Scottish Immersion Program

I’m coming to the end of my time here in 2020 in Scotland and certainly the liturgical year has ended. I’ve found it very easy to get distracted with how much I’m getting done or what I’ll be doing next year. This continues to seem quite ridiculous when I realize that I’m thinking that way. I’m living in Scotland. I need to be enjoying the present moment.

I met a lady after mass the other day that was commenting on how this was the wrong year to visit Scotland with everything being locked down and such. Recognizing that I don’t know any other Scotland than the locked down one, I disagree! I’m afforded the luxury of not being overwhelmed by the norms! I get to really pioneer a great many things alongside a population that is also new to their surroundings. In many ways this is an ideal time to be in Scotland. Aside from that which I have found to love, I have great assurance that this is God’s will for me at this time in my life.

I have been in a bubble of care over the past two years serving with NET USA and I am very grateful for that. Being in Scotland has really pushed me to survive apart from the sort of family I found in the States. It’s kind of felt like moving out of the house and becoming an adult or something akin to that. I really have much to be thankful for in this area, and much to pray with.

Ministry is still happening! Despite continued lockdowns and restriction changes the two constants seems to be grocery stores and the schools. We work with the latter of course. And what a blessing! The team continues to establish meaningful connections with the young people here. In one of the schools there was a few young people in tears because the team was scheduled to depart the following day. Now, I’m not saying tears are necessary to indicate a job well done. However, it is a testament to the connection that the team established with these young people and how meaningful they had become in their lives. Nice to put in a reminder here that by trade we are not catechists. We are Christians that have let our lives be radically changed by Jesus and share that new life we have found. That witness and personal testimony is very powerful. It is in living the mundane radically that conversion of observation is brought about. When people see the joy Christians have in the mundane, that is what grips them. Grand deeds of kindness are good and necessary, but it is the ordinary life lived extraordinarily that empowers men and women to do those great deeds.

Please know of my prayers for you dear reader! To all of my supporters, please look for the post I mentioned in my letter coming soon. God bless you all!

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