EURO-TRIP 5

From Albi we had a longish run in order to be in Cuenca SE of Madrid for our next Lord's Day. We chose a route involving 2 high passes over the Pyrenees to cross into Spain. The scenery was spectacular and the wild flowers on the road verges were a joy to behold. Then the views changed from the high peaks to more open valleys. Spain surprised us with its diversity of landscape and flora.

This was a site that we paid for and enjoyed the use of the facilities. (near Graus)

One of our lunch stops!

Marella is an ancient hill-top fortress, built by the Muslims, perhaps used by the Romans before that, then used by the Roman Catholic Church, before being occupied by the army. It was restored some years ago.

This is the view from the provided Overnight Stop.

We ventured throught the ancient gate into Morella and climbed to the top!! On our way down we stopped for a coffee, and at the same time as we were being served there were some old people from a nearby old people's home, being assisted along the street by a nun and her helpers. Eventually there must have been about 20 of them. They were seated near us to get their refreshments. Bill, with his half-forgotten Spanish returning to him saw this as an opportunity, and went to speak to them. He shook hands with each of them in turn, said a few words about the Lord and sang, in Spanish, the words of Romans 5:8.

"..but God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us"
The nun seemed happy that someone had taken such an interest in the old folks.

EURO-TRIP 4 ALBI(2)

Some more pictures from Albi taken by the real photographer in the family!

Liliane

A more up-to-date one of the Rosses and some of the congregation.

Philippe, Martine, Liliane and yours truly

EURO TRIP 3 ALBI

In Albi, France, there is a special lady called Liliane. She is half Scottish and half French, and she speaks both English and French equally well. She is also a trained and skilled translater and has been using this skill in the Lord's service. Recently, she has been translating into French the work of the converted Roman Catholic Priest, Richard Bennet of Berean Beacon. It was the desire of both herself and us that we would spend our 2nd weekend away in her home.

Liliane showed us so much kindness, even to putting the tray with mouth-watering cherries in our bedroom.

Tim Ross is an American Baptist Pastor who has been serving in Albi for some years and has already set up a group further to the North. He currently looks after the small group where Liliane attends. He is working on turning his garage into a meeting-place.

Liliane speaking to Phillipe and Martine in the "garage".

After the morning service lunch was kindly provided up stairs by Tim's wife, Valery. The couple with Liliane travel all the way from Toulouse to hear the Word of God preached. Above them are pictures of the Ross's 6 daughters taken as babies.

We had lots of fun with Phillipe and Martine who invited us for a meal. Bill is explaining the value of our £20.00 note.

Nous vous attendons, Philippe et Martine!

EURO-TRIP 2

Having crossed the Channel, we made a bee-line for Albi in the mid-south of France. We had 3 nights on the way, making use of "Aires" to make a stop-over. These are free parking areas designated by many town councils on the continent specifically for campervans. Some of these are in scenic positions as in the Auverne, (see below) where the sounds of cuckoos and cattle-bells rang in our ears.

Having made an earlier trip underneath the Millau Viaduct when it was under construction we were keen to see it completed. It is the tallest bridge in the world, crossing the river Tarn, and part of an ambitious project to provide an autoroute from Paris to Montpelier, over very difficult terrain and high altitudes. The views along the autoroute are stunning.

Not far from this remarkable bridge is Albi. More of that soon!

EURO-TRIP 1

The Scotts from Scotland are home after travelling 5,090 miles (8,144 kilometres) plus ferry. We are very mindful of the Lord's great kindness to us in keeping us safe from harm all this time. We left at the end of May, being able to see our rhododendron in bloom. We returned to see lots of weeds in bloom!

The first leg of our journey, naturally took us through England, and we took the opportunity of catching up with a few friends. Jonathan and family were the first port of call. His progress continues to be remarkable. However, we forgot to take a photo.

After leaving Bolton, we went to see our friends Brian and Georgina near Ipswich. We were soon enjoying an English Afternoon Tea in an English garden! It was good to catch up with each other's news and then to worship with their congregation on the Lord's Day, hearing a good sermon from Rev. David Allan (TBS).

Instead of going directly to Dover we wanted to look up our Korean friend, Soonjo Hong and his family. Unfortunately he and the children were out but we enjoyed a short time of fellowship with his lovely wife. They used to attend our Edinburgh congregation and they miss the metrical psalms, so, as you see in the photo, the psalm-book was out and we sang, read, and prayed together.

We had time to visit Rev. John Harding once minister in Shettleston and now retired in Dover. He provided us with a lovely meal before we left to go and pass a peaceful night along the sea-front in Dover, all ready to catch the ferry to Callais in the morning.

HOLIDAY

We leave on the 21st May in our Campervan and will be will be away for 7 weeks.

It is a long time but we look to the Lord to give us opportunities on the way to speak a word for our Lord, or to encourage the saints in different parts. We look forward to catching up with "old" friends, the first stop being to see Jonathan and his family. Jonathan is doing really well in such a short time. Pray for a full recovery for him.

As well as old aquaintances we hope to meet brothers and sisters in the Lord as we journey through France, Spain and Portugal. Some contacts have already been made through email.

Don't we love our home? Yes of course! We are glad we were able to see the best of our favourite plant in the garden but we shall miss some of the others. However the call of seeing other parts is also strong and we are thankful to have the health, strength, and where-with-all to be able to take off. So the van has lots of dry stores packed away, the fridge is now on ready to take some nice fresh food to start us off. Will we able to give some news as we go along? Probably not!

All our ways are in His hands.

JOY AND HEATHER

Joy and her friend Heather with 3 month old Arwen called in today for a short visit.

Don't we love when we get a response!

She's tickling me!!

THE POHLS

Welcome, Kryna!
Welcome Bert!

It's General Assembly time for our denomination and Bert and Kryna Pohl, presently in Smith Falls, Ontario, have come over. Thanks for calling in!

12th MAY

Did we think that Spring had come?

SPRING

We're glad this Rhodie survived the winter

Although the winter has been severe, how wonderful to see plant life springing up anew. The Lord is faithful to His promises.