New Friends and Old Stones.
Awoken by the scent of a great Scottish breakfast, we prepared for our first day at the Circuit Office in Edinburgh (similar to our conference office back in the States). Our house mum, Barbara, walked us to the office to meet our wonderful "Scottish boss", Andrew, since it is only 5 minutes from where we are staying! Walking to work is such a pleasure in the States and something I have always wanted to do. Never did I ever think I would be doing it in such a stunning city as this! We met several staff members today including the Circuit Administrator, Jo, and one of the Youth workers, Hayley, along with Andrew that all have heartfelt stories and journeys that have lead them to where they are today. We heard about several things we will be taking a part in and experiencing over the coming weeks which made enthusiasts of us all. There is so much to learn and share. The staff we have met so far are Methodist books of knowledge, just brilliant. We will continue to meet more staff and ministers as our time here continues and with that our excitement grows! A tasty lunch was at a Scottish restaurant setting followed by purchasing our local bus passes to navigate around the city. To our complete surprise we then traveled to a Scottish "suburb" named Roslin which is a village of Midlothian. Roslin houses the Rosslyn Chapel (an infamous "Da Vinci Code" cameo spot, also said to potentially hold the Holy Grail). See picture above. It was built in 1446 before Columbus even sailed the ocean blue landing on our American soil. The picture of the door was an addition built in 1660 as you can see above the entrance. It truly is so hard to even imagine events that long ago as we stand gazing straight at them. It was a magnificent stone site with ageless character. The day concluded with another scrumptious home-cooked meal. What a great first day in the Forth, indeed! 'Til tomorrow...blessings and cheers.

P.S. I must say that my heart is conflicted to be in a place to serve here when your home city, Nashville, needs rescuing in a devastating time after the floods. We are thinking about all of those hurting there and our prayers are definitely with all of you back home.