A Tour of the Coast

A few weeks ago, Margaret and Trevor took Peter and I to the northern coast of Scotland to see all the small fishing villages. We went to three or four different towns, and walked along the rugged coastline. It was really beautiful. Unfortunatly, it was an overcast day, but we still enjoyed hiking from villiage to villiage. We started at Port Soy, and ended up on Cullun. In Port Soy, the harbour was built 400 years ago, and was one of my favorite places. It is sad to think that these places are being abandoned as fising is made illegal off the coast. These pictures are from different towns that we saw. Each one was different in its own way... We really enjoyed our day....

Random

I had been thinking lately that I have not written much, so I thought I would add two random pictures, and use this as an excuse to write! Of course, I had to add a pictures of a hairy, scottish cow and baby!! These cows get so big!!! The other day I was running, and a fance had been broken down, and 6 cows were loose in the street! They were not this kind, but 'normal' cows...but they were so big!! I was a bit nervous becuase one had a baby, and kept stamping its foot at me!!!
The one below is a potato Peter found from me in the garden...he is so sweet! The only bad thing, is that it quickly turned green and rotten...but we are not thinking that means anything for us!
In general, we are doing very well. Lately we have been very tired, as we have had some late nights and things here are a bit busy. With the new extension in planning, and a lot of courses, everyone seems to be running around on high, with little time just to be. That said, it has also been a great time of seeking God as a team. We had a couple come to join on staff, but it did not work out. Both them and our leadership could see that there was not a fit, and this was not the place for them. But having come from eastern Europe, it was a bit difficult with communication. I think things were handled in the best way possible, but it is not easy.
Peter and I are running again, and enjoying getting to run in this area, as it is really beautiful with the mountians and streams running. Spring is especially pretty if the sun would just stay out! It has been a bit rainly lately...
Well I think this is enough of me chatting...have a great day!!!

flowers and sheep....

Just what everyone wants to see!!! flowers and sheep!! Aren't lambs cute.

a few more dutch pictures

We were able to see a few of our good friends during out time in the Netherlands. from L to R: Peter , Liz, Lynn, Pauline, and Jan. It was so good to see these guys...they are truly some of the best friends Peter and I have ever had...very challenging and very loving. Plus, when we were in this cafe, a bird landed on Peter's head. It startled him, and he swatted it right into Jan's hair...it was very funny...These two pictures are from a war cememtary near Arnhem. This one was a British cemetary, and it was a very sobering reminder of just how many people gave thier lives. Europe still very much has these reminders of WWII...I found myself reading the names aloud. Most were between 19 and 25.

The picture below is from Zutphen, a small town in the east. It is such a picturesque photo of what a typical dutch town looks like...I like them very much! (note-there is a lot of water!!!)

I have been tagged!

I have been tagged by Katie (Marks) Keyes and I am to tell 6 random things about myself...hmmm this should be interesting....
1. Well the first thing has to do with Isla, the Harris hawk in the picture above. Recently, I 'flew' Isla with a friend of mine here at Ellel. Lindsey owns this bird and is training her for hunting and things like that...it was very cool to have her land on my glove and feed her (that part is a bit gross). She is a beautiful bird!
2. I was born on my due date!!! I am pretty sure that makes me special!
3. The only bone that I have really broken since i can remember is my nose, and I did it sledding when i was 8 or 9...I can still remember my Mom crying 'My baby!!!'
4. I ran on an organized running team (XC and track) for 10 years in a row and that makes way too many seasons, way too many pairs of shoes, and way too many early Saturday mornings for meets.
5. Peter's first thoughts when he met me was 'oh great another America girl.' It was not love at first sight!
6. My dream job is and always has been to work as a grocery store check out person....what is there that is better than that?

Well that is my 6 interesting facts.....feel free to leave a comment with one interesting fact about you!!!

Nathan and Rebecca

From Left to Right: Edwin (Peter's brother), Flora (Edwin's wife), Peter, Liz...Karen Peter's sister is sitting in the front holding Edwin and Flora's new 3 week old girl, Rebecca. Peter is holding Nathan...What cute kids!!! We spent 4 days in a vacation park in the East of the Netherlands and really had so much time to just play with Nathan and visit with the family. It was such a great time and I really enjoyed just being with the Brokaars. My dutch improved, but still could use some help...Here are some more of the kids!

Wedding in the Netherlands

One of the reasons we went to the Netherlands, we to attend the wedding of Reinier and Susanne. Reinier is Peter's cousin and as they are quite close in age, they have been good friends for a long time. Peter was one of the ones who signed their wedding certificate! How exciting...the picture above is (from left to right) Peter, Reinier, Arnoud, Arie and Maarten.
Rosa--Peter's cousin's daughter...she was alot of fun to watch
Reinier and Susanne (Reinier is SO tall, but he is lucky: Susanne is tall too!!!)

Passover Seder

On the Thursday before Easter, two of our co-workers hosted a Passover Sedar. Basically that is a celebration of the traditional Passover. We went through what Orthodox Jews would do, adding the messianic aspect. It was really incredibly eye opening to see how much of the celebration point exactly to Jesus. AMAZING. I felt that Easter was given a whole new meaning. It was a really great.

This is Heather, from Calgary. She has become one of our closer friends. She is alot of fun and kept us fed over Christmas...She loves to cook!
This was our table setting...proper silverware and crystal glasses on linen table clothes...we were pretending to be guests!!! Below was one part of the celebration that really struck me. The item is called ??? and is one piece of linen made with three different pockets. At the beginning of the celebration, three different pieces of unleavened bread (in this case, Matzah) are placed in the three pockets. During the feast, the middle piece is taken out, broken, half is replaced into its pocket, and the other half is wraped in a different piece of linen and hidden called the afikonen. Near the end of the meal, the children are then told to seek and find the hidden piece of bread. When it is found, there is great joy and everyone takes a piece of the afikonen...Could it be any clearer? Three pockets? one piece of linen? middle bit broken and found? JESUS!!! TRINITY!!! yeah...it was so powerful...I hope I explained it so you can get the picture...

Signs of Spring!!!

Blue Skies and budding trees! The bad thing about being so north is that the sun now rises so early that we never see them!

This flower is growing in the green house, and has about a thousand buds on it. As a whole picutre, the plant is beautiful. It was too hard to get it on photo, so one will have to do....so pretty!
My favorite picture that has been taken! It is amazing how you can see the water drops against the blue sky....amazing!

fun buildings i want to show you

This my favorite little house that I have found in England or Scotland. It is just around the corner from Pierrepont and I pass it on my way to the Frensham Ponds. It is on a river and is so charming.
Another shot of Pierrepont. The tall windows in the front are from the Great Hall, where we sat for teaching everyday.
This is a little alley way near to the cottage where we stayed...what a fun place.
Peter is standing next to a small chapel on the grounds of the Grange. It is awaiting renovations, but is still quite a site. You can see the steeple through the trees as you come up the drive. It is quite beautiful.
This is the clock house at Pierrepont, another little place you can find on the grounds. This was also in the movie 'Wind in the Willows.' Famous place eh?

Road Shots

So on our way down, we took advantage of our great camera options and took pictures out of the van window!! The one above is of Stirling Castle. Near to this site is (supposedly) where William Wallace had a massive battle against the mean old English people. By the way, I think English people are in general very nice. I have been there before, when a few of us from the Shelter in Amsterdam went to Scotland 4 years ago...
This is taken in the Lake District in Northwest England. It was really beautiful scenery, rolling hills and rugged landscapes.
These last two are both taken near Aviemore, in Scotland in the Highlands. I can not tell you how breathtaking it was to drive here, with towering mountians covered with snow on both sides. It was so beautiful. It was misty and so cool... One of the nicest parts of the whole trip was the drive. I hope you enjoy the pictures too!

Frensham Ponds

These are pictures of the ponds next to Pierrepont. When we lived there two years ago, I used to run here a couple of days a week. There are trails around two ponds, and it is really pretty in the early morning. Peter took these when he went for an early morning walk. The opening scenes from 'Gladiator' were filmed here (the part when they are in battle). I found this place to be so peaceful and calm. It was good to get away from the business of school and go to a place where you could just think and process everything that God was doing. It was SO good to get back and walk were we used to walk...
There were always swans there too...but I must say, they are not the nicest birds. They would try and get into our bags and were kinda scary sometimes!

Worship

For the Conference, each center had to lead worship for one session. Our staff has just begun to start having worship with guitar or just singing at our morning prayer time. Malcolm, on the piano, had really been the only person playing for the past 3 years. No one else has felt comfortable adding anything to him. However, Kerri (who you can't see here), Sarah (green sweater, singing) and I get together sometimes with Kerri and me playing guitar and Sarah singing. Well, once it was found out, they asked us to start leading worship. Well, Lexy (the other one on guitar) also volunteered to help us out by playing. She can fingerpick amazingly! Well, as we were practicing for this, it was really a disaster. None of us have ever played with anyone else, and Malcolm is so used to playing by himself that we ALL struggled to follow each other. What misery, knowing that we would have to get up if front of 350 people to lead worship. Well, what else can you do, but pray. I was reminded of the verse "Make a joyful NOISE unto the Lord." That was encouraging...so we just gave it to Him. Well, it turned out better than anything we could have hoped for....God really does use the little things in life to show us He is big...Praise God!

no jacket!!!

The entire time we were at Pierrepont, I did not have to wear a jacket at all! Ahhh, I love spring... After the cold snowy winter here in Scotland, to be able to walk around in just a jumper was great! Plus that meant I did not have to worry about losing my jacket. It was fun to see as we drove south, the change in nature. Flowers that are just sprouting at Blairmore were flowering in Frensham. There were lambs and calves and all sorts of baby rabbits to be seen running around. As we drove north again, we saw it all dissapear as we hit a big snow storm. It was a bit despressing! So now we are back, and it is SO cold again. Peter went out this morning for a long bike ride and to do some climbing, and 30 minutes after he left it started sleet/snowying...I hope he does not freeze!!
The yellow flower was taken at Pierrepont, along with the cross, but (hee-yaw) the purple one was taken here at Blairmore. I hope it survives the cold!
We are getting into the swing of things here. But we leave again in a week to visit Peter's family in The Netherlands. I am so excited about seeing our new little niece, Rebecca. We will share pictures soon. Love to you all....

A trip down south...

This past week, Peter and I and the entire team packed up to go down to Pierrepont, the Ellel Center where Peter and I were in 2004. It was for a team conference. All the Ellel Centers from around the world gathered for teaching, fun, and a time of hearing each others stories. It was such a great time. Shockingly, it was the first time Peter and I were really off the base here, so we definately needed the time away. It was great and we are glad to be back and get into the swing of things here. The picture above is the Grange, Ellel's headquarters in Lancaster. We stayed there the first night of our trip, as it is 7 hours to the Grange and 6 hours from there to Pierrepont. The grounds are beautiful English gardens and it was much warmer there than at Blairmore.
This is Pierrepont. It was so nice to be back after 2 years. I have not been there since we finished NETS, and it was so good to see old friends and meet new people. If you have seen the British Production of "Wind in the Willows," this was where they filmed for Toad Hall. It was at the beginning of when Ellel owned the property and pretty much paid for all the major remodeling of the main level rooms. There are 63 rooms in the Main House, which is shown here.
This is where we stayed at Pierrepont. It is my favorite building, and sits behind the Main House on the estate. There are 35 acres including 12-15 buildings and a beautiful river walk. It is truly amazing that all these beautiful centers are owned by this ministry. There is never alot of money, yet they own these amazing houses. I have more pictures that I will down load but I wanted to start with these buildings! Enjoy!