Because of Edinburgh...

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.