God Is On the Move

We've had a really blessed week and weekend. It is so exciting to see God at work here in Northern Ireland, and we feel honored to be a part of it.

We've been in contact with a man named Gary who is so hungry for a move of God in his life. We brought him to church Sunday and as soon as he walked in he said he felt something different than he'd ever felt before. After church he told me that he'd been searching for God for 20 years and had never felt anything like he did in the service. He wants to be baptized Wednesday night!

And then I must tell you that God has sent a wonderful family to us. We've really connected with Lynn and Kyle and their kids. Friday night they had us all over for a big barbecue and we had a great time.

Here's a picture of Kyle grilling:

Kristen has really connected with their daughter Gillaine. They act like they've known each other forever. We are really thankful that God has sent Kristen a good friend here in Ireland.

Here's a picture of Kristen and Gillaine having fun in Dublin:

Kyle and Lynn have some great ideas for outreach (since they are "locals" they know the best ways to reach out) and we are so thankful to have them and their family in our church.

We feel like God is doing some great things at Greater Life Church with so much more to come!

Last week

We stayed really busy last week with the ladies from Indiana.

They were able to help us totally update the AIM quarters. Thanks ladies! It looks great and now Shawna Mansfield can actually sleep there.

We had dinner at one of our church family's house on Friday. That was a great experience. What a lovely wee family they are, aren't they? (The people here love to end their sentences with questions. Hee, hee.)

This was the view from their backyard. It was beautiful! By the way, it was 10:30 at night here and the sun was only just starting to go down.

Yesterday was Kristen's sweet 16 birthday. It was a "brilliant birthday, so it was." Ashley McFarland made a beautiful and delicious cake. Thanks Ashley! Shawna and Nathaniel hid Kristen's present and set up clues around the house in order for her to find it. It was great fun to watch her. Thanks, Caleb, for giving her the hints. LOL. They each made Kristen a card. It made our store bought card seem so thoughtless. LOL. We finished the night playing a slightly competitive game of Bop It. I think that just about everyone won a round.

Church was great! We had about 20 people. David made contact with a man who is really seeking the Holy Ghost. He came to church yesterday and wants to get baptized Wednesday!

Sunday school was a bit rough again. LOL. One girl was literally turning flips during Bible story time, while Dawson and another wee boy were sliding off of the couch head first. I'm really not cut out for the wee children. I may be passing that role over to someone else soon. LOL.

We are so happy to have Shawna Mansfield back. Our nickname for her is Shawesome. She is really a blessing around here.

I hear that Pastor McFarland and Sister Cindy are headed back around July 15th now. Keep them in your prayers. We are so excited about them coming home!

Wow! How time flies.

Wednesday, we had very few people in church, but we had a really good Bible study about the different ways to study God's word and how important it is to study the word of God. And as always, we enjoyed coffee and tea with biscuits after church.

Thursday, we spent the day trying to buy a car. The bank closed at 3:30 for no apparent reason so we had to wait a day.



Friday, we bought a car. Thanks to everyone who helped with the BBQ dinner fundraiser at our church. We used the money to buy our ride here. It is a really good and reliable car- a 2004 Mazda 2 with only 30,000 miles. I finally got to drive on the opposite side of the car on the opposite side of the road. It actually came pretty easily to me. Of course I have been paying attention as David has been chauffeuring us around the Emerald Isle since we have been here.

Saturday, a few ladies from Indiana came in for a week to help us at the church (and see a few sites while they are here).

And now today, I am so excited to say that we had 26 people in church! That is our biggest crowd yet. I am praying that God will multiply the people of the church every service that we have. I know that we have the truth and the truth shall set you free! Everyone needs the truth!

Ashley McFarland and I "taught" Sunday school to five kids (including Elayna and Dawson). Well, you might say that we attempted to teach Sunday school to some wild kids who were attacking each other during singing and Bible story time. I'm definitely cut out for the older kids myself. And I believe that Ashley enjoys the very young babies/toddlers. We had a blast. I hope that the kids learned something. LOL. They probably did. Kids will really amaze you at how much they were really paying attention even if it seemed that they weren't. We'll see next week.

Oh, the weather here has been pretty cold. It feels like Louisiana Christmas time! We have been walking around singing Christmas songs.

It was brought to our attention that we didn't have any pictures of Caleb McFarland up on our blog. This is Caleb. Isn't he cute?!

Road Trip

On Monday we went up to the northern most point of Northern Ireland - Giant's Causeway. As soon as we got out of the van and geared up to walk up to the Causeway, it began to pour down rain! So we did not get to stay out there very long. With the rain, the breeze off the water, and the chill in the air, we weren't feeling like hanging out indefinitely! But we did get to see this amazing part of nature. Later, the rain stopped and we got to walk around Dunluce Castle - a castle that stands in ruins but is extremely beautiful.

Dunluce Castle
Ashley and Elayna - in the rain!

Giant's Causeway

Getting It Done

A Few Observations

We have more pics to share, but for some reason we are experiencing technical difficulty in uploading additional photos. So in the meantime, here are a few random thoughts.

• We have been busy this last week working at the church (hence the lack of blogs). We've painted, uprooted the garden, cleaned out an old caravan (mobile home), scrubbed carpet...the list goes on. It is truly a gratifying to connect to the work of God in this way.
• Everyone agrees that the biggest adjustment so far has been the food. The only way to really describe it is to say that it is just different than what we are used to. South Louisiana folks think that food isn't food unless it creates a slight burning sensation while being enjoyed. The Irish are not so keen on the spices.
• Sunday we woke up to a warm 46 degree morning! The high of the day was 55 degrees! The greatest part about it is that the locals are talking about what a fantastic summer they are having...whaaat?!!
• I don't know what we would have done without our new friends Jonny and Naomi. They are our neighbors and have really taken care of us and answered a litany of questions. Thanks Jonny and Naomi!
• Please check back often for pictures from the work days and from our excursion today to Giants Causeway and Dunluce Castle.

A Sample Church Service

In services on the mission field, we all work together to make it happen.

Dawson Praying

'Than Praying
The Word goes forth.
Dawson likes to help Daddy in every way he can!

Interesting UK News

I thought this interesting bit of news out of the UK was worth sharing.
Yesterday, Prince Charles paid off a debt incurred by King Charles II in 1651!

Charles handed over 453 pounds and 15 pence (572 euros and 20 euro cents, 885 dollars and four cents) which King Charles II failed to pay to the Clothiers Company in Worcester, central England, in 1651. The king had commissioned uniforms for his troops to fight the republican forces of Oliver Cromwell at the Battle of Worcester the same year.

Prince Charles said he was glad he didn't have to pay interest.

If interest was taken into account, 453 pounds and three shillings in 1651 would have been worth approximately 47,500 pounds in 2007, the BBC website said, citing the Institute for the Measurement of Worth.

Bric-a-Brac

We are still working to settle in to our house. It is amazing having to start all over with a family of five. We are very much trying to get used to living is another country. Getting used to the food is probably my biggest challenge right now. I don't know what to cook! The don't have the same seasonings and prepackaged foods that we have. LOL.

We are looking for the right vehicle. We have come across some great deals, but have not settled on anything yet.

Our neighbors are truly a God send. (Thanks Johnny and Naomi for being great friends!) They have blessed us so much since we have been here.

They gave us a washer/dryer thingy. I say "thingy" because it is not like anything I have ever seen or used in the states. It takes FOREVER to wash clothes, and never really dries them. Today, I hung clothes over chairs outside to try and dry them. And what should have been two loads of laundry turned out to be six! I don't understand what people do here. They don't have closets and the don't have very big washers. We must be wearing too many clothes and washing them way too often. I don't know. We are really thankful for the washer. We just have to get used to it.

We miss Shawna Mansfield. She is still in the states with her dad. I believe that he is doing much better. I pray that she will be back here soon to keep things running smoothly.

Church was great on Sunday. We had 19 people. And one of our families was out on holiday. (We call it vacation. They call it holiday.) A lovely family of 6 was there. It was nice to have new faces to add to the "crowd."

Oh, Dawson played his guitar on the platform during service. I thought that he had this all planned out with David. He didn't. Just as service began, he ran up on the platform like an old pro and played his guitar just as serious as the rest of the musicians. It was the cutest thing in all the world. A true Kodak moment and I didn't have my camera! He loves to worship God.

Bric-a-brac is a word/phrase that we see here. I interpret it to mean something like "this and that" but actually it refers to low price items usually sold at resale shops.

Keep our wee church in your prayers. I know that God is going to do awesome things in Northern Ireland.

Tollymore Forest Park

Sunday after church, we took a group trip to Tollymore Forest Park. It is an awesome park at the foot of the Mourne Mountains. (We have a very distant view of these mountains from our house.)

Here are a few pictures of this unbelievably beautiful forest...to know that God created such a place! Really...the pictures don't even do it justice. And the ride there is incredible as you can imagine. Ireland is just a beautiful country.


Elayna enjoyed the park in her easy chair (actually...she slept through most of it).

David and Dawson had to have a walking cane made from the forest.

(By the way...most assume that it is beautiful here due to all the rain...not so...it is due to the great FRESH fertilizer that they have. Yeah...Kristen says that all picture books of Ireland should come with a scratch and sniff sticker. It does stink certain times of the year. And we just so happen to have arrived at that time of the year.)

Monday, we ran errands all day. Then, we visited with Shawna and the McFarland crew until late. Shawna had to leave today (Tuesday) to come back to the states early because her dad is in the hospital. Thank God he is doing much better! Please continue to pray for him. He may go home as soon as a week from now. And then Shawna will hopefully come back for the rest of the summer. We miss her already!

Today, we basically drove around Lurgan looking for a store that we didn't know the name of in order to find cheaper items in bulk. We didn't find it. But we did find Starbucks! Wahoo!

That's probably why I'm still up! It is 1:42AM here...so actually it is Wednesday for me and still Tuesday for you all back home.

Come See What God Is Doing In Northern Ireland!

We've been here just over a week now and we are really glad that everyone has been keeping up with our transition to Ireland through this blog. Pastor McFarland cautioned us to take as much time as we need to settle in because it really is a big deal to move a family to a new country and culture. I imagine that it will take quite some time for us to settle in to our new surroundings, but we are loving every minute of it.

That said, we have been busy working for the Kingdom this week as well. Last Sunday we had a terrific service with 18 people in attendance. Wednesday night was Bible study and since our musicians were sick, we brought in this really talented guitar player/singer to lead worship. Okay, so I barely got by, but we really did have a great worship encounter with God. The Bible study was on receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit.

And then today was another great service. I definitely felt more comfortable today - I suppose because things are beginning to feel familiar and we are starting to learn the names and faces of the church people.

God's spirit moved into our service in a really strong way today...it seemed like the worship service went to the next level as we sang about thirsting after God even when we are in a dry and barren place. I felt led to speak today about the love of God - how man's relationship with God was restored when He died for us, proving His unfailing love. And His love is unconditional and it provides a shelter to us in tough times.

Afterwards we had a good time of seeking God in the altar, followed by special prayer for Shawna's father who is in urgent need of healing (please keep him in your prayers).

We're looking forward to another great week at Greater Life Church...see you there? : )

Paul Revere

Paul Revere would be sooo disappointed in us. Yesterday we walked down to the village centre for an Orange March and all that I could think was that "the British are coming." The village of Donaghcloney, where we live, is a British town. Here in Northern Ireland people draw lines based on their being either British or Irish because Northern Ireland is under British rule. We noticed driving in to town that the British flags were flying and that the tiny bridge had British markings on them. So, yesterday there was this Orange Parade celebrating British Victory at the Battle of the Boyne. It use to be during these type parades that the bombings and troubles would take place. However, they are at peace here now (and hopefully it will only continue to get better). I was a little nervous about going, but the neighbors (who are extremely friendly) urged us to go. They assured us that it was perfectly safe and something that Americans should see.

It was a good thing that we didn't grab our grocery bags for beads. There were no beads. In fact, we walked down to the supermarket in the town centre with big smiles on our faces (which is right passed the village butcher and chemist-pharmacy). But we walked back in a more somber mood. Our smiles faded. This was not a true celebration. It was a serious matter. The people both in the parade and on the streets were very serious.

The sounds coming from the drums and fifes were really something to hear. We could actually hear the parade at our house. And the British soldiers were most interesting to see. But as I say, I'm sure that Paul Revere would be so disappointed in us.

We did get to meet several of our neighbors during our walk to the town centre yesterday for the parade. They were all so nice. We have added several names to our prayer list.

You will also notice in the pictures that the sun is shining. Our neighbors informed us that this is a little unusual here. I am sure that God let us bring a little sunshine and warmth with us to help us acclimate. The weather has been beautiful.

It is also interesting to note that these pictures were taken at about 8:30 in the evening. The days are very long this time of year and it doesn't get completely dark until almost midnight!