Week 1: All of the World Race squads, alumni, and staff came together in Dublin for the Awakening conference. It was a great week of spending time with our squad that we hadn’t seen in a few months and a time of refueling ourselves.
Week 2: My team, City Lights, traveled with team Green Light to Galway, Ireland. We arrived at the camping site that we called home and began ministry with Discovery Church. We met with the pastor, Paul, and associate pastor, Jimmy, for an orientation about the history of Christianity in Ireland and many issues that people face in Galway. We worked in the community cleaning graffiti and asking local shop owners if they needed help with anything in their business; it was a great way to introduce ourselves and begin to build relationships.
Week 3: We trekked around the city of Galway, while passing out 10,000 CD’s of Sunday PM and Andrew Feeney (the worship leader at Discovery Church). We met many people in the community and were able to invite people to the worship conference that Sunday PM, a worship team out of Nashville, TN, led in Galway. We had a great weekend of worship and helping where we were needed with the worship conference.
Week 4: We were introduced to Susan, the owner of a coffee shop ministry named An Tobar Nua, who blessed us with a warm place to stay for the week. Some of the workers in the coffee shop are support-raised missionaries from the states, while others are employees from Galway; it was such a blessing to spend time with them and encourage their ministry. They are amazing. We also spent time with Pastor Paul and his family. We helped make crafts for Sunday school, as well as taught the class for two Sundays. The kids were so much fun and made me laugh with their random thoughts. We painted the Joyce’s living room, a couple that attends Discovery Church who prepared many lunches for us. We also did street evangelism in Eyre Square, the center of the city. We spoke to a lot of different people and invited them to attend Discovery Church. Rachel and I met a woman named Nala from Uganda while talking with people; her excitement over us going to Africa was very encouraging to us both. We also went hashing in downtown Galway (a game that’s similar to hide and seek, but you leave symbols written on the sidewalk in chalk that lead to the person that’s hiding). We were all dressed in black with face-paint on our faces, while everyone else was dressed up to go out on Friday night. Good times 🙂
Week 5: Our teams were split up amongst different host families for our last week in Galway; Laura and I, as well as Jon and Cinthia from team Green Light, are staying with the Etti’s in Athenry, a small town outside of Galway. Toyan and Larry, along with their two daughters, Tomasin and Anu, have welcomed us into their family for the week and been amazing hosts. Their family has been such a blessing; they cooked us delicious meals and we were even able to have a night of baking cookies with the girls. We continued our street evangelism, which involved a day of face-painting and giving out free hugs, and also continued to help at the coffee shop and bookstore. Our team was able to take a day to do a few “touristy” things and take a tour to the Cliffs of Moher. If you ever get the change to visit Ireland, I would highly suggest that you visit the Cliffs! They are so beautiful. It was a great day, in which our two sweet brothers threw us a tea party at the top of the Cliffs of Moher
Our time in Ireland has seemed lengthy at some points, but it also feels as if it has flown
by. I have loved working with Discovery Church and being able to be involved in several different ministries. Galway will also hold a special place in my heart; I plan on returning one day. We are off to Romania on Saturday, where we have a few days of debrief, and then head to our October ministry locations.
Specific prayer requests for Galway:
Pastor Paul Cullen, his wife Caroline, and family
Jimmy, Maylene and their son James- they pour a lot of themselves into making Discovery Church an accepting and welcoming place, as well as planning different outreaches that will appeal to the younger culture in Galway
Alcoholism and depression are huge struggles: most kids have gotten drunk by the age of 12
Love for the church: problems in the Catholic church have given people a negative attitude towards the church
Susan Curry and family, An Tobar Nua employees: their coffee shop and Bible school ministry provide a safe and loving place for students and young people to hang out. The kids’ energy and sometimes loud remarks are challenging at times, their patience level is amazing.
