Ireland Update 2

Day 4 - Saturday, June 1
My experience of the mission trip went from good to amazing yesterday, and God most certainly deserves the credit for that. He is totally awesome and beautifully gracious :) But first, a bit of background. On Friday night, Becci (one of the three JBU professors leading the trip) asked us to think about what we were most excited about and what we were most terrified about looking forward toward our time here. I thought the plan was to share that Saturday evening, though that didn't happen.

As I thought about it, I immediately knew what I'm excited about: doing my best to serve God by loving the people I come in contact here, primarily the young people of Killyleagh. It took me a little longer to think of what I was most frightened of, but I wasn't surprised by the answer. I worried that this trip would go by with me feeling more of an outsider than a member of the team. Naturally, there are introverts and extroverts in the group, and I certainly consider myself to be more on the introvert side of the spectrum, often feeling as though I am not truly part of a conversation simply because I don't know what to contribute. It wasn't at all that the team members were trying to cut anyone out. In fact, the whole team has been fantastic and we have gone on hikes together and folks have been making a point of mixing and mingling. I just have high expectations of what I want to feel truly part of a group I guess.

Saturday morning we packed lunches and drove to a nearby town where a Viking Festival was taking place. We had fun looking at their displays and practicing shooting arrows :) Then we got back in the van to drive back up to Belfast where we needed to take some Child Protection Training in order to work with kids through Youth for Christ. On the way there, I spent time thinking and praying for the team, and it was really great.

As we started the drive back to our cottages, a group of us started talking. It began with the simple question of where our dream place would be to live, and one thing led to another and we ended up talking the whole hour drive back, finding out about parts of one another's spiritual journeys. It was a fantastic experience, and several times during that I was just thanking God so much inside of me because He brought that to pass, and because I so greatly appreciated the chance to get to know my teammates.

After dinner, the whole team worked on preparing craft materials and planning games to play with the kids at Kids Club. We spent quite a while on other things as well. Then, as things wound down, several of us sat around talking again. We ended up sharing with one another until after two in the morning. God gave us the courage to be very vulnerable with one another, and to encourage one another through that. We ended by praying for one another. Even though we didn't get a lot of sleep because of that, it was so totally worth it - and I am so thankful to God and to my friends for being willing to do that together.

Day 5 - Sunday, June 2
Sunday was yet another great blessing. For the first time, our team actually went into Killyleagh, where we will be ministering the next two weeks. We started the morning by joining David Wallace, the YFC worker in Killyleagh, for a weekly time of prayer. He has a great heart for the people of the town.

We split our team of 17 into two groups to go to church at the two churches which partner with us for our ministry here. The group I was in went to the Church of Ireland, which is part of the Anglican tradition. We led a Bible Class (like a Sunday school) for the kids who showed up. We had seven kids, mostly around age 8 or 9. Dr. Balzer, another of the JBU professors, was in charge of our team's time there, and I had volunteered to share a short testimony with the group.

I shared about how for many years--especially in high school--I was a perfectionist focused on trying to earn people's approval, and how I transferred that over to thinking that I had to earn God's love as well. I shared about how God taught me that His Grace meant that I did not need to earn God's approval, and I encouraged the kids to remember that God's love for them is unconditional and that the salvation of Christ is a free gift that we do not need to try to earn.

There wasn't much of a response, but I hadn't really asked them to respond either. Dr. Balzer then talked them through the Bible story about Jesus healing the paralytic lowered through the roof, and most of them responded pretty actively to questions about the story afterward. It's just one of those things where I need to be faithful in sharing what I believe God asks me to, and to pray that He would use that to plant or water the seeds of His truth. After all, the results are up to Him, not to me :)

I loved the Anglican service! Maybe it's just because of where God has me right now, but I really appreciated all of the songs we sang and the Scripture passages which were read. We were also able to share communion with the people there. They use the Book of Common Prayer, and in the communion service for that I really liked how it includes a prayer of contrition and repentance, followed by a prayer of thanksgiving for God's redemption.

Going up to take the elements was an interesting experience. The people kneel in front of the altar, and the leaders presented each person with a small piece of bread, and then with the communal cup to drink from. I don't really know how to explain it - it was just special :) Oh, and I have now tasted alcohol for the first time, since they use wine for communion. Thankfully I found that out ahead, because otherwise I would definitely have been startled by how much it burned going down my throat!

After church, our team split into smaller groups to have lunch with various families who had offered to host us. A couple other students and I went with Father Jerome, the pastor (or whatever the Anglican church calls him) of the church there. He and his wife are actually missionaries from Rwanda to N. Ireland! Their daughter, who just finished the British version of high school, was born and raised in the UK so it was interesting to hear their story :)

After lunch we came back to the cottages and thankfully just had some down time. I really appreciated that time, I certainly needed it! After dinner, we worked more on preparation for Kid's Club and on our cleaning chores at the cottages. Then at tea time (around 9:30, when we have desert) we took the time to share about what Becci had asked us from Friday. Several people were willing to talk about what they looked forward to or feared the most, and it was a great chance to again get to know more people better!

God has given us a special unity as a team. While I am sure the enemy is just stomping his foot in annoyance at that, and while I know he will try his best to destroy that, I have even more confidence in God, and I look forward to watching Him continue His work in and through us :)

Up Next
This afternoon (Monday) will be our first day of Kids Club! It will go from 3:30-5 Ireland time, followed by Sports Camp for the teens from 7-8:30 p.m. So if you think of our team during the next two weeks between 9:30 and 11 in the mornings central time, please pray for our interaction with the younger aged elementary students. And if you think of us between 1 and 2:30 in the afternoon, we'll usually be playing sports with the older kids. Please pray that we would be able to have a lot of fun with the kids, but that we would also be able to share God's love and hope with them!

Also, please continue praying for unity within our team. I firmly believe that the blessings of the last two days have been a direct answer to prayers which have already been given on our behalf, and we certainly need that continued support! God also definitely deserves lots of Thanksgiving and Praise :)