the end is really the beginning

Today is the last day of debrief, and I'm sitting alone in the room where we've met for 3 days readjusting to being back in the States. It's strange to think that up until 3 days ago I had been in Ireland for two months. It's as if I dreamed the whole experience; it ended just as quickly as it began. 

Over these past few days, I've heard so many stories of funny and awkward experiences from all over the world, stories of how God moved, people coming to Christ, or struggling with the reality of sin. How do you put into words the fullness of all God did this summer? That's been my greatest struggle. I have stories, I have significant examples of God moving. But I feel that much of the significance of his work was in the little things that typically go unnoticed. My attempts to put into words the experience as a whole always seem to fall short, and in a sense, undermine the magnificence of it all. Suffice it to say then, that God moved. Simple, but the best way I can express this summer. God moved, just as he always does. I have been stretched, challenged, I have experienced an overwhelming love for a people, for individuals, that my heart has felt as if it were breaking, I have desired to share the full burden for a person that they would be free from the weight for even a moment, and I have learned to lean into the pain so that God could show me more of my sin and the extent to which I need Him to save me.

As for where to go from here, I don't know the plans He has for me, but I know that my purpose is simply to walk with God, and to be so sensitive to the Spirit that I will go wherever He leads me. This is the end of a summer; the end of a stage in my life. This is also the beginning of a life well lived for the glory of the Lord.

still kickin

Just a brief update for everyone. I know it's been awhile since the last one. Things are going very well here. It seems as though we've moved on from our month of sunshine and now we're welcoming a month of rain. It's been cold and wet for the past two weeks and I'm positive that this will be a continued trend for the rest of our time here. I'm not complaining though. I'm going to enjoy the cold while I have it because home will be HOT. 

This past week we had our Holiday Bible Club (vbs as we know it). It was so much fun. We had a different pace for that week then we normally do so the slow down was nice. Heather and I led worship. There is really something beautiful about the way children worship. They don't care who's watching, or how good the music is, or what they look like singing. They just enjoy themselves and belt out the words and jump and dance. It's really very humbling to think about how paranoid we are in worship as adults, so concentrated on ourselves that we can't focus on God. Children have no inhibitions. The children seemed to really enjoy it, and I did as well. It's refreshing to be able to just preach the gospel, to teach Jesus simply and straightforward.

This week it's back to the old schedule, and then next week we have soccer camp. Only 2 weeks until I'm home. It's pretty unreal, and I'm very excited to see my family and friends again. At the same time it's hard to think that my time here is almost over. My biggest fear is to focus my eyes on home too soon. I'm still here, and God's still working. He is always working. Please be praying for me to focus on the work that God has for me here, and for me to fix my eyes upon Jesus. If nothing else, just fix my eyes on him and the rest will follow. 

Tramore and Duncannon

These are some pictures from Tramore and Duncannon where we had the youth retreat and our team holiday. Enjoy!

 

Happy Sunday!

Good Morning! It's beautiful today...well actually it's cloudy but any day it doesn't rain is a beautiful one here in Ireland. I'm enjoying one of my favorites parts of this culture, tea! I don't think I've ever drank so much tea in my life but they've got something right with this tea culture so I'm thinking I'll carry it on back in the states, although I have no idea where I'm going to get biscuits for it (cookies, particular called Digestives although the name doesn't do them justice). 

Anyway, we got back from Duncannon yesterday. Last weekend we were in Tramore for a couple days of camping with the students. It was such a fun trip! I wish I would have gotten pictures from during the day, but we were in the water so I couldn't bring my camera. We signed up with this outdoor adventure place, and they took us coast steering...I think that's what he called it. We got suited up in wetsuits and pfd's and helmets, and then we went through a series of cliff jumps along the rocky coast. It was the most amazing water. Aside from the biting cold (we could see our breath as soon as we got into the water) it was quite beautiful. The water is crystal clear, and the guide was so surprised how smooth the water was that day. He told us we were so lucky because the water never looked that good. Our highest jump was a 25 ft cliff. Most of the students had never done anything like that before...the screams were priceless. Everyone had so much fun and it was a great way to get to talk and hang out with the students. We also repelled off Duncannon Fort in the afternoon. Also fun (I got to be the example and go first) but the best part was the cliff jumping for sure. 

Some of us led devotionals in the morning and evening, and we had some great worship time and late into the night some great conversations with some of the students. I realized just how perfectly designed by God this trip was. The group dynamic couldn't have been better. No one had their best friend there to cling to, and they were freed up to focus on God and just maybe...cling to Him. 

The students drove back to Kilkenny on Tuesday, but we drove out to Duncannon for the remainder of the week. Ande took us out to some sweet spots over looking the beach and did some prayer exercises with us, and we got some time to get alone with God and really seek him. I needed that more than anything. My favorite part was being able to enjoy the work of God's hands. I can't imagine a more beautiful picture than some of the places we've seen here. I felt inadequate in my ability to fully appreciate creation. It was as if my eyes couldn't take in enough, and my senses strained as they were, couldn't fully absorb all that surrounded me. It made me sad to know that I'm not just limited in strength, faith, mind, and any number of other things, but even in my ability to simply enjoy. What's even crazier is that this is what fallen creation looks like. I can't imagine how beautiful it will be when it is restored. 

Anyway, it was a great week, but I'm glad to be back and to get started on more work. I will post some pictures from the trip later.

God Bless!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

The Comeragh Mountains

video update from our hike in the Comeragh Mountains about and hour from Kilkenny. This is at the top of the mountain...

holiday's a comin'!

So I thought I'd change it up a little and stray from the day by day update. We did the usual this week. Keep Kilkenny Beautiful (litter picking), Bible Studies, but no door to door since Tom went on holiday. Caleb and I got to go to a sports day at the primary school this week instead of toddler group. It was a lot of fun, basically the same thing as field day for us. 

The Rock Bible study went well this week. I did the lesson on Mark 5, Jesus heals the demon-possessed man. We're continuing on with the shocking stories of Jesus series and it seems to be going well. I think the biggest struggle is showing them Jesus' character, and giving them a true picture of who he is. I keep praying that God uses us this summer with these kids. That we would be an encouragement to those who believe and are few, and that we would be a light to those who don't believe, and those who are seeking. It is freeing to know that it is in God's control though, that we play a small role in the bigger picture of all this. 

I won't say that it's easy being here. In all fairness, we were warned at prefield training that this summer would suck. Ha well I can certainly say that this summer doesn't suck but it's been difficult adjusting. With all that we have going on I'm finding myself more spread thin than ever. It's as if we come to these things with this idea that we have everything under control and well handled; for some reason we convince ourselves that we've got it, whatever that "it" may be. But the more tired I get the more I realize just how much I have to rely on the Lord for strength. It's also hard to find time to get alone with God. The Bible studies are great, but I realize just how important it is to have that time to myself with the Lord, and there isn't much time for that. I'm having to learn to be content despite the circumstances. I'm reminding myself that I'm here for these people, that ultimately it's not about me. If I can just keep my eyes fixed on God, I think I'll be in a good place. Thank God that I'm not in control and that He has it all figured out!

Thankfully, the end of this week we will be accompanying the youth on their retreat, and afterward we will go on our holiday! WOOT! It will be a chance for some much needed rest. 

another week in Ireland

Tuesday June 9, 2009

 

Assembly day! We got up extra early to make it to the school, which was about a 30 min walk. It went well. The kids that were acting out the lesson were early to practice as well. It was brilliant! We only intended for them to silently act out the raising of Lazarus as Caleb narrated it during his lesson, but to our surprise they had turned it into a whole production with lines from the Scriptures and all. They were fantastic! Martha had her lines down for sure. They all enjoyed it. David was there to introduce us, and the kids were really excited to see the Americans (we got lots of high fives that day as we walked by them arriving and leaving). I led worship, and we taught them “waves of mercy, waves of grace” with the hand actions and all. Side note: apparently the proper thing to say in Ireland is “actions” not “motions”. I was informed to say hand actions instead of motions but no one told me why. So the kids had a good craic when I said that Suzanne and Emily would be teaching the “hand motions...I mean actions” to the song. What I actually told them was they would be teaching them the “hand poops”  to the song. Go me.

 

So other than that we got them jumping up and down by the end of the song and then they settled down for the skit, preceded by Caleb’s lesson, Matthew’s prayer, another song led by me, and the Dean’s speech. It had some rough spots which we thoroughly enjoyed watching later because Ande recorded the whole thing, but overall it wasn’t too bad.

 

After Assembly we headed to the church for Toddler group and I got to watch over the coloring table to make sure none of the kids ate the crayons. One girl tried several times. She started getting sneaky and trying to smuggle them off when I wasn’t looking but I caught her before she could get a decent chunk off of it. Another kid ran off with the entire tin of crayons so I had to run across the room after him. They’re sneaky little buggers these toddlers!

 

After lunch we walked back to the church to do some yard work. It was a beautiful day! Cool and breezy with just enough sun. So we pulled weeds. Woot! It was fun we will be doing more if that this summer to provide some extra hands to keep the church looking nice and the gardens well manicured.

 

Caleb and I rocked another dinner that night, making banana pancakes and listening to Jack Johnson. We seem to have a music theme to each dinner which makes it more fun. I cooked up the pancakes while Caleb worked on the eggs and bacon, or rashers here, and I cut up the fruit salad. Yum!

 

That night we had our girl sleepover at the church. It went so well! We had fun playing games and hanging out, and we had everyone write a question on a piece of paper and drop it into a box in the middle of the circle, and Emily, Suzy, Heather and I would answer them. God really opened up some hearts here and we were able to answer their questions from a Christian perspective. Some of these girls aren’t Christians, and a few of them are but need someone to disciple them and help them grow closer amidst a pressing crowd of nonbelievers. They really opened up that night and God gave us words for them. I really had to rely on him for the answers they needed, and I realized just how much my life experiences allowed me to connect with these girls who are struggling with the same temptations and situations that I experienced. What an amazing God! He is doing immeasurably more than we can imagine!

 

Wednesday June 10, 2009

 

Started the day with team devotional, followed by our staff meeting at the church. Got things rolling with the weekly schedule and some things sorted with who on our team will be doing what this week. We’ve divided our days into thirds to help keep track of what we have going on each day a little better. It also makes planning time to walk to where we need to be easier. Ande has also begun rotating one of us out of a third of the day a couple days a week to keep us from running ourselves ragged. I was rotated out of the middle third today which meant I missed the Keep Kilkenny Clean litter pickup. The rest of the team went and apparently there was an article about it in the paper which meant good publicity for the church. I hope God uses that for good. Emily and Suzanne got the evening third off and the rest of us went to the Midweek Bible study at the church. We very much appreciated the breaks because we were exhausted from the sleepover Tuesday night.

 

We ended the day with our “Symposium”, as Matthew has named it, which is funny because there are girls, which goes against what a symposium would be. This is our weekly vent/breakdown meeting to recollect ourselves as a team and figure out where everyone is and how they’re doing. It went well despite our exhaustion and no one is at each others throats yet, but I can definitely say that we are entering into a storming stage of our summer team-wise. Everyone is tired and the masks are coming off to reveal the true person underneath, and as a result things that were looked over and tolerable are beginning to rub people the wrong way.

 

Thursday June 11, 2009

 

Morning devotional again. We’ve begun going through an article on the gospel, which basically breaks it down in detail. It will help us in being able to articulate it better to people we meet. There are so many things within Christianity, which have become words which are commonly used, but never fully articulated. So as a result we freeze when asked what it is because the truth is that we don’t really know, and it becomes difficult to even articulate the basic idea behind it. I’m glad we’re going through this in our group devotional time.

 

It was a much more relaxing day today. I felt like we could pick our heads up for a breath. The morning we spent hanging out and tossing around different things we had found in our Bible readings, and just talking, while Caleb and Matthew prepared their lesson for the Rock Bible study. The lesson was on Jesus cleansing the temple, which went very well. Some new faces were there as they’ve been finishing exams. Discussion was slow at the start but once it got going it was good, and they were able to apply it to the Rock and how they could use it to spread the gospel to the teens that came. The series we are doing is one shocking stories about Jesus, and trying to reveal parts of his character that they don’t ever hear about.

 

Then we got the evening off. Yay! So we were able to rest for a bit.

 

Friday June 12, 2009

 

Staff meeting again, and in the afternoon we went with Tom to do more door to door evangelism. He took the rest of the team one by one, while Caleb and I went together in a different part of the neighborhood. It’s more like an apartment complex, but they’re essentially townhomes. Anyway, the nerves went away after the third door and we got into a groove. People are very friendly for the most part, and there were a lot of people who kindly said they weren’t interested, but we did have a few good conversations with some people about the gospel. Matthew and Suzanne went together while Emily was with Tom, and they got invited into someone’s house, which was a big deal. Apparently he had been thinking about it for a couple years and had a lot of questions about Jesus and asked if everyone was welcome at our church or if he would be looked at strangely if he decided to come.

 

That night we went to the Rock for the first time. It was a smaller crowd then they normally have, but it was fun. They have a great thing going there and such a great opportunity to witness to the teens in Kilkenny. The fact that they are coming to hang out instead of go out drinking is a big deal, which means God is already at work. It will be fun to be a part of it this summer.

 

Saturday June 13, 2009

 

Started the day off with the prayer meeting. Ande led it because David is out of town for a couple days due to some meetings, as well as visiting family up north because his uncle passed away. He said that most of his family are not believers, so we are praying for him, and hope that God will use this as a way for David to turn some of his family toward the Lord.

 

We had coffee with the ladies again at this great café. Great coffee and warm scones with fresh jam and cream. Brilliant!

 

Keep Kilkenny Clean was today again, and we start each day by determining what the point items will be. This round it was one point for a mars bar wrapper, and one point per item of clothing. I found two mars bars wrappers, a shirt, a glove, and a dead cat and dead bird which didn’t count for points but definitely went up there with most interesting find of the day. It was a good sweep and a feeling of accomplishment. Tomorrow we have church and lunch and then Dee is taking us to Wicklow! 

First week in Ireland

Tuesday June 2, 2009

 

In the morning we helped out with toddler group. This was a lot of fun and a great opportunity for us to meet some of the women in the church, as well as those who aren’t members but come to bring their children anyway. Not all of the women that come are even Christians, but it’s a place to connect with other women, and certainly a safe place to bring the kids. The team and I were able to interact with the children, and get acquainted with the women…basically just start a foundation for building some relationships and being their to serve the church and watch the little ones so the moms could relax and have fellowship for a few hours. It doesn’t seem like much but as a mother a few hours break must be a great relief. We helped serve tea and coffee (with biscuits of course) and clean up after.

 

We then got to do our big grocery shop (a proper shop as they would call it) and get our staples as well as food that we needed specifically for dinner. We managed to work out a system where we prepare dinner on designated nights in pairs. Caleb and I have Tuesday, so we went for the down-home cooking approach and did a pair of roast chickens, broccoli with cheese, mashed potatoes, corn, and rolls. YUM! It turned out great and was a hit with the team, but we had a little difficulty figuring out the temperature conversions into Celsius as well as what the symbols meant on the European oven. No worries we got it all figured out.

 

After dinner, we were invited by Heather to play badminton at the church with a few of the members (which is a weekly event on Tuesdays) and met a few more faces. Not all of us went but I was glad I decided to go. My serve needs work but I caught on well enough, since I’ve never played before.  Very fun game I recommend it to everyone.

 

Wednesday June 3, 2009

 

Had our first devotional this morning. Ande is such a gifted teacher. We went over Psalm 19 and Isaiah 55:6-12, and it was very encouraging for us in being reminded that God’s law is perfect, that his Word does go out with purpose and it does not return empty and his ways are higher than our ways. So often I strive to do things according to my plan and my way, and the result is failure because I am selfish in my efforts to be in control of it. But it is so freeing to know that God is in control and while I may be disappointed when I don’t see fruit, or when things don’t go according to my plan, I am reassured that God’s will is being fulfilled and fruit will come according to his timing and purpose. I don’t have to see it to know He is working. My plan will always fail, but God’s plan never fails. How amazing is that? What great news to be freed from having to be in control, and to simply serve!

 

After devotional we walked to the church to meet with David and Heather for our first official staff meeting. They gave us an outline for the coming week and David was gracious enough to cover a bit of Ireland’s history. This gave us all a much stronger understanding of how the culture developed into what it is today.

 

Once the staff meeting ended, we grabbed a quick lunch and headed to Kilkenny castle to hang out with some youth from the church. Not a big group, but they’re hungry for fellowship and for something more than what this world has to offer and it’s a great place to be. Hannah, David’s daughter has such a beautiful relationship with Christ! It’s very encouraging to the other teens as well for her to have such a strong walk and steadfast faith in our Savior. Anyway, we introduced them to a little American football, and had a great game of touch football going. Then they taught us how to throw the football like a rugby ball, and we have been promised to be taught how to play hurling!

 

We met some older teens while we were there, who were intrigued by our football game and chatted with them for a while. We asked them questions and got to know them some, and they were really curious about our Americanness. Ha they had a lot of questions for us also. I love how God provides opportunities like that. We told them about what we were doing here a little and invited them to the church and to the rock (a teen gathering put on in the city to keep them out of them bars or from dodgy activity) and headed back for dinner.

 

After dinner we headed back to the church for midweek Bible study and met even more members of the congregation. We prayed over several things and people and then headed home for some well earned shut eye. Great Day!

 

Thursday June 4, 2009

 

Another devotional today. Went over Philippians 2, talked about the humility of Christ and what it means to really humble ourselves, to be “foot washers” and follow Christ’s example. “…but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” (Phil 2:3) I pray that God would continue to humble me daily so that I am able to serve in the way He has called me to serve, and love these people in a manner that shines His light and glorifies Him.

 

This afternoon we had Bible study with the teens from the Rock committee and got them to play a great game called pantyhose gladiators. I’ll post a video when I get a chance but it really is a hoot! Then Ande went over Luke 7:36-49 where Jesus forgives the sinful woman who washes his feet with her tears. It went over really well with them and some of them made great observations. We are starting a series on shocking stories about Jesus with them this summer that we will rotate teaching within the team. Our hope is to show them just how exciting and surprising he was and is.

 

We ate dinner with them after and hung around for a bit and I helped Heather clean while the team played with the kids for a while outside. Then back home to regroup and a quick trip to Dunnes for groceries. Kelli enjoyed getting out of the house. I hope we will be able to make it easier on her and give her as many breaks as we can. It’s hard to have to watch a baby all the time so we try to help with Owen as much as possible. She has such a great heart and tons of patience!

 

Last item of the day was organizing a lesson for a local primary school over the “I Am’s” to show David in the morning. We’ll be going over “I Am the Resurrection and the Life” when Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. Caleb is teaching and narrating the skit for the kids, Matthew is praying, I’m leading worship with help from Suzy, and both Emily and Suzy will be reading the passage. It should be fun! We’ll be doing this next week so I hope all goes well and God blesses it. Heather

 

 

Friday June 5, 2009

 

Another staff meeting this morning. It went well and we talked about our plans for the Assembly among other things.

 

Then we had our first evangelism training session with Tom. Met at two and he talked us through some things for a little while. Then it was out to the streets. Only Caleb and I went this first time, and the rest of the group will go with him next week while Caleb and I team up and go solo (i.e. no Tom). My heart was pounding walking up to those doors. It was entirely unnatural for me and really intimidating. The people are quite friendly for the most part but the whole idea of walking up to a stranger’s house and trying to strike up a conversation about the gospel is very nerve-racking/uncomfortable/scary/fill in the blank. It was also very humbling to find how ill-equipped I really am. The Lord absolutely has to be there! If I’m going to get more than two words out it’s going to be from the Lord because all words were lost from me once that door opened. Tom did all the talking I felt ridiculous! He was great though. Very gentle and humble. What a great man of God!

 

So after the evangelism experience we grabbed dinner and then had to walk back to the church for youth Bible study. We played some games and worshipped some, then Jerry spoke on the prodigal son. After the lesson was over, I gave my testimony (Heather had asked me to earlier) and then they were free to ask questions (which no one did). Haha it felt awkward but later the girls came and talked to me alone and said they really enjoyed it and didn’t have any questions because I covered everything and didn’t leave anything hazy or unclear. So it was very encouraging and they’ve opened up to me a lot since then.

 

Saturday June 6, 2009

 

Prayer meeting this morning! We met bright and early at the church at 8:30 am. After we finished the girls and I went for coffee with Heather and Valerie at this little coffee bar by the Eurospar (local grocery store 5 min walk from our house). It was my first cup of non-instant coffee since getting to Ireland and it was like giving my tongue a sleigh ride! They’re big on instant coffee here so you basically have to go to a coffee bar to get the good stuff. It’s quite tragic but they do have great coffee when you’re able to get it!

 

It rained all day today. Our first Irish rain! The temperature was in the 40’s so we were very cold. We were supposed to pick up rubbish around the city for the “keep Kilkenny clean” project but had to cancel it due to the rain. The paper is writing a story on us too! They’re apparently going to talk about what we’re here for as well, being here with MTW and such to help out Kilkenny Presbyterian Church. So since it was cancelled we went and hung out with the Youth at the church and played badminton and got a little singing in too! It was fun spending time with them. They really are a great group of kids.

 

Oh yea! Almost forgot we also had band practice today because Suzy and I are singing Sunday morning and Matthew is playing his viola. It went very well. We’ll be singing both morning and evening services.

 

Sunday June 7, 2009

 

Sunday service this morning went very well. Suzy and I sang and then headed off to help with the Sunday school classes. Matthew stayed and played the offertory and also lead the Intercessory prayer. I hear it went well.

 

Sunday school was fun. I had the 5-6 year olds. One of the boys is ADHD. He is quite a handful, but really cute. I had to try to fight back laughter at the things he was doing today and remember to make sure he paid attention. He also lost a tooth today, which excited the whole class. We got to color pictures! Such fun I love that age.

 

Lunch after church, we split up into pairs and ate with families from the church in their homes. Matt and I were together. We went on a long walk after eating with Heather (different Heather than one mentioned previously) and her daughter Sarah. They took us along this trail that followed the river, which lead to a field covered with wild flowers, and horses randomly wandering through it. Men were fishing in the river and there were many people walking their dogs along it. It was so beautiful! The weather was spectacular today too. Around the 50’s and partly cloudy. Just enough sun to warm you up when you started to get a chill. 

 

Then we met back at the church for evening service, where we sang again, and had tea afterward. Tomorrow is our day off, so we had a girls night watching Gilmore Girls (not that I’m necessarily a fan) but the fellowship was very enjoyable. I was just happy to spend some time with them all. 

Kilkenny at last!

So the flight to Dublin was 7 hours long. We had a delay taking of of about 30 min, maybe longer, but God willing we finally made it off the runway. I had the pleasure of sitting next to a couple and their adorable 1 year old son. Then I had an even greater pleasure of moving to a different seat across from them so they had room and so did I. He really was cute, but he did NOT like flying. I was so thankful for in-ear headphones that flight because he cried for a large portion of it. Sleeping did not happen either, to much dismay.

We made it safely to Ireland, and got to follow the sunrise as we neared the coast. We were welcomed by warm, sunny weather. We were also informed that this is entirely not typical weather for them and to expect cold and rain this coming week. Needless to say everyone, including us. is making the most of the sunshine. We passed quickly through customs at the airport, all of our luggage made it there too (Praise the Lord!) and waited until Alex was picked up by Alan and Ruth Boal, the Pastor at Abbey Presbyterian Church in Dublin and the team and I caught a bus (a double decker! so much fun!) to the train station which we took to Kilkenny. That was one of the most exciting things I've done! People just piled onto the train. You grabbed a seat where you could find one and hoped there was room for your bags where it was designated to put them. Those who couldn't find seats stood in the areas between cars or opted to sit or lay in the aisle. Our car in particular hosted a "Hen Party" or bachelorette party in the back which was SO loud. They were wasted at noon! Caleb and I sat with a grandmother and her 14 yr old grandson, while Emily sat across from us with an elderly couple and their friend. We started a conversation with the grandmother and grandson which was very informative to some of Ireland's history and current economic and political status (which is not good btw). Her grandson was great! He kept offering us candy and let Caleb play his Nintendo DS, and his grandmother was so sweet!

Getting off the train, we grabbed our bags and met David Moore, the pastor of our church and then I realized in a panic that I had forgotten my backpack on the train! I dashed through the sliding doors as they were closing (which apparently don't open if you move too fast because they almost closed on me) and jumped on the train just in time to grab it and jump off. Whew! So I still have all my bags and all is well. The first day there we were absolutely exhausted. By the time we went to bed we had been up 35 some odd hours straight and couldn't keeps our heads up. We did meet Ande and Kelly who are absolutley wonderful and hung with them for a bit, but sleep was a must so we headed to bed as early as possible.

Our houses are amazing! They are such a blessing from God to be able to use them. They both belong to members of the church who have given them for our use for the summer. The 3 of us girls are staying with Dee in her lovely home and we walk every day to the house in Beech Lawn to meet the guys and then walk to the town or wherever it is we need to be. We haven't gotten to do any work yet which has been nice for adjusting to the time difference and getting familiar with navigating the city. Matthew and I are the main navigators and the others just kind of follow for now but eventually we'll all catch on. We went to our first sunday service also. It starts at 11:30 am, which is so late, and it's the only morning service as well. By the way, I woke up for whatever reason at 5:50ish and it was bright enough to be considered noon! Also, it doesn't get dark until 10 pm or later! After the service we had lunch with David and his family in their home. The food was fantastic. We were introduced to hurling, as well as advised to see a match while we are here. Also, gaelic football was another game we were told to see while here. So far we've mostly walked around the city and explored. This morning we went for a run through the town to Kilkenny Castle where there is huge park with trails and a great lawn to play in. Hands down, the SOFTEST grass I have EVER set my feet on. It is unbelievable. We have to have the worst grass known to man in Texas, but this was heaven for my soles. The weather has been so beautiful these past few days! It's almost cloudless, with temperatures in the 70's, and there's always a breeze. All the Irish are sunburned...ALL of them. Today we walked through the city and young boys were jumping off the bridge into the river. It won't last long but God has blessed us with this weather so we've been enjoying it to the fullest.

That just about sums it up. I'm sure I'm forgetting something but it's hard to remember it all when there's are so many things happening. Til next time, go with God!

Pre-field Training

Well I made it safely to Kilkenny, and this is the first update. There's a lot to update on so this may be a long post...bear with me there's a lot to cover. 

We'll start with pre-field training. The flight to Atlanta was short and uneventful. Found my baggage with no problems, then had to ask how to get to where I was supposed to meet the bus to get to Ridgehaven after having a go of it for 5 minutes with little success. Found some people outside who were also waiting....waited with them for 3 hours without sight of our bus, went inside when it started raining to a lobby of missionary interns...awesome. Then came the 3 hour bus ride to Ridgehaven which was well up in the mountains. I have to give props to our bus driver who pwned those sketch roads that wound up the mountain. Anyway, North Carolina was beautiful and the mountains were fantastic ( I might move there). As for pre-field training, they went over everything, adjusting to culture shock, recognizing the symptoms, dealing with conflict, creating and maintaining unity within the team, traveling illnesses and how to treat and prevent them, as well as handling our finances and various team building exercises. It was exciting meeting all the interns! There were people going to Japan, Thailand, Belgium, Kenya, West Africa, Mexico (Acapulco and Monterrey), Sweden, Ecuador, Greece, Slovakia, India, and the Ukraine. God is working in so many places it's amazing!

So among the team-building exercises were a high and low ropes course (we were at a camp you knew this was coming). High ropes weren't a big deal we went through it one by one...now low ropes on the other hand were and event to behold. We started having to climb over a 10-12 ft wall. The deal was everyone had to go over, only two people could be on top at a time and once someone went down from the top they couldn't come back up, and once over the wall they couldn't assist with getting the remaining team members up. First attempt, Caleb and I went up first and helped pull the others up leaving Matthew last. Our strategy was to hang me over the side and he would run and jump for my hands which didn't work, then he decided it would work better if he took his shirt off and I held it for him to grab and use for better grip. This didn't work either. The last attempt ended with him running full sprint, slipping in the mud and face planting right into the wall. I almost peed my pants from laughing so hard. 

Another part was swinging across a series of tire swings. Some of us made it across ok. Then Emily tried and when reaching for the rope to the next swing lost grip and crashed to the ground. She ate it the most times during the entire course, and it was decided she was the toughest person on our team. She took the falls like a champ and tried again. Stinkin sweet!

Friday morning we rose early, packed everything up and headed back to Atlanta to catch our flights! Check-in went smoothly, for the most part, and then it was just waiting. I managed to get all my debit card issues handled while I still had a phone and say my goodbyes and 3 hours later was in New York. We ended up waiting about 20-30 min until boarding and settled in for the long haul to Dublin!!! 

6 days!

I leave in 6 days! It's coming so fast and I still have so much to do before I go. We just moved into our new house in Huntsville, from which I moved things out of and to my parents for the summer to make room for my sub-leaser. Among other things I get my immunizations tomorrow morning...yay shots! Thankfully it's only one quick one, although I really have no problem getting shots at all. It's hard keeping track of everything I need to do or get, so I've taken to making to do lists and marking things off as I go, hoping that I have written down everything I need to do on the list itself. I'm so ready to be on that plane!

Also, I made my support budget! I have the best supporters for this trip ever! Thank you so much to everyone who has given. I am so excited that you want to be a part of what the Lord is going to be doing in Ireland this summer through my team and me, and so pleased for the blessings you will receive for giving as well.

It never ceases to astound and amaze me when God moves. I was talking with a friend the other day, and it occurred to me that most of the time blessings come from the most unexpected places. What we expect from a worldly standpoint is not, but God blesses us from what we instead see as unacceptable or consider as the unexpected. The support that I have received both prayfully and financially is amazing to me. What the world sees as unacceptable, God makes acceptable! I know that there is no limit to what God is capable of doing. What is supernatural to us is natural, or normal for Him. Yet, I never want to get to the point where I am not amazed when God does something extraordinary! I know that He is capable of anything and everything, but when He moves, I want to be in awe of Him. That has been one of the best things in raising support for this trip, and I expect, one of the great things I will have a chance to witness over the summer.

Thanks again to all my supporters! God Bless!

Almost There!

17 days and counting! With school over now missions preparations are in full swing - creating packing lists, checking the packing list, getting immunizations, and of course...still raising support! The deadline is May 15th (stretching it til May 18th) for raising the full amount and I still need about $1800. However, I did get my plane ticket! It feels almost real now, although it won't officially sink in until I'm on my way to the airport I suppose. Please continue to pray over this! Your support is very much appreciated!

slight redirection

Well there's been a slight change as far as the mission trip goes. I talked to my internship coach and she informed me today that the missionaries in Dublin, have decided to not do the mentor program anymore, or at least for this summer. Not to worry though! I am still going to Ireland, but the team will be redirected to Kilkenny, Ireland. The leader for the mentor program in Dublin will be moving to Kilkenny so we will follow suit. Pray for Barbara, my coach as she tries to sort through the changes and reconfirm that all the team members want to go. Pray also that the Lord moves in the hearts of the remaining team members to still pursue His good will and purpose and serve with those of us who have already confirmed with Barbara our desire to continue on. This is merely a speed bump.

On another note, I have recieved further financial support for my trip which puts me at $4300 so far! God is so good! I dont know the change in the budget yet but I will update that as soon as I know what it is.

God Bless!

Support Update

As of now I have $4150.00 in my support account. That means I still need to raise roughly $2850.00 of support for my mission. Thank everyone so far who has given money, and please continue to pray that I will raise the amount I need in time, and that God would keep the door open for me to go. Most importantly, pray that it is His will that is carried out. 

Thank you again for all the support! 

originality

This semester has seemed to slip by so quickly, and I've been so busy I've just now stopped to realize that it's almost over. God has really been speaking to me as of late, which is always a good thing, so I thought I'd share a little bit of it.

As most of you know, I am an art major. I spend a lot of time creating things and working with my hands. God has gifted me with a vivid imagination and the talents to express it, yet I came to the funny realization that I am not original. I am unique, yes; in comparison to every other human being who has been, or is, or will be in existence before, now, and after me I am the only one like myself. My personality, my physical characteristics, my thoughts are uniquely my own, BUT still I am not original. All that I am both internally and externally, all that is produced by me and flows from me is not original to myself. I am not my own original idea or creation; I am God's original creation, and my every thought, idea, action, creation was first and foremost thought and breathed out by God. He is the only original. Which, when viewed that way makes me in all reality nothing more than a copycat, a follower.

The scriptures say in Gen. 1:1, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."
In the beginning God created...
In the beginning God...
This is reiterated in the New Testament in John 1, saying "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made."

Without him was not anything made that was made. So nothing could be created by our hands without first God having created us by his. Therefore all that is created by our hands or thought by our minds is done because "in the beginning God"; because first God, then us; because God acted and we reacted. We reacted. We did it over, we copied it, we followed his direction.

I've noticed that there is a reason that in the Bible, we are referred to as sheep. Because like sheep we will follow anything that catches our attention, anything that seeks opportunity to lead us, and the devil is all too eager to step in and be that leader. However, rest assured he will lead us astray. He wants nothing more than to direct our focus away from God, to separate us from Him. But God is our shepherd and he is faithful. We are like sheep because he made us that way, after all, so that we would die to ourselves and follow HIM.

This whole realization is humbling as an artist, to know that nothing I create is truly my own. Yet at the same time it frees me to simply enjoy being his creation, and allow the work of my hands to bring glory to him who created me. Essentially God is bringing glory to himself through what he has already created anyway.

new semester

This has been the first week of Spring semester and for once I can say it has been awesome! Everything feels different than it has in the past, and I know without a doubt it has everything to do with the Lord. He's showed me some amazing things this week. 

Monday I was in sociology, and we had a man from the reading center come in and speak about proper studying techniques, etc, etc. At the end of his presentation he held up the syllabus and told us that it would be the most important thing we would read for each class. He called it our "Bible" for the course. That made me think, it's a fairly common thing that we do. But, there is something to be said about the Bible, that universally it is understood as a book of such importance and value, that we compare other documents to it in order to place emphasis on their importance to a certain subject. 

Next class, math, same day my professor was in the middle of teaching and went on a tangent to explain that he is from Sri Lanka, and has been teaching for 10 years. He said he makes it a point to renew his material and update his teaching every year, which is good. He asked whether he would still be considered a 10 year professor had he not done this, immediately responding, no. He would be a one year professor because he would never have renewed his material, the knowledge would not be up to date. Stinkin' sweet! Relate that same story to our spiritual walks. If we were to never seek his word, never pray, never talk about him to others, our knowledge of him would be limited. We should all seek to know more of him, and allow him to be new to us everyday. Were we to not do this our relationship, our walk with him would suffer greatly! Think of it this way, if you were to never feed a child, would it grow? No, it would slowly die of starvation. In the same sense if we are never fed by His Word, our spiritual lives, like the starved child, would starve, and eventually die altogether. We are warned against being idle. A stagnant pond can yield no life. Neither can an idle faith.

Next day: In philosophy (already a promising course) the same man from the reading center came in to speak...on the same thing. However he made some points that I didn't pick up on last time. One was that if we aren't reading to learn every time we pick up a book, why are we reading? Good point. While there's certainly nothing wrong with reading for fun, when we are reading the Bible, or some sort of theology, religious, Christian book, and really if you think about it, this should apply to any book, regardless of subject, why are we reading it? What's the point if we do not approach each reading with the intent of learning something we hadn't known before, especially when it's about our Lord. 

In addition, learning is a social skill: being able to converse intellectually, or fellowship, in our Bible studies, small groups, community groups - take advantage of the people around you. Bounce ideas off one another, openly discuss things you've been chewing on for awhile. And lastly, why do we learn? We learn so that we can share that knowledge with others. This is important! As Christians, we can't keep to ourselves what the Lord reveals to us. Share it! 2 Timothy 2:2 states "What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to faithful men that will be able to teach others also." Here's the cool part, God reveals himself to us in more than one way, at all times. Whether by natural revelation or special (the Scriptures) revelation. But, he speaks to us in whispers. It's a slight nudging to notice him. Oh that we would all have the eyes to see and the ears to hear. The point is, however he chooses to speak to us, chances are, it's not meant solely for the individual. Do not be selfish with the knowledge of the Lord, because it is not meant to be kept a secret, and it is certainly not meant for one person. "What you have heard from me...entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also."

God is so good. He will teach us so much, but he always makes sure we don't fluff ourselves up so much that we get prideful. He loves us too much to see us become a Pharisee. After learning all this, I locked my keys in my car and was quickly reminded I'm not in control...He is. He loves me enough to keep me humble. 

support letter

I finally finished my support letter! Let me tell you those things are no easy task, but in all honesty I guess this is just the first draft. I want to run it by Pastor Clay and get his opinion on it and see if he has any advice on how I could make it better. Never the less, it feels great to at least have it written out.