Amazing Part 3

Mary and Jean:
The team stayed with two sisters from the church. Both had recently become Christians and had many questions for us. We ofter stayed up into the early hours discussing topics of divorce, alcohol, and forgiveness. The foresight of the pastor in placing us with these ladies was amazing. By the end of the week we were calling them our Irish moms. Truly God brought Mary and Jean to us.

John and Bernadette Moore:
John wondered into the church one day with his daughter Bernadette. Jes jumped up quickly to talk with the pair and soon found herself in deep discussion. The man seemed to be hungering for God and later told the team he felt “compelled” to come there. He showed up later that night and this time we sat down to talk. He had many questions. The team had to move on to our next event, but Ilona, Jeremy, Jes, and I arranged to meet John later. He expressed appreciation to us many times saying, “No one ever comes to visit me,” and “No ones ever just listened to me.” During our visit different member of the team where able to share about God and forgiveness. John seemed to be haunted by his past and desperately wanted to believe in God. We hoped to meet up with him later in the week, but we seemed to always miss each other. Our last Sunday in town the four of us once again walked to John’s house to leave him a Bible. We had written notes of encouragement and had underlined passages that addressed the ares we had discussed. I’m still praying for John and I hope his soul one day finds the forgiveness he has been searching for.

Joy:
Pastor John's daughter was such a blessing to us throughout the week. She provided a clear voice in certain situation and encouraged the team greatly. I got this message from her this morning:

once again, thanks for being a blessing while u wer ova here. i know sometimes it doesnt seem like a lot but i strongly believe u guys have planted a good seed and i can see it growing and u never know what mighty trees will grow from your seeds.
i'm sure ure still doing the good work in ur own community.
(Galatians 6:9)
things have finally settled down here a little nd we're meeting up on saturday to plan the next step for the youth and one of the top things on our list is community service and support! will keep u posted as time goes on.
stay smiling...
Much luv & God bless!

There are so many more that impacted us. Our drivers Ed, Robert, and Janice. The youth at the church with there amazing spirits and soulful voices. Jean's son Luke and his friends. Too many to name.

Next installment will be a few more stories and the prayers God answered.

Amazing-Part 2

The first test:
The struggle started Saturday night at a schueduled prayer service. From 11:30p-1:00a, members of the church gather to pray. This is done commual (everyone at once) and in tougues. As many of our group, myself included, were not accustom to such styles, the service appear caotic and sometimes scary. A sence of uneasiness had settled over the entire team and many looks were exchanged during the service. At one point, a team member felt compelled to step out and we chatted on the steps about the verses on speaking in tougues.

After such an intense experience the team needed time to process, but suddenly we found ourselves being driven downtown. Earlier we had discussed partnering with some Canadian missionares in town to serve coffee and tea to thoes getting out of the pubs and clubs, but nothing had been finalized, until we found ourselves in the midst of it. We were able to start some conversations, but the whole night had made much of the team edgy. As I made conversation with thoes that were around, I was unawear that some members were feeling the imediate need to leave. Jes told me later that she wanted to get out of there and did not like me being so close to the youth that were out. Jeremy had one youth tell him numerous times that we should get his friends out of there. Strangly this echoed what another man said to me. We left with much tension and haste; Riley leading the way and Jeremy protecting the girls.

That night I had Jes fill me in on what everyone else was feeling. I felt comfortable being downtown, but apparently I was the only one. The whole night left us uneasy and we stayed up until 4a talking and praying.

The next morning, as a team we decided to call our leaders and ask for wisdom on the situation. They were able to meet with us and the meeting resolved on a positive note. They listened to our worries and gave us a new perspective. It was during this meeting that I realized how much like the body of Christ we were; so united.

So much for our first few hours in Cavan. Thankfully we had a day off on Monday.

Dublin: Say it to me now!
The team took the bus into Dublin for a day of relaxation and sight seeing. Here are some highlights:

Scene from the film Once

Dublin Castle

Love Wins

Let the work begin: So what did you do?
Our morning were spent doing a kid's club for the local community. The number were not large, but the attention was specialized. We taught a lesson, did a craft and sang songs. Waves of Mercy proved a crowd favorite. My specialties included leading the games, and tag teaming with Riley to teach the lessons. Jeremy played his guitar and Ilona, Erika, and Jes made sure the kids felt comfortable and included.

Lord I Life Your Name on High

Riley speaking on 'Does Jesus Really Care'
We used the story of Jesus sleeping in the midst of the storm.
His disciples might not have thought Jesus cared, but Jesus was always in control.
Jesus cares for you even when you don't think he's listening.

Jes taught the kids to make oragami boats.

Friday, I told the story of the paraletic man and Erika assisted with this visual aid.

Friday=Balloon Day

Two of my favorite children, Rachel and Chelsea.

After the lesson on Friday, Riley asked the kids if they had a Bible. When no said hey had, we were able to make sure every kid got one. They began to run to each of us and asked us to find the stories we had taught them that week. Later on Saturday as we played in a nearby park, one of the kids ran home to grad her new Bible. This is one of my favorite memories.

Friday night our team also hosted the youth group. Now I should preface this by saying the youth at Hosanna House are amazing. We had interacted with them throughout the week and their love of Jesus shines. We talked to them about making missions part of your life and not something you do in another country. We split the group into small groups and had them discuss practical ways they could serve, support, and share their story. I had the privilege of steering the discussion for the night and I truly feel that this is part of what I was created to do. I love to facilitate. Everyone seemed to have a great time. I know I did.

I passed out the stack of Love Wins stickers after the discussion

We also partnered with the Canadian missionaries for an event at the rugby club. We played capture the flag (I had a shining moment of victory!), sang songs, made balloon animals, and painted faces. It gave the kids in the community a chance to get out of the house in the summertime and have something to do.


There's still more to come on the people we met and those that touched our hearts. Also some thoughts on the prayers that were answered. Stay tuned.

Amazing-Part 1

Friends and family, thank you so very much for your prayers and support. I cannot fully express how amazing this experience has been. I felt fully alive, knowing this was what I was meant to be doing at this exact moment. I lived in community with a team, where we balanced each other and truly worked as the body of Christ. I experienced challenges and rewards. Overall, I felt that God had created me to be doing this work and I witnessed the work he is doing in Ireland.

Here's the first of an installment of posts on the trip:

Let's start at the beginning (Lacken House and Training):
OM purchesed this old B&B and this is where we had orientation, Tuesday-Friday. The guys stayed in the main house and the girls stayed in little cabins. They had turned the old stable block into a dining hall and meeting room.

There were about 50 participants and seven staff members. Throughout the week we got to know one another and prepared for the journey ahead. We had worship, teaching and workshops. All were excellent.

The main house and the Chalet.
We had our meetings in the closest door.
The whole gang.
I, Jes, and Anne were connected over Facebook before coming. My Dutch Boys, Leon and Pim. These guys cracked me up!

Here's my Team:
Let me introduce you to the amazing people I worked with. Our amazing guitar player Jeremy (USA). Fearless leader Riley (Canada). Our funny Dutch girl, Ilona (Holland). Kika (Erika, Brazil) our countious. My Jes (USA), the fellow photographer.

I cannot express what a blessing this team was. We became very close and I miss them terribly.
Back: Riley, Jeremy
Front: Jes, Ilona, Me, Erika

Through out the week we were given time to prepare for what we'd be doing with the churches we were partnering with. The other groups were getting detailed outlines and were able to then plan accordingly. Our outline had four items on it and had the words "Sketchy" at the bottom. Since we didn't really know what to plan for, we spent a lot of this time getting to know one another.

Cavan: Hosanna House
Our team was the first to head out on Friday. We partnered with a Nigerian, charismatic church in Cavan. This proved a challenge as many of our group had not grown up with this church background. However, the people were kind and their love for Jesus was evident.

Housanna House was above a convenience store.

Pastor John and his lovly daughter Joy.

African baby dedication our first Sunday.

I love this picture of Joy!

Ballyhaise: Home Away From Home
We stayed in Ballyhaise, 8km from Cavan. Jes and I stayed with Mary. Ilona and Erika stayed with her sister Jean. Riley and Jeremy stayed with Ed, our contact from the church. Mary and Jean had recently become Christians and Pastor John really prayed about who we should stay with. Part of the joy of this trip was talking with these two ladies. We were able to answer some of their questions and their hospitality to us was amazing. Early in our time there, the guys started staying at Mary's too. This made it nice to have everyone so close. The girls could walk to Mary's in the morning, where we would have team time.

Jean

Mary's House. Jes and I stayed in the top/far right room. The guys slept in the living room.

Team time.

Our first Saturday, after having been given no idication that the church planned on feeding us this day, we walked the 8km into Cavan for lunch. The team was all for it and we were able to bond a great deal on the two hour walk.

Riley led the way and Jeremy brought up the rear. This picture is a perfect illustration of the guys leadership on our team.

Team Awesome!

Saturday night was when the week started going, but that's a story for another day. Stay Tuned!

It is Finished

After 24 hours of traveling, I'm back in MI. More updates and pictures later, but for now, my bed is calling.

There's only a few mintues left on the hostel computer I'm using. I'm now in Edinburgh and besides a rather creepy encounter with an over efectionate older gentleman, my time here has been safe and fun.

I'm looking forward to returning to the States on Friday and can't wait to properly fill you in. The trip was awesome. The team of people I worked with were amazing and God did some amazing things. Thank you so much for the prayers. Please keep them coming.

I took tons of pictures and will have some up as soon as I can. I'm off to find some food for tonight and fuel up before a long day of hiking tomorrow. Love!

I'm here!

Hey friends and family. I can feel your prayers and am quite thankful. There may be a bit of an Irish flare to this post, as I think I've aquired an accent.

Ireland is great. I love it. I'm working some very wonderful people: Riley (Canada), Ilona (Holland), Erika (Brazil), Jes and Jeremy (US). We work amazingly well togther and truly are the image of the body of Christ. Today was our day off and we took the bus to Dublin and are currently in an internet cafe.

There have been some struggles here with the church we were placed into. After training in Roscommon, we were set up with a church in Cavan, to the north. The people are wonderful, but there are some questions about the church's doctrine. Some of our leaders were able to meet with us last night and the situtation is improving. Tomorrow, we'll be doing a lot of work with children and also partnering with a Canadian Missions team that is hear as well.

Hopefully I'll be able to add a little more some time soon, but for now I'm out. Please countinue to pray. Thanks!