The first week or so of our time here in Ireland was spent with our two squads together in a small town 10 kilometers or so outside of Dublin. All 80+ of us stayed in a campground that was full of comfort, hot showers, familiar faces, and most of all Wifi (that means wireless internet mom and dad). The transition was rather seamless. I was able to call home if needed or text a friend for encouragement. Life pretty much existed as normal.
Since this time we have split up according to squads and gone our separate ways. My squad travelled as a whole to Galway, a pretty sweet city 3 hours away. We again are staying in a campground but immediately I could tell it was going to be different. What I’m guessing were 40 mile per hour winds greeted us as we set up our tents. It was brutal. It all became real to me in that moment.
Half of our squad, including my team, is working alongside a church called Discovery Church. I know no other way to say it except I love them and their vision. I am floored by their unity, by their love. Something that we normally take for granted would be transportation…and the work for our time in Ireland requires us to drive about 30 minutes to and from our ministry sites. Instead of asking us to take a bus the church members have been volunteering to pick us up and take us back. The significance of that may be lost but it speaks volumes to me.
The work I have been doing is at the Pastor of Discovery Church’s house, Paul. Since Discovery Church doesn’t have an actual church building they use Paul and Caroline’s garage as the main storage place. When we first got there it was filled with everything from Christmas decorations to musical instruments to baby clothes. There was no way for the family to get to their stuff or the church members to get what they needed. So our mission for the week was to clean, paint, weed out, and organize that space for them. Tomorrow we will put up the shelves and reassemble the room and the job will be done…but the impact that family left on us will never be complete. Paul and Caroline have lavishly blessed us with so much more than we ever expected or deserved. It it was enough that we were blessed to work indoors protected from the elements, but we were also given meals, a cake for a teammates birthday, a place to wash clothes, snacks, a chance to play with the cutest kids and dog ever!, and the list continues. I don’t think I have ever met kinder, gentler, more giving people.
There is so much more to say, to tell but I am lacking the words to communicate that. Hopefully we’ll find internet again soon…!
