Week Two of the Mission Team

We began the week with an encouraging day of worship and fellowship with the saints of Airdrie. The day included an abundance of nourishment, both physically and spiritually. We sang, prayed, listened to the Word read and preached, and enjoyed many different conversations over tea, coffee, biscuits, and meals. Pastor McCollum’s message in the morning, from 2 Chronicles 26-27, reminded us that pride comes before a fall. It was a helpful message to hear before heading out to try and accomplish the tasks for the week, instructing us to work for God’s glory, not our own. The evening message, “Be Holy!” from 1 Peter 1:13-25, laid a solid foundation for all of our interactions and endeavours by calling us to mental preparation and discipline and we pursue holiness, looking to Christ and His grace.  

Monday morning started off with continuing the parish newsletter distribution while Christi worked at sorting through historical letters and organizing them for the church archives. The afternoon continued with work around the church and Holiday Bible Club preparations. In the evening, two of us got to join the Wishaw MET group while the rest enjoyed a cozy evening of games at Tim’s house. 

Tuesday was a very similar day, with the addition of a brief time of handing out Holiday Bible Club invitations to parents at the end of the school day. The Tuesday night MET group welcomed those of us who had not been to that group yet.

Wednesday started bright and early so that we could make it to the train station and head to North Edinburgh for the day. We were greeted by Archie and Pastor Peter when we arrived. First on the agenda was distributing leaflets with the church’s relatively new location on it. Not only had the church moved from a school to a community centre, but there were also brand new flats that had gone up very recently to which we distributed leaflets. Then, we headed into Edinburgh for the afternoon. Pizza was the first stop after all the walking! Then we drank in as much of Edinburgh as we could before heading back to the manse for a time of sharing and prayer with some of the saints from the North Edinburgh RP Church. That evening of fellowship was definitely a highlight!

Thursday we were off again! This time we got to venture out with Beth and the McCollums as our guides. We enjoyed a gorgeous drive to Wigtown, where Stephen shared the sobering story of the Margarets and their faith. After a picnic lunch, we all meandered in and out of bookshops (Wigtown is Scotland’s book town!), some collecting more books than others (we’ll let you be the judge of who was wiser). We then spent the evening in Stranraer, hearing an update on that congregation from Pastor Steele and then sharing a meal with the Steeles and other families from the church. Sometimes the Lord’s work seems very uphill! But He has given those saints a lot of joy and courage as they wait on Him to act. 

Friday was a much needed slower start. After a “roll and sausage” breakfast from Greggs, we did a few hours of manual labour around the Wishaw church building and handed out posters with information about upcoming services in Wishaw for shops to hang in their windows. Beth cooked us tacos for dinner – YUM.

A family from church cooked us a “full Scottish breakfast” on Saturday – sausage, bacon, eggs, rolls, mushrooms and tomatoes, and more – all piled together and smelling delicious. That fuelled us for doing a bit of evangelism in the town centre afterwards. We split into groups and tried to engage people in conversation and invite them to an evangelistic service on the following day. While there were some interesting conversations, it was a bit depressing to see the amount of sheer apathy so many had towards things regarding their souls. But we were bolstered by a time of prayer after we had arrived back at the church. 

On the Lord’s Day, we unexpectedly had a couple from Singapore join for worship. They were relatively new to the Reformed faith and were a delight to fellowship with for the afternoon. That evening, at the evangelistic worship service (The Road to Redemption: Is It for Me?), the Lord was faithful to bring some visitors to the service, although none that we had spoken to in the city centre. We followed the service with a Psalm sing and hoarse voices, a sweet end to the day. 

Elise Mann