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!