On Friday, 19 August Brother Mark Mfandarahwa and his family (Sister Marble, Naomi and Ruth) arrived in Aberdeen in the afternoon. They were met at the Aberdeen International Airport by Brother Niyi Olukitibi, Brother Matthew Ibukun and his wife Sister Juliet. We welcomed them at the Ibukun’s house, where we had a Sunday school teacher’s conference and prayer meeting before proceeding to their hotel.

On Saturday, 20 August Brother Mark and his family, including Brother and Sister Ibukun and the Olukitibis, visited the previous places of worship starting from the beginning of our work in Aberdeen City. These places of worship showed us the history of “The Apostolic Faith Mission UK” work in Scotland. Below are the places of worship in succession.

– 2, Boyd Orr Place
– A hall in Kepplestone
– Harlow Academy
– 57 Wellington Street
– Mile End Community Centre
– Garthdee Parrish Church
– Inchgarth Community Centre, which is the current place of worship.

We visited Rubislaw Quarry (see photo above now showing approx. 137m deep quarry full of water), where most of the granite used for constructing Aberdeen granite buildings was obtained. On that same day, we visited some of properties that we had been interested in or tried to purchase as a church. These properties include:

– Hebrew Church
– Ardoe Hall – Smithfield Road
– CLAN House
– Garthdee Parish Church
– Crown Street Property

Afterwards, we visited one of Aberdeen’s lovely parks, ‘Duthie Park’, which everyone immensely enjoyed. The park houses the David Welsh Winter Garden. This garden has an extensive collection of beautiful flowers, tropical plants and other plants from around the world. Everyone was excited to explore and take photos in the park, and the children particularly enjoyed playing at the park.

That same Saturday, we visited the two Universities in Aberdeen (Aberdeen University and Robert Gordon University).

On Sunday, 21 August we worshipped at Inchgarth Community Centre. Our combined service for the Scotland groups (Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh) started with Sunday School at 10:30 am, in which the adults and children had their separate lessons. The total attendance was 39 (25 adults and 14 children).

The Sunday school began with a piano prelude by Brother Gbenga Odufuwa. This was followed by a clarinet Solo of “Have Faith in God” by one of our junior choristers, Sister Abimbola Ibukun. The congregation sang a Hymn from Collected Gospel Songs – 514 led by Brother Opeyemi Ibukun, who then prayed for us. After this, the children went to their Sunday school class, and the adult Sunday school also began. The lesson ‘Spiritual Endurance’ was taught by Sister Helen Okolegba. The lesson was blessed and interactive. At the end of the adult Sunday school lesson, we had a beautiful vocal solo from Sis Tolu Ibukun titled, “Be Thou My Vision”. Once the Solo ended, people went on their knees in prayer till the Devotional service began at 11:45 am.

The devotional service began with a piano prelude from Sister Naomi Mfandarahwa. An orchestration followed this by the choir members. The Choir then sang “For thy goodness Oh my Saviour” before the children’s programme was done. We sang congregational songs from the Collected Gospel Songs before the prayer rendered by Brother Tunbosun Oyedokun. Brother Matthew Ibukun gave the announcement. This was followed by another piece by the choir, “On Jordan’s Stormy Banks”. Brother Matthew did the scripture reading from 1 Timothy 6:11-16, and then a special song, ‘Jesus hold my hand,’ was sung by Sister Dami Osifeso, Sister Tope Tunbosun and Brother Amala. Brother Mark Mfandarahwa gave the word of exhortation. The title was “Soldiers of Christ”. He took his text from 1 Timothy 6: 11-13. He admonished the congregation to join the army of Christ that fight the good fight of faith. We felt the presence of the Lord in our midst, and we were able to pray to our satisfaction. After church service, we all had a blessed time fellowshipping together. During this time, we took several photos, had some lunch, and then presented a welcome gift to Brother Mark and his family. The fellowship continued till 3 pm.

On Monday, 22 August, Brother Mark and his family, including Brother and Sister Ibukun and the Olukitibis, went to Drum Castle in Banchory, about 25 minutes from Aberdeen. We had a guided tour of the Castle. This was an enjoyable experience as we all learned about the history of those who owned Drum Castle. We learnt that the Bible was kept secure and safe for fear of persecution. After this, we had lunch and then returned to Aberdeen.

On Tuesday, 23 August, we had a quick tour of Aberdeen City centre. We also visited Aberdeen’s Art Gallery, which was a fun experience. After this, we went to the Ibukun’s home for lunch and at 2pm we started heading to the Aberdeen International Airport for their fight back to London at 4:05pm. Overall, it was a blessed time of fellowship with all the brethren in Scotland.