A few days before we were to leave Romania we got the news that our contact ministry in Coleraine, Northern Ireland had fallen through and they wouldn’t have use for us until the 18th of August leaving us with 10 days to fend for ourselves. My team and the folks from our partner team, team Shofar put out the word that we needed a ministry in Northern Ireland and waited. When we flew into Dublin it was 50 degrees and raining, we slept in the airport until the buses began to run, 2 teams left us there to leave for Galway and another town about an hour outside Dublin. With nowhere to go or be we tagged along with the teams who would stay in Dublin to the hostel where they were staying. We had 48 hours to figure out what we were going to do. We researched hostels and campsites, knowing we had a budget of 5 pounds a day and that the cheapest campsites were 6 pounds a day things were looking bleak and camping in the cold wet of Northern Ireland was becoming a certainty. Then Daniel wrote us back.
Daniel was the last person emailed and the first to respond, he is a friend of Shofar’s team leader Courtney’s brother. He has been working for 2 years at a Presbyterian church in Belfast and thought that we might be able to spend 10 days in the care takers house, and that he might be able to find ministries for us too, but he would check and get back to us. Two hours later he had secured us free housing at Fisherwick church and had already lined up 4 ministries for our time there. We bought tickets for the next day and headed out minus Cierra who had decided to return home.
After a 2 hour bus ride and a wonderful conversation with Krishna, who was on his way to visit his cousins, we poured out into the bus depot and quickly constructed our staple food, peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches. A few minutes later a tall handsome man with dark hair, blue eyes and an Irish brogue approached us, it was Daniel. He guided us and are overstuffed packs through the streets of Belfast, huffing and puffing past brick and stone buildings, past the queen’s college which I am sure must be a castle up to a large Victorian church made of stone and stained glass, this was to be our home. We were taken to a small house adjacent to the church and fed lasagna and Wheaton bread (its like banana bread without banana and so much better, yeah I know it sounds weird but its great) , grapes and cheese. We ate the deliciously familiar food and relished the unfamiliar bread, then made our way back to the church, we were given the grand tour of passage ways and corridors, kitchens and game rooms and then given free run of the place.
Since we have been here we have worked with S.O.S. bus, beautiful feet, Bangor youth ministries, Crescent church, a healing ministry, a community outreach, Fisherwick kid’s club, The Lisbern Polish church groups, met tons of new friends and fallen in love with Belfast. Our 3 days of groceries frequently turns into 5 as people in the community feed us and love on us. The crazy part is we came with nothing, expecting hardship but knowing we would receive the Lord’s provision. He has exceeded any expectation I could have hoped to have thought of to wish for. It makes me sad that I know in writing this I cannot possibly convey the magnitude of how amazing this has been but that was my shot, God is Good!!!!
