Hello from Iona!

      On Saturday afternoon, we fulfilled our mission of doing "secret service." A small group went back to Traprain Law to pull more ragwort. While we were there, we ran into one of the caretakers of the ponies on the Law, Liz. We had a lovely time getting to know her love of John Denver, all about the ponies, and helping her move bags of ragwort. Another group stayed back at the Allison Cargill House and prepared medallions for the church service on Sunday. Saturday night we had our first ceilidh! We gathered in the Stenton town hall for food, dancing, and good company. The local people were so patient with us as we struggled at first to learn all the dances. By the end we were all exhausted but happy. 

       Sunday morning we attended a service at David's church. It was a lovely service and was enjoyed by all. David's church gave each of us scarves with Scottish tartans and shared music with us. As a group we sang two of our own songs for their congregation and gifted them with medallions made by Cheryl as well as prayer squares made by the knitting club. There was appreciation from everyone. David's congregation held a lunch for us where they had red white and blue balloons and flags decorating the hall. They shared amazing Scottish food with us as more gifts were given. Following the service and lunch we returned to the Allison Cargill house to pack for tomorrow.

      Monday we woke up bright and early to leave for the West side of Scotland where we caught a Ferry to Mull island. Once we were on Mull, we drove across through beautiful scenery to the opposite side of the island to get on our next ferry to the island of Iona, where we will be staying for the next week. We arrived on Iona to breathtaking blue waters and green fields full of sheep. We walked across the island to the new hostel we will be staying at.  

--Laura G and Evie