a garden party, a children's club and a holiday

I finished up my placement with the Glasgow Iranian Church this past Sunday with a garden party. It was a real blessing! It was held in the garden of Bill and Cathie Wood here in Kirkintilloch. There was a large group from the Glasgow Iranian Church there and several Scottish friends who came along to help. We had a concert, a barbecue, a drama, and I shared a challenge from the Word of God. I had a chance to pray with a number of people right there in the garden who wanted to get their lives right with God, and the people in the community were listening as well.

One neighbour approached our worship leader when he was leaving and expressed her gratitude for the evening as she said she had been listening to the whole thing from over the fence in her own garden. A friend of mine also rededicated her life to the Lord that evening, and I have since heard several awesome testimonies about the things God did in people lives.It was a wonderful night, and though my placement is over I look forward to future opportunities to continue the wonderful relationship God has given me with the Iranian young people.

After the garden party, we had a week with the kids here in Kirkintilloch. Riverside Church had a children's club called "The Ant Hill Club" which they hold every year for the children in the community. I had a good time working with the children and also enjoyed the opportunity to get to know some adults that I had not had a chance to know before.

I also had a chance to learn to know the man in the fish and chips shop more. We spent a lot of time visiting this week. The only concern I have is that he told me he's only there every other week, and on the other weeks its his brother. As I had previously always thought it was just one man, I fear I may not know the difference between the brothers. When I return from my holiday I shall have to see if I can figure out how to tell them apart!

Now, however, I am leaving for the next few weeks. As of tomorrow, I'm officially on holiday. For the first time in what seems like ages, I am going away to simply rest. I won't be working at all! I'm very excited about it. For the first week, I'll be at a wedding in Armenia. After that, I'll be on a cruise to Egypt. I don't know how often I will find access to the Internet, but I will try to post to this journal whenever possible so that there will be a record of my adventures.