Oh my goodness, it is so good to have "light!" Months and months of short days--dark by 3:30 pm and no light until after 8 am start to wear on you. But now we have an amazing appreciation for the light, especially the light in the morning. Our parking lot is not well lit, so navigating the outdoor stairs was a wee bit dangerous. We've not only had light, but more sunshine than the Scots are used to. May & June so far has been beautiful weather and the flowers and trees are gorgeous.
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| Drummond Castlel Gardems |
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| A relaxing day at Holywood Park |
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| Near our flat |
Are church ward continues to be blessed with baptisms (at least one or two a week). It's exciting to be part of the teaching of these new members and to feel a real bond with them by the time they are baptized. I think I mentioned that a large number of them are Chinese and oftentimes returning to their homeland fairly soon after baptism. When they arrive in China they are not allowed to acknowledge their membership publicly, but they are still anxious to take the gospel to their families. I love teaching with the young sister missionaries, they are truly an inspiration.
Last Saturday we took a boat out to the Isle of May--an hour boat ride, 3 hours on the island. The island is a bird reserve and I'm talking some very different birds! Like the Puffin, which I tried to get a close-up picture of, but they were just too fast. One of the things on my Scotland "bucket list" was to actually see a Puffin. And I did, hundreds of them. Hopefully one of my pictures will show up plain enough to post--if not you'll have to google a Puffin to see what they look like. The only thing on this rocky island were birds, nests of birds and more birds. Most of them burrow in the ground to build their nests, so there are thousands of burrows all over the island. We had to stay strictly to the paths so as to not step on ground that was dug out underneath. Well, maybe 3-hours of bird watching was a little much, but we also got to tour a lighthouse and got plenty of exercise.
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Me and Sister Call
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| Elder & Sister Miller |
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These lumps are all nest burrows - the only humans that
live on the island are researches in the summer
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Fishing village we took the boat from out to the island.
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Well, life is good and the travel on Saturday is always adventuresome and fun. Life in the office is equally adventuresome and fun. We are losing our wonderful mission president and his wife this month--their 3-years is up and they are returning to England. They are the Donaldsons and our new president and spouse are the Macdonalds. They have Skyped Sister Call and me to get to know us and what we do in the office. They seem very nice, they are only in their 50's and will be bringing their 18 yr old daughter with them for the first year. They are from Utah. With the change of leadership could come changes in the roles we now have in the office. We'll see! Anyway, I'm sure it will be very interesting getting to know them and get used to new ways. I hope I still will get an occasional time to cook up a meal in the mission kitchen.
NOTE: Hi mom, I hear you were looking for my blog and there wasn't a new one. Boy that made me feel guilty! So when we got back to our flat tonight I sat right down and tried to finish my blog that I started weeks ago. I loved seeing your birthday picture--you look so good and so happy. It made me feel good just looking at the picture. I so wish I had one of those birthday donuts--YUM! Kay said you are not eating much, so you better start eating a little more so that when I come to see you in November I will recognize you LOL. Too skinny is not good for us older folks. A little pudginess is just right. I'm very happy and feeling just great, so don't worry about me. Take lots of time to pray and remember how much our Heavenly Father loves you.
NOTE: Hi Jules, I've just been thinking about you a lot lately and imagining how your household will be when I visit you in November. Five Steidles WOW! Just want you to know how much I love you and what a great example you are to me of someone who braves the world to accomplish new things. I wish I had just half of your creative juices. So, good luck with the C-section and the new little one and I'll see you in a few months. I don't suppose you'll be coming back here to visit LOL. Love you a whole bunch, grams
