Many nations, creeds, and tongues

Bro. Kyle came to me after church yesterday and pointed out the many nationalities that were represented in the service. People from the Philipines, the US, Ireland, and Ghana were all in attendance.

So we took a picture!

Worship Leading

 

Here on the missions field it seems like there are limitless opportunities to stretch ourselves by stepping out of our comfort zones and doing things we never thought we could. And so it was that with Nathanael's departure, the only immediate option we had for Sunday worship was for me to lead from the guitar.

Now don't get me wrong - I've had a great guitar instructor in Steve Bunch, my brother and all around music virtuoso. But I've not played much guitar publicly, other than the occasional rousing rendition of "The Lord Is a Warrior" with the Band of Brothers (our High School Boys Sunday Class back in DS).

And my singing isn't the best either, except when compared to a hound dog baying at the moon at which time I can usually run a close second.

So to be the game for worship this past Sunday was a stretch for me.

Ashley did a great job singing harmony and some lead parts, Caleb is doing a great job on drums, and as a last minute help Eamon grabbed the bass. Turns out he's quite a good bass player and really helped fill up the sound.


But here's the deal. In spite of all my worries, God stepped in and we had a great service. The worship was great and during altar call (when I jumped over to the keyboard and played both chords that I know) people really connected and God's Spirit swept into the church in such a brilliant way.


The point? God takes our little bit and makes it a lot!

Hmmm...here's a thought....maybe I should start a band and do a UK tour....

Goodbye 'Than

Nathanael

I feel really bad that we haven't written a farewell blog for Nathanael.

'Than left Thursday. We miss him already! He was a really big help to David; especially, working around the church. His biggest contribution to the work in Ireland was his sweet keyboard skills. Tomorrow is our first service without him on the keyboard. David is going to lead playing the guitar, Ashley will sing, and Caleb will play the drums. I'm sure that they'll do a great job, but we will miss 'Than.

I think that 'Than and Shawna Mansfield should race to see who can get back to Ireland the fastest!

Thanks Brother and Sister Davis for sharing 'Than with us as we labored for God's Kingdom in Ireland together this summer!

I'll soon post a slide show of random pictures of Nathanael while he was here.

Quiz

I love the responses to my Irish Lingo. I'll give the answers now. Thanks for playing along!

First, I must say that whoever Mr. or Mrs. Anonymous is, I believe that you are either from or have visited here, or you have lived/been somewhere near. You got almost all of them right! You should tell me who you are because I think I know. :)

And as far as Shawna's "Craic" correction. I looked it up. It can be spelled either way- "Crack" or "Craic". I love being right. (And so do you. So, we are both right. Yeah!)

Thanks for the good Crack!

1. Crack= Fun/Enjoyment
2. Pants= Underwear (And trousers are what we would call pants )
3. Trolley= Shopping Cart (Their shopping carts go crazy. The back wheels aren't locked.)
4. Chips= Fries (And Crisps are potato chips)
5. Rubbish= Trash (And the trashcan is the Bin)
6. Balognese= Sauce used for Spaghetti
7. Baps= Bread (usually Hamburger Buns)
8. Nappy= Diaper (They have nappy changing stations instead of...well you get it.)
9. Biscuits= Cookies
10. Pounds= Money
11. Stones= Weight (How much you weigh.)
12. Call= Come (Signs here say "Call again" when you are leaving a certain area. And if someone wants you to call them on the telephone...they will ask you to "ring" or "phone" them. )
13. Pelican= Pedestrians (Signs here say "Pelican Crossing")
14. Football= Soccer
15. Tea= Usually refers to having dinner
16. College= Upper level high school years- Junior and Senior year
17. Brush= Broom (hee, hee...they say "brush the floor")
18. Garden= Yard (Whether or not there are flowers.)
19. Rubber= Eraser
20. Quid= Bucks ("that costs 50 quid")

And as far as Sharon's comment. I love this...Dummys are Pacifiers. That is one that I can't get used to.

Here are a few I thought of after the quiz:

Class= is the word that they use to describe something that is "cool"
Mum or Mummy= Mom/Mommy
Diary= Day planner
Jumper= Sweater
Wellies= Rubber Boats
Till= Checkout
Queue= Line
Toilet= Bathroom (They don't call it a restroom or bathroom. They simply say "toilet." Not very "class".)
Surgery= The doctor's office
Chemist= Pharmacy

I'm sure that there are more that I haven't mentioned and more that I have yet to learn. But now, if you ever come to visit, you'll have a head start on what words mean here.

Irish Lingo

So you would expect in coming to Ireland, an English speaking country, that it wouldn't be too difficult to converse. Well, there are two things wrong with that assumption.

1. You can't understand some of the people here when they speak because they talk soooo fast.

2. They have different words for many things.

I have decided to take a little time to jot down a few Irish terms that I have learned since arrival. I'm not sure if I have spelled them exactly like they do here. (Which is another whole story. They don't spell like we do. We'll save that for another blog.)

Here are the contradictions to American English that I have caught..because as I said above, I don't catch everything said.

Actually, I think I have decided to turn this into a quiz for you! It's the teacher in me. LOL. I'll list the terms in this blog. You leave comments with your guesses as to what they mean. Then, I'll blog what is actually meant by them. NO cheating! Our friends here can't help! And those of you who have been here please don't tell; you can enjoy the guesses with me. If you are guessing, you don't have to guess on all of them if you don't want to, but be sure to number your answers. (The teacher in me is loving this!)

1. Crack
2. Pants
3. Trolley
4. Chips
5. Rubbish
6. Balognese
7. Baps
8. Nappy
9. Biscuits
10. Pounds
11. Stones
12. Call
13. Pelican
14. Football
15. Tea
16. College
17. Brush
18. Garden
19. Rubber
20. Quid

Here is a picture of Shawna leaving Ireland for her 4th summer AIMing here. She is loading her suitcases and heading out knowing not when she will return to the place of her burden. In the background is her AIM quarters also known as the "flat." She finally got it all cleaned up and organized and decorated like she wanted it just what two days ago? So sad to have to leave it so soon. As you can tell from her body language, she is not happy about this. We miss you already Shawna!

Too Long

Whoa! It has been way too long since we last blogged. What have we being doing? Um, still cleaning the church property (inside and out), having church, and we have had a few get togethers.

Lynn and Kyle's son came home from Afghanistan (I think that is where he was). They had a welcome home party for Glynn.

Lynn's friend Susan had us all over to her house for Chinese as a send off for Shawna. That was really nice. They have visited our church a few times, but have a "home" church. I'm hoping that we'll become their home church!

Last night was Shawna's last service. She is leaving Friday. We are really going to miss her. The thing that I feel the worst about is knowing how much it must hurt to have to leave the place that you know to which God has called you.

I don't even think about when our appointment ends. That is too stressful. I don't believe that God sent us here for only 9 months. We are really believing that we are going to have enough support to send us right back here to keep working.

Anyway, Shawna leaves tomorrow and we will miss her!

Nathaniel leaves next week. Then, Brother McFarland comes home! Then, Steve and Sherie fly in for a visit. And then, Sister McFarland and their daughter Shawna is due to come in the next week. We are keeping the airports busy around here for the next 5 weeks.

This is awful...someone stole David's bank card number. They spent $2,200 at the mall and Wal-mart. Customer service says that it has been on the news back in the states that someone steals your number when you make a purchase somewheres and then they go and makes a card with that number. I think that they should be doubly in trouble because they stole money that is being used for God's kingdom!

Keep Kim in your prayers. She is my sister for all practical purposes. Her parents are my 2nd mom and dad. They are my unofficially adopted family. Kim is pregnant and has been put on strict bed rest due to high blood pressure. She still has 8 weeks (I think) before the baby is due.

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Lots of love!

Work

Thursday, David worked over at the church for awhile. They cleared out the Sunday school room. It was basically being used as a storage room and was full of lots and lots of stuff. And the guys took turns mowing the lawn with a push mower. It is a pretty big lawn to be mowed with a push mower, but a man has to do what a man has to do.

Friday, we waited for an Irish man to bring us some fuel for the house. He was supposed to be here between 11:00 and 12:00. He got here at 5:00. Therefore, we didn't go to the church and work as planned.

Saturday, was a church work day. We cleared out the boiler room, hauled off the trash from the property (and there really was lots), and cleaned up the Sunday school room. Then, we enjoyed lunch and good fellowship with the much appreciated clean-up crew.
Today, we had church! And I got to teach in the clean Sunday school room. It was so nice. I just love classrooms. They make the teacher in me really happy. (smile)
Oh, and I trimmed Caleb's hair. Hee, hee. He has soooo much hair!
Shawna cooked lunch for us. It was delicious!
Keep praying for Ireland! Because I'm ready for REVIVAL.