Memories of Éire

“How was Ireland?” A question I never thought I'd find myself dreading. Yet in the days since my return from Ireland I have, at times, dreaded that question. It's not that I don't want to talk about my trip, but I don't feel like I can answer that question well. Like Kara, I have found that it can be a very hard question to answer, and one that I'd really rather not answer at times. It's almost like people are asking me a personal question, which perhaps sounds strange. But I feel like whenever I share my experiences, even a small part, I am somehow sharing a very personal part of my life. Even writing this blog, I feel like I have so much I want to say, yet I keep going back and changing it, unable to decide what to say.

But in truth, how do you tell people about an experience that changed your life? How do you express the ways your entire perspective changed by living in another culture, even if it was a brief 6 week period? People want to hear about how green it was, how amazing it was, but don't seem to be as prepared for the word “life-changing” to be thrown in there. And even if they wanted to more about how it was life-changing, I don't know that I could answer that question. Even with several weeks now to have thought about my time in Ireland, I am still unable to really understand how it changed me. I know it did. I just can't express how.

I imagine there will be days in the future, maybe even years from now, where I look back to my Irish Studies trip and see how it influenced my life. From the times of deep reflection at Whitehead lighthouse and on the shores of the North Coast, the conversations at Lakeside, to the encouragement of Billy Stevenson, Ross Wilson and Derick Bingham, God used my time in Northern Ireland to continue His shaping and reforming of my life. It may have only been six weeks, but I feel like I learned about six months worth of life knowledge and spiritual growth during that time.

Though that is all wonderful, and the memories I have are important, I am still left with the question of where to go from here. A life change is worthless if it does not actually change the way you live your life. It is also worthless if you are stuck in the past, unwilling to move on to the future. One thing I did not want to do upon my return from Ireland was to be “stuck” in Ireland. That is, I didn't want to miss the memories happening in my own backyard. Though I may long for Ireland, I'll never get there by being stuck in the past. So though I have spent time remembering Ireland, and taking about it, and even though I do have times of “Irish homesickness” I also have been looking towards the coming year. Praying over the opportunities I have and for the memories I'll make. I hope to someday return to Ireland, but more important is to carry the memories and lessons of Ireland with me as I walk the calling God has put before me, day by day, with an eye on what is to come, what is going on now, and where I have come from—my memories of Éire.

Stories

Since my return from the land of Eire, I've noticed a peculiar development in my speech habits. When someone asks me, “So, how was Ireland?” I find I experience a temporary paralysis of the articulation center in my brain. My typical eloquent response is something like, “Uhh... it was great.” It's not that I didn't expect the question. I knew this test was coming, but somehow that didn't make it easier. Why is it so hard to put into words the depth of what my heart feels?

Today I realized something else about the nature of my temporary “speech impediment.” There's a part of me that doesn't want to try. Instead, I want to curl up inside the memories and just bask in them for a while. Why not stay there and just let everyone else stay on the outside? It's easy to tell myself that most people don't care anyway. Within a few minutes their eyes will probably glaze over, and they will be thinking about what they need to add to their grocery list, or how long they have to stand there before they can leave without being rude. Sadly, I know I've been that person at times with friends who have returned from a mission trip or overseas experience in the past. (Why do you think I can describe it so well?) So why do we make the effort? Why is it important that we communicate what we have seen and heard?

If there's one thing the Irish people do well, it's tell a story. They don't just tell you what happened. They tell you what color the bird was, the exact size of the cucumber sandwiches, and the way they felt when they first met their future spouse. They allow you the privilege of stepping into their memory for just a few moments. They want you to see what they see, feel what they felt, and you can't help but be captivated by it.

We had countless opportunities to enter into these stories throughout the trip. We heard from incredible storytellers like Billy Stevenson, Hadden Wilson, Ross Wilson, and Derick Bingham. Each one of these men had unique stories to tell, and each one did it faithfully. What a gift they gave us! They allowed us to see life through their eyes for a few moments, and what we saw was incredible. We saw more than just a story about them. We saw what Ross Wilson calls, “shoots of Everlastingness.” We saw the image of a beautiful, powerful, loving, Creator. We saw impossible requests granted. We saw the weak become strong. We saw the story of redemption come to life.

When you're learning to write, everyone reminds you, “don't tell us, show us!” Even though these men were “telling” us stories, they were really just showing us how God was invading their world and turning it upside down. I don't know about you, but those are the stories make me want to find out more for myself. They make me want to go to the source and ask Him to make me a part of His story.

If there's one thing this trip has done, it's convinced me that not only is it worth it to tell the stories, I must tell them. I can't afford to keep them to myself. People need to hear them. We are all aching for something real, for someone to show us what God looks like. But we can't just talk. We have to live this story so our words will do more than just tell... they will show.

"They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds. They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness." Psalm 145:6-7.

Question of the Day:

Would you feel comfortable staying in hostels as you traveled around Europe?

Thoughts from the Mission Team

Northern Ireland. The country didn’t really scream “mission field” to me. It seems so easy, as a Christian, to support missionaries in Africa, China, India, and other poverty stricken third world countries. However, a European missionary (especially a short term one), seems less admirable. To me, going from one Westernized country to another, from a home full of amenities, to a destination with much the same somehow seems less noble than suffering in the flesh for ministry.

These were thoughts my head was filled with as the JBU Ireland Summer Missions team prepared for ministry in Belfast. I knew that God had led me here and that He would move, but it just seemed like a missions cop-out. A mission trip to me involved sweat, exhaustion, and service work. Not to say that none of that has happened here, especially with the very warm weather that seemed to have followed us, but it certainly didn’t come to mind as I looked at our trip itinerary.

If these were the thoughts every team member came in with, I can definitely say that God was ready to open all of our eyes in a dramatic and moving way. Belfast suffers from more poverty than I had at first known. Willowfield Parish, the church we have partnered with, runs ministries such as Besom (delivering donated furniture, etc. to families in need), Just 55 (a short program and free dinner on Sunday evenings), and a food pantry (for families who may not always have a meal on the table). More than a physical poverty, though, there is spiritual anguish that resides in the history and the present day of Belfast. Willowfield Parish works to meet this need of its community as well.

The leaders at Willowfield focus a great deal on the power of prayer and the presence of the Holy Spirit. Prayer is our way of speaking to the Heavenly Father, and the Holy Spirit acts as an intercessor and also fills us with the fullness of God. Seeing their prayers in action and recognizing the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives has encouraged us and spurred us on as we work with them in ministry. In addition to this basic Christian need, Willowfield focuses on a specific need within the community.

The painful division between the Protestant and Catholic followers of Christ in Belfast isn’t breaking news. What Willowfield is doing about it, however, may be. Sunday night a program called Youth Fellowship takes place. This past Sunday, it was run by the youth themselves. A few on our team had the privilege of sitting in on this time. Much to their surprise, the youth had set up a formal and very respectful debate on the peace wall. The peace wall divides a traditionally Catholic neighborhood and a traditionally Protestant neighborhood from one another. The debate involved those who wanted the wall to remain standing and those who wanted it to be torn down.

On the side that believed the wall should remain many argued that the wall prevented violence. Some expressed their feelings of fear just walking past the wall and how much more that would increase if it were torn down. They worried that more people would be hurt or killed if the wall were removed. The wall creates a band-aid for the conflict. Though it does not solve the problem, it prevents further aggravation of the pain.

Those who wanted the wall to come down felt that nothing would ever be solved if it remained. Peace comes at a high cost and they wondered whether it was really loving to separate themselves from Catholic believers just to prevent conflict. When all sides had spoken the final orator, a young teenage girl, gave a message that applies not only to her peers, but also to all Christians.

When it comes down to it, are we really just talk? She spoke about how at church all of the teens would profess to love the Catholics in their community, but she also knew that they also said not so wonderful things to or about those same individuals at school. She bravely called herself and her peers out on their hypocrisy. The world often cries “hypocrisy” to the message of Christianity, but how often do we call ourselves out on our weaknesses? She finished powerfully saying that they needed to stop just talking and get down to brass tacks. They needed to pray for the Catholics and for peace. Division like that, major problems like that, don’t just end without God’s power. We have the privilege of His Holy Spirit, and the power to pray to Him. What a beautiful testimony for that girl and for Willowfield. What a powerful message to the church.

More to come on details about the ministry we are doing on this trip.

Submitted by Kristen Starkey

Deep Thoughts by James Cooke

This is the start of a hopefully ongoing series of posts that may or may not actually be deep thoughts. Whether or not they contain any true deep thoughts will be up to you to decide.

My first post begins on a Saturday afternoon atop a green cliff overlooking the North Channel that divides Ireland and Scotland. Our group visited Whitehead which is the site of a very cool lighthouse, but an astounding view. Our walk to this particularly amazing site started at the car park (parking lot) and wandered along the coast. A short climb up many, many stairs and we were several hundred feet above the water by the lighthouse. There were only two things one could see, ocean and the green rolling hills of Ireland. It would have to rank as one of the most beautiful geographic places I've been to, and I have seen my fair share of amazing places. Billy read Psalm 8 to us--particularly appropriate--and then we spent over an hour just being. Some prayed, some stared out at the ocean, and some lay down and enjoyed the soft grass. It was particularly serene and tranquil. The cool breeze from the ocean, the soft grass on your back, and the warm sun on your face is an experience like nothing else.

And in that environment, I was peaceful. We have plenty of homework to keep us busy, as this is a studies trip, but I don't think anyone on top of that cliff was thinking about homework. I certainly wasn't. Though much has been on my mind lately, both with Ireland and some serious health issues in my family, none of that was weighing on me. The Scripture says to "be still and know that I am God" and I think we forget that far too often in our daily lives. We are surrounded by noise and busy lives. Things to do, places to go, and so on. Sometimes it is best just to slow down and be still.

Our question of the day recently was how God speaks to you most often, and for me, that would have to be through songs. I think at any given point I usually have a song that God brings into my life that has some significance. I've been listening to one lately that, though it itself does not promote that stillness, still promotes it in my. "Our Great God" is a powerful song that I just seem to listen to over and over again. I want to share several lines out of it that particularly applied to our time at Whitehead:

"Let every creature in the sea and every flying bird let every mountain
every field and valley of the earth let all the moons and all the stars in
all the universe sing praises to the living God who rules them by his word"

Sometimes we need to just be still, and to remember our great God. That can be hard to do in a fast paced busy lifestyle, so I think it is worthwhile to find some place away from the noise. If you are in Northern Ireland, Whitehead would be a great place, but it is not the only one. For me, being outside, in God's creation is one of the most calming places to find His stillness. Just to be. I think we also sometimes start assuming time with God has to be time spent running through a "list" of prayers and needs. It doesn't. Sometimes the best thing is just to take a deep breath, gaze out across the great expanse of His creation, and just be.

When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,

what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?

Psalm 8:3,4

Dublin Day Trip #1

If there is one thing that Ireland is not known for, it is beautiful, sunny days, but this was the weather in Dublin on Thursday. Our first stop was St. Stephen's Green, which is basically a giant quad in the middle of Dublin. The park was packed with people laying on the grass, playing soccer (excuse me, football) and rugby, and generally enjoying the wonderful weather.

From the green, we made our way up Grafton Street. This street is only for foot traffic and is the central shopping center in Dublin. Most intriguing, this street is popular for street performers. There were guitarists, living statues, an acrobat/limbo artist, and even a full band. The acrobat/limbo guy was my favorite. He had two hoops stacked on top of each other, and he would dive through them and then roll. The highlight of his show was the limbo bar. He wrapped it in some cloth and lit it on fire. He kept moving it lower and lower, until it was resting on top of two wine bottles. After reminding us to put some money in his bucket, he managed to inch his way under the flaming bar!

After making our way through Grafton Street, we went to the Trinity College library to see the Book of Kells. This book is a lavishly decorated 8^th or 9^th century copy of the four gospels. The detail and artistry on the pages we saw were incredible.

The last thing we did was go to dinner in a pub: The Hairy Lemon. I'm afraid I don't know the history of the name, nor did I spot any hairy lemons in the pub. I was afraid that a group of almost twenty Americans would be a problem, but they didn't seem to mind. They even had ketchup on the tables! I think that the most popular dishes in our group were fish and chips and the Irish lamb burger. I had the lamb burger, which was fabulous. I can't speak for the fish and chips, but it is hard to go wrong with fish and chips in Ireland!

That about wraps up our first trip to Dublin. One thing I forgot to mention is our trip to the airport, where we picked up Heather, the last member of our team. Thanks for reading, and more updates will be on the way shortly!

Kyle Macfarlan

Question of the Day:

What is the way or form that you've seen God use most to speak to you throughout your life?