'At home' in Dumbartonshire

'Katy & company' arrived at the castle on Thursday. This will be 'home' for the remainder of the trip. The beautiful Overtoun House was built in the 1800's. It is quaint and has a rich history, which can be found on the website, along with more pictures. My favorite is that it was once a maternity hospital...as if those were separate from other hospitals? What a sweet heritage. Lord Overtoun would be proud. :)

Take a 'wander' in Dunkeld

The Hermitage is a protected site in Dunkeld, Perth & Kinross. It sits on the banks of the River Braan in Craigvinean Forest. It is home to Ossian's Hall & Ossian's Cave, to honor the blind poet, Ossian.

Also on the grounds are several Douglas Fir trees-one of which was the first tree in Britain to reach 200 feet in height.

  Visitors to the site can undertake various walks. The most popular walk is the 0.75 miles (1 km)-long journey to Ossian's Cave. There is also a link to a thirty-mile network of footpaths beyond The Hermitage to various parts of Dunkeld. These paths date back to the 18th century. One path leads you past the beautiful Black Linn Falls.

A stone bridge dating from 1770, is located nearby (where you see 'Katy' in her red shirt). Standing next to it, and appearing to be growing out of it, is a Cedar of Lebanon which is believed to be the oldest tree at The Hermitage.

A nice meander through the Craigvinean forest for the group? Aye!~

"..Not all those who 'wander' are lost.."  ~J.R.R. Tolkien

"I have but one candle of life to burn, and I would rather burn it out in a land filled with darkness than in a land flooded with light" —
John Keith Falconer

A Quick 'Katy' Call

She called at 1pm today (about 7pm there) to say that she is doing well. She went to church this morning. She has not really gone 'out' yet to do ministry, but she and a friend (or friends) went for a walk today and were approached by some Scots that were just excited to meet someone from America. She said they led two of them to Christ! A great thing to do on the Sabbath. :) She said, "Tell everyone I love and miss them!"

Arrival in Scotland!

The first stop is the village of Perth. They will stay this week at the Perth Christian Centre where they will sleep on mats on the floor. They were told to bring a sleeping bag, but Randi has a 'thing' about sleeping bags and refuses to sleep in one. She took sheets and a blanket, instead. ;)

Why Scotland?

Of all the places in the world desperate for the Gospel, Scotland did not appear to be the most needy..at first. Randi prayerfully considered all of the trip options, ranging from cities here in the U.S. to third-world countries. She felt God leading her toward Scotland. Just this week, I found this information. I had no idea.

• Though it is the country of John Knox, religious leader of the Protestants, only between 2-3% go to church
• Main denominations: Church of Scotland (Presbyterian) and Catholic
• Teen alcoholism is out of control – the highest in Europe, with a growing problem among elementary age children
• Teen drug use is one of the highest in Europe
• West of Scotland: the highest rate of teen pregnancy in Europe: average age of having a baby is 13
• Glasgow is one of the most dangerous cities in the world
  
• Teen incarcerations is the highest in Europe
• 80% of co-habiting couples are unmarried, and most homes have no father figure

'Katy' will be doing street ministry in Perth, Dumbarton and Glasgow.

Random Facts:

• Scotland has some 790 islands - 130 inhabited
• Scotland is famous for its clans, kilts, medieval castles, as well as poetry and songs of Robert Burns
• Scotland is not it's own country, but a part of the UK
• The currency is Pound Sterling
• The languages of Scotland are English, Gaelic, and Scots
• Scottish banks do not produce coins
• Scotch tape got it’s name in Scotland
• Population is 5 million
• Scotland is home to Sean Connery AND the 'Loch Ness' monster
  
• The Scottish teens have no idea that a Jesus Freak from Tennessee is coming!

Glory to the Great Physician

Quick text message from 'Katy' this afternoon:
"Healing service last night--witnessed back problems healed, hips, colds, broken toes and an ACL! Leading an 'airport worship' now. Love to all!"
She was waiting to board at Dallas/Ft. Worth. The flight to Scotland would be 11 hrs, if not for the 5 hr layover in PARIS! The UK is several hours ahead of us.
Can you say, 'jet lag'?

A Trip

17 June, 2010

• Air France - Flt: 639
  
  • Leave Houston - 4:15pm
    • 9Hr 20Min flight

18 June, 2010

• • Arrive Paris - 8:35am
• Air France - Flt: 5052
  
  • Leave Paris - 3:25pm
    • 2Hr 10Min flight
  • Arrive Edinburgh - 4:35pm

Training in Texas

'Katy' phoned last night with some quick details:
Training takes up almost every minute of the day. Breakfast is at 7am and 'lights out' at 11pm. Part of the training is preparing 'skits' for their street ministry. She says she is very excited to have the lead part in 2 of the skits! She sleeps in a 'hut' which must be rather large, since she shares it with over 100 other missionaries, going to places like Uganda, Europe & New York. She sleeps on a plywood bunk. She has to spray around it every night before getting into bed to make sure no critters try to sleep with her. She has to keep all of her luggage on top of the bed, in case it rains...'cause the water will come in. And saving the best for last...there is no air conditioning! She told me all of this in one breath and then said, "It's GREAT!" haha. She was getting ready, after dinner, to go to the 'new inductee' ceremony, where she would become an official missionary. She said, "Be sure to tell everyone that I will be giving my healing testimonies tonight."
Follow this Facebook link to see other photos of Randi in training, and other updates throughout her journey: Scotland Trip A - Global Expeditions - 2010

Finally boarding

See you in July!

I'm leavin' on a jet plane....

'Katy' left Monday morning on a 26-day, soul-saving, life-changing journey. Her first stop is Global Expeditions headquarters in Texas, for a few days of missions training. But what trip would be complete without flight delays? Katy was up by 5am, but unable to leave the Nashville airport until almost 11am! She played cards with dad while waiting. :|

Global Expeditions is affiliated with Teen Mania, who hosts the 'Acquire the Fire' event each year in Nashville, as well as other major cities. Founder, Ron Luce, has a vision & a passion for preparing our young people to lead their generation to Christ. Katy will tell you that 'Acquire the Fire' is one of the best events she ever attended, and recommends it to all youth for an unforgettable, life-altering experience. The Teen Mania website has info on dates & locations. As a parent of a teen, I encourage parents to check out the websites to see all the opportunities available, and plan for your teen to attend the next 'Acquire the Fire' event. Your child will never be the same.

We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future. ~ Franklin Delano Roosevelt

First things first

A sincere & heartfelt 'thank you' to everyone who is financially and/or prayerfully supporting Randi, making it possible for her to go on this mission. She loves and appreciates each one of you and is so blessed by your generosity and friendship. God is faithful.

For those who don't know, the Scots speak English, but some of their terms are different from ours. For instance, they say 'trousers', not pants. The word 'pants' there refers to underwear, so you should not confuse the two words & risk being offensive. Unfortunately, 'randi' is not a very nice word and a little embarrassing, so she will introduce herself to everyone as 'Katy'. Randi's full name is Randi Katherine-rae. Katherine, being a name of Scottish descent (our ancestors from the MacGregor clan), we thought the nickname, Katy, would be appropriate for the trip. She will spend most of her days in Dumbarton, Scotland, thus the name of the blog. :)

This will be my attempt to chronicle her mission adventures for everyone to follow. She wanted to blog herself, but she will have limited computer access and even less time...so you are left with 'the mom', for now. As I receive phone calls or messages from her, I will pass them along here. Stay tuned! ~donna

"God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supply" — Hudson Taylor