Beginnings

Whether it’s a story, a town or a person, everything has a beginning. This week I witnessed a new beginning for myself and possibly for a few others. My new beginning is as a missionary and I hope and pray this week was a starting point for some new believers. 

I have never really thought of myself as a missionary, even though I know as followers of Christ, we all live in the mission field. Even when I chose to become a missionary, raised support and prepared to come here, the term ‘missionary’ didn’t really settle in. That changed this week when I shared the gospel for the first time. A team of us from OM Ireland went with some people from the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland to the National Ploughing Championships in Co. Wexford. The Ploughing is one of the largest agricultural trade shows in Europe and brings in about 189,000 visitors each year. We had a tent where we offered a place to sit and have free tea, coffee, and baked goods. Although we did want to be nice to people and give them a rest from the hullabaloo of the day, our main intention was to share the love of Jesus with whomever we encountered. We offered free CDs and tracts, but most importantly conversation.

Many team members went out into the aisles and shared the gospel with people walking around. I mainly stayed in the tent by the puzzles table. The dad of one of my housemates is an evangelist and he had a table of puzzles that got people thinking and helped start conversations. It was interesting to see new ways of approaching the gospel and see how different methods work for different people. I resisted the urge to stay in my comfort zone of serving people tea and coffee without really saying much and tried my hand at the table. I was nervous and a little overwhelmed, especially on the first day when I actually made it to the point of talking about something substantial with a man who proceeded to throw around philosophical ideas.

After the second day, I felt like I hadn’t done much good. I fumbled with words and let many people walk away without giving them a single word of hope or questioning. Looking back I know that even if I wasn’t able to talk to anyone about the Word of God, I did help plant seeds. I sat with three girls while they had their tea and they ended up coming back the next day with several of their friends. People more capable than I were able to talk to them and really get them thinking. I also passed out CDs and flyers that day and saw some of those people in the tent later on in the day.

Because of my discouragement on Wednesday however, I pushed myself to really go for it on Thursday. We were all tired and ready to go home, but I knew it was our last day there. It was our last chance to share hope with people we would probably never see again. That day I shared the gospel for the first time and I didn’t stop there. I was not as natural or eloquent as others on the team seemed to be, but that doesn’t even bother me anymore because I know that God spoke through me. I still have much to learn about being a missionary, but because of this week I know that I am a tool in His hands. 

Taste of Ireland: Rain boots are called Wellies and if you ever plan on going to the Ploughing, you will definitely need them for trekking in the muck (mud). 

Happy Birthday Dad!

Dad, you have always supported and encouraged me, especially in my creative endeavors, however time consuming or strange they may have been at times. When I learned to ride the unicycle for stage production, you spent time helping me balance outside. When I wanted to play the guitar, you let me use yours as if it was my own and you and mom were my first audience. Not long before I left, you gave me a gift that is already proving to be more valuable to me than anything else I brought with me.

At first I was hesitant to bring the ukulele with me because I only knew a few chords so I didn’t see how it would be useful to me. I was completely wrong. It has become a way for me to relax and release tension. It gives me a personal creative release and it has really added to my personal time with God. The reason I am telling you all of this on your birthday  is because of what I have done with it outside of my quiet times. I already told you about the mini talent show at the staff retreat where I played a Beatles song for everyone, but I didn’t tell you about after that.

When I got home from the retreat, I went outside and sat on the trampoline to play a little bit of music. I ended up writing a song while I was out there and then decided it was appropriate to share during our prayer emphasis day on Wednesday. I sang a couple known worship songs before hand and then played my own. It was the first time I ever lead people in worship, and it was an experience I think I am willing to continue. Because I owe so much of all this to you and I knew you would want to know how your gift to me is flourishing, I give you this:

Happy birthday dad! I love you so much!

P.S. Here are the lyrics

You tell me that your love is deep

Deeper than the seas

You tell me that your love is wide

Greater than the skies

You tell me that your love is whole

Fills up my soul

But I--can't comprehend all your truth

And I don't think I can even stand before you 

I ---know

That in your presence 

I--- am not alone

I ---know

That some---day

I---will be home

You tell me your love never fails,

Never leaves my side.

You tell me your love is strong,

Stronger than the storm's eye.

I ---know

That in your presence 

I--- am not alone

I ---know

That some---day

I---will be home

And you tell me your love is a light,

The light to eternal life.

You tell me your love covers sins,

Because of the day you died.

But you died, and rose again.

And I'll never understand

How you died, and rose again,

All for the sake of the condemned.

All for the sake of the condemned. 

Yet, you died and rose again,

And I'll never understand

How you died and rose again,

Just because your love never ends.

Just because your love never ends.

Culture, Conflict, and Crisps

Looking back on this past week, I probably could have written a blog post everyday because I did something different each day and each day I learned something new. Unfortunately my writing process is a little longer than the time I have in any given day. For now, I will just share about some of the things I learned in our conflict resolution sessions with our guest Dave Babcock, who has been an OM missionary with his wife for over forty years.

Dave and his wife Brenda came all the way from Austria to share and speak with us this week during our devotional time, a few teaching sessions, and our team retreat. They are each incredible individuals and they have so much to offer about life and God’s hand in and around their lives. Despite the age and life experience variance between us, I found it exceptionally easy to talk with them and I am thankful for the opportunity to now have them in my life.

On Thursday and Friday, Dave lead a session for the entire staff of OM Ireland on conflict and resolution, which sounds like a boring cliché course on how to talk to people when you have problems with them. In a way, I suppose it was; only, it wasn’t boring at all. The focus was on understanding where conflict comes from and how to approach it.

The first thing we looked at was a pyramid of functionality within our team, modeled after Patrick Lencioni’s diagram from his book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. The first tier is trust, then constructive conflict, commitment, accountability, and at the top is unity in a common purpose. It is important to understand that conflict is inevitable when in a team setting, but that doesn’t always mean it is negative. Conflict can actually strengthen relationships and allow people to come to better understandings of one another, but only when it is resolved. In order for conflict to be resolved, all parties involved must make a commitment to each other, hold one another accountable, and have a common goal in mind.

So why do conflicts arise? Sometimes the reasons seem obvious and sometimes they are not, but the underlying reason is always because of human diversity. There are so many things that make us as humans different from one another and those differences shape the way we think, communicate, and handle situations. A huge factor to consider is culture. Something I didn’t recognize myself is that culture is not merely defined by country or region, but also education, family, religion, philosophy, work, generational contrasts, and who knows what else. Even within a single culture, people have varying thinking styles. We looked at the following four:

1. Linear – thinking in straight lines and going through a clear process to come to a conclusion. i.e. a + b + c = d
2. Dialectic – thinking a in a triangle of possible problems i.e. thesis > synthesis > antithesis
3. Existential/intuitive – jumping to conclusions
4. Global/contextual – thinking of all the related things; relational

Our thought processes and life experiences dictate how we deal with conflict and the five core conflict coping methods are: competitor, resolver, compromiser, avoider, and yielder.

There are too many distinctions to cover, but these sessions really opened my eyes up to how unique we all are. And each difference we have also means we have something in common to share with someone else in the world. I encourage you to explore what you have in common with those around you and see what makes you unique too. Learn how you deal with conflict and how you think and use that knowledge to better work with others. Whether we are in school, in a career, or simply interacting with family, we all have to be able to deal with conflict.

So that was long… and it didn’t even do justice to the session! Oh well. I hope you learned something. Now it’s time for another taste of Ireland!

Taste of Ireland: Chips are Fries and Crisps are potato chips and they don’t have goldfish crackers!

The side view from our house

A cow near Lacken House

Part of Roscommon Town

Me at Clonmacnoise, standing on a bog

Disclaimer: the sky is not always blue with white fluffy clouds.

A Week Already!

As of today (it's still Saturday in my mind), I have been in Ireland for one week and what a week it has been. It has been a time of transition, both challenging and exciting, full of new faces, new responsibilities, and even new words!

Day one was an introduction to some of the members of the OM Ireland team and the nearest town, Roscommon. On Sunday I attended church with Junior and his family, perceiving a completely different atmosphere than the churches from home. Ireland’s largest evangelical churches, located in Dublin, may have a couple hundred people, but “large” for the rest of the country may be a congregation of 30. Most churches however have even fewer members. It was eye-opening to realize how small the Christian population is in Ireland, yet also inspiring and encouraging to see people come together and worship the LORD. 

Throughout the rest of the week I got to know my housemates a little bit, one of whom is from the Netherlands and the other is Irish. Since I have never really lived away from home, it is a new experience to share the responsibilities of a house with others and manage my own finances. I have not been completely thrown into adulthood though; I still don’t pay any bills. ;) Sometime in this past week I did feel a bit discouraged about my age. I felt like I was too young to be here, but then I remembered 1 Timothy 4:12 that says to “not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in faith, in life, in love, and in purity.” God also reminded me that he uses all kinds of people for his work. He can surely use me. 

I think that is what I am most excited to see while I am here: how God uses people for his glory. Already I have seen that no matter what our skills or talents, there is a use for them in his ministry. I can’t wait to learn more about Him and to see what He does in my time here.

Taste of Ireland: The people of Ireland are generally very friendly and are known to spontaneously drop by for an unannounced visit and a cup of tea.  

My first event with the Creative Arts Team!

Arrival

Although I have not arrived at my new home for the next year, I have made it to Ireland and it is beautiful! It reminds me of Germany and England put together (although I haven't actually been to England), which I guess makes sense, considering the geography.

It was a long journey to get here, figuratively and literally and I feel so blessed to finally be here! It is going to be a challenge to adjust to not be at home, but what better way than on an adventure of a life time!? I originally planned to sleep on the plane but there were some screaming babies and difficult chairs that prevented me from being comfortable (if that's even possible in a plane). What amazes me though is how such tiny people (babies) can have the lung and vocal capacity to be so loud and for so long. I felt bad for the little tykes but also really wanted them to be quiet. In the end, it wasn't that bad. I am now on a bus making my way to Athlone and my adventure has begun. :)