Lame title, I know. Get it? “Intense” and “in tents”? Ha. Yes, I’m pretty sure my team is tired of my goofy attempts at humor, as well!
But we honestly are in tents this entire month. We started out outside of Dublin and are now situated in Salthill, which is about a mile from the lovely city of Galway. Our tents are maybe 100 meters from the Atlantic Ocean. And while the view is incredible, I can’t lie to you: Ireland is rather windy, cold and rainy. But, yesterday we saw three double rainbows! We also almost were blown away by the wind, but the rainbows made up for it slightly.
We’ve been working with Discovery Church, a church where “we do church differently”. What does that mean? Some of us are still thinking about what a different church looks like, but our contact has amazing ideas. We went out and cleaned graffiti and picked up trash, speaking with people along the way. Being the arms and feet of Jesus is a new concept to many of the people here, who have been really hurt by the church in the past.
Ireland has a huge stereotype of being a land of laughing redheads, jockularity coursing through their veins, a land flowing with Guiness and more Guiness. But Jimmy, the outreach pastor at Discovery, told us some sobering facts. Less that one percent of Europeans are Evangelical Christians. The church in Africa is growing 50 times faster than the European church. Ireland is the least-evangelized country in Europe, and the average missionary here only lasts 1.5 years before heading home. Suicide is a huge problem here. God isn’t relevant to people here; they see no need for a God. It’s hard to talk to people sometimes but we’ve also found some people who were really open to listening about this God we preach- a God who loved us enough to come to earth to do the one thing he couldn’t do in heaven: die. FOR US. A God who cares about our hurts and pains. A God who has sent 84 (maybe a little crazy) young adults around the world to proclaim His love, redemption and grace.
I loved what one woman said. She said that, after having become a Christian, what she has found is this:
“The journey is hard, but I’m no longer alone.”
I also really liked that, because we’re working with an amazing woman of God named Angela this week. Her journey has been hard at times, but she’s not alone. (None of us are!) Talking to her and her mother has been the highlight of my time here so far. They are both so wise and full of God. The word “feisty” also comes to mind when I think of these two! It’s been a pleasure to help them out with yardwork and housework, to be fed by them (physically and spiritually) and to just meet two women who are so passionate about seeing the Kingdom be restored in Galway and in Ireland.
View from a cliff by our campground.
Want to pray? Pray for our squad’s health, for divine appointments, that people be receptive to what we share with them, that Carol, Jimmy, Angela, Paul and Discovery and Abundant Life churches be blessed and be a blessing to this community, that God just work in huge ways in this country and city, and that the Internet start working for us in a more consistent manner!
Also? I don’t hate camping anymore! Though going to sleep afraid I’ll be blown into the sea has added a new dimension to my prayer life! 😛 Be blessed today!
