Each and every day God provides many learning opportunities, which may or may not be easy to tackle but must be encountered nonetheless. The past two weeks have shown me the faithfulness of God and the many opportunities He gives me to fully rely on Him.

About two weeks ago, I went with Dustin (my teammate) and Erich (Pastor of Greystones' church) to Gorey, where we were to meet a contact for a hopeful church plant. As though taking a step into the great unknown the three of us went to see what the Lord might have for the CON (Church of the Nazarene) in Gorey.

To make a long story short, we met a lady named Antonia, who is a manager of a little Italian café in the area. Erich was able to discuss a possibility of holding a meeting in her café in the future weeks to come, she agreed and thought this would be a good idea. The three of us left feeling reassured about the possibilities waiting in Gorey but not knowing when the next step would come. So, we headed back to Greystones with hope in our hearts that GOD had/has plans in Gorey.

At the weekend, Dustin and I were invited to go to Cork with a gentleman from the church for three days. This did not set well with me because I felt like I needed to go back down to Gorey, which was utterly ridiculous. So, I politely turned down the invitation to go to Cork with the intent of going to Gorey.

Monday commenced a week of prayer for the Greystones church, which is my home church! Bright and extremely early on Monday morning, at half six or 6:30 am, I participated in an hour-long prayer session. It was amazing but I had a reluctant spirit about going to Gorey the next day. I did not want to go, even though I felt it was the right thing to do and the reason I turned down the offer to go to Cork. In my heart I battled with my reluctant spirit to go and do God’s will and as I was battling with myself, Pastor Erich prayed specifically for me and my journey to Gorey. It was as though God knew I needed prompting in actually going to Gorey.

One might think that after being prayed for specifically I would be more willing to go but I still wanted to drag my feet. God still was drawing me toward Gorey. Later on Monday, I attended a women’s bible study and we had a time of prayer, which brought up the battle of to go to Gorey or not. So, I began praying my silent prayer of guidance to discern what God intended me to do or for His clear direction. As soon as I got done praying this prayer a lady prayed for my trip to Gorey and prayed that God would keep me safe. I knew in my heart that no matter my fears or trepidations that I was intended to go to Gorey on Tuesday, and that is exactly what I was going to do.

Tuesday arrived and I got up with a reluctant heart to go to Gorey. The journey really began after I arrived back at the café and found Antonia. We began talking again about my reasons for coming to Gorey and my hopes for the café. She was really receptive and wanted to talk more because she was busy. I thought, wow this is cool, maybe this is what I was supposed to do. Then a lady walked in and sat down behind me, which caused a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, I felt called to talk to her. Once again all of the fears and doubts popped into my head and I said, “God, really? I have no idea what I would say to her or what way to even start a conversation.” No sooner than I had sent up my silent plea to God but the lady mentioned going to Greystones later in the afternoon.

So, taking this as my opportunity, I turned around and began a conversation, which lasted about an hour. It was wonderful AND it made me realize the faithfulness of God! He is wonderful with the things He allows us to experience. The lady asked me for my contact information, which I gave to her. (I did not ask her for her contact information because I felt that if this were a divine appointment then she would contact me.)

Ann Marie contacted me just about 90 minutes later. She and I set up a time to meet on Friday when I returned to Gorey. So, I count myself as blessed to have met her. I am so glad I went and enjoy the tale being written in Gorey!