Ireland 2018

     As promised on Friday, this post is going to be about one of the things that made life super busy, especially from June 23 to July 7 - my missions trip to Ireland. Eleven other people and I went for two weeks to both Northern Ireland and Ireland proper (or Ireland-Ireland, as I've often referred to it). 

     So I just thought I'd run through what we did in Ireland (sorta a day-by-day recap) and throw a few pictures in there. Then I guess I'll just reflect back on the trip and what I learned and most enjoyed. Without any further ado...

     We left from LAX at 8:00 on Saturday night, headed for Dublin. The flight was about ten hours, followed by about a three hour drive to the church so we got there around five in the afternoon, local time. We were greeted by a large majority of the church and served tea and "biscuits" or cookies.

     That night we headed to where we were staying. The boys stayed at the church, but us girls got to stay at the pastor's home. He has a separate office that used to be a garage and we got to stay in there. 

     Monday was a "tourist day." We went to Belfast, which is probably about a thirty minute drive from Newtownards, where the church is. We visited their government building, and then all the adults in our group (plus my brother and I) went on a bus tour of Belfast. 

     It was a really cool bus tour! We saw the college that C.S. Lewis attended, as well as the forest he based the forest in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe after. There were also quite a few old buildings, like the Belfast Castle. And then there was quite a bit of history related to the more recent "troubles" - the conflict between Protestants and Catholics in the area. All very fascinating!

             

          C.S. Lewis' college

Belfast Castle

     The last stop on Monday was the Belfast City Hall. We saw some chairs that King George and Queen Mary (the current queen's parents) sat in when the Northern Irish government was established in 1921. It also had some beautiful architecture and stained glass windows. 

             

          King George's chair

Inside Belfast City Hall

     That night we split up and went to eat dinner at some of the church families' homes. After dinner, we played a mean game of football (ahem, I mean soccer). My strategy was to not mess with any of the Irish people because I couldn't take them. Americans I would go for and try to get the ball from, though. I made a few good plays and even got nailed in the side with the ball, so that was fun. XD

     Tuesday we got to work. In the morning we went to a primary school (elementary ages) and did three little assembly things where one of our team juggled, we played a game with the kids and then presented the gospel. It was insane that we were allowed to do all of that in a public school! 

     We also did a lot of VBS prep (which they call Holiday Bible Club - or HBC - over there), like setting up the day one skit and (for me and a few others) looking over the craft stuff/doing some minor preparations for the first two days. 

     That evening was the prayer service where I played piano along with another person from our team playing guitar. Then I shared my testimony - basically for the first time ever. When I got baptized I did a really short version, but this time I shared the whole thing. So that was nerve-wracking but also fun in a way.

So flattering as I adjust the microphone... XD

     Finally, that night we visited Scrabo Tower, which is a monument built to the 3rd Marquess of Londonderry in 1857. There were some pretty cool views from up on the hill where it's located. We couldn't go inside, but that was okay. 

The view from Scrabo

Scrabo Tower

     Wednesday morning we started by going door-to-door. It was pretty interesting. Not many people were home, so we ended up just leaving a tract at each door. After that, we headed back to the church and put stickers on tracts with the church's address, phone number, etc. on them. 

     The first day of Holiday Bible Club was that evening. I was a Ninevite in the skit, which was fun. I really enjoy acting. XD Then I got to explain the craft for two of the three groups that came through the craft station. Definitely pushed me outside my comfort zone, but that's good.

     That night we headed to another town that was about fifteen minutes away and walked/climbed on the rocks by the water. And we had ice cream. I would swear that Irish cookies and cream ice cream is different than ours - and a lot better! I got it that night and really liked it. :)

     On Thursday we did more door-to-door and then HBC again that evening. I got to be Mrs. Hockenstock in the skit and explain the moral of it (the skit). Once again, pushing me a little out of my comfort zone since I was just winging my lines, but it was still incredibly fun!

     Friday was pretty busy as well. We spent basically the whole morning prepping the craft for HBC and then went street evangelizing in the square in the early afternoon. I talked to several people all on my own, and it was pretty scary but it also went pretty well. It's amazing how God will give you the courage to do evangelize - or do anything else, really - when you need it.

     Saturday was another tourist day. Our group and a large chunk of people from the church joined us and we headed up to the North Coast. We visited a castle that was built in 1610 and then drove to Giant's Causeway. That was really cool. I'd always wanted to go there and sorta freaked out when I learned we were. XD

     Then we went to Portrush and some of our group swam in the water. I went to Maud's (an ice cream place) with my mom and two other people and we just talked inside. It was so hot. Then we ate dinner and went to an amusement park called Barry's. I went on a roller coaster (with a flip! eek!) and then on bumper cars twice. It was really fun.

     On Sunday we had the main church service. I played piano for one song with the other guitarist, and we sorta messed up this one part which was sorta embarrassing, but mostly funny. I don't think many people could really tell, but we could.

     Then we had the evening service, and I got up with some of the kids to sing a song from HBC that we had hand motions for. After the evening service, we went to a lighthouse that was on the water in another town and walked to it and back. It was so windy and cold we didn't stay long. 

     On Monday we woke up, had breakfast, took pictures, and said our goodbyes to the people from Newtownards. Then it was onto a bus headed to Thurles, Ireland. Seven people from Newtownards joined us (five other teenagers) so that was fun. When we got to Thurles we had a youth night with some teenagers from there. Played games, sang some songs, a few people shared their testimonies, and so on.

The church in Thurles

     HBC started on Tuesday. Before it actually started, we did some skit prep and just hung around. HBC itself went really well. Half of our team went out door-to-door (I stayed for HBC) and once they got back we headed into Thurles to watch a soccer game. I didn't actually watch most of it, but it was still fun talking to people and exploring.

The Catholic church in Thurles that I'd been looking forward to seeing
since we learned we were going to Thurles

     Wednesday was the Fourth of July and we really played that up. XD We went to Kilkenny in the morning and went to the Kilkenny Castle, which was cool. Then HBC again in the afternoon (I was so tired... It's not even funny), followed by Fourth of July fun. All the Northern Irish people (and probably Irish people) thought we were crazy, but it was super fun.

Kilkenny Castle

     On Thursday we went into Thurles again in the morning and then the last day of HBC. Once people were back from door-to-door and HBC was over, we hung around for a while. At six thirty we were picked up and went to someone's house for dinner. That was super fun. We were probably there until ten thirty, which is sorta insane. XD

     The last full day - Friday - was spent as a tourist. We went to Bunratty Castle, which had several other things around it. That was by far the coolest castle I visited. It's insane how much they can fit into such a tiny building. I felt like every time I climbed another set of stairs there was a whole other apartment. It was cool.

This might be my favorite picture of the whole trip. XD

     We also walked around the grounds, bought some things, and just hung out. We were there for a long time. It was still fun, though. When we got back, it was mostly packing, showering, and getting ready to leave the next morning.

Our team plus the team from Newtownards on Saturday.
The memories... *sighs. ;)

     At nine thirty on Saturday, we headed out on a bus to Dublin for our flight. We were landed at LAX by seven o'clock, and I was in my own bed by nine thirty. 

     Ireland was really a fun, crazy busy experience. I would do it again in a heartbeat (and I hope to do it again next year - if our church goes again). I really enjoyed getting to know people from both Northern Ireland and Ireland and making new friends. I think the trip really pushed me outside of my comfort zone but in a way that was really helpful. 

     Besides all that, I think this trip has really revitalized my desire to be in the Word and to learn about God. Seeing all those people without hope made me realize how blessed I am to be a Christian and to have a good church and good Christian friends.

     Whelp! I guess that's it for this post. Hope you enjoyed, and I'll be back on here next week!

~ Anna

What have you been up to in my absence? Where would you like to travel someday (or somewhere you have traveled that you really enjoyed)?