19. Today I am grateful for rainbows

This has been my 6^th trip to Scotland but only my first time going to Northern Scotland and driving through the Highlands. It was so beautiful! Before today I thought that the driving through the mountains in British Columbia en route to Alberta was the most beautiful and it is. However, I have now concluded, based on my experiences that driving up the West Coast of Scotland, from Dumbarton to the Northern Highlands is the most beautiful. I am grateful for my uncle for driving us and allowing me to experience the magnificent beauty of the Highlands.

One of the things we saw was a beautiful rainbow. The beauty of this rainbow really impacted me, particularly because it came at the end of the storm. It reminded me of the rainbow Noah saw after the earth was flooded which symbolized the covenant made between God and all living creatures that the whole earth will never again be flooded. I love this scripture found in Genesis 9:16 which reads “And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth”. Every time I see a rainbow, I am also reminded me of a line from a primary song “I like to look for rainbows whenever there is rain and ponder on the beauty of an earth made clean again.”

18. Today I am grateful for a place to stay

I am really grateful that my Uncle Alex and Aunt Muriel have allowed me to stay with them. Especially when there are so many other people visiting for the upcoming wedding. Not only am I grateful for a room to stay in (Thanks Heather!) but I am also grateful for the family I have been able to stay with. I wish I could see this side of the family more often.

Last night we had lots of fun together helping out with wedding preparations. My cousin wanted some dream catchers as part of her wedding decorations so I had made some prior to coming to Scotland and then bought materials to make more. It was really fun teaching people how to make them and seeing how everyone’s turned out.

17. Today I am grateful for galaxy McFlurries

I woke up to howling winds, dark grey sky and pouring of rain, a continuation of the storm that started yesterday. Turns out, it’s the remnants of Hurricane Katia that went through parts of the Eastern United States and Canada (earlier this summer). Winds reached ... but it’s supposed to subside by tomorrow morning.  We did manage to be adventurous which included walking through the winds and stopping to watch falling tree’s. I should also be grateful that we weren’t hit by any of those trees or injured by flying objects.

We stopped off at McDonalds for a Galaxy McFlurry. Galaxy chocolate bars are one of my favourites so I was really excited to see that McDonalds had galaxy McFlurries. It was sooooooo good! Creamy and delicious! I bought some galaxy chocolate bars back with me and I also have an ice cream maker so I am thinking of trying to make some galaxy ice cream when I get back to Edmonton.

16. Today I am grateful for Family Stories

Being Sunday, I went to church today in the Dumbarton ward. I knew a few people from previous trips and some I met at my Grandma's birthday party. Everyone I talked to were very friendly and welcoming. The Relief Society lesson that was given was the third time I had heard the lesson, it also happens to be a lesson on eternal marriage. The first time I taught this lesson in my ward, a couple of weeks later someone else taught this lesson (not knowing that it was already taught) and now again in the Dumbarton ward. It is a good lesson though. J

My Grandma recently received a birthday card from her sister in Germany, which was all in German and everyone that stopped to talk to her or walked by she would ask them if they could read the card. Hahaha. There were some people who knew a little bit of German but no one could read the whole card. It was entertaining to watch my Grandma give it to these people and see each one attempt to read the card. After church we all (meaning my mom, brother, grandma and my uncles family and cousin's fiancé’s family) along with some friends went back to My uncle’s house. By the end of dinner time there must have been at least 30 people over.

 It was pretty stormy outside so it was a nice afternoon and evening to spend inside with the family. I spent most of the time talking with my Grandma. My Grandma has a few stories that she will share several times. What I enjoyed the most was when she would talk about her family (parents and siblings) and a little bit about her experiences growing up. One of the things she spoke of was how her father always said that “Hitler was no good for us (meaning their country, Germany)”. She also spoke of her three young brothers who died in a barn fire 6 months before she was born. She said her mother mourned for the loss of her sons until World War II broke out and then her feelings turned to gratitude that those boys would not have to be forced to fight in the war. My grandma also talked about a boyfriend she had who said that he would rather take his life than fight in the war, he did fight in the war and was killed.

I am grateful for family stories such as these because it helps me to know the connections my family has to history and to know who my ancestors where. I am exactly half British (with a Scottish Grandfather and an English Grandfather) and German (my other Grandmother was of German-Russian descent and grew up in a German-Russian community in southern Manitoba). I am grateful for my heritage and for the sacrifices of my ancestors. From the stories my Grandma shared this evening, I am grateful for her father who showed sorrow in what Hitler had done to the Country and its people and the devastating effects on the world and the loss of many lives. I am also grateful for her mother who out of great tragedy was able to recognize the hand of God.

15. Today I am grateful to have attended a fireside

In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we often have firesides. These are meetings with one or more speakers and include an opening and closing hymn and sometimes a musical number. They can also be on any day of the week but are most often on a Saturday or Sunday evening. Anyone may be invited to speak at a fireside; they may live in the area or be a visitor from across the world.

Tonight, I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to attend a fireside tonight in Dunfermline, Fife in which the young single adults (single members aged 18-30) from all of Scotland were invited to attend. The speakers were Elder Gerald J. Causse, From France, a counsellor in the Europe Area Presidency and Presiding Bishop of the church H. David Burton, from Salt Lake City, Utah; along with their wives.

I am grateful for the messages that were shared by the speakers as they reminded me of the important things in life (those things of an eternal nature) and in making decisions and following the promptings of the spirit. I loved Elder Causse’s message, especially when he mentioned that often when making decisions we spend more time thinking with our heads instead of feeling with our hearts. I find that is true for me, I try to process things in order to make a rational decision. Although, I will admit that sometimes I make un-rational decisions or those without really thinking (or feeling) but most often I spend a lot of time thinking.  However, as Elder Causse wisely counselled that sometimes you don’t have time to think about how you’re going to answer a question or react to a situation, you have to do what you feel is right. In pondering this talk I know that it is important to be prepared to act on what I feel is right which is done by living in such a way to be guided by the spirit.

Bishop Burton counselled us to focus on the things of Eternal Value, in particular our family and the gospel. He stated that we will know if the activity we are involved in is of an eternal nature because it will bring us closer to Christ. In pondering this talk, I know that it is through the gospel that I can receive Salvation and it through having an eternal family that I can receive exaltation. This reminds me of the scripture found in D&C 14:7 - “And, if you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God”. This is a gift I want to claim.  

I also thought it was pretty neat to be listening to Bishop Burton speak in Scotland because in the last General Conference (in April) he spoke about President David O. McKay's missionary experience in Scotland.  You can find the talk here.

14. Today I am grateful for travel adapters

I know that electrical outlets can vary from Country to Country and I knew that in Britain outlets are different than those in North America. However, I did not even think about that when I was packing, which included my hair straightener, battery charger to recharge batteries for my camera and my laptop along with its cords. I likely forgot because I am usually a last-minute packer and was also packing for my trip and packing to move at the same time. However, I soon remembered yesterday evening when I went for a shower and decided to straighten my hair – I just ended up going with a ponytail instead.

I decided to look about the shops in Dumbarton to find one and I did – at “Poundland”, Britain’s version of “The Dollar Store”. I love that it enables me to use my Canadian appliances in Britain and has also allowed me to use my laptop right now and will allow me to recharge my batteries so that I can take more photos.

13. Today I am grateful for my Grandma

Awhile ago I decided that I would like to go out to Scotland to celebrate my Grandma's 90th birthday with her on September 8, 2011. I am really grateful that I was able to arrive in Scotland this morning in time to celebrate with my Grandma. My Uncle Alex booked the hall at the church building and organized a nice party that was attended by family and friends (mostly members of the Dumbarton ward where she is affectionately known as ‘Granny Couper’). After napping for a few hours I went and helped set up. It was neat going through the pictures that had been enlarged and printed off and put up on the wall. There were a couple that I had never seen, such as ones of her with family members in Germany right before immigrating to Scotland.  

Elisabeth Couper (nee Tautz) is the only grandparent I have really had the opportunity to know personally and even though I have not had the opportunity to see my Grandma very often as she lives in Scotland she has been a great influence in my life.

I recently wrote about how grateful I was to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is because of my Grandma that the gospel was brought into my family. She has also been an example of someone who was able to at times stand alone in her faith. She has also been an example of overcoming adversity. My Grandma was born in Germany and soon after the war their town of Eisersdorf, Germany was placed under Polish administration and the family lost their home. This area is now called Klodzko, Poland. Sometime after relocating to another part of Germany, my grandma immigrated to Scotland. She often talks about how her father did not like Hitler and what was happening in Germany but living in a communist country, there was little citizens could do. I can see though that my Grandma strives to look at the positive and she also has a great sense of humour and finds joy in both the simple and great things in life. One of Grandma’s favourite things is the birdie dance which we played during the party, she loved it!

It was nice to see that all four of her children could be there to celebrate and several of her grandchildren and one great grandchild. It would have been so nice to have all of the grandchildren and great grandchildren there to celebrate. However, due to people being spread out throughout the world (From Canada, the USA, and France to New Zealand) and working and going to school it wasn’t possible. Maybe for her 100^th birthday party? J