Hello dear ones! Greetings from Ireland! I am so excited to be writing to you from Kilkenny! I have loved being here! The town is lovely, but the people are even more wonderful. I've never met more gracious, kind, laid back people. The people we've been working alongside and the youth we have worked with are great and I have been so blessed by them. Today I got the opportunity to spend some time talking and getting to know one of the guys from the youth group as we all picked up rubbish (not trash, mind you) with a program called Keep Kilkenny Beautiful. It was great to have that fellowship.
I don't have the time to write everything I want to share tonight (it's 10:30 here and just getting dark) and I doubt y'all would have time to read it all in one sitting. :-) This has been one crazy, wonderful, scary, amazing week! Y'all we serve an incredible God!
One thing that has been overwhelming to me, in a good way, is the group of ladies I am here with: Laura, Sarah, and Rachel. They are so wonderful and God started really just knitting our hearts together almost immediately. He clearly put us together with a purpose and plan in mind. We each have different personalities, strengths, giftings, etc but they are very complimentary and a great combination. Sarah and Laura are both from Birmingham, Alabama. One thing I really have appreciated about Sarah is that she constantly has been pulling us back into prayer and the Word. She has such a passion for God and the people of Ireland and is constantly seeking out people's stories and hearts. Laura is so spunky and cheerful. I think if a daisy had a personality, it would be hers. She is friendly and kind and she is always building people up. Rachel is from Jacksonville, Florida. She is such a bright, sunny spot in our home. She wants to be a physicians assistant and is in school pursuing that. She's very good at caring for people's physical needs and is always checking on us, reminding us to drink water and encouraging good, healthy habits. Additionally, she is good about keeping us accountable to each other. This combination reminds me of a story that our facilitating pastor, Tim, told once. He said that when he and his wife got married, they had a couple congregational hymns and during one he and Jonelle were so overcome by emotion that they had to stop singing and just listened to everyone else sing. He said it was such a cool picture of the Body of Christ; just because one person stops singing, it doesn't mean the song ends. I have felt this on our team. With the combination of gifts, when one of us is experiencing something hard or is not as strong at whatever we are doing and has to "stop singing" the rest of us carry on the song and carry that person along with us and to the cross. I think we pray together no less than 5 times a day.
One way our bond as a team has been strengthened is through some amazingly deep, real conversations. One thing I have struggled with for years is my testimony because I have felt that since I was saved as a 4 year old, it isn't terribly relatable for the people to whom I would be witnessing to. It's not an incredibly climactic story. It made me very insecure in evangelism and sharing my testimony. Please PLEASE don't misunderstand me here. I am very aware that the fact that there has never been a day in my life that Jesus was not a part of is a WONDERFUL thing and it is my hearts desire that if I am blessed with children, they be able to say the same thing. I've just never known how to tell it. I shared this with Rachel on our first night here and she said that she really hoped that one day I would love my story and she would pray to that end. I realized that was something I wanted too so I started praying for that. The next night Sarah, Laura, and I stayed up until 3 AM talking and sharing our stories. As I listened to theirs I was struck by how different all our backgrounds are and my heart broke for them at different points in their stories. When it was my turn, I didn't know what to say so I just started talking and sharing about my life and how different points of their stories affected me and caused me to grieve for them because of my background. When I was done they both thanked me for sharing that and Sarah said how cool it was to her that it sounds like my whole life God has just held me securely in His hands and has given me a compassionate heart through that.
As I fell asleep, I mulled over that conversation and prayed. When I woke up the next morning the first thing I thought, which I think was just clarity from the Lord, was, "Your story is a story of protection." And the more I thought about it, the more excited I got about it. Suddenly I realized, I do love my story. I am going to be sharing it at the youth club next week and am so excited to do that! Ever since, a line from a song by Matthew West has been playing through my head: "This is the story of your life, and it's a story worth telling." It's true and I am so grateful for my story.
A few things to be praying for:
- We start our outreach camps this week! Please pray for a good turnout and that the gospel would be clearly presented.
- Health for people on our team. We've got a couple sick or on the verge of becoming sick.
- Continued unity on our team
- That wonderful relationships would be formed with the youth here.
Thank you for your prayers!
< 3 Carrie
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