Rupert and I attend St. George's Tron Church.  This Church of Scotland church is located in the middle of the busiest shopping streets in the heart of Glasgow.  For those in the States, the equivalent would be the PCA denomination.  I love the solid doctrine, passion to spread the gospel, and commitment to loving the church.  This church has wide open arms and is so welcoming!  Last Saturday, we had "Tron in the Park" which was a play on words for "T in the Park", a festival held in Britain every year.  After a huge potluck lunch, we all joined in for "The Tron Olympics" which held such events as weightlifting, tennis, swimming, and canoeing.  This is a picture of Rupert competing in the weightlifting events.

 It was pretty stiff competition.  

And yes, for those of you who are wondering, it is a potato.  

Encouraging Words

I love the body of Christ.  God was so wise and so loving when He gave us other Christians to encourage each other and help us along in this race.  I recently emailed a woman who has acted as my mentor in so many ways.  I was explaining the difficulties recently experienced trying to get my visa and my nursing license.  To be completely honest, I was complaining and allowing myself to wallow in my own self pity (albeit, I liked to think it was a shallow puddle).  This is what she wrote back to me: 

"You know, the best place for you to be right now my dear friend is at home, creating a safe and comfortable nest for Rupert.  RN stuff and jobs can come later.  This is just perfect.  You are getting to know your new homeland and a new husband and being home gives you opportunity to spend time with your beloved Savior and create special things for your beloved husband... try new recipes, put some flowers around, add a new touch to the bedroom... create romance... make him feel welcomed as he comes home each day.  God has given you a gift.  I will pray for your license my dear friend but enjoy this special time." 

What encouraging words!  I am so thankful for such women!!  And so I just had to share it with you all.

This is one of my favorite wedding pictures from the end of the night when Rupert and I were leaving.

Good news first?

Rupert's job right now is with an agency that hires him out to different vet practices around the UK.  It's great in that he gets lots of experience, but not so great because you can't depend on always having work.  Last week Rupert had off and we spent the week doing little things around the house.  But this week he's in Derby (pronounced Darby... it's 5 hours away in the peak district in Derbyshire where Mr. Darcy is from!).  So it's not very predictable or steady.  But the good news is... (drum roll please...) he's got a permanent job!  It's in a nearby town and will allow him to work with small animals and farm animals.  We were all very excited about this.  In fact, there is an older gentleman at our church who has been praying for Rupert to find a job so we could stay in Glasgow.  We had him over for dinner the other night.  We thought being an older man he would want an early dinner and leave early.  So we had dinner all ready at 6pm, and he stayed and taught us the history of the Church of Scotland till about 10:45!  When we relayed this story to a couple of american friends here, they commented, "Old Scottish people are lingerers!"  We had too much fun with him!

Sorry, yet another digression!  But we are praying that this job will help prepare us more for the mission field, allowing Rupert more experience with farm animals.  As far as a job for me, I am still waiting on my marriage visa.  And I have started the application process a second time for transferring my nursing license.  This time I will be able to apply through the European Union now that I am married to an EU citizen.  Hopefully they will be a bit more lenient and helpful.  But until then, I'm here doing my gardening, meeting women for coffee, and tonight going to see Mamma Mia!  

A wonderful discovery

We are still in the midst of organizing our house.  Lots of little things are left to be done, like painting, setting up beds, going to the trash dump, etc.  One random thing we've been looking for is a nice mirror to go in our bedroom.  There are no electrical plugs in the bathroom (they claim it's for safety reasons) and so I'm left to blowdry my hair in front of the hall mirror, which can be very inconvenient.  Again, shopping for a simple mirror can be quite an adventure as we try to merge differing tastes and a tight budget.  So off we went yesterday to town to check out several antique shops.  In and amongst the Betty Boop paraphernalia and massive toy ship constructions, we did find some unique mirrors.  Unfortunately, we couldn't decide between the little golden cherub one or the massive silver filigree one.  Needless to say we left the shop mirror-less.

As we walked down the street, we found a shop I had only heard about, "Lupe Pinto's Deli".  The shop front boasted of mexican and american food.  We were quite disheartened, at first, to encounter curry mixes, thai noodles, and european coffees.  But there, at last, we found a small shelf.  It was as if I had discovered the holy grail.  Odds and ends of American cuisine awaited us: skippy peanut butter, bisquick, Aunt Jemima syrup, grits, canned yams.  Back in Virginia during nursing school I fell in love with a cornbread mix.  It is the cheapest one you can find on the grocery store shelf, but it is incredible (and incredibly easy... between the ease and the cost, it is a college staple).  And there it was, staring back at me... Jiffy Cornbread mix!  I walked out of that shop on a culinary high as my little bag contained double portions of canned pumpkin, Toll House chocolate chips, and jiffy.  It was a good day indeed.