Megan in Scotland: Valleys and Mountains

The past two months have been full of both valley and mountain-top experiences (literally and figuratively). The second hardest thing that has happened since our arrival in Scotland was the illness and near death of our dear friend and pastor, David Robertson. He was in critical condition for over 5 weeks, and it was looking like he was not going to make it. However, in God's mercy, he healed him. Praise God! Just a few days ago, he left the ICU and is now breathing on his own! I have been amazed at the body of Christ around the world who have been praying for David and his family through out this time. Please continue to pray for David, for he has a long way to go for full recovery. Please continue to pray for his family as well.

During the past 4 months, with the death of David Jack and the illness of David Robertson, I have been reminded over and over again that God is both sovereign and good... even if it doesn't look like it from my point of view. These situations, as well as times of loneliness, frustration, hearing lies about myself (and starting to believe them)... have brought me closer to my Lord and Savior. For I have numerously cried (yes, literally "cry") out to God and each time He has answered me with a truth from his Word, and a peace that surpasses all understanding. So although the past 4 months have been really hard, I have found that my intimacy with Him has deepened. I have had to utterly depend on Him, seeing my constant need for Him. He is my comfort and friend.

One Saturday in October, I needed to get away and spend some time with God. So I drove to a nearby town of Falkland. I had a nice cup of coffee at a tea shop and read a book. Then I decided to hike this mountain and talk to God. I say "mountain" instead of the real name "hill" because it was difficult to climb. I want to blame it on the fact that I was just getting over being sick, I was dehydrated from the coffee I drank before hand, I was wearing trainers and it was wet.

None the less, I made it a fair distance up the mountain, sat on a rock and had a time of worship. It was really good.

Yes, the trainers... I need to get a pair of hiking boots!

There was a castle in Falkland that I could get in free with my year pass. So I stopped in. I had some fun conversations with the tour guides. They were amazed that I was there by myself as an American. It was an easy way to share why I was in Scotland.

The next weekend I sang in Steve and Claire's wedding. We sang Psalm 103 to the tune of "Before the throne of grace," acapella. It is a great way to learn the Psalms. Each week we sing two Psalms in a service. I bought the book so that I could learn the melodies and eventually the harmonies! In this picture is Lizzie and Kathryn.

So, two hours after the wedding started, I hopped on a train to go to London for a CMF student training weekend. It was good to learn what folks are doing on other campuses. As the student rep, Kathryn came down later. After the meeting, we had a few hours (I mean 8 hours) to kill before we took the overnight Megabus back to Dundee. We tried this asian restaurant. Here is Kathryn using chop sticks for the first time. I think that whole bite made it into her mouth. Well done!

As we were walking around tea, we spotted this Bubble tea place. Bubble tea is tea with tapioca balls in the bottom. A larger sized straw is used so that you can "drink" the tapioca. It was quite yummy! She had never had any before, so yet again, another "first" for her. Notice the erlenmeyer flasks in the back? I love the word erlenmeyer. I used to "doodle" chemistry set- ups like this back in college/dental school. TMI, I know. I am such a nerd.

I am really excited about the ruck sack I bought right before this trip. The reason I was traveling so "heavy" was because I needed a sleeping bag. Yes, there is a sleeping bag hidden in the ruck sack. Notice Big Ben in the background. Eventually we made it to the bus station. 10 hours later, we rolled into Dundee. That, was a mega-first for me!!!!!

The kids had some time off for what is known as "Tattie Holiday." It's my understanding that back in the day, children had to be home to help bring in the potatoes. Per this tradition, children today get two weeks off of school in October. So the day after getting back from London, the Stadaslky's and I headed to Fort William for a few days. Notice the rainbow here, reminding us, again of God's promises.

Sophia and I had some fun times together in our room!

The kids were REALLY excited about hiking Ben Nevis. Therefore, they had their gear on about 1 hour before we were ready to leave.

The day we left, I bought a pair of hiking boots.

Here we are hiking Ben Nevis. Notice that John Spencer is no where to be found. He ran...yest literally ran ahead of us!

I caught up with John Spencer at one point. He had this smile on his face the WHOLE time!

So the boys went ahead, and us girls went at Sophia's pace. Which was quite remarkable for a 5 year old (sorry 5.5 year old)! It started to snow and was quite cool (haha)!

The kids went wall climbing. John Spencer is in the white shirt towards the top. Sophia is #2 on the wall. They both really enjoyed this.

Is that spider man?

Spider woman?

The day we got back from holiday, I went to Dundee University's Christian Union House Party.

You might wonder what a house party is...well it's like a retreat, but with a techno ceilidh and other fun events over the weekend. Here I am with some friends at the bonfire.

This is the largest bonfire I've ever seen in my life.

One was to dress up for the techno ceilidh (pronounced kaylee). So us dental gals were pirates! I had some pirattitude...Argh :)

It was good to be back in Dundee for a while after all of that traveling. So we had some friends over for some Autumn festivities. Mamma Kibbey had sent some decorations and candles to help with these festivities. Many of our friends had never carved a pumpkin before, so that was on the agenda for the evening. See below!