Ireland, Missions
Today was a great day of ministry! We had church with Emmanuel Community Church of Dundalk. What a special worshiping church! I had the honor of giving the message this morning, and then the interns and I prayed for members of the congregation. Afterward we had a good “craic” with Pastor Peter and his wife Philemena at McGeough’s. Other members from the church were there and it was such rich fellowship!
Tomorrow, we’ll be meeting with the father of a girl who is strongly considering the Furnace Midwest internship. He has some questions and, since we’re here, we’re going to meet with him personally! So many here have shown great interest in the School of Worship and The Furnace. I think God might be preparing us to be an international ministry!
Emmanuel Community Church Dundalk
Worshiping at Emmanuel
Praying for our friends in Dundalk
Sunday lunch at McGeough's
Ireland, Missions
Today the team hiked up the Hill of Slane to check out Slane Abbey, a great site where St. Patrick himself established a church. From it you can see for miles around. While the team was out hiking, I decided to get some laundry done. It took me 20 minutes just to figure out how to open the dryer door! I’d swear that, when I took my clothes out of the dryer, they were more wet than when I put them in. They are all currently hanging on the oil heat registers throughout the cottage.
Tonight we had the privilidge of ministering at the Emmanuel Community Church youth group. It was great! I talked to them about prayer and we all called on God together for our friends and families. The church is down the street from the famous St. Patrick’s Cathedral, a massive structure that has to be seen to fully appreciate the scope and breadth of it.
Slane Abbey from the trail
Slane Abbey
It was a muddy hike. Bethany lost the sole of her shoe.
St. Patrick's from across the street
St. Patrick's Cathedral
Ireland, Missions
Another great day! Today, we drove up to Northern Ireland and spent time visiting and praying with local pastors. It was great to hear their hearts and share their burden in prayer! We were able to give one of them, a church planter, a new laptop computer. What an honor to bless the work of God in Ireland!
While we were with them, we visited Nendrum Monastery, Bangor Abbey, and the First Presbyterian Church on High Street where the 1859 revival broke out. What a privilidge to stand where God moved so powerfully!
Enjoy a couple of videos and some pictures…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_vCVsarQrc]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WrFvzek1Sc]
Pastors Calvin, Lee, Scott, and David
Remains of Nendrum Monastary
First Presbyterian Church on High Street
Ruins of Bangor Abbey
Chinese Food Irish Style
Old factory Travis found
Ireland, Missions, prayer
Today was great! We visited Monasterboice to see some of the most amazing Celtic crosses anywhere. That wasn’t the highlight of the day though. The best part was going to Drogheda to lead a Furnace prayer meeting. It was so amazing! The people here are hungry for a move of God. They long to see the fires of prayer burn bright! What a blessing to get to play a small part of that! We even met in a coffee shop just like back home. Another cool part of our day was meeting with Rachael, a young lady who’s very interested in joining the Furnace Midwest internship in the fall. It’s a long way to come, but totally worth it!
Enjoy the video and pictures!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9gHAL3KYds]
Vanessa made a new friend
Monasterboice. Ruins of 6th century monastary.
Estate near Monasterboice
The crew in front of a beautiful cross
Kirsty and Shannon, our praise team for the night
Lots of prayers and hugs at the Furnace prayer meeting
Missions, social justice
There is a group of interns that I have the honor of meeting with on a regular basis. We pray together, read the dead guys, and hold each other accountable. For a few months now, we’ve been mulling over Isaiah 58. It’s really gotten a hold of us! Break the chains of injustice, set the oppressed free, and feed the hungry. It’s a picture of God’s heart and a list of things that we should be doing if we call ourselves believers.
It’s so easy to look at the massive need in our world and become totally overwhelmed! But God doesn’t ask us to fix it all, he just asks us to do something. So my four interns decided to sponsor a child in Kenya (that’s her picture above). They combined what little spare income they had and gave it to an orphanage so that a little girl can have food, shelter, and clothing. It’s an incredible honor when we act and become the answer to someone’s prayer. I know what you’re thinking, “So what. It’s only one little girl. What kind of difference will it make in the long run?”
Consider the following story by Loren Eiseley. My youth pastor used to tell it to me when I was a teenager:
Once, after the tide went out, there were thousands of starfish laying out on the beach. They were dying because there was no way for them to get back into the water. The sun was rising and the poor starfish were literally baking in the heat. Running along the beach was a little boy. He was frantically grabbing the starfish and tossing them back into the ocean. As he continued along the beach, he met an older man. When the old man asked what he was doing, he explained that he was saving the starfish from dying on the beach. The man replied, “Are you crazy? The beach goes on for miles and there are thousands of starfish out here. How can you think you can possibly make a difference?” The boy reached down, grabbed a starfish, tossed it into the ocean, and said, “It made a difference to that one!”
I received a new picture, the other day, of our little starfish named Doris. She’s wearing a school uniform and has the most beautiful smile on her face. It was a $360 picture and was worth every cent! As you wonder if you can possibly make a difference in a world with so much poverty, disease, and hunger please realize you can. You may not be able to save the world, but you can make a difference in the life of a starfish or two.
