Greetings from Ireland! I’ve been here for two weeks now, though, as it so often goes in life, it feels like much longer. The normalcy of American life has slowly drifted away, and I’ve found myself embracing the World Race way of living. We’ve been camping in tents since we arrived, and most nights we are welcomed by violent winds and pouring rain. The first few nights I was convinced I would blow away and never be heard of again. We’ve already had a handful of tents collapse because of the wind. I’m pleased to tell you I am still alive and well (though entirely sleep-deprived).
My team of seven is allotted 1 Euro each per meal (which equates to approximately $1.50). We have no refrigerator or stove. I’ve lost count of how many peanut butter and honey sandwiches I’ve consumed. Dinner usually consists of a can of corn, a can of beans, and a ready-to-eat baby chicken. Tearing the chicken to shreds with our fingers has become a completely normal ritual. One time we splurged and purchased some salt and pepper. That was a good day.
We shower two to three times a week, and wear the same clothes for days in a row. The outfit I’m wearing now has reached it’s third day. The beautiful thing is that no one seems to notice or care, because we are all in this together.
I’m currently with 42 people (my squad), but my team is limited to the seven I mentioned before. We get along wonderfully–we can’t help but laugh when we’re together. We pray every morning together and have “feedback” every night. Feedback consists of sharing with each other how we are doing physically, emotionally, and spiritually. This time is also used to encourage each other and discuss any conflicts that may have arisen during the day.
In a recent facebook message one of my friends asked me to describe to her a day in the life of my trip. At this time I an unable to even imagine what that looks like. The first week we were in Dublin, where we spent much of our time in training. This week we’ve been in Galway, where we’ve started to work with the local churches.
The church my team is working with is called Discovery church. The leaders are such humble and passionate people who strongly desire to show the Irish a different way of doing church. Most of our time has been spent cleaning off graffiti in the city, doing yard work for a single mother, beautifying a park in a bad area of town, and cleaning up rubbish in a lower-income community. Many locals have stopped to ask us what we are doing and why, and one of them even showed up to the Sunday church service a few days ago.
Before I left many people found it curious that Ireland was one of the countries on our itinerary. After all, Ireland is a first-world nation. But Ireland is also a nation that has been deeply hurt by Christianity/Catholicism. Most people are cynical about anything to do with the church. A major issue that Ireland faces is rampant suicide rates and alcoholism. By working with Discovery church for these few weeks we hope to create interest and give a new face to church, and therefore spark interest in the redemptive qualities of Jesus Christ.
So that’s a brief update on what I’ve been up to lately. To be frank with you, I’ve been having a harder time than I expected–mostly due to the cold and rainy climate. It rains so much and so sporadically, and we are outside for most of the day. Like I mentioned, I haven’t been sleeping well, and sickness has broken out in our squad. Many of us are currently suffering from sore throats and congestion and vomiting. Also, my focus seems to be lost somewhere in the chaos of daily life. I’m trying to put it back on Jesus, because then and only then will I find happiness despite external circumstances.
I would appreciate if you could pray for my focus, my health, and that I could start getting adequate sleep.
Thanks for taking the time to read this entry–I’m going to try and make updates at least every two weeks. Until then, I’m going to leave you with a few fun Irish facts…
-Craic (pronounced crack) is an Irish word for fun
-You have to pay for grocery bags
-Their stew is delicious!
