Day 8: Our last day in Scotland

Our last day in Scotland was pretty low key. Alicia and Caitlin were back in the US, and Carter had left really early that morning. Things were beginning to quiet down (and I think a sadness hit each of us as it hit us that this was our last day).

That morning, we helped Sarah distribute some additional flyers around the community. Afterwards, Sarah gave us an extended tour of Aberdeen as we went to grab a quick lunch. During the tour, I think one of my favorite stories was when Sarah took us by an area that has lots of pubs and she showed us a pub where Radiate held events prior to them partnering up with Starbucks. As we walked by, she started naming the names of a few people we'd gotten to know during that week that are currently involved with Radiate, that gave their lives to Christ as a result of the events that had been held there.

After lunch we met up with Jo, Linda, and Michael at Starbucks for some delicious cups of coffee. I'm pretty sure this was the day when the Starbucks had a shortage of the medium (grande) coffee mugs for in-store orders, so they just upgraded whoever ordered a medium to a large (venti). Christie got a mug that was about the size of her head!

After coffee, we got to go out shopping for a little bit during the afternoon.

That evening, we went over to Martha & Jenn's apartment and got to try this pizza called the gatecrasher. It's called the gatecrasher because it is so HUGE! Anyway, we stuffed our faces, and had a great time with our friends before having to say our goodbyes. I won't go into detail there, because saying goodbye once was hard enough, and having to narrate it would just be too sad. However, we've all gotten to stay in touch thanks to Facebook!

Well, I believe this is the end of the blogs, at least for now. I'll be adding pictures to the blog posts as soon as I have time, so check back in a few weeks!

Day 7: Big Sunday & King's Community Church

On Sunday, we got to go to a regular Sunday morning and evening service at KCC. Pastor Iain had a really interesting message that drew a really cool parallel tying the human body and fitness, to the spiritual lives that we should be leading. His idea in a nutshell is something like this: We are called to run the race (as Paul stated) and never give up until we reach the finish line; however, in order to run a race in real life, we must be physically fit. We can't expect to get up off the couch one day and run a marathon or race in the Olympics the next day. It takes lots of training, and you have to start from wherever you're at currently, taking small strides each day to get in better shape until you can run the long distances. This idea carries into our spiritual lives, because we have to build up our faith at whatever level we're at. We have to take small steps, starting where we are, in prayer, fasting, and listening to God so that we can run the race.

Anyway, I thought that was pretty cool.

That afternoon, Sarah & Rob Malcolm had all of us (and a few church friends) over for a delicious pot-luck style lunch!

Later that evening at the service, Carter and Cassie shared their testimonies. We got to hang out with all of our new friends afterwards over take-out dinner at the church. A bunch of us got to eat fish n' chips one more time from a little food place across the street from the church. We were trying to squeeze in as much more of Aberdeen as we could before our last day in Scotland!

Back in the States!

Hey Everyone,

So as you all know, we have all arrived back to the States safely and are readjusting to our daily routines. Unfortunately the last few days of the trip flew by and I didn't get the time to update the blog for each day while we were there. However, I do plan on completing this blog, and I made sure to take pictures and write down notes from each day so that I can share with you all the wonderful experiences that we had in Scotland.

Check back over the next few days, as I will be filling in the remaining entries and hopefully will add pictures from our trip as well.

God Bless, and thanks again for your support!
- Greg & the team.

Day 6: The Ceilidh (pronounced "kay-lee")

So, because it's been about a week since we've returned from Scotland, I decided to look up an Aberdeen radio station online while I write this entry here at UNC. Hopefully I won't get too nostalgic! The radio host sounds a lot like Ross (except maybe after a few espressos), the AG church intern that we got to know throughout the week.

So here goes day 6:

Saturday kicked off with an exciting trip (organized by our Radiate pals) to Dunnottar Castle, which is near a town called Stonehaven (not too far from Aberdeen). What a sight! The castle ruins stand majestically atop a high hill that is about three-quarters surrounded by the coast. Aside from a steep path connecting the hill to the mainland, the castle hill is basically inaccessible due to rocky cliffs that the ocean has carved out. We got to wonder around the cliffs near the coast and even spotted a seal (although it was too far away to catch on camera).

After returning to Aberdeen, we were treated to a wonderful traditional Scottish meal known as haggis at one of the girls' flats (flat = apartment). I have to be honest, I was initially a little hesitant because I had heard of what ingredients were in it...but I'm glad I tried it, because it was tasty! It was really great to get to spend time with the students (and alumni) that we'd gotten to know throughout the week while helping with Radiate events. We topped off the meal with smores for dessert.

Then we went back to the church to help set up for the ceilidh. By the way, a ceilidh is like a type of Scottish traditional dance that is similar to square dancing here in the States. The ceilidh band consisted of Sarah on the fiddle, Michael (part of Radiate) on the drums, an electric guitarist and a base player. As Michael put it, it was a rock ceilidh band...and they were really really good! In the end, about 80 people attended the ceilidh (we were hoping to match last year's ceilidh, which had 75 people in attendance, so wohoo!). All of us on the team had a blast jumping around and learning all sorts of Ceilidh dances...and Carter and I rented (or "hired" which is the word used for renting things in the UK) kilts for the occasion.

Day 5: Back in Aberdeen with Brenton Brown!

Day 5 kicked off with a 9AM train from Edinburgh back to Aberdeen. Once again we got to look at some amazing countryside scenery during our 2 hour train ride full of green pastures, tons of sheep, and some cool sights of the coast and the ocean.

Once we got back to the church and dropped off our things, we headed out to Robert Gordon University, which is another university in Aberdeen. Unfortunately, the ability of Radiate to be present on this campus has been really restricted in the past, so much that they've even been not-so-kindly escorted off the campus before...just because Radiate is a Christian ministry. So we didn't really know (Sarah included) what to expect when we arrived to put up flyers to advertise for the upcoming Ceilidh and do a quiet prayer walk through the campus. Fortunately, we were able to post flyers and go through the entire campus without any trouble...we even got to have a delicious lunch in the campus cafe.

Martha, a Robert Gordon student finishing up the last bit of her studies that is part of Radiate, went with us and helped us find places where we could put up the flyers. Getting to talk with Martha about the university was really encouraging, because you can tell that she is passionate about seeing that campus reached for Christ, from the health sciences department to the art department (which was quite impressive, by the way). The interesting part is that despite the limited accessibility to the campus, there's quite a few students from Robert Gordon (abbreviated RGU) that attend Radiate events and are part of the ministry. What resonated with me while I was prayer walking with the group is that, even with the limited access, this group of passionate students are paving the way for Radiate to grow in RGU through their prayers and the relationships that they hold with other students at the university.

After our visit to RGU, Carter, Alicia, Martha, and I joined Jo and Michael at Starbucks to go on the quest for getting kilts for Carter and I to wear during the Ceilidh! Carter and I picked out the tartans we each liked (the design on the kilt), got fitted, and then we were all set for the big dance on Saturday!

We then joined the rest of the team later that afternoon and helped to set up for the Brenton Brown concert at the church that night. We were all over the place, some of us moving chairs around, and others setting up the coffee & snack area for the intermission in the concert.

The concert was really good! We had a great time that night, even when the intermission started and 300 people flocked over to the coffee bar. The funny thing is that initially it was just Caitlin, Cassie, and Christie that were working the coffee bar...but once we realized just how busy they were, Jennifer and Alicia also joined in to help at the coffee bar while Carter and I ran around with trays to clean off any tables and pick up "rubbish" (= "trash") so other people could sit down and have their tea/coffee. Hopefully all of the concert-goers left feeling like they got 5-star service from the group of Americans with strange accents! :)

Day 4: Edinburgh

We kicked off our day with a 2-hour train trip through the countryside to the city of Edinburgh. The train ride was actually really comfortable, and we essentially went right along the coast and got to see some really picturesque scenes of nature on the way (and tons of sheep!).

When we arrived, we dropped off our things at Kate and Dave's apartment (AG missionaries who are church planting and working with Radiate in Edinburgh) and then got some free time to grab lunch and tour the city a little bit. We got the opportunity to try fish & chips (We're big fans of this meal now, as it was quite tasty!), visit Edinburgh castle and a beautiful cathedral, and shop around a few tourist shops for souvenirs.

After dinner, we joined up with Kate and Dave again where their church meets to help them set-up for an open-mic night.

One thing you must know is that in Scotland (and at least throughout the UK as far as I know, though this may be the case for most of Europe as well), there are tons of beautiful churches and cathedrals throughout the city. Once upon a time, these buildings were actually functioning as churches. With the increase in secularism and the decline of the church (for a variety of reasons) over the decades these churches lost their congregations altogether and shut down. The sad truth is that now, many of these churches have actually been bought and turned into pubs, bars, and night clubs.

This is actually the case for the church that Kate and Dave use to meet in. I don't know the details, but it obviously used to be a church that then got turned into a bar/coffee shop, and now is divided so that half of it (the second story where the main sanctuary is located) serves as the church plants' meeting place and the lower story operates as a bar/coffee shop. The story of how this came to be about is actually kind of neat. When Dave and Kate moved to Edinburgh, they volunteered at the coffee shop on the first floor, got to know the people that went there, and were able to rent the space and build a congregation out of the people they interacted with while they volunteered.

...which brings me back to the open mic night.

To be honest, it was at least a little bit (to a lot) of shock for most of us when we walked in to the church space. During the open mic night, people flowed in and out from the coffee shop/bar downstairs into the sanctuary (which was set up with little tables and chairs to sit around). The acts ranged from poem readings, to acoustic songs, to a beautiful Duke Ellington jazz piano/song performance, to a hypnotizing song consisting of mainly humming and the playing of this eastern instrument called a harmonium.

Not at all what you would expect when walking into a church "outreach" event.

In a strange way, however, I think this church event resembled much more closely the type of setting that Jesus stepped into during his years of ministry. I mean, think about it...Jesus went to the places where none of the "Holy people" (pharisees, etc) of that time would ever set foot into. He loved people so much, that He went to where they were. He became a part of the culture, and taught using examples that made sense to the people within their own social context. I believe that Dave and Kate understand this really well. They loved and welcomed each person that walked into that sanctuary regardless of the baggage they came with. They didn't have to come dressed in a certain way, or act a certain way, or say certain things.

The acts were a little more outside of the normal, and the subculture was definitely different from that of Aberdeen, but the principle was the same: People were welcomed and made to feel as if they belong before they believe.

It was an eye-opening experience for us, serving as a reminder that nothing is impossible for God. He is working powerfully through Dave and Kate, and making His loving presence known in the most unlikely of places. Please be in prayer for this church plant in Edinburgh!

Day 3

Wow...it's crazy to think that day 3 is already over with!

This morning we got to sleep in just a little bit, which was much needed. After a quick breakfast and devotional, we went around the neighborhood putting invitation cards for church events going on at King's Community Church (the Assembly of God church at Aberdeen) during Easter week.

To share a funny story from Cassie, I will have to briefly explain how mailboxes are in Scotland. Many of the mailboxes in the neighborhood are actually small flaps that cover a slot about halfway up the main door of an apartment or house. Some of these have an extra privacy feature in that they have a line of brush-like bristles that permit the entrance of mail through the slot without allowing the person to look inside the apartment. Unfortunately, some of these brush-like bristles are a little hard, so when you start to push the leaflet into the slot it actually gets all bent up and doesn't go in. What you have to do is you have to sort of push your hand a little bit through the brush layer and then slip the leaflet through.

So Cassie goes up to a mail slot in a door and it has these bristles. She does what we've all been doing to get the leaflet through and all of a sudden she feels this wet snout on her hand. A little freaked out, she quickly pulls her hand out. As it turned out, the dog (or at least we assume it was a dog) started whining for attention and was excited over the new friend whose hand it had just licked as it dropped a leaflet in through the door.

Chances are that the leaflet was probably used as a new chew toy...or for all we know, King's Community Church might just have a friendly dog drop in for a few of the Holy Week events.

Anyway, after all of this excitement we got to eat lunch at a cafe near the beach. A few of us tried some Scottish meals such as a bacon roll, croissants with bacon, egg, and cheese, beans on toast, and french fries with salt and vinegar. By the way, their bacon is a lot like the country ham from Southern US cooking...so it is quite delicious. Actually, all of the food was really good.

Dr. Iain Duthie, the pastor of King's Community Church (and medical doctor who practiced for 18 years prior to becoming a pastor) joined us for the end of lunch. It was really wonderful to get to hear his words of encouragement and wisdom, and at the same time learn all sorts of things about life and Christianity in Aberdeen.

After lunch, we went to the University of Aberdeen campus and put up posters for the upcoming large social event on Saturday that we will all get to participate in. It is called a Ceilidh (pronounced "kay-lee")...and we're all really excited about it. I will have to tell you more about it later, but it sounds like it's going to be a blast.

We also got the opportunity to prayer walk through the campus for a while in the afternoon. In preparation, Sarah Malcolm (the missionary we're working with) shared with us her experience with one of the first missions teams that came to work with Radiate. At the time, the university was very apprehensive to let Radiate be on campus, so the only thing that the missions team was really able to do was pray over the campus for the entire week. Every year since, each missions team has prayed over the campus and each year, Radiate has been allowed to have more and more of a presence on campus! We gladly joined into the prayer walk tradition, with the hope that Radiate will continue to be on the campus, and that it would continue to expand and reach out to many more students.

During the evening, we all were split up and sent to different home groups (or Bible studies). Everyone really seemed to have a great time, and unfortunately, I cannot tell you more details from each of their experiences. What I can say, is that I think each of us is becoming more and more attached to everything Scotland...the wonderful people, the vibrant culture, and the exciting ways that God is moving powerfully through this campus ministry.

Tomorrow we will take an early train to Edinburgh and spend part of the day exploring the city. We will then join the Radiate group in Edinburgh for one of their outreach events in the evening. Be praying for safe travel, and that God will greatly bless the outreach event in its ability to connect people to the ministry.

I probably won't have internet access again until Friday when we return to Aberdeen, so tomorrow's post may be a day or so late.

Thank you all so much (again) for your great encouragement, prayer, and support. Know that you are a vital part of the work that is going on here in Aberdeen!

God Bless,
- Greg