Linz in Focus

We’ve just returned from a "Mission Fest" weekend in Orkney.  Its the furthest north we’ve ever been.  But before we get to that, we should tell you about Kristine’s new sling.  A week last Wednesday, she fell in a car park when she was carrying shopping and dislocated her shoulder.  The shop staff were brilliant and took Rachel for a wee walk for a magazine and a drink.  They drove Kristine to the hospital and I joined her there.  They took her in quite quickly and relocated her shoulder.  She now has sling and will do for at least another week.  Her shoulder is very sore.  She also hurt her knee making it difficult to walk for a few days too.  So in the middle of that we set of for a 6hr drive to John O Groats, followed by a 1hr ferry then a 40 minute bus trip over the southern islands and connecting causeways of Orkney.  So Kristine gives thanks for Cocodamol!  It was a sore trip.  We enjoyed meeting up with friends Don and Maggie Currie and their son Iain.  Don is the pastor at Kirkwall Baptist one of the churches organising the Mission Fest.  So we arrived at 7:50, just in time for the 8pm Youth Meeting. Along with Mission Reps from a number of agencies we did excercises to get teenagers thinking more about world mission.  We invited them to come up ideas for how people could use the Olive Oil tubs they get if they sponsor a tree at the Spanish Drug Rehab centre … think my favourite was "Re-sell It" … I invited that kid to come help us with deputation … others were … dressing wounds on Horses, Hair Gel, and some even thought of cooking with it.

The Mission Marketplace on the Saturday competed with a local Science Fair and other island events so was a bit slow.  But on Sunday Don introduced us and others to the church and gave us some minutes to outline the work we’re planning to share in in Austria. All in all it was a good weekend.  Orkney is really beautiful. And so far away!  The return ferry was pretty choppy, with folks in the passenger area doing the Roller Coaster whoops when the boat pitched and rolled.  We were almost home when our car got poorly very quickly then died.  Its sad.  But we’ve been offered a replacement to keep us going until we leave, for which we’re very grateful.