He Gently Whispered "Hope"

The good Lord has done it again!  He worked in a mysterious way to speak to my heart.  He has used NoiseTrade (the website) once again to say something to me!  This time He revealed His sense of humo(u)r a little bit.  :)

On Friday before I left for the Kairos Weekend (details later!), I was checking my email and I got one from NoiseTrade.  If you haven't read my great post about the "La-la-la-la" (Snow Globe) song, I'll briefly explain NoiseTrade.  Basically there are a lot of lesser-known artists that want publicity for their music, so they put an album up on NoiseTrade for free.  If you find some music you like, you can type in your email address and zip code and download the entire album for free.  And it's somehow legal.  :)  Anyway some artist named Foy Vance had put his album up on the website and I got a notification for it in my email.  I thought, "Huh...Foy Vance?  That's a strange name.  Foy?"  I clicked on the link to the album to check it out and I didn't like the song that started playing, so I deleted the email and didn't think much of it.

At the end of the last session of the Kairos Weekend, we were given a piece of paper like this:

We were asked to fill it out by putting our name in the top circle, and then in the other 3 circles we were to put three people that we wanted to share the Gospel with.  It was a really great exercise and it really made me think about the people I interact with.  During this there was a song playing.  I started filling out my circles but then I honestly couldn't think straight because I loved the song so much.  I loved everything about it...the guitar, the vocals, the lyrics.  It was just a really great song.  Something about the way it was being played in the room made it sound live...like the singer was right there in front of us.  I looked around to see if anyone else was distracted by the wonderful song.  The girl next to me asked me if someone was singing it live, and it made me laugh because I thought the same thing.  One girl in our row was singing the song quietly while filling out her circles, so I asked her to please tell me the name of it and who sang it.  You'll never believe what she said...

Foy Vance!  The strange name from the email I got from Noisetrade just two days before.  Ha!  Coincidence?  I think not.  I got home from the Kairos Weekend on Sunday and almost immediately fished that NoiseTrade email out of the "trash" folder.  I checked the song list to see if that song ("Gabriel and the Vagabond") was on there, and sure enough, it was!  I laughed about how just two days before, I thought Foy Vance had such a funny name but then I ended up falling in love with one of his songs.  Thanks, God.  :)  I downloaded the album and then listened to "Gabriel and the Vagabond" about 5 times and loved it even more.  Here are the lyrics and a link to the song.  It really is a great story.

"Gabriel and the Vagabond" by Foy Vance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4cjCuUQUwI

There's a man on the corner and his clothes are worn

And he's holdin' out his hand

You can see in his eyes as the people walk by

He knows they don't understand

You see, they just think he's gonna take their money

And then go and spend it all on dope

Then a man stopped by and I saw a smile inside him

As he gently whispered "hope"

Well the tramp started to cry

Kept saying "why why why...

Can't you see i'm a dying tonight?"

"I'm 32 and I've got this one pair of shoes

And a bad taste in my mouth

I think it's clear to see that even God don't love me

Or else why would He leave me this way?"

And then Gabriel just smiled and said, "Be peaced my child...

Salvation is here today"

He got up to his feet and he sang "Hallelujah"

People were turnin' around in the street

He looked them in the eyes and he sang "Hallelujah

There's someone here you gotta meet...

someone you just gotta meet"

When the vagabond turned around without a sound

Gabriel just smiled and disappeared

When he looked to the crowd

They were laughin' out loud

But he could not see them fore tears

When his vision came 'round

There was a young girl on the ground

And he knew she was findin' it hard to cope

She never was a fighter until he lay beside her

And gently whispered "hope"

They got up to their feet and they sang "Hallelujah"

People in the street were turnin' around

They looked them in the eyes and they sang "Hallelujah

Oh there's someone here that we have found

They sang out "Hallelujah, hallelujah...

We are the voices crying in the wilderness!

Hallelujah hallelujah!"

The people in the street started their sins to confess

And a chorus of "Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah!

Every knee will bow and every tongue confess!"

And the voice of one crying in the wilderness,

Crying out "hallelujah hallelujah"

I put the parts that struck me in bold.  The whole song strikes me though...I love the story about giving people the hope of Jesus Christ.  People that don't have any hope left.  They all started standing up in the street and confessing their sins and crying out, "Hallelujah, hallelujah!"  Gosh I would love to see that.  I love how they say, "There's someone here you gotta meet."  I want to be that enthusiastic when I talk to people about Jesus.  I want to have the boldness to tell them that they 'just gotta meet' Him!  I pray that that enthusiastic spirit would be placed in my heart.  I thank God for once again using NoiseTrade for speaking to me.  I can't stop listening to that song, honestly.  It inspires me so much to go out and make that happen.  I want to see people dancing in the street and confessing their sins!  

Okay, enough on that.  :)

The Kairos Weekend was held in Dublin this past weekend, and it was wonderful.  :)  There were 135 people there from all over Europe.  17-25 year olds came from Dublin, Belfast, London, Glasgow, Belgium, Spain, Germany, Poland, and Lebanon for a weekend of talks, workshops, worship, and fun.  I really enjoyed meeting so many new people, and of course catching up with some of the people I had already met on my GAP year.  I could tell by the end of the first day that the Holy Spirit was present.  There was a real buzz among the participants and the praise and worship times were really blessed.  The theme of the weekend was "Power from On High", and I could definitely feel the Lord's power in all aspects of the weekend.  I was one of the MCs (Master of Ceremonies) for the weekend, and that was a really new but good experience for me.  It was mostly giving announcements before and after the sessions, but it involved keeping track of time all weekend as well.  I enjoyed the experience overall, although it was a bit stressful at times and it really brought me out of my comfort zone.  I think that's what GAP years are for, though, if I'm not mistaken.  :)

I'm back "home" now and it feels great to be back.  I had share group last night for the second time with my new group.  I switched from a share group of college-aged girls to a group of 5 women that are married (except me and one other girl).  I think spiritually my new group is a better fit for me.  I feel really comfortable sharing my life with them...and I think that's really important for something that's called a "share group".  :)  Last night I gave everyone a Valentine's Day card and played some of my favorite JJ Heller songs on the guitar.  It was a good night.

After share group I got to Skype with one of my best friends (and "little sister") Ashley.  I used to babysit Ashley when she was younger, but she's 17 now and we're really close friends.  She helped me with my fundraising to come here and even gave me a large amount of money from her babysitting money.  :)  She's always been a great inspiration to me...she's smart, beautiful, and a faithful Christian young woman.  She's also one of those friends that you can't help but smile when you talk to.  I felt like I had a huge smile on my face the entire time I was talking with her last night.  She is just so easy to talk to and she really knows how to listen.  I can tell her anything and I know she won't judge me for it.  She asked me all kinds of questions about my GAP year and that made me so happy.  :)  I got to see her baby sister Jamie tonight too, and that of course made me smile even bigger.

That's Ashley on the right, and her little sister Jamie on the left.

That's all I have to share today.  Sorry this post was so long...thanks to my faithful readers who take the time to read my blog!  It means a lot to me to have your support.  Thanks also to Rebecca's mom, Mrs. Vogel, and also to Jodie and Vernon from Maryland---your Valentine's Day cards made my day!  


God bless you all.  May He fill you with a deeper love for Him!

(some wonderful ladies from Poland, Glasgow, Belfast, Mexico and Dublin)

When the Day of Evil Comes

The women's retreat last weekend went very well!  Thanks for all your prayers during that weekend.  Unfortunately when I came back from London (2 days before the retreat), I had a pretty bad sore throat, and it continued on into the weekend and all last week!  It was only by God's grace that I was able to lead worship for the women's retreat.  He gave me my singing voice just when I needed it, and according to the women at the retreat it sounded pretty good!  :)  There were some great talks over the weekend, and the theme was Ephesians 3:17, which says, "Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him.  Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you."  We talked about where our roots are...whether they're in things of the world or in God.  It was very challenging but I got a lot out of it.  I got back from the retreat feeling exhausted, but it was nothing a good nap couldn't fix.  :)

The week after the retreat was the Spirit Radio (see link) pledge drive.  This is where the radio presenters say something to the effect of "People!  People!  We need your money!"  (Little Rascals movie reference).  Spirit Radio is a listener-supported radio station, so we depend highly on the financial support of the listeners to keep the station going every day.  We ran the pledge drive for 4 days last week with a goal of €40,000, and we raised around €37,000.  Pretty good!  It was exciting to be there answering the phones.  It was such a blessing to pick up the phone and hear someone say, "I want to donate to the station."  We got a couple of really big donations from people, too, and we were pretty much dancing around the station.  Praise God for His provision during the pledge drive!

The Kairos Weekend (see link) is coming up this weekend.  I am on the planning team and we have been preparing for this weekend for months now.  Lots of work has gone into everything from finding a venue, to deciding on a theme for the weekend, to recruiting speakers for the talks and workshops.  There will be over 100 people ages 17-25 from all over Europe coming to Dublin for the weekend, so I'm looking forward to meeting new people and reconnecting with others whom I've met on my GAP year so far.  I'm expecting the Lord to do great things over the weekend!  I know He's going to do great things because I've been experiencing a bit of spiritual warfare lately.  Not only was I sick for quite a while, but I was randomly in a really bad mood a couple of days ago.  It was nothing anyone did or said...I just was feeling really angry.  It was over the silliest thing...washing a bunch of cups from childcare.  Normally it's not a big deal...I just wash them and get on with my day.  But this time I felt really angry for some reason.  I had to leave the kitchen when I was done and go up to my room to pray for a while.  I think this was an attack from the devil because he knows there are going to be good things happening at the Kairos Weekend...so he's trying to bring me down before it happens.  Please keep all of us in your prayers---both the staff and the participants!

I had a really great prayer time yesterday.  The Lord brought Ephesians 6 to my mind...verses 10-18 in particular, where Paul talks about putting on the armor of God.  I read through these verses several times and I could really visualize myself putting on God's armor and being strong enough in Him to be able to fight off the devil and his tactics.  It was exactly what I needed to hear after my random bad attitude.  Here's what Ephesians 6 says (with some things underlined that struck me):

"[...] 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people."

Whew!  Every time I read that I get pumped up!  In my mind, I put on all of that armor and feel ready to conquer any problem or bad attitude that might come my way.  I love how it says, "When the day of evil comes" and not "If the day of evil comes".  God never promised that we wouldn't have difficult days or experience attacks from the evil one.  He does promise, though, that He'll be with us when those days come.  Good stuff.  I've written down that passage from Ephesians and put it up on my wall in my room next to my mirror.  I'm going to try and memorize it because I know there's so much power that comes from memorizing scripture.  As Paul writes in Ephesians 6:17, the "sword of the Spirit" is the word of God.  So if I memorize scripture and keep it always in my mind and on my tongue, it actually sharpens my sword!

I've been growing a lot spiritually during these last 5 months of my GAP year.  I've had ups and downs in my prayer life, but for the most part it's been great.  I've really been blessed by having time in my schedule for daily Mass and personal prayer.  The Catholic church I go to is only about a 10 minute walk from my house, so I love the short walk in the mornings.  I'm not able to go to Mass every morning, but it's been a great way to start my day when I can go.  :)

Thank you all for your prayers, encouragement, and other ways of supporting me during my GAP year.  I wouldn't be here without you!

RETREAT, RETREAT!

It's been a while since my last post, but God has been steadily at work this month.  I just got back from a busy but wonderful 10 days in London!  I unfortunately didn't get to do any sight-seeing, but I did meet a bunch of great people, and I went on two retreats...in a castle!  :)

I left for London on the 16th of January and had a great flight---I didn't get sick!  I stayed with a Christian family in the community in London for the week, and they looked after me quite well and made sure I didn't get lost each morning.  I had some hand-drawn maps from the girls GAPping in London, but the woman I stayed with made sure I knew where I was going each morning before I walked out the door.  I would show her the map the girls drew for me, and then she'd take it and use a pink highlighter to draw in a faster, less expensive [usually just walking rather than the bus or the Tube (underground system)] route.  It was very helpful and I'm sure it saved me quite a few British Pounds.  :)  I spent the week with the London GAPpers, doing what they do and helping where they needed help.  

Some highlights of that week:  

• Reading my 'Jesus Calling' devotional every day and having it correspond almost directly with what I needed to hear from the Lord that day.  'Jesus Calling' is an everyday devotional written by Sarah Young.  She spent a great amount of time listening to the Lord and writing down things that He was putting on her heart.  I started reading 'Jesus Calling' on the 1st of January this year and it has been a key part of my personal prayer times this month.  Here's an example of when the words Sarah Young received from the Lord were just what I, too, needed to hear:  "You know that this day will bring difficulties, and you are trying to think your way through those trials.  Come to Me and relax in My peace.  I will strengthen you, [...] transforming your fear into confident trust."  Whoa.  Talk about perfect timing.  When I arrived in London, I ended up waiting at a Tube station for a little over an hour before anyone came to get me.  I had tried calling and texting the numbers that I had, but nothing seemed to be working.  I started really panicking and didn't know what to do in such a big city where I didn't know anyone and wasn't familiar with the area.  It ended up just being a big mix-up in communication with different people, and it ended up getting straightened out, but I do admit I was quite fearful.  It wasn't until later that night that I read the 'Jesus Calling' devotional for that day, and I wished I had read it earlier.  I couldn't believe that I let myself get so worried rather than placing my trust in the Lord.  He wanted to transform my fear into "confident trust" and I didn't let Him!

• Tagging along with Julia, a London GAPper from New Jersey, in her weekly service project:  Little Fishes Day Care.  I loved getting to play with little kids for a couple hours.  This day care took place at a small church and was quite different from any day care I'd ever seen.  The moms got to let their kids play while they mingled and had tea and coffee with one another.  I enjoyed chatting with the moms and listening to their children speak with their little British accents.  :)

• Cooking dinner for the girls' house (where the London GAPpers live) and a couple of their friends from the guys' house down the street.  Christina, the GAPper from Glasgow (Scotland), and I learned how to cook two whole chickens---and they turned out perfectly!  Nice and juicy and flavorful.  :)  We were quite proud of our culinary masterpiece.

• Having lunch at the Potter's house (a London community family).  I ate with a couple of the London GAPpers plus Christina, and we had some really great fish pie and some kind of red onion tart.  Very different but VERY delicious.

• Meeting a girl named Esther and sharing stories of God's goodness with her.  Elyssa, one of the London GAPpers, and I met with Esther at this cute little cafe near UCL (University College London) called Apostrophe, and we all shared stories of how the Lord has been working in our lives.  I think Esther is quite a new Christian, but I could really see that she was beaming with God's love and that was so exciting to see!  :) 

• Going to the Koinonia prayer event.  Koinonia is an ecumenical (Catholic/Protestant/Orthodox) Christian group of students, and it meets weekly in the student union at UCL.  It was very much like UCO (University Christian Outreach) back in Ann Arbor, but a much smaller group.  I loved my discussion group and was so inspired by everyone's stories.

Those were some of the highlights of my first 4 days in London.  On Friday the 20th I left for a retreat in Bucken Towers, which is a really cool castle.  We had a group of around 40 people (students + GAPpers) at the retreat, and it was a wonderful weekend.  The theme of the retreat was Joy, and I certainly did feel joyful. God really worked in my heart to set aside the concerns of the work of my GAP year and allowed me to just let it go and enjoy the weekend.  We had some great prayer and worship times, I got to know the UCL students and other GAPpers, and it was all-around an excellent retreat.  Here's some pictures from the weekend:

This is the castle we stayed in for the retreat!

It was built in the late 12th century and among it's "notable visitors" are Henry III, Edward I, Richard III, Lady Margaret Beaufort, and Queen Katherine of Aragon (who lived there for a year!)

Me with some of the girls.  

(Marisa - Belgian GAPper, Annette, Finja, Clare - Belgian GAPper last year, and me)

We did henna for our girls event!

(Lucy, Elyssa, and Julia)

And we learned how to make Moroccan pancakes!  Yum!

(Elinor, Meghan, and Finja)

Henna hands!  :)

Some good impromptu jam sessions were had...

(Kate, Lucy, and Giles)

After the Koinonia students left, the GAPpers stayed in the castle for two more nights for our GAPper retreat.  We had some really great talks and had lot of time to share with one another different experiences of our GAP year these last four months.  The talks were about how the last four months have gone, how God has been working in our lives presently, and looking forward to what God has in store for us in the future.  We also had a lot of great worship and prayer times together.  And fun, of course!

Me with some of the GAPpers...

[Kate (Belgium) & Elyssa (London) in front, me and Julia (London) in the back, Christina (Glasgow), and Audrey (Belfast)]

Oh you know...just hanging out by the fire eating ice cream :)

(Clare, Julia, Chrissy, Christina, and Elyssa)

Girl pile.  This is the way most of our girls' sessions ended up.  Either this or a dance party...

(Clare, Audrey, Elyssa, me, Camille, Christina, and Julia)

Cool view of the sky during my reflection time outside!

A couple of the Belgium GAPpers plus some GAP directors

[Sam (director in Belgium), Daniel (GAPper in Belgium), Joe (director in London), and Javier (GAPper in Belgium)]

Dance party!  What fun :)

(Me, Christina, Audrey, Julia, Chrissy, and Kate)

All of the girl GAPpers plus Rachel, Ruth, Ania, and Clare, some helpers.  :)

I had a great 10 days in London.  No, I didn't get to see Big Ben, the London Bridge, or Buckingham Palace.  I did, however, experience great joy and peace with the Koinonia students and my fellow GAPpers.  I enjoyed meeting and spending 5 days with some really great men and women of God.  I had some wonderful prayer times and experiences of God's presence...AND I stayed in a castle that was once occupied by a Queen.  I think that's better than any glance I could have had at the popular London tourist sites.  :)  Praise God for His faithfulness!

I'm back in Dublin now...home sweet home.  It's great to be back and hear the familiar Dublin accent again.  And of course get all the slagging for my American accent.  :)  I enjoyed having dinner with the Mahony's again tonight and getting to sing Leanne a bedtime song.  

Next on my agenda is the Women's Heart retreat that I'm leading music for this weekend.  I'm looking forward to another great retreat and experiencing more of God's love.  I'll also be doing manicures at the retreat, so you can bet I'm pretty excited about that!

Coming up is the Kairos Weekend for 17-25 year olds from all over Europe.  It's taking place in Dublin from the 10th-12th of February, and I'm on the planning team.  Please pray for the participants and all that are on the planning team.  :)

I hope you all are doing well and being blessed in abundance by God.  I'm keeping you all in my prayers!

New Year, New Blessings

Happy New Year!  It's hard to believe that another year has gone by.  I remember clearly spending last New Year's Eve in Kendallville, Indiana with my best friends Lina and Jennifer.  This year I'm in Dublin, Ireland on my GAP year.  It's crazy how fast time flies.


I want to begin this new year by telling you all a story.  Something amazing happened to me at Spirit Radio (where I work twice a week here in Dublin) a short while ago.  December 14th, to be exact.  Actually, a couple of good things happened.  The day started off well...we had a staff prayer time in the morning and I got to play guitar for it.  The theme for that day's prayer time was the "abounding grace of God."  Rob, our CEO, was trying to think of a song to go along with that theme, and I suggested "Your Grace is Enough".  Rob didn't know how to play it, so I stepped in.  We had been praying a lot during that time for our listeners and that our support team for the station would continue to grow.  Just after this prayer time, one of the radio presenters told us some cool news:  we had received a text message from someone DURING our prayer time (probably during the song) and they requested us to play "Your Grace is Enough" on the radio!  We all thought that was pretty sweet.  :)  Then, later that afternoon, I got a phone call.  I picked up the phone and answered with my usual, "Good afternoon, Spirit Radio," and I was hit immediately by this guy's fire for the Lord.  He asked "Who am I speaking to?".  When I told him my name, he said, "Oh Rachel!  Do you believe that God is good?  Are you on fire?  Can I get a 'hallelujah'?"  I couldn't believe it.  This was by far the most unusual phone call I'd ever gotten...but I can't say I didn't like it.  I answered his questions with a smile on my face because, well, I do believe that God is good.  I even shouted "Hallelujah!" into the phone.  :)  He then told me he wanted to pray with me.  He got real quiet for a moment, but I could hear him softly praying.  He said, "Come Lord Jesus, Come Lord...", and then he told me he had a word for me from the Lord.  My mind automatically went to "Okay, this guy's going to come out with some crazy story that he probably tells everyone...'Jesus loves you'...blah blah blah."  I didn't think he actually had a WORD from the LORD!  He brought up something that I had been storing away for a long time...something I didn't know was in my heart still.  Something I rarely talk about.  Someone I rarely mention.  My first boyfriend.  Nothing seriously bad happened, I just don't like to talk about that relationship.  I was immature, and the 'relationship' was merely based on the excitement of having a boyfriend.  It only lasted about two months, but it moved quickly in those two months.  I just feel like I could have spent that time a bit more wisely.  I don't have regrets in my life, but this is the one thing I look back on and think, "I really could have spent those two months more wisely."  At first I couldn't believe this guy was bringing it up, so I tried to deny it.  But he said it again, "Your ex-boyfriend.  The one back in the States."  It hit me then like a slap in the face, and I quietly said, "Oh, yeah."  He told me, "You need to forgive him.  You need to let it go and stop letting it affect your future.  It's affecting your outlook on life and will affect your future relationships."  Wow.  Talk about deep.  I hadn't realized that I was still holding on to this.  I replied, "Okay."  And then the man on the phone said he wanted to say a prayer for me.  He prayed that God would release me from this burden and help me to let go of it.  He also prayed that I would be able to grow here and live my life in freedom, doing what God called me to do.  I thanked him for his prayers and hung up the phone.  I felt so strange then...like someone had just punched me in the gut, but also like someone had just lifted a bunch of weight off my shoulders.  It was then that I started laughing...and I couldn't stop.  Laughter is one of the signs of the Holy Spirit, and I knew that as soon as I started giggling.  A minute later, my favorite Spirit Radio song, "Glory Glory", started playing.  It's a real 'get-up-and-dance', 'snap-your-fingers' kind of song, and hearing it at such a perfect moment made me laugh more and feel even more uplifted.  I thank God for sending this man to me to remind me of this burden I'd been carrying.  I would have hated to have gone into the new year with that burden still in my heart.


Such a long story, I know.  But I tell it to you all to encourage you to bring any burdens that you have to the Lord today.  Let Him heal you and free you from them.  I have already experienced so much joy and peace from letting go of just this one thing.  You may not get a phone call like I did, but God has other ways of reaching us.  It could be a song, a book, or a conversation with a friend.  It could be a TV show, a movie, or a billboard on the highway/motorway.  Be open and ready for what God may be trying to speak to you!


I had a very nice New Year's Eve celebration last night with Ciara (my "host mother")'s family.  We all got together and had some munchies, played Dance Central on the Xbox, and enjoyed some piano, guitar, and violin performances, as well as some Irish folk songs and a couple of poetry recitations.  We brought in the new year with some Christmas carols and a prayer, and then tried (and failed) to send 12 Chinese lanterns up into the sky.  It was too windy for them to fly properly, and we got much too close to lighting one of the kids on fire.  We settled for sparklers instead...a bit safer.  Overall it was a great evening and I'm delighted to have had the opportunity to spend it here in Dublin.


I'm looking forward to this new year.  I'm expecting great blessings and I know the Lord has a lot in store for this next part of my GAP year.  I leave for London, England on the 15th of January and I will be there until the 25th.  I will be attending a "mission week" from January 16-20th, where I will take part in training and service with the GAPpers in London, followed by a Life in the Spirit seminar from the 20-22nd.  I will conclude my time in London with a regional GAPper retreat from the 22-24th of January.  Please keep me in your prayers for this next month as I prepare to go to London, and of course while I am there.


To my wonderful supporters---if you have not yet received a Christmas newsletter from me, be on the lookout for a New Year's newsletter some time this month with a summary of these past 4 months of my GAP year.  I love you all and truly appreciate your support.


I'll leave you with a few pictures from our post-Christmas walk up Killiney Hill.

                              I absolutely LOVE the way the sun is shining here!

Love these girls...

(Leanne, Ciara, me)

Leanne was teaching me her ways...

                                                               ....and her goofy faces....


I love my Dublin family, I love my GAP year, and I love you all.

It's Christmas Time in the City

It's been a while since I've updated my blog, but I feel like Christmas is an appropriate time to do it.  :)  I was (and still am) so excited for Christmas this year.  I know I'm far away from my family and friends and that that should make me sad, but I really tried not to let it get to me.  I kept reminding myself...I'm supposed to be here! This is part of God's plan for my life.  He sent me here to spend the year serving His people in Ireland, and it was part of His plan that I spend Christmas here.  I just kept telling myself those things over and over and eventually I believed it.  I do believe that I am meant to be here in Ireland.  Yeah, it's hard being away from my family, but I'm not sad about it.  Being sad wouldn't help anything...it would just make me sad and possibly make those around me sad as well.  Instead, I'm overjoyed that I have new friends and family here that made Christmas very special for me this year.  :)  Plus there's the most important part of Christmas...celebrating Christ's birth!  As one of my favorite Christmas songs ("Light of the Stable" by Selah) says, "Hail, hail to the newborn King; let our voices sing Him our praises.  Hail, hail to the guiding light that brought us tonight to our Saviour."  

Yesterday, for Christmas Eve, we all got up and headed to Dun Laoghaire to go ice skating on the new skating rink.  Peter and Ciara paid a small fortune so we could all ice skate...and the ice was all watery and bumpy...but we had a load of fun anyway.  Once we got going it wasn't so bad.  :)  Here are some pictures from this adventure:

All of us (minus Peter) just outside the ice rink in Dun Laoghaire

(from left to right:  me, Leanne, Chrissy, Paul, Joe, Ellen, Stephen, Ciara)

Me with Leanne, the youngest of my Irish family

On the ice :)

Just after Joe took a good fall on the ice :)

Later in the afternoon, we got all dressed up and went to celebrate Christmas Eve "Mahony style" at Peter's parents' house.  We had a delicious meal, a sing-along, and a gift exchange.  Fun fun!  

All of us ready for Granny's

My first experience with a Christmas cracker :)

Our Christmas sing-along, courtesy of Andrew Mann (Peter's brother, and local artist)

We even got a visit from Santa (Paul)!  :)

When we came home from all that, the younger kids went to bed and all of us "older kids" stayed up and watched "It's a Wonderful Life," as it has been the Mahony family tradition for a couple years now.  I had never seen it (*GASP!*), but I really enjoyed it.  

This morning Leanne (the youngest) woke us all up at 8:00 to open Christmas presents.  I haven't gotten up that early on Christmas morning in a long time...and 8:00's not even that early!  We opened our stockings from Santa, had breakfast, then opened our presents from Peter and Ciara.  I got quite a few nice things...one of the highlights is a "onesie" (footie pajamas).  :)  Chrissy, Ellen, Leanne and I all got them!  

We went to Mass, then came back and got ready to celebrate Christmas with the Byrnes (Ciara's family).  There were 32 of us in the house!  We had some really nice Christmas food and a gift exchange, then spent the rest of the evening chatting and playing games.  I really enjoyed the food, and of course meeting and spending time with Ciara's family.  

The pretty tables I helped decorate

This would have been a nice picture but my lovely GAP director had to ruin it!  :)

Me and Peter, my GAP director and "host dad"

Some appetizers

I enjoyed a Skype call with my dad's side of the family this evening, and it was really nice to see all my cousins and aunts and uncles.  Thanks to all of you who I talked to---you made my evening!


As for an update on my GAP year, I've been doing really well.  Things at Spirit Radio are busy but going well, and the youth programme is going along very quickly...it's hard to believe we're already halfway through the term!  I'm on a bit of a break from everything right now for Christmas.  My dad and my brother Joel came to visit me last week for about 5 days, so I got to show them around and be their tour guide while they were here.  It felt kind of good to be the one showing people around for a change.  I also got to do some things I hadn't done yet, which was cool.  :)  Here are few pictures from their visit: 

Joel, me, and my dad on the way back from Johnnie Fox's Pub

A beautiful view of Killiney Beach!

Killiney Bay..so pretty

So I'm a little bit of a daddy's girl...

It was great having my dad and Joel here.  I got to show them my new place and all the places I go, and it was fun introducing them to all my new friends and family here.  By the end of the week, though, I was quite exhausted.  I wasn't allowing time for God each day, and it really threw me off balance.  I spent my day engrossed in the things I had planned for my dad and Joel...I had to constantly make sure we were taking the right bus, getting off at the right stop, walking the right direction, and getting to and from places at the right times.  I had to keep stepping back when I got too stressed and just letting go of some things so that I could really enjoy their company.  Another thing that was difficult during their visit was that I found out about the death of one of my good friends from high school and college.  My friend Lauren broke the news to me on Monday night that my friend Steve had committed suicide the previous Friday.  I was shocked when she told me...I couldn't say anything.  I almost didn't believe her.  After all, I had just seen Steve before I left to come here to Ireland.  He came to my bonfire fundraiser and I also hung out with him in downtown Plymouth a couple weeks before I left.  We've kept in touch pretty well since high school, and we saw eachother in college quite a bit as well.  Steve was one of the nicest, kind-hearted people I knew.  I couldn't (and still don't) understand why he felt he needed to take his life.  Finding out this news during my dad and Joel's visit was very troubling.  I didn't know quite how to handle my emotions...would I fake a smile and a cheery attitude and pretend everything was okay, even though I was crushed and confused on the inside?  Or would I just cry and grieve and pray for Steve and his family?  I settled for a combination of the two...but it was very difficult to find a good balance.  It still is.  I pray that God gives Steve the peace and joy that he was searching for, and I pray that his family is also filled with a deep sense of peace during this Christmas season.  Thankfully the Lord took this from my mind these last couple of days so that I could fully appreciate and celebrate the joy of Christmas.  I pray that as time goes on, the Lord would fill me with peace about Steve's death, even though I don't think I will ever fully understand it.

I thank God for His steadfast love during these past couple of weeks.  I thank Him that I was able to have a nice visit with my dad and Joel, and that I was able to joyfully celebrate His birth this weekend...even though I'm far away from my family and friends in the States.  I thank Him for the friendships I have developed here in Ireland...everyone I've met here has truly been a blessing to me.  :)  

Finally, a big thank you to all who are supporting me financially this year.  Some of you will be receiving a Christmas newsletter by "snail mail" if you haven't already.  It's basically a summary of what I have been doing during these last few months here.  I only sent this newsletter out to about half of my contacts list (ran out of time to finish!).  The rest of my supporters will be receiving a revised New Year's newsletter by "snail mail" soon.  God bless!

Living, Loving, Learning

Happy December, all!  Fa-la-la-la-la!  :)  There's only 16 days left until Christmas...it's hard to believe.  It's also hard to believe that I've been here in Dublin for over 3 months!


Since my last post, I've seen God's hand in a number of other ways.  I finished my 30-day devotional challenge that I was doing (called "Thirsty"), and I started another one (called "Hungry"...same author).  I found the first one, "Thirsty", at a Christian book shop here called Footprints.  They have a lower level that's all secondhand books, and I've found quite a few treasures there.  :)  Anyway, I picked up "Thirsty" thinking that it seemed like a pretty good devotional, and I liked the idea of doing a 30-day challenge.  I saw the "Hungry" one there as well, but because it was in the secondhand section, there was writing on a bunch of the pages.  At the time, I felt as though it would be weird to buy a devotional that someone else had used and written his/her private thoughts in....so I passed it up.  After all, I didn't even know if I liked the "Thirsty" one!  To make a long story short, I loved the "Thirsty" devotional.  It helped make my prayer times much more fruitful, and I expanded my knowledge of Scripture quite a bit.  Plus it allowed for a lot of reflection and journaling, which I love.  So about a week or so ago, on the 30th day of the "Thirsty" challenge, I felt a bit bummed that I didn't just buy the "Hungry" one, despite the writing on the pages.  I decided to go back to Footprints and see if the "Hungry" devotional was still there.  When I got to Footprints, I walked down the stairs to the lower level secondhand section, hoping not to have to search too hard to find what I was looking for.  There was also a tiny doubt in my mind that it might not even be there.  I got to the bottom of the stairs, and as soon as I looked out at the books, there it was.  "Hungry."  Seriously...it was right in front of me.  on the first shelf that I laid my eyes upon.  AND it was on clearance---70% off!  AND...ready for this?  NO WRITING ON ANY OF THE PAGES.  It was a brand new (but still secondhand) book!  I took a minute to praise God and thank Him for providing this devotional for me...and for restoring the pages...and then I went back upstairs to purchase my treasure.  Mission accomplished.  I was so excited I even told the store manager about my great find!  :)  I'm now on day 12 of the "Hungry" 30-day challenge, and I can't wait to see how the Lord works through this one.

This past weekend Chrissy and I held an overnight for a group of 13-15 year old girls.  These girls are from the group in the Nazareth youth program (NYPD) that I am responsible for (the Senior Group).  We had so much fun with them, and we actually got some sleep (though not very comfortably).  We did some worship in the beginning, followed by a short talk and activity about edification (building up/encouraging each other).  The girls seemed to enjoy the talk and the activity, so I was happy about that.  I think they actually learned more about edification too!  :)  After that we just had fun...I brought all my nail polish and did their nails, we had all kinds of sweets and junk food, and we watched a movie.  Despite all the talk we got beforehand about not getting any sleep that night, we got a fair amount of sleep and had a lot of fun with the girls.  Success!

I want to share how grateful I am for my pastoral leader, Elaine.  Not only is she a wonderful woman of the Lord, but she cares so much for me...even though she hasn't known me for very long.  She has graciously opened her house to me as a place to come if I need to get away from here for a little bit.  She lives right around the corner (literally...a 2 minute walk from my house), and she told me I could just come there and hang out without calling first, and I could even use her house to have my prayer times on occasion.  Monday was one of those days when I needed to get away for a little bit.  I had been feeling a bit overwhelmed with some things, so I took up Elaine's offer and came over to her house.  Although she had a friend over, she allowed me to come in and have my prayer time...and I had one of the most wonderful prayer times I've ever had.  I cried out to God, told Him everything that was burdening me, and then let Him fill me with peace and joy.  I went through quite a rollercoaster of emotions, but in the end I felt so much more peaceful and happy than when I came in.  I know that's evidence of the power of the Holy Spirit and the true peace that God brings.  Thanks Elaine for the use of your home and for opening your heart to me.

Overall I'm really enjoying my year here---I'm already 1/4 of the way into it!  I've been blessed by meeting so many great people here and learning more about them.  I'm learning more about community life (both the blessings AND the stress of it!) and what it's like to be a part of, essentially, a big family of believers who encourage and lead one another on in the journey of faith.  I'm also learning what it means to be dedicated in my own prayer life.  I know I need to give God a good amount of time every day to read His word, listen to His voice, and record (in my journal) His blessings and responses to my prayers, as well as my own life experiences and struggles.  This is a huge part of my life and makes such a difference in my day, my interactions with others, and most importantly, my relationship with God.  I think that actually getting myself to spend this quality time with God is where the discipline comes in, though.  I can so easily get distracted with other things...namely Facebook, email, or watching TV...and then of course, serving the people here in Ireland and working at the radio station.  With all these distractions and just the general busy-ness of life, my day--and my opportunities to spend quality time with God--can just slip away.  I have to make a conscious effort to not only pray throughout the day, but to make sure I get a good chunk of "God time" every day.  When I say I "have to"...it may sound like it's a negative thing...or something like a chore, but I hope you get what I'm trying to say.  I love spending time with God.  He is, afterall, the reason I'm living.  The joy of my heart.  The one I strive to be like.  :)  I'm very excited that Christmas is coming up--I love celebrating Christ's birth, and I'm looking forward to celebrating it in a new way here in Ireland with my new friends and family.  It'll be hard being away from my family in Michigan, but I know the Lord has me here for a reason and I have to rely on Him for joy and peace during this Christmas season.

I am praying for all of you--my family, friends, and supporters--that Christ will fill you with His love, joy, and peace this Advent as Christmas draws near.  Be expecting good things!  "For unto us a child is born; unto us a Son is given.  He will reign upon the earth; He will reign in the heavens.  And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."  - Isaiah 9:6