Well, here I am off and running for the 30th week of my mission. Things don’t slow down for long around here. Sunday after church I stayed after to work with a lady on her family history. She and her daughter are going to the temple next week and they were hoping to take a family name for baptism. We tried and tried but were not able to find anyone who needed baptism. But we did connect with a line on Family Search and I was able to teach her how to find sources and compare and save them to her source box. We worked together for over two hours and I was tired when we got done. I headed home to find Sister Gifford cooking away in the kitchen which was so nice. We had Chicken Noodle Soup and rolls for dinner and it was great. I was able to get caught up on my personal study as well and got settled back into my routine after a great week last week.
Tuesday night I went back to the church at 7:00 to meet with Theresa, a new convert in our ward and also Bahadir who just got baptized two weeks ago. They are both attending the temple trip next Saturday as well and were hopeful to find a family name. Bahadir was in the Temple Prep class I helped teach last Sunday and he was made a Priest on Sunday as well so he can go to the temple and do baptisms. Theresa and I were successful in finding a name for her to get baptized with. It’s her grandmother. She was very excited. Bahadir on the other hand came in upset about something that had happened earlier in the day and had no patience. I couldn’t even get him logged in all the way and he was saying something in French and left. So we will have to try again on a day when he is a bit more patient.
Wednesday night was a triple baptism in our ward. Frank who is a man in his 70’s I believe that has been coming to our ward for a few weeks now and then two Chinese university boys. Fergus and Canan. I told you about Fergus last week and how he wanted to help teach his friend Bowan with us. These kids at the university are great kids. I’m glad they get the opportunity to learn more than just school stuff when they come here. They just shine.
Thursday we took Sister Six and Sister Hill to dinner. It was nice to sit with them for a bit and hear about what they are doing and a bit about where they are from. They are great girls. This is Sister Six’s last transfer. She goes home in November. Sister Hill is just a couple transfers away too. Time does move fast once you stop dwelling on it.
Friday I walked to Morningside which is maybe a mile from the office to talk with our printer. I’m hoping to get this next project done before next week is up. It’s been a harder project. It’s a double-sided guide and one side is hortizontal and the other is vertical. Then the size is smaller than our paper so it needs to line up and then be cut correctly. Then it will be folded into a tri-fold pamphlet. I’m really excited about it. I’m going to keep a copy for myself because it is full of scripture references and bullet points for all the lessons. I thought I had a picture of it but I don’t. Maybe next week I’ll sneek a picture onto this page or else I’ll take a finished product picture next week. We have a big All Scotland Zone Conference in Dundee next week so the pressure is on to get everything done for that.
Friday afternoon I had the bishops daughter Caroline come to my office and work for about three hours trying to find a name for her to take to the temple for her first time going. She has just turned 12 and is a great girl. I totally enjoyed getting to know her and help her dig through her family history but we didn’t find a name. We found one that was blocked for some reason. I’m going to have to learn why that is. I wished we could have found a family name for her but I think she did such a great job moving around in family search and looking for names. I’m hoping she will get the bug and want to keep getting on and doing research. She seemed to have a knack for it.
That evening we went out to Mia’s with the Winters. That is definitely one of my favorite restaurants. I get the Bruchetta and Bolognese which is my standby but it is really tasty here. The Winter’s hadn’t been there before and I think they enjoyed it.
Well, today is Saturday and Sister Gifford and I really needed a day of fun. It’s been so busy at work this week. We woke up to cloudy but sunny skies so we decided to go for it and we went to Queensferry – to Hawes Ferry and caught a boat out to Inchcolm Island. 
Back when we went to Preston we were talking to some ladies on the bus that were visiting for a month and this was their favorite thing they had done so I have been keeping it in the back of my mind. I’m so glad we went. We had a great time and hiking around and climbing stairs was such a great thing to do. It feels good to get our bodies moving a bit. On the way to the ferry we were near Lauriston Castle, which is where I went with Lacey and Jake a few Saturdays ago so we drove in there and walked all around the grounds since Sister Gifford hadn’t seen it yet. We decided it is another great place to take families because of all the room to run and play. It is really a beautiful setting there.
Well, back to Inchcolm Island. The ferry ride was about 30 minutes long and we drove around a small island or big rock, whichever you choose to think, that always has seals basking in the sun. 
We were not disappointed. There they were. About six seals just laying out on the rocks. They are so cute how they all kind of pile up on each other. I would have loved to just idle there and watch them for a bit but I don’t think they really do anything but lay there. Then on to Inchcolm and I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was. The grass was so green over there and the monastery that is there is beautiful. Not like Melrose, which is a dramatic looking building, but this monastery totally fit its surroundings and it was a really neat place to explore. The men who used to live there never spoke and they just prayed all day and night. The stairways in this place were the tightest and darkest I have seen. At some places you couldn’t see at all as you climbed stairs that are never the same size as the one before. But it was a fun exploration.
Also on the island is a tunnel that was used during World War 1 for ammunition movements. All around Inchcolm you can see shelters that were used during World War 1 and World War II. It was a perfect place for defense as boats and aircraft would come into the area.
After we got back to mainland we drove through Queensferry and found a place called The Boat House for dinner. Sister Gifford said her seafood curry was one of the best meals she has ever eaten. And I had Meatballs and Chorizo Pasta. It was very tasty as well.
Well, I’m looking forward to a quiet evening and nice Sunday. I think we are too tired to have anything else. Oh, I should have mentioned that Elder Copeland and Elder Huang who live over by the meadows had the boiler in their flat blow up basically. It destroyed the floor in their room and the firemen that came hacked through the ceiling below them up to the boiler and now there are electrical wires exposed and damage so Sister Gifford is going to have to find them a new place to stay. For now they are staying with Elder Grant and Elder Carter. We may have to see if there is anything we can do to help them on Monday to get moved out of that place quickly.
OK. I just want to say I miss you all and I love you. I keep thinking it is going to be Halloween soon and I bet we don’t get Trick or Treaters here. We live inside a building with only 10 flats in it. The outside doors are locked so unless you live here you don’t get in. So I’m going to miss seeing all the kids in their costumes. And I’m going to miss our pumpkin bread bowls and homemade soup. I guess I could figure that out here but I probably won’t take the time. I’m hoping for pictures of my grandkids in their costumes. And enjoy your candy!!