Other possible titles include: “Steelo and his Passion Fruit”, “The Adventures of Jason the Mason” or “Not the Disneyland Trip”.
It was an early start on Thursday 9th April for the Go Team to catch the Larne ferry to Cairnryan. After negotiating the complex problem of having the right number of people in the right car we all boarded our ship, the European Highlander. The crossing was very rough but in the midst of stumbling around all members suceeded in retaining their breakfast however a greater challenge to our digestive systems still lay ahead.
Paul, the first person ever to manage to look sombre when leaving Larne!
Sampling the on board cuisine
Leaving the ferry behind
Having arrived in Bonnie Scotland we made a slight detour via Stranraer which greatly angered Rob’s Yoda-voice Sat Nav and continued until we stopped at Girvan in search of lunch. Fooled by a cheap Italian flag stuck onto the window we entered the Marine Fish Restaurant where I faced the worst meal of my life. Chips and a Cheeseburger aren’t that hard to make but somehow they failed and I was served tasteless chips of a strange yellow colour which may have been cooked a couple of weeks before and a stodgey burger my dog would have refused. Paul declared that he had never left so much on his plate in his life but the ever polite Stephen McCollum managed to gallantly clear his plate. Feeling sicker than when we were on the high seas the two cars journeyed onwards.
Alanna was not impressed with what she ordered either
We arrived in Airdrie in time for a delicious tea which managed to erradicate most of the memory of our time in Girvan followed by a brief start to leaflet distribution. In our time in Scotland we gave out 15,000 leaflets (according to the Messenger article) or perhaps nearly 16,000 (according to the Covenanter Witness) and we were assisted by many members of the congregation in this task. We spent all of Friday, Saturday morning and early afternoon and Monday morning putting the booklets through letterboxes until there were no more left. They contained the testimonies of three members from very different backgrounds and it was great to read of the work of God in their lives. They also were an invitation to attend the special services being held 20th to24 April entitled “Jesus Christ- who is he and why does it matter?”. Give thanks to God that the weather was not as the BBC Weather Forecast had predicted and that we were able to give out all the leaflets without any problems. Pray that people would read the leaflets, ask that they’ll come to the services and pray that God will change people’s lives so that his name may be glorified.
It was quite a rough area
Banner
We spent time getting to know the team on Thursday night by participating in a Quiz (Do you know which 2 football teams usually line up in a 2-5-3 formation?) in which some teams with interesting (but not to be taken too seriously) names competed. Friday night was spent in what was referred to as a “Car Rally” (Scottish for Treasure Hunt) and though it failed to produce any Subaru Imprezas it did produce some dangerous driving as Lainey proceeded to spend more time looking at clues than the road in front of us. The dream team, comprised of Lainey, Alanna, Josh and myself, swept all before us on our way to victory as we searched for Sporks, got photos with firemen and endangered the life of my camera, precariously balancing it near a busy road.
Funny as
Bemused Firemen
We drove past Ibrox
Destination
Saturday afternoon was the Covenanter Tour which, as a history geek, I was much looking forward to and it didn’t disappoint. Jimmy led us around several significant sites including Drumclog and a tower in which John Knox once preached (technically Reformation not Covenanter I know). This building was the place of most drama as it has sadly fallen into the hands of the Masonic Lodge and it was the local Grandmaster who gave us the tour. Initially he began by telling us a slightly skewed version of history (I caught Jimmy wincing) then, foolishly, instead of taking us straight to the museum on the top floor Jason the Mason let us into the temple and invited questions about Freemasonry. Tensions rose as Jason continued to make heretically statements under questioning from the members of the Go Team and CY until Jimmy stepped in and suggested we go on upstairs. (I hasten to add visiting Masonic Temples is not a normal part of a Covenanter Tour and I don’t think it’ll be repeated!) Upstairs we viewed some Covenanter relics in icy silence before we moved on.
Definately doesn’t look good.
Sneaky pictures of his Masonic coin which was passed round
The old stop-and-tie-shoe-laces trick secured this hurriedly taken photo of the inside of the Masonic Temple
What we actually went in to see
Covenanter grave cleaned up by Connor
On Saturday night we visited the world famous Mr. Kebab which lived up to all the hype. As the Marine Fish Restaurant in Girvan was unspeakable awful so my first ever kebab was indescribably good.
Each day 10… of the team 9… began with 8… a bible study based 7… on the early chapters of 6… Acts. These were led 5… by Steelo, 4…David Duly, Stephen McCollum 3… and 2… Paul Wright 1! Even if the timing was not always impecable I was deeply challenge about my devotion to the church, prayer and God’s word. This challenge to be attentive to the Word was reinforced in Rev. Quigley’s Sunday morning sermon after which we enjoyed a delicious lunch (with Passion Fruit Trifle for Desert) and then I sneaked away to grab a couple hours sleep to replace those lost sorting out the world’s problems the night before. The day was rounded off by the traditional schooling at the Quigley’s house and then waiting for a certain team member to cease discussions about a church plant in Holy Town and return to the church hall.
On Monday morning we finished the leaflets before travelling home and this time we did not stop in Girvan but went to the ever reliable McD’s in Ayr. I thoroughly enjoyed the Airdrie Go Team. The banter on the team was fantastic as was the hospitality shown to us by the congregation. If you don’t spend your time doing Go Teams you really miss out. The help you are to the church may not be of epic proportions but I have always found teams a great blessing in my Christian life. Scotland was once a land where God greatly blesssed the church pray that this may be so again.
Chris sells Steelo a house
Lynsey gets jealous as Currie’s all over Clare!
Banter continues as unnoticed a curtain eats Connor
…like horses
We were all rather tired on the boat home
Debating the messenger article (due to be published in around 6 months)
Good times
AnotherKing 
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