Rivers in the Wasteland

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. 

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.

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!

The River Tay flows through Perth which is where Blend is located.
Water in one form or another is everywhere in Scotland.

Of course, we had to spend several hours hanging out in Blend.
I pinky promise my latte art is getting better, despite this picture.

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.