Greetings from Ireland! We’re having some great craic out here (craic is a saying for fun in Ireland).
First and foremost, thank you to everyone who is supporting me through money, prayers, or by simply reading this blog or showing interest in my 11-month missions trip around the world. I consider you all as much a part of this ministry as I am, and I very much appreciate your support.
The first week of this trip has been awesome (or “deadly” as the Irish would say). We spent the first five days at a campground in Clondalkin, which is just outside Dublin. Those days were our one-field training camp that we spent getting familiar with the Irish culture and getting to know our teammates better. My 7-person team learned how to budget our meals ($3 per day per person), and we got accustomed to camping out in our tents. Picture 80+ tents staked out on a small plot of land right in the front of the campground. It looked pretty cool.
On Sunday, we traveled about three hours by bus to Galway, which is located in in the middle of the western coast. While in Dublin and Clondalkin, all the natives said Galway was nothing short of brilliant, and they were dead on. We are camping out in Salthill, and a beautiful view of the coast is just 50 yards away from our tents (now only 40+ since the other half of our group is in a different part of the country).
After five days of training camp, my team was ready to get to work, and we finally got to meet our contact at Abundant Life Christian Centre, where we will be working for our final two weeks in Ireland. Today was a basic orientation, and we met the staff and participated in their Monday night prayer service. Tomorrow, we start our ministry, which includes street ministry and drama, so please keep us in your prayers. Less than 1 percent of the Irish population are Evangelical Christians, so pray that God will open people’s hearts and minds to our message.
