Time Coming to an End

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!