Day 7

"We started off the day by piling into various cars and the mini bus to take mom (Emily Schillero= the trip mom) and Laurel to the airport. After we cried and said our goodbyes, we took a ride to St. Andrews. We visited the Old Course at St. Andrews and were able to walk around the 18th hole.  After that, we split off into groups to grab lunch. Once satisfied by a variety of delicious Scottish food, we regrouped and journeyed to the castle at St. Andrews.  The castle is was incredible and we learned that it had a great part to play in the reformation and the life of John Knox. When we got inside, we explored the ruins of the castle and took some hardcore parkour selfies. A few of us ventured down into the close quarters mine for some further exploration.  After one final group picture at the castle, we headed for the cupcake store. To our dismay, they were out of cupcakes…

                

Yet again, we all jumped in the cars and promptly set out for Dundee to meet with David Robertson, who is a minister, an author, and recently spoke at the Basics Conference at Parkside.  After we arrived at the Free Church of Scotland, St. Peter’s, we filed into the pews and David took some time to speak to us as a group. He told us all about the history that surrounds St. Peter's, about Robert Murray M'Cheyne, and about what it is like being a pastor in Dundee.  He allowed us to ask him any questions we might have, which led to some awesome stories about why he wrote the books that he has authored, what it is like debating with some of the world's most famous atheists, and the vision he has for the SOLAS ministry that he is involved in.  He had so much helpful advice for us as high school students and we learned a lot from the short time we spent with him.

From there, David directed us towards dinner at a local restaurant just a short walk away from the church.  We chowed down on our sausage, haggis, fish and chips and then headed back to our host homes. Some of the girls had the opportunity to go and play soccer with some of the local Scottish girls. The rest of us met up back at Myles’ house to relax and just enjoy each other’s company. At some point in the night, a few of the guys went out to play their own game of soccer. Danny Heise (the Heisemeister) even got out there and scored a goal!!!!!! We had a group meeting before walking back to our host homes for the night." - Merlin, David, and Danny H.