My First Week

Daily Schedule this past week

Though it has felt like longer, I have now been here one week. It hasn't seemed like longer because time is dragging or because I am missing the U.S., but because so much has happened. I am starting to settle into a routine, though certain parts of that routine may change next week and after. Right now, there are four people living in the Buckley house (James and Sandra Buckley, Miles and Patrick--I will say something about each of them later) and I live in the house next door. The five of us meet for breakfast everyday at 8am, then we talk, sing, share scriptures and pray. James and Sandra then tend to their myopractic (it's like muscle physical therapy), Patrick and I then usually pick up Tom, who lives down the road and head to a cafe for a cup of tea or coffee, followed by getting the word out about Grace Church and the special meeting at a nice hotel on Sunday night. Miles is sometimes around on the streets and cafes and sometimes studying/preparing for sermons. After a couple hours of trying to get the word out, we return home and I read and/or go for a run. Then we have dinner, usually about 6:00. We may sit awhile after. Monday and Tuesday, they turned on the "tele" and I got online and did some work (blogging and photos). Wednesday, we had people over for Bible study, which Miles led. Then Miles and I went and saw some traditional Irish music in Wexford. Thursday night, James joined Miles and I as we went to hear some traditional Irish music at a pub in New Ross. These men play every Thursday night for free and they are phenomenal. One older gentleman that wasn't with the band sang a couple old Irish songs acapella. This night was one of the highlights from a pure fun standpoint. Those of you who visit will have to come on Thursday night to hear this.

Street Evangelism

If I have any reason to talk to a person, it is usually not too difficult for our conversation to naturally flow towards the church. As soon as I talk, no one mistakes me for anything but an American, so they usually ask where I'm from and I tell them. I usually ask where they're from and we have ourselves a normal conversation. At some point, they ask whether I'm in Ireland on holiday. I say, yes, I am here for three months and helping with Grace Church. I can then show them the information about the church or about the Sunday night meeting. And I usually ask them if they believe in Jesus. At this point, the conversation could turn several directions. They may simply say yes, at which point I ask them what they believe about him, and these have been the most encouraging conversations. They may say no or they may say they're not interested or they may say they have their own church and walk off. They may say they're not sure. Whatever the response I let them know they're welcome at Grace Church and wish them a good day. Lately, I have been asking people how I can pray for them. Today, I met a woman who had moved from Boston to Ireland nine years ago and was very open. We talked probably 30 minutes about different things. She asked me to pray for her as she had been feeling depressed lately. She was willing to let me place my hand on her and pray for her right there on the sidewalk. She gave me her phone number (I am using a pay-as-you-go cell phone that James gave me) and I am planning to meet her and her husband (and possibly her sister-in-law) for dinner sometime.

Building Relationships

Everywhere I go, I am trying to build relationships for the glory of God. I want to know and love people, and I also want them to know the Lord. If I can earn they right to be heard, then they will hear the gospel. Most days, I have gone to O'Brien's pub for tea. There, I've built a friendship with a woman named Laura, who said she wants to come to the church and bring her five-year-old son. On a street corner in New Ross, you will hear the accordion playing of a Romanian immigrant named Petravich. He speaks limited English, but motions to me that he prays to Yesu. He says he brother speaks English and can drive him to church. Whether he is there Sunday or not, I will continue to say hi to him whenever I can. Next week, Miles has recommended I take a break, maybe take a train to Dublin to hang out with his wife and her family, or try to see another part of the island. The big event Sunday night will be over and after this, I'm not sure how the routine will change. Pray for the Holy Spirit to give me guidance on the best use of my time to reach people.

Meeting with Tom

Tom and I went to O'Brien's pub last night and studied the first chapter of John's gospel. He is a brand new believer with a lot of enthusiasm, but he has never had any Biblical teaching, so he has a lot of questions. John 1 gets into some heavy concepts like the Trinity. Also, for him to understand the setting, he needed some explanation of the Old Testament. So we ended up talking for an hour and a half, and then we hung out for another hour and a half or so. It went really well as he could not be more hungry to understand God's Word. Right before we left, an Elvis impersonator took the stage and did his Elvis songs and dances. Kind of odd that I've lived in Tennessee and never saw an Elvis impersonator until I came to Ireland!

Area/Weather

I have gone for a run about every other day, and I am going to stretch and run right after this. They measure the temperature in celsius, so I don't know for sure, but it seems like it's in the upper 50's (fahrenheit) most days. Running in the afternoon with a long sleeve shirt and shorts is perfect. I am in the part of Ireland known as the "sunny Southeast". I'm finding out that means that the sun comes out everyday, but I don't think there's been a day yet when it hasn't rained. This is why it is so green, and I can tell it's getting greener by the day. Right now, I look outside and see the sun shining bright, but it could be raining in an hour and vice versa. The weather changes fast. I ran by several fields full of sheep and it is a magical thing to see the lambs playing. The Buckleys live just outside of town, so there is plenty of country roads on which to get lost. So I'm off to do just that.

I will write more when I have more time. God has been so faithful and I have been encouraged by the work God is doing here.