Written by: Ashley
We are just over one month away from our big international
move. We cant believe it! How did that happen?
I have given my notice at work and my last day is just over
two weeks away. Once it was common knowledge that I was leaving, I was
bombarded with people and questions. The same questions everyone has to deal
with when moving : Why? When? What's the plan? Are you excited?
Ahhh... these questions make my mind feel like a hamster on
a wheel, moving so quickly, but not getting anywhere. My mind just spins faster
and faster trying to comprehend the variety of emotions, but I cannot grasp it
all.
You see, this move is quite emotional for me for multiple
reasons....
First, we have developed great friends while we have been
here and leaving friends is hard. Some of our favourite memories include our
favourite people in Edinburgh. Nic made loads of friends at University, one of
which he still meets with on a weekly basis for a pint and a chat. One of my
closest friends here, probably doesnt even know that she is. She sits across
from me at work, she is the quirkiest, most honest person I have ever met. One
of our favourite families in Edinburgh, have been more than just friends, they
have been like family to us. Celebrating holidays and birthdays with them,
going over for dinner and games, and celebrating victories and mourning
sadness. Our newest friends are just as weird as we are, which I think is why
we are great friends. Only having moved to Edinburgh in May, they have been
some of the greatest encouragement for us. We learned very quickly that we both
like hanging out with each other, probably mostly because we make each other feel
normal. There are so many people, some not even listed here, who have made our
time in Edinburgh more enjoyable because we had good friends to share it
with.
Second, along with meeting great friends, we met an
interesting group of Christians. Never before had we seen a group of Christians
working as hard as they know how to bring God’s kingdom to earth in this city.
Never before have we met such an eclectic group of people committed to each
other and the mission of God. We have learned more from them than expected. We
have learned things they didn’t even mean to teach us. We know what Christian
community is, we know how it should function, and we know the struggles of
making it work. We also learned about living missionally. While we might have
failed on some occasions, we know that we have succeeded in others. Nic and I
are unapologetic about being missionally-minded Christians for the rest of our
lives and this is due to the influence Mosaic had on our lives. Leaving a group
Christians like these is difficult, but we know that we are not alone and even if
we are thousands of miles apart we are still working towards the same goal,
makes it all the most amazing.
Third, Edinburgh is a very special place to us. It was our
first home. As you might recall, Nic and I got married on December 30, 2011 and
moved to Edinburgh on January 2, 2012. Edinburgh is very sentimental to us. Our
first home was in a flat build in the 1600's, we had mice and horrible heating.
We had a lovely garden to look out over. We had great friends from India and
Ireland who wanted to learn how to make American Pizza. I burnt multiple
things, including a sponge in the microwave, croutons in the oven and i set the
toaster on fire. Our second home was a flat built in the 1800's in our favourite
area of town called Leith. This was a much nicer, newer flat, but we still had
mice, I still burnt food and we still had our friends over to dinner and games.
While living at this flat, we got our first puppy, wee Abe, who has been a big
part of our lived ever since. Edinburgh is a place of firsts for us, it shaped
us and formed who we have become.
Last, things did not work out as planned. We thought we
would be here for an additional 2 years minimum, but God had different plans
for us. This was meant to be a learning and growing time for Nic and I as a
couple, as individuals, in our marriage and in our professional lives. And it
have been nothing short of that. We have learn more than we could have
imagined. We have grown more than we expected and we are so grateful for that.
Living in Edinburgh, away from everyone we knew and loved, starting from
scratch has taught us lifelong lessons about what is means to be a completely
independent adult, what it is like to live as a foreigner, how to work as a
team, how to depend on each other, what it means to work out conflict in a
Christian marriage, and what God has in store for us.
While there is great sadness in leaving Edinburgh, we know
that our time here has not been wasted. We hope that we left footprints in
people’s hearts. Edinburgh has been good
for us. Edinburgh has been good to us. We will always remember the lessons we
have learned. We will not forget the foundation that was set for us in the
realm of missional Christianity. We will
look back on our time here and remember all of our firsts. We will remember the
laughs and fights, the moments of joy and moments of pain. We will remember all
of the wonderful people we met here and the great times we had. Because of
Edinburgh, we will never be the same.
