Picking Up the Pace

It's been a bit of a busy week for me here in Ireland.  The pace is starting to pick up and my time at home is reduced only to the few minutes in the morning and the last couple of hours I have before I go to sleep.  I guess that's a good thing though...I think I'd go a little crazy if I was cooped up in the house all day long.

My roommate and fellow GAPper Chrissy and I got to cook dinner for our host family on Tuesday night and it was a pretty great success.  We made homemade macaroni and cheese because the kids have NEVER had it before!  I guess it must just be an American thing...  Anyway, they were really excited to try it--and they ended up loving it!  Thanks mom for the recipe.  :)

I had a meeting last night with a bunch of 18ish year olds who are planning on starting a college outreach group called Ignite.  Last night we just got together to toss some ideas around and see what everyone's thoughts were. Although the meeting was a bit unstructured and wasn't very productive, it was great to see that a group of young adults were so passionate about starting a college group here in Dublin.  I hope and pray that the Lord will bless this new group and help us plan it in a way that follows His will.  Keep us in your prayers as we determine a good location for the meetings.

I've been doing a lot of prep-work for the youth group kickoff event that's coming up on the 30th of September.  This event will involve all three youth groups, ages 7-17, and the schedule is looking pretty full for the night.  I'm hoping for a good turnout and a very Spirit-filled evening.  Please keep me in your prayers that I remain sane and organized during the planning and prep for this event!

In addition to all that, I've started working at Spirit Radio on Wednesdays and Thursdays.  Last night was pretty interesting...I came into the station at around 1:30pm and didn't leave until just after 8pm.  In addition to a little bit of administration work, I helped conduct a "radio listening survey" by calling a bunch of people in the Dublin area and asking them some questions.  The questions started off with "Did you listen to the radio yesterday?", and then I asked them to list 3 stations that they listen to...what age bracket they were in...and at the end I asked them if they had ever heard of or listened to Spirit Radio.  This was quite an interesting experience.  It started off kind of fun...talking to all these different people, but then it got a bit boring and people started to be pretty rude.  The first part of our conversation was me telling them that I was calling to do a quick "radio listening survey" and that it would only take 30 seconds (it really did only take 30 seconds!).  People would then come up with all these excuses about how busy they are and how they haven't got the time.  Who doesn't have 30 seconds?  Well anyway, I talked to some really interesting people.  One woman interrupted me halfway through my sentence and asked if I was Irish.  When I told her no, she sounded disgusted and said, "Okay, goodbye" and she hung up on me!  Haha...I was a bit offended, so I asked one of the men in the office to please teach me how to do an Irish accent.  I couldn't do it without laughing though.  :)  I think my favorite part of the evening was our little pizza party break in the office.  One of the ladies that works at Spirit Radio ordered in three huge pizzas for us, so I was so excited to take a break from all that talking and eat some pizza.  I had been craving it for a little while!  It tasted soooo good.  :)

Today was another long day at Spirit Radio and I felt like I did sooo many different tasks but only completed a few of them.  It seemed like every time I started a new project/task, someone would come by my desk and drop something else off that was "more urgent" and needed to be done before I finished the other thing.  I just kept going back and forth between different things today...it's a wonder I didn't lose my sanity!  Praise God...He is the calm in the storm.

Chrissy and I walked around quite a bit tonight after we left the radio station.  It felt so good to get some fresh air and exercise after being in that office all day!  We then went into the Dublin City Centre to hang out with Paul, our host brother, and some of his friends (the ones that are starting the Ignite group).  Today is Arthur's Day, which is "the celebration of the remarkable legacy of Arthur Guinness, the creator of GUINNESS.  This year will see an incredible lineup of Irish and international music stars raising a glass to Arthur in a series of intimate gigs in select venues and pubs across Ireland on a day of music and celebration."  Long story short, it's an excuse to get out and drink Guinness beer.  We went to a pub and just hung out for a while there.  It was pretty fun and much better than my first pub experience here.  The first place I went to was a lot busier, louder, and....well...not very pleasant.    The place we went to tonight was much less crowded.  :)

Here are a few pictures from this week:

My host parents, Peter and Ciara, took Chrissy and I out for an afternoon to have lunch and have a "GAP program" conversation.  This was right outside the place we ate at...nice!

They served soooo much food at this place--and it was all so yummy!  I ended up taking a good portion of the food home with me, plus I split that chocolate cake with Chrissy.  I didn't eat it all myself!

"Janey Mack!" is a common phrase here...I found it in an Irish slang book and was pretty excited.  I thought maybe just my host family said it.  :)

Here's Chrissy and I during one of our adventurous walks around the neighborhood.  :)

I hope you are all doing well back home.  Please know that I am praying for you and I trust that the Lord is blessing you and keeping you safe.  I would love to hear from you...please feel free to contact me while I'm here.  My contact details are on my Contact Me page.  :)  If you have any questions about my GAP year or the work I'm doing here, I'd love to answer them.  If you just want to say hi that's great too!  If you'd like my mailing address, send me a quick email or Facebook message and I'd be happy to give it to you.  Thanks and God bless you!

It's Just 'Grah-nd'

Hello all, sorry it's been a little while since I've written.

Things are going well for me here in Dublin.  I've almost completely settled in now.  I love my host family, I love my roommate Chrissy, and I'm meeting wonderful people from the community all the time.  My family really is "grand" (said like "grah-nd"), as they say here.  They have been taking great care of me, and I have enjoyed talking to them, slagging (making fun of) them, and of course, serving them in any way I can.  Leanne, the youngest (8 yrs old), wrote me a cute note yesterday.  It was a small piece of paper folded in half that says "To Rachel, From Leanne", and on the inside it says "Rachel- you are my best friend.  -Leanne"  Underneath that she scribbled with a scented pen and wrote "smell this" by it.  How cute.  :)  I am thankful for her...she has been my hugging buddy, as I don't really feel all that comfortable with anyone else yet.  She sometimes just comes up and gives me hugs, and I love it.  I miss hugging my mom and dad all the time though.  And some of my friends give DARN good hugs...Lauren, Jennifer, Hannah, Becky, Ashley, Eva, Angela, Meredith, even Lina (who RARELY gives hugs), I miss your hugs!!

Chrissy and I went into Spirit Radio this past Thursday and worked with the CEO and his wife for the day.  They sent us on an errand to the photocopy shop not too long after we got there, so that was pretty exciting.  We got some Starbucks, placed our order at the copy shop, and then walked around the city for a while.  Here are some pictures from our adventure:

The pretty canal that we walked along

One of the Dublin Buses

That's me with Chrissy, my roommate and fellow GAPper

We took quite a few pictures and really enjoyed our walk through town around the radio station.  When we got back to Spirit Radio, we started to work on some promotional booklets.  We had gotten some supplies for them while we were out, but the majority of the work involved printing, hole punching, and binding booklets.  It wasn't hard work, and we really enjoyed the time to just hang out in the radio station and listen.  If you haven't listened to Spirit Radio yet, you can listen online here:  http://spiritradio.ie/  Chrissy and I may even get a chance to be on air some time!  I'll keep you all posted and let you know if that happens.  :)  Here are some pictures from our "hard work" inside Spirit Radio:

As you can see, Chrissy is hard at work on those booklets

My job was to punch holes and bind the books

There are the finished products!

Here is the Spirit Radio poster.  My host father (and GAP director), Peter, is the guy in the back holding the radio on his shoulder.  I've met just about everyone else in the poster too, with the exception of the girl in front with the headphones.  I'm sure I'll meet her soon.  :)

Aside from our work with Spirit Radio, we've been a part of some planning for the youth groups, which start up on September 30th.  The first meeting will have all of the groups together and will be kind of a kick-off for the year, so most of our planning has been for that night.  From then on, I'm not sure which group in particular I'll be working with, but I'm really looking forward to getting to know the kids and helping them grow closer to God.

Yesterday two of my host siblings, Ellen and Paul, took Chrissy and me out on a tour of the city.  We took some great photos and had a really nice time together.  :)

Me with my host siblings and tour guides, Ellen (on left) and Paul (in the middle)

Chrissy and me goofing around at Stephen's Green

Steven's Green was very....green!  :)

Sooo pretty!

Some buildings in Dublin

We just HAD to take a picture with him...

This guy was nuts.  I also HAD to take my picture with him :)

Pretty view of the city

That tall pointy thing is the Spire of Dublin and is 398 ft. tall

Paul, my host brother, showed us around Trinity College, where he now goes to school

There were some reallllly pretty buildings

I have to admit, I am a little jealous that I didn't go to a University with such a pretty campus!

That's all I have to report.  Please keep me in your prayers and keep the people in Dublin in your prayers as well.  I'm looking forward to meeting more new people and developing relationships with them through Christ.  Thank you all for your support and your continuous prayers.  I would not be here in Dublin without you!

P.S.  Here are some Irish sayings that I've learned:
"That'll be grand" or "That's grand"
"That's brilliant!" or "Brilliant, thank you."
"Janie Mac!"  (means "jeepers!" or "golly!")

New GAPper...and more pictures!

Chrissy, the other GAPper, came today!  She had a safe flight here and is all rested, fed, and unpacked.  :)  Here are some pictures from our little tour with Peter, the GAP director, today.

Chrissy, the other GAPper, and me in the car

We were being tourist-y...

Killiney Beach

Bono (from U2)'s front gate---it was open!  We didn't see Bono though.  :(

The pretty view down Bono's street

Chrissy and I standing at Bono's gate

Enya's castle!  Go here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0NoHN1TU5I if you haven't heard her before.

Our home for the next 11 months in Wyattville Park

There are more pictures on my Facebook page in the 'Ireland' album, but these are just some of the highlights.  More to come soon.  :)

New Faces, New Places, Same God

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.

Pictures!

Here are some pictures from my first full day (of feeling better and leaving the house) in Ireland.  More to come!

Killiney Beach

That's the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transport)

Some street.  I got a headache from all the driving on the "wrong" side of the road...and sitting on the "driver's" side!  Haha...that'll take some getting used to I think.

The pretty pretty mountains in Dublin

The views are awesome pretty much everywhere!  :)

Arrived and Settling In

*It is about 9:00 pm here while I am posting this, just so you all know.*

Thanks to God's grace and all of your wonderful prayers and support, I have arrived safely in Dublin, Ireland.  Although I did arrive safely, my flights (Chicago to Philadelphia, then Philadelphia to Dublin) were absolutely awful.  I got sick three times!  I have a pretty weak stomach, but I've never actually thrown up on a plane before.  It was very embarrassing and also very smelly.  I felt terrible for those around me.  Thankfully there were a few angels on my flight.  On the first flight from Chicago, the guy next to me was very nice.  He helped me clean up a bit and get the flight attendant's attention.  The people sitting in front of me on the same flight were also very nice.  They asked me if I was okay, then offered me a couple of moist towelettes to wash my hands (it didn't work all that well, but it was the thought that counted).  I had a little less than an hour before my next flight out of Philadelphia once I landed, but I spent most of it changing out of my jeans that I had thrown up on (thank goodness I packed pajama bottoms in my carry-on!), and trying to find some kind of dry food for my stomach.  I changed quickly in the bathroom and found some pretzels at a little shop by my gate in the airport.  I got some Sprite on the plane from Philadelphia, but it really didn't help too much.  There was too much turbulence and my stomach just couldn't handle it.  I managed not to get myself "dirty" this time, thanks to the man next to me who pulled my blanket onto my lap while I was, um, "doing my business".  I was so happy when we finally landed in Dublin after almost 6 hours of flying.  I made it through Immigration and baggage claim and found Peter, the GAP director, waiting for me just outside the baggage area.  I couldn't have been happier to see him, even though my stomach didn't feel too great.  He bought me a water bottle and off we went to his house about 35 minutes from the Dublin airport.

When I got to the Mahony's house all I wanted to do was lie down on something that wasn't moving.  Thankfully Peter's wife Ciara had my room all ready for me.  As soon as I climbed into that comfy bed I was out.  I slept for a few hours, then came downstairs just before the youngest two children came home from school.  They were so cute and bubbly!  I sat and watched them do their homework for a bit, then went back to my room to rest my still upset stomach.  I slept for another hour or so, then came downstairs for dinner.  Ciara had made chicken curry and rice, which was very delicious and not too bad on my stomach.  It felt so good to finally be able to eat something!  She also made some chocolate cookies for dessert...yum!  :)

I've just been lounging around since dinner, and it feels great to just relax and get used to the house.  Tomorrow I'm supposed to get a tour of the local area, so I'll be sure to post pictures from that as soon as I can.  :)  Thank you all again for your support and prayers.  I'm hoping that by the end of this first week I'll feel much better and maybe I'll even get a little more used to the time difference.

I hope all is going well at home!  I miss you all and am praying for you!

Continued Blessings

What a wonderful week I have had!  Seriously, God has given me so many blessings I don't know what to do with them all!  Oh wait...I think I should probably take them to Ireland.  :)

After I received all that money last weekend (see "Trust Him At All Times"), the Lord continued to bless me with more.  First of all, I miscalculated how much I had left to raise.  Rather than $300, it was only $200 I had left.  :)  That's a good mistake to make I think.  

I got together twice this week with my "little sister" Ashley.  On Tuesday we had lunch together, and on Wednesday she was babysitting her baby sister Jamie, so I stopped by to see them (and say goodbye) on my way to Solid Rock for the college group meeting.  

Ashley and me.  I started babysitting her when she was 8 years old, and she's 16 now.

This is her baby sister Jamie.  What a doll!

Ashley told me at the beginning of my fundraising journey that she wanted to help me out somehow with the money.  She said she'd be doing a lot of babysitting for her step-sisters and half-sister this summer, so she wanted to give me a small percentage of that.  I had forgotten about it until not too long ago when Ashley said she wanted to give me some money before I left.  When we got together for lunch, Ashley gave me an envelope with my name on it.  Inside was $150.  That was much more than what I had expected.  I think that coming from a 16 year old who just got her first car and is going into her junior year of high school, $150 is a lot of money.  She could have spent that money on so many other things, but the fact that she gave it to me really shows the condition of her heart.  She is selfless and loving.  Thank you, Ashley, for being such a wonderful little sister to me.

After receiving Ashley's donation, I was only $50 short.  One of my friends from the Solid Rock college group willfully gave me the last $50 to bring me up to my goal of $11,000.  So that was that.  I reached my goal without putting in ANY money that I had earned this summer at Costco!

God's blessings didn't end there, though.  

I got to play guitar and sing for worship at the Solid Rock college group meeting on Wednesday night, so that was really fun.  I have really loved going there this summer.  I have developed some really great friendships with the people that go there, and God has spoken so much to me through the talks each week.  It was nice to be a part of worship for my last night there.  :)  After the meeting we all hung out at Leo's Coney Island.  I got a delicious brownie sundae and enjoyed talking with everyone.

Some of the Solid Rock group at Leo's

Just about all of the Solid Rock college group :)

Hannah came over after all that to spend the night, and we ended up talking and trading music until around 4:30 in the morning.  It was so nice to spend time with her though.  I'm going to miss you, Hannah!

My friend Zack wrote this on Hannah's car for me.  :)

*Note:  when I came home from hanging out with the college group on Wednesday night, there was an envelope on the counter with my name on it from one of my dad's coworkers.  Inside was $100 for my GAP year!  Praise God for continued blessings.  :)

I spent all day yesterday and last night with my grandparents.  I visited my dad's mom (my Papa wasn't there) and my Aunt Kathy yesterday morning, and then spent the rest of the day and evening at my mom's parents' house.  The time I spent at my dad's mom's house was very nice.  I shared some stories about my fundraising (mostly the big one from last weekend), and we just talked about Ireland for a while.  My grandma also gave me a really nice card, a beautiful necklace (sorry the picture's not that great!), and some amazing almond shortbread cookies.  

I also enjoyed the time I spent with my mom's parents.  We met up with my Uncle Mark for dinner at a yummy restaurant called Pesto's and had a great meal and good conversation.  My uncle also gave me $50 toward my GAP year.  I got to share some fundraising stories and share God's blessings with them as well.  :)  I spent the night there and was spoiled rotten by my grandmother.  She even let me take a bubble bath!  This morning we had a nice breakfast and then my grandma and I walked to the church to pray for a little bit.  I had a lot to be thankful for and was so grateful for this opportunity to praise God my provider.

When I came home from my grandparents' house this afternoon, there was yet ANOTHER envelope with my name on it from my next door neighbors.  God blessed me with another $100 donation!  Thanks to all of this wonderful last minute support, I have raised about $500 OVER my goal!  I never expected that to happen...at least not before I left for Ireland.  God is so so good.

One more blessing I have received is from work.  Costco has been both a horrible and a wonderful place for me to work.  Horrible because I have had to do some pretty gross things at work.  Things like dumping out 6-7 huge buckets of chicken grease every night, scraping chunks of chicken grease off the inside of the rotisserie ovens, dumping out spoiled milk, meat, cheese, and pretty much anything else that stinks horribly when it spoils.  Oh and cleaning the women's bathroom a couple of times.  Sorry ladies, but I think men just might be neater than us when it comes to public bathrooms.  At least at Costco.  Anyway, those are some of the horrible things I've done at work.  But my Costco experience was definitely not ALL horrible.  I had some really great and supportive coworkers, supervisors, and managers.  I also had a pretty decent pay plus benefits while I worked there.  I just checked my bank statement online and found out that Costco had just "direct deposited" about $1900 into my checking account (separate from my GAP account).  $1900!  I had been expecting my last pay check, plus a little bit from the 3 days I worked this week, but I definitely wasn't expecting that much.  It turns out they had given me the money from all of my unused vacation days and sick/personal days!  Praaaaaaise God, and thank you Costco!

So I now have about $500 over my goal of $11,000, plus I have a bunch of extra money for traveling and buying anything I may need while in Ireland and the rest of Europe!

Enough of that.  I have one and a half days left....let the packing begin!