Leave Me There

We got up early, but not early enough to be comfortable in the airport. We received a notice from our airline that told us we basically had half an hour to check our bags, make it through securtiy, US preclearance, and get to the gate. By grace, we did, but not with some struggle. At security, my ticket and passport fell out of the tray-thing. I was starting to put on my shoes when I realized they were gone. The ticket was under a guard's shoe, and my passport had fallen upside-down, so it was wedged on the side of the belt on the floor. Praise the Lord I found it! Everyone got to the gate, and our flight was delayed, so we were able to take it easy for a bit. Our flight was 7.5-8 hours, and we hit the road from Chicago. IT was pretty quiet; we were all very tired. Arriving at campus, we prayed and parted ways. It's good to b home.

This morning, I taught Sunday school solo at Middleton. We talked about how God fulfilled His promise of children to Abraham, and that Christians are then adopted into God's family. It blew their minds, but I had to claify a little, because one of the kids said "Adopted...I'm adopted?!? Does that mean our parents aren't our real parents!?! I'm living with STRANGERS?!??!" Once that got cleared up, they loved singing "Father Abraham" and dancing at the end. Andrew from Douglas apparently gave a wonderful sermon, and I got to meet some great people. One lady had converted from Catholicism because she developed a dust allergy and was literally allergic to her church. We had a whole mess of leftovers, and had to head out after cleaning as much as we could and debriefing with Jonny. They drove us to Cork, and after a few minutes of heartfelt goodbyes, we were on the bus to Dublin. Those 3 hours seemed like forever. We settled into the hotel, where a few o...

Today was sightseeing day! We got up early to a full Irish breakfast. Eggs (eww), delicious bacon, toast, sausage, white (regular) pudding, and black (blood) pudding. I couldn't quite bring myself to eat the blood pudding, but I should have. We went along a tiny road that inclind along the west coast to County Kerry. We passed through Bantry, stopped in Kenmare for souvenier/gifts shopping at Quills. We ate lunch at a cute cafe called "Boka", where I had a baby shrimp and avocado sandwich. Everyone's fod was delicious. We then spent time in Killarney National Park. It was uber foggy at the beginning, and we only had about a 15ft visibility range. It was just a white sheet over the landscape. Everyone was a little discouraged that we had driven so far for nothing. But then, we passed through a tunnel, the fog lifted, and revealed one of the most gorgeous view I've ever seen in my life. JWellum5 helped pick out some stellar places to stop and take pictures. Blake an...

A wonderful final lecture on Soli Deo Gloria ! It was a great reminder that our service here is not to our own good, but our Father's. We are only here temporarily to help build His kingdom. At lunch, Jonny picked on me, as per the usual, but also thanked us for being a flexible, dependable group. It's relieving to know we are actually helpful and not a nuisance. Matt, Arrita and I went door-to-door again, but were relatively unsuccessful. Most people weren't home, and the people that were, weren't quite as poite in their declining to take a flyer. We nearly had a couple Gospel conversations, but they were with moms who were busy with children running around their feet. Aoibhin and I hit the trail for a quick break, and she was amazed at possums, not knowing that they "played dead". (Love ya, girl! Hopefully one day you'll get to visit me.) At home, Blake gave a good talk to the teenagers on the importance no the local church, and how it should affect our...

Accidentally forgot to set my alarm last night, and dreamt about Parks and Rec while everyone else was up having breakfast. Headed off to the MBC lecture, which seemed to go by very quickly. The books we brought to sell are being purchased much more towards the end of the week. After lecture, we went to Carolyn's house for lunch, and enjoyed good fellowship. They had a beautiful home, and a board for standing in the tallest tree. Naturally, I climbed it, and loved looking at the scenery for a few moments. Matt and I were paired up to do some door-to-door evangelism. Most people weren't ome, but we put flyers in the letterboxes, and talked to a few moms who were home with kiddos. But we met a woman who already went to Midleton Baptist! She introduced her kids, and although we thought we were going to share the Gospel, she pointed at the flyer and said "yeah, look, that's me!" It was a solid hour in the sun. A couple from Kinsale Baptist had us over for dinner, and ...

Definitely no break for us as we march on forward! Today was Dr. Wellum's wheelhouse lecture of "Who does Christ say He is?" and " Solus Christus ". We had lunch, and Carolyn from Zimbabwe was kind enough to share her testimony with us. She was very much an encouragement to us. Most of her kids don't live here, but she and her husband came to Ireland via Zimbabwe and South Africa. Then we went to Passage West to do some gardening. It was fun, and I was totally in my element. The garden was mostly roses, so my arms are very scratched up. Despite that, gardening is always a reminder of what the Lord does in our lives. He snips out the dead parts (sin) that are no good to us, enabling us to grow and produce more fruit for the Kingdom, and we function best when we drink deeply from the Living Water. The gardening allows Douglas Baptist to do more outreach once we leave. It helps establish relationships with locals for the future. In the evening we attended the ...

This morning was the second lecture. It was a more typical Irish day; colder and rainier. After lunch, we tried some direct, walk-up evangelism, and we had some small books of the Gospel of John. I was partnered with Jan, who was also pretty quiet, so we had a more difficult time approaching people. The area we were in, people were pretty busy, and either said no (upon seeing what I was holding), or were on phones, or were walking quickly by with earbuds in. So that was a little discouraging, but I did get to gibe several Gospels away, so hopefully they will be read, and God will do what He does-save sinners. I was especially encouraged by a man from Cork Baptist named Joe who helped prep us. He kept saying "I'm not a teacher, I'm not a pastor" but he walked us through a significant chunk of scripture. He told us, with his thick Cork accent, his testimony. And all about his passion to share the Gospel with his people. We had a lovely diner at Cronin's; a place th...

Today has been a full day, sunrise to sunset. We got up a bit earlier than yesterday, to head to Dr. Wellum's lecture on the person of Christ and Sola Scriptura . We had to wait a few minutes, because there was a Zumba class in the room that had been booked. Alyssa, Devan, and I manned the booksale table, all of which were offered to the students at a discounted price. There's not many resources for pastors (and laypersons alike) to dive deeper. There was a picinic-style lunch waiting for us at the church office, and we then left to evangelize, specifically to international people. It wasn't too difficult, Cork is one of the most diverse places in the world, and surveys are an easy way to talk to people. I was paired with Andrew, who is the pastor of a local church plant here. It was encouraging to hear his heart for ministry, and the love he has for his wife and children. We got to have several good Gospel conversations, invite them to the international cafe, and pass out...

A shower and a full night's sleep left me very refreshed this morning. We dressed up and went to Carrigaline Baptist Church, which was about 50 people in the Carrigaline Community Center. Alyssa, Devan, Jess and I helped teach Sunday school. The memory verse was John 11:25, and I told the story of Christ raising Lazarus from the dead. We explained how we are spiritually dead before salvation, and they drew pictures of the story while I taught. We did, however, have about twice as long as I originally anticipated, and we were starting to loose attention towards the end. But, thankfully, the other girls came up with some one-the-spot- ideas for games. I will be sure to pray for an 11 year old in the class, who says she isn't quite ready to follow Jesus. Even though her parents are Christians, and have taught her their faith, she doesn't quite know what's holding her back. She says she'll think about it more when she's older, but hopefully the Lord will do a work i...

It was such a smooth travel/journey, I can hardly believe it. We stopped in Indy for Chick-fil-A (of course). There was a bit of traffic and rain in Chicago, as can be expected. The woman who checked our bags asked if we were a dance team, to which we all looked at each other and laughed. I didn't sleep a wink; I forgot how difficult it is to sleep on planes. But just being in the airport, I wouldn't be able to tell you we are in Ireland. It (at least from the window), looks like Kentucky, and feels like home. We flew through the night, and we got here in time for breakfast, so that ought to help keep me awake. We were welcomed to a very large house in Currabinny by Joy and Ross. There are beautiful skylights and windows everywhere. We hiked a short trail through the woods to town, where we saw a bunch of kiddos jumping off the pier into cold Atlantic sea water. On our way there, riding the bus, I sat next to a sweet girl, probably about my age, named Emma from Marseille, Fran...

Y'all, there are 41 hours left until my team and I hit the road (and skies) for County Cork! It's a so-close and so-far feeling. I'm starting to dream about green hills and potatoes. (Just kidding! Maybe.) Our team leader finally got his visa! We're very grateful and excited that the Lord answered that prayer. Flexibility is always key while on a mission trip, but it would still be difficult without the man in charge. Especially because he has all the flight information. We'll be taking a van to Chicago, and flying straight to Dublin, then it's a 3 hour bus ride to Cork. If I'm calculating correctly, we'll be arriving mid-morning in Ireland, so that bus ride should be gorgeous . I'll also be posting a short journal of what we did each day when I get back, and will take pictures when I can. With a suitcase mostly packed, passport out, and spirit high, I feel about as prepared as I possibly can be. But travel never goes quite as expected, especia...