our fall letter

Well, here I sit in shorts, a t-shirt and flip-flops… cooking hot!!!

Let me tell you how many times I've asked myself "where am I?”

I’d love to take you on a journey with me through what it has been like to move from cold rainy Scotland to always-sunny Golden Hill, San Diego!

To start off, let me first say that we as a family have been so blessed and loved by you all. This last furlough was a real challenge as we came into it exhausted and emotionally drained. The entire 2 and 1/2 months were filled with encouraging coffees, tons of hugs and words of affirmation. It made it one of the most rewarding and encouraging furloughs ever! Thank you for blessing us.

We left Portland with only an offer on a house, the bags that came with us from Scotland, a 6-person tent (no joke) and our amazing new/used van!!! We stayed with good friends in Fresno and then headed to Rob and Laurie Yackley's (our boss and wife) for a few nights. As we reacquainted and talked future we still had nowhere to live in Golden hill. On one of the days Tim, Rob and I went to find a place and it was that day we saw the only rental house. We said, “yes” to it that day, hoping to be in it short term (rent is very high here), because our hope was to get into the house soon. In the meantime, we had a good friend donate a week at a Hilton about 20 minutes from Golden hill… it was perfect. We left Rob and Laurie's after 3 nights and spent the next week at the hotel till we could move into our cute rental house. And so, after 3 long days of driving, a few stops along the way, and a week in a hotel we made it to Golden hill, San Diego our new home!

It has been quite a month and a half as we have tried to settle this family. We started with a few lawn chairs, 2 blow up beds and a bench for a table for the first 10 days. Tim and his dad then flew to Lynden, WA and picked up our stuff that we had been storing for over 7 years, drove to Portland picked up all the wonderful things people had give us and headed back to San Diego, this all took only 3 days!!! They were amazing! And what about our shipment from Scotland? Well, it only took 100 days but it finally came and we could unpack all our belongings… now the settling begins. Tim's parents came to help us and we are so thankful for the work they did to help us get set up and put some roots down. Are you still wondering about the house? Well so are we! With the market the way it is, it has become a waiting game. We have prayed hard (as many of you have)… and about 10 days ago received an answer. The Lord in His sovereignty has removed it… and so, we keep praying. We know that the right affordable house will come where we will be able to do ministry AND raise our family. Keep praying for that house that is out there somewhere.

What is Golden Hill like? Well, it has a funny feel about it that we have yet to fully understand. At times I can look at the beautiful Victorians (a bit rundown), gorgeous palm trees and views and think back to when this part of town hopped with wealthy, upper class people. But, 90 years is a long time and much has come and gone since then. The other side to Golden Hill feels very inner city! We live on a corner right beside a main road that is the entrance to Golden Hill. It's truly amazing how the city never sleeps, between fire-trucks, police cars, car alarms, people fighting, wandering drunks and airplanes roaring over us (you have to pause your conversation while they go by) we are finding it hard to stop and have peace in this city! We lived in the city in Glasgow for 5 years but the noises were different, the feel was different. Amidst this, God has opened our eyes once again to a completely new set of cultures and we have experienced more culture shock than we could have ever anticipated… but it is exciting AND it is growing on us. We have done lots of exploring in the area and will continue to watch, listen and settle where God has asked us to pour our lives and extend His love to this community that needs His love so much.

How are the kids adjusting? Well the school really took us by surprise when we started. We knew our kids would be a minority, but there are maybe a dozen “white” kids out of 400-plus… including ours... its pretty great! Parts of this we love and are so thankful they get this chance to live so cross culture. Rarely do you hear English spoken outside the classes. It's been a mental shift as we wade through expectations of what we thought it would be like and the reality of what is. Each of our kids has handled the transition in their own way, some with excitement and some with tears. The school system is so different here that the kids have had to learn a completely different style of learning and rules! It has been about 5 weeks and everyday seems to become more natural. They are making new friends and have been really blessed by the teachers they have been given. We would appreciate your prayers in one area specifically… the system is so different than in the UK, we have found they don’t know some of the styles of learning and therefore are behind. Especially Duncan, as he is the oldest – it has been a hard start for him. God continues to fill them up in the areas we are weak in and watching them take another step in their faith has been truly amazing! Some really exciting news for us as a family is that McKenzie asked Jesus into her heart about 2 weeks ago and has been so excited. What a blessing to be a part of our children’s walk as parents, we feel truly blessed by these kids of ours. Over all they have been incredible troopers and done it with smiles on their faces (most of the time!) Tim and I are enjoying this new season of life with them entering childhood, although I’m so thankful that I still have one at home. God has sure been clear to me that right now my place is with them and creating a place of safety and love. We truly would not have it any other way… to pour what God’s given us into them and teach them what a life lived fully in love with JESUS looks like is a GREAT calling!

With great blessings,
The McDonald clan