It’s hard to believe we’ve been in Ireland for almost a week. We arrived safely in Dublin last Wednesday morning. It was about 3:00 am according to my watch, but the sun was up and a new day was beginning in the city. We took a bus from the airport to our camp site in Clondalkin. We unloaded our gear and began to set up Tent City. Our 85-ish tents swallowed the center lot of the camp. The logical thing to do in my mind after setting up my tent was to get in and go to sleep. After all, it still felt like it was the middle of the night. However, it appears the best way to get rid of jet lag is to jump right on board with the local time and get used to it as soon as possible. Sooooo, it was Race Day! There will be some race elements this year, and I must say that my team got off to a great start. We had to make our way to town and visit 6 Irish landmarks or do significant Irish things. Examples are visits to St. Patrick’s Cathedral, finding a leprachaun hat for 2 euro, and eating Irish stew. I can’t say I was crazy about the Irish stew…but I have a feeling this was a luxury compared to most of the food I’ll eat in the next 11 months. Believe it or not, my team (Team Silas) won the race! The prize we received was incredible. It was a very emotional moment when we received it – a box of Lucky Charms! We ate them for breakfast this morning. Below is a picture from St. Pat’s, and the above video (if it works) was made by our team leader (Ken) on move-in day. He had a little more energy than we did.
This past week was called Launch, which is basically a continuation of training before being sent out to do ministry. Each day consisted of worship, informational sessions, team meetings, and lots of walking. Guess I better get used to it. The market was about a 30-45 minute walk from camp. Our budget was 7 euro per day per person. I’ve had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch for the past 5 days. No lie. We have to buy in bulk and be creative. We have no stove or means of refriderating. That definitely limits our selection. Breakfast has been a combination of apples, bananas, yogurt, cold pancakes with chocolate, and granola bars. Lunch as been PB&J. Dinner is probably the hardest to figure out, but we’re working on it. Our food budget is now basically cut in half (3.5ish euro a day per person – 6 people on my team). That means 1 euro per meal per person. Crazy, huh? Gotta love community living.
Yesterday we packed our belongings (the few we have) and travelled about 3 hours to Galway. It’s absolutely beautiful here. We’re right beside the ocean. It’s a little too cold for my taste, and it’s VERY windy. My tent literally flew away when I was trying to set it up today. It’s been raining a little, but not as much as I expected. We’ll be camping here for the 2 weeks while we work with Abundant Life Church. We don’t have a set agenda, so we’re basically hitting the streets to hang out with folks. Ministry begins tomorrow, so say a special prayer for us to get going. We have to go to a local pub for internet access, but I’ll try to post another blog soon geared more towards current thoughts, struggles, and other random ramblings. I just wanted to let everyone know that all is well. We’re safe, happy, and healthy. It’s hard to believe I’m actually doing this, but I can already tell that this is going to be the most incredible year of my life. I won’t be the same. I’m not the same. And I’m really excited about that. Any questions about the race so far?
