Ireland is gorgeous. My breath is taken away multiple times a day, by the beauty of the land, the sounds of Irish accents, the comfort of the old age homes and the love we have been freely given from those we come in contact with. The land gives off an earthy smell created from the animals that are grazing all over, the rain on the road, and the peat moss burning in the homes. I am amazed by the amount of green I see, only broken up by stone walls or houses. The land is rich and productive, but the people are feeling the cold and the dampness. There is an oppression over Ireland, over the people.There is a high rate of suicide in many of the towns we have stayed or worked in. Alcohol is a dangerous addiction, depression holds people down.
Ireland has a long history of religion. Catholics ruled the land until England invaded and brought over the Protestant religion and tried to wipe out the catholics. Now there is Northern Ireland(protestant) and Ireland(catholic) Each has a distrust of the other and the people themselves have a distrust of the religious leader. there is a long standing hurt in Catholicism on a personal level and misunderstandings and lack of understanding of the Protestants.
There is a change happening in Ireland. A small group of Christians are living like their life and the life of those around them depend on God. We are blessed by these christians in amazing ways and I have learned so much from them. They have opened up their homes to us. Fran let us stay in her house the first week and feed us delicious food and gave us great conversations and lots of love, tea, and biscuits. Brian, the father of the pastor let us stay in his house for the last two weeks, blessing us with rooms galore and a place of our own. Many families have cooked dinner for us and invited us over for fellowship and fun, which last for hours sense the sun sets around 11pm.
We are working with Discovery Church in Galway city. They have adopted a neighborhood and part of our ministry is working there. We have spent many days painting the inside and outside of the homes of some of the elderly in the neighborhood. They are incredibly thankful and hopefully we will have planted seeds of hope and love that the church here will tend to.
I spent a few days painting with Nellie a beautiful widow with some of the girls on my team, Andrew one of our contacts and one day two girls from the church. Nellie is 87 and full of spunk. It took her a bit to warm up to us but in no time she felt completely comfortable with us running in and out of her. She was her own boss, and made sure to show us her alter to Jesus. We always had the offer of tea and biscuits and scones stayed on the table for us to eat. I think I wore off the weight I consumed by laughing so often. I laughed along with her at the stories she told, and I suppressed belly laughs when ever she dropped an F bomb. I formed such an attachment to Nellie in those short few days, I could see the need she has for an intimacy with Jesus. It was an honor to fill her house with smiles, laughter, and conversation.
Every person I meet has been so kind and welcoming. It has been wonderful to walk in to church and now and love all the faces you see. To sit thew an amazing worship service and recognize the voices singing around you, to know who it is praying for the community several rows over. Not wanting to leave the conversations your having, and at the same time excited for the rest of the day.
Ukraine is next on the list, the city of L’viv. I am sad to leave Ireland and excited for L’viv. I am still in need of financial support. I am in need of $3,500 by October 1st.
