Meals with a mission

Ramblings from Avis...

Back home and trying to adjust to the Central Standard Time zone. My days and nights are flip flopped!

During the week at Overtoun House, I was constantly challenged (in a good way) with meal preparations such as lighting burners on an old gas stove, trying to figure out what 350 degrees equates to on the oven dial that reads 1-9, understanding the difference between single cream and double cream, rearranging planned menus based on available produce, seasoning minced meat, guesstimating meal portions for a group that increased as the week unfolded, and figuring out how to store leftovers with a limited amount of containers. (Those who know me well can testify that I LOVE plastic container, foil, and plastic wrap)!


All of those challenges were just the means to the end. The real purpose was to share meals together where fellowship takes place and the result is deep relationship with the Lord. The conversation that takes place around a table is priceless. For me, new friendships were established, deeper conversations with family occurred, and I watched the Body of Christ in fellowship with one another. It was fulfilling to see my life verses lived out in a very real way: Romans 12:9-13 "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality".




































































Sharing with God's people who are in need took place in so many ways....
when a woman from the church needed food for her family and left with meals for the rest of the week; when additional folks showed up for lunch there was plenty of food; when I didn't have the stamina to cook a meal, Nancy graciously whipped up a great stir fry feast; and when Suzy, Tommy, and Nancy baking dozens of cookies for treats for the kids in the after school program.

Indeed, hospitality was practiced in many, many ways.










































































Beyond all this, and perhaps the most profound lesson learned while serving at the Overtoun House, is the parallel of a cast iron skillet and God's love for me. Having used several cast iron skillets during the week, I was reminded of the seasoning process a cast iron skillet receives over years. The more the skillet is used, the coating gets stronger and enhances the pan and cooking process. Similarly, my love for God grows stronger each time I seek and trust Him. It should be no surprise that each encounter with Him enhances the next! Thank you Lord for never ending love and patience as you continue to "season" me for your glory.




















An awesome week at the Overtoun House. Memories for a lifetime.

Unprecedented Favor

That's what I could call our week of ministry in Scotland. We saw God do more things in more amazing ways than I could possibly have predicted. We went, of course, to share about the incredible love of Jesus with the children and adults of Dumbarton, Scotland. What happened, though, was that Jesus showed our team unprecedented favor in patiently teaching us about His love, grace, mercy, and favor as we worked together in His name.

We also received unprecedented favor in the eyes of the school administration, students, and parents at Aitkenbar Primary School. First of all, the entire student body ended up joining us in baseball every day except Wednesday. We had no idea that we would be working with 100s of kid each day! And dozens of new kids stayed after school for the Kinrick Kids bible time. Chris and Ryan Haney said that they've never had this many new kids come at one time. And, they got to meet each of the parents as well.

On the final day, all the children came up to the Overtoun House for a day of baseball. What was originally planned to be a 3 hour afternoon baseball time, was extended to an all day event. We played baseball, shared lunch, sang, and had a great day.

The only unknown element was giving out the Bibles. The principal decided that we couldn't give the Bibles directly to the children, in case some of the parents would be offended. So, she said that we should just make them available to those that wanted one. Our team prayed about it and let God handle the results. So, at the closing time, Chris Haney said that we had Bibles to give out to all the regularly attending Kinrick Kids and asked them to come up and receive them. You should have heard the uproar!! Everyone wanted to know how come they weren't going to get one as well! She said that we had enough for everyone, if they wanted. You would have thought she was giving away money!!! They all mobbed her to get a free Bible. We were grinning from ear to ear.

My most touching memory of that time was a conversation with a little guy named Mark. Right before Chris came up to talk, he asked me "What are all these books?"
"They are Bibles," I replied.
"How much do we pay for them?" he asked.
"Nothing," I said, "they're free."
"Seriously?" he said with astonishment. "Why would you do that?"
"Because we love Jesus and we want everyone to read about Him. This is book is all about Him." I said.
"Hmmm." was his only reply.

Dumbfounded by the love of God. I'm right there with you, Mark. Why does He love me so much? I don't know. But I'm happy to love Him back with my whole life. I pray you do the same.

Oh, and did I mention that we had 7 straight days of sunshine with a refreshingly cool breeze? No one we talked to could remember the last time that Glasgow, Scotland had 7 straight days of sunshine without a hint of rain.

Unprecedented favor. Thank you, God.

Little Differences

This is Keith writing this blog.

There are, of course, major differences between Scotland and America... The queen, for example. The language, for example. Yes, technically we speak the same language as Scots, but technically, we don't.

There are little differences between Scotland and America as well, and this missive is dedicated to the little differences.

For example, Scotland is a lot farther north than I've ever been. It's still bright enough outside at 11:00 PM to play catch without the street lamps. And the sun comes up at ungodly hours, hours that I have not been awake to see, thankfully. However, I'll take the word of Ryan who said he got up at 4:00 this morning and the sky was already bright.

They drive on the left side here, and the steering wheel is on the right side of the cars. Nope, I don't trust myself to drive in Great Britain. I did learn why they drive on the left side, though. It goes back beyond ancient times, when people walked or the wealthy rode horses to where they needed to go. It seems the folks were a little less than trusting. Because most people were right handed, they always walked or rode to the left side of the road so they could see the right hands of the oncoming traffic, thus both parties were able to tell if the people coming at them had their swords drawn. It amazes me, the things we do just because we've always done them that way.

Another little difference is that BMWs are very common here. No taxes and transportation costs, so B-Mers are like Fords or Chevys in America.

Another little difference: in Scotland, they use both the Imperial as well as the metric measurement systems. So, if a street sign says the distance to Lancaster is "20", then it's 20 miles to Lancaster. However, if the temperature is "30", that's 30 degrees celsius, which is pretty hot in Scotland.

If you want to turn a light on, you flip the switch down, not up.

Almost all the vehicles here are very small by American standards. The reason, another little difference that we can appreciate, is that the price of gasoline in Scotland is about $8.00 per gallon when you take into account the exchange rates and the fact they buy petrol by the liter, not the gallon.

They don't have mosquitos here, but they do have small biting gnats that, depending upon who you're talking with, are either "midges", "medges", or "midgies".

Scots do not like the English. You might be thinking, "Well, aren't they English too? I mean, Scotland is a part of the UK, right?"

Yes, Scotland is a part of the UK, but most Scots would prefer that Scotland was not a part of the UK. This is more than sectional rivalry, more than a Texan addressing a New Yorker as a "damn yankee." Because, as I'm sure you well know, anyone from north of the Red River is a damn yankee to a Texan. A Texan doesn't call someone a damn yankee as an insult or a put down. In the eyes of the native Texan (which, just to be clear, I am not), it's merely a statement of fact. Unlike the Texan and the New Yorker, Scots, to the best that I can tell, truly do not like the English. This goes way beyond rooting for the USA against England in the World Cup. Do not make the mistake of referring to a Scotsman as an Englishman unless you have been diagnosed with a terminal illness and have your life insurance premiums paid up.

There is a branch of the government in the UK called something like "Health and Safety", and the role of "H&S" is to make life more pleasant for truly, truly foolish people. For example, toothpicks are no longer allowed to be dispensed by restaurants. The reason is that toothpicks are a health hazard. Yes, I suppose one could put out an eye with a toothpick if they weren't careful, but...

There is a significant difference between "College" and "University" here. First, you really don't graduate from high school, you pass courses. If you pass enough of the right courses, then you can go to "University", which is what Americans think of when we use the words "college" or "university". If you don't pass enough courses, then you can go to College. "College" in the UK is a local trade school. You only have to go to high school until the age of 16. If you choose to stay in high school longer than 16, say to pass more courses so you can eventually go to University, the government pays you. You can stay in high school up until 18 years of age. Oh, and they don't call it "high school" here. Primary 1 through Primary 7 (the equivalent of our kindergarten through 6th grade) is Primary School. Secondary school is what you attend after P-school and before college or university.

The professional soccer team you follow, cheer for or otherwise support, tells much about you. For instance, there's a local soccer team the protestants root for, and a local team the Catholics root for. If you find yourself on the wrong side of town wearing the wrong team's colors, you may wake up in the hospital. No joke, it's that serious. But some might say it's that serious to walk down the wrong street in Philadelphia wearing a Dallas Cowboys jersey, and it is. However, here the rivalry is across town, not across the country.

One thing that's very different from what I expected is how nice everyone is here, at least once they hear us speak. They can tell immediately we're from the USA, and immediately strike up a conversation or offer help... even the cab drivers in London. Many Scots have been to the US, and they'll tell you about their trips to Florida, or how much they'd like to go but can't because of their criminal record. I don't know why I was expecting a cool reception, but it is that for which I prepared myself. The people have been nicer than nice, and more accepting than I ever expected. I look forward to seeing more of the country, and meeting more of the people.

Signing off for now,

Keith

If you want to see photos, here is the flickr link!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/51247165@N08/?donelayout=1

The Overtoun House, a Modern Castle

After 24 hours of travel, any ground level view of the lovely Scottish landscape was welcome, but none so beautiful as the castle that emerged as we drove up the path to Overtoun House. Built in 1859 for James White and his wife, the historic house has seen many avenues of life. After being given to the surrounding community in 1939, Overtoun House served as a military hospital during WWII as well as a maternity hospital. Now the castle is under the direction of Melissa and Bob Hill, and is currently the home to several ministries. Since 2001, the Hill and Haney families are using the Overtoun House as a church, tea room, and soon a home for young, single mothers.

Alaina, Grant, Luke, Tommy and myself have all enjoyed exploring this modern castle. The tower is by far my favorite spot. If you can draw your eyes away from the aerial view of turrets and carved stone, there is a magnificent sight of the Clyde River, Dumbarton Castle, and surrounding landscapes. Last night my mom and I hauled our foam sleeping pads up all 8 flights of stairs and spent the night up there. I felt like a princess =)

On Tuesday, we all hiked up the "mountain" that sits out front of Ovetoun House (it's not really a mountain but I'm not sure what to call it otherwise). It was quite the hike but Michel, who is from Virginia and spending the summer working at Overtoun House, and Grant helped us find the safest way up. Michel said that you know you've gotten to the top when you reach a pile of ancient rocks. Apparently, a long time ago farmers marked the highest point of their land with rocks, and sure enough, after about an hour of climbing (almost vertically at points) we reached the pile. And believe me, what we saw is the definition of wonderful, however, we had to begin our descent quickly in order not to miss lunch. On the way down, Alaina and I were talking about how well the climb was going- we hadn't fallen, tripped, or anything like that- but that didn't last long... right after I finished saying that we both stepped in huge mud puddles and had to walk the rest of the way back with muddy shoes and squishy socks. It was worth it though!

Overall, the beauty of Scotland amazes me the most, not only visually, but also because it is a perfect illustration of God's beauty. Even if you can't always feel God's perfect beauty, you can always see it. You just have to be willing to climb the tower.

-Joyce Hankins

Cooking in the Castle

I've cooked in many places under a variety of crimcustatnces but never a castle. Now I can add that to my list! The Hankins and the "other" Soderstrom's are helping with some food prep and the clean up. I am so grateful for this assistance. If there were smoke detectors in the Overtoun House, I'm quite sure they would have gone off yesterday when I fried hamburgers. ;-)

Melissa, Nancy, and I went to the grocery store this morning. I could have spent 4 hours walking up and down each aisle looking at the vartiey of products. We got groceries for the next 3 days...which means I'll get to go back to ASDA (the grocery store) and soak up more of the Scotish culture. yeah.

The kitchen is large and stocked with plenty of items. Learning to use an old gas stove has been fun and now that I know how the vent system works everyone will be happy, or at least I think so. The Tea Room (another ministry @ the Overtoun House) will be open on Friday. Using the kitchen for lunch and dinner will be challenging and fun, at least for me. Needless to say I'm VERY excited to see how that operation runs.

Breakfasts are prepared for just our team of 10. Lunch and dinners included our team and up to 10 more. This includes the resident missionary families and visiting missionaries. It has been very interesting talking with these new friends.

The rest of the team has left for the school to conduct the baseball program. I am staying back at the Overtoun House to unpack all the groceries and start meal prep for this evening and tomorrow. Tonights dinner: White Chicken Chili!

Chef Avis signing off for now....

A new day dawns! Already?

In order for something to be a journey, you have to set out and begin. Our adventure began in St. Louis, MO and Minniapolis/St. Paul, MN. The Hankins and Soderstrom flights to New York City were standard domestic flights. Other than a "quick" taxi ride from LaGuardia to Kennedy, no surprises. Avis' flight from Minniapolis was another story. Due to extended check in lines, she missed her flight to Kennedy Airport. The airline rerouted her to LaGuardia and she was able to join the other Soderstroms before they left for JFK Airport. After arriving at JFK just in the nick of time, they met up with us at the gate for our London flight. Transfer one.

We flew Aer Lingus (Ireland Airline) across the Atlantic to Dublin, Ireland. The plane was an Airbus - over 40 rows of 8 seats across. Our aircraft is only 6 months old and had the newest and coolest in-flight entertainment system - games, movies, flight tracker and music. Since the flight was a "long haul" it included a free meal for dinner! Inflight duty shopping was also available! The flight attendants earned their wages on this flight - three rounds of beverages/meals, plus a sales round. Our flight left NYC Friday, June 11 at 545pm and technically is a five hour flight. However, because of the time change, the clock told a different story! After dinner, the lights went down and when they were turned back up, it was morning! Looking out the window during the flight the sun never completely went down. We watched it rise in the sky and Saturday, June 12 began. A new day had begun before the previous one ended! We landed in Dublin at 6am local time. In St. Louis it would have been only 12am.

After going through immigration (yes, they let all of us in!), we rushed to our connecting flight for London Heathrow. Without even time to spare for a cup of coffee, we boarded the plane. No jetway, just a short walk on the tarmac and up a flight of stairs. Transfer number two!

We arrived at London Heathrow at 8am. The morning was just beginning and we all needed our coffee or tea! Our bodies were screaming for sleep, but we pressed on for we had another transfer, or two, to go before the journey was complete! We needed to get from Heathrow Airport to Euston Train Station. Thanks to Nancy's efficient planning, we activated our Britrail passes and boarded the Heathrow Express for Pattington Station. After a short train ride of 15 minutes, we arrived at Pattington. Transfer number three!

Pattington Station is one of the big stations in London. It's architecture is old world style, but the atmosphere is very modern. Travelers like ourselves and local commuters bustled about the stations. It was after all the beginning of a new day and everyone was off to work or holiday! We decided to rest for a little bit and have breakfast and take a bathroom break. After finding a place all 10 of us and our luggage of over 18 pieces could fit, we split up for breakfast. Bagel sandwiches, French pastries and bacon rolls (a slab of ham on a large scone- the British heart stopper!), a rhubarb custard tart and coffee returned. Those that had sought out relief in the restroom, returned to inform the others that public restrooms cost 30 pence (about 50 cents) to use! They begged for change and headed off for the first of many new experiences!

After an hour of refreshment, we took a taxi to Euston Station where we would take the 12:30pm train to Glasgow. Transfer number four!

Another hour in Euston Station. Another round of 30 pence toilet visits. A visit to a corner market for more rhubarb tarts, cheese and bread for the train ride. Then we boarded the train for Glasgow. Transfer number five.

Trains in Europe are a normal way of travel for residents. The tracks are smooth and the trains move silently across them. People get on and off as a regular part of their lives. While we were heading to our mission holiday (that's the word for vacation here), others were heading to weddings, grandmothers and girlfriends. And while the reasons for being on the train were different, one common topic was the World Cup! For on that day, the British team was playing the USA. Football (soccer) is the national sport in the United Kingdom and they take it as seriously as St. Louisans take Cardinal baseball! (The game was played later in the day and ended in a draw, or tie) After taking much needed naps on the train, we enjoyed the stunning views from the train. From rock walls to ruins, fat sheep to skinny cows, prairie grasses to planted oats, grey clouds to blue skies, green pastures and timber farms, the views flew by. I don't know when we passed from England to Scotland for the scenery was a seamless flash of brilliant greens and hillsides!

After five hours on the train,we pulled into the Glasgow station, the end of the line and our beginning journey. It was 5pm local time (11am in St. Louis). We exited the train with weary excitement. We hadn't lost a single piece of luggage, ticket or traveler! Success! As we walked toward the "way out" (that's what the signs say instead of exit) we saw our hosts, Ryan and Chris Haney waiting for us! The Haneys would have our 15 passenger van waiting and we could finally set our bags down and arrive at Overton House. Introductions, handshakes and hugs were given all around! Then Ryan H. says, "parking here is expensive. We have to take a few trains to get to Dunbaraton!" Not another train! After a moment of dismay, and another round of 30 pence toilet stops, we trudged on. Transfers six and seven.

Transfer eight was into the van in Dunbarton, Scotland and after a short fifteen minute ride from the station we hear the answer to the question we had not dared ask, "This is Overtoun House, we are here!" The stone and iron gate welcomed us onto the 96 acre estate. Lush greenery and colorful rhododenrum trees framed the grey stone of the castle, Overtoun House. It had taken us almost 24 hours to arrive, but we were here! A new day had dawned and we didn't miss it! Our beginning journey was complete, but the true journey was just beginning!

Suzy