blank) wedding day, we’re waiting on that baby, were waiting on that promotion, waiting on that provision... you fill in the blank...(waiting on that Visa). And these are huge things to wait on, important things, noble things to pray for and to want but if all we’re doing is DAY after DAY waiting on the thing, waiting on the event: we’re depleted because the event, person, thing doesn’t come. Wait upon the Lord, WAIT UPON THE LORD. Sit as a watchman on the wall and wait upon the Lord. With expectancy and antcipation that the longer you(God) are taking the hard you(God) are woking and I cannot wait to see what you are orchastrating in the heavenlys. The longer we wait the more we’re to renew our strength. Tell the Lord in prayer...IT waits but cause me to wait on you and not just the thing. Renew my strength. Listen to the words of Habakuk 2:3: ‘For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.”
 

I have been too long waiting on the Thing. Waiting on the Visa. Help me in prayer to wait upon the Lord. It is going to be difficult for me to shift my focus from waiting on the thing but my strength is being depleted because I am not waiting on the Lord.
Each of us has a Thing we wait on. I have just told you one of mine. What is yours? You don’t have to tell me but are to waiting on it and not on the Lord. Focus on Isaiah 40:31 and Habakuk 2:3 and wait on the Lord!

The UK's Deadliest Biscuit

2009-09-10T19:50:00.002+01:00

We interrupt this extended break from blogging to bring you an article that we think you should read so that you may protect yourself from injury when consuming a biscuit from the U.K. The best thing about this article is that it is totally serious! Please check it out!

Catching up... June

2009-07-20T17:12:00.007+01:00

At the beginning of June, Tristan was able to go down to Dallas to visit his brother, nephew and niece. He had a great time hanging out with Travis and playing with Noah and Chloe. They are such darling kiddos!

We've also been helping out Leslie's parents as they redo their kitchen and dining room. They have been needing an update for a very long time and we have been very happy to help out where we can.
Below is a picture of Tristan with Talon the Cat. Leslie parents have many cats but all of them are wild. So at the beginning of June, Leslie's sister Callie was able to catch three kittens. Sadly one of them died, but the other two are very friendly and going strong.

We were also able to attend the wedding of Blake and Rachel. It was a beautiful wedding and we were able to be together as a family again.

Sisters!
Derek, Megan, Leslie and Tristan
After the wedding we traveled to Muskogee, OK to visit with Leslie's family. We stayed with her grandparents and were able to visit with aunt, uncles and cousins as well.

We also experienced some crazy Kansas weather one evening. We went out to eat at a Mexican Restaurant with Leslie's parents and sister when the tornado sirens went off. Everyone took shelter in the basement of the place until we were given the all clear.

We made another trip to Colorado and stayed for a week. We were able to spend time with Tristan's mom and dad and and enjoy the beautiful Rocky Mountains again.

After traveling to Colorado we made our way to Nebraska to visit Tristan's family there. We had a good time with more aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents. Pictured below are pics of us with Tristan's Grandma Pearl and Tristan's dad.

Catching up... May

2009-07-15T17:07:00.006+01:00

The first weekend in May brought on Leslie's brother's wedding. Derek and Megan were married May 2, 2009 in Oklahoma City. It was a beautiful wedding and a lovely reception. It was wonderful time to spend with family.

We enjoyed a trip to Colorado to visit Tristan's Mom. It was great to be out there again. Tristan especially looks forward to seeing his beloved Rocky Mountains.

Mid May brought Leslie's sister Callie's graduation from High School. We were glad to be witnesses to that momentous occasion in her life. Congrats Callie!

May also brought a very sad and heartbreaking time for Leslie's family. Nick Prindle, Leslie's uncle passed away on May 22nd. We will never forget Nick and all of the joy he brought to our family. Please keep his family in your prayers.

We were also fortunate to attend Family Camp, a Northside Church of Christ tradition out at Rock Springs 4-H Camp near Junction City. It was an encouraging time of fellowship and great lessons. One of our favorite parts of family camp is the talent show. Tristan participated in the show by being a "contestant" on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" It was great!

Now here's the story of why we are still here in the States as of July 15th...
A week after we first got here in May we sent away for our new visas that we would need to continue working in the U.K. for the next year, since our original 2 year visa had expired. We applied for the visa that we thought we would need and really thought nothing more of it because we thought the process would be fairly easy and we would get our visas back plenty of time to get on the plane on May 27th. Well... we didn't get anything in the mail until after that date (which was okay, since we had already postponed our flight because of Leslie's uncle's funeral). When we did receive word in the mail, the word was DENIED. Our visas had been denied! We couldn't believe it! We were very upset and worried by this news. We would have to apply for a complete different type of visa.
At the beginning of this year, the UK government completely revamped their visa application process to include new rules and regulations regarding how people came into the country to live. In order to apply for our new visa, the church in Stirling has to go through a "sponsorship" process so that they can get clearance for us to come over. Once they all of the paperwork organized and turned in, the evaluation takes at least 4 weeks. We are now in week 4. So, beginning at the end of this week is when the church in Stirling should be hearing about their sponsorship. When they receive sponsorship, they will send us a number to put on our new application for the visa that we need. Our visa process should take 1-2 weeks, no more than 3.
So there you have it... the reason we are still on U.S. soil. This has been a difficult thing for us, but we know that through this whole process God has been with us. He's given us many opportunities to support others during this "waiting time". Although we are very very tired of living out of our suitcases, we are thankful for having this extra time with family and friends. If you are reading this and you have supported us in any way this summer (feeding us, housing us, encouraging us with a word or smile, entertaining us, or just plain loving us) we thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU! It's hard to say where we'd be with out you!

Catching up... April

2009-07-14T19:28:00.004+01:00

Okay, it may seem a little pointless to go back this far, but I would like to give a run down of a few events to let whoever would like to know what we have been up to these past few months.

April...

At the beginning of April we went to a Young Adults Retreat in East Scotland. It was a great time of fellowship and getting to know some people our age better.

We were blessed to be able to find a new place to live. We are excited about moving into this place as soon as we get back to Scotland (more about that in a later post). We'll be sure to post pics as soon as we get settled in.

We moved out of our Nailer Rd house after about almost a year. The reason we moved was because our landlady who lives in Australia is coming back by the end of this year and we wanted to live in a place for a year rather than staying in the Nailer Road place and then finding a place to live for our last 6 months in Scotland.

We were also blessed to attend the Kirkcaldy Social. It was wonderful to spend time with other people in congregations around Scotland that we had met previously and getting to know some new people.

We also left for the States on April 22nd. We were able to spend time with the Church in St. John Kansas who has decided to partner with us for our remaining year in Scotland. They are a lovely congregation and very supporting of various missions efforts around the world. We are very glad to know them!

More to come...May, June, and now July!

March!

2009-03-22T20:38:00.006Z

Wow. March has really gotten away from us, and in a week it will be gone!

We began March with a short trip to the Isle of Skye. Ever since we came to Scotland people have told us that we needed to go to Skye. Because of a break in Youth Club, we found our chance to go.

Skye in Purple.

Below: Eilean Donan Castle is not on Skye, but on the way there. It is a very popular castle that you might recognize from a movie or two.

This is the B&B where we stayed on the western most part of Skye with the sea in the background.

Niest Point Lighthouse on a VERY cold day!

Sheep seemed to roam free through the town. These were going single file down the single track road.

The village of Portree.

One day we were able to climb a hill. The "Old Man of Storr" is the taller pinnacle in the distance.

Lots of snow and a beautiful view at the top.

Resting from the vigorous climb!

We had a snowball fight and made a snow ghost at the top. So much fun!

Having a lovely salmon dinner at sunset.

Our new favorite mountain range the Cuillins in the background. Just stunning!

Even though rainy/snowy weather was forecast, we were extremely blessed to have such beautiful sunny weather while we were there!

We got Youth Club started back up again. Although Youth Club hasn't been as consistent as we've liked, the kids continue to do well with participating. In the picture below, the kids are playing review Jeopardy, reviewing all of the Bible lessons we've taught in Youth Club so far this year. They did quite well!

Yesterday we were able to enjoy a walk near Callander to Bracklinn Falls. It is amazing how many walking trails there are in Scotland! We love to take advantage of them when we have the time.

And, although I don't have any pictures of it, we've had visitors here since last Friday. A group of 12 have come over on a survey trip to look at working in Scotland. It's been great to be part of some of their devotionals, since it's not often that we get to sing "devotional type" songs. Tristan and I have 2 guys staying with us. We love being able to open up our home to them!

February Happenings

2009-02-24T00:29:00.004Z

Thanks to James for getting us back on track here in the blogging world! We just needed that little push to get us going again! :)

February has gone by very quickly for us.

The first Tuesday we had our first ever Youth Club Parent's Night. It was a great success. Many parents attended and we had a lot of positive feedback about how great youth club is for their children.

Parent playing dodge ball against their kids. So funny!

The first Saturday of the month found us having a youth night at David and Emma's. We had lots of fun eating pizza and playing the Wii. We had a lot of good laughs and it was a great to get back together as a group.

Wii Sports!

And this past Saturday we hosted another FriendSpeak dinner party. We had spaghetti and meatballs and cheese cake for dessert.

We taught the game of Pit to them and they loved it.

It was a smashing night! We got to spend time with some of our readers that we already knew and got to know our new ones better. :)

Back Row L-R: Tina, Tristan, and Peter
Front Row L-R: Fina, Ring, Judy, Mia, and Leslie.

Burn's Night

2009-01-28T16:28:00.004Z

This year marked the 250th Anniversary of Robert Burns birth. This year is also known as a year of Homecoming in Scotland. Basically it's a campaign to make people aware of Scotland's heritage and promote tourism. Check out this site for more information and to help plan your trip to Scotland! :)

Now onto pictures of a wonderfully fun evening!

Tristan enjoying his haggis, neeps and tatties!

Everyone that wore traditional Scottish attire.

The guys in their kilts.
Almost everyone "took a turn" and preformed something for Burn's Night. We had several poems read, traditional Scottish songs sang, guitars played, sing alongs, and an amazing harpist! Tristan even got to resurrect his Chi jigging skills from college. He was a big hit!

Me and my wee boyfriend, Cameron.

Me and my man boyfriend. I opted out of the Scottish attire this year. :)

Continuing in my effort to post weekly...

2009-01-22T17:11:00.003Z

This post is especially for those of you out there who don't get our newsletter. If you are reading this and would like to get our newsletter via email, then just leave a comment and we'll get you put on our list!

We had to say goodbye to a couple of our dear friends at the beginning of this month. Danny and Jie have returned to China. It's been only a little over 2 weeks since they've gone, but we are really missing their presence.

Here are a couple of pics from the airport.

Also, this is a picture of Jie's hand. Do you notice anything different about it?

She and her father are the only people that she knows of that have the one line running all the way across their hands. I love unique things like that (which is why I had to get a picture of it)! Look at your own hand. You'll probably see 2 different lines!

We've won...

2009-01-17T13:47:00.005Z

a blogging award?

First of all thanks so much to Jennifer who nominated us for this prestigious award. If not for you Jennifer, I would not be typing these words now. I'm glad to know that you enjoy reading our blog. Our blog has been left sorely neglected these past couple of months. So, my new goal is to blog at least once a week!

So now I pass on this award to these people whose blog I love to read because they always put a smile on my face! In no particular order...

Sam & Ryan
Amy
Jennifer
Krista
Kayla
Missy
Kelly
April & Clint
Nicole
Meagan
Donna

The rules that accompany this FANtastic award are as follows:

Thank the person who was so thoughtful for giving you this award by linking their blog to this post.

Put the logo on your blog or post.
Nominate 10 blogs which show great attitude/gratitude.

Link your nominees to your post.

Comment them to tell them about the award they've won.

Christmas Questionaire

2008-12-05T19:58:00.002Z

I've been tagged by Jennifer!

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Definitely hot chocolate unless there is a cider option.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? I'm pretty sure that he always wrapped them.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? I LOVE all colors!!

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No

5. When do you put your decorations up? Normally after Thanksgiving

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? sweet potato casserole and crescent rolls

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child: Waking up extra early to open gifts, rolling down the hill in a tractor tire inner tube with my family and watching my grandpa do the same thing

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Don't remember

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Yes, now that I'm married

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? Lights, ornaments, something on the top!

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Absolutely LOVE it.

12. Can you ice skate? yes, love it!

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? I love all of my gifts!

14. What is the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Spending time with my family.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? My mom's cinnamon rolls, pecan pie

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Visiting family, Playing sports with family

17. What tops your tree? a star

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? Giving, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't like to receive too!

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? The First Noel, I want a hippopotamus for Christmas

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? Eh... could take'em or leave'em

21. What do you want for Christmas? Seasons of the Office

22. Do you attend an annual Christmas Party? Usually church ones

23. Do you dress up on Christmas or wear PJs? Pajamas until I have to go somewhere

24. Do you own a Santa hat? yes

25. Who do you normally spend Christmas with? My family, my husband

**Now, I am to tag some others who will answer the questions and pass the tag along !!

Whoever wants to do it!

Thanksgiving: It's not about the food...

2008-11-29T22:07:00.005Z

... Okay, so it's not entirely about the food. Last year we were very fortunate to spend Thanksgiving with several other American families here while eating a gorgeous meal. It was perfect for us because we had only been here for a few months and needed some familiarity. This year we did things a little different. Because the Stirling church's mid-week Bible study falls on a Thursday, we decided to do a short devotional and treat everyone to traditional Thanksgiving desserts. So we made Pecan Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Sweet Potato Casserole (this one is like a dessert) and Cinnamon Rolls. It was FAB!!! We had a great time and since we could not be with our families on Thanksgiving, it was very special to be with our church family.

In addition to this, Leslie and I made a small Thanksgiving dinner for just the two of us. We bought a Turkey Breast, I used four massive potatoes to make mashed potatoes (plenty for leftovers), gravy, sweet potatoes, carrots and stuffing. Well...it was good but not the best meal we have ever had. The potatoes needed a little bit more butter, the carrots were a little undercooked and the stuffing...oh the stuffing.

Growing up, my Dad and I always made the stuffing together. He would patiently wait for me as I cut the bread and measured it out. It was one of my favorite things during Thanksgiving, mainly for this reason. Well, this year I didn't take the time to do this. So we bought a box of stuffing from the store. First problem: the store had stuffing but only varieties of Sage and Onion. Sage and Onion with Lemon, Sage and Onion with Garlic, Sage and Onion etc. So we went with regular Sage and Onion. Second problem, the Sage and Onion was not good. I took a few bites...I honestly tried...but I couldn't stand it. I even had to remove it from my plate because the smell was so overpowering!! What can I say, I am a stuffing snob :)

All in all, it was a nice meal and we had a great time with the church later in the evening. The desserts were a big hit, especially the Sweet Potatoes and the Cinnamon Rolls. The ladies in the church did not believe that Leslie made them from scratch. She had to reassure them several times that she did not buy them from the store. I even had to give my testimony that I saw her make them!!

We hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving as well!!!

A New Creation and Fun Vacation

2008-11-19T16:20:00.004Z

Some of you may have heard by now that we have a new brother in Christ. On Sunday November 9th Danny decided to follow Jesus and put Him on in baptism. We are greatly rejoicing over this new creation!

Tristan and Danny

Stirling Church at Danny's Baptism

Later that week on Wednesday, we traveled with Danny and Jie to Ardnamurchan (on Scotland's west coast) to visit Mike and Joan at their lake side house there. It was a wonderful time of fellowship and fun. We were blessed to see some absolutely stunning scenery while there.

Below Tristan and I are posing in front of a monument to the place where Bonnie Prince Charlie and his clansman army raised the Jacobite flag and began their march to storm London. I do not envy their long journey of 526 miles.

Thursday we took a ferry to Tobermory on the Isle of Mull. As you can tell from the picture, we experienced typical Scottish weather.

Thursday was also Jie's birthday, so we had a celebration for her. She doesn't quite look 28 does she? (Joan, Jie, Danny, and Mike)

Friday, Mike mentioned that he had kayaks and that if we fancied a go on them we could. Well, if you know Tristan and I, that's right up our ally. Not to be put off by the rolling tide or howling winds, we suited up in Mike's astronaut-like dry suits and wellies, ready for an adventure.

As you can maybe tell from the fuzzy, unclear picture below, it was an adventure indeed. Tristan is the one in the freezing water. He came over to talk to me about 10 minutes into our paddling around the bay, and while a bit distracted from our conversation about my sore thumb, a wave came and flipped him over.

Tristan was wearing a dry suit, but water came in through the gap by his neck and got him fairly well soaked. Hehe :)

Here are a couple of things that I learned on this trip that I found very interesting. First of all, deer can swim. Mike said that he's seen them swim to a little island on the lake to eat the grass there. Maybe that is just a special talent of Scottish deer, because I've never heard of that before. Secondly, sheep can roll over cattle guards. People say that sheep are dumb, and I can see how they would say that, but for them to be able to figure out how to get across cattle guards is crazy to me!

A Little Catching Up

2008-10-30T15:07:00.004Z

Hello All... once again, so sorry for the delay in posting. We've been busy, but I cannot use that as an excuse for not posting as there have been several evenings when I could've easily have done so, but have not felt the motivation.
The past few weeks have flown by. With the ending of British Summer Time this past Sunday (equivalent to Daylight Savings Time), our hours of daylight have quickly diminished and now the sun is setting around 5:30. I know that this is not that big of a deal, but just knowing that sunset will quickly go from 5:30 to 4ish I must admit, depresses me. (Especially since in the summer it was setting at 10:30.) So Tristan and I try to enjoy the sun as much as possible while it's out. We both went for a walk/run on Monday morning and this morning, as we woke up to glorious sunshine both days. We're taking our good days when we can get them. The past few weeks have also been terribly rainy, not just here, but all over Britain. One area even got a whole month's worth of rain in 24 hours! Atrocious winds have accompanied the rain and have made our street look like this...

Can you see where the sidewalk is supposed to be by the trees? And yes, most of those are green leaves that were blown off.
In other news, Tristan and I, along with Danny and Jie, are going to be visiting church members, Mike and Joan, at their other house near Ardnamurchin in about two weeks time. Ardnamurchin is on Scotland's west coast. Mike and Joan extended an open invitation to visit them there any time, and we are now finally able to take them up on it. It will also be a wonderful time of fellowship with Danny and Jie as we will ride up there together and stay for 3 nights. I'm really looking forward to seeing more of that part of Scotland!

Fun with Friends

2008-10-18T15:03:00.005+01:00

Earlier this week Tristan and I went to the city of Perth with our friend David and his son Cameron. While there we visited Scone (Scone rhymes with tune) Palace. The palace is still home to the Earls of Mansfield. The palace is famous for being the place where Scottish Kings were crowned. We had a lot of fun walking the grounds and touring the palace.

Sitting pretty on the "Crown of Destiny", the seat where Kings sat to be crowned.
It was a beautiful day!

Tristan, David, and Cameron walking the grounds.

Redwood trees planted on the grounds.

Cameron posing pretty for the camera. Such a cutie pie!

Father and son.

Stop or I'll...

2008-10-02T22:07:00.004+01:00

My admiring fan, that is to say my wife, has been waiting in anticipation (or annoyance) for me to recount the riveting tale of Triddy's Trouble with Transatlantic Driving (title is very much a work in progress). As you may or may not know there are several differences when driving in America and driving in Scotland. The two major differences being the driver's side of the car is on the right and you drive on the left side of the road. This can cause some problems when switching from one country to the other; we don't have the time nor the energy to go into our problems with this. However, there is one other major difference between the two countries. America likes their stop signs and Scotland likes their roundabouts and giveway (yield) signs.
Now being the cultural enthusiast that I am, I have fully adopted the roundabout/giveway system. I have made it my own so that I can blend more in the culture and be a positive light for Christ. Again, we do not have the time to explore the wonderful benefits of this system but let's just say they are many. So before you judge me after you read this story, remember that I was just trying to become all things, a roundabout-givewayer, to all men so that I might save a few...or something like that. Oh...and have pity on me because this happened on my birthday after I had cut my lip on the tin foil of a Chipotle Burrito and it wouldn't stop bleeding for the entire meal.
15th September 2008, 17:35: Mardel Bookstore Edmond, OK
Leslie: Tristan, Jonathan it is time to go. We have to be at Oklahoma Christian University for our presentation in Outreach at 18:00 hours. It is critical to the Time Space Continuum that we arrive early to set up and be prepared.
Tristan: Yeah, even though it only takes five to seven minutes to get over there we should go.
15th September 2008, 17:38: Mardel Bookstore Parking Lot Edmond, OK
Tristan: Put on your seat belts, it's warp speed ahead.
15th September 2008, 17:43 or 17:45: OC Bible Building Parking Lot Edmond, OK
Narrator: As Tristan exits the vehicle he notices that the Gas Guzzling OC Security Truck has pulled up directly behind his vehicle. Curious to know what this is about, suspecting it might have be about the wee bit of speeding through the campus, Tristan completes his exit from the Dodge Stratus.
Tristan: Hi
In Tristan's Head: Maybe a friendly greeting and a nice, apprehensive smile might soften a potential blow.
Security: Do you know why I have stopped here?
Narrator: She says in a firm, unrelenting tone with pending punishment on her voice. Apparently Tristan has lost some of his boyish smile charm...got to work on that buddy!
Tristan: No, not really.
In Tristan's Head: Probably because I was speeding, although I think it is in the rule book of never admitting to the officer that you know what you were stopped for.
Narrator: Tristan's last words spoken with utter bewilderment, and a slight shake to his voice. Whereas the exchange of this introductory dialogue has only taken but a few seconds, neither Security nor Tristan ever stopped their slow approach toward each other.
Suddenly, Security turns 45 degrees to her left, places her left hand near her waist, stretches out her right hand, raises the volume of her voice and strengthens the tone of her words saying:
Security: DON'T COME ANY CLOSER
Narrator: Tristan sees his life flash before his eyes, his exact 26 years flash before his eyes because it is his birthday. He takes a minimal half step back, almost afraid to move, raises his hands partially, shots out a couple short breaths of laughter mixed with fear and says:
Tristan: I don't know what's going on here.
Security: You just blew through two stop signs!
Narrator: Tristan looks over his shoulder in the direction he just came from fully convinced that she was mistaken and that there could not have been stop signs there because he didn't stop or was it he didn't need to stop.
Tristan: Did I really? I am so sorry; I honestly did not see them.
Security: Are you a student on at this university?
Tristan: No, I am just a visitor.
Narrator: Tristan saying these last words with a hint of confused hope, maybe he won't have to get a ticket.
Security: If you wish to continue visiting this campus you will obey the traffic laws.
Narrator: She said with malice in her message because the opportunity to inflict a punishment on a poor college student had slipped through her fingers.
Tristan: I will, thank you
Narrator: Tristan blundered while still holding his breath, waiting for her to enter her Gas Guzzling Truck so he can breath a sigh of relief. Security returned to her vehicle, drove the twenty second drive to the adjacent terrace where she parked like a hawk to watch Tristan's next movements. And there she remained until Tristan had departed the Campus over an hour later, this time making sure to come to complete five second stops at the two stop signs. After she moved over to the terrace, Leslie and Jonathan exploded into laughter
Leslie: What did she think you were going to do?
Narrator: Jonathan, mimicking the over zealous Security personal, put his hand out
Jonathan: Don't come any closer.
Narrator: Laughter erupted again.
Tristan: I don't know...I...unbelievable...I really did not see them. I did what we do in Scotland, I looked thoroughly to make sure no cars were coming and when I saw there weren't, I just went. We really don't have stop signs in Stirling. I can think of two and even then I only can remember where one of them is at. We just use the roundabouts and yield signs, if no one is coming then you have the right of way.
Narrator: Tristan explained this for Jonathan's benefit and to much his own trying to justify why he had completely missed the stop signs. And that is the tale of Tristan's Trouble with Transatlantic Driving, that and it is actually pretty hard to drive over the Atlantic.

Hope you enjoyed that. If you didn't laugh at that, maybe you can laugh at the picture below. As a suggestion from my psychologist, he said that it would help me get through the coping process of this traumatic event if I did a little art therapy. So amuse yourself even more with my humiliating drawing.

U.S. Trip Stravaganza

2008-09-20T23:10:00.019+01:00

After three weeks, seven flights and six states we have returned back to our home in Scotland. We had the most marvelous time visiting family and friends. The following will be a photo tour of our time. We began our visit in sunny California (Aug 23) with Tristan's brother Troy and his family. We got to meet our new niece Taylor first time. We had a great time at the beach and on Santa Monica's 3rd street promenade.

Trid, Les, Trey, Nicole and Troy at the Getty Museum.

Tristan and Trey.
Taylor and Leslie.

We continued our visit in Texas (Aug 25) with Tristan's other brother Travis and his family, also meeting our other new niece, Chloe for the first time. Travis was a great cook. Thanks for the salsa and homemade icecream. We're so happy we were able to spend time with them, however short it was!

Leslie and Chloe.

Noah and Tristan playing together.
Our next stop was Colorado (Aug 27) to visit Tristan's parents. We had a great time at the presidential experience exhibit while it was in town during the Democratic National Convention. We also we able to go to the mountains for a picnic and a drive up Mount Evans. It was a wonderful time with great company!

Tristan's parents, Jim and Brenda, posing at the presidential podium.

One of about 30 mountain goats we saw on our drive up Mount Evans. (Yes, he's sticking his tongue out at you!)
Us at the summit, 14,264 feet.

Our travels continued in Oklahoma (Aug 30), where my Uncle Nick picked us up. He held a sign for "Mr. and Mrs. Haagis McBlocky". Hilarious!
We went to church at Memorial Road in Edmond where Tristan gave a presentation of our work during a class and then off to Muskogee.

Girls reunited in Muskogee, OK (Aug 31)! My sis Jenna, mom Nancy, sis Callie and me at my Grandparents 50th wedding anniversary party.
Me and my Grandma Rose.

My brother Derek and his girlfriend Megan.

My family: Les, Trid, Mom, Dad, Callie, Jenna and Derek.

And on to Windom, Kansas (Sept 2), but only for an evening to catch Callie's volleyball game. She's a senior this year and just pretty much an awesome person.
The next morning we were off to Wichita to visit our previous employers. Tristan gave another presentation at the Assisted Living Home where he used to work. We had a meal with a Northside church family that evening and attended church that evening.

Then up to Blair, Nebraska (Sept 4) the following morning to go visit Tristan's Grandma Pearl. It was wonderful to be able to visit with her and some of Tristan's other family that live in Blair.

That evening we traveled over to Albion to spend about a day and a half with more family. Here we are with Tristan's cousins, Spencer and Dustin. It was great to be able to watch Spencer play football and visit with aunts and uncles and grandparents.

Tristan's Grandparents: Grandpa and Grammy

Aaaannnnddd... back to Kansas (Sept 6). By this time I (Leslie) am feeling pretty icky with a cold. But, my parents surprised Tristan and I (especially me) with celebrating our birthdays that evening. I assumed they would celebrate Tristan's, since it was on the 15th, but I had no clue about mine. It was great!

Sunday we worshipped with the Windom Church of Christ. Tristan had a full plate, with presenting our work during class time and preaching during worship. He did a great job, such a proud wife here! It was so wonderful to be with the church that I grew up in.

That afternoon Tristan and I absolutely crashed! We were shattered from all of the traveling we had done up to that point. We laid on my parent's lovely reclining love seat and watched a movie. That evening I went to bed rather early, since I still wasn't feeling that great. At around midnight I started getting up to throw up and like clockwork every 20 to 30 minutes until four in the morning I was tossing my cookies until there were no cookies left. Amazingly enough, the next morning I felt better, my cold even seemed to be gone!

That week, my new cousin was born. My cousin Justin, and his wife Krista, had their first child Kate. We were so glad to be able to go and visit them in their beautiful house.

Probably one of the funniest things that's ever happened in my life occured on this trip. I was able to get my sister, Callie, to teach Tristan her cheerleading dance one night. Callie and I were absolutely rolling and crying with laughter. I love that my husband is such a good sport and an awesome dancer!
We are so thankful for the time we were able to visit with family! Tristan and my cousin Kyler.

Brother and Sister: Kyler and Jaylie

One thing that really worked out during our trip is that our very good friend Jonathan was able to visit the States at the same time as us. It had been over 2 years since we last saw him! Good buddies and college roomies: Jonathan and Tristan.Saturday (Sept 13) we were able to have lunch with some of our friends from college/Northside. In the evening my dear sweet friends Jennifer and Donna organized and hosted a party for us. It was wonderful to see so many of our young adult friends again and so many new babies added to their families since we've been in Scotland.

On Sunday Tristan again presented our work during class time and preached during worship. Jonathan led singing. :)

Friends! Sam, Ryan, Me, Trid, Jonathan, Paul and Stacey. Ryan and Sam opened up their home and good cooking to us for a couple of nights while we were in Wichita. Thanks guys!

Monday (Sept 15) we headed back to Oklahoma, but not before a birthday lunch at Chipotle, Tristan's favorite! No, that's not food. That's blood on Tristan's lip. In a freak burrito eating accident, Tristan's lip was cut, and it bled throughout the entire meal. Poor soul, and on his birthday too! He powered through though, and ate that monster burrito anyway.

To get the bleeding to stop we had to go over to Walgreens next door and get a little white stick thing that would stop the bleeding. Good times!

Jonathan drove us down to Oklahoma. We were so happy to be able to spend that time with him! That evening our last presentation was at Outreach at OC. We were happy to share our experiences with college students, imagining ourselves in their position not too long ago. After Outreach many of our college friends gathered at Clyde and Gwen Antwine's house for a get together and to celebrate Trid's B-day. It was wonderful to get to see those people again, and actually a majority of the people that were there were involved in the Germany campaigns that we went on in college. What a reunion! It was also wonderful for my brother to be there and to say goodbye to him.

Birthday cake number 3 or 4?

Me and Amy Nickerson. Love this girl!

Tristan and Kevin. Oh my what they are laughing about!
Trid, Me, Courtney and Ed. Such an encouraging and inspiring couple to know!

Trid, Kerbs, and me. (Yes, I know your last name is now Woods, but you'll always be Kerbs in my heart dear lodgemate!)

Thus concluding our photo tour. The next morning (Sept 16), Jonathan deposited us at the aeropuerto at a rediculously early hour. We traveled to Newark and arrived their early, making our layover about 8 hours. We wandered around the shops and watched episodes of Smallville (Thanks Ryan and Sam) on our laptop until our flight. We flew back to Scotland arriving Wednesday morning (Sept 17).

We are now trying to adjust to this time zone, but as it is 1:15 a.m. as I write this, you can guess how we are doing. :)

Look for our next update as Tristan describes his adventure with OC campus security. Cheerio the now!

Another Update

2008-08-11T23:19:00.003+01:00

Our website has finally been updated. We've posted new pictures from May through July and updated our downloads page with our latest newsletters and prayer calendars. Check it out!

We leave you today with a blurry photo of one of our favourite Scottish road signs: Elderly Crossing.

A Wee Update

2008-08-09T16:53:00.011+01:00

Hello all! Sorry for the long break between posts. Since our last post we've had my family over for a visit. We were busy every day traveling all over Scotland.

We've also been busy preparing for our trip to the States in 2 weeks. We are so excited to see as many friends and family as we can! Our trip will cover 5 states in 3 weeks. We're going to be everywhere!
Here's some more pictures from our family's visit.

Me and my little sis, Callie, in front of the Houses of Parliament in London.

Trid and Callie in U.K. Hats.
The Fam on a walk not far from our house.

Fish and Chips!!! But, I had a baked potato with tuna.

The gals in front of the Loch Ness.

Ellwoods at the top of the Wallace Monument

My parents with the city of Stirling, the River Forth, and the castle in the background.
Good Times!

Reflections of a Year

2008-07-14T17:36:00.003+01:00

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

2008-07-09T23:11:00.008+01:00

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!

2008-07-02T14:13:00.005+01:00

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.

2008-06-24T12:38:00.012+01:00

Well, it's been about a month since our last post. Let us catch you up on what's been happening with us!

At the end of May we moved into our new place. Third time's a charm right?! We are happily settled in with our phone and internet connection now up and running. Our house is the one on the right with the brown trim.

The first weekend in June we had Clyde and Gwen for a visit. It was so good to see and spend time with them. They have been such a great encouragement to us and we love them dearly!

The next weekend we took a day trip to Bamburgh and Holy Island with some folks from church. Pictured below is Tristan with Danny on the beach with Bamburgh castle in the background. The day was nice for the most part, with some rainy patches here and there.

Here we are eating Italian with everyone who went along. From Left: Danny, Dick, David, Cameron, Emma, Jie, Me, and Ann with Tristan taking the pic.

A view of the sea.

The next weekend (21-22) Chris and Anna brought a couple of youth from Morley up to our Stirling Youth Day. They stayed with us Friday and Saturday night. It was a blast to be with them playing games and just chatting!
Here are a few pictures from our Youth Day. We had about 25 youth in attendance. The day was a hit with all the comments being very positive. Below: Tristan, Emma and David

Part of the afternoon was spent making videos to show during the evening. The kids loved it and they were great actors!

We also had a meal and devotional time. Tristan and David did great with the talks they gave about spiritual health!

Please keep visiting our blog, as we plan to be posting more regularly now that we have the internet again! Adios!

A Bit of Block News

2008-05-25T22:29:00.007+01:00

Today and yesterday was spent cleaning our new place. We basically did a spring cleaning of sorts: washing, dusting, and vacuuming. This week we will be moving our things in and cleaning out our current place.

Here are a couple of happenings from this past week.

Last Sunday, Tristan cut the grass using the electric mower. It plugs into the outlet through our kitchen window. You can tell it's a lot of hard work mowing the 15 square feet. :)

Yes, sadly that is a dead little bird. On Wednesday it tried to fly through our closed kitchen window. I about jumped out of my skin, as I was standing next to said window at the time. Tristan tried to tell me that it did not die, that it probably just stunned itself and would get up and fly away. I took a peak at it and saw it twitch a bit and thought that maybe he was right. But after our dinner it became quite clear to us that it was not going to be flying away any time soon or at all for that matter. It also became a bit of an issue as to how we would dispose of the poor thing, since our fortnightly trash pick up had just been by the previous night. So Tristan carried out his husbandly duty of disposing of dead animals and picked up little tweety using a sack and took him over the road to a nearby field and laid him to rest near some trees (I'm fairly certain that's what he said he wanted for his final resting place with the little twitch he made to me before he died.)

Friday night we had another youth gathering. Pictured below is our group attempting the human knot.

And here I am not participating in the human knot, because I was cuddling Cameron. What a wee cutie!

Three Years

2008-05-17T21:17:00.013+01:00

Three years have gone by since we tied the knot! I know at the time we were married that I never dreamed we'd be where we are today, but I am so thankful for how God has blessed our lives and our marriage. I love that we are able to spend so much time together, practically every waking moment! This has taken some adjustment for us (probably more for Tristan than me, I can get annoying!), but we have grown closer because of it. Here's a picture from us on May 14th 2005.

This past week we celebrated our third anniversary by taking a trip to Inverness, the town by the famous Loch Ness. We stayed at a lovely Bed & Breakfast. I'm pretty sure that if you ever go to Inverness, you'll have a place to stay. About every other house was a B&B, it was pretty incredible. Pictured below is the city, with the River Ness that runs right through it.

We were able to enjoy the beautiful colors of the spring flowers. I love tulips!

The first evening (Wednesday) we were there we caught a movie. Normally a visit to the movies wouldn't warrant a mention in a post, but we had an interesting event occur during the movie. If you look closely at the photo below, you'll see the blue light of a fire engine in front of the movie theatre. During the middle of our film, a loud speaker came on instructing us to make for the nearest exit. The nearest exit was actually in our movie theatre room, but everyone just filed out the regular way. Good thing there wasn't really a fire.

We were told to assemble in the "Pets at Home" parking lot, and after about 20 minutes a false alarm was called and we were able to go back in and finish the movie. The best part was that the movie theatre gave us free passes and luckily we have the same cinema in Stirling.

Thursday we went on a hill walk to the Novar Wind Farm. The whole trek was 7 miles and took us about 4 hours. Below a picture from the beginning.

And now a picture from the top. We had a nice walk, as there was a gravel road that led all the way to the top. There were about 30 windmills scattered throughout the hills. It was kind of daunting standing so near one. They would go so fast, but they were really quiet. They kinda sounded like waves hitting the seashore.

We got so chilly at the top where we stopped to have lunch and a break.

Friday we left Inverness and headed for home, driving along Loch Ness and making a few stops on the way. One of those stops was Urquhart Castle, a ruin right on the river. We were also hoping to spot "our underwater ally" Nessie along the way, but she was a no show.

The drive along the way was absolutely gorgeous! We stopped along the highway so I could take this picture. We kept commenting on the drive about how much the landscape reminded us of Colorado!

We also got a picture of us with Ben Nevis, the highest hill in Great Britain at 4,406 ft and an extremely popular hill to climb. I know that height doesn't compare with those in the Rockies, but here the hills start at almost sea level. An interesting side note about Ben Nevis: Tristan read that if you are a first time hill walker it would take you about 5 hours to get to the summit, and then about 3 hours to get down. On average it takes about 5-6 hours for the round trip. Every year they have a race to see who can go up and come back down the fastest. The record is under 90 minutes!! That's up and back my friends! I would die! On second thought, scratch that, I would not even try to run up a hill. I think those kind of people are a bit crackers. Talk about endurance!

We would've had more pictures for you from our drive through Glen Coe, but the clouds that look like death on the way rolled in and the rain poured for the most beautiful part of our drive. We plan on going back that way again, and we'll be sure to take lots of pictures at that time.

Also... we've found a new place to live! It's located in a nice area not even a mile from where we are currently! We hope to be out of this place in two week's time and all settled into the new place by the end of this month. Please keep us in your prayers as we make this transition.

Thanks Northside Family!!!

2008-05-13T22:09:00.002+01:00

Yesterday we received a great care package from our Northside Family in Wichita, KS. Many of the church members wrote very encouraging notes to us. We were also pleased to get several coloured pictures from the children's classes.
They were kind enough to send several food items, some teaching materials, some books and the encouraging notes. We have maintained contact with several of the members from our loving church family in Wichita. It is incredible to have a support system that stretches all over the world. Even though they are a great support to us, they are so much more than that. The church in Wichita (and the other churches who support us) is our family. They have sacrificed for us, prayed for us, encouraged us, equipped us, inspired us and a couple will even visit us!!! It is such a blessing to be a part of the family of God. So from the bottom of our hearts: Thank You!!!

A Change in Weather

2008-05-11T20:21:00.004+01:00

This past week has been absolutely gorgeous. On Monday we woke up to the most fantastic day we have had this year. So after we finished our chores, we headed to the Ochil Hills. The hills are just minutes away from Stirling. This picture is of Glen Alva. The normal path does not take you to the top. We went off the beaten path to get to the top. It was pretty steep.

This is just half way up. All in all it didn't take that long to get the top. We had a great time and soaked up the sun.

The rest of the week was just as nice as the first day! We loved the change in weather. Since this will be our first full summer in Scotland, we are looking forward to seeing what it is like. It will be nice to have some warmer weather so we can at least climb some hills.

Just a Regular Update

2008-05-04T21:36:00.005+01:00

Sorry for the delay in updating! This past week we've been up to our normal activities, but we've also been actively looking for another place to live. Our house search will continue this coming week, and hopefully we'll have a decision made by next week.

I just wanted to post of picture of one of my hobbies. I like to crochet. I especially like to crochet baby blankets for friends and family who are expecting little ones. Pictured below is the seventh blanket I've made since moving to Scotland.

Saturday we were told about the "Big in Falkirk" a May festival held every year in a nearby town. We went and met up with a family from the church. There were many tents, games for children and lots of musical performances. You can see the many people that turned out for the event with the Callander house in the background.

Tristan enjoying a yummy festival hot dog.

Bible Study and FriendSpeak Party

2008-04-26T00:45:00.004+01:00

Thursday evening we hosted Bible study in our home. Although our numbers were fewer than normal it was an uplifting time. Tristan led the study over John 12-13, specifically focusing on Jesus washing the disciples' feet.

Friday night was spent with the people shown in the picture below. We have three more regular FriendSpeak readers that were not able to come, but we did have a lot of fun with our smaller group. Along with a lot of great snacks, including Tristan's salsa, we played a lot of different card games and the game of Pit.

L to R: Carey, Mitch, Danny, Jie, Isobel and Tristan. (not pictured, the photographer - ME!)

Isobel and Jie playing a fierce game of Speed 2!

In other news... on Thursday we received a letter in the mail stating that our let would be terminated at the end of our 6 month contract. Our landlord wants to sell, so we have to move out. This was really not something we wanted to hear, since we really like this place and wanted to be in it for as long as the rest of our stay in Scotland. We spoke with our landlady today, and she was really nice about letting us get out of our contract early if we find a place and wanted to take it. So, round 3 of the house hunt begins!

We did receive some uplifting news in the mail on the same day. Outreach, a missions organization we were a part of while at Oklahoma Christian University, sent us some encouragement notes. We think that God knew we would need them with the news of our let being cancelled. He was right! Thank you Outreach!

Prom, Preaching and Weeding

2008-04-22T14:58:00.007+01:00

This past weekend my sister, Callie, had her prom. She and here date looked really cute together. Tristan and I got to see and talk to them (and others in my family) online before they left. Here is a picture of Callie and my mom. Aren't they beautiful! Hopefully they all have recovered from the after prom festivities! I am so excited to see them (and my dad) here in Scotland in about 3 months!

This past Sunday Tristan once again had the opportunity to preach. He did part 1 of a two part lesson over Moses and the changes that he went through during his life. He did a great job, and we are all looking forward to hearing part 2 in a couple of weeks. Doesn't he look snazzy in his outfit. Such a handsome guy!

In other news, Tristan's been getting to our garden (lawn) care. Here he is weeding the rocks in front of our house. A bit of a tedious job, but it made a real difference in the look of things. He also sprayed all of the cracks in sidewalk and our drive and replanted a hanging pot with flowers. Hopefully they survive, since they were almost dead went we bought them.

Before....

After....

That's about it for now. Tristan is reading with Jie right now, and Jie and I are going to make cookies when they are done! Be looking for a post later this week that should include pictures of our weekly Bible study that is at our house this week and a FriendSpeak game night that we are hosting.

The Recycled Food Diet

2008-04-15T21:48:00.002+01:00

Leslie does a great job at keeping the Blog up to date, so I (Tristan) decided I needed to post something and I found my inspiration.
We are on a diet, or eating plan if you like, that makes us eat what I have termed 'recycled food.' We were out buying our Wholewheat Spaghetti and I realized that it is recycled spaghetti.
It reminded me of the school Lined Recycled Paper that came out in the 90's. You know the stuff, this Paper was a few shades darker than regular Lined Paper, and it had spots all over it. I being the environmental conscience person I am got the paper, used it, and got made fun of. People asked, why is your paper so dirty? When the teacher passed back papers, you could see my in the middle of the stack; the one dirty piece of paper in the middle of all those clean ones. That is the dreaded memory that came to mind when I saw the recycled spaghetti.
As if taking away my normal pasta was not enough, we also bought some Skim-Milk, which everyone who likes milk knows it is just recycled milk with water added to it. A while back I changed from 2% to 1% and it was okay; I liked it. But skim milk is just pushin' the limit.
When we do get to eating bread again, I apparently have to go for Whole Grain bread. I must confess that this is not a total loss, as I do like most all kinds of breads. But that is the point, I like all kinds including my White French Bread and such. Just another portion of recycled food.
The truth is this: the wholewheat pasta is not that bad, the whole grain bread (with occasional white bread here and there) will not be that bad either but I just don't think the skim-milk will work out. Hope you are enjoying your diet...we are enjoying ours, truly.

London Part 2

2008-04-05T13:39:00.029+01:00

Wednesday found us at St. Paul's Cathedral. Our favorite part was climbing up into the dome and experiencing the "whispering gallery". We stood on opposite sides of the dome and whispered against the walls. We could hear what the other was saying, pretty cool.
Climbing some of the 530 steps to reach the top!

Here we are at the Golden Gallery aka the top, with a view of the city behind us. Unfortunately we chose the only rainy day on our trip to climb up to see the view.

Our next stop was the H.M.S Belfast, a ship used during WWII.

We loved exploring all the different levels and seeing the models of how life was on the ship when it was active.

Tristan pictured in the captain's seat. The long range gun in the background can hit a target 12 miles away!

Then we headed to the Tower Bridge. This bridge is a landmark of London and is featured in several movies (i.e. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix). The bridge is able to raise up so that large ships can pass through it. (Interesting Fact: The Tower Bridge was not bombed during WWII, because the German's used it as a landmark to find other prominent buildings.)

Below is a poster showing that a double decker bus once jumped the bridge while it was raising. It's not an actual photo, but the artists interpretation of the event.

Next we took a city cruise to our next destination. It was a fun way to travel.

The Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms showed us how the British operated during WWII.

Picture of me with the mannequin guard.

We also went to the National Gallery, home of some of the finest works of art. We especially liked the Monet paintings.

After a bite to eat, we decided to go bowling. I know what you're thinking. Bowling? You're in London! Why are you bowling? Well, the answer is pretty simple. We bought a London Pass to get into all of the sights that we've been seeing. The pass also gives you discounts on restaurants (Hard Rock and Wagamama) and leisure activities. Also, most of the sights close around 5 or 6, so there's a limited amount of activities that you can take part in. And since we are not pub going kind of people, we thought we take full advantage of our pass. Tristan is pictured below probably getting a strike. He totally dominated the game, giving me a sound thrashing 142 - 77.

Since we didn't make it to the Wellington Arch during open hours, we decided to see it at night.

And since Buckingham Palace wasn't far from the Wellington Arch, we visited it as well. Again, no monarchs waving at us. Sigh.

On the Tube ride back to our hotel at 11:30, there was a train backup and we had to stop and wait for about 15 minutes for the train to start moving again. You can kind of see how full the train is in this picture.

Our last morning was spent looking for a Krispy Kreme and for Platform 9 and 3/4. Obviously we found the Platform (which really isn't on an actual platform but is near to platforms 9 and 10), but never found a Krispy Kreme. We saw one earlier in the week, but couldn't remember where we saw it.

We made a quick stop at the British Library that houses the Gutenburg Bible, Magna Carta, and hundreds of other ancient books and documents (the Beatles collection of lyrics written on scraps of paper was one of our favorite things to see).

Our last major visit on our trip was the British Museum, specifically to see the Terracotta Warrior exhibit. When we got to the exhibit entrance, someone tried to get us to sell our tickets to them, basically telling us to name our price. We kindly rejected the offer and were glad that we did.

Standing next to some big Assyrian statue things.

Tristan, next to a bust of Ramses II, possibly the Pharoah of the Exodus account.

Pointing to the Annal's of Sennacherib. We looked all over the museum for this exhibit only to find that the room was closed. So we stood at the doorway to look at it from afar.

On our way back to the Tube, we saw the world's first Y, so we snapped a picture.

Here's a picture of us, happy about all that we did. Really the only thing that we had planned on doing, but didn't get to because of time, was the London Zoo. So we were very happy of the things that we were able to see and do.

You are probably wondering why the last picture on here is of our feet. It's because our feet have never hurt so much in our entire lives! We've done a lot of walking before, but I don't think we've ever done this amount, combined with just standing to look at every exhibit. By about 3:00 everyday, our feet were absolutely killing us. I guess we need some new shoes!

London Part 1

2008-04-04T23:06:00.016+01:00

Hello everyone! We are now back from our fab trip to London. Today I'll post about what we did on Monday and Tuesday, and tomorrow I'll finish up with what we did on Wednesday and Thursday.
Monday started at 3:30 a.m. We left our house by 4:ooish to drive to an airport that is about 1 1/2 hours away. Our flight to an airport outside of London was only about an hour, but then it took about another 1 1/2 hours on a bus to get to London itself. All said and done we arrived at about 11:00. We grabbed a muffin and some juice to refuel and then we were off.
Our first stop was Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament pictured below. Actually, the clock itself is not Big Ben, but the bell inside the tower that rings is the "real" Ben (named after the man who made it).

Then we went to Westminster Abbey. Tristan is pictured at the front door below. You couldn't take pictures inside, so this is the best you get. It's was interesting to learn how many different people are buried inside, many monarchs but also others like Geoffrey Chaucer (author of Canterbury Tales).

Here's a picture of us on a bridge over the River Thames with the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben.

Our next stop was the Imperial War Museum. Along with lots of cool army equipment, we liked the exhibit on war posters, the Holocaust floor and the exhibit about British army intelligence.

By 6:30 we figured that we needed to find the hotel that we were going to stay in. We took the Tube (underground) to the stop we thought was closest and started to walk, figuring that the hotel was not too far away. After walking for about 30 minutes, we found a couple of police officers to ask where to go. They pointed us in the right direction, and after about 45 more minutes, we found it. The hotel itself left a lot to be desired, but obviously we survived. Needless to say by that time we were pretty shattered and ready for some food since a muffin and a couple of granola bars was all we had to eat since 4 a.m. So we headed out again on our tired feet, and after a couple more "detours" we made it to the Hard Rock Cafe ready to feed our ravenous selves. Below is a picture of us waiting 40 minutes to be seated.

Below is a picture of Tristan being so hungry that he is going to eat pepper. We finally got to eat around 9:45. The hamburgers we ate were so delicious. I realized as I was eating mine that I hadn't had one since July when we first got here! Pretty crazy huh?

Day 2 started out with a trip to Windsor Castle. It's located a bit outside the city, but a train took us there easily. Apparently Her Majesty the Queen was there while we were, but she must not have realized we were there, because she never waved at us from her window. Below I am pictured with some guards marching with their funny hats, and then us with a guard in the background.

Next we visited the Tower of London. It was a fortress of sorts for the royals, and also served as a prison.

After a yummy dinner at Wagamama, we went to what is one of the highlights of our trip. Wicked! This musical is awesome! If you ever get the chance to go see it please do! We LOVED it!

Off to London

2008-03-30T15:47:00.002+01:00

Hi Friends and Family! Tomorrow we leave for a short holiday to the city of London. Our flight leaves at 6:50 a.m. It will take us 1 1/2 hours to get to the airport that we are leaving from, so needless to say, we'll be getting up early! We'll be visiting several places while there, and we'll have several pictures to share with you next weekend. Have a good week everyone!

Photos of Youth Club

2008-03-25T15:36:00.004Z

Just a few photos from Youth Club. Enjoy!

So Funny!

2008-03-19T13:00:00.003Z

Click here to watch a 1 minute 30 second video of a 3 year old explaining Star Wars.

Visitors

2008-03-16T16:55:00.005Z

This past week we had Saul and Daniel, Burmese students from the British Bible School, stay with us. They were here to attend the Hebrews Seminar. We had a wonderful time together, especially over meals. They brought food to share with us (fish, pork thigh, and pig's head) and even made a delicious Chinese dish to share on our last evening together. We finally had a clear day on their last day with us to see the sights around Stirling.

With Saul eating yummy Chinese food.
With Saul near to Stirling Castle.

EXCITING NEWS!!!

2008-03-11T16:46:00.002Z

We would like to introduce you to a new sister in Christ! Jie, Tristan's FriendSpeak reader made the decision to become a Christian this past Friday and was immersed into Christ on Sunday with our whole church present. Tristan had the privilege of baptizing her. Click here to see pictures of the baptism and other March events.

Pretty Flowers

2008-03-03T14:05:00.004Z

Aren't those flowers beautiful?!! Tristan brought them home for me the other night. What a thoughtful husband I have! And yes, that is a water bottle made vase. :)
In other news, our niece Taylor has finally made her appearance after being a week overdue. We are eagerly awaiting pictures of the little princess. We are so excited for Troy and Nicole and especially for Trey who is sure to be a wonderful big brother!

New Blog

2008-02-28T18:19:00.002Z

Hello Friends. This is our answer to the blogging problems that we have had lately! A New Blog!
We hope that this will help us communicate easier!