Burns Day

January 25 marked the 250th birthday of Robert (Rabbie) Burns - a.k.a. Scotland's favorite son or The Bard. Burns was a poet and lyricist and is now the most celebrated literary figure in Scotland, though in Edinburgh it seems Sir Walter Scott is a close second. Much of Burns' writing is in Scots which requires an interesting attempt at deciphering on our part. The most likely piece of work that you Americans out there may know of Burns' writing is Auld Lang Syne, the song most classically sung on New Year's Eve. Here's a little taste of Scots for you, the first couple of verses from Auldt Lang Syne:

Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And never brought to mind ?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne ?

CHORUS:

For auld lang syne, my jo,

For auld lang syne,

We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,

For auld lang syne.

And surely ye’ll be your pint-stowp !
And surely I’ll be mine !
And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

The traditional way of celebrating of Burns Night (the anniversary of Burns' birthday) is attending a Burns Supper, which we did on Friday night. It was the most cultural Scottish experience we've had yet! The format of traditional Burns suppers has not changed since his death in 1796. It traditionally includes a Ceilidh (pronounced: kay-lee), which is a traditional social dance (for you Colorado folk, think square dancing to Scottish folk music!) and a tribute to The Bard through several readings of his poetry and closing with a rendition of Auld Lang Syne.

Haggis is the most famous traditional Scottish dish; why, however, we do not understand. It is made of minced sheep "plucks" (heart, liver, and lungs) and is prepared by boiling it in a sheep's stomach - think of it as a sausage. Thank goodness they served vegetarian haggis as well!

Despite these questionable ingredients, haggis is indeed a well loved dish here in Scotland and is served in nearly every pub around. Rabbie Burns loved haggis so much he composed a poem titled Address to a Haggis, which is now the most famous poem recited at a Burns Supper, just after the presentation of the haggis.

The Burns supper we went to was hosted by the L'arch Community here in Edinburgh. We were introduced to L'arsh through a friend of ours who works in the community here. We were really impressed with their vision of living in community with adults with learning disabilities, giving dignity and value to every member. Simply by 'doing life together' the assistants are able to offer the members with learning disabilities the opportunity to do things that they would rarely have a chance to do if living in a formal care facility.

The highlight of the night, perhaps the month, for me was watching the gentleman in the photo below respond to the tune of Amazing Grace when it was played by the string band. He slowly walked up to the stage and sought help to position the microphone in the right spot. The band started the tune over again and he sang, truly from the depths of his heart, as the room fell quiet and listened. I caught a glimpse of the beauty of pure worship in the room that night and it humbled me more than I can say. All evening this man had caught my attention because he reminded me so much of David, my dad's cousin who passed away not too long ago after a full and long life. He brought so much joy to so many people's lives and it was a treat to be caught up in many memories of him throughout our evening.

St Andrews

Over the New Year holiday we took a train up to St Andrews, a charming town about an hour north of us. Many know it as the birthplace of golf, which also means it is home to the world's first golf course. While we knew that Edinburgh was a large city (500,000 people call it home), we realized that we were somehow expecting it to feel more like a small town, much like St Andrews. It was great to get out of the big city and into the open expanses of the Scottish countryside, and then spend the day exploring the castle, cathedral and little shops of St Andrews. Here is a brief slide show of our adventure:

Liberti Group in Peru

Last Wednesday a short-term team from Liberti Church in Philadelphia took off for a second annual trip to Arequipa, Peru. Their return is almost exactly one year from their original visit, which we still hold so fondly in our memories. We were fortunate to have a number of visitors during our time in Peru last year, but Liberti was our only large team and it was such a great experience to have them there. There were many aspects of the trip that made it meaningful, but from our perspective one of the most significant things was watching the team love the kids, workers and community members so selflessly and enthusiastically. The resounding conclusion at the end of the trip was the the team members felt they had gained far more from their experiences than they had given, but our vantage point in the weeks and months after the team left confirmed that the love they had given to all at New Hope made a remarkable impact on everyone. I can only imagine the levels of excitement that were bubbling over among the kids and the returning group members when they were reunited last week.

After the group trip to Arequipa last year, several of the group members had expressed an interest in returning to New Hope to volunteer or serve as interns in various capacities. As the year went on, plans came together and we were able to make plans for their return in the fall. When our decision to leave for Tony's schooling was made, we were continually comforted by the knowledge that these interns would be arriving shortly after our departure to help guide and coordinate things at the home. It has indeed turned out to be a tremendous blessing to have them there, and we are continually singing the praises of Lydia, Julia, Jess, Seth, Brad and Andrew who have given of their time and resources to be there in our absence. Tony's parents have been able to be in Peru for several months at a time since we left for Scotland, and I know they are so thankful for the support of the Liberti 6 who have been there.

I don't think it is possible to describe what the transition from Peru to Scotland has been like for us, and I have therefore kept a bit quiet about it here on the blog. Our hearts were fully engaged in the work we were doing at New Hope and while I am not surprised that large portions of hearts have been left in the hands of the children, friends and church members there, I have been surprised by the pain of leaving those portions of our hearts behind. Our minds are continuosly filled with thoughts of the home, which makes it understandable that a good number of my dreams are set at New Hope. We've been thankful for the ways that we have been able to stay involve and connected with the home while living in Scotland, and we are anxious for the day we'll be able to return for a face-to-face visit.

One of the ways that has helped us to feel connected to the home is the work of Seth Shimkonis, one of the Liberti 6 who is currently at the home. Seth is a professional photographer who is using his skills to capture the reality, the beauty, and the hope of children in Peru. He is investing time in the kids by teaching them photography skills, but has also taken on a load of responsibility that is probably far outside his comfort zone by helping to care for the older boys at New Hope. Seth has started posting a Photo of the Day on his website, and I highly recommend reading through the recent entries and following along with his blog.

We are so thankful for the team that is down at New Hope this week and are sad that we cannot be there with them. If you think of it this week, please pray that their time will be safe, healthy, meaningful for all who are involved and filled with the love of Jesus Christ in every way.

The Bolos Christmas Card

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Hello, friend!

There are certain experiences and feelings that somehow help me to measure my rate of adaptation to a new place. I can clearly remember the first time I referred to our house in Peru, and now our flat in Scotland, as "home." The first time I woke up in the night and was not confused (though still in that mid-night daze) about where I was signified an encouraging level of adaption to my surroundings. Though these internal adaptations do no happen quickly, they do happen more quickly than the social adaptations that go along with settling in to a new place. But that makes it all the more enjoyable when the social markers come along.

This morning I was walking to work, just one of many people "kitted up" in my pea coat, scarf, and mittens, walking briskly in hopes of out-walking the cold wind. Looking ahead, I thought I recognized one of the people walking toward me. I often think I see people I know here (as in people I know from back home), so generally my realization that they only look like someone I know is a sad reminder that we're so far from home. Again, this only made today's experience all the better when I realized that I did indeed know the guy walking toward me. I gladly waved and stopped to talk and smiled when this acquaintance, Andy, introduced me to his coworker as a friend from church.

On the scale of settling in, meeting someone you know on the street is a GREAT sign that you're getting to know people. With 500,000 people living here in Edinburgh, running into someone who doesn't just look like an old friend from home but actually IS your friend feels like a miracle.

Slowly but surely, it is happening.

A very happy birthday...

While last year I was enjoying sunshine and warm weather on my birthday in Peru, this year it was back to the familiar cold weather that I'm used to for my December birthday. But it was a very happy birthday nonetheless! It started off with breakfast and tea in bed (yes, tea - a startling departure from the Swedish tradition of coffee that we blame on our assimilation to the culture here). Tony labored early in the morning to provide breakfast in bed - a black bean breakfast burrito, my favorite! He came in singing and bearing gifts, the breakfast burrito, a cup of tea and several cards from back home.
After a full day of work, we met back at our flat to discover a "Sorry we missed you!" card letting us know that my birthday package had arrived on time, but needed a signature for acceptance. We had 1 1/2 hours to get across town by bus to pick it up before closing, so we rearranged our dinner plans and hopped on the bus. We could've waited until Monday for the redelivery, but we had enough birthday excitement to make the decision an easy one. We ended up in an industrial park, walking in the rain without an umbrella, and once again being berated by the Edinburgh wind - but it was all worth it when we got our package 20 minutes before closing!! Here I am back at the house with my birthday gifts (minus the bag of Peanut Butter M&M's that my brother sent which were half consumed on the bus ride home and subsequently stashed away to keep us from eating them all in one day!). I was overwhelmed by the generous and thoughtful gifts that my family had sent - I love every single thing. One of the only benefits I can think of that results from living far away from family is the extra sweetness of opening gifts that have been purchased, packaged and sent with such thoughtfulness as an extension of their love. After the gift opening, we were off to our 9:30pm dinner reservation at this gourmet vegetarian restaurant we've been eyeing since we arrived. While Tony and I are both fairly laid back people and will eat most anything that is served to us, we are particularly passionate about finding and creating good food together. This restaurant was a real treat and gets our full endorsement - delicious hummus served with equally delicious bread, my plate of butternut squash ravioli and Tony's plate of spicy udon noodles were deletable. We put off brownies and ice cream for today because we were so full!
I went to bed feeling so grateful for the many wonderful people in my life, so thankful for the opportunities I've been given and for the gift of another year of life. I got so many sweet emails and messages from people, including a musical e-card from all the kids at New Hope. I can't wait to see what this next year holds. Here's to being 28!!

Home Link

Aside from the day we found out that my sister is pregnant with her 2nd child, the most exciting day of our time here in Edinburgh was definitely Tuesday, November 25. After interviewing the previous day, I received a phone call from Home Link Family Support. They called to offer me the job and by some miracle, I managed to retain my composure long enough to express my thanks, accept the job, and establish a time to return to the office to sign my contract. As soon as I hung up, I was jumping up and down and squealing with delight. The job search, which had come to feel quite desperate and hopeless in recent weeks, was finally over.

Since arriving here in early September, my days had been spent scouring every possible job listing source I could find, customizing my CV for submission and completing specified application forms created by various employers. I spent hours scrolling through the Job Centre database looking for opportunities, registered with every temp agency I could find, applied with Starbucks - you name it, I did it. The economy in Scotland was already struggling when we arrived, and sources say that Scotland has been affected most seriously by the economic resession in the UK. Everyone we talked to about the job search tried to encourage us about the wait by confirming the discouraging state of the economy here. When I heard that the average time to find a job here is 6-9 months I started to panic, and then cry. It was a trying process and a real test of my faith as we waited and waited, wondering how God would provide for us to remain here in Scotland for Tony's schooling.

For these reasons and more, the phone call on that Tuesday afternoon was simply overwhelming.

I started work last Monday morning, just 5 days after accepting the position. I am working as the Volunteering Officer, which means I'll be overseeing the recruitment, training and support, and personal development of volunteers. Home Link is a charity organisation (handily a 10 minute walk away!) that provides support for families with preschool age children who are experiencing stress or difficulties in some manner. They have a large base of volunteers who are trained to provide support for these families and then spend several hours each week offering practical help and support to the families in their homes. Their vision is to provide early, preventive support to keep families from reaching a crisis point. I love the concept of their work and it fits very well with my background in community counseling. I'm very excited about the work I'll be doing in my position and can't wait to get started.

Beyond the financial stability that employment offers, I am very grateful to now have something of my own to focus on and work towards every day. It's great to have a routine again and to be able to use my energy and skills in a constructive way. I feel so fortunate to have found a job that will challenge me and allow me to develop my skills further. After applying to wash and fold linens in a hotel, the mental stimulation of this position is an absolute blessing!!

We are so grateful to God for this provision. While our hearts are still missing our families and friends in the US and Peru so very much, having a secure job has brought a great amount of comfort as we continue to adjust to this transition. As you think of us, please join us in giving thanks to God for the good gift he has provided for us.