Friday, July 18, 2008
-
Final Thoughts from Ireland
It's Friday and our last day of ministry. I've managed to journal every night and will post more details about the trip when I get home, so they won't be thoughts "from Ireland."
Going home is bittersweet. I will miss this country and the genuinely warm people. I haven't met a single cranky clerk or rude salesperson, despite my inability to calculate correct payment for ANYTHING. They are gracious and even honest when taking the amount from the palm of my hand. The team members have become so precious to me. Someone I thought would drive me insane, well, I'm encouraging my son to ask her out.
I will, however, be happy to leave behind the Holiday Bible Club. It's a very intense 2 hours every day, with sometimes upward of 60 kids at one time, varying in age from 4 to 12, in the same room. They are much like any children from underpriviledged neighborhoods - tough outer shells when with their buddies, fairly soft centers when you corner them alone. The evenings with the youth are pretty much the same. During a heartbreaking testimony, some were laughing and mocking.
And I am sure not sad to be leaving behind
- The teeny, tiny shower, which I did eventually master
- Stiff clothes from line-drying
- Hard water that tastes like soap when you drink it
- The European keyboard for the computer
- The rain and cold in frickin' July
- The expense - a bottle of water is €2 which is about $3.50; gas is approximately $5.50 a gallon (after you convert liters to gallons, then Euros to Dollars)
- The very late-setting sun - how does anyone get used to saying, "What a gorgeous sunset!" at 10:00 pm?
- Craft time
Forty-five minutes until the kickoff of the last day of HBC. Thirty minutes of registration and sign-in, then an hour of the meeting itself. Then, a furious packing up of all that is in this part of the Youth Center, dinner (tea), youth meeting and then back to the hosts' homes to pack up for good. Tomorrow in Dublin all day, then home Sunday, which will be a 30-hour day for us.
Thanks for all your prayers and support. Please keep us there for just a couple more days.
-
recommend
- recs 0
- give stars
- votes 0
-
share
-
email
- sent 0
Post a Comment
- Back to my0my's Xanga Site!
- Note: your comment will appear in my0my's local time zone: GMT -06:00 (Central Standard - US, Canada)
Comments (4)
Myra ~ wow! where did that time go?!! I can't believe that all seemed to go so fast! It was interesting to read your post and I enjoyed the photos - the castle pics - so cool! And your shower pic ~ so cute! Agree with you tho ~ definitely not enough space to take a shower! We are spoiled here, aren't we?! Will look forward to hearing more about your trip later. Will pray for you always, my friend, whether you are in Ireland or the US!
On a side note: Have you seen "PS I Love You"? You should watch it, if you haven't, especially after being in Ireland, since some of it is set there, and it has beautiful scenery!
Thanks, My - - you're the best! Love you back!
Just catching up on not posting all this time.
It felt like the time would never come for your trip and then boom, you are home again. Your posts on the trip and the pictures were just a delight. I am so glad you had this opportunity. I'm envious - but not in a bad way!!
Love you,
~thea