Commit You Ways to the Lord

Photo Credit: OM Ireland

Impact Ireland ended on Monday and I apologize for not writing sooner. I think I avoided it because I didn’t know where to start. The two weeks cannot be captured in a few words, but thankfully, they don’t have to be. Each of the 40 plus participants along with each OM staff and church member has a story, if not many stories of how they witnessed God working and moving. After being separated into four teams, it was incredible to come back together and share all of the experiences. What I would like to share with you today follows our theme verse for Impact this year Psalm 37:5. “Commit your ways to the Lord; trust in him and he will act.”

Monday July 8. It was day three on the road for the Big Red Bus Team and we were with the Shannon Team. Although early on in the week, we were already feeling tired as we had used a lot of energy training many of the sessions the week prior. It didn’t help that being in the sun made everyone want to sleep and without an air conditioner (yet) the upstairs on the bus was easily 85 deg. There were definitely some spiritual attacks that day and with less kids at the kids club than anticipated, some were feeling discouraged. That evening however, we all met together before the youth rally and since we were waiting on a few people, we decided to pray. For 45 minutes we lifted our petitions to the Lord, read from scripture, and even sang together. There were moments of silence, but never emptiness. The room was filled with the Lord’s presence and He gave us a newfound excitement for the night ahead.

We went out into the square and ran through our program, singing songs of worship, presenting dramas, and sharing testimonies. All the while groups of young people listened and watched or pretended not to, but stayed anyway. Conversations began and soon they were at every turn. Joanna and I spoke with two girls who we thought would only listen for a few minutes, but ended up discussing God, the gospel, and salvation with us for an hour and a half. And we weren’t the only ones who had a story to share when the evening was over. When the team returned at 12, 12:30, everyone was buzzing like a hive of excited bees. There were stories of people opening up for the first time ever after years of rejecting talk of God. People laughed and cried together. The name of Jesus was proclaimed and glorified.

On our own we would be nothing, but when we put our trust in the Lord, He exceeds our expectations. This is only a brief example of how God did amazing things in Ireland this last week and how He is working here. This was just one night in one place from the perspective of one girl. I love what Joanna wrote about on her blog. It's quite well written so it'll be worth your time and it probably captures the experience much more eloquently than I do. 

I would also like to briefly add that I was incredibly honored and privileged to have had all the opportunities I did during these two weeks alone. I loved worshipping with the "Lacken House Band" and I couldn't have asked for a better team on the bus. The Lord brought us together at just the right time and I will always remember this time fondly. 

Photo Credit: OM Ireland

Photo Credit: OM Ireland

Other stories:
Katie : Boom!

OM Ireland Facebook: Video stories!

Taste of Ireland: Sunscreen is known as sun cream and a 99 cone is an ice cream that was, you guessed it! 99 cents!... only now they are usually 1.20... lame.

When A Thought Became A Vision and A Vision Became Reality

Ten months ago I was introduced to puppetry and subsequently shadow puppetry. Over the course of time, I found myself greatly enjoying puppetry and the whimsical aspects of its nature. When done well it can captivate an audience of any age and communicate thoughts and ideas in such a way that people sometimes cannot. Five months ago I was asked to explore shadow puppetry. I was not unwillingly, but I was taken aback. I was interested in it, but I didn’t think it was something I could accomplish while here in Ireland. I spent a month or so researching and collecting ideas about shadow puppetry then began to experiment creating my own. The process was a bit rushed as I was trying to have the show prepared by Easter. After Easter though is when I really began to develop the final production. I recreated or added on to nearly all 50 plus cardboard puppets. I should have timed myself to see how many hours were spent on this project, but I would guess well over 70 hours.

After all the puppets, screen, and frame were complete, a team of a few other people and myself recorded the story and added sound effects. What is great is that even if the shadows turned out to be dull, the story sounds like a reader’s theatre! Once the recording was ready, we practiced behind the screen until the story was fluid. I am incredibly proud of all that we accomplished just in creating this and so thankful to everyone who encouraged and supported me along the way. What is even more amazing is how God is using it to reach into the little hearts and minds of all the children who have seen it this month and who will see it in the coming weeks. What a beautiful thing to be a part of!

Taste of Ireland: The bodhrán (pronounced bow-rawn) is a traditional Irish frame drum made of goatskin and played by holding it in one hand and hitting it with a double-ended beater in the other.

A Double Decker Through The Countryside

The general first thought that comes to mind when you hear “double decker bus” is a London bus or possibly a large city tour bus. Outside of London, Dublin, or another large city, double decker buses do not typically just pull up in the lane next to you. Imagine seeing what looks like a London bus driving right through the center of your town or even better, in front of your farm in the countryside. The sight would undoubtedly be unexpected if not shocking and definitely out of the ordinary.

This hypothetical scene is all but hypothetical. It is exactly what happens when we go out with the Big Red Bus, but instead of just giving people something to turn their heads to look at, we give them something to think about. The natural question is “why is there a double decker bus?” If we stop in their town, we might have the chance to answer that question and tell them about Jesus. If we don’t, they are at least left with a few other questions provoked by the verse on the sides and back of the bus: Jesus answered “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me” (John 14:6). It is not enough for us to drive around the country and hope that people come to Christ just because we have a verse on the bus, but the verse just might plant a seed that was not there before. It has already opened up doors for conversations with people and reminded us on the team that we are ambassadors for Christ.

Unfortunately, it can be incredibly easy to forget why we are here, even when we are submerged in ministry. Fatigue can set in. The preparations can feel like a chore. The puppet routine can become nothing more than a performance. And a group of rowdy children can feel like just another group to get through. This is spiritual warfare. Each day we go into battle and combat these feelings and thoughts with prayer. We must rely on God and remind each other that we serve the Lord and He is with us. It is so refreshing and encouraging to work with the local church whose members are always excited to have the bus come. They tell us stories after the day of ministry is done about people who came to the bus and interacted with them when they never would have before. They see the kids’ faces as they watch us doing the shadow puppet show (something we cannot do while behind the screen) and tell us how they absorb the story like sponges. They pray with us and for us as we pray for them and once again, I am amazed by the body of Christ.

I don’t often think about how crazy this life is, but I am so glad it is. I get to work with an international team of incredible individuals driving around Ireland in a bright red, double decker bus sharing the gospel through puppetry. Crazy.

Taste of Ireland: If something is cool or really awesome, you might hear local youth say “class” or “savage!”

Hey! What Happened to May?

May has come and gone in what feels like the blink of an eye. May was not even particularly busy in terms of my ministry involvement, but was rather a preparation month for all the things we have going on this month. Several new people arrived at Lacken in the month of May, three of whom are a part of the Creative Arts team. Emily and Joanna are interning for the summer from Bryan College in Tennessee and David from Georgia will be helping drive the bus.

In the past couple of weeks we have been getting to know each other better while putting together the programs needed for this summer. One of the most exciting things we have done while in the office (or rather the main house living room) is record the audio track for The Tale of the Three Trees shadow puppet show. We will still be doing the shadows live on the screen, but with a recording I was able to add sound effects and small details to add to the storytelling. By itself it sounds like a reader’s theatre production. Hopefully we will be able to film the show and allow you to see what all I have been talking about.

Another exciting thing we did was participate in the Carrick-On-Shannon 400 year celebration on Friday. It seemed to be out of nowhere that we were invited to participate, but it was a reminder of God’s timing and provision. It was a week and half ago that we were in Carrick with the bus hoping to meet up with some of the teens from our ministry time there in February. Instead of having a full bus like we anticipated, it was completely empty. Some of us walked around town and struck up a few conversations with adults here and there, but even the town seemed to be dead. Then before the evening ended, Junior received a phone call from the man organizing the parade. He asked if we would like to drive the bus through the parade. We accepted and brought the bus back the following week. The sun was shining. The streets were packed with people. Both young and old celebrated the past and future of the town. We went along the parade route with our worship songs pumping through the speakers as we passed out tracts to the spectators. Then when we set up the tea and coffee bar, a whole family came aboard and chatted with us about God, faith, and Christianity. In conversation with the kids, I used the little girl’s name to explain grace and before they left, I got through a simplified gospel message using the colors of the pick-up-sticks we were playing with.

I am but a sower of seeds. The Lord knows if what was said was ready to take root or not and He is the one who waters and allows new life to grow. (fr. Mark 4:1-20)

 

This is normal.

If you would like to know more about Emily or Joanna, check out their blogs by clicking on their names! Plus, they update more than I do. :)

Taste of Ireland: “Top of the morning to ya?”… no one says that.

Live Shows: Live Mess-Ups

When you have a live show, there are many variables at play, which means any of those things could go wrong. The lights could glitch, the music could skip, queues could be missed, or someone could keel over right then and there. Although the last one is a bit extreme, there is no telling what will happen during any given show and since The Donkey’s Back has about thirty-five shows in the span of three weeks, things are bound to go wrong. Even so, the good thing about live shows is that you can just roll with it and that, among other things, is what we have learned to do this past week.

The Donkey’s Back is a 45-minute multimedia production for children from 4-12, although adults often enjoy it more than kids do, complete with puppets, song numbers, drama, illusions, and a clear gospel message. Our team consists of Anna, Cornel, Barbara, and myself and we are one of two Christmas show teams from OM Ireland. We started our tour last weekend and we will be going to schools, churches, and community centers across Ireland until the 21^st of December. This past week we went up to Donegal, meaning about 4-5 hours of driving each way. Our set primarily lives inside a trailer as we travel and the jostling around doesn’t seem to be good for the screws, as we keep losing them. We have a few spares, but clearly not enough (or in the rights sizes) so several times this week the set was being held together by duct tape.

Over the course of the week, the shows had great feedback from teachers and the kids all seemed to really enjoy themselves, but often times, they didn’t see what was happening behind the stage. During several shows, the costumes for the donkey completely came off and during Friday night’s show all the costumes had malfunctions. At some point, I accidentally knelt on the cable from Anna’s microphone that is strapped around her neck, causing her to nearly choke to death for a second. At one school, where the room was packed with kids, a small autistic boy decided he wanted to see behind the stage so he booked it all the way across the room and ran behind the set. Needles to say, he was shocked to see Anna’s arm up a puppet and he stood there stunned for a moment as two teachers came running after him. From the beginning of our show, we have had technical difficulties with the lights. We have mostly worked out a method of changing them to do what we want during the show, but every once in a while they have a mind of their own. During a show at a church, the lights would not stop flashing. We tried to fix them, but they kept on flashing. Thankfully, we were able to stay focused and kept going. When people came up to us afterwards, they didn’t even say anything about the lights! That was the same night that I missed an entrance with my puppet because I heard some rowdy children very close to the stage, and when I realized I had to come up, I started coughing. I guess my brain was in tune with my hand because I just made the puppet cough too, and then proceeded with my line as if coughing was in the script.

I am sure there are other examples of mess-ups during our shows, but I tend to forget them. We don’t really have time to dwell on them. If we did, the show would unravel itself and we would become afraid of ruining the show every time we did it. There is no denying that God is the one who has given us peace of mind. We have had to carry all our equipment up frozen stairs and through endless hallways, but He was with us. We had to do a whole show in an echoing hall where we couldn’t hear our own voices and only hoped the kids could hear us, and He was with us. We were an hour late to a show because we got lost in Dublin, but He was with us. All of those little stressful moments didn’t matter because He was with us. We have to remember that He is the one in control. Even when a show seems to be flawless, He alone is the one who drives the message home and opens the hearts of those watching. In view of His power and grace, our stressful moments don’t mean a thing.

I am so blessed, thankful, and honored to be a part of team with the purpose we have. Along with our Cameron Show brothers, we are proclaiming the gospel to over 1,000 kids, students, and teachers in Ireland. We don’t always get much sleep and sometimes our arms feel like they are going to fall off, but God is with us.

The two teams

When we aren't sleeping on the road, we try to have a little fun. :)

Taste of Ireland: Although most schools are English speaking with Irish-Gaelic courses, there are some Irish-Gaelic schools where speaking English is strictly prohibited. Everything is taught in Irish-Gaelic, including math and foreign languages, such as French.