Happy New Year Everyone!
As of last week, I’ve officially lived in
Scotland for five months. I cannae believe it! Though it’s tough sometimes
being away from friends and family, good Tex-Mex food, having my own car, sunshine
and my Chaco sandals, I seriously love living in Scotland and getting to do the
stuff that I do! I love knowing with all certainty that I was meant to be here
at this time in life, doing these things, knowing and loving these friends. I
love getting to be a very tiny part of God’s gigantic, beautiful story for Scotland.
Jubilee House is a major part of that. It’s
slowly moving forward but moving all the same. And in the past couple of
months, God’s been showing me just how absolutely necessary this project and
others like it are for Scotland, for His justice and mercy to be played out
here.
In December, the Chief Constable of
Scotland said in his report that Scottish police respond to a domestic abuse
call every nine minutes on average. Every nine minutes?! Sometimes the problem
isn’t exactly obvious here. Police Scotland reported that 87% of cases in 2013
occurred in a home. It’s very much an injustice and a bondage that happens
behind closed doors. If you look closely, though, the mentality behind it can
be seen in subtle ways.
It’s exciting to watch as a team of people
at the Erskine Church of the Nazarene come together with a passion for this
project. Over the past two months, we’ve worked to clear out all furniture from
the house and strip it of carpeting and wallpaper. I don’t think the incredible
symbolism behind what we’re doing has been lost on anyone. It reminded me of
one of my favourite passages from Isaiah 43:18-19, “Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you
not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.”
We’re also working to build our network of
folks doing the same kinds of work and to secure all the proper permits and
licenses from the local Council. The government here’s obviously a bit
different from home, so I’m learning to let go of pride, become a student, and
accept info and help wherever and from whoever I can get it. Until a couple of
months ago, I didn’t know what an HMO or a PVG was. However, living and working
in a different country require playing the game by a new set of rules and
learning those rules as I go. And I love that!
I always feel sort of like a proud parent
when a potential funder or partner views the house for the first time and says
something like, “Wow! The potential in this place is incredible!” I imagine
that one day, when it’s up and running and people are shocked by how amazing
Jubilee House is, whoever is leading it at that point will be saying, “Yeah, I
wish you could see how far God has brought it!” Talk about a great story!
Until now, I’ve never been a part of a
church staff, but from what I can tell so far, a big part of the job is just
hearing people’s stories, becoming a part of those stories and inviting them
into God’s story. That may be oversimplifying it. And of course, it all gets
super convoluted with nasty church politics, corporatism, consumerism and all
that junk that screws up the Church in the Western world. But it’s awesome that
that seems to be the heart of the job and that all of us can and are called to
do that in our little places in the world.
Others may not see it this way, but that’s
the heart of being a barista at Blend Coffee Lounge too. A couple of really
amazing friends from my years at the University of Oklahoma recently came to
visit, and one asked what exactly made the shop a ministry instead of just a
really lovely, local coffee shop? There are tons of things, but for me, the
staff’s values – the perspective from which we do everything – transform the
shop from just a nice, wee place to have a cuppa into a genuine slice of God’s
Kingdom. He’s using all of us, from the committed to those still searching, IF we
chose to live into that ethos every shift that we work.
Some super, major, mega exciting stuff is
happening with the second Blend shop!! I’m hoping and praying that I’ll be able
to share with you all more fully in the next newsletter. Until then though,
please, por favor, continue praying with me that God brings together the right
location and staff at the right time. We continue believing, hoping, praying,
and working on our latte art while we wait.
I hope you are well wherever you may be.
And as always, thanks for sharing in this journey with me!
Love,
Catie
PS: This is the point in my update where I
normally would share photos of Scotland being beautiful. However, my laptop has
officially been fried by the UK’s different electric voltage, and my phone recently sustained severe latte damage. Luckily, there’s Instagram!
My two fabulous sisters came to visit for nine days before Christmas. Here's just some of what we did.
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| Glencoe is probably one of my most favourite places in Scotland, so of course we spent a day there. It's gorgeous no matter where you look. |
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| Denise is standing in the Chapel Royal at Stirling Castle. The Stewarts lived in this castle. Mary Queen of Scots was born in Stirling Castle and crowned just to the right of where Denise is standing. And both William Wallace and Robert the Bruce won battles in Stirling, taking the castle in the process. So much history! |
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| The River Tay flows through Perth which is where Blend is located. Water in one form or another is everywhere in Scotland. |
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| Of course, we had to spend several hours hanging out in Blend. I pinky promise my latte art is getting better, despite this picture. |
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| Some people get Christmas stockings. I, however, got a Christmas suitcase! Thanks, Mom and Dad, for sending me a little bit of home during my first Christmas away. |
