My good friend, Mark Artrip (www.markartrip.com) often "Mind Dumps" on his blog. I thought it would be a great way to give you some of my personal wrap-up thoughts from the week of Momentum. I'm going to do it with no notes in front of me...just a few "off the top of my head" things as reflect on the amazing week God gave us.
- The weather was amazing all week. It only rained one time, and it was during a time that didn't impact any serving or programming. God is in the details!!!
- Our 5 OB students are having great summers. I was able to talk to most of them at length about their tours thus far, and each is doing really well. God is definitely at work in their hearts, and I am SO excited that we get to have each of them back for another year so they can pour into other students in GSM and into Grace Church.
- I purchased a piece of the bus that I spent my first two OB tours on at an auction this week! I will keep it in my office as a reminder of all that God did in my heart those summers!
- Catching up with many, many people from across the country is always a highlight of the week for me. I get to bounce ideas off of people and discuss all the things that we crazy "youth guys" like to discuss. I also get to network with other ministries, colleges and equipping opportunities to help guide our students as they pray about their futures.
- The speaking line-up was very interesting this year. Rather than addressing the individual speakers, I'd just like to say that the overall theme of the week, and the direction that all the speakers were heading, collectively, was affirmation from God that we are heading the right direction this Fall with GSM. Jeremiah and I have been praying about some ideas for the next year, and the concepts that we would like to focus on in our teaching/training, etc. and this week was a great kick-off to that. Stay tuned!!!
- I LOVE STUDENTS. God continues to affirm in my heart that I am called to work with students at this point in my life. There is nothing in the world more satisfying and exciting to me than watching students worship freely and genuinely, share their faith and lead people to Christ, serve others who they have no previous connection to, and respond to God's movement in their lives with obedience and determination.
- The students of Grace Student Ministries are amazing. (See previous paragraph). Every single one of our 85ish students gave up at least one afternoon this week to serve on the work projects we were assigned (This Wednesday night, Jer and I will be holding up our end of the deal...can anyone say 'Mohawk')? In addition, we had no major disciplinary problems, they were respectful and responsible all week and dealt joyfully with some of the headaches of being such a large group at a conference. And more than just the serious stuff, they are just a LOT of fun! What a tremendous group of students - parents should be very proud.
- GSM has amazing staff! Not all of our staff were able to attend Momentum with us, and some of our Momentum staff weren't regular GSM staff. But the adults that served our students this week are just incredible. These adults were jumping at opportunities to serve the students, and to lighten my load all week. On top of that, they LOVE our students and spent so much time loving on them, praying with them, and having a great time. I am more confident than ever before, that these adults will also continue to follow up with students who made commitments this week. These adults are committed to the spiritual growth and discipleship of our students.
- Momentum is more than just a conference. It is an opportunity for us to make leaps and bounds in the discipleship process of students. Students are exposed to biblical teaching, practical break-out sessions that are geared towards different levels of students, opportunities to serve and share their faith, community, time to fellowship and bond as a student ministry, opportunities to interact with and be guided by loving adults who will continue to be part of their lives...what a week!
Thanks for YOUR investment in our students through prayer and giving! It was well worth it, and will continue to be as we move forward into the next school year.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
WE CARE; Closing Ceremonies
What a week it has been...
Today was the big "We Care Pittsburgh" event where 2000 people blitzed the city and surrounding communities serving and sharing in the name of Jesus. 1/3 of our group worked really hard to finish up projects at the school we've been working at all week, while the other 60ish headed to Coraopolis to serve in any way possible throughout the neighborhoods. It was evident by the end of our time there that we had definitely been used by God to impact this community. Most groups of students had positive interactions with people, and took advantage of opportunities to pray with and for people. Many served people with projects around their houses, played with children - all "shared their lives"! One group was even able to lead a boy to Christ today! May Heaven rejoice!
Tonight was the closing session of the conference which included a challenge/reminder that we are "Christ's ambassadors" if we are believers. The question is not "are we?"; the question is "what kind of ambassador" are we.
We also celebrated the ministry of Jesus in our lives - past, present and future - through a communion ceremony - Momentum style! The evening session concluded with the first-ever "love feast PARTY" with 2,000 people, 2,000 balloons and 2,000 pieces of wedding cake! What a night!
We ended the entire week in youth group time, where every student shared with an adult their one "so what?" application point of what they learned this week. It is evident that God showed up this week! We will continue to process this with students and encourage them to remember their commitments to Christ this week!
Thanks for your continued prayer. Please pray for safety for our travels tomorrow! We expect to be back to Lititz between 12:30-1:00 p.m.
Good night and thanks for keeping up with us!!!
DK
Today was the big "We Care Pittsburgh" event where 2000 people blitzed the city and surrounding communities serving and sharing in the name of Jesus. 1/3 of our group worked really hard to finish up projects at the school we've been working at all week, while the other 60ish headed to Coraopolis to serve in any way possible throughout the neighborhoods. It was evident by the end of our time there that we had definitely been used by God to impact this community. Most groups of students had positive interactions with people, and took advantage of opportunities to pray with and for people. Many served people with projects around their houses, played with children - all "shared their lives"! One group was even able to lead a boy to Christ today! May Heaven rejoice!
Tonight was the closing session of the conference which included a challenge/reminder that we are "Christ's ambassadors" if we are believers. The question is not "are we?"; the question is "what kind of ambassador" are we.
We also celebrated the ministry of Jesus in our lives - past, present and future - through a communion ceremony - Momentum style! The evening session concluded with the first-ever "love feast PARTY" with 2,000 people, 2,000 balloons and 2,000 pieces of wedding cake! What a night!
We ended the entire week in youth group time, where every student shared with an adult their one "so what?" application point of what they learned this week. It is evident that God showed up this week! We will continue to process this with students and encourage them to remember their commitments to Christ this week!
Thanks for your continued prayer. Please pray for safety for our travels tomorrow! We expect to be back to Lititz between 12:30-1:00 p.m.
Good night and thanks for keeping up with us!!!
DK
Friday, July 17, 2009
Thursday/Friday - ish...
You can tell it's getting towards the end of the week...the nights are getting shorter and shorter. Well, maybe they're not getting shorter, but they're sure FEELING shorter!
Highlights from yesterday:
- Chuck Bomar challenged us to recognize our identity in Christ and find satisfaction in our circumstances, comparing our culture to God's culture.
- Our soccer team represented us well coming in 3rd place.
- MaryAnne and our district quiz team WON the tournament, with a HUGE number of students there supporting them.
- Jim Brown talked about the rapture and challenged kids to make sure their eternity is secure and many students responded.
- Our students had a great time of debriefing at youth-group-time. The adults left them alone for 30 minutes or so and they enjoyed the time of being together as teens, building one another up and worshiping together.
Highlights from this morning:
- I spoke for 10 minutes from inside a box.
- Cheryl Fawcett challenged students to consider giving their lives to full-time Christian service in the least-reached parts of the world.
- The countdown for meals on this campus has begun.
:)
DK
Highlights from yesterday:
- Chuck Bomar challenged us to recognize our identity in Christ and find satisfaction in our circumstances, comparing our culture to God's culture.
- Our soccer team represented us well coming in 3rd place.
- MaryAnne and our district quiz team WON the tournament, with a HUGE number of students there supporting them.
- Jim Brown talked about the rapture and challenged kids to make sure their eternity is secure and many students responded.
- Our students had a great time of debriefing at youth-group-time. The adults left them alone for 30 minutes or so and they enjoyed the time of being together as teens, building one another up and worshiping together.
Highlights from this morning:
- I spoke for 10 minutes from inside a box.
- Cheryl Fawcett challenged students to consider giving their lives to full-time Christian service in the least-reached parts of the world.
- The countdown for meals on this campus has begun.
:)
DK
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Momentum - Wednesday
Another great day at Momentum.
This morning, Gabe Lyons challenged us to consider the world's perceptions of Christianity as we get ready for Saturday's "We Care Pittsburgh" projects. He is the co-author of the book "unChristian" and he provided us with some great ways to make sure we are effectively telling the "whole story" of the gospel, and not just part of it.
This afternoon a large group of our students headed to an area school district to work on manual labor projects. We will be sending a group daily to serve in this very small school and to help fix things up for the next school year. Our group today did a great job and left the school employees very impressed.
Another large group of our students went to the Island Campus of RMU to ice skate, mini-golf and hit balls at the driving range. They had a great time hanging out!
This evening, Kondo Simfukwe powerfully presented the Bible's description of the Church. Students were challenged in their identity and asked to consider their investment and involvement in the Body of Christ.
We had a great evening of worship and learning and were able to debrief in youth group time tonight. Time for bed...finally!
DK
This morning, Gabe Lyons challenged us to consider the world's perceptions of Christianity as we get ready for Saturday's "We Care Pittsburgh" projects. He is the co-author of the book "unChristian" and he provided us with some great ways to make sure we are effectively telling the "whole story" of the gospel, and not just part of it.
This afternoon a large group of our students headed to an area school district to work on manual labor projects. We will be sending a group daily to serve in this very small school and to help fix things up for the next school year. Our group today did a great job and left the school employees very impressed.
Another large group of our students went to the Island Campus of RMU to ice skate, mini-golf and hit balls at the driving range. They had a great time hanging out!
This evening, Kondo Simfukwe powerfully presented the Bible's description of the Church. Students were challenged in their identity and asked to consider their investment and involvement in the Body of Christ.
We had a great evening of worship and learning and were able to debrief in youth group time tonight. Time for bed...finally!
DK
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Momentum - Tuesday
A day is like 1,000 years at Momentum. There is so much packed into every single day that it feels like so much more than one day!
This morning started with a great challenge from Shawn McBride about "throwing off" anything that slows us down, spiritually (Hebrews 12:1-2). Some students immediately thought of sin issues in their lives that entangle them; while others were challenged by issues that aren't necessarily sin, yet they are weights that entangle. How can we share our very lives (I Thess. 2:8) with people if we are all tangled up and deprived of the joy of the Lord?
Students then went to their choice of powertrax and enjoyed a delicious lunch of hot-dogs and chicken nuggets! Ahhhh...campus food!
This afternoon was filled with MANY fun activities and memories! Some played pick-up football; some worked on their tans; some slipped and slided; some watched an OB program; and some (perhaps a particular director of student ministries and a jr. high director) "tried" to ride scooters down a very steap grassy hill. For the record, BOTH fell hard! Also for the record, the director of student ministries was smart enough to fall on grass...the Jr. High director...not so much! We will be comparing our black and blue marks tomorrow!
This evening's session was awesome as Jeff Bogue gave a challenge to all of us to reconsider WHO Jesus is. Many would say that they "know" Jesus, yet would be unable to describe His character and many of His attributes. We took a detailed look at who Jesus is and were challenged to consider what we are sharing people when we try to share "the gospel" with them.
Do you know Jesus? You can't know Him and NOT tell people about Him!
The session was closed with a great time of response through worship, and we headed back to our dorm for youth-group time. Students discussed the events of the day in small groups and each shared one specific action point based on the challenges presented.
It's been a great day! Time for some rest before another busy, yet amazing day!
DK
This morning started with a great challenge from Shawn McBride about "throwing off" anything that slows us down, spiritually (Hebrews 12:1-2). Some students immediately thought of sin issues in their lives that entangle them; while others were challenged by issues that aren't necessarily sin, yet they are weights that entangle. How can we share our very lives (I Thess. 2:8) with people if we are all tangled up and deprived of the joy of the Lord?
Students then went to their choice of powertrax and enjoyed a delicious lunch of hot-dogs and chicken nuggets! Ahhhh...campus food!
This afternoon was filled with MANY fun activities and memories! Some played pick-up football; some worked on their tans; some slipped and slided; some watched an OB program; and some (perhaps a particular director of student ministries and a jr. high director) "tried" to ride scooters down a very steap grassy hill. For the record, BOTH fell hard! Also for the record, the director of student ministries was smart enough to fall on grass...the Jr. High director...not so much! We will be comparing our black and blue marks tomorrow!
This evening's session was awesome as Jeff Bogue gave a challenge to all of us to reconsider WHO Jesus is. Many would say that they "know" Jesus, yet would be unable to describe His character and many of His attributes. We took a detailed look at who Jesus is and were challenged to consider what we are sharing people when we try to share "the gospel" with them.
Do you know Jesus? You can't know Him and NOT tell people about Him!
The session was closed with a great time of response through worship, and we headed back to our dorm for youth-group time. Students discussed the events of the day in small groups and each shared one specific action point based on the challenges presented.
It's been a great day! Time for some rest before another busy, yet amazing day!
DK
Monday, July 13, 2009
Monday Photos
Doug's "I'm responsible for 95 people" face.
Some of our phenomenal leaders during mandatory staff meeting!
The others!
"God of this City" by the OB choir
FEE - the Rockstar!
Some of our phenomenal leaders during mandatory staff meeting!
The others!
"God of this City" by the OB choir
FEE - the Rockstar!
Momentum - Monday
Ah, lights out has finally arrived and we adults can breathe a sigh of relief!
We are thankful that God provided smooth sailing for our trip to Pittsburgh, registration, and the kick-off to the conference! Aside from a short stop regarding a headlight that went out on our rental van, we had an uneventful trip to Robert Morris University. Our group is quite impressive, as they are respectful passengers and showed the love of Jesus through their actions at our lunch stop along the way. Adults noticed student politely staying out of others' ways and interacting in a Christ-like manner with people they didn't even know! LOVE THEM!!!
The registration process went without a hitch, and we unloaded into our dorm as soon as the large group arrived on campus. We are the largest group here this year and have an entire dorm to ourselves which is really nice for youth group times each evening and for some extra bonding time. The girls have a floor and the guys have a floor, and we are excited to make our "own rules!"
Tonights opening session was awesome. Steve Fee and his band challenged us to start the week off whole-heartedly. Instead of taking a day or so to "warm up", he encouraged us to focus wholey on Jesus from the very begining. There was definitely a spirit of excitement and anticipation in the room as we worshiped together.
The OB choir sang and Shawn McBride spoke about the importance of God's Word in our lives - and here this week. We processed this a bit more tonight in youth group time and encouraged students to discuss the application of this in their rooms tonight before closing the night out in prayer!
What a great start! We are excited to see what God will continue to do in and through our students all week! Please continue to pray along with us!
DK
We are thankful that God provided smooth sailing for our trip to Pittsburgh, registration, and the kick-off to the conference! Aside from a short stop regarding a headlight that went out on our rental van, we had an uneventful trip to Robert Morris University. Our group is quite impressive, as they are respectful passengers and showed the love of Jesus through their actions at our lunch stop along the way. Adults noticed student politely staying out of others' ways and interacting in a Christ-like manner with people they didn't even know! LOVE THEM!!!
The registration process went without a hitch, and we unloaded into our dorm as soon as the large group arrived on campus. We are the largest group here this year and have an entire dorm to ourselves which is really nice for youth group times each evening and for some extra bonding time. The girls have a floor and the guys have a floor, and we are excited to make our "own rules!"
Tonights opening session was awesome. Steve Fee and his band challenged us to start the week off whole-heartedly. Instead of taking a day or so to "warm up", he encouraged us to focus wholey on Jesus from the very begining. There was definitely a spirit of excitement and anticipation in the room as we worshiped together.
The OB choir sang and Shawn McBride spoke about the importance of God's Word in our lives - and here this week. We processed this a bit more tonight in youth group time and encouraged students to discuss the application of this in their rooms tonight before closing the night out in prayer!
What a great start! We are excited to see what God will continue to do in and through our students all week! Please continue to pray along with us!
DK
Sunday, July 12, 2009
MOMENTUM 2009
Stay tuned! Momentum 2009 updates are on their way.
(Go Steelers!)
Momentum
July 13-19
Robert Morris University
Pittsburgh, PA
(Go Steelers!)
Ireland Wrap-up
Most of you that are reading this have probably already figured out that we made it home safely on Friday night!
THANKS for tuning in and reading about our trip, and for praying! We certainly have seen God work in many ways and are refreshed by what He is doing in each of ours and the students' hearts. Please continue to pray for each of us as we process our experiences outside of the team and respond in obedience to God's moving in our lives.
Be sure to ask the team members to share stories of how God worked in and through them! We will each have great testimonies of God's faithfulness!
THANKS for tuning in and reading about our trip, and for praying! We certainly have seen God work in many ways and are refreshed by what He is doing in each of ours and the students' hearts. Please continue to pray for each of us as we process our experiences outside of the team and respond in obedience to God's moving in our lives.
Be sure to ask the team members to share stories of how God worked in and through them! We will each have great testimonies of God's faithfulness!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Thursday, July 9
Wrapping up! That's what the last few hours have consisted of.
We had another wonderful day at Urban Soul. Teams went out on their projects again this afternoon and continued building relationships with their diverse team-mates and interacting with many Irish folks on their particular assigments. Scott was the group leader for several of our girls and reported that they were absolutely tremendous workers; building relationships and sharing their testimonies with the teens they were working with and keeping great attitudes dispite being very tired. This evening, several of their team-mates accepted Christ at the evening session! I have no doubt that God was using their relationships with them afternoon to prepare the soil of their hearts for God's moving tonight.
Also, the girls took a possibly difficult housing situation and used it as an opportunity to stretch themselves and share the gospel with the teens God put in their path.
Tonight, as most are going to bed, there is a pizza party in one of the rooms on the hall for one of our students who made such an impact on his Irish roommates, that they wanted to throw him a goodbye party before he leaves in the morning.
I am SO proud of this team and of these students. They have had an incredibly stretching 10 days and have been EXCELLENT representatives of CHRIST, America, Grace Church, Grace Student Ministries, and their families back home.
THANK YOU for your prayers on our behalf. Please be in prayer for our travels tomorrow - as it will be a long day of travel. Also, please pray for health - several of our students are starting to feel the physical wear and tear of the pace we have been keeping and will need a few days of rest.
There are many stories to share of how we have seen God work - and I am confident that this has been a piece of a much grander process for each of us. Please continue to pray for us as we process all of this as well!
Tired, but SO refreshed,
DK
We had another wonderful day at Urban Soul. Teams went out on their projects again this afternoon and continued building relationships with their diverse team-mates and interacting with many Irish folks on their particular assigments. Scott was the group leader for several of our girls and reported that they were absolutely tremendous workers; building relationships and sharing their testimonies with the teens they were working with and keeping great attitudes dispite being very tired. This evening, several of their team-mates accepted Christ at the evening session! I have no doubt that God was using their relationships with them afternoon to prepare the soil of their hearts for God's moving tonight.
Also, the girls took a possibly difficult housing situation and used it as an opportunity to stretch themselves and share the gospel with the teens God put in their path.
Tonight, as most are going to bed, there is a pizza party in one of the rooms on the hall for one of our students who made such an impact on his Irish roommates, that they wanted to throw him a goodbye party before he leaves in the morning.
I am SO proud of this team and of these students. They have had an incredibly stretching 10 days and have been EXCELLENT representatives of CHRIST, America, Grace Church, Grace Student Ministries, and their families back home.
THANK YOU for your prayers on our behalf. Please be in prayer for our travels tomorrow - as it will be a long day of travel. Also, please pray for health - several of our students are starting to feel the physical wear and tear of the pace we have been keeping and will need a few days of rest.
There are many stories to share of how we have seen God work - and I am confident that this has been a piece of a much grander process for each of us. Please continue to pray for us as we process all of this as well!
Tired, but SO refreshed,
DK
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
July 7-8
Urban Soul has begun and we are busy doing "indiscriminate acts of kindness" around the city of Dublin with other young people from all over Ireland.
There are sessions each morning and evening with worship and speakers, then the afternoons are spent split into teams to do service projects throughout the city.
Our team has been spread around with other groups and has really enjoyed getting to know some new people as well as working with all kinds of different projects. We've also enjoyed worship led by Paul Baloche.
We are getting tired as we've been on the move for our entire time here, but we are hoping to finish strong with our last full day tomorrow. We will be packing our bags tomorrow and preparing to leave Dublin first thing on Friday morning.
Please continue to pray for us - specifically, for health and strength for each team member; for good attitudes as we have come across some new "cultural" experiences that are very stretching; and for our hearts to continue to be open to what God still wants to teach us.
There are sessions each morning and evening with worship and speakers, then the afternoons are spent split into teams to do service projects throughout the city.
Our team has been spread around with other groups and has really enjoyed getting to know some new people as well as working with all kinds of different projects. We've also enjoyed worship led by Paul Baloche.
We are getting tired as we've been on the move for our entire time here, but we are hoping to finish strong with our last full day tomorrow. We will be packing our bags tomorrow and preparing to leave Dublin first thing on Friday morning.
Please continue to pray for us - specifically, for health and strength for each team member; for good attitudes as we have come across some new "cultural" experiences that are very stretching; and for our hearts to continue to be open to what God still wants to teach us.
Monday, July 6, 2009
July 6
Today started a bit earlier than others, but it was a day of touring the country, so we were a little bit more relaxed.
We headed to Newgrange, Trim Castle and Hill of Slane - all three worth googling. Try to figure out which one is older than the pyramids in Giza, which one hosted some filming of a Hollywood blockbuster, which one hosted a significant event for the cause of Christ in Ireland, and which one Doug and Renee entered a "lottery" to return to! All were VERY interesting sites.
We also enjoyed "fish and chips" for lunch - well, most of us. Some chickened out and ordered burgers! We ended our tour back in Dublin at an Indian restaurant for dinner, followed by a debriefing time with the Beckers. Though our time here in Dublin is not finished, our projects and work with the Beckers has essentially ended.
It is clear from some of the discussions we had tonight that our students have really been catching the idea of ministry in a different culture. Some have even recognized how to better reach people for Christ in their own culture because of their experiences here. We are praising the Lord for how He continues to move in these students.
But as I said, we aren't finished yet!
Tomorrow morning we will be packing up to leave this Hostel and preparing to head to the last leg of our trip. Those of us who are 18+ will be going to a training session while the others do some last minute souvenir shopping and touring. We will all meet up to register for Urban Soul and get moved in to another hostel; our new home for the next few nights.
Urban Soul will commence tomorrow evening and our team will be doing service projects in the community in the name of Jesus alongside other students from all over Ireland. We are thrilled about the opportunities that are ahead of us and covet your prayers as we close out our ministry here in Dublin!
Cheers!
DK
We headed to Newgrange, Trim Castle and Hill of Slane - all three worth googling. Try to figure out which one is older than the pyramids in Giza, which one hosted some filming of a Hollywood blockbuster, which one hosted a significant event for the cause of Christ in Ireland, and which one Doug and Renee entered a "lottery" to return to! All were VERY interesting sites.
We also enjoyed "fish and chips" for lunch - well, most of us. Some chickened out and ordered burgers! We ended our tour back in Dublin at an Indian restaurant for dinner, followed by a debriefing time with the Beckers. Though our time here in Dublin is not finished, our projects and work with the Beckers has essentially ended.
It is clear from some of the discussions we had tonight that our students have really been catching the idea of ministry in a different culture. Some have even recognized how to better reach people for Christ in their own culture because of their experiences here. We are praising the Lord for how He continues to move in these students.
But as I said, we aren't finished yet!
Tomorrow morning we will be packing up to leave this Hostel and preparing to head to the last leg of our trip. Those of us who are 18+ will be going to a training session while the others do some last minute souvenir shopping and touring. We will all meet up to register for Urban Soul and get moved in to another hostel; our new home for the next few nights.
Urban Soul will commence tomorrow evening and our team will be doing service projects in the community in the name of Jesus alongside other students from all over Ireland. We are thrilled about the opportunities that are ahead of us and covet your prayers as we close out our ministry here in Dublin!
Cheers!
DK
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Sunday, July 5
Another great day for the books! It's hard to believe how quickly our time here is passing, but with the pace we have been keeping, it is not hard to understand why.
This morning Xander, Jimmy, Rachel P. and Heather were picked up to go help with a special project, cleaning up from a festival that took place yesterday. The rest of the team was able to enjoy a little later wake-up time, though some of these crazy students got up to go exercise!
We all met up and walked to Grafton Street for an hour or so where students were given money to find lunch on their own. We headed out to Dundrum by Tram after that (towards the Becker's house) where students had a few hours to do some shopping in Europe's soon-to-be largest shopping center. (Souvenirs are on their way Mums and Dads)!
We ended up at the Becker's house late this afternoon and everyone immediately jumped in to help prepare food and the house for this evenings service with Crossroads Church. Those without tasks met in the living room to pray for the evening.
By 5:30 or 6, folks were begining to show up. We enjoyed worship together, a time of thanksgiving and prayer, as well as some teaching, reflection and application from the book of Daniel. One thing we have in common with the Irish, is that we understand that most good fellowship happens over food! So after the service, the BBQ was fired up and the kitchen was in motion. We had a wonderful evening interacting with folks from the church and getting to know them a bit better. We arrived back at the hostel "early" tonight (11:40 p.m.) for a good night's sleep.
Tomorrow we will start earlier than other mornings, but we should be relaxed as we will be touring a bit in the countryside. We will also be closing up our time with the Beckers tomorrow night before we head to Urban Soul on Tuesday.
Please continue to pray for health and safety as well as great attitudes and open eyes for the opportunities God wants us to take advantage of!
Cheers,
DK
This morning Xander, Jimmy, Rachel P. and Heather were picked up to go help with a special project, cleaning up from a festival that took place yesterday. The rest of the team was able to enjoy a little later wake-up time, though some of these crazy students got up to go exercise!
We all met up and walked to Grafton Street for an hour or so where students were given money to find lunch on their own. We headed out to Dundrum by Tram after that (towards the Becker's house) where students had a few hours to do some shopping in Europe's soon-to-be largest shopping center. (Souvenirs are on their way Mums and Dads)!
We ended up at the Becker's house late this afternoon and everyone immediately jumped in to help prepare food and the house for this evenings service with Crossroads Church. Those without tasks met in the living room to pray for the evening.
By 5:30 or 6, folks were begining to show up. We enjoyed worship together, a time of thanksgiving and prayer, as well as some teaching, reflection and application from the book of Daniel. One thing we have in common with the Irish, is that we understand that most good fellowship happens over food! So after the service, the BBQ was fired up and the kitchen was in motion. We had a wonderful evening interacting with folks from the church and getting to know them a bit better. We arrived back at the hostel "early" tonight (11:40 p.m.) for a good night's sleep.
Tomorrow we will start earlier than other mornings, but we should be relaxed as we will be touring a bit in the countryside. We will also be closing up our time with the Beckers tomorrow night before we head to Urban Soul on Tuesday.
Please continue to pray for health and safety as well as great attitudes and open eyes for the opportunities God wants us to take advantage of!
Cheers,
DK
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)