Visuals for today

July 2

This is the 3rd time I have tried to type this...twice it has been deleted. It's getting shorter every time due to the hour, so here are the bullet points for today!

• Breakfast in the hostel is a great cultural experience! Students have truly been 'on mission' and initiated conversations with many other foreigners staying here. It is obvious that they are being watched and people are seeing the difference in their kind hearts. We will continue to interact with many of these people over the next few days, so please pray that we will continue to "meet" and "move".
• We spent much of the day working at the school that the Becker children go to. These projects are an opportunity to demonstrate to many families a life of "loving God" and "loving others". Their curiosity in the fact that American teenagers would be willing to come here and serve them provides many opportunities to share.
• This evening we had a wonderful cultural experience with a traditional Irish dinner and entertainment of music and dance! If our group didn't feel like we were in Ireland before, we sure do now!!!

Sorry so short...my eyes are falling shut.

Cheers!

DK

Learning Irish Dance

Sorry it's sideways...couldn't figure out how to fix it. This is video of Meghan teaching our students the art of Irish dance yesterday afternoon!

Photos - June 30-July 1

Ahhhh...Showers and Sleep

What a day it has been...or two-ish days. We're not really sure - our bodies are so confused. It stays light out here until MUCH later than at home, so even late in the evening, it still feels like afternoon.

So, as previously mentioned, we had a slight adventure at the Philadelphia airport (I know, you're shocked, right?!) We boarded our plane for an on-time departure, only to be told that we were going to be sitting on the taxiway for at least an hour becuase of bad weather at JFK - our destination. After an hour or so, the pilot said that things were still up in the air (except not literally), so we went back to the gate, unloaded the plane, and PRAYED. Many flights out of Philadelphia were being cancelled because the storms were now arriving there. However, God saw fit to answer our prayers. We re-boarded our plane and made it to JFK just fine, with thirty minutes to spare before our on-time departure to Dublin. And to think we were (not) complaining about a 4.5 hour layover in New York. God knew what He was doing.

I should back-up and say that before leaving Grace Church, we were so encouraged to have so many staff, elders and parents join us for a time of prayer to send us on our way! Prayer is always such an enourmous part of these types of experiences, so don't stop!

We arrived on time in Dublin this morning, greeted by Scott Becker. Scott, Rebekah and their four children are doing church work here in Ireland and are coordinating much of our time here.
We took a bus to center-city and unloaded our bags in lockers at Isaac's Hostel where we will be staying for this week. We then headed out on a walk through the city towards the Becker's home, stopping for some much-needed breakfast on the way. We ended up at their beautiful home for a time of orientation. They introduced us to Dublin, to Ireland and to their work here.
We split into two groups to head out for lunch, then finished our discussion time by early afternoon. The next few hours were free time, which several spent napping, while others were entertained by the amazing Irish dancing talents, and game-leading skills of the eldest two Becker children! What fun it was to watch the excitement! (Enjoy the photos/video)!

We ended our really long day with dinner at TGIFridays, the last of our "American" food experiences for out time here, and were sure to sing "Happy Birthday" to Tara who celebrated today! I promise she will never forget this birthday!

We made the trip back across the city and checked into our rooms at the hostel. Everyone is working on showering as quickly as possible so that we can get a much-needed night of rest!

The people of Ireland are so friendly and open thus far, that we are anticipating many opportunities to "meet" and "move" them. Please pray along those lines.

For tonight,
DK

MADE IT!

I am hoping to spend some more time updating later this evening. For now, just wanted everyone to know that we made it to Dublin with only minor adventures in transit! (I have never sat on a plane for a few hours, gotten off the plane, then re-boarded...)! Details later!

Thanks for praying!

HOPING TO UPDATE

To all who are reading this:

I am hoping to update this blog at least a few times over the next 11 days as our team spends time serving in Ireland.

Also, the following week, I am hoping to update a few times from Momentum.

In both cases, it will depend on time as well as internet access!!!

Please pray for both of these events!

Ireland - June 30-July 10
Momentum - July 13-19

July 20 - Doug crashes in a bed for a week!!!