Sizzling on the beach in Scotland
The weather here has been amazing with temps as high as the 80's and plenty of sunshine. Since this isn't exactly the norm here, we've decided to take advantage by hitting the beach. Last Sunday after church we headed off to the wee town of Elie (North of Edinburgh) where they have a beautiful beach with real sand (not rocks). We spent our time there cooking hotdogs and pasta, Dave dug and sculpted a whale which the dogs thought was their personal place to relieve themselves (see picture below). We also played frisbie and Dave and Marc spent about a half an hour at least throwing a football as far as they could. My (Marc) arm is still sore. Perhaps that wasn't the smartest thing in the world for two guys on the wrong side of 40. The kids and Dave swam in the very cold water. Dave being a surfer from Cali is so jonesing for some waves he braved the icy waters to try and body surf 1 foot waves. I decided to watch from the shore while my feet were going numb in the water up to my ankles. I'm not sure Dave actually ever caught a wave, kind of hard to catch a 1 footer when you're 6'4" tall. At least he tried though eh.

Enjoy the rest of the pics.

Marc

 

Root Beer Floats with Emily
Our good friend Emily surprised us the other day after church with a case of 'Mug' root beer she brought all the way back from her recent trip to California. We were so excited we decided to have her over for burgers on the grill and root beer floats afterward. She said she loved them but they looked gross. After she said that I had to agree. Something about how the ice cream and carbination makes it look like a bad chemical reaction or worse yet...I'll leave it at that.

Whatever it looked like, it tasted amazing as we don't get real root beer over here. Thanks Emily, you made our day and week for that matter and it was great to have you over to hang out with us and chat. 

More 4th of July Pics

Our Lakeside 4th of July Picnic
This was the scene last tuesday on the 4th as we celebrated the 4th with our good friends the Schlos's. We had a great time eating burgers, lighting sparklers, chatting while the kids tirelessly played in the Loch. We also invented some new games we think will fit right in with the next Olympic summer games. First, up is the reverse sand shovel rock toss. Dabe ended up using his hight advantage to take the gold medal in the men's division. Louise edged out Julie in the womens division but as we found out later it was at a cost as she pulled a hip flexor muscle and has had a hard time driving ever since. The shovel you see in my hand is the actual shovel we used in the competition.

The other game was the swan whack. This was invented out of necessity as the swans kept encroaching on our territory. It was about survival, really. I should say that no swans were injured during this competition.

All in all it was a great day with beautiful weather, tasty food and great fellowship. I'll post some more pics soon of the competitions and some good patriotic stuff. By the way, these photos are compliments of the Schlos's who took over 100 photos that day.

A Scottish Heatwave!
This is definitely a first since we've been here. The temp. has hit 80 degress f. That's my trusty thermometer that has traveled the world to document the event. The people here are without a doubt melting.

We had a great time on the 4th but I don't have any pics yet. I'll have to try and scarf some from some friends because I forgot to bring the camera along with us. Stay tuned.

"Our God Is A Great Big God..."
This was the scene inside Alva Baptist church last week as the kids sang, "My God is a Great Big God". As you can see there were plenty of kids and they along with the leaders had a great time. Please pray for this stuggling church. As of a couple of weeks ago, there were only 6 people attending regularly. We're hoping that some if not all the kids who attended the Kids Club will come back with their parents. We'll see what happens.

We said goodbye to the New Jersey team yesterday and once again it was a tearful goodbye to our family members. We miss them all so much. We do appreciate the time we had with them but it never seems to be enough. We look forward to our next invasion from America from the Andrews family later this month. Until then we will be busy with the IWT stuff as October is approaching fast.

Tomorrow we plan to celebrate the 4th with our good friends Dabe, Wiesie and Lills Bachs (I hope I spelled that right because I will never hear the end of it). Dabe is from the states and married a Scottish lassie took her off to the west coast and had a wee Scottish/ American lassie named Lills. They've just moved back here about 3 yrs. ago and have been such a blessing to us. We don't even have to pay them money to be our friends which is an extra bonus. Perhaps we'll have a 4th of July picture for you on wed., we'll see.

That's all for now, more later.
Marc

New Jersey Konnected with Alva
This has been a great week as we have had the priveledge to host an amazing team from New Jersey who have led a Vacation Bible School in the wee town of Alva at the Alva Baptist church. It has been extra fun for us as 4 out of the 11 on the team are relatives which we haven't seen for about a year. We are having a great time and the outreach which just ended today has been extremely successful with over 30 kids attending each day. Many of the locals from Alva have commented about how exciting it is to see some life at the Alva Baptist church. Up until a couple of weeks ago there were about 6 people attending, the youngest being 68.
This team from New Jersey couldn't have been more perfect as they are all full of energy, have a variety of gifts and talents and they have been a blessing to our family and the people of Alva. It's been really kool to see how God has put this thing together as well. The planning started about a year ago in Randy and Diane's (Julie's sister) living room but up until about a month and a half ago, we weren't sure what they were going to be doing. We had this feeling though that God had something specific in mind so we just kept waiting to see what it was. Dave Barrie, the youth leader from Stirling Baptist had taken on a project to try and resurrect this dying church that was ready to close it's doors. Well to make a long story short, we told him of the New Jersey team and so the next step was to get the churches approval which came through just in the nick of time. The idea was to raise the profile of this church which had become an afterthought in the community. Well, you can't put 16 Americans in a small Scottish villiage for a week and not have people notice. Our prayer is that the 30 plus children that showed up for the VBS will come back this Sunday and bring their parents and make commitments for Christ. Pray that this will happen. I'll share more pics in the next few days. That's all for now though.
Marc 

Good Timing
Belated birthday presents are great. Today we were having a bit of a rough day and low and behold I look for the mail and find this package from the Dowdalls. An autographed copy of the Eagles Encyclopedia. How cool is that!! Thanks Steve, Lisa and the Dowdall clan, your timing couldn't have been more perfect as I was having one of those homesick days again. Perhaps I'm Pennsylvania grown and that's where I belong, I don't know. Maybe most missionaries are homesick, who knows. At any rate, it's moments like these that help us along.

Thanks again guys for thinking of us, we miss you big time.

Marc 

The Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond
The Picture to the left of Erin was taken on the shores of Loch Lomond. We just thought perhaps if you find yourself singing the song sometime, you may want a visual to go along with it. The Mt. in the background is Ben Lomond which rises to around 3200 ft. above sea level. Most of the time the top is covered in the clouds as you see here.

We are eagerly anticipating our next guests coming on Sunday. We have a team of 11 coming from New Jersey to help a local church that is giving it one more go at it before closing its doors.
This will be a great time as the team consists of Julie's sister Diane and husband Randy (he will be known as Randall during the week, Randy means amorous over here, actually there's another word that begins with an h but I thought I would for once use some discretion), two of their three children and 7 others coming from their church. We will be doing a Vacation Bible School and various other things as well at the church (Alva Baptist Church). Alva is a small town right at the base of the Ochil Mt. range so on one of the days we would like to go on a prayer trek to the highest peak over the town and spend some time praying for God's spirit to move in a big way over this land. Hopefully the weather will hold out although hiking in the rain is kind of fun too.

Last night we had a special 'Selah' praise concert at church. I really enjoyed it as I had the opportunity to play drums with some great musicians. Their regular drummer they had with them for the past 4 years has moved back to Ireland so I have been asked to assume that position now which I am honored to do. I wish I had my own kit but the one they have isn't so bad. It's a 5 peice Premier set and it's sounds pretty good but I do miss my china boy cymball and my chimes. Actually I miss my kick pedal and all of my cymballs. Oh well, at least I get to play. The great thing is this church is pretty big so I can really hit them as hard as I want, no brushes here. The only problem is I have some tendenitis in my left elbow so every time I crack the snare I get a pretty good pain shooting up the arm. Hopefully that won't last too much longer or they'll have to shoot me up with steroids. Bla, Bla, Bla.... The important thing was that God was really stirring people's hearts during the evening which was an answer to prayer. There is just so much apathy here so we were praying specifically against that and the people really seemed to be moved, praise God!

The weather here has been pretty amazing so far this late spring with much sunshine and temps in the 60's and 70's. We also been sucked into the whole world cup thing as we actually found ourselves shouting at the tv the other day watching the Americans play the Italians. That was by far the most exciting soccer game I've ever seen. I thought the Americans totally outplayed them but the game ended in a 1-1 tie. I wonder how much money the refs got from the Italian government, just a thought. Next game is Thursday against Ghana. Go USA!!

That's all for now, more later.

Marc 

The Kirsten and Brigitta Show
We had a great time hosting our neices Kirsten and Brigitta who actually left about a week ago. Sorry to take so long in posting. They brought a bunch of sunshine into our lives both literally and figuratively speaking. The weather was great while they were here and their smiles and energy were contagious.

They definitely left their mark on Bridge of Allen as Julie said she never heard so many whistles while walking down the street with them. I think that's because I'm usually the one walking next to Julie.

The picture above was taken by Stirling Bridge, the sight of the Battle of Stirling Bridge way back in 1297. In the movie Braveheart, the Battle of Stirling was set on an open feild which was historically inaccurate. I'm not sure why they did that, ask Mel.

Our condolences go out to the whole Andrews family as while Kirsten and Brigitta were here, their grandparents passed away. Kirsten and Brigitta, you were the real Bravehearts as you amazed us with your joy in the midst of such a difficult time. You were a real blessing to us and the kids just loved every minute of you being here and playing with them. Kayleigh is still practicing that hurdle technique you taught her Kirsten, and Liam has that reverse spin move down pretty good Brigitta.

God bless you and please know that we are praying for you and your family.

Thanks Arlene and Wolf for sending the girls over, you've raised some pretty impressive children.

Well, that's all for now. More soon, I promise.

Marc 

My Homesick Top Ten List

Every once in a while I get slammed with a serious bout of homesickness. Lately it's been pretty intense but has been dulled a bit by all of our recent and current (Kirsten and Brigitta) visitors. Well I thought it might be somewhat theraputic to list my top ten things I miss from home so here it goes.

1. Family (I kind of have to say that eh)
2. Friends (same as above)
3. Church (I guess I'm being really pc here so far)
4. My drums
5. Our house with the basement where I kept my drums
6. Cable TV (ESPN, The Weather Chanel, Fox News and Jim Gardner and the entire Action News Team, Comcast Sportsnet.
7. Beyond the Pale
8. Cheap stuff (everything is cheaper in America, stop whining about the gas, it's over $7. a gallon here).
9. Food (Cheesesteaks, hoagies...reasonably priced reastaurants with good food, etc, etc, etc.
10. Philly Sports (Phillies, Flyers, Eagles....you can have the Sixers). I have had enough of Soccer and Rugby, I just can't take it anymore.

Well, I don't know how theraputic that really was because I'm still thinking of more things to add. Perhaps there will have to be a part b at some time.

That's all for now, I've got to go and check the weather and see how the Phillies did last night.
Later

A Good Old Fashioned Scottish Tea Party
Sorry to have taken so long between posts, it's been a bit busy here lately with IWT stuff and plenty of guests. Last wed. we said goodbye to the Rittenhouses (Aunt Esther and Uncle Jim) and Anita and James Stoltzfus. We had a great time with them doing all sorts of things including golfing on a real Scottish golf course. Gary from our small group after hearing James was a golfer decided to invite us out to Aberfoyle and picked up a couple of bags of clubs for us as well. I think I can speak for James and say that was his favorite part of the trip and that's saying something considering the fact that they saw more of the UK in two weeks than we've seen in two years. I enjoyed the golf as well and didn't embarrass myself too much considering I don't really golf.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the castles, and the hills and highlands and yes as you can see above, there was even a wee Scottish tea party in our very own back garden. All in all much fun was had and once again the departure of guests made our house feel a bit lonely, but not for long...

On Saturday and Sunday we had our friends the Lawsons come out from Edinburgh for a visit. Chris and Jenifer and their two children (Jez and Karis) are missionaries here to Scotland from California. Chris has an apologetics ministry and has just finished up his new web site after months and months of research and planning. Well done Chris, it looks great. You all can check it out here.

In between all this I have been busy with meetings and doing training in Kilmarnock in preparation for the tour. I think I've made the commute about 5 out of the last 8 days. I don't think I need to be down there for a couple weeks so that gives us time to catch up on things around here.

Next week we host two of the famous Andrews kids (Kirsten and Brigeta). Sorry, Brigeta if I mispelled your name, I just completely forgot how to spell it as well as some other words. I must be getting old or something. We'll give a full report after the Andrews invasion, I'm sure it'll be interesting.

Well I could go on and on here but we'll just have to post more often I guess.

Once again, thanks to the Rittenhouses, Stoltzfus' and Lawsons for blessing us with your visits, we had a great time with all of you. Special thanks to James for doing your mouth noises, that's the hardest I've laughed since watching Dumb and Dumber with my good friend Mike. I really thought I was going to pass out.

Later 

Had a minute to blog inbetween writing newsletter notes which has taken, well... 2 months so far. Sorry! I WILL be done tonight with this project! Yippee!

Seems so much is going on in my familys lives not to mention it. Would you pray with us for them all?

Arlene and Wolfe are going through so much right now with personal health issues then Mima ( Wolfe's mom) has been diagnosed with cancer that is incredibly progressive and Opa (his dad) is in the hospital and they said that he may actually go first. Its so hard to see those you love struggle so much and I know this is really difficult in more ways than one for the whole family! I feel my hands are tied at the moment other than cards and prayers. Its a frustrating feeling, I know God is with them, just wish I could be too at times like this.

Diane is dealing with some maj. ongoing pain in the butt (not actually anything having to do with her butt to make that clear :) health issues and Jeff is, well I just got an email saying he is making a MAJ. career change after 15 some years at ACTV! Mom could use prayer too as she is being such a mom in all of this! Amazing!

We are both so blessed with family (Hamers and Stoltzfus) and love and miss each one to bits!!! Sometimes, to be honest the distance has been interesting because it has brought some relationships to a deeper level and at the same time the distance feels like a world away most of the time. There is no-one in the world like a family member! Its amazing!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANNA, POP-POP &
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! Sounds like it was one to remember!!! We love you ALL so much.
Heres a picture Diane sent over from Moms 70th party at Easter.

In other news... Frank & Becky are off to the USA for a wedding and some IWT International leaders meetings so we are fish and plant sitting. Things have been progressing with the work in Kilmarnock to prepare for the tour in the fall. The big thing just now is Disciplesip set up and Local Link (alter councelor) trainings that are manditory and set up many, many times for them to come to. Thats what its about! Sharing our faith... proclaiming Jesus and what he has done in our lives. We are soooo lazy with that way too often so a kick in the pants is a healthy thing for each of us, ehh?! Allllllllllllso, we are looking forward to the arrival of Uncle Jim, Aunt Esther, Anita and James after their tour in England! What fun that visit will be!

Must go now and help Kayleigh settle down. She has been in bed for an hour and still not asleep. She says its too light out and her eyes just wont stay closed. Hmmmmm. :) Sunset is about 9:30 just now so summer is coming, YIPPEE!

Later, Julie

'Oh Deb...'
I'm not quite sure if this is really in the 'Oh Deb' category but I know it's pretty close. I think it's definitely slightly above the 'Neat' stage, perhaps this could be somewhere in the middle like maybe, 'Neat O'. At any rate, we thought this scene on our drive accross Mull with the Millers was worth stopping to take a picture of and I guess that's worth something in itself becuase I hate stopping when I'm traveling, I like to get there.

Anyway, we thought we'd share some of the beautiful scenery we took in on our journy to the Isles and Highlands with those Millerites. 

Neat!
This was the scene driving home from our Iona trip. The view here is looking north on the island of Mull. Not much else to say.
I guess 'Neat' pretty much covers it. 

No cars on Iona...
Here we are hoofing from the ferry to the hotel because there are no cars aloud on the island unless you live there. We were a bit concerned because it was raining pretty hard on the way over on the ferry but as soon as we docked up, it stopped for the most part. Iona is a pretty cool place, lots of old stuff. 

Surf's Up Dude!!
The surf was definitely up as we headed back over on the ferry from Iona. Tracy made the most of it by hanging 10 on her massive surf board. It was nice of her to let us all ride along as well. Fortunately, the ride was only 10 minutes otherwise this nice fun picture may have looked a whole lot different. Actually it was really fun riding over those waves. The kids thought it was like an amusement park ride. That's a bit of Iona in the background there in cae you're wondering. Cool place. More from the Millerite invasion soon. 

Scotland With The Miller's
Wow, what a week we had with the Miller's. We had a great time but unfortunately it all went by all too quickly. My original intent was to do a daily blog to keep you all updated to what we were doing during each day but by the time we settled down in the evenings, I was pretty hammered. So, I'll do some of that this week and share some of our pics with you. I think we took well over 200 shots last week and I think the Miller's took over 400. The one here is in front of the Iona Abbey on the Isle of Iona where St. Columba brought Christianity way back in the 6th Century. We were there last wed. and thursaday and had a great time even though the weather was well...Scottish.
I will share more of our experiences but I have to say this, the Miller's are the salt of the earth and are an amazing blessing to us. There were many tears on Sunday morning when they left for home and our home here has seemed a bit lonely in their absense. Thanks again you guys for coming over and blessing us with your presense. I know for sure that that was the most fun the kids have had since we've been here.
God bless you and thanks for your friendship.
More soon 

A Beautiful Day in Bridge of Allan

This is the view looking northwest with Bridge of Allan in the foreground. The Mt. in the background is Ben Ledi and is part of the western highlands just north of Loch Lomond. As you can see the snows from last Sunday have melted away in the lowlands but are still pretty deep on the peaks. Just thought you all might want to see some of the scenes around here. The are truely amazing. "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands". - Psalm 19:1 By the way, this shot was taken today around 4:30pm. 

Welcome to Narnia. Wow, what a surprise we had this morning when we woke up to over a foot of freshly fallen snow. I didn't think we would ever see a real snow storm here but praise God, we did.

Knowing that it probably won't be around too long we headed out to do some sledding or as they say here, sledging. After walking through town we hit the slopes by the river and sledded until Kayleigh could no longer tolerate the snow accumulating on the inside of her boots. We headed back to the house and after a short rest, an amazing snowman was created along with a pretty radical sledding ramp in the front yard.

Well, it's been a fun day and now we are wondering if the kids are having school or not. As of this writing (10:51pm) the roads around our house have still not been plowed and we're wondering if they ever will be. I don't think anyone here has a proper snow shovel either. I guess they're not used to this sort of thing happening. I think we all wish they were.

Blessings from Narnia