Most of our time was spent in the heart of Dublin at the Chelsea Hotel Backpackers Hostel near the city center– if you’re ever in Dublin, you need to stay there! We met some incredible people at the hostel, and half of our ministry was just talking to them about why we were there. The rest of the time we worked with a homeless ministry called the Lighthouse. Several days a week they serve dinner to homeless men and women from around Dublin, and they offer them clothes and toiletries. We helped organize the massive clothing rooms downstairs and do a crazy thorough spring cleaning, and then we helped serve during dinner nights. Ireland is going through a really tough recession, so there are a staggering number of homeless men and women. And a majority of them are suffering from addictions to heroine, which is running rampant throughout the city. It was really difficult talking to them and hearing their stories and questions about God, knowing that our pat Sunday school answers weren’t going to cut it. But it was an incredible ministry– it really is a Lighthouse in the darkness. I don’t have any pictures from the Lighthouse, but these are some pictures from just around Dublin.
Our church home for the month– if you are ever in Dublin, visit the Trinity Church Network at the Exchange! This place felt like home instantly.
