Hi everyone it has been awhile. Last month I stayed in a town called Coleraine in Northern Ireland and worked with the Causeway Coast Vineyard Church. My whole squad was together during the month and we stayed in a Scout Hall. We were kept very busy the entire month doing a variety of things. The Vineyard Church has been growing rapidly in their small community moving from one service to three in the month of Easter, so we felt needed. The church has a lot of ministries. Most of them involve helping the community in some way. I served at the Grow Allotment a few times and loved it. It is a project teaching people in the community how to grow fresh produce. What is grown is given away or sold to raise money for the ministry. I really enjoyed working at the green house repotting and weeding. I also worked at the food bank, the Wear House clothing bank, and Celebrate Recovery. I only went to the recovery group a few times but really enjoyed it. My team and I also handed out fliers for the Easter service, worked the Car Boot Sale, helped out at the Easter scavenger hunt, and did administrative work in the church office.
I really enjoyed the month. The church is spirit filled/led and I feel refreshed and revived for the next 3 months of the race. I found the Northern Irish people to be incredibly hospitable and welcoming, and the accent is of course charming! During my time off from ministry I enjoyed the beauty of Northern Ireland. It truly is the Emerald Isle.
1) Where my squad and I stayed the month. It is about a 15 minute walk to the church. 2) My teammates Brad and Jacob going door to door handing out fliers for the Easter service. 3) My teammates Ben, Angie and Kat sorting donations at the church’s warehouse. 4) In the greenhouse at the Grow Allotment. I had a blast with this group of people. 5) Beautiful castle ruins. 6&7) Every month the church has a car boot sale to raise money for its ministries. Thousands of people show up. These pictures are just from the inside. Out in the parking lot there are hundreds of sellers. I helped out with selling items. I got really good at working with the British Pound! 8&9) The Emerald Isle. 10) Every Sunday I would help out in the Kid’s Ministry team working with the Little Stars the 2-3 year olds. It was interesting playing with children who were not starved for attention and ready to jump all over a white person. 11,12,& 13) The grandure of Northern Ireland coastline. I love my red jacket I bought here for a British pound!
When I first arrived in Ireland I think I had a bit of culture shock. For the last 8 months I was used to third world countries, I didn’t really know what to think. Honestly, I was not looking forward to Ireland unlike most of my squad mates. Ireland was not initially on our route and when I heard we were going there I thought, “Will they really need us? This is not what I signed up for. It’s a first world country. The church in Ireland is dead.” Thankfully, God knew what He was doing and used last month to show me that He is alive and is on the move even in first world countries.
I am currently in Transnistria. It is a country not recognised by the United States. It is between Moldova and Ukraine. I will post a blog soon about the ministries I am helping out in here!
