How quickly our time here in the Emerald Isle has gone by! We feel that we have accomplished a lot and are excited to get back home to share our vision for ministry here with everyone. We have had a couple of free days that we have used to explore a bit more of the country.
Yesterday we drove to the west coast to a town called Galway and then up to a smaller town called Cong. Cong is famous as the town where the movie "The Quiet Man" was filmed. A great movie, or so I am told by Pastor John. I will definitely have to watch it now. There are also some ruins of a 12th century abbey and some nature paths that wind through the surrounding woods that the boys really enjoyed. Just down the road is Ashford Castle, which is truly a sight to behold. It is very well maintained, sitting right on a lake and is quite upscale. Ronald Reagan stayed here when he visited Ireland and Pierce Brosnan had his wedding here as well.
Today we drove up the road to a small town called Boyle and visited the Lough Key Recreation Area. There were a lot of areas for the boys to explore here, including some tunnels that had led to the basement of a mansion that has since burnt down, a tower to climb that allowed us to overlook the lake and grounds, and a "tree-walk" that wound through the forest about 10 meters off the ground. We had lunch there, and then drove back to Lacken House.
Tomorrow we are leaving to spend the day in Dublin and stay with some American missionaries that I met when I was there in July. Then the next day we are off to the airport early for the long plane ride home. So this afternoon we will be doing laundry, packing, and trying to keep Liam & Finn occupied!
We thank everyone who has been praying for us and can't wait to see you!
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
God is in the details!
The last couple of days have been a real blessing as God has been revealing more of how we would be serving in Ireland when we arrive. We have had some very good conversations with a few of the team members here about how our vision for ministry fits in with the goals of the organization. We also realized a few nights back that whatever our best-laid plans are, we need to yield to how God would best use us. This lead to a discovery of a need that the team here has for someone who can help recruit, interview, and mobilize Irish people to serve in missions. My experience as a manager in the business world fits very well with this need - and having just gone through the process myself, I'm aware of the particular needs of how this process should look from a missions perspective.
We feel so blessed because as I sat down to put some concrete ideas on paper about sports ministry, I realized that it will most likely take more time than I thought to build the relationships and trust that it takes to get something like that moved forward in this country. It certainly would not be enough to keep me busy full-time at first. So we are extremely grateful that God presented this need and that we will be able to help fill it. We also learned a little about how Sarah can use some of her background with bookkeeping and office work to contribute to the work here. It has just been a fantastic revelation to us and we are so excited.
Furthermore, we were able to nail down some more specific numbers for our financial needs - which are separated in to ongoing monthly support and one-time "start-up costs", which are things like airfare, training, getting a car, etc. It is a great feeling to be equipped with this information as we look to start raising support shortly after our arrival back in the States.
And finally, we learned more about when our arrival time might be - or rather, the flexibility that is allowed. With our organization, they typically send new missionaries at 2 times during the year so as to coincide with international training conferences. In our case, the field here would be willing to accept us before those traditional dates so that we could begin working here and then travel to the conference when it was going.
It has truly been great to move along and get some firm answers to questions we have had and to see how God continues to provide for our needs and light our path. Looking forward to sharing more details with everyone when we return.
We feel so blessed because as I sat down to put some concrete ideas on paper about sports ministry, I realized that it will most likely take more time than I thought to build the relationships and trust that it takes to get something like that moved forward in this country. It certainly would not be enough to keep me busy full-time at first. So we are extremely grateful that God presented this need and that we will be able to help fill it. We also learned a little about how Sarah can use some of her background with bookkeeping and office work to contribute to the work here. It has just been a fantastic revelation to us and we are so excited.
Furthermore, we were able to nail down some more specific numbers for our financial needs - which are separated in to ongoing monthly support and one-time "start-up costs", which are things like airfare, training, getting a car, etc. It is a great feeling to be equipped with this information as we look to start raising support shortly after our arrival back in the States.
And finally, we learned more about when our arrival time might be - or rather, the flexibility that is allowed. With our organization, they typically send new missionaries at 2 times during the year so as to coincide with international training conferences. In our case, the field here would be willing to accept us before those traditional dates so that we could begin working here and then travel to the conference when it was going.
It has truly been great to move along and get some firm answers to questions we have had and to see how God continues to provide for our needs and light our path. Looking forward to sharing more details with everyone when we return.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Rainy Days - Bearing Much Fruit
We really feel like our time here is flying by, yet we have accomplished quite a bit already. We are feeling a little more confident with driving around the countryside on roads so narrow that when you pass a car going the other way you both have to put your outside wheels off the edge of the road. We've visited a couple of little towns around the area where we would be living and are getting a feel for what the housing situation would be like. The boys are just now getting adjusted to the time difference and schedule, so that is making things a bit easier on us as well.
We were able to find a park in the town closest to us that the boys really enjoyed and they were also able to explore some castle ruins nearby, that date to the late 1200's. They are also having fun with the new flavors of food that are here (one type of chips is flavored "bacon rasher" and looks - and smells - like shriveled up bacon pieces).
Last night, I had the opportunity to drive in to Dublin with the Director OM Ireland to help manage a booth at a Keith & Kristyn Getty Concert. OM was one of of the sponsors of the event, along with Focus on the Family and Compassion International. We also had the privilege of attending the concert and it was incredible to hear some of the hymns that were sung. There was a full orchestra and choir to accompany the singing as well. "In Christ Alone" sounded very powerful, and it was neat to see so many evangelicals gathered in one place in Ireland (there were over 500 in attendance).
Over the next few days I expect to be meeting more with the leadership team here and talking about more specific details in regards to how we may best help serve here, budget details, etc. We appreciate your continued prayers and are comforted to know that there are many who are interested in how God is moving in our lives.
We were able to find a park in the town closest to us that the boys really enjoyed and they were also able to explore some castle ruins nearby, that date to the late 1200's. They are also having fun with the new flavors of food that are here (one type of chips is flavored "bacon rasher" and looks - and smells - like shriveled up bacon pieces).
Last night, I had the opportunity to drive in to Dublin with the Director OM Ireland to help manage a booth at a Keith & Kristyn Getty Concert. OM was one of of the sponsors of the event, along with Focus on the Family and Compassion International. We also had the privilege of attending the concert and it was incredible to hear some of the hymns that were sung. There was a full orchestra and choir to accompany the singing as well. "In Christ Alone" sounded very powerful, and it was neat to see so many evangelicals gathered in one place in Ireland (there were over 500 in attendance).
Over the next few days I expect to be meeting more with the leadership team here and talking about more specific details in regards to how we may best help serve here, budget details, etc. We appreciate your continued prayers and are comforted to know that there are many who are interested in how God is moving in our lives.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Catching the Vision
Our family has been in Ireland for 3 days now, at a place called Lacken House - which is the Irish headquarters for the mission group we will be working with. The intention of this trip is to meet the people we would be working with, make sure that our vision for ministry fits within the larger purposes of the work they are doing, get more detailed information about budget needs, and experience some day-to-day living in the country.
We arrived in the Dublin airport after a very long day of travel with the kids. We rented a car and loaded up (minus one missing suitcase with the kid's clothes in it - which finally showed up yesterday). We had an exciting start to our drive, as it was the beginning of rush hour as we pulled on to the motorway in Dublin. Our destination was the Irish countryside, near the town of Roscommon - which is almost exactly in the geographical center of the island. It is about a 2 hour drive from Dublin, and actually went pretty well, considering that I had never driven on the left hand side of the road before!
We arrived at Lacken House around 7pm, just as it was starting to get dark. One of the families that works here had prepared us a meal that we were able to warm up in the stove and enjoy before we crashed and went to bed. We are staying in a little chalet on the property that has a main room, a bedroom, and a loft. The next day we headed in to town (bundled up to keep the chilliness in the air at bay) and went grocery shopping.
There were some definite differences in the shopping experience, but not as great as I had pictured. Of course there were different products and brands, most things were packaged smaller, and we had to "rent" the trolley (read, shopping cart) to use. We also picked some "wellies" (read, rubber boots) for the boys since we quickly learned that their tennis shoes would not hold up long in the wet grass and mud.
And so we have been spending some time just getting to know the people who are working here, exploring the area a bit, and just doing some daily living. We are excited to see how God leads us as we start discussing more specifics around what our work here will look like. It is encouraging to see God working in this place and to talk with other believers about their journeys.
I will continue to post throughout our time here to keep everyone informed. We are scheduled to fly back to the States on the 28th.
We would certainly appreciate your prayers for our family as we look to make some major life changes in the near future! Please feel free to email us or facebook us, as we'll be able to check these regularly.
We arrived in the Dublin airport after a very long day of travel with the kids. We rented a car and loaded up (minus one missing suitcase with the kid's clothes in it - which finally showed up yesterday). We had an exciting start to our drive, as it was the beginning of rush hour as we pulled on to the motorway in Dublin. Our destination was the Irish countryside, near the town of Roscommon - which is almost exactly in the geographical center of the island. It is about a 2 hour drive from Dublin, and actually went pretty well, considering that I had never driven on the left hand side of the road before!
We arrived at Lacken House around 7pm, just as it was starting to get dark. One of the families that works here had prepared us a meal that we were able to warm up in the stove and enjoy before we crashed and went to bed. We are staying in a little chalet on the property that has a main room, a bedroom, and a loft. The next day we headed in to town (bundled up to keep the chilliness in the air at bay) and went grocery shopping.
There were some definite differences in the shopping experience, but not as great as I had pictured. Of course there were different products and brands, most things were packaged smaller, and we had to "rent" the trolley (read, shopping cart) to use. We also picked some "wellies" (read, rubber boots) for the boys since we quickly learned that their tennis shoes would not hold up long in the wet grass and mud.
And so we have been spending some time just getting to know the people who are working here, exploring the area a bit, and just doing some daily living. We are excited to see how God leads us as we start discussing more specifics around what our work here will look like. It is encouraging to see God working in this place and to talk with other believers about their journeys.
I will continue to post throughout our time here to keep everyone informed. We are scheduled to fly back to the States on the 28th.
We would certainly appreciate your prayers for our family as we look to make some major life changes in the near future! Please feel free to email us or facebook us, as we'll be able to check these regularly.
Catching Up
This poor little blog has been severely neglected!
Many things have happened since my last post back in (ahem) August. Since then, we have continued our application process with the mission agency we will serve with. In fact, in September, the whole family went to a week-long training session with the mission agency near Atlanta, GA.
It was an incredible experience to be there and gather information about the organization and to meet people and hear stories about how God is working around the world. Incredibly, our pastor's wife, Angela , volunteered to come with us for the week and watch the kids. That was a tremendous blessing and allowed Sarah and I to experience everything together instead of having to skip sessions to take care of the kids.
We found out the following week that we were officially accepted by the mission on the USA side! That was fantastic news and our next step was then to schedule a vision trip to Ireland with the entire family.
See the next post for details on that trip.
Many things have happened since my last post back in (ahem) August. Since then, we have continued our application process with the mission agency we will serve with. In fact, in September, the whole family went to a week-long training session with the mission agency near Atlanta, GA.
It was an incredible experience to be there and gather information about the organization and to meet people and hear stories about how God is working around the world. Incredibly, our pastor's wife, Angela , volunteered to come with us for the week and watch the kids. That was a tremendous blessing and allowed Sarah and I to experience everything together instead of having to skip sessions to take care of the kids.
We found out the following week that we were officially accepted by the mission on the USA side! That was fantastic news and our next step was then to schedule a vision trip to Ireland with the entire family.
See the next post for details on that trip.
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