The Scottish life begins...

It’s now been four days of officially “living in Scotland”, and as I said in the last post- so far, so good! 

Today is the first day of school at CCS....very strange not to be there, right in the thick of things. But I know they’ll have a great day; I already can’t wait to hear all about how the new students, the new seniors (including my youngest sister!), and the new staff did on the first day of 2013-2014. 

Kitchen (east side)

      The big news on my end is that after a lovely couple days with my aunt and uncle, I’m now officially installed in my one-bedroom apartment downtown. (In British terms, which I’ll slowly switch over to, that would be “my wee flat in the city centre”. :-) The building I live in was constructed in 1789 (because I live in “New Town” in Edinburgh- you can only imagine the age of “Old Town”!), and as a result, certain components have shifted over the last couple hundred years. My wooden floors have a variety of gentle slopes. The wee kitchen table has about a 2 inch tilt from one side to the other, so I’ve propped some things under the legs so that my food won’t roll away when I’m not looking. When I first sat down, it felt like I was at sea (complete with seagulls in the background)! I wouldn’t change a thing about the structure, though- it all adds to the charm. Of course a 1789 room can’t be expected to live as though it was born in the 1990’s! :-)

Southwest corner of main room

      Another feature I love is a whitewashed stone wall in the living room- definitely adds some interesting character. And I can’t forget the large north window (complete with window seat!), which lets in a surprising amount of light all day long; being on the fourth floor probably helps, as few buildings in this area are taller than that. Technically, this window faces Edinburgh Castle, and if I could see straight through just one building, I’d have a clear view. 

      You might be able to see in the picture below how I’m using some of my shelf space!... and I have to tell you why...though I was looking forward to moving in, it’s a bit lonely to spend all day setting up a flat by yourself, 5,000 miles away from friends and family, and wishing you could blink and find yourself somehow with them. But, late last night, I had an inspiration- decorate those big empty shelves with the cards I’ve received for my Scotland move! It was delightful and so warm-fuzzy-feeling to re-read them

Northwest corner

as I arranged them, and by the end (I’m not making this up), it felt like everyone was there with me! So many great messages and verses are on those walls, and they remind me that I’m not in this alone- my community’s “here” too. 

      Bit by bit, details of “normal life” are falling into place...my UK cell is set up, I’m shopping around for internet, and will be buying a weekly bus pass later today. I went to a meeting with various Liberton Kirk committee members last night, and am working my way into the role of Children’s Worker there. Liberton is VERY active in youth work, and they have done a fantastic job of intentionally interfacing with their community youth as much as possible. It was so exciting to hear about various programs and events at this meeting, and to learn what I’ll be involved in. 

      Backtracking a bit, on Sunday, I made it to church at Liberton Kirk (with just enough time after landing to have some breakfast and change), where I received such a warm and gracious welcome. It was a special service to welcome new members, so about twelve other people and myself were called up front to be recognized. And then, they did something I’ve never seen before- all the congregation came up and greeted us individually, passing through us like a reception line! It was so special to personally be welcomed by every person there. I can’t imagine a better first few hours with my new church family. 

      I think that’s enough for now; going to try to avoid writing massssive blog posts that take forever to read. But I know many friends want to get the “flavo(u)r” of life, work, and ministry over here, so I’ll try to provide that. :-)

Verse of the day/post (this one was from Lynn Myers, shared the day before I left):

Jude 1:24-25

“To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.”

Now it's REALLY happening!

Well, it's finally here- the Big Move itself! After a pretty full (and surreal) week, I finally have a little time to read, write, call family, and reflect.

I'm typing this from Newark Airport, where I have four more hours before my flight departs for Edinburgh. I'm camped out near an outlet to charge up, and eyeing the food court nearby to scope out options for a late lunch. "So far, so good" is how I'd summarize today- final

packing/throwing random stuff in the suitcase (praying that I find everything in one piece on the other side), Panera breakfast with the fam, and then to the Cleveland airport, where I let United take 116 lb. of luggage off my hands. And after hugs and prayer...I'm on my way.

The last few days have involved lots of packing (obviously) and last-minute errands, but the good-byes are really what I was dreading. In some ways it's just like leaving for any other trip, and very much has/had a "see you later" feel as I talked with different people. In my head I know it will be a while (probably Christmas) before I see anyone again, but it just doesn't feel real yet. I wonder when it will?

Many of you are curious to know exactly what I'll be doing- me too! :-) All I really know is that I've been hired as a Children's Worker (in American terms, involved in their Sunday School program) at Liberton Kirk for 12 hours a week, and am in the process of becoming a part-time staff person with Young Life (International) for 20-25 hours a week, doing various forms of youth ministry and evangelism. I'm looking forward to sharing more about those, maybe because that would mean I'll finally know exactly what God is having me do!

Another component of the move is a bit more intangible (though hopefully blended with those people and work). I don't think God calls us somewhere to only "do", but more importantly to "be". He already knows the friendships and relationships that will keep developing in Scotland and Europe, and the activities that I hope will capture my time and heart (writing, learning Russian, reading, cooking, babysitting) to shape who I am/become. God is able to relate to us and through us in so many different ways...it's exciting that He has all aspects of a new life over there in mind, not only ministry hours. And I'll know Him in a deeper way as we go through this transition together. More than anything, I think that gives me a sense of excitement and peace.

That's it for now...time for a few phone calls while I have service. Oh- my US number will be ending as of tomorrow, so email (rachelewillis@gmail.com) and facebook are the most reliable ways to communicate. Thanks so much for all the encouragement and excitement- it's wonderful to be able to share this with so many.

There have been a lot of verses that friends have given me (Scripture is so powerful!), but the one I'm dwelling on today is Romans 15:13: "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." I like the idea of overflowing with Holy Spirit hope! :-)

God bless you!

~Rachel