Day 5 - Traveling to Aberdeen

Cheers from Scotland!

On June 4^th, we traveled from Burwick-upon-Tweed, England to Dundee, Scotland. We saw the R.S.S. Discovery in Dundee. It was a ship that went to explore the South Pole but was trapped in ice for two years. On the boat, we reenacted the Titanic. While waiting to eat lunch, we played Ninja and Down by the Valley. For lunch we had the option of getting Mac and Cheese and chips, a burger that had jam on it, or a BLT. Also, some people bought a cream and jam scone and it was excellent, as were the gluten free brownies. On the bus ride, Allison and I asked Matthew questions we had about our faith and others joined in to listen and participate. One question we had was if Hitler asked God for forgiveness and was sorry, would he go to Heaven? Matthew gave us two stories, one biblical, and the other real life, and asked us what we thought about those case scenarios. It was cool to realize that God is more all forgiving but in order to be forgiven, we have to accept God’s forgiveness, which can be challenging when you killed 8 million people. We also asked about life after death and if you could grow closer to God. We talked about how Heaven was more of a state of being rather than a physical place and that the concept of God is hard for us as humans to comprehend. This bus ride took us to our hike along the coast that turned out to be very off route. Matthew had to scamper ahead to find paths for us and he even built us a bridge to cross over a stream/fence. We climbed steep hills, were attacked by nettle, hopped through barbed wire, and trespassed on private property where sheep roam. Everything’s fine! We got so off road, we had to call the bus to come and pick us up. Although that was not planned, it was still a beautiful hike and we don’t regret anything, accept for the nettle. We split up and did Lectio in our small groups and the lesson was Job 38: 1-15. Job was questioning God and God was answering him in question. Ross told us G.K. Chesterton, an old English author,  said “The riddles of God are more satisfying than the answers of man.” We learned that it’s good to ask questions, but also if we don’t find the answers to our questions it’s ok. For dinner, we went to a really good Chinese restaurant and Ross had preordered different dishes for us. There was a lazy Susan on the table and Bennett immediately spilled his water on it. We all had a fun time spinning it as fast as we could. After that, we had Compline and shared our junk, joy, and Jesus moments of the day. Allison and I’s Jesus was talking to Matthew and co. on the bus, Stuart’s joy was the hike and the delicious scone, Allison’s joy was the beautiful views, and we both had no junk! We got our roommates and stayed in Aberdeen for 2 nights.

Yours truly,

Allison and Stuart