We have experienced the richness of Scottish history in the past week, and we really enjoyed our time visiting Bannockburn, the site where the Scots beat the British some 700 years ago, led by the mighty Robert the Bruce and his 10,000 fighters against the 20,000 English. The memorial was stunning, and the tour of the new interactive center was really informative. We got to do a high tech battle simulation, and the kids really enjoyed this. In our simulation, Aubrey was King Edward, and Will was Robert the Bruce, and lets just say that in their battle the Scots didn't fare so well! Way to go AJ! You can only imagine the razzing Will received.
Amidst all of the touring and adventures, I had a funeral to do last week for a dear woman, Gina McRae. It was at the crematorium and about 50 people came. Gina's children, Lesle and Robby, were so wonderful to ask me to do the service. They said her mother loved to travel to Canada and the states years ago, and she would have thoroughly enjoyed knowing that an American pastor did her funeral. We gave her a very loving sendoff, and all went well. Right after that, I had another death to deal with for a man named George Stuart, and the circumstances were vire unusual. All his sons are out of the country, and he lived in a village outside of Perth. We got all the arrangements made for a funeral on the Thursday after we leave. Thank God for some back up pastors in the area who cover for one another. I have been so impressed by the many ways people look out for each other here both pastorally and just in general. The man helping with George's arrangements was a social worker and an elder in another Church of Scotland kirk. We had a great time getting to know each other.
Last Friday we enjoyed a family adventure to Pitlochery and to Aberfeldy where we got to tour the smalled distillery in Scotland: Edradour, and where we got to see one of Scotland's greatest independent bookstores. Both places were amazing. The distillery was like going back in time, and the people there had a passion for making small batches of some of the best whisky I've ever had. The book store was housed in the building of an old mill and had all kinds of unique features that tied back to the days when they ground meal and made homemade breads of all kinds. We could have stayed in this shop for days. The old wooden rafters, hard wood floors, old machinery were just pleasant to enjoy as you walked through the buildings the floors creaked a little under foot. There was a cafe on the bottom floor, and the smells of fresh coffees and teas were floating through the building. A wonderful afternoon.
Later on Friday we made it to Andrew Bruce's ceilidh in celebration of his 18th birthday. Andrew is a special young man and a new fast friend of Will's (and all of us, really). He has downs, but he does not let that stop him from doing nearly anything! He and his family live a few houses down from the manse, and we thoroughly enjoyed celebrating with him. The party was a snapshot, I believe, of a heavenly banquet: people of all ages laughing, eating, and enjoying one another. We did old Scottish dances (ex. gay gordon), and people of various abilities danced together. There was Andrew's spirited choir who sang, but the real show stopper was Andrew's speech where he thanked everyone for coming and gave a special, loving thank you to "his beautiful mum." Of course, Sarah cried buckets!
Saturday was an adventure to Glasgow for the Commonwealth games. We left very early and got to Glasgow with time to spare. The city was hopping, and the Rugby 7s were really thrilling. We watched 10 games and got to see New Zealand play which really delighted Sarah. I enjoyed watching Wales and that took me back to 1995 when I watched them play in Swansea against England. It was like the super bowl. We watched Scotland almost beat New Zealand, and we even saw a guy propose to his girlfriend on the field in between one of the matches. People got really into the games, and were so respectful. The loved cheering for the underdog teams such as Uganda. The whole stadium roared for them: "Uganda! Uganda!" Nothing could beat, though, the way they cheered for Scotland. It was awesome, and we all joined in. Even Aubrey was into it--yelling and jumping! The fans were really wonderful as well, asking us where we were from and if we were enjoying Scotland. They were great. We were wiped out when we made it back home to Perth, but we were really, really happy.
Sunday was both happy and sad because it was our last day of worship and a time to say goodbye. The people were so loving and gracious to us. I preached on Exodus 17, and God making water come from the rock. I spoke of how God will be with us wherever we are. That afternoon we had lunch with a new friend of Aubrey's Georgina, and we ate with her family and spent time in their home. Then we came home for a brief rest before enjoying a feast at Donna and Craig's. It was tough saying goodbye to them, but we are looking forward to their visit to us in November. Donna is a big Harry Potter fan and hopes to see Universal.
Monday was a time where I got to play golf at Gleneagles thanks to the generosity of a church member who works there. It is the site of the 2014 Ryder cup and though I didn't play the course that the big boys will be playing on, I got to play the King's Course with Craig, and we had an amazing morning, slugging it out in the narrow fairways, knee high rough, and bunkers that are as deep as swimming pools. Didn't score my best, but the views of mountains, the blue skies, the cool breeze, and the fact that I just got to spend a few hours on the course were all memories I will not soon forget.
Monday afternoon and evening was filled with packing and getting the house ready for the Burtons to come back. We ran some errands to fill the car with gas, get some food at Tesco, and take the recycling one more time. We washed clothes, packed, threw as much away as we could, but we had fun talking about the highlights of the trip over one last meal at Wetherspoons. I had to get the fish and chips, and man were they yummy. We crashed hard last night and are ready for the big day. Eric Fraser--who is amazing--is taking us to the Glasgow airport for our flights, and we look forward to chatting with him. He and Bo have been the most gracious and generous people. Thank God for them!
We head back today with many stories to tell about the goodness of the Scottish people, the love of God they have embodied for us, and the many, many things we have learned about their traditions, history, faith, and customs. In a word....wow....we leave a landscape that is so picturesque and a country that is so drenched with history. We leave new friends who we wish we could bring back to America and keep. We bring back lots of pictures that each tell a story of how fortunate we have been to be here. We bring back hearts overflowing with love and prayers of thanks to God for such wonderful gifts of grace to us. Will, Aubrey, Sarah, and I have been so blessed by this exchange, and we eagerly await our time with the Burtons and with our old friends to talk about it. Thank you, God, for your daily provisions of goodness and love, and thank you First Presbyterian Fernandina for helping make our dreams come true.
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