ARRIVAL IN SCOTLAND

We left home early Thursday, July 22nd, and our friends, the Montagues, were kind enough to take us to the Ontario Airport. We were relieved when we found out we wouldn't have to depart from LAX. No one likes to drive there!

We arrived in Edinburgh at 11:30 a.m. on July 23rd, and the new mission president, President McCrudden, picked us up and brought us to our flat, so we got to see a little bit of the city on the way here. Since then, we have been confined to the apartment, quarantined for ten days. That's giving us time to get settled and adjust to the time difference. It gets light about 4:00 a.m. though, and we don't have black-out curtains yet!

One of the office sisters brought us some groceries the first day, but we will need to order groceries for the remainder of our isolation. The zone leaders came by yesterday for a visit, and we had a zone meeting by zoom this afternoon. Being a full-time missionary hasn't quite sunk in for me yet, but when I go out with the name tag on I am very conscious of it! We met some elders on our flight, sitting nearby, and I felt kind of maternal toward them, in a little different way than I did with missionaries at home. 

Our flat is very nice. It has a fairly large kitchen and dining area, living room, and three bedrooms, as well as a nice patio/deck close to the dining area. The mission provides a larger place for us so we can have the Young Adults over for meals sometimes and activities. Although most activities are held at the church, we have room for entertaining here when needed, or to have a small group over for dinner.       

Sister Harmer, who was here with her husband before us, left things very organized, with lots of helpful information for us. There is a box of recipes labeled "Feed My Sheep'", so I have an idea we'll be doing some cooking for the young people.

The weather is beautiful, so far, warmer than normal for here, but rain and cooler temperatures are expected later this week. 

We had to give ourselves COVID tests this morning, and the directions indicated that we could deliver them to the nearest mail box, so we went out for a little walk to do that. We discovered that we are situated right next to a sports complex. There were soccer games going on when we walked by today. 

We are studying some driving information with several pages of traffic signs to learn. One said "zebra crossing," but it's really just a cross walk! We will receive a little driving instruction before venturing out on our own, driving on the left side of the road.