We leave for home tomorrow morning.  Both churches we have served hosted "farewell teas" for us this weekend and gave us some touching mementos of our time here.  They have nicknamed us their "continental cousins."  We have gotten to know some wonderful people. We will miss them greatly and hope those precious relationships will continue across the miles. We will also miss this beautiful view of Iona Sound which has greeted us each morning out our window (except for all the foggy, rainy days, of course, which makes this one all the more special!)

The last couple of days have been quite foggy.  Rose captured this wonderful picture of the Abbey veiled in the fog.  It is a wonderful image of the mystery of the Divine. It is also typical Scotland!

We have delighted in watching the explosion of flowers on the island since we have been here.  There are more than 200 varieties of wildflowers and there are gardens everywhere.  These flowers line the walk outside our door.

Rose's bothy is nestled behind this garden.

One of our favorite places on the island is the ruins of this Augustinian nunnery. It was founded about 1200 and functioned until the Reformation. Unlike the Abbey, it has not been restored. J. Philip Newell, a member of the Iona Community and author about Celtic Christianity, says that it is his favorite place on the island to pray. He writes: The nunnery is a ruin that reflects the brokenness of our lives and the world, as well as the failure of our religious institutions...The nunnery sits open to creation.  One is aware of the elements, the connection between spirit and matter, the ancient bond between the wild and the sacred..The nunnery is a place of relationship, of intentional community, and of devotion to Christ. It has been a place where people have scrubbed potatoes together, shed tears at the news of births and deaths, and sung communal songs of the soul to the One who is beyond names but who is known as Love.  Jerry, Rose, and I know what he means.  This has been a special place to walk and sit and think and pray.

We always marvel at the water in Iona Sound which is amazingly clear and blue.  Flowers were given in church a couple of weeks ago in memory of Cissie Campbell, an islander who died a couple of years ago at age 100 and who swam in the Sound every day of the year! 

We saw this starfish in the water at the pier in Tobermory.  We could see it clearly and took this photo through 5-6 feet of water.

The summer solstice is a big deal in the UK!  At least 20,000 people gathered at Stonehenge last night to watch the sunrise.  On Iona, about 200 people gathered at the north beach for a bonfire.  The summer solstice, the longest day of the year, has been celebrated for hundreds of years in the Celtic tradition, with its emphasis on the spiritual significance of light. Jesus' birth, as the light of the world, is associated with coming into the world at the winter solstice, the longest/darkest night of the year.

This photo and accompanying caption appeared in the Oban Times:

American pastors step in as search goes on for permanent minister.

Church congregations in Iona, Bunessan and Criech have welcomed two American pastors to lead worship while the search for a permanent minister goes on. Rose Taul and Dianne Shields, from Chicago, have stepped in to cover all three churches through June. The pair arrived just after Easter following the previous minister's departure last November.  It is hoped an interim minister can be found soon.

 

It has been fun to see some of the road signs in Scotland.  Here are a couple of our favorites:

Sheep are everywhere.  Here is a quote from the Isle of Skye Visitor's Guide: "Let's be clear on this - sheep are not to be regarded as cuddly, friendly, wooly jumpers.  Treat them as devious, plotting, assasins hired by some crooked breakdown merchant to force cars off the road.  In short, they are a menace."  The folks in Fionnphort, however, seem to have a much more protective attitude. They love their sheep and lambs and see cars as the menace!

There are several different kinds of signs to alert drivers to the different animals that might be in the roadway to be on the lookout for - deer, sheep, cows, etc.  But this was a new one for us - watch out for those old folks crossing the road!

This week was our last trip to see some other parts of Scotland.  We were hopefully saving the best for last, visiting the Isle of Skye, said to be the most beautiful part of the country.  Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate. :(  It was cloudy and foggy the days we were there, so we didn't see it at its best.

So most of our photos are like this -- on the misty side!                                                                                                                                                       

This is an area called the Quiraing on the northernmost part of Skye.  It is made up of unusual cliffs and pinnacles produced by lava flows millions of years ago.

From the Quiraing, looking down on the road coming up to it!

This bridge from the mainland to Skye was build in 1995.  Until then, the only way to reach the island was by ferry. It was originally a toll bridge, but the people protested so strongly that the toll was finally removed.  The sound below the bridge is reportedly the home to many otters which we were hoping to see, but alas, I guess they were on vacation.

The other challenge of our trip to Skye came from some small gnat-like insects called midges.They bite and they LOVED Rose!  She was prepared, however, with her fashionable net hat. Enjoying such beautiful scenery (when it is sunny) requires some Scottish fortitude.  All in all, we were glad to return to Iona!

We feel our time here in Scotland beginning to wind down.  Only 3 Sundays left. :(  So we are taking advantage of every opportunity to see as much as we can. 

On Friday we visited Tobermory, a colorful fishing village on the north end of the Isle of Mull.

On Saturday we visited Duart Castle, also on Mull about an hour from Iona. (For those of you from First Pres, Duart Castle is the castle of Dr. McFayden's clan, the Macleans.)

    

We had a wonderful afternoon today!  We took a 45-minute boat ride to an island named Staffa.  It is the location of Fingal's Cave, which inspired Felix Mendelssohn's symphonic overture Hebrides.  The sound of the surf from inside the cave is remarkable.

On the way we were treated to seeing some seals having fun sunbathing and showing off for us!

But the best part was getting to see hundreds of puffins.  They are absolutely amazing.  What fabulous creatures God has created!

The weather has improved - finally.  We have had several sunny days and the high temp today was 58 - a heat wave! So we have been able to do some more hiking and explore more of the island.  One of everyone's favorite spots is St. Columba's Bay.  This is part of the path on the way there. 

This is the view from the path above if you turn around and look behind you! So whether you are coming or going, it is spectacular.

Here is Jerry at the top of a bluff by an old quarry on the Mull side of Iona Sound. 

This is the view of the village of Fionnphort from the bluff above. Fionnphort is the departure point on Mull for the ferry to Iona.

Most of our hikes end up at the pub near the ferry pier on Iona called Martyrs Bay. We love the view from their patio. It is also a great place to watch for dolphins.  (By the way, it is called Martyrs Bay because apparently 68 monks were slaughtered there when the Vikings invaded in the 800s.)