June 27, 2008 from Scotland

Our time here in Scotland is almost at its end.  To say the time has flown by is an understatement.  We have done and seen much but would have like to have seen more.  Howie and Ryan built the obstacle course for the Missions Training School in less than 2 days!  Then they worked on one of the many projects here at Overtoun House before the group arrived to attend training with us on the 13th.

We went to Edinburgh and enjoyed seeing the Castle and city.  We enjoyed the walk up to the cliffs near Hollyrood, the Queen's residence when she is in Scotland.  It is an old and lovely city with much history.  There are pictures posted.

We made a day trip to Inverness in the Highlands.  There was snow in some of the higher and protected peaks.  It was breathtaking!  I posted pictures of this.  We got to see our friends, Paul and Christine and they graciously hosted us for a few hours before we returned to Dumbarton.

The training has gone by incredibly fast.  It has been a good mix of classroom study and excursions.  The first week we went on a group hike for 5 1/2 hours with one of the locals, Ronny.  He is an energetic 50+ man who has the gift of encouraging people to go beyond their comfort zone.  He is also a great story teller and kept us interested and entertained.  We were tired at the end of the day but it was a wonderful experience.

Our physical training began at 6:00 every morning with stretching followed by push-up & sit-ups or running the 128 stairs from the basement to the tower.  After that we either did a timed mile-run with a half mile warm up and cool down or the obstacle course.  Because my right wrist is weakened from a fracture, I opted for "the run around the challenge" for the hurdles and the high bar crossing. While this sounds easier it takes a bit more time to go around something than going over it.  My beginning time was 1:44 and my best time was today at 1:28; an improvement of 16 seconds.  Howie's beginning time was 1:36 and best time was today at 1:26; an improvement of 10 seconds.  The obstacles start with a vertical ladder, then 2 hurdles, horizontal ropes that you run through lifting your legs, another ladder with greater distance between rungs, 2 small hurdles, a tiered balance beam with staggered heights, and the high bar cross.  Everyone improved their time and we all enjoyed the camaraderie that comes from encouraging one another.

The mile run with only a half mile warm up is tough.  Howie and I started out at the same time of 8:36 then decreased it to 8:28,  He did not run the last 2 times because one was optional and the last one he opted out because he overdid it the day before with some physical labor.  I ran Wednesday by myself in a time of 8:23 then yesterday I lead the group start to finish with a time of 8:15.  Not blistering but I am happy with it.

We took a walk around the surrounding area one day to see places where God has been at work here over the centuries.  We ended this by visiting a church that sits on the same spot where another church was built over 12 centuries ago and this church itself is over 800 years old now!  It is humbling to think that people have been worshiping there for so long.

Monday of this week the plan was to divide into 2 groups and sail or walk around an island each spotting sites along the way.  Howie and I opted out of sailing because he was not feeling quite himself Sunday.  Because the forecast was for foul weather the numbers per team needed to be reduced and by us opting to stay on land, Glenn and Grace could go.  We were not part of the 2 teams because we could not sail but we walked with each team and saw some incredible wildlife and scenery.  I am posting the pictures tomorrow.  Check out the Golden Eagles!  We were blessed to see 4 of them at different times in the afternoon!  Our hikes had us covering almost 19 miles in one day.  We were a bit tired but enjoyed ourselves immensely.

Yesterday the team set out to play paint ball.  We opted out of this activity too as Howie was recovering from over exerting Wednesday when the team moved 12 sheets of plywood and 60 2x4x12 planks up 4 flights of stairs; followed by Howie helping chop wood.  We did go along for the ride and got to see some of the games.  I am just as happy to not have joined in as almost everyone still has HUGE welts.

We leave for Turkey to see Dan, Angela and the girls.  We will probably need a day to rest as we have been pushing it here the past 2 weeks.  We are excited to see them after more than a year an one-half.  I am sure the girls have grown by leaps and bounds.  It will be nice to enjoy being grandparents and seeing Turkey with all of them.  Dan and Angela are great hosts and tour guides.  They have set up an incredible itinerary.  It will be a memory making experience for sure.

I'll write more from Turkey.

Love,

Nan