I have been having a wonderful week here in Dublin. I have met so many new people and been in plenty of different houses, but one thing remains the same: my God and King. No matter how many names I can't remember, no matter how many new faces I see, and no matter how many times I don't understand some of the different ways people say things here, I know my God. He has a name and a face I will never forget, and He speaks only the language of love. He is the one thing that remains familiar to me in this new culture and I praise Him for that.
On Thursday this week I went to the Spirit Radio station (see link on the side for more information) with a woman from the community here. She was really nice and showed me around the studio, then gave me a small task to work on for the morning. At around 11:30 (or "half eleven" here), we all stopped to pray. I thought that was pretty cool, that in the middle of everyone's work day at the radio station, we all stopped at the same time to pray and worship. One man had a guitar and he led us in a song, and then we prayed together as a group. This was my first time doing worship with a group of people (since I've been here), and I really enjoyed it and felt the Lord's presence. I had been introduced to so many people at the radio station, I had been shown around the different rooms in the studio, and I had learned (or was trying to learn) access codes for the doors, plus all kinds of other little things...it was a load of new information and people. But again, the Lord's presence was wonderfully familiar. At this point I'm not sure what my role at the radio station will be, but I will keep you all posted and let you know when I find out.
Today I got to sleep in and enjoy a Saturday for the first time in quite a while. I briefly thought back to what my Saturdays at home in Michigan usually look like. I wake up, have breakfast, and then work all day from either 11:30 or 1:30 until 8:00pm. I would then come home exhausted and hang out there, or sometimes go out with friends. I remembered how crazy and hectic my Saturdays were...but then I realized they don't have to be like that anymore. Here I am in Ireland doing the Lord's work and following the Lord's plan for my life. And right now His plan involves living in Dublin and spending time with my host family and with His other children. After breakfast this morning I joined in on a little bit of the family cleaning day, then spent the rest of the afternoon with my host sister Ellen. She took me into a town called Dundrum on something called the Luas. The Luas (according to a website I just found about it), is "a state of the art light rail transit system that provides an attractive and unique alternative to the private car." The station is only about a 10 minute walk from where we live, and it was a gorgeous day outside today, so it was nice to get out and walk. We went to a large shopping center in Dundrum and just walked around in some shops. We also got really good smoothies--mine was called Strawberry Fantasy. Yum. :) It was fun to leave the house and hang out with Ellen for a while.
This evening I went to a Lord's Day celebration at one of the community family's homes. I had only ever been to one Lord's Day celebration before, but here is what I gathered about it. A group of people come together to pray together and share a meal. Tonight we started with bread, cheese, and wine/juice. We then prayed together and shared blessings that the Lord has given us. After this we shared a meal together. There were two families there plus me, and we had really great food and good conversation. They even let me take home a box of fruity tea! You see, tea is kind of a big deal here in Ireland. Everybody drinks tea. When you go over someone's house here, you're going to be asked for tea at least once. I don't typically drink tea though...unless it's some kind of fruity herbal tea (raspberry, peach, etc.), and some houses only have a plain kind of tea that's very bitter, and I don't like that. I've been drinking water at a few of the houses I've been to so far. I don't mind drinking water, I just feel a bit out of place. Tonight though, I was offered fruity tea and I was presented with a box full of all different flavors...Strawberry Mango, Blueberry Apple, Cranberry Pomegranate, etc. I was so excited! :) The family even let me take the box home with me, so now I have my own tea to take around with me. Woohoo!
That's all I have to share this time. God is good and He is constant. Even though things are changing around me and new faces and names are spinning around in my head, the Lord remains the same and He is my stronghold. Please continue to pray that I adjust more fully to everything here. Another thing to lift up in prayer is my soon-to-be roommate, Chrissy. Another girl named Chrissy is going to be joining me for a GAP year starting on Tuesday. She and I will be sharing a room and both living with the Mahony family here. Please pray that she will have a safe flight here and that she and I will get along and serve the Lord well together. Thank you all for your support! Please know that I am praying for you too.
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