5 Years

As of around 11 am today (GMT) I have been in Scotland for five years. It's been an eventful five years. During this time I have married a wonderful woman, been involved in 2 church plants, helped disciple young men and many other things. When I first came here, I wasn't sure if I'd make it a month, little did I know that I would still be here today! What have I learned...? I've learned that God moves in different ways in different cultures. I've learned how to open my eyes to other cultures' points of view. I hope I'm learning how to present Jesus in ways that speak to Scots. I've learned how to communicate crossculturally. I've learned to not make assumptions about a culture.
What have I seen? I've seen God move mountains again and again. I've seen a church start from 8 people and grow to over 100. I've seen people far from Jesus make Him their Lord. I've seen abuses from traditional churches. I've seen the damage that the ideas of Christendom have done to this culture. However, I've also seen seeds planted grow and mature. I want to thank everyone who has prayed and supported Laura and I throughout these five years! You have truly been a blessing to us and an integral part of our team! May God bless you richly!

Why I'm in Scotland...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klMJl-I0Gas

I found this video on a friend's blog. It's a really good explanation for why God is calling people to Europe.

Provision

Well, something funny happened today. To understand how it's funny, we need to go back a few days. I lost my job in April. Laura's been helping me look for jobs. During this whole time I've not been afraid. Last year when I was jobless, I was terrified! However, I feel a peace about it. I'm trusting in God's provision for us.
A few days ago I was getting dressed and was remarking about how few tee-shirts I had left. Laura said I needed to buy some new ones, and I agreed that we would when I found a job. I didn't really think much of that comment until today. Laura and I were just about to make lunch when the postman rang our buzzer with a parcel for us. I was surprised as neither of us had ordered anything for weeks, and my birthday was almost two months ago. It turns out the parcel was from my Aunt Claudia in Arizona. It contained Christmas gifts. One of the gifts was a tee-shirt for me! To me, it shows that God is providing for us, even for the small things that we don't necessarily need! Praise God for His abundant mercy!

Answered Prayer

So we've had this new girl coming to our church and helping out in the shop. She's a local from the area and has been establishing really good relationships in our community. Tonight we went to an evangelical event hosted at a local Glasgow hotel. During the event, the girl decided to follow Jesus. We are so thankful for that answered prayer! Please pray for protection for her as she begins another part of her journey with us!

What I'm reading...

This year I'll be attempting to read the Aeneid by Virgil and Paradise Lost by Milton. I was inspired on the last choice by the Guardian. What will you be reading this year?

So Laura and I have now had our interview with Urban Expressions and are waiting on the results. The Word on the Street is going well! We're a bookshop that provides free coffee and tea with a space to hang out or talk. Alan is a Baptist minister and has been planning this for a few years. It's so great to be part of a caring and international community!
We spent Christmas with Laura's family and had a small get-together for Hogmanay.

What's been happening...

Well, there has been A LOT of news, and I haven't blogged about it all yet so I will do this in bullet points.

-God gave me a a faith test and then gave me a job in the most stable bank in the failing banking sector

-Laura and I have been helping set up a new church plant in Dennistoun-this has involved setting up a lot of furniture, shelves, cleaning, etc.

-The bookshop opened last weekend and it was a success!

-The church had it's first service on on Sunday, it was great! We really have a great community and feel blessed to be a part!

I'm sorry it's been so long! I'll try to not be so long next time. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone on thursday! We'll be celebrating on saturday.