June 21, 2009
We are in ENGLAND!
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Friday 2009-06-12
 Our first walking day in England was quite successful, I might say. I am pretty sure that we walked over 20 miles today because it took us forever to find a place to camp out. We first stopped at a pub to eat some dinner at a place called the Black Dog. We met a few people that were entertaining while we ate our meal. I didn’t catch their names though, but they were pretty funny.
While we were walking through the beautiful hillsides of England, we saw a house with a big flat field in the back. When we went up to the house, we noticed it was a bed and breakfast. But that didn’t stop us. We met the owner of the house, Sally, and kindly asked if we could camp in her field. But she said that we could stay in her garden, which was even better than the field! We got to meet her son, Michael, and her dog, Holly (who was a very energetic dog, haha). She let us use her toilet and gave us tea! We seem to be taken care of by bed and breakfasts! I was amazed! Sally is a very nice lady. And it’s ironic because her daughter is gone just for a day doing a hike for a charity. How funny…
So today was overall a good day. I couldn’t be more pleased with how well Stacey did and we are now on our way to Birmingham!
Saturday 2009-06-13
 I got ten hours of sleep last night in Sally’s garden…yes…She fed us a HUGE breakfast that was wonderful. We had fruit, cereal, bacon, sausage, egg, tomato, and mushrooms. Wow…She was so caring and encouraging. Thank you Sally!!!
We walked under some skydivers today. It was pretty cool.
So it was 8:30 P.M. when we decided to stop for dinner. An hour before we stopped I asked a random farmer where a place to eat was. He said that about two miles up on the right is a pub called “The Castle Inn.” So we gave it a shot. Once we got there we sat down and ate dinner in the corner of the restaurant. A few people came up and talked to us while we were eating while a few gave some funny looks from a distance. The wait staff was incredibly nice though. But one of the men that spoke with us asked where we were going to sleep. We said that we were going to try and convince the military men at the base at Ternhill a few miles up to let us stay with him. He said there is no chance we could do that. So he gave the suggestion that we just set up our tent on the front lawn of the pub. I originally didn’t want to because I thought I would never be able to get to sleep since there were people hanging out on the lawn. But I for some reason kept my mouth shut. The waitress came back to us and told us that the owner of the pub said it was okay for us to camp out on the front lawn. But then a few minutes later as we were getting ready to pay, the waitress came back and said, “I have another option for you. Our bed and breakfast was all full tonight but one couple didn’t show up. So you can either stay on the lawn or you can stay in our room for the night. And it’s on the house.” Our mouths dropped!!! We were in awe! I didn’t even try to ask for a place this time. They just gave it to us! God keeps proving to me that he will continually take care of us and that he is always with us. I can feel now that he walks right beside us, not waits for us at the end of the day. What a relational God! So we got an incredible shower and a comfortable bed for the night. The wait staff that helped us, Heather, Rachel, Dave, and Rob was so incredible! Bless you guys!
Sunday 2009-06-14
 Today was another good day. Over 20 miles again. We are rockin’ it. It looks like we are going to make it into Birmingham a day ahead of schedule! So not much happened during the day. All the action seems to go down at nighttime around here. So we got to the town of Cosford and started to look for a place to stay. The fields were once again all wheat fields, so there were no flat areas. But then we came up to this very nice home with a big yard and though, “why not?” So we walked up to the house and noticed a guy in his courtyard and pleaded to stay on his grass. He was completely fine with it! I love it! Everyone that we have asked to stay either with them or on their lawn, they have said yes! His name is Tony Price and he is a very interesting guy. For about an hour before we went to sleep, he showed us around his house because his land has quite a bit of history. His next door neighbor’s house was a hospital in WW2 while his house was a prison for German POW’s. He has bricks in his barn that have the names of some of the prisoners on it. In his courtyard, there is a well that has a secret tunnel that leads about a mile away to a random field that was used to help priests escape during the English Civil War. You can also see on the side of his house where a Spitfire plane crashed into it during the war. He even has some cannonballs that were used on his home during the Civil War. I was so amazed! There is so much history here on his land! He even told me that you can see that outline of a Roman Road that went right through his field. That’s 2000 years ago!!! I couldn’t believe it. That’s what I love about this place. They preserve the history of their country here. So that was a good bedtime story before I went to bed. Good night!
Monday 2009-06-15
 We got up a little extra early today because Tony had to feed the horses who were right next to us. Stacey got up and helped feed the horses while Tony and I talked more about English history. We didn’t leave for two hours! They fed us breakfast and we just couldn’t stop talking about history and politics. It was a lot of fun.
We got into Wolverhampton, a city outside of Birmingham, and stopped to have lunch in a public park. Well there just happened to be a massive public kiddy pool in the middle of the park. So what did I do? I jumped in and bathed!!! It was so refreshing.
We made it to the city centre of Birmingham by 7:00 P.M.! We officially made it from Liverpool to Birmingham in four days. That is over 90 miles in four days. That is amazing. We are taking two days off now and luckily we have a place to stay here. My friend from DCC, Thomas Loftus, just happens to be a missionary here! What a small world! So he is going to let us stay in the house that he is staying in. It’s very nice. The owner is a member of the church that he is the youth leader of. His name is Steven and he is very nice. His house has three stories and my room is a tiny 7x12 foot room in the attic with a skylight that opens. So at night I slept with it open and the night breeze filled the room and made the temperature perfect. I slept like a baby. Ah….two days off now.
Tuesday 2009-06-16
Today was a chilled day. We got up when we got up and went with Thomas to his church which is in a community center. It’s a beautiful building in a beautiful park. We got to meet a lot of people and the pastoral staff, including a woman named Alysen Merrill. The funny thing about this woman is that she went to college with Daren! I called Daren to tell him that I am with her and he just about flipped out! What an even smaller world! I love how I run into people on the other side of the world like this!
After that we just chilled at the house, at some food at a local diner, and played Scattergories with one of Thomas’ youth group kids named Andre. He is a riot. I love the youth here; very lively and kind. Not much else happened after that. Tomorrow we get to go into the city centre tomorrow and look around. Another long night of sleep! Woohoo!
Wednesday 2009-06-17
 So Birmingham City Centre isn’t too bad. I didn’t get any pictures because it was raining all day. So we stayed inside and looked around in their shopping center called the Bull Ring. It was pretty cool, but it’s just like any normal mall in America. But I enjoyed going into the city.
Tonight we had dinner at Alysen’s house with one of her roommates Nikki. It was such a good dinner! Salmon, peas, parsnips, carrots, rice, and gluten free cookies with ice cream! Oh my goodness!!!!!!! It was so delicious. After that we just relaxed in their living room and talked about different things. It was so encouraging to be around them and receive so much blessing from them. They prayed for us and then Nikki said a famous traditional blessing for us, which was beautiful. I got a picture of it so you can see what it is. It is so encouraging and it is specifically for travelers. I was so joyful for the people here doing kingdom work for this country. I can see that this country is growing and slowly turning back to God. Ever since the 1960’s they have not been named a “Christian” nation. But because of the passion and zeal in the people here, I can see how that is slowly changing. So that is encouraging.
These two days off were very relaxing and much needed. I think we are ready for another three days of walking to Oxford. Alysen found us a friend that she knows who lives there! So we’re set! Woohoo! Time for bed though. Good night! See you in Oxford!
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June 13, 2009
On Towards England!
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Friday 2009-06-05
 We busted out 24 miles today – our longest in one day so far!!! That day off sure did help a lot. The only thing was that the temperature was a lot cooler today and little windy. But we made it through it. We decided to stop for the night in a town called Banbridge. As we were walking toward the town centre an old lady came up to us and asked us how we were feeling. We only spoke for a few moments but she gave us some change which was very kind. But then a younger girl, named Debra, stormed into the scene. She just came right up to us and said “Hey I saw you guys on the motorway!” We got to talking about what we were doing and she was very interested in it all. After a few minutes, I dropped the bomb and asked if we could stay with her for the night. She wasn’t even hesitant about it! She said it would probably be okay. She still lives with her parents, but luckily her parents were out of town just for tonight and she let us stay in their bed! I don’t think they know still…hahaha. So she called her boyfriend who was staying with her that night to see if it was okay. He said alright as well. So we officially had a place to stay! Before we walked to her house we went to get some take-out because we were STARVING. But while we were walking through town she didn’t go one minute without yelling out someone’s name with a friendly hello across the street or in a shop. It was so funny! She knew everyone! And she is just a barrel full of fun. She is friendly, funny, and talks very fast, haha.
So we went back to her house, met her boyfriend, Gregory, and just chilled for the night. She let us shower, do our laundry, and use her internet. We were so happy to run into her on the street. This was such a treat.
By the way, there is a very ironic health code here in Northern Ireland. Lucky Charms are banned from the entire country because there is too much sugar in them. Lucky Charms…of all cereals. I couldn’t believe it. Hilarious.
Saturday 2009-06-06
 Today has been our toughest day so far. It’s so funny how yesterday we covered the longest distance and then the next day was our worst. The days out here are so unstable! It was in the 40’s all day AND it rained non-stop. It was miserable. But, we crossed into the Republic of Ireland this afternoon so that was at least one good thing. So we finished the day in a little town called Jonesborough, Ireland. Actually, it wasn’t even a town, or a village in that matter. It was a highway intersection with a hotel…that’s it. So all we could do for the time being was sit in the hotel and get out of the rain. But we had no clue where to go and set up our tent. And another problem was that Stacey was feeling sick. So her parents decided to treat us to a room in that hotel. The great thing was that we got lucky with a Jacuzzi in this hotel. It was much needed. It felt soooooo good and relaxing. We got our bed and just chilled for the evening. I’m sure getting a hotel that nice for free won’t happen much, haha. I’m beat. Another day, another dog biscuit.
Sunday 2009-06-07
We woke up this morning at about 8:30 and took advantage of the free buffet breakfast. You better believe we gorged ourselves. Awesome. We stuck out from everyone else like a sore thumb. The Carrickdale Hotel was obviously a little more high-class than us. People were staring the whole time. I love it when that happens.
 Last night we prayed and prayed that the weather would be better today. At the spa every person we spoke to told us that the weather will be horrible and there is no getting away from it. Well, I can boast in the Lord because they were all wrong. The Lord answered our prayers and gave us incredible weather today! Thank you everyone who was praying for us! It’s so encouraging that you all are fighting for us in prayer constantly. We had a good day of walking. We did between 18-20 miles and finished south of Dunleer, Ireland. Dusk was rolling and it was getting late and we needed to find a plot of land to camp out on. But unfortunately, there was nothing because we were in the middle of endless wheat fields. Luckily, I saw a little patch of grass off the road and decided to check it out. I noticed it was a part of someone’s property. So I decided to go up and ask the homeowners if we could stay in the yard (it was nowhere near their house). They answered the door cheerfully and invited us in. The couple was John and Marian and they were very kind. They gave us tea, spoke with us for a while, and let us use their toilet. I was so thankful. After that, we set up our tent and hit the hay. What a great day.
Monday 2009-06-08
This morning Marian fed us breakfast! It’s such a good feeling to get a big breakfast in you before a long day’s walk. Today was once again a beautiful day. The Lord blessed us with the perfect temperature and no rain again. I love that guy. Though, today was our first day of having hills in our route. They were a pain. But we made it through. Once we got into Naul, the craziest thing happened to us.
 We stopped in Naul to eat some food because we were pretty hungry. We chose the cheapest thing in the little village, which was a Chinese/Indian restaurant. So I got some chicken fried rice and Stacey got some green curry vegetable madness. As we were eating, Stacey started to get nauseous from the food. WELL DUH!!! It’s flippin’ Indian food in Ireland. It’s going to make your stomach toss and turn. But she looked passed the pain and we kept going. When we started walking I started praying to God to heal Stacey’s sickness and to find us a place to stay so she won’t have to be sleeping in the cold while being sick. After about 40 minutes of walking, Stacey told me that she needed to stop. Her sickness was getting worse and she didn’t know what to do. Luckily, right at the time she said that we were walking passed a small Bed and Breakfast in the middle of nowhere called “Hollywood B & B.” So I didn’t care about privacy and I just walked up to that door and asked the owner if Stacey could use her bathroom. A lovely lady named Margaret answered the door and kindly let Stacey use the restroom. While she was in the bathroom, I was speaking with Margaret about EE and where we planned on staying for the night. Once Stacey was done we just kept on walking down the road.
And then, the most unlikely thing happened. Margaret came rolling down the road in her car and caught up with us to ask if we wanted to stay at her B & B for free!!! We were amazed and excited and joyfully said yes!!! I couldn’t believe it! God once again fully answered our prayers! It was such a blessing to stay in that B & B and it was perfect timing for Stacey. She said that she was starting to feel like she was getting the flu. Which is not good for this type of lifestyle. So we got a nice shower and two nice beds and a wonderful night’s sleep. If I can’t rely on God to protect us and guide us by now, after all he has provided for us, then I am and forever will be hopeless. Thank you God and thank you Margaret.
Tuesday 2009-06-09
 Stacey woke up this morning and felt fine! Woohoo! One night’s sleep out here can just reset everything back to normal. Thank God!
We only had to walk about 14 miles today to finish out Ireland. It was yet another gorgeous day and relatively easy terrain to walk on. We walked into Dublin and that was a beautiful sight. I like the vibes that Dublin give off and their river walk type area is really sweet. So we reserved a night at a cheap hostel and checked in around 5:00 PM. To celebrate we went and got something to eat and chilled in downtown Dublin.
Once we got back to the hostel, Stacey went to bed and I went downstairs and talked with a few guys from Canada, America, and Germany in the lounge. It was nice to sit around and talk to some guys about pointless topics. I haven’t had that yet. They were real cool. Other than that it was quite a simple day. Tomorrow we leave for England!
Wednesday 2009-06-10
We didn’t officially finish Ireland until today when we had to walk to the port to hop on the ferry. But Ireland threw us a big curve ball. We left for the port at about 8:15 thinking that it would take 30 minutes to get there, meaning we would be at the terminal an hour and 15 minutes before the boat leaves (the boat shipped out at 10:00). But for some reason it took over an hour and we didn’t get there until 9:40. I guess the port was a lot farther away than I though. So I thought we were still okay because it’s not 10:00 yet. But once I turned the last corner, the freaking ferry had already left the dock!!! I was so pissed! Fortunately, it only took me about 15 minutes to calm down from the whole dilemma. But then I realized we still had to figure out how to get over to Liverpool. So we had to wait for another ferry with a different ferry company until 2:30. But we still got into Liverpool fairly early, so everything’s cool.
Tomorrow is our official day off since we had to get up early today and travel all day. So a day off will feel good after finishing Ireland. Woohoo!
Thursday 2009-06-11
I slept in till 11:00 AM. Wowwwwwwwwwww. It felt so good, you don’t even know. Today was a fun day. I can say that Liverpool is probably my favorite city I’ve been in so far. We had a lot of fun in the city. We felt like going to the Beatles museum, which was very educational and entertaining. If you didn’t know, the Beatles are from Liverpool. That’s why there is a museum, silly. Stacey had some great comments about the experience that I thought would be good to put in the blog. I think it will give you some perspective:
 “Liverpool – home of the Beatles. I like the Beatles; I always have. I learned a lot about them and have a new appreciation for them. However, at the end of the museum was a special exhibit for John Lennon and ‘Give Peace a Chance.’ It really turned me off to him. I mean, he honestly looked like a nut case, sitting in a bed, tossing around flowers while saying his belief is ‘don’t believe in anything but yourself’ and to ‘give peace a chance.’ I agree that peace and love are two great things and yes, everyone should give these two a chance. But I think he has a distorted view. Why can’t we have peace and still believe in something? You can love someone without having the same beliefs. In fact, some people find peace and love from what they believe. So why does God or Jesus have to be eliminated from peace or love? Isn’t Jesus one of the greatest examples of love that that ever lived? Doesn’t he promote loving others no matter what? And isn’t that what peace is all about? So now, so many followers of John Lennon think that you shouldn’t believe in anyone, that you should just believe in yourself. Which believing in yourself is a great thing and I think that it’s important. But it’s not the sole thing that will get you through in life. And in all reality, everyone has their own securities – even John Lennon. I just think he is putting out a false campaign about peace and love.”
Then we walked around in this area called Liverpool One, the newest shopping center of Liverpool. Though, I didn’t buy anything of course. But Stacey got a few presents for her family. And then we treated ourselves to another movie, “The Hangover.” Holy funniest movie I’ve seen a long time. I loved it.
So that was pretty much it – just a chilled day before a long trek through England. It will take us about 2 and a half to three weeks to get across England. I think we’re ready. This break really helped. Please give us great weather, England! God save the queen! J
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June 5, 2009
Walking Through Scotland
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Monday 2009-06-01
 People
always say that with any constant physical activity, the third day is the
hardest day. Well I believe them. Today was the worse day for me physically and
mentally. I was so tired all day and the sun never gave us a break. Clouds
never blocked the sun from sucking the energy completely out of us. I also have
gotten more blisters since yesterday which is always fun…NOT! Stacey did much
better than me today. She was very encouraging and helped me when I was feeling
a little sick around 5:00 PM. We’ve
run into some interesting weather around here. Typically in Scotland
it doesn’t go two days with raining. The day before we got here it was pouring
down rain. But once our plane landed it was bright and breezy. Ever since then
it has been sunny. Four days of no rain in Scotland!
That’s a miracle, so they say. And they say it won’t start raining until the
day after we leave this country. What a blessing that God has stopped the rain
from falling on us (at least for now). I can’t live a fantasy that we will be
able to walk the entire UK
without getting a lick of rain. So we’ll see.
We stopped
in a town called Stonehouse for dinner. We were planning on continuing after we
ate because today had been really slow. But once we sat down we couldn’t get
back up. We were just dead. We ate at this place called Mia’s Bistro. It was
tasty. But the perfect woman stepped into our lives right when we needed it the
most. Our waitress, Lisa, asked us about our walk and she instantly opened up
her home for us to stay tonight. It was such a relief. Like I said, we were
thinking about moving on but when she said she always takes hikers in, I
realized it was a good idea. So we ate our dinner and then she took us to her
place which was only right around the corner. She was also overly hospitable
and very loving. She helped us with laundry (we hang-dried our clothes!), gave
us drinks and food, she sewed up my shoulder strap on my pack, and she even
gave us HER bed and she slept on the couch. I was so honored to be her house.
So for the rest of the night we hung out with her neighbors Tin and Stewart and
talked about random stuff. It was really fun and relaxing. I am so glad we were
able to find a place to stay in a bed tonight because we really needed it.
Tuesday 2009-06-02
 So as we
were getting ready this morning at Lisa’s house, Lisa invited two of her
friends over to meet the two crazy Americans that she hosted. It was really
funny. One of her friends (I forgot her name! Sorry!!) tried on Stacey’s
backpack. I wish I got a picture because this woman was so small that she could
actually fit inside the backpack.
We headed
out a little late this morning. But it’s okay because we made it at least 20
miles today! And that is officially our first 20 miler! Today was so much
easier. All you ladies out there, praise Stacey! She was awesome today. She is
the first woman to hike a significant distance of the Earth Expedition and she
is representing the female race quite well. There couldn’t be a stronger girl
out there I don’t think. She is only 20 years old! What a blessing she is to
have her out here with me.
We made it
into Hurlford, Scotland
for the night. We had no clue where we were going to stay so we thought we
might start asking people since we’ve had great “luck” the pass few nights
(thanks to God). So we idea farmed around on the streets and no one offered to
let us stay with them. So we decided to grab a bite to eat at this Chinese
restaurant called “Wild Blossom.” When we walked in, it was a little more
elegant than we thought. But fortunately, the prices were affordable for our
budget. So we sat down and began to order. And while we were eating, two
different groups eating in the restaurant talked to us! We told them what we
were doing and they were so supportive, which felt really good. Both of them
ended up giving us money for the journey, which was such a huge blessing!!!
Thanks guys! They said they would have let us stay with them for the night but
neither of the groups lived in town. They were both traveling through. What a
coincidence!
So we left
the restaurant still in need of a place to stay. So we went to an inn to ask
about how cheap their rooms were, to see if we could barter. But as we got in,
we realized the “inn” part of the name was just a name. It was a pub…But there
was a guy in there who wanted to help us and he told us that we could stay at
the caravan park that he lives in. His name is William and he lives there with
his wife Elizabeth. We were relieved. Though we had to sleep on the ground
after a long day, we didn’t mind it. So he showed us down to his site and we
got to pitch our tent in a nice, flat, safe area. He let us use his bathrooms
as well. He was very gracious and caring. So the night is over and it’s time
for some sleep.
Wednesday 2009-06-03
 So sleep
this morning didn’t go as well as we thought. Up here in Scotland
the sun doesn’t go down till 11:00 PM
and the sun rises at 3:30 AM. So at 7:00 this morning these BLOODY SEAGULLS above
us were squawking like a bunch of cats in heat and the sun was beating down on
our tent. So we went ahead and got up early.
William and
Elizabeth were even more gracious today. They helped book a room for a hostel
in Belfast for tonight, they gave
us breakfast, and even sent us off with food (which we already ate)!!! We only
had to walk 10 miles today to finish up Scotland.
So we are officially done with Scotland!!!
We hung out in Troon for a few hours and then hopped onto the ferry to Belfast.
But good ol’ Northern Ireland
threw us a curve ball once we came into the port.
Our ferry
set off 10 minutes late which got us to Larne 10 minutes late. Well the last
train to go into Belfast left at 10:30 and we didn’t get in till 10:35. We missed the train by FIVE MINUTES!!
So we got some help from a man named Joe about how else to get to Belfast.
He said all the buses were finished for the night as well. We almost were going
to have to sleep in the ferry terminal until he found a number for a taxi. We
couldn’t stay at the terminal because we had a reservation for a room at the
hostel in Belfast, and if we didn’t
make it then we would get charged. So Joe was very helpful and even gave us
money for the taxi because he felt sorry for us. While we waited for the taxi
we talked about country music! A local Irish lad who is in love with old
country music. I was so happy. So the taxi came at about 11:30 PM and took us to the hostel. The taxi driver was
also very nice and we talked all the way to the hostel. We got to the hostel
and all was well. Tomorrow is our day off and we could sleep in! Woot woot!
Thursday 2009-06-04
 Sleeping in
feels so good out here...well if you think 9:00
AM is sleeping in. But that’s plenty for me. We met a Canadian
named Dena at the hostel and we hung out with her and had lunch with her for
half the day. We just took it easy in downtown Belfast
for pretty much the whole day. We also treated ourselves to a movie, Angels and
Demons, which was entertaining. We picked up our groceries for the next few
days, got a map of Ireland,
and now we’re just chillin in a coffee shop. Hopefully Ireland
will treat us well. I already like this country. But that’s about it for now.
See ya!
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June 1, 2009
Landed in Scotland!
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Friday, 2009-05-29
 Woohoo! We made it into Edinburgh! This is city is so beautiful! We got off the plane and it took us a while to find out where to go because I’d never been here. But we hopped onto a bus and went to the center of the city and grabbed a bite to eat at Burger King. Don’t hate, it was the only familiar place and we had to get something because we needed to find a hostel. Finding a hostel was a little difficult because, of all weekend, a marathon was going on and all the hostels were full. But we were able to find two beds at a place called Smart City Hostels. I was so excited because this is my first hostel experience!!! We met a guy there named Cody Marriott. He is such a cool guy and he decided to hang out with us tomorrow and walk with us for a little bit. We went to the grocery store (Tesco) to get some food for the next few days and that was fun. Then we went back to our room and talked with our roommates for a while. They are both French and they were both extremely nice. They also taught me some French phrases for when I have to walk through France. So my first hostel experience was a great one. I love the atmosphere and the people are so nice. I can’t wait to stay in more!! What a day!
Saturday, 2009-05-30
 So before we started the actual walking, Cody, Stacey, and I went to visit Rosslyn Chapel. Rosslyn Chapel is the church that was in the final scene of the Da Vinci Code. There were other important reasons for its popularity but I forgot. I was just excited that I was in the same place that Tom Hanks was!!! Hahaha. We also got to see some ruins of an old castle near the Chapel. So technically after we saw that, we started walking from Rosslyn Chapel. So the European Leg began at Rosslyn Chapel…kinda cool. After that, Cody walked with us until about 4:00 and then parted ways. He was a great person to have with us. He was a lot of fun and very entertaining. He’s from Reno! Woot!
After that, while we were walking on an old bike trail that went outside of the city, I actually saw a friend that I knew back in the states! I couldn’t believe my eyes. I actually saw Russell three days ago in Dallas before he was about to leave to come back here. It was insane!!! I was so excited!
Once we got to a little town called Currie, we stopped to have dinner at a pub…the locals there were having an ale and they were giving us some pretty interesting looks. But they ended up talking to us and were extremely nice. So far, everyone we have come into contact with us has been very kind. I love the Scots! So that’s all for now. We’re setting up camp by a little river. Day one done! Another day, another dog biscuit!!
Sunday, 2009-05-31
 Today was a little bit more difficult. About 30 minutes after we started, life threw me a curve ball…my bag ripped!!! Right at the shoulder strap where it’s the most important. Luckily, it didn’t rip all the way, but just one little pull the wrong way will completely dismember it. So I need to find someone that sews so it can be temporarily fixed. Please pray that it doesn’t rip because that would mean we would have to stop and actually find a store that sells these kind of packs.
I had my first authentic fish and chips for dinner tonight! We walked through a town called West Calden and there was a little take away food shop called “Chippy’s” that had a ton of food. I thought it was quite good. Today’s scenery was magnificent. The countryside of Southern Scotland is breathtaking. It made me smile just to see such a beautiful place created by God. It really does glorify him.
 So we tried to set up camp again outside in this abandoned area at the end of an old little road. It was near train tracks and all around us was really marshy ground. What we didn’t see at first is that all around us, because of the marshy land, were hundreds of huge slugs crawling all over the place. And after about 30 minutes, bugs started to just linger around our campsite for some reason. After another 30 minutes, it was just too unbearable so we packed up all our stuff and got out of there. I didn’t know what to do now because as I walked down the road more, everyone around was the same marshy condition. So I just started praying intently for God to find us a place to stay. And about ½ a mile up the road was a little village with literally about 100 people in it called Bleich. And the first person I saw who was walking out of their house saw us and I walked directly toward him. I went up to and told him our situation and he kindly said that he didn’t have any room in the house but he would let us stay in his backyard. I didn’t hesitate for a second! So we went in to his backyard and were relieved when we found out there were no bugs! So he brought his wife and kind out to introduce us. Their names are Skid, Nikki, and his son is Presley. They were soooooo nice to us. They gave us any food or drink we need, they let us come in and relax by the TV, they showed were the breakfast food for tomorrow was, let us use their shower, and they even trusted us with a key to lock the door tomorrow morning whenever we leave! I was so amazed by their hospitality. What a blessing it was to run into them. So all in all, God immediately answered my prayer and found us great people to stay with. So we’ve officially made it two days through Scotland. Woohoo! Thank you God!
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