They said to come with no expectations and to give up my
rights.
I tried to do this, but it didn’t happen. As I was preparing
to leave for Ireland, I genuinely expected the worst. I expected to be doing ministry
I didn’t like, working with people who might not be so friendly, and living in
squalor. But what I’ve received instead are many, many Irish blessings.
To begin with, the main ministry my team has been working on
is painting.
(Who needs ladders when you have a team mate!)
To some might be misery, and to be honest I thought it would
be for me as well. However, God has completely allowed me to experience joy
while painting (It was shocking for me too!) We have been working in one
neighborhood in Galway and we have really been able to get to know the people
there. The reception we have received has been heartwarming. Celia, an elderly
lady who lost her husband about 5 years ago, had recently been robbed yet she
still allowed strangers into her home so we could bless her. Nelly, another elderly
lady who let curse words fly pretty regularly, was so overcome by emotion that
she began to weep. And yet another elderly lady, Nora, made us fresh scones and
tea everday we worked in her home.
We also received several offers to stay in homes if we ever come back to
Galway. I’m so glad God knew such a mundane task would lead to so many
blessings for us.
Secondly, our ministry contacts at Discovery Church have
beyond hospitable. From the beginning Paul, Andrew, and Sarah have done their
best to make us feel welcomed and comfortable. They worked so hard to arrange
lifts (the term “rides” has a very different connotation here), meals, and
housing for us. So many people have opened up their homes to us and provided gorgeous(their
term, not mine) meals for us. And so many people have come to work with us
while we’re painting. One of the funniest people we’ve met is Keith Burke (it
turns out the Burke name is pretty famous in Galway!). Keith seemed very
reserved, quiet, and kind of annoyed by us. But, we were told by a few other
people that he actually liked us and enjoyed working us! We even convinced to
join in on a “Senior Portrait” pose.
There are so many more people that we grew
to love so much: The whole Burke Family, Willy and Theresa, Herjit and Stephen,
Irina, the Feeney Family, Fran, of course the Cullen’s, I could go on and on…The
people of Galway and Discovery Church in particular were such a ridiculously
huge blessing!
Lastly, God blew us away with our housing accommodations. Prior
to arriving in Galway, we were told we would be tenting for the month. As a
team, we were pretty excited about this (except for Mary who fervently prayer
against the tents!). Well Mary’s prayers were answered in a big way! Our first
week in Ireland we stayed with a lovely woman named Fran and her two adorable
daughters Clara and Lola. Fran graciously allowed us to stay in her back studio.
We each had a mattress, some floor space, lots of tea, and amazing food!
(Our studio at Fran’s) (Fran’s house that she named ‘Bethel’)
After
leaving Fran’s we moved to Brian’s house for the week. At Brian’s house we have
our own bed (or a very large bed to share with one other person), cable TV, and
the house to ourselves. Again, we
thought we would be tenting the week after Brian’s, but he graciously allowed
us to stay until the end of our time in Ireland!!!!! Even those of us who had
been excited about tenting were thrilled we were able to stay in a home since
the cold, rainy Irish weather was a bit of a surprise to us. Again, more Irish
blessings.
All in all, Ireland was one bug blessing!
