Starbucks is still loving Radiate like it's their fulltime job. It's pretty awesome how much favor God has given us with the manager there. Sarah met with her after the first outreach event we did there (red nose day promo) and she had nothing but good things to say. She and her staff really enjoyed the atmosphere that night and are happy to let us use their facilities in the future. God is widening our sphere of influence and
the people we get to reach, while majorly blessing us with an awesome venue to use for outreach at the same time. Did I mention it's free as well? 
the event on a bulliten board on campus. It's kind of funny cause when Bethany and I were putting those up on Monday we were both thinking, "Does anyone even pay attention to these?" Answer: Yes! Another student approached me at the end of the night, asking when our next event is and thanking us profusely for putting on the Cafe. "So, do you do this sort of thing often?" he asked, raving about the band, the atmosphere, and the artwork. He went on to tell me that for years he was a hard out athiest, but recently things in his life have been changing. "The past couple years I've been getting more into.....oh, how do I say it.....um, not really religion, but I guess you could say I've been getting more into spiritual 
things." It all started when he heard a Creation vs. Evolution debate between two professors at Oxford, one Christian and one Athiest. That got him thinking and he started reading some of the agnostic writings. "It occoured to me that I've never read the Scriptures. I've know about the Bible but always thought, 'What a bunch of crap. Who would ever believe that?' Then I realized that I'd never actually read it or given it a chance. So I've been reading it lately and it's actually really interesting!" Yeah, I'm pretty sure God's doing something in his world :o) 
ents covered the walls with their artwork, the band played acoustically in the background, each artist had the opportunity to share about their work and where they get their inspiration if they so desired, and Sarah shared some thoughts to wrap up the night. We are really excited about the potential these Cafes hold. Our next outreach will be an open mic night on May 1. Please pray with us for continued opportunities to introduce university students to their Savior. Thank you!! 
This weekend I had the awesome blessing of visiting Martha way up north in the Highlands of Scotland. Martha is my closest friend here and one of the students in my home group. She's studying Radiography (yep, she's a smart one) at RGU but has finished classes for this semester and returned home (which is about 4 hrs north of Aberdeen) until she goes on placement in late May. We got to do all sorts of things in the three short days I was there, including a visit to Loch Ness, John O'Groats, Inverness, Dunrobin Castle, and various other wee villages along the way. But in all of our galivanting about the Highlands of Scotland, my most fav
orite part was the visit to her grandparents' farm. If you know me at all, you know I'm a seriously dedicated fulltime animal lover extraordinaire. The mulitudes of sheep, cows, donkey, chickens, and other barnyard animals were almost more than I could handle. Needless to say, I hugged every animal in sight and it was awesome. The picture directly above is Martha and I on her grandparents' farm. The ocean is behind us (north coast) and all surrounding us are hills scattered with grazing sheep and cows. The little lamb with Martha in the picture 
above was just born (which is why it still has blood and birth muck all over it). They get on their feet pretty quick after birth, but are still pretty disoriented and wobbly so it's easy to catch them in the fields. If you're not careful they'll think you're their mother and start following you around. Seriously cute but not the best idea when the mother sheep is standing close by giving you a death stare! Click here to see a little video I shot while hanging out with the sheep.
Chatting it up with my new donkey friend.
This is part of the land owned by Martha's family behind her aunt's house. We were trying to chase down some sheep :o)
Baaa Baa sheep on her grandparents' farm.
Just some beautifulness in the Highlands of Scotland
I got to hold this little lamb for about two hours! I fed it a bottle and it fell alseep in my arms!!
Oh my goodness, SO ADORABLE! She was the cutest thing ever.
I only petted it's head because the rest of it's body was kind of gross. 
All kind of animals everywhere, including dead crabs. I borrowed this cool yellow jaket from Martha's grandma.
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Loch Ness
The picture to the left is proof that you can be a tourist and still look extremely cool.
Important Update: I was unable to locate Nessie during my short visit to the alleged monster's home, seeing as Loch Ness is about 30
miles long and one of the deepest lakes in Britain. Sorry to disappoint! But don't dismay, the monster lives. Keep the dream alive.
To the right, Martha and I are looking seriously windswept, with the beautiful Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle in the background.
This is another cool thing to do if you're a tourist.
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John O'Groats
Martha and I also made the treck up to John O'Groats, which is the northernmost part of Britain/Scotland. The little village is basically just ocean and a few gift shops, as well as a sign pointing to the North Pole, but it's fun to be able to say you've actually been there. In the picture below you can see that I'm standing in front of the "last house in Scotland" (que the 'ooooo, ahhhhh' from the crowd). Get it? It's the last house cause it's the very top edge of Scotland, so there's nothing beyond it except ocean. Ha ha......sigh. Cool. 
If you've never taken a jumping picture than you're really missing out.
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Dunrobin Castle
Dunrobin Castle was seriously beautiful and I took about a hundred pictures (not kidding). This blog couldn't contain them all, so I'll just post this one because it gives a good view of the castle and the gardens, which are located right on the sea.
Last but not least, Martha treated me to my first ever Fish and Chips supper, complete with mushy peas - a real British treat! I usually try to avoid things that will make me fat (except cheesecake, chocolate, and peanutbutter and...well, okay, let's not be silly - everything in the sugar food group is an exception) so I've somehow managed to live on the coast of Scotland for 8 months without partaking in fish and chips even once!
As you can see, it was an exceptionally lovely visit in every way and I'm very grateful to Martha and her incredibly hospitable family. The best part was probably just getting to spend some time and catch up with Martha, who has been a very dear friend and a major blessing from God these past 8 months in Scotland.
Hey Everyone!
Twister is fun, people.
Ohhh, it's just getting started.
"You want me to put my leg where?" 
I'm pretty sure she's laughing, not crying. I could be wrong.
I totally almost won this game.
Blood rushing to the head.
Props to Rachel (on the right) for playing in a pencil skirt. She's got skills.
That looks rather painful.
I was praying today and, through my tears, was telling God what I thought wasn't fair about certian situations in my life. He gently reminded me that He is fair and He is just. The only time He isn't fair in His dealings with me is when He shows me far more grace and favor than I could ever deserve.
There was something really unique about the mission team that was here a couple weeks ago. Not so much the team themselves (although they were all wonderful individuals), but more so the opportunities we had for outreach while they were here. Before moving here two years ago, both Sarah and the Zickafooses were involved in fulltime campus ministry in the States. For the past ten years Sarah and Joe have been bringing mission teams to Scotland, first to Inverness and then in 2001 they started coming to Aberdeen. The team that came this year was the first to be able to do outreach and have such a presence on campus - no doubt the fruit of years and years where others who came were able to do nothing more than prayer walk. Thanks to our Amazing God.
I'm reading a fantastic book right now called Off Road Disciplines by Earl Creps. In a chapter on mission and evangelism he refers to unsaved people as the "sought". We often refer to non-Christians as seekers, but in reality they aren't the ones seeking, God is. When Adam and Eve chose to disobey, it was God who searched the garden, crying out "Where are you?..." He is the Seeker. They are lost and Jesus came to seek and save that which was lost - making them the sought. Creps has many other interesting thoughts such as....
ed up to our Ceilidh on Friday night. Most of them had never been to a Radiate event before. One of the girls in my small group brought several unsaved friends with her. One of them said as they were leaving, "For church people, they sure do throw a good party." Another one told her it was the first Ceilidh she'd ever been to where she wasn't drunk. And she had a great time. That says a lot! It's a big deal because students like that will wonder why we can have so much fun without getting wrecked on alcohol. Maybe that girl will start to wonder if she needs to be drunk to really enjoy herself. Maybe she'll even start to ask herself why she uses alcohol to cover up who she really is. Having that much fun with "church people", in a church, will make them think differently about God. After a bit (or a lot) more time investing in relationship with them and consistantly showing them a kind of Love they can't get anywhere else, they start to realize that God not only loves them, but He likes them as well. And maybe, just maybe, He can take the broken bits of their lives and make them whole. I have seen this happen with my own eyes. It's a beautiful thing.
we can interact with university students and show them God's love and truth thru our relationships with them. Cause honestly, that's the only way they're going to see it. So with the Cafes (one of our outreach events, which happens biweekly) we use the platform of our students creative arts to talk about God. It's not about us being as clever as we can in our presentation, but about us being authentically honest about who we are and who God is.
