We left on our bus at 8:30 as scheduled. The tour group has done very well being at the right place as scheduled all through this trip. Dan continued Ellie’s devotion yesterday on Jesus going after the lost sheep. He pointed out that context is so vitally important, because when Jesus teaches us about restoring someone who has sinned against us in Matthew 18, it is in the context of keeping our relationship healthy within the church body and not losing a single brother-like rescuing a lost sheep.
Three bridges lead out of Edinburgh – a rail bridge, and old highway bridge, and a new suspension bridge. There is also a ferry. Patrick called this area the Kingdom of Fife.
We drove through the pleasant farming area of the Scottish highlands – very lovely and interesting. There are a lot of sheep. As was true historically, barley and sheep were basic to existence, whiskey was the spirit of life, and porridge was the mainstay of their diet. Potatoes can be seen growing in many fields. Rock fences abound – they are not as high as in Ireland, and they are more tidy. The farms have more outbuildings here than in Ireland.
In all the areas of this tour, we have noted the efforts of the people to maintain and restore the old rather than tearing down and building new, as we tend to do most of the time in the United States.
We arrived at St. Andrews and the ruins of the St. Andrews Celtic Cathedral. St. Andrews is the Patron Saint of Scotland. The cathedral was the largest and most important church in medieval Scotland, but was destroyed during the Reformation, and people took stones away from the ruins to use them for themselves. The church supposedly houses relics of St. Andrew – a finger bone, etc. Patrick says that houses here are more expensive than in Edinburgh.
We visited a university here. US students come here to study. Ben Franklin is listed as having received an honorary law degree here in 1759, Carbohydrates were identified here. Lovely begonnias abound – bigger flowers than at home.
We drove through the Ochils hills to Sterling Castle, from the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries. Because paint fades, it is important to repaint castles so they will look rich and powerful. We listened to a young people’s choir from Colorado sing in the cathedral. The hall took 35 years to restore. An articulate guide named Jenny taught us much about the castle, although we had to miss the last part in order to meet the bus as scheduled. This castle controlled the bridge to the highlands and lowlands, and a military garrison continued here until 1964. Jenny’s tour contained a lot of history of the area.
We visited the ancient royal golf course and returned to our hotel to prepare for the closing supper supplied by the tour leaving at 6 p.m. – a wonderful 3 course Scottish supper with Scottish entertainment. There were dancers and singers – at one point McNeil was coaxed onto the stage to dance with the girls! Fun. They sang Amazing Grace and we all joined arms to sing Auld Lang Syne – such a fitting ending to our wonderful time here together. We spent time back at the hotel saying goodbyes to these wonderful Christian people who have become our good friends. Patrick will be involved with getting all of us to the airport at varying time for flights home or for some of the flights will take us to our next destination. For us that destination is to Vlad Budnik’s in Moscow.
NOTES:
Sign: “Church for Sale.”
Along ocean: tidal inlets and seaweed
Old well-kept homes and towns
Cupar in Fife, a market town
Archery was as important here as golf is to us – but needed for defense
Polite sign board: “Drive with consideration.”
Another: “Thank you for driving safely.”
Lavender plastic covers for hay bales