Thursday, September 30, 2010
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!
Monday, September 20, 2010
things i am learning along the way...
How often do we stop to see the world around us? Stop to encounter the world as God intended...
It is not very often that I look at the world and slow down long enough to actually enjoy it. This morning, I woke at half five to go to our church's prayer meeting at half six. Throughout the rest of this week, prayer meetings will be held every day with an all church (including the churches of the North) prayer day on Saturday. Exciting things are happening here in Ireland and the perfect place to start is with prayer!
Today I was reminded to stop and look at the world around me, to enjoy the beauty I was originally missing in my rush to do "great" things for Christ; like He needs my help anyways! Being in Ireland is almost selfishly doing ministry because the people are lovely and the place is gorgeous!
This weekend, I had the opportunity to go to Glendalough (pronounced Glen-da-lock) and it took my breath away! It was simply a masterpiece of the Divine Artist! I could only stand and marvel at the beauty, which was all around me! God has created all of this for His people to enjoy and I am usually too busy to see any of it. While walking about I happened to strike up a conversation with an Irish lady who had been coming to this spot for nearly 60 years. She was such a great joy to talk with because she told me so many stories about all of the adventures she went on as a wee child.
Her father used to own the B&B right at the base of one of the mountains, so she had a lot of history in the area. She told me about her many hikes and beauty she encountered! She kept repeating over and over again about how often people miss all of this beauty! I tried capturing the sheer beauty of the landscape on camera but I know I did not give it any justice whatsoever! Before I left her to continue my walk, she reminded me to stop and take in the beauty of the creation all around me!
God is trying to speak to His people and I think we are missing the subtle answers along the way due to the business of our lives.
Although, while doing ministry it seems people want quick results! The most popular question is: So how many people have been saved?
I am beginning to HATE this question! Anything that is worth having is worth spending time on, so I have been investing in the best capital: PEOPLE! People are where the moneys at and that is where I want to spend my time/resources! It does not matter how long it takes, if only one life is saved, then my time spent in Ireland or any where else God has called me to go will be WORTH IT!
It is not about the numbers, it is about the quality of relationships! I plan on investing my life into the people of God and making sure they know how special each one of them are to the Creator!
Each person is as beautiful as the landscapes God has painted for us to enjoy! He created each one of them as well and all too often we pass too quickly to see their true beauty!
My prayer is that God will continue to show me himself more and more through all of the beauty He has created!
Friday, September 17, 2010
Things I am learning...
Since coming to Ireland, I have been able to experience a lot of God's grace and am learning day by day to trust Him even more. It is slightly frustrating at times to know what this year may hold or to know what type of ministry I should engage in. The country as a whole has been subjected to several years of religious ups and downs, which leave some skeptical, while others do not have the desire to associate with church.
So, where does true ministry begin? When following Christ, how do you help His mission grow? These are two questions, I shall continue to ask myself during my time in Ireland and for several years following, I am sure.
Right now, I am learning and growing each day as God continues to reveal more and more of himself to me through his beautiful creations. Please continue to pray for the work being done here...
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
God's Grace
My teammate and I were finally granted our permission to stay in Ireland! I am thankful to God for his provision in this step because it looked extremely dark for a while. The gentleman we were working with seemed difficult to get a hold of and was very stern when it came to doing his job. He was a no non-sense type of guy, which made me laugh cause I was so nervous.
Last night we returned to his office with the necessary documentation and he was at ease with us. He joked with us and I actually enjoyed his company this night. God walked before us in this situation and took care of everything!
Thank you, Mr. Immigrations Man for being willing to work with a couple of Americans from the Nazarene Church!
Another week and a Storm..
Week 2: Rounding on the Jet lag
- Went to Dublin as a tour guide for a student here from Canada...the student has now become the teacher, yes, I am that good! :)
- Geoff and Wanda on an adventure to find a shower head for my bathroom to help make it a little more functional...it is a work in progress, let's just say showers don't happen every day ;)
- TEEN CHALLENGE OUTREACH
--> Teen Challenge is a program set up for men struggling with all sorts of addictive behaviors. The staff help minister to the men in the program and help re-introduce them to society and walk with them each step of the way. TC is for people who just need a hand up and fall into the loving arms of the staff at TC. The program is a 16 month program, I am honored to know the men of TC.
- Inner city outreach in Dublin town
- Walking around at night to give tea/coffee and sandwiches for the homeless
- A group of men who are involved with Teen Challenge help walk around and minister to the homeless of Dublin
- Hung out with some local youth in Greystones
- Planning different church activities for County Wicklow
A stormy sea...
Oh, where to begin...Ireland has proved to be a fantastic place and there have been many adventures in just a few short weeks as well. I can't believe I have already been here for 3 weeks! CRAZY! God is so funny in how He begins working out all the plans and things He desires to happen, even before we realize something is going on...well that is what has been happening to me here!
Week 1:
- Jet lag (pretty sure I didn't even know what day it was for like 10 days)
- Kids Club at the Naz--> amazing turn out of children from the local community
- Tour of Dublin town with our mentors from the North
- Dick and Karen Porter, Robert Birnie, and Dr. Graham Greenlee
- Wonderful host parents: Suzie and Jer Evans, daughter: beautiful Daisy :)
- Dundrum shopping experience (largest mall in Ireland)
- Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea, TEA...no joke, the Irish love their tea
- Movie nights with our host parents
- Immigration encounter: this was possibly terrifying but I laughed most of the time :) The gentleman kept asking an insane amount of questions and we had no way of answering them cause we had hardly any information from the mentors/churches here of what we are supposed to do...
- Geoff and Wanda Murray: amazing couple who has taken us under their wing as children or just simply friends
- Powers Court: place where the palace in Count
of Monte Cristo was filmed...it was GORGEOUS! :)
-Moved into Carraig Eden...home sweet home for the next 12 months
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)