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.

On The Road Again!

Last week we began our June school tour with the Big Red Bus, which means we are on the road again! We have quite a busy schedule going around to schools, housing estates, and churches to share the gospel through puppets, crafts, songs, and interaction. Our theme is that "God has a plan for you." We use a hand puppet, a magic board, and shadow puppets to talk about Jeremiah 29:11 as well as the message of salvation through Jesus. Please pray for the team as we head out to Co. Cavan this week and have about two schools a day, which could mean anywhere from 2 - 8 rotations of our program each day. You can find our schedule here. Also pray for all of the kids, parents, and teachers we will come into contact with. 

Behind the scenes!

Outside the bus

Taste of Ireland: The Irish word for Welcome is Fáilte and Slán is goodbye.

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.

An Invisible Line

Travelling between North and South Dakota does not reveal drastic differences in lifestyle. In fact, not very much is different in terms of culture or customs. In contrast, the differences between North and South Korea would be drastic. Distinctions between Northern Ireland and The Republic of Ireland are somewhere in between (although no where near as severe as North/South Korea). For starters, Northern Ireland is a part of the UK and the Republic is not. I won’t go into the politics because I don’t entirely understand it all myself, but this distinction effects the way of life across the border.

After only one visit to the North, the difference in economy was notable. The cars on the roads and in the car parks were generally more expensive brands, models, and/or year. The shopping centers were bustling with people and no one was worried about heating their homes. The greatest difference I would like to note is in the evangelical population. The lunch we attended after the service of a church in the north had more people than if all the members of two local churches in the Republic came together. Contrary to popular belief, the Republic of Ireland only has about 1.5% Evangelical Christians. Over 90% of the population claim Christianity as their religion [Operation World], but especially in recent years, ritual, guilt, and social norms have taken precedence over true relationships with Christ.

It is sad to see how desperately lost so many people are. The fact that there are massive congregations just an invisible line away makes me think about how many lost people I ignore across my own invisible borders. I don’t know how to resolve the issues that lie between people of each nation nor do I have a right to say how things should change, but as a member of the body of Christ, I will say that there is a need for unity within the church in this nation and across borders. Junior used the story of the four friends who brought the paralyzed man to Jesus through the roof to illustrate the church [Mark 2:1-12; Luke 5:17-25] . We must come together with the common goal of bringing people to Jesus. We must work together just as the friends carried the man and walked together. There will be obstacles that come in our way, but faith in the power of God will prevail. It can be uncomfortable to step outside of our Christian bubbles and see that there is world outside our doorsteps that still needs the love of Christ, but it must be done. After all, Jesus came to heal the sick, not the healthy [Matthew 9:11-13].

Taste of Ireland: The typical way to take a cup of tea is black tea with a lot of milk (seriously it’s like they are having tea with their milk) and some sugar. Don’t forget the bikkies! 

Hours Well Spent

In the days leading up to Good Friday, when we began our Easter outreach, I spent most of my time cutting cardboard and paper into shadow puppets. I was determined to finish making everything in time to use for Easter and so I ended up staying in the office working until eleven the night before we left for Carlow. I managed to finish enough that the show would work, even if a few minor details were missing. The first few runs of the show were slow since none of the puppeteers had seen what they were to be doing, and I myself had not seen everything together apart from in my head. After several times going through the show, it was more or less ready to be seen by the public eye. Unfortunately the only time we were actually able to perform it however was on Good Friday in front a few church folks.

Looking back on the week, I am surprised I am not disappointed despite having spent so much time putting the pieces together and then not being able to share the results with many people. We didn’t have the right audience so I knew the time wasn’t right. And even though only a handful of people saw the actual show, the experience of creating something for the first time was one I can only be proud of. The little taste I did have of sharing it with others made me all the more excited for when I do have the opportunity for more people to see it and in the mean time, I want to make it the best I can make it.

Another reason I am not disappointed is that I think the many hours I spent working on this prepared more for the week in a new way. Like times before, much of the outreach was spent on the Big Red Bus allowing people to come inside for a cup of tea or coffee and a chat. We had kids programs planned, one of which was the shadow puppet show, but little of it was used since we had very few kids come during the week. That being said, most of the ministry was in conversations with youth and adults. Unlike the other outreaches I have been part a of, I had good conversations with people everyday. That is not to say I didn’t do anything on previous outreaches, but this time I was less hesitant to approach people and bring up the gospel. This could just be time making me more comfortable, but I really think it is greatly due to how much time I spent on the shadow puppets. I didn’t have time to worry about “what am I going to say to people?” or “how am I going to share God with them?” For days all I was focused on was The Tale of Three Trees and in turn the amazing yet simple story of Christ coming to this Earth then dying for us on the cross. Through pieces of cardboard and paper, God reminded me that I need to look to the cross, and I need to trust in Him. Again and again I talk about trusting God, but it is something I am learning in new forms everyday. This time it was for strength, strength to continue on in His work, strength in His words and not my own, and strength in his unfailing love.

I am so thankful to everyone who encouraged and pushed me in this new direction and I can’t wait to share with you all the final results.

 

Production

A glimpse of the final product

Taste of Ireland: If it is dry outside, the Irish will be outdoors, even if it is three degrees Celsius and windy. I was outside the other day and a child ran by excitedly and yelled with glee: “IT IS DRY OUTSIDE!!!”