First Glances of Ireland

We have arrived.
Five days ago, actually.
But the the jet-lag and simple fact that we’ve been soaking up EVERYTHING…
we have neglected the blog.
But don’t fret… no more.
I will do my best to get every single one of the teammates to blog at least once.

This week we have been living in Drimoleague…
Sleeping in tents.
We live on the most beautiful mountain…
It hardly feels like a mission trip,
But the Lord is blowing us up in so many ways that it’s evident that we’re here for a divine purpose and reason.

We see rolling hills everywhere we look.
People have been flocking to the foreigners so it’s cool to do ministry even when we don’t expect it.
Every time I turn around the girls are playing with some new kids at the pod park 
or they are stopping to love on someone on the street.
They make my job super easy. 
They are on fire and ready to love on anyone in Jesus name.

The first night while camping, I thought I was going to shrivel up and die. 
It was so cold.
Okay yes, I’m dramatic, but seriously.
So cold.
But since then, we’ve got way more blankets and it’s gotten warmer out, so we’re good.
There is a constant rain cloud over us, so we expect rain at all times
But it hasn’t drenched us… as of yet.
Knocking on wood now. 

Ministry wise, we are doing kids camps every week.
This week we were shadowing a group that has been doing camp at the same place for years
and it was awesome.
This next week we are putting on our own. 
So we’ve been soaking up and watching everything they’re doing because come Monday…
We’re it. 

Contact wise, Raymond Ruttle is the contact to Adventures in Missions.
He has had many teams before and he’s been super helpful with our time here.
He’s planned all of the Bible Schools, transportation from city to city, and he makes sure we have enough food and are taken care of. 
He’s been a high blessing for this wannabe Irish team. 

Tomorrow our team is leading the entire church service at a local Methodist Church.
Part of the team will be leading worship (we have angels on our team, no joke.)
Another part will lead the church in corporate prayer…
Another part will share testimonies during the sermon time.
Be praying for that with us…
We are super excited,
But pray for nerves to be gone and the Holy Spirit to blow us up.

Tomorrow after church, we are packing up and heading to Baltimore
where we will set up camp again and dive into the next week.

As much as it is cool to move around all month,
It is evidently taking a toll on the girls to a small extent…
They have made some close friends in just five days that it’ll be indeed hard to say goodbye to. 

In other news, the sun doesn’t set until 10:30pm so that’s been a new thing.
It rises at 5:00am 
and it’s a constant joke that we don’t even think the sun sets EVER because we hadn’t ever seen it.

Until last night. 
We had a barbecue with some of the youth in the area and we didn’t head home until 10:15 and we indeed saw it setting.
Everyone was so hyped up on sugar that we we’re up conversing and laughing and some crying until wee hours of the night.

The Lord has truly gifted this team with vulnerability and it’s been a beautiful thing to see.
No one is holding back.
They are truly inviting these sisters into their walks and into their stories.

I’m a fan.

In terms of transportation, 
We have for the most part walked everywhere we’ve gone in Drimoleague.
There are massive hills but we are so overwhelmed with his glory
That it’s easy to forget we are panting for air. 
We took local transport when we arrived from Dublin to Cork City to Drimoleague
but since then it’s been a walkathon.
We’ve loved it. 

Some of you may wonder what we’ve been eating…
Well, delicious things. 
We’ve cooked for ourselves for the most part so it’s been the typical delightful spaghetti, pizza, quesadillas, and PB&J.

We drink a lot of tea.
We wish we drank a lot of coffee but..
Instant coffee just doesn’t cut it.
Especially since both Emmaly and I came straight from coffee shop jobs…
We know a good cup of Joe and we have yet to find one.
Pray for us…….. 😉

I think that covers it all.
Expect more blogs, I just wanted to throw out an overview.

We are happy.
There have been a few homesick moments, but for the most part we are happy campers. 

We are safe, fed, and evidently being held in the palm of His hands.

Pray against physical sickness.
Pray for legit rest.
Pray for more and more opportunity to show his love. 

And, see y’all soon enough!

Love love.
Ruth