A Jump Across the Sea

Xpresso Arts Festival 2009!!!

2009-07-19T10:58:00.001-07:00

2009-07-05T10:26:00.000-07:00

We have been working with inner city kids a lot this week. I would be lying if I said it was easy, it's one of the hardest things I have done. These children aren't as easy to get to know, they've built up walls of aggression and toughness. They don't seem to trust anybody and like to test you. I think I have been called every name under the sun this week from kids as young as four years old! The first days were hard but as we continued to get to know these kids, they slowly began to warm up. No one ever gives them the time of day and they just

need to know that we are going to be there, we aren't going to leave them. They're out for the summer and most of them are left to roam the streets and do as they please. At one of the community centers we volunteer with we started out with about 12 kids. At theses centers the children can come and go as they please so they aren't forced to stay anywhere. By the third day we had been working with them thirty children showed up and most of them stayed the entire time we were there! This was amazing and inspiring to see. They may put up fronts and may challenge you but these children want to be loved like any other. The kids were even staying to help us clean up and requesting us to come back as soon as possible.

We went for a picnic yesterday with some friends for the fourth of July at Phoenix Park. We were just enjoying the day and next thing you know a group of kids come up to us, first they tried to grab a friend's camera and then they just stood looming over us. They asked the guys who were with us to fight and had a very tough exterior. They proceeded to steal our ball and run off with it. At one point one of the boys, David, had stolen our mini American flag we had with us. He then came back and returned the flag and proceeded to spit on the flag. We did not give them any negative attention and tried to act like none of their actions were really effecting us. After he spit on the flag he realized what he had done and turned back around smoothed the flag on our blanket and said he was sorry. Throughout the afternoon they continued to come up to us and some even stayed and began to ask about America. By the end of the afternoon we had gotten to know two of the boys, they brought our ball back and even wanted to play volleyball with us! This may seem simple but to me it speaks volumes. It's amazing how children respond when you give them respect they are looking for, acknowledgment. It may be hard at first but patience is the key.

God has really been working in my heart and I have really grown to love the inner city kids of Dublin. I am not sure where God is leading me.. Possibly teaching... Possibly more ministry but I am soooo thankful to have a God who displays his Love for me daily, who shows me where he wants me to walk, who cares for my heart with deep affection. He is like no other.

Also, I may have the opportunity to stay in Dublin for a year under the Presbyterian Church of Ireland. I would be able to continue to work with Abbey Presbyterian and continue the ministry that has already begun! I will update when I know exactly is going to happen, but I am pretty high spirits that it will probably work out!

Pictures from the fourth:

Community Center

2009-06-30T04:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday started the beginning of our three week art program with kids at local communities in Dublin. Normally we have been just going to help out/play and really get to know them, so we haven't had a structured program up until yesterday. Normally the kids come in and play games, draw or play outside. At this center the children have the freedom to come and go as they please since it is located in their neighborhood. So a lot the children wont stay for the whole allotted time that we are there, they wander in and out. Yesterday every child who came stayed the entire time and then did not want to leave, they really soaked up the structure and the craft we made with them!

Here's some pictures:

Joy

2009-06-21T12:15:00.000-07:00

What's on my heart: I want to stay in Dublin and continue working for Abbey this next year. I am praying that this will work out, but if it does go another way I must accept it. After all God is in control and he has the best plan for me, I only want what He wants for my life. It's the uncertainty of it all that makes me feel a little shaky right now but what would my life be without those little uncertainties? Too picture perfect, to perfect for me to contemplate or challenge myself. One thing I do know about myself is I love a good challenge.

I hope you guys enjoyed the videos previously posted. These videos are funny and should not be taken super seriously. They were both made at 1 a.m. We were scheming about the arts festival very late and the thought just popped in my head, let's make videos! I just want to say that me and the girls I work with LOVE what we are doing here, LOVE seeing God's ministry unfold before our eyes, it's beautiful. God gives us joy and we just want to see that acted out in our work. These videos were geared toward the youth culture. I know when I was young the youth workers who always affected me were the ones who were relatable, who were silly, the ones who made me laugh, they connected with me. I was afraid of the stiff adult who I could not relate to. I feel so blessed to be doing what I am doing. I want to thank God for laughter because I enjoy a good laugh. In fact if there was no laughter, I am not sure how much of person I would be.

"For I dearly love to laugh." -Elizabeth Bennett

I have been working on the blog site for Xpresso. It features videos of the musicians who will be performing!

Update on the Xpresso Arts Festival Blog, check it out!

http://xpressoartsfestival.blogspot.com/

Hey Kids! Xpresso Arts Festival is coming up!

2009-06-18T18:20:00.000-07:00

One of the ads we were thinking about using for our arts fest in July, this is geared toward our youth camp! This is just the mock up version!

Let's have some fun

2009-06-18T08:00:00.001-07:00

Christy, Alex and I recorded this video late one night! It's called Cup of Cha (Irish phrase for tea). We know we are completely ridiculous but missionaries gotta entertain themselves somehow... riight?

(Our voices don't really sound like that)

moving along

2009-06-15T01:44:00.000-07:00

Well this week has been quite eventful, super busy with the arts festival and I am getting really excited! I think every night this week we shared dinner with someone from the church, it was wonderful. Here people really spend time with each other in conversation, no one jumps up and leaves as soon as dinner is over, you may end up talking two to three more hours. It's very different from most experiences I have in America. We have our busy busy lifestyles, things to do of our own and we just may not want to spend that long of time people well unless it is our families (which is almost required). When it comes down to it, on this earth what I find is most important to me is my relationships with others. So I quite like the Irish/European attitude in this area, it's lovely!

This week we were back at The Lighthouse, a local homeless shelter. Each Thursday we go and help feed and hang out with the people who visit this place. Probably half the people aren't homeless who come, but they just don't have enough money to buy food. We welcome anyone who walks in the door. Alex(roomie) and I were sitting amongst the people who were coming in to eat when we both had men sit next to us. I met a man from Romania, he was about 26. His name was Alex. He was very chatty and immediately proposed marriage as soon as he found out I was American.(Mom, don't worry, there's is plenty of supervision at this place and no I'm not getting married.) His eyes did light up quite a bit and then he immediately asked me about jobs over there and how much money he could make, he works in construction. He did ask me out on dates quite a bit as well, even when I said no repeatedly in the nicest way possible, he still pursued!

My roomime, Alex, also made a friend, John at the shelter. He has actually come to Abbey Presbyterian twice since we met him. He is a very nice guy! Alex plays volleyball and so does John, well it turns out that John had been praying for 8 months for a volleyball partner and well here she is! We hope to go actually play volleyball with him in a park one day, but we will be sure to bring along some guy friends.

My other roommie, Christy, probably has the more the serious of all the suitors from The Lighthouse. His name is also, Alex, but he is from Latvia. He is very kind and sweet, and has made the statement that he has given his heart to Christy. Now we have been having some good laughs about the guys we have met and how well I pretty much think they want green cards, but maybe I am just cynical! Even though we joke, there's some real truth in wanting to be known and wanting others to know our story in the people we have met.

Another woman I met at The Lighthouse was named Patricia. She was probably around 65 and had several bags that she carried around with her. She seemed lonely as I stared at her from across the room so I went and sat with her. She immediately started buzzing with conversation. She was so lovely. She had a soft face, silver and gray hair with a few black strands, she had a few twigs in her hair, which made me sad for her. I wondered what her earlier years were like and how she got to this point. She was very chatty and knew a lot about the church I was working for actually. She didn't seem to be afflicted with any type of drug problem (as many of the people have who come there), she seemed pretty normal, like she could be someone's grandmother, and maybe she was. I hope I see her again.

(I really don't want anyone to be worried about us, we are fine!)

1. I have been made very aware of several things through this venture. Wow... these guys know how to pursue a girls heart... where is this in America or Ireland. I feel like guys of my generation can be so passive and guys it's okay to pursue a girl. Step up, take your role, don't make the girl take yours! It doesn't work that way!

2. From the people I have met at The Lighthouse and from ge

neral life experience, how much do we long to be known?? We strive to be known, we strive for relationships, for someone to hear our hearts! Think of all the things we have to be known out there: reality tv, facebook, myspace, blogs! and etc. I admit I am apart of have the things I just listed, so in my heart I am striving too!

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He said to them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight." Luke 16:15

"When you get to your wit's end, you'll find God lives there." - Anonymous

Said to a wise man to one in deep sorrow, "I did not come to comfort you; God only can do that, but I did come to say how deeply and tenderly I feel for you..." -Tyran Edwards

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We had dinner the other night with these lovely ladies from the church.

So little time...

2009-06-12T09:40:00.000-07:00

Breakfast

Meeting

Brainstorming

Created Arts Festival Blog and Facebook page

Went to buy Arts supplies for the projects at Hardwick Street

Carried heavy heavy bags up O'Connell Street

Blogging

Dinner with Christy, Alex and the Boals!

For Tomorrow:

Preparing art projects tomorrow!

Mercy

2009-06-06T14:20:00.000-07:00

"The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them." Genesis 3:21

Thinking over this tonight and feeling enlightened. We had a leadership meeting tonight and one of the speaker's spoke about this passage. I am wrapping my mind around just how graceful and merciful our God really is. Even after Adam and Eve had sinned God took care of them. They felt naked and afraid in the garden and God clothed them. How beautiful is that? We often focus on the love and mercy which occurs in the Gospels, but there's just as much in the Old Testament as well. I have to admit I forget to return to the Old Testament to hear of God's kingdom, I will commit to this more often.

This week is going by wonderfully! I am enjoying getting to know my roommates and getting involved. God is working, I can feel it! The reign of sunshine ended and we had a very cold and rainy day but weather reports look like it will be sunny again next week! Yay!

Safe and Sound and It's Beautiful

2009-06-04T09:11:00.001-07:00

It's my second day in Dublin and we've already got a good grip on things. I arrived yesterday at 8 a.m. Christy and Alex picked me up at the airport and we headed to our beloved home, Number 5. I was very tempted to sleep due to jet lag but I managed to pull through and stay awake the whole day, that put me at being awake 24+ hours; hopefully I am on schedule now. We live in the Northside, which has the thickest accent in Dublin. Sometimes it can be a little hard to understand. At 3 p.m. we went to Hardwick community center to volunteer. This center has a range of kids who live in the surrounding area. We will be volunteering at this center 3 - 5 days a week, it's in the heart of Northside Dublin. "Maaa daaa is a hundraa" (My dad is one hundred). A little girl was joking with Christy and I and kept repeating that and it was taking me a very long time to adjust to her accent, I think I've got it now. At the beginning of July we will be doing an art camp with the kids for three weeks. So today we have been doing a lot of planning and scheming for that!

We even got started planning the arts festival which begins the 15th and ends on the 18th.

Tonight we are going to the Lighthouse (a local homeless shelter) from 6:30 - 9:00. We probably will be participating with this organization as much as our schedules allow

Prayer for this summer:

Heal my heart and make it clean

Open up my eyes to the things unseen

Show me how to love like you have loved me

Break my heart for what breaks yours

Everything I am for Your Kingdom's cause

As I walk from earth into eternity

pictures to come!

Writing to you from JFK

2009-06-02T14:40:00.000-07:00

I have a four hour layover in JFK airport. I have been thoroughly enjoying people watching the past couple of hours. I have seen an assortment of designer jeans, a group of guys pass through in all black with mohawks walking with an extreme style(maybe they were a band?), backpackers, unique couples, people who look exhausted, little children lurching away from their parents, oh the busy businessman is popular here, couples who have most likely aged together their whole lives, cage-fighters from Bulgaria and a vast variety of scarves. I love seeing how different we all are; how unique and beautiful we all are. It's something we cannot deny as people on this earth, how different we all are but in some ways vastly similar wether or not the world leaders at the time seem to agree on this. We all yearn for love, a love much greater than we can ever achieve on this Earth.

My friend Robin gave me a book of poems for my trip, and I absolutely love it. The first poem I read was that of Emily Dickinson:

I never saw a moor, I never saw the sea; Yet know I how the heather looks, And what a wave must be.

I never spoke with God, Nor visited in Heaven; Yet certain am I of the spot as if the chart were given.

This one is also lovely:

To believe in God for me is to feel that there is a God, Not a dead one, Or a stuffed one, But a living one, Who with irresistible force urges us towards more loving.

-Vincent Van Gogh

These poems are both so beautiful to me.

I just feel like I need to share about this

2009-05-31T14:58:00.000-07:00

This was my last Sunday before I leave sweet home Alabama for Ireland. I went to Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church with my friends today. I am always moved by the sermons at this church and today was another solid rock talk. You know that feeling when you're sitting in the audience and listening to someone speak and it feels like they're talking to you, feels like you've thought those exact same thoughts but have been to afraid to say it or just feel like they're reading your mind. Well I really felt Jesus speaking to me today through the sermon. I really felt it pertained to inner city Dublin a lot and increased my excitement even more.

Pastor Bob Flayhart spoke with conviction about outreach and mission in the church. He talked about reaching out to the people everyone often forgets or are afraid to talk to about Jesus: the homeless, addicts and homosexuals.

When we look around our churches where are these people? Have they not been reached out to? Where is the addict who lives his life for the drink or the drug; who can't get through the day without the hit. Most of the time when I look around I don't see these people. Are they so disgusting? Are they so horrible? Are they so much more worse than me? No. When I think of an addict I will always see my father's face, for which I can only cast love upon. I pray that someone is reaching out to him or there will come a day when I am strong enough to reach out to him. We should be looking for this in everyone, a family member or a loved one because after all they are someone's brother, sister, mother, father, daughter or son.

Remember WWJD. I have to admit at one point I had one of those bracelets but I did not understand the fullness of what they meant. Let's think about the Gospel and what Jesus would do in this day and age that we live in... Jesus would not reject anyone.

He pours His grace over us everyday. We are sinners saved by grace and that grace is only found in Christ

This is a clip from the show, Intervention.

Just shows how addiction affects families, so next time we meet someone who may be drug user don't automatically be afraid or scared, share with them.

Getting Ready, Getting Prepared

2009-05-28T20:47:00.000-07:00

I am getting ready to leave, preparing myself to leave home for several months. I don't know if I can ever fully prepare myself for heading out away from family and friends because of course I will miss them. Right now I am definitely going through withdrawal; every time I leave home for a long period of time my body/mind goes through the motions. I try to make sure I haven't forgotten anyone, tried to make sure I have visited with as many people as possible but I am sure somewhere down the line I have forgotten someone.

I have had my suitcases out for weeks, slowly throwing things in them which I know I will need. Probably over thinking the packing as well. At times I just think to myself, "Why can't I just pack one small bag throw in a few clothing items and let the rest be history." Plenty of people do it, just pick up and go. What a freeing thing that is - to just leave with only the clothes on your back. Something I would love to accomplish one day, one day.

I am so ready to be in Dublin. I know this summer will look very different from last summer but I have no doubts about it. I am excited, excited to see the possibilities of what is to come. This summer I will live in the church owned flat, nicknamed number 5, with Christy Rodriguez (she has previously interned at Abbey for almost 2 years) and Alex Peebles (a student at Auburn University). To be honest I don't know what to expect, I just know this summer will be a lot different. Knowing this does make me a little nervous, but I know through my nervousness God is calling on me to Trust him, something I constantly struggle and he constantly challenges me with. When I trust him, there is no reason for me to be afraid because he will take care of me, I am his daughter, you are his daughter or son! Previously we thought there would be a few more girls living in the flat but things changed and even though we will be short staffed I know we can get everything we need to accomplish completed!

What the summer holds:

*Abbey Arts Festival

*Bible study with church members, we will be reading Blue Like Jazz

*Getting active in the community; we will be volunteering at local homeless shelters and youth clubs

*Opening the church up for visitors, called Open Abbey

His works are perfect

2008-08-02T13:31:00.000-07:00

He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he. Deuteronomy 32:4

I am back home. Dublin has been by far the best summer of my life. My experiences there are bound in me and I will be able to talk about them for the rest of my life; I will never forget any of the people I met whilst being there. What an amazing God we have, what a creative God we have and a purposeful God we have. Even as amazing as God is I struggle with trust, we all do. After this summer I know those issues are all within myself, something I must battle everyday, something I want to battle everyday because I love God so much and I don't want anything to come between our relationship.

This summer I met so many people from different places, going through different struggles and in different walks in their faith but we all still struggle on the same plane in our relationship with God. We struggle for forgiveness and trusting if God has forgiven us for our Sin. He knows we are going to Sin before we even Sin and he has forgiven us, he just wants us to recognize that we have sinned. As I have grown in my faith I often have found that God reveals other sins to me that I never realized were wrong before, but as I have grown I realize yes they are wrong and I do need to pray about them and make changes. This is God changing my heart, which is a beautiful thing. I now know how much I need the word of God everyday and how I must take everything to God, entrust everything to him. Before I wasn't doing this in my life. I was entrusting what I wanted and thought I could deal with everything else myself, often this turned out to be quite messy. I dealt with it until I had to give it over to God, often feeling quite foolish. God is my rock and I will entrust everything.

A couple of the last talks I had with people were with three women Sekai, Nita and Connie. Let me just say these women inspire me! Sekai is from Zimbabwe and invited Steph and I over to her flat for a meal Zimbabwe style, which was amazing by the way. We had amazing conversation about forgiveness of sin. Sekai is an inspiring woman who is living in Ireland without her family and will eventually re-unite with them. Nita is from Mauritius and was brought to Christ this summer through Steph, amazing. I know Christ uses our struggles to share the gospel and this summer was a true testament of that for me. I shared about my childhood with Nita and the pain I went through with my father because she had asked me. She asked me how I still believed in God after all of this pain, and I responded, "Nita God was the only one there when I was in this valley, he was the only one who picked me back up." She responded, "You believe." I said, "Yes." I asked her, "Do you believe that I believe." She said, "Yes." When we parted that night she told me that one day things would be good again with my father. I later found out that she had a similar situation. I know that for all the pain that has ever occurred in my life that I would go through it over and over again if it was going to be used as it was this summer. The situation with my father was used with every person I met, which is absolutely amazing.

God was devout and faithful this summer and I saw him work through every team member. I am going to miss Abbey Presbyterian very much and I hope I can return one day if that's what I am supposed to do. I love the congregation and I can see great things to come for the church and the city of Dublin.

I just ask for prayer for a few specific things:

-Growth and community within Abbey Presbyterian

-Youth Pastor for Abbey Presbyterian

-Pastor Alan Boal and Ruth Boal and family

-Future missionaries to come to Abbey: Kate Kelley (1 year intern), Scott and Lindsay Nimmons

-Returning year interns: Christy Rodriguez and Katherine Manning

-Mentors: David and Kathy Fidati

-Team Members: Jacqueline Lamb, Luke Whipple, Wes Lyle, Katie Manley, Lizi Guthmann, Steph White

Thank You to everyone who supported me through this ministry. I am going to continue this blog for the time being so pleaaaase keep reading if you would like!

2008-07-13T12:29:00.000-07:00

This week has been a bit of whirlwind with the festival but the busyness was all for Christ, which is worth every bit. The Xpresso Arts Festival at Abbey went on this week from Monday to Saturday. We had some amazing musicians come in and play every night from 7:30 – 10:30 in a café like atmosphere. They included Susie Young and Soul Connection (jazz band from Belfast), The Americans (a group of people from Covenant), Hey Dublin and the Family (lovely interns!!!), David Dewese and several other bands and poets performed as well. Some of the bands were even formed the day of the festival which is always fun. We also had some great art exhibited which was really fun to see come together once everything was on the walls.

It was great to see everyone come together in the Xpresso café at Abbey. We had some inner city Dublin kids come in on the first night, at first they seemed to just raid the coffee and tea, but they ended up staying for a good bit and one of our interns, Wes, hung out with them throughout the week. These kids came to the festival every night and came to both of the hip hop classes we provided on Friday and Saturday. The first couple of days the kids would come in and ask, “What is this about or who is this for?” I would simply answer, “Jesus.” They accepted my answer; for some reason I was unsure if they would at times.

On Friday and Saturday we had hip hop/break dancing classes with Don King, a dancer from Kildare. Learning hip hop was sooo much fun even though I am not exactly coordinated…I laughed my way through the steps. I loved the way he spoke to these kids, after he taught the class he would make a brief statement about Christ. I just remember he said, “You are all so precious and I hope you realize this in Christ….if you ever need someone to talk to you should feel safe to talk to leaders here.” I hope these kids understand that this church is a safe place and they are always welcome. I had a lot of youth who attended the event ask me when something like this was going to happen again and one girl even asked me if the church had a youth club, which is really exciting for Abbey since they are getting a youth leader this fall.

Today was one of the first of goodbyes on the trip for me. My host family is leaving on holiday today and won’t be back before I leave. We all said goodbyes and I teared up a little with Emily.
I think all of us are starting to realize that we don’t have much time left here, less than two weeks. I just ask that you pray that God continues to work in our hearts while we are here, it doesn’t stop now. I feel like a lot of my struggles and wounds have been worked on this summer and I am so thankful and I couldn’t have done this with those who surround me here, not a chance.

Interns, I love you.

He lifts us up.

xpresso arts festival

2008-07-05T13:35:00.000-07:00

The arts festival is coming up close, it begins on Monday evening. This week has been a very busy and exciting week. We have had two more teams come to Abbey from the states who have been helping and will be participating in the arts festival; one of the teams will be performing in the festival.

We have all been doing a lot of preparation for the show. Everyone had been assigned their own jobs such as lighting, music, advertising, decorations, art, food and sound. It has been really great to see everyone pulling together for Abbey.

I AM REALLLY EXCITED!!!!!! Please pray for the festival, that everything goes well and people from Dublin are brought to the church all in the unity of Christ.

I LOVE YOU GUYS

2008-07-05T13:22:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday Jacqueline and I went on an adventure with my host family, Emily and Nathania Mc Dermont. First they took us to Malahide to see the mini castle and play at an amazing playground, next to Howth to have dinner at a chipper (fish and chips) and last to Dollymount beach. I have had a blast getting to know this family, they have been truely kind to me an I am going to be sad to leave them.

As the week moved forward I began to realize my time here was declining...

It made me quite sad due to how much I love Abbey and the many great relationships that I have made here. I began to worry and I realized my thoughts were turning to worry too much. Do you ever find that you do that? Try to control something that you really cannot control like time.

I had to revert to this passage and I just wanted to share it with anyone who had been reading:

Mathew 6:24-34

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

great week

2008-06-24T14:56:00.000-07:00

This week has been full of planning, meeting and greeting. This week I worked in Open Abbey for the first time. Open Abbey is where we meet with people who may be just visiting, someone who lives in the area or someone who has never been in Abbey before. We answer questions and chat with them about the church and faith. I really enjoy this part of the internship; you get to meet so many people from many different places, different from your own. I met a woman the other day that is from South Africa, she has lived in Dublin five years but has never been in Abbey before because she thought the building was daunting. Once she had come inside a few of our interns, Katie and Steph were playing music, she commented on how beautiful the music was, and she noted that the music reminded her of services back home in South Africa.

Eddie
Wednesday night as we were all walking home we were just about to be at Harvey’s when I noticed a man lying on some steps. His bags were strewn about and looked as if he had fallen; as we got closer I noticed that he had blood dripping from a cut around his eye down his face. I had a deciphering moment – Do I or Don’t I? I knew I wanted to help him but my heart was a little unsure due to fear. What I was afraid of I am not sure…what could this man have possibly done to me in all of his weakness? I was perfectly fine, why was I afraid? Thankfully Luke was walking next to me and saw everything I had just seen. In my deciphering moment I think I began to say, “We should help him,” and Luke was in complete agreement. This was all a little surreal. We went back and asked if he wanted our help – he did. I went and tried to find something in which he could wipe his face down with and all I could find was some yellow napkins. We began to talk to Eddie about his situation in Dublin.
In Dublin you have to have a photo ID to stay at a hostel or bed and breakfast. Eddie did not have any of these things and that’s why he was not able to stay at the hostel he was lying outside of, he had cash just no ID. Luke and I ended up sharing conversation with Eddie and learned about his life. We walked with him to the Garda (police station) where he thought he might receive a new ID, he was declined. Eddie told us he had four children and has been on the streets for twenty years. I guess the part which broke my heart was when he told us that he was riding a bus one time and hadn’t realized that he had been on the bus with one of his children until twenty minutes had past. I’m still thinking about him – he reminds me of someone back home. Most importantly we often lose hope in people and see some as hopeless. Well God has hope in us all and loves us, no matter what walk of life someone comes from I never want to look upon someone without hope.

Mathew 5:47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others?

I John 3:18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

Howth
Jacqueline, Steph, Matt Moorman and I went for a couple of hours to visit Howth. We experienced true Irish weather with wind and rain. Howth is a really beautiful place with green cliffs jutting out into the ocean, and homes perched on high hills. The high point of this trip for me was that we got to see seals!!

Prayer Vigil - Friday
This week we had our second prayer vigil. It went really well. I know I have let you guys know how praying out loud in groups isn’t exactly my forte and it’s true, it hasn’t always been. I have been praying about being able to pray aloud, to share my prayers with my team, which at first seemed contradictory to me but God is coming through. This week at the prayer vigil I was very thankful that we did break up into smaller groups instead of praying in one large group, when we did this we were all able to pray in my group. I did not get nervous or fearful, like I had previously, I was just at ease. This is the picture of what God truly is, our comforter. Psalm 62 Thank you Jackie and Steph for helping me through this and understanding!

Sunday school
Lizi and I taught Sunday school this past week. The class ranges in ages from 5 to 12 so we had to keep a lot of kids entertained. I thought it went really well. We taught about Noah’s Arc. We asked all of the kids to draw their favorite animals so we could incorporate it into the story of the arc; one of the kids drew their mom, which I thought was really cute.

Ultimate Frisbee Monday
I was hesitant about going to play ultimate on Monday but I was really glad I went, it was great. My team is extremely helpful especially since most of them are on the Irish National League of ultimate. I found this out yesterday. They must see me do so many things wrong, they have such grace over me! I am really meeting so many people so fast through so many different outlets, it’s amazing. I feel as if I will be in shock when I go home.

Today
Today I went with Alan Boal (pastor at Abbey) and Luke to the Lindsay school for the last day before the school lets out before holiday. They do a show where they sing songs for their last day of school. It was great!!! The kids even did a performance of Oliver Twist which was really cute. Our pastor got up and spoke and talked about America, because he is going to visit there, and brought us up on stage, I played the role of the statue of liberty and Luke played the national anthem via harmonica. The kids were excited. I kind of wanted to stay and hang out with them, it reminded me of the job I left at home! Miss my kids at after school care!
Later on I met up with some artists who are going to show their work in the Abbey Arts Festival July 7th – 12th. It was fun to talk with them about there work and get some input from them about the show.

Tomorrow I am meeting up with Nathania (host family), Kirsten Boal, Christy (year intern), Katharine (year intern), Steph and Jacqueline (team mates) to visit at Nathania’s house!

a love that never fumbles, i fumble

2008-06-17T08:59:00.000-07:00

(Mondays are our day off: I took the dart out to the little coastal town of Bray with my mate Wes)

you came to take us all things go, all things go to recreate us all things grow, all things grow we had our mindset all things know, all things know you had to find it all things go, all things go

-Sufjan Stevens "Chicago"

All I know is I am a mess, I mess up everyday, we all do in our own struggles. All I know is God is amazing amazing amazing and most of the time I am merely holding on by a tether but his strength will never drop me.

I feel like I am faltering lately, falling a little behind. Not trusting myself, sometimes not trusting God. Most of this probably comes out of my own selfishness, which makes me a little upset with myself because in the end I have allowed it. Even though I am having these thoughts I still know...God is my redeemer and he loves me and You no matter what...even though I/You may distrust that love when I feel I am unsuccessful.

Keeping Busy.....

The time here is flying by....flying. I am loving every second. On Friday's our team is involved in a prayer vigil at the church which is great, people from all different cultures from around the city of Dublin get together and just pray. Some people prayed in their home languages if english was their second language. Even though you didn't understand what they were saying we still had the unity through Christ which is beautiful.

The team has joined an ultimate frisbee league which we go to on Mondays. I have never played before but we had our first game yesterday and it was quite brilliant! My team is amazing, very friendly group of girls and guys and I can't wait to get to know them more. I am on the black team and our team name is Friends...you have to say the name in an awkwardly friendly voice. It's really weird but amazing.

Katie, Luke, Steph, Christy and I are on the planning team for the arts festival which is really exciting. Everything is starting to get rolling on that and I can't wait to see how that pulls together. Luke, Wes and Christy painted a bike hot pink and I believe my lovely roomie, Katie plans to ride it around to Dublin to advertise for the festival to bring people to Abbey! I have been making some contacts for artists around Dublin so maybe I can pull some in for the show!

Love

Abbey Picnic

2008-06-10T08:48:00.001-07:00

Sunday was the picnic with Abbey members and it was awesome. The picnic was in Phoenix Park, which probably is the biggest park in Dublin. It is absolutely gorgeous. It was really awesome to see all the team members and congregation get together and just get to know one another. I had soooooo much fun. I did get pretty tired but it was well worth it. Played lots of games....tried to play rugby a couple times, failed.

I guess what I really got from that day was that God pursues my heart everyday and I so often miss the mark.

I John 4:11-12
Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us

I guess I have really realized how much God pursues our hearts, he wants, yearns for our hearts and I know I need to pursue his heart in prayer...but I also need to pursue my brother and sisters hearts in love while I am on this earth. It has just become so evident to me....clear cut.
I love it.

Rostreavor Retreat

2008-06-10T08:23:00.001-07:00

Our team spent this past weekend at Rostreavor, Northern Ireland for orientation and team building. We spent time in prayer and getting to know about the history of Ireland and the church in Ireland. We also spent much needed time in prayer for the the people of Abbey and Ireland.

Coming to a beautiful place like Rostreavor really can put things in perspective for someone like me. All this beauty outwardly laid out right in front of me which I cannot deny...God is fully beautiful but I often deny him everyday. At Rostreavor I was finally able to pray outloud with a large group, something I have never done before. So this was huge..... So just maybe this was a "God thing?" Maybe? No...Definitely! I had confessed to some of my team members of this fear...and a few friends back home, so I thank them for their prayers.

I love team dub

2008-06-07T09:57:00.001-07:00

The team at Pre-field training in North Carolina May 27th - May 30th! From left to right Jaqueline Lamb, Lizi Guthmann, Kate Kelley (11 month intern), Luke Whipple, me, Wes Lyle, Katie Manley and Steph White.

This was our first day in Dublin, we went to the Temple Bar area where we stopped for a group photo. From left to right there is Jaqueline Lamb, Luke Whipple, Wes Lyle, Lizi Guthmann, Steph White, Katie Manley and Me.

Everyone on the team is awesome, we all are so different but together through Christ we are one body. I know God has distinct plan for our team this summer and I just ask that you pray for that while we are here.

2008-06-02T07:29:00.000-07:00

It is my third day here and so far the weather has been amazing, no rain in sight. Over the past few days I have begun to know our mentors Kathy and David Fidati, my team members and a few of the church members. Our team has been accepted here with open arms and I am so thankful for that. I can't wait to see how God is going to move while in Dublin. I really feel that what I am being called to do is to develop relationships with the people around me.

This week we have orientation to The Abbey and Dublin. So a very busy week ahead! I hope to keep this updated as soon as possible!

LOVE, in His name

night before

2008-05-25T22:00:00.000-07:00

Well, it's the night before I leave and I really have not been nervous until now. My stomach feels somewhat tense and I am just pondering what the next few days are going to be like. I am really excited though, it's not a bad feeling just an unknown feeling. We go through a lot of those in life don't we? I have begun to notice that it's the "unknowns" that I look forward to.

I just keep wondering....Have I packed everything? You know...but I am sure somewhere down the line I will realize I have forgotten something but that's ok because I have made list after list trying to make sure I have not forgotten everything, I have done all I can at this point.

Well I had an amazing send off yesterday, I got to spend time with friends and family and I have to admit I am surrounded by some wonderful people in my life. I am so thankful for you guys and I will be thinking about you all the way there!!!

LOVE

beginnings

2008-05-13T07:20:00.000-07:00

Just about twelve days before I leave, I still really can't believe it. I know I am not leaving for all that long, just two months but I have never left home for longer than two weeks without being able to run back home with my problems. I am definitely excited about this not only because it is an adventure but because God is moving in my life like never before and it is amazing. I can't wait to see what is going to happen. It's just the beginning really....

I am going to miss everyone so much, but I can't wait to hear their stories of what happened while I was gone, I am sure some awesome things will transpire.

I am so thankful for everyone who supported me. You guys ROCK! That was an interesting process, I had some highs and lows with that but in the end God showed me that he is sovereign and I should just ttttrrrrrruuuuuuussssssssstttttttt with all my heart.

Well guys I am going to try to keep my blog up as much as possible while in Ireland. Keep in my mind they wont always be merry, some will, but sometimes I might need a joyful email letting me know you're on my side as we all do. I love you guys. Keep in touch!

Oh yeah..I have 100 international texts so I am not going to use them all at once but...I do have those..heheh so my cell is 2056017738

Love,

Paige