So much has happened in just one week's time here in Ireland. The goodness of God never ceases to amaze me!! I am already finding it difficult to blog every single detail but I just want to tell you all EVERYTHING!! Here is a run down of what we did this past week in the city:
Monday: Arrived in Dublin, checked in at our amazing hostel, Abbey Court.
Then we met our staff contacts at Dublin Christian Mission and joined them for prayer meeting. Quickly made some new friends at the hostel who seemed intrigued with our belief in God and our mission across the world to spread the Gospel.
Tuesday: Traveled to Wicklow with our contact, Liesel Reimer, to visit the girls camp site where our team will be working the last week of July for 7-9 year old girls. The rest of the team went to The Lighthouse, which is DCM's drop in center for food, clothing, and shelter for those in need in the community. Sarah led the devotion and the whole team ministered to those who wandered into The Lighthouse.
Wednesday: Liesel put us to work at the mission cleaning and scrubbing the kitchen and bathrooms and organizing the storage closets. Then we went to a restaurant called Arlingtons and were entertained by live Irish music and dancing!! (See my Facebook for a video of the dancing!!)
After returning to the hostel we went straight to the Hammock Room where we had been having our feedback time. This is like our "family time" at the end of the day to speak life into one another by bringing out positive and constructive feedback for everyone on the team. It makes us closer as a team and helps encourage and hold us accountable to one another. This particular night we decided to start with some worship time. We plugged up the speakers and started the music. After a few songs the door opened and in walked Kelan, wide eyed and confused he stumbled in and plopped down. He sat quietly and watched trying to figure our exactly what we were doing and what we were experiencing. With our hands raised, eyes closed, and hearts full we turned off the music and began reading Scripture. Interested, Kelan took Katie's bible and opened it up. It fell on Psalm 31:13. As he read the Word he began to weep. This is the same 19 year old kid who stumbled into the room two nights ago loudly proclaiming that he was an atheist and wanted to know how we could believe in something we could not see. He asked us each individually why we believed in God. For two whole days he tagged along at all of our ministry locations and we began to see the servants heart God had given Kelan. He didn't know it yet, but God had set Kelan apart for a purpose and was already doing a work in him. This was the third night he had joined us and as he read Scripture for the first time you could see the hunger in his eyes growing with every word he uttered. He stopped, took a deep breathe, and said "This is the weirdest thing that has ever happened to me. I feel like there is a person in the bible looking at me." As we encouraged him and prayed over him he began to experience just how REAL this God we serve truly is!! Kelan joyfully gave His life to the Lord that night and committed to following Christ's footsteps the rest of his life. It was an amazing experience for all of us!! Please pray for Kelan Wright, our new brother in Christ! God has big plans for this young man!!
It is so amazing to see how the Lord moves and speaks and works!! One day Kelan had no faith in the things unseen and with the blink of an eye, he saw with unveiled eyes, heard the voice, and was set free from his unbelief.
"But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, for fear that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:3-6 NKJV)
Thursday: We spent all afternoon at The Lighthouse sorting through clothes, preparing meals, and just having conversations with those who came to eat. Later that evening we got to meet up with some of the other H Squad teams and go to a NeedtoBreathe concert here in Ireland!! It was so amazing and fun!! We were all thankful for the break and enjoyed being together.
Friday: Ready for another day of cleaning we headed to the DCM and got to work!! A few of us went downstairs and started painting while the others stayed upstairs in the kitchen and closets adding some WR organization to the place! It looks so good!! Liesel has been so gracious to us this month and has really set the bar high for the role of a ministry contact! We are so thankful for DCM and all the staff!!
Saturday: Another day of ministry at The Lighthouse and got the privilege of meeting some other missionaries here in Ireland, Lucas and Sarah
Sarah, my precious friend!!! <3
Sunday: We were all blessed at Core Church service with Liesel. The worship and message was so needed!
Monday: Finished painting and cleaning at DCM. It looks soooooo good!!! I wish I had before pictures but here's how it all turned out.
Tuesday: Spent all day at The Lighthouse and I got to share my testimony and some Scripture. It was awesome to be able to share and hear some stories from others that were present. God is truly using The Lighthouse and DCM to bring HOPE to the people of this city and it is ALL FOR THE GLORY OF GOD!!
The POWER of God never ceases to amaze me!! To think of all that has happened in just a week and a half. It is beyond anything my team could make happen on our own. But with God…it is ALL possible.
Because when God speaks it is REAL.
When He speaks it is UNEXPLAINABLE.
When He speaks hearts CHANGE and lives are SAVED.
Thanks be to God for His passionate pursuit!
Thanks be to God for His sweet and powerful voice!
God is speaking.
And He wants to speak to YOU!
