An amazing 3 days.

Well the past week has been amazing and especially these last couple days, but I think I will just blog about some of Thursday, Friday night and Saturday. I am in the group working with the students at Crosspoint. Every night we are able to go and spend 2 hours with the students getting to know them and building relationships. On Thursday and Friday we decided that we would focus on sharing with the entire group for at least a few minutes. Thursday night went better than we ever expected. Some students ended up coming in the prayer room and praying with us. Now, these students are pretty rough smoking, drinking, cussing, etc. It is pretty hard to get them involved to play goofy games or sit still for more than 10 minutes. The girls that came in the prayer room were ones that we can NEVER get to play any of the games. This was a total breakthrough and blessing. The next night we were so excited about, we planned to have a Brendon share his testimony and play a game that would help us understand and get to know the students even more. We set up times for us all to be praying throughout the entire day for both Kairos and Crosspoint. We get to Crosspoint and all the students were there waiting for us, but then a majority of them leave and say they will be back in a few minutes. 20 or so minutes later we’re still waiting on them to get back. This was discouraging to me and I kept asking some of the girls where they were and they said they would be back soon. I was becoming really upset and kept praying. We knew they were probably out somewhere drinking so Adam and I decided to go find them. We found them behind a building near the church and asked them to come back because we wanted to hang out and spend time with them. They all ended up coming up to the building as soon as we asked them. We started playing our game, where we passed a ball around and whichever question (we wrote questions on the ball beforehand) their thumb landed on they had to answer. They kind of joked about but when some of them were asked some of the harder questions it was obvious that they were really thinking about it. After we had played the game I told the guys they could pick one guy to share something about themselves and the girls could pick one girl. It ended up that in the end 4 or 5 people had shared and the kids were still listening 45 minutes later. I had told the kids that whoever was the quietest or listened the best would get the soccer ball. One of the guys, who hardly every sits still or is quiet, did not talk the entire time so I gave him the soccer ball and he was so excited. The students seemed like they really listened to what we had to say and took it to heart. A few even asked us questions afterwards and some prayed with us. It was absolutely and totally a work of God. That night some of our girl leaders stayed for the girl’s sleepover they were having. It was good just to spend time with them and talk to them. Ewalina picked us up at 8 o’clock the next morning to arrive back at Murlough House and leave for Belfast and the north coast at 8:30 with about 2 hours of sleep. We stopped for fun shopping in Belfast and to see the capital building. Then we went up to Giants Causway. It was absolutely beautiful even though it was wet and cold. It has been an incredible week of God working through all of us and showing us his beauty in creation and others. This trip as truly showed me how important prayer is and how awesomely it works!

-Courtney Cheuvront

Americans hit up the tourist sites

Today was a day that I will never forget. I’m sure of it. This whole week has been incredible and today seemed to sum it all up for me. After only a few short hours of sleep, we loaded up on the bus and headed to Belfast for some shopping. Becki, Benji, and I hit up H&M, some music stores, a classy European café, and finally, the gift store. Coming from a small town, I was in awe being in such a nice city. The streets were bustling with holiday shoppers and musicians. It was a great experience. Then we traveled up along the coast to get to “Giant’s Causeway,” one of the world’s natural wonders. The drive itself was amazing. We followed along the coast on extremely narrow roads. Quite the adventure. None of us seemed prepared for the cold and rain. We quickly ate our lunch and hit the trail along the powerful ocean. We came face to face with such a powerful force of God. The waves were crashing up against the rocks, which have been shaped into majestic formations. The sight is very hard for me to describe, but it’s something that will stick with my forever. Becki and I were talking, and we can’t understand how someone can behold such beauty, and not believe in God. Becki (the biology major) made the point that everything has its place and it all fits together perfects to create such a majestic scene. How could He be denied? Yet, in the midst of such beauty in this country, we have seen so much darkness and hurt in the people. The ocean also reminded me of the power that we possess in Christ to change and mold other lives and hearts, just as the ocean waves have changed and formed these hardened rocks.
So today, we were able to live the life of tourists in N. Ireland. But it was so much more than that. Each day this week, we have been desperately pouring ourselves out on these kids with amazing results. Today, I feel as though God was able to pour back into me, to refresh me, and I’m ready to face the world anew with the reminder of Christ’s power, in which I can do all things.
-Sally Fyfe

Still room at the Inn

As we sit in the midst of rolling green hills, snow covered mountaintops and overlook the cold Irish Sea from Murlough House it would appear life would be a bit surreal by now. Yet, as I ponder in the sitting room beside the massive “Charlie Brown” Christmas tree, our lives and hearts are far from picturesque. With so many thoughts about the first half of our trip it is hard to put them all to words. We have laughed loudly, cried compassionately, and silently stilled our hearts before the feet of our Savior. The hearts of this team has lifted me to a new place, but the brokenness of those same hearts is another “kick in the trousers” as I long for clean hands and a pure heart once again. The teens that God has brought into our journey are unparalleled to anything we know. They are distant and detached – yet longing for attention and love just like you and me. We thank God that he opens the door wider each day as we seek to find common ground with the Irish youth.

But this journey has been so much more. For Heidi and I we knew coming back to 5 years later to Northern Ireland would be uplifting and God inspired, but emotional and extremely challenging. But today, we rest in His faithfulness and rejoice in the hope that Christ brings for the broken, the lost, and the dusty imperfections of our lives.

We celebrate today that He still has room in the inn! Continue to pray for this team and this journey. God is working in indescribable ways and we can’t wait to share this story with you.

- Erick Sawyer

The Darkness is Breaking

Yesterday, a group of us girls stayed behind to go shopping with Ewelina, a staff member from Poland. We wanted to put on a party for the kids at Crosspoint. We had so much fun just driving around and going to different banks and the grocery store. We were in one of the banks and Ewelina kept sticking her head through the narrow window at the teller’s desk. And I said it would be funny if she got her head stuck, and one of the girls came up with a headline: “Polish girl gets her head stuck in a window at an Irish bank with four Americans!” So that has become a joke between the five of us. We are very blessed to have her. She is hilarious and makes all of us laugh. She really brightens our day.

I have been on missions trips before and this has by far been the hardest one that I have ever been on. I came here expecting to just work with the kids and play some games with them and then at night we would be with the teenagers. I never expected these kids to be so distant and tough. These kids break my heart. These kids are not homeless. But the things going on in their life is horrible. They remind me of American kids except they are ten times harder to reach. Hannah, one of the staff members who goes to Crosspoint with us, gave us a list of all the kids there with a slight description about their life. When I went into the prayer room on Tuesday and read this, my heart broke for these kids. There is one boy who reminds me of my younger brother. I know what my calling is and I always thought I had it figured out as to what I was going to do after college, but as usual, God surprised me and changed my plans a bit. I know that this will not be the last time that I am in Ireland. Whether I come back to Northern Ireland or just go to Ireland, I know I’ll be back.

I read Rob Bell’s Sex God and I have gotten so much out of it. There is a part that talks about heartbreak and it really made me realize something. Bell asks why heartbreak is so universal and then he answers with “It’s universal because we’re feeling something as old as the world. Something God feels.” I am feeling what God feels for us and these kids every moment of every day. And I have to tell you, it hurts. There is another part in this book that talks about how everyone is worth dying for. And during my quiet times I have been asking God for guidance with these kids. And all He said was one word. Love. These kids are worth dying for and we just need to love them with every ounce that we have.

“Circumstances do not alter God’s sovereignty."

-Kari Lally

God's Creations

Christmas in Ireland

A special group of us had a special event to attend this afternoon! Our job was to deliver a handful of Christmas carols, successfully, to a group of older men and women of the Green Country (Ireland). We partially achieved that goal! Apparently we underestimated the importance of preparation. I mean, they’re Christmas carols, how hard could it be? Plus, they’ll all be singing along and they won’t hear us anyway! WRONG! We also underestimated that fact that the people of Ireland sing our Christmas carols a bit differently! But regardless, it was a big hit amongst the people and it went over really well! We mingled with the people, sang our carols, washed all the dishes (thanks for preparing me mom), and went on our way home (I mean to the Murlough House).

After Tea Time we set off to Cross Point for another night of organized chaos. It seems as though we are really starting to connect with some of the students. We prepared a Christmas/Out of School party for them by baking cookies, a white chocolate extravaganza, and an American Punch! It was a HUGE hit! A few stolen gifts and footballs to the head later, we began the dance party! We and the students would have danced all night if two songs into it, we weren’t about to collapse from the lack of sleep the night before! We played the “left, right” Christmas exchange and were able to love them in a new way. Our original plan was to watch a movie, but we had far too much fun interacting with each other! Praise the Lord we all walked away blessed from the entire night! Every night we planned for a disaster but the Lord’s hand has been in and through every conversation and action! But the most rewarding part is the ability to see it! Every night we meet as a group and get to share story after story of the Lord’s influence in everyone’s lives, not just the students. We are all learning as much as we are teaching, especially from the morning sessions with John Moxen. Every morning, he prepares us for the battle that lies ahead.
“And for all You’ve done and yet to do, with every breath, I’m praising You!”

- Julie McNett

It's Out of Brokeness the Blessing Comes

Hebrews 10:38-39 – “But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back. But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.”

So I sat down planning to blog about the happenings of tonight, but realized there was no way I could simply keep my musings to that, because what happened this morning was a huge part of today. And by this morning, I’m referring to the wee hours of the morning; we’re talking midnight-3:30 AM here. Some would argue that that is still last night, but either way, here we go.

It all started with an innocent game of Mafia. (And seriously, I WAS innocent…so thanks for trying to get rid of me). Our team was eating supper (which is actually tea and bread at about 11:00 pm) while we played and just really enjoyed one another’s company. People began to trickle off to bed, and soon it was just four of us left, doing dishes and cleaning up the coffee bar area. We began to talk about our first real day, the challenges before us and the things the Lord was laying on our hearts. One by one the guys came back searching for their missing roommates, and soon there were seven of us there in the kitchen. All I can say about our conversation and moments together is…God. There was something else in that room besides just the seven of us.

At about 1:30, we decided it was time to call it a night, say a quick prayer, and head to bed. That “quick prayer” took us to 3:00 am, but I can’t say that any of us actually realized the time that was passing. The seven of us just poured our hearts out to God in prayer and song, and just letting go of everything inside. We prayed for the kids at Kairos, the drop-in center we’ve been working at. Their hearts are so hard, and they are so guarded at such a young age. We prayed for the staff here at Murlough house, who deal with this day after day. It was so hard on us after one day to pur out, and yet they are here year round. And we prayed for our team, and how God is working in each and every one of us. Our prayers turned into song, and we just let the Holy Spirit move through us in new and amazing ways.

I wish I could explain in words just what was going on inside of me and this small group during this time. I think the biggest realization we made was that this trip isn’t just about the people of Northern Ireland. It’s about each and every one of us. And that may sound selfish. It may sound ridiculous that we would need to raise thousands of dollars and travel across to world for God to reach us. But it’s happening in me, and it’s happening in my teammates. God is breaking our hearts and changing our lives.

We also shared how going into this trip, building relationships with our team was something we all had concern about. But last night, the third night of this trip, I’ve connected deeper with some of my teammates than I ever thought possible, and that is a total God thing.

Anyways, so now back to what I originally sat down to write about. Today Erica and I left early with Ben, who works at the Kairos drop-in center, to get some baking supplies for tonight’s Christmas party. The rest of our team got to the center shortly after we did, and we had the afternoon to just hang out with and love on kids. And there was some baking…see our helpful hints at the bottom of this post.

Tonight was the big Kairos Christmas party. Again, I really am at a loss for words. These kids are just so…far away from where they should be, and where they could be. They have some serious respect issues, and it was really tough to deal with the way some of the older boys treated us. But it wasn’t all disappointment and simply wondering why God is placing us in some of these spots; the party tonight had some really terrific times too, and I’ll share just one of the many.

(Ok, let me backtrack for a second…before the trip we all packed shoeboxes filled with toys for the children here. In order to be able to give presents at the party tonight, we pulled some gifts out of our boxes that we thought would be appropriate for middle and high schoolers. I had some silver glitter putty, that gooey gross stuff my mom would NEVER let me have, in my box. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to include it, but one of my teammates told me I definitely should. To say she was right is an understatement.)

A little boy named Ben got my gift. He was absolutely FASCINATED by it. He’d never seen anything like it in his life. He held it out, all oozing between his fingers, and saying to everyone in his Irish accent, “This is from Florida! This is from Florida! This is American!” He was so, so proud to have this American treat that no one else in the room had. Before we left he looked up at me and said “Thank-you for my Christmas gift.” That’s God right there…in the midst of the disrespectful chaos of the rest of the group, one little boy was being changed.

-Sarah Ledeboer

Sarah and Erica’s International Baking Tips:
1. American recipes give you an over preheating temperature in degrees Farenheight. European ovens operate on Celsius. Know your second grade math conversion equations.
2. American recipes list things in cups, teaspoons, pounds, etc. European stores sell ingredients packed by liters, grams, etc. These conversions are slightly harder to keep track of.
3. Even if you figure out the English measurement for what you need, the kitchen you are in may not be equipped with the aforementioned measuring cups, teaspoons, etc. So measure by sight…it might work.
4. When math fails you, remember that no matter how many time you reach in you pocket to grab your cell phone and call Grandma, it's. not. there. Because it doesn't work here.
5. Don't forget the salt. But if you do, and the cookies turn out funny, just tell everyone that it’s the American recipe for chocolate chip cookies. They’ll find them delicious.