October 2012 Newsletter

Dear Friends and Family, 

    

   I’d like to say right off the bat, sorry that this newsletter is late. I’ve been ridiculously busy. With that said, the Lord is doing a lot right now (isn’t He always?). He’s doing a lot of things in my heart, that’s for sure. Over the past year and a half or so, the Lord has been really speaking to me about the “Renewing of the Mind”. Basically, He’s been really stressing the importance of making sure that my thought life is positive and encouraging towards myself and towards others. This has mainly been strengthened in the area of finance for me. I feel no fear in this area of life because I KNOW that if God wants it to happen, it’ll happen. End of story. But, I’ve been finding that in other areas of my life (the more trivial things) I’m having a really hard time keeping my thoughts positive and trusting towards the Lord. For instance, I have been absolutely terrified about driving. I’ve gotten over that initial “freak out” stage and I’m doing well, but even thinking about doing anything new in driving scares me. I didn’t even think about it until a few days ago that the Lord is King over even the seemingly small things in my life. He is not going to let me die or kill anyone else while I’m driving, as long as I’m listening to Him, and not doing anything stupid, because He’s good and He’s God!  I’ve also been, not stressing, but slightly worried about my school schedule, now that I have a job, and I realize now that as long as I’m being diligent with my time, He’ll make a way, because I know He wanted me to get a job, and I KNOW that He wants me to finish school (with good grades, too!). It’s cool because the there have been 2 men of God that I highly respect, David Sliker and Graham Cooke, who both talked about “Renewing of the Mind” this year! Totally confirming and encouraging. And, of course, I’m missing Ireland like crazy. Every time it’s cloudy and chilly (although the cold there is not so sharp), I just want to go to Ireland right then and there, but alas, I must wait a year, but only a year! Craziness!

     So, onward to other news; my job is LOVELY! I love it so much. The kids are so fun and I’m falling in love with them more and more each time I’m with them. I had been saving up all month for a Macbook Pro and finally ordered it on Friday, but it was coming from New York, so I’m not sure if Hurricane Sandy has delayed it or not, I’ll know if it doesn’t come today. Please continue to pray for the victims of this tragedy and for the volunteer teams going to help! Getting a Macbook was a good investment to me because it’s a reliable computer (I’ve never had a Mac before, always has been PC), and it will be nice to have a reliable computer while I’m doing my DTS (which I’ve mentioned in past newsletters). 

     In Ministry: Our official fund raising for our Thanksgiving Outreach to Round Valley Indian Reservation has begun and we only have 1 more week before our outreach! We will be going to drop off full Thanksgiving meals for 100 families on November 20th, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Any donations of nonperishable food items, especially canned vegetables (corn, green beans, peas, etc), boxed mashed potatoes, canned cranberry sauce, boxed stuffing, and bottled apple cider can be dropped off at Blazing Fire Church in Livermore, Sanctuary Church in Concord, or East Bay Foursquare Church in Danville. We also need to raise about $1000 still for all the perishable food items such as; pies, salad, turkeys, and bread rolls for 100 families of 10-15 people! Please contact us at Singingfeatherministries@gmail.com  or visit our website: Singingfeatherministries.org for more information. Please continue to pray for us while we’re fund raising for this outreach. We usually have a lot of spiritual warfare coming at us while we get ready for this. We will be making a run up to Round Valley before the Thanksgiving outreach to give clothes that we’ve accumulated over the months, as well. Also, as I’ve mentioned before, I am going to be doing my DTS in Rostrevor, Northern Ireland starting approximately in September 2013. This DTS is going to be around $10,000 but since I have a job now, I’ll be able to save about half of that. The other half I will begin to officially support raise for in January. Right now, all I know is that our outreach phase may possibly be in Palestine (if World War III hasn’t broken out, that is. :P). I will let you guys know if any other ministry opportunities come up before or after these 3 things!  I would LOVE to hear from you! Any questions or responses to this newsletter you may have. You can contact me at Illuminatetheworld@hotmail.com. 

Thanks again!!

September 2012 Newsletter

Hello, Dear Friends and Family!

     As this is my 2^nd newsletter, I will try to keep it much shorter than my last one (which I’ve included with this one for some of you, who maybe didn’t get it in my last send-out). My newsletter will typically be less than a page long, but I like to write, so forgive me if it’s long. I’ll get straight to the point…

First of all, I (and everyone around me, it seems) am going through a huge transition phase at the moment. Soon after my August Newsletter, I began to look for a job, as I felt like it was something that the Lord was telling me to do. I have been at the International House of Prayer East Bay since January 2011, and I wasn’t raising enough funds to support myself, or at least to take some of the financial burdens off of my parents. I wanted to be able to do that, but I trusted the Lord to see where He led me. Now, slightly ironically, I feel that my season of being on staff at the International House of Prayer East Bay is coming to a close, and my time to be a working class citizen is coming up. However, I plan to continue to send these letters to those who have supported me in the past and labored with me in prayer for my many endeavors. As I began looking for a job, I knew that I wanted to do something that was personal, and something that I would love. So, I signed up on a babysitting website, and went to 3 or 4 interviews, one of which was a 22 hour nannying position. The other 2 or 3 (I can’t remember, at the moment), were occasional babysitting jobs that were on an “as needed” basis, which is really good. I got 2 of the jobs, as well as the part-time nannying position. I started last week, and I absolutely LOVE it. I babysit for 1.5 year old twins (a boy and a girl) on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. It’s wonderful. One thing that IS a real bummer is that I will be going off of staff at The House of Prayer while I have this job (God can do A LOT in a month), I just can’t do both, and I feel the Lord releasing me to do so.  I will, however, still be totally involved at EGS (Encounter God Service on Thursday nights) and on Wednesday and Thursday mornings from 10am-12pm. To all my amazing supporters through the House of Prayer, thank you SO MUCH! Please consider supporting me as an individual missionary, as I transition into this new time in my life. The amazing thing about this new job is that it allows me to save for more than half of the cost of my DTS! So that brings me to…

     Upcoming things in ministry: As I mentioned in my previous letter, we (my family and a few others) were asking Jesus about whether or not he wanted us to do a reservation tour in Arizona in October. We feel that it is not the right time for it. It may be something that we do in the next year or so, but not in October. ALSO, we have now started to fundraise for the THANKSGIVING OUTREACH IN ROUND VALLEY INDIAN RESERVATION, CA. This is a yearly thing that we, Singing Feather Ministries, do, and we will be feeding 100 families (of approx. 10-15 people) in the Valley. That’s HALF of the residents in Round Valley. They will be getting a full Thanksgiving meal with a 20lb turkey, stuffing, canned cranberry sauce, pantry items, rolls, salad, and pie. Then, of course, my DTS (Discipleship Training School with YWAM), which is coming up in exactly a year! In September 2013, I will be going to Ireland to do a DTS. The total cost of the DTS will be around $6,000 (price has lowered, since I’m now working, and am able to save). Please continue to pray about supporting me for this school, as I will begin officially fundraising in January.
     I’m still working on my website, but once it’s up, you’ll be able to see all my past and upcoming ministry opportunities, and much more!  If you would like to still support me as an individual missionary, please write the check to RACHELLE BUTOW. Thank you for taking the time to read my newsletter! If you would like more information about my DTS or if you have any questions at all, please contact me at Illuminatetheworld@hotmail.com, I would love to talk with you! If you would like more information about the Thanksgiving Outreach, please contact Cindy Butow at singingfeatherministries@gmail.com. If you would like to write a check to this organization and/or outreach, please write it to SINGING FEATHER MINISTRIES. We’d be happy to answer any questions you may have. Thank you and God bless!

Happy Autumn! 

August 2012 Newsletter

This is from my August 2012 Newsletter that I send out to all of my supporters. I know I haven't been doing very wel at this whole blogging thing lately, but I hope to get back on here more frequently in the future!  I'll Post the September Newsletter, as well. Enjoy! :)


Hello, Lovely Friends and Family!

This is my first time sending out an official update about the goings-ons of my life, but there will be more to come. I will try to send them out monthly. It seems that there is always something interesting going on that I’m involved with, so the possibility of hearing something new every month is highly likely. This is where I will tell you about the things that the Lord has been speaking to my heart about, upcoming ministry opportunities, prayer requests, etc. If I send you an update and you don’t want me too, please contact me and let me know. I have a list of people that have supported me, and/or have said that they want to hear updates from me, so I send stuff to them when I do my mass send-outs. Also, if you have a friend that is interested or you think would be interested in supporting me financially, in prayer, or just receiving updates, please let me know!

First of all, I’d like to say that, if you had not heard, I did not end up going to London with YWAM on a missions trip this summer. Last year, I felt like I was supposed to go on that trip, but then I went to Ireland in April, and it was absolutely amazing! One of the things that I did was visit the YWAM base where I will be doing my DTS (I’ll talk about that a little later), and while I was there I just felt so at home and like I may be there for a while after I do my DTS. I felt the Lord give me an option. He said that I could go to London this summer, OR I could stay home and really make an effort to focus on connecting with my family for the next two summers before I leave to Ireland next September(ish). So I didn’t end up going. I really felt at peace about the decision, but I can’t say that I didn’t regret it a little bit when I watched the opening ceremonies for the Olympics. It was okay, though, I felt like I was doing what the Lord wanted me to. Also, I wanted to say that going to Ireland was the most amazing thing ever, but if I talk about every detail of that trip, it will be 5 pages long. If you want to ask me about it, please feel free to e-mail me! J

Now, for the really good stuff! So I have a few ministry opportunities coming up for the near and far future. First, coming up in October, my family (and maybe some other interested peoples) is going to Arizona to do a reservation tour. There are a few Christian Native events that we will be participating in, and we will also be doing ministry on reservations there, but we’re still hammering out the details. Right now, the amount that each of us will have to raise is about $530 for 10 days. Not too bad, right? Next, is our Round Valley Thanksgiving outreach. This outreach is going to be huge! I, personally, do not need to raise money for this particular ministry, but our family’s ministry Singing Feather Ministries, does. Please email Singingfeatherministries@gmail.com for more information.

Then, in January, I will officially start raising support for my DTS (Discipleship Training School) with YWAM Rostrevor in Northern Ireland. A DTS is a 6 month long school. The first 3 months are called the “Lecture Phase”, where we will be taught about deepening our relationship with God, missions strategies and leadership, and other things pertaining to being a missionary, leadership skills, and relationship with Jesus Christ. The next 3 months are called the “Outreach Phase”. This is where we will take everything that we’ve learned in the Lecture Phase and put it into practice in the missions field. This Phase typically consists of doing ministry in the country where you are originally doing your DTS and 1-2 other outreach locations abroad. The estimated cost is about $10,000 (taking into consideration outreach phase plane ticket costs, the ticket to get to Ireland, cost of the school itself, spending money, a visa, and the exchange rate between dollars and pounds). Lodging and food are included in the cost of the school.

If you would like to make a financial contribution to any of these ministry opportunities (excluding Thanksgiving Outreach), please make all check out to Rachelle Butow. If you are supporting me as a missionary in the House of Prayer, please follow the instructions on my support letter that accompanies this update. All ministry funds and House of Prayer missionary funds must be separate.

We just finished our two-week teen intensive at the International House of Prayer East Bay called “Captivated”. I have been a participant of every Captivated since the beginning (this was our 6th one), as well as every Consumed (our 3-day intensive that leads up to New Years' Eve). This year, I got to be on staff for Captivated! It was really exciting because it finally really felt like I was REALLY on staff at the House of Prayer. I've been on staff at the International House of Prayer East Bay since January 2011, but I hadn't had any real responsibilities like this before. I really enjoyed helping out with getting everything ready and being part of the planning and decision making. This Captivated was really good! We had about 20 kids and we had a lot of fun, and a lot of really great Jesus time! Each participant had at least 4 hours in the prayer room and a teaching by one of our staff members every day! Even though I was staffing this internship, I still was able to spend a lot of time with Jesus. It was so refreshing to just sit in the Prayer Room and spend time with Him. About a month ago, I felt the Lord leading me to read the story of David. I made my way through the whole book of 1 Samuel during those 2 weeks and was absolutely blown away at the little details that you don’t really hear about when people are telling you about the story of Samuel, Saul, and David. It was so great!  David Sliker and Isaac Bennett both came out for the last weekend of Captivated and that was just so refreshing for our House. They both delivered amazing sermons about having a right view of where God belongs in your life. It was soooo good! J

The past 2 weeks, I have really been trying to get on a better schedule, making sure that I go to sleep at a good time, get up early, spend at least 30 minutes with God each day, and even eating healthier. I’m starting my senior year in a week, and I really want to be intentional about finishing High School with excellence and having a focused life, that is not just full of frivolous things. So please pray for me that I am able to get to this goal, as it has been pretty hard to break out of my crazy night-owl sleeping schedule that I’ve had all summer. Also, please pray for me that at least $300 a month comes in for me to support myself through the House of Prayer, and that all the money that I need to do these things in ministry comes in, as well. Thank you so much for partnering with me in the Lord. It seriously means so much! I love what the Lord is doing through His Body in this hour. He is drawing His Bride together and to Him, like a bunch of little children. It’s beautiful! J Your prayer and your financial support makes it possible for me to take my place in His Bride and fulfill my assignment that Christ has given me. 

“But your calling is not what you DO in your life, your calling is to be a lover of God. Your ASSIGNMENT is what He wants you to do from that place; your ministry”- Isaac Bennett

Recent Happenings

Well, I haven't written a blog in quite a while...
After I went to Ireland and blogging SO. MUCH. I kinda got blogged-out. Sorry about that, folks. Anyways, I will pick up blogging again, as I know my supporters and friends will be wanting to know the goings-ons of my life.
Right now, I'm almost at the end of summer vacation and will be starting my Senior year of high school at the end of the month. I am so excited for this school year because 1) It's my last year of school!! and 2) I don't only have summer vacation to look forward to... but the END OF HIGH SCHOOL!! And then, my DTS! If you haven't read my past blogs and you don't know what a DTS is, I shall inform you. A DTS is a 6 month Discipleship Training School run by Youth With a Mission (YWAM). Approximately, the first 3 months of the school is called the Lecture Phase, where we learn about deepening our relationship with God, and missions. The next 3 months (approx.) is called the Outreach Phase. This part of the school takes place in the country of the DTS and/or abroad. There are about 200 YWAM bases all around the world, and most offer a DTS. My heart has been, and always will be for Ireland. I am going to be doing my DTS in Rostrevor, Northern Ireland in Fall 2013. As you can read in past blogs, I went to the YWAM Base in Ireland for 2 days and had an AMAZING time. I absolutely loved everyone I met there, missionaries and locals. Anyways, this summer has been absolutely amazing! It's the first relatively empty summer I've had in the past 2 years, and I've had a bunch of fun adventures with my family. I've also had a bunch of things happen that have either never happened and/or haven't happened in a long time. I was here for the 4th of July for the first time in 2 years, I went camping for the first time in 4 years, and I was Staff for our Captivated Internship for the first time! There are a few other things that I can't think of at the moment. The past two years I've had barely any summer because I've been on missions trips and my summers had just been packed in general. This year, I did not end up going to London, as I thought I was going to, so I had a lot of free time. It was God's plan that I didn't go, but it has still been hard (especially when I watched the Olympics opening ceremonies).
This summer has been great and I'm really looking forward to this new chapter in my life after I graduate. I'm going to be starting to raise support for my DTS in January (hopefully I'll have the exact date for that by then). I am going to need to raise $10,000 (including school fee, airfare [to an from outreach locations, as well], and extra expenses) for my  DTS, so please (even though this is unofficial) pray about supporting me in January. There are also upcoming ministry opportunities coming up in October that I will be updating you guys about soon! Love you all!! :)

Island of Destiny (Inisfail)

Dear Inisfail (Ireland),
Green hills, white shores
You do not know how My heart burns for you
Although you've been through so many struggles
and have fought to the death, through many troubles
I hear you, I am with you
Though I may seem distant and far away
I tell you, even in those days, where you were ruled
and pushed and pulled in so many different ways
I was there, I knew you
You say, "There is no god" and you've hidden you heart
but I open it up and say "Look what's in my palm, I hold you,
I know your dreams, your desires, and I want to give them to you"
You mean everything, you're my creation
Oh, my praying people
You don't know how much I danced and sang over you
when you talked to me in Bangor, you knew how your prayers
were incense! Please, don't forget. Don't forget your first love.
I am not a god who is distant or heavy-handed with rules and regulations
I am full of grace and my blood covers your transgressions, yes,
but that blood was not just given so that I could be followed mechanically
and without true LOVE. I want to KNOW you. When that day comes,
when you'll be sitting before My throne, I want to look at you and say
with a Father's heart, "I love you, I know you, and you were faithful"
I want to look at you, and see you as one who was devoted
to seeing My Bride unified and unprejudiced against itself.
You are loved, YOU have a destiny
I have called you to be priests in a holy, pure way
that glorifies only Me. I am calling you, arise, take your place
it is pivotal and it is necessary, you have a purpose! So be free!

Love, Jesus

Annnddd... THE LORD (Ireland blog #7)

Dublin, CA
4:15pm

First of all, just wanted to say sorry for not doing this blog for a while, but since I've gotten back home from Ireland, I've been relaxing and getting over jet lag and such and then life has just been Carazay, but good!! . SO... I shall now tell you about my experience at the YWAM Rostrevor base. So after we pent the night in the Annebrooke House Hotel, we left Mullingar with saddened, yet excited hearts (we wanted to stay in Mullingar longer because it was SO CUTE! haha!). We had a 2 hour drive ahead of us, and we both couldn't wait to get to Rostrevor. My Grammy hadn't really known exactly what I was going to be doing in Rostrevor, but once I explained it to her, she seemed almost as excited as I was! haha! So just to clarify for you all who may not know exactly what I'm going to be doing, either... this is it: I am going to be doing a 6 month school at the YWAM (Youth with A Mission) base in Rostrevor, Northern Ireland called the C-DTS (Compassion and Justice Discipleship Training School). The first 3 or so months of this school is called the "Lecture Phase". This part of the school teaches us about effective ways of ministry, biblical principles, how to engage with the Lord, intercession, and other basics to life as a missionary. After that, the next 3 or so months of this school is the "Outreach Phase". This is where we take everything that we have learned in the Lecture Phase and put into practice. After one does a DTS, they can go on staff at any YWAM base all over the world! :D
So... that all said, we arrived in Rostrevor in the afternoon on Wednesday (after a couple of interesting traffic situations). When we got there, we weren't sure which door was the right one to go in. The first door we saw looked like the entry way was under construction so we didn't think that it was the front door (it was, there was just some stuff in the entry way, lol!), so we kept walking around the building, not really sure where to go. We came to a couple of other doors, but both of them were locked. So we tried ANOTHER door, and it was open, but it lead to a kids play area. We were kinda confused, but we walked in anyways. We could hear people talking and laughing so we followed the sound, and that's where we met Kayla, Stephanie, and Caroline. They all we very accommodating and welcoming and made me feel instantly comfortable with the place! :) Kayla, lovely Kayla, was the head of hospitality so she showed us to our room, around the house, and told us how everything worked.So after we had seen everything we needed to see, we asked her where we could go buy food because there was a self-catering kitchen there, and she said we could buy it in the town which was literally like a 8 minute walk. It was so close. Before we left, I asked her if they were going to be having any group prayer or worship times while we were there (so I could get to know some people) and she said that they were having a little YWAM staff worship thing that night at 7pm. I was really stoked to hear this so I said that we would probably join them. So my Grammy and I got all settled in our room, and then we left to go buy food for our stay, while we were there for 2 days. There was a lovely park nearby, an integrated (catholic and protestant school. I'll get to that later), and super cute little town. This town was seriously one of the cutest towns I had ever seen. I immediately fell in love! We went to the Butcher's shop, the grocery store, and the Chemist (I needed chapstick). We loved the little town and were determined to walk around more the next day. So we got back to the base, put our stuff in the kitchen (which was actually their industrial kitchen, because their other kitchen that was normally used for guests had just had a pipe leak.). While we were in there, the lovely Kayla walked in and we had a conversation with her for a while, talking about the history of the base, how she ended up there, and such. One thing that I noticed on our walk through the town was that there was an "Integrated School" near the base. I didn't really know what that meant until we talked to Kayla. She was telling us about the intense animosity that most people in Northern Ireland have towards Protestants because they're Catholic and vise-versa. I was so amazed that a school that had both Protestant and Catholic children was called an integrated school. One of the things that God has weighed heavy upon my heart is His desire to see Protestants and Catholics united in Ireland to form a unified bride, and one of the things that YWAM Rostrevor feels called to focus on is this. The YWAM base used to be a Protestant-Catholic Reconciliation Center before it was given to YWAM. I didn't know this  until several months AFTER I felt like God was telling me to do my DTS there and this was a total confirmation for me. I don't know what one person can do about the dissension between the Protestants and Catholics in Ireland, but I know that with God, all things are possible. YWAM Rostrevor has been seeing some marked difference in the Irish community in Rostrevor concerning Religious quarrels and even now Catholics are making mass open for Protestants every once in a while in Rostrevor. THAT is progress. We had a great conversation that stayed in this strain for quite a while, and then we went back to our room to eat. We kinda just hung out in our room for a while, just relaxing and taking it all in, I think we even took a nap.
Later that night, we finally went downstairs to go to the worship thing that they were having. We all hung around for a bit drinking tea (I didn't really converse with anyone, though, because I was feeling pretty shy, and so was Grammy). Once worship started, I was amazed at how "at home" I felt. There was such a familiarity with the way that they worshiped! I loved it so much! They ended up doing 2 hours of normal songs and spontaneous worship, which was totally right up my alley! It reminded me of the House of Prayer so much! After that, it was pretty late so I uploaded some pictures (as I did every night because of the massive amounts of pictures I was taking), and then went to sleep. The next day, we got up and walked around the town and the nearby park! My Grammy and I could have stayed there for HOURS we loved it so immensely! There were so many cute little shops and hotels and pubs, and the park was GORGEOUS! It was so green and widespread! :D We went to a beautiful Cathedral (or Ca-TEE-dral, as the Irish would say it), that Grammy thoroughly enjoyed, and we just took it all in. Then, at about 3pm, we went back to our room and took a nap. The whole time I had really been wanting to meet the staff at the base, but was feeling very hesitant about just going up to them and introducing myself, because I just have a hard time with being bold like that when it's just everyday life (on missions trips, it's wayyyyy different. lol!). So we boo-bopped around for a while; I uploaded more pictures and wrote my blog, Grammy read and snacked (lol!). We also did a bit of snooping around, which, despite feeling a bit awkward, I'm actually glad that we did, because I really became quite familiar with the place! haha! After that, I voiced my desire to meet other staff members to my grammy and she said that we should go do it! So, I reluctantly said okay, and we went downstairs and heard everyone talking, so we assumed that they were in a meeting or something. We stood around for a bit and then decided to sit down, kind of hoping that someone would just walk in and introduce themselves to us. Oddly, we were sitting in the dark, so when poor Kayla came into the room, we scared her pretty badly. I told her about how I wanted to meet people, but felt hesitant, and she immediately asked if I wanted her to introduce me to them. Of course I wanted her to! So she took me into the kitchen and introduced me to about 10 other staff members who were all from different places. There were actually, surprisingly, quite a few Americans, but there were also people from Scotland, Sweden, and Australia. They were all amazingly friendly and I'm so happy that I got to meet them because they're all going to be there when I go to do my DTS, so I'll know people! YAY! :D We all talked for quite a while and it was really, really fun. It was getting late, so Kayla said that we should meet for tea in the morning, and this other awesome girl named Stephanie was going to join us, too!
So we continued our conversation the next morning and it was really good! I met a new friend that morning named Michael, who is possibly going to be one of the leaders of my DTS in 2013-2014. We were all talking for quite a while when two Irish women came in, and they ended up joining our conversation. I was really moved by one of the lady's stories. She had 2 little boys and was having problems in her marriage because she "became a Christian" (switched from Catholic to Protestant). She said that she also was having a very hard time finding a job because of the economic crisis in Ireland at the moment and her line of work. She was so sweet and so humble and she started to just cry in front of us because she was so weighed down by her situation. That woman has not ceased to be on my heart and I pray for her very often. The other Irish woman that I met was very fiesty and had a lot to say. I loved listening to her because the passion that she carried for everything she was saying was astounding! It was so awesome to just listen to her tell stories. These two women further solidified my desire to minister to people in Ireland and in Rostrevor. I also got a chance to meet the Director of YWAM Ireland and his wife, which was very cool, and was one of my things on my "list" that I wanted checked off. They were absolutely lovely! That day, Grammy and I both left Rostrevor with a bittersweet feeling in our hearts. We only had one more day in Ireland. God was speaking to me a lot while I was in Rostrevor, and I feel like I got some absolute direction for my life, and what He wants me to do (which I will talk about in the next blog).
So the last person's house that we stayed at was in Oldcastle, Co. Meath in the Republic of Ireland. Oldcastle was absolutely BEAUTIFUL; it had to be the most beautiful countryside I'd seen on our whole trip. Thankfully, Angie (our lovely hostess), took us around her hometown and showed us some amazing sights. We got to see some gorgeous gardens with old church ruins. She also took us to see ruins of an old abbey which was absolutely gorgeous! That was a short visit with her, but it was really fun! The next day, we made our drive back to Dublin to return our car and say goodbye to Ireland. It was a very bittersweet moment that, for me, was much more bitter than sweet. Obviously, I was happy to be going home, but my heart ached to stay in Ireland. I feel such a connection with that beautiful, BEAUTIFUL country, and I know that it is God's heart bleeding through mine. The Lord did so much in my heart on this trip. Seeing the people, hearing the stories of their history, hearing the stories of the present, and just watching these people walk through every day life with the weight of what their ancestors had been through on their shoulders, jsut continued to intensify my resolve about what I felt like He was/is calling me to there. Relational Ministry. It's what I feel like I'm supposed to do there, and I can totally see Him preparing me for that. All the Irish people want is genuineness, love, and someone to listen. I think everyone in this world wants that. God did SOOO much in my heart, and even now,  3 months later, I'm still processing it all, but I feel like I have way more direction than before. Watching Ireland's shores disappear through the airplane window was one of the hardest things I've ever been through (I even shed a few tears), but I knew I'd be back, and be back I will.

THE END

Irish Adventures (Ireland Blog #6)

Dublin, Ireland

10:07pm

Alrighty, so... after we went to Ashford Castle, we made our way back to Galway to get our stuff and say goodbye to our friends. Our drive back was significantly shorter than our drive there, which was nice. We actually have been surprising ourselves over and over again by how quickly we can move through these roads. We always think it's going to take us longer to get somewhere than it actually does, but ANYWAYS, we got back to Galway only to find out that our friends weren't at their house, so sadly, we didn't get to say goodbye to them. They had given us a key to their house, though, so we were able to get in the house easily enough. So we got in the house, got our stuff together, got on my computer and decided then and there where we were going to stay that night. We wanted to stay the night somewhere that had good ratings, was about halfway between Galway and Rostrevor (the YWAM base where I'm going to be doing my DTS), and wasn't too expensive. Good 'ole Tripadvisor is AMAZING! We decided to stay in the Annebrooke House Hotel in Mullingar, County Westmeath. So we packed up our stuff, typed it into the GPS, and left Galway. 

And I just gotta say something about GPS.... OUR GPS is fantastic. It took us everywhere we needed to go, even through construction, changed roads, and no road signs. The dang thing was spot on! We are both so grateful for that little GPS! It did us a lot of good! :D

Anyways... (I'm obviously getting sidetracked easily right now, I'm tired. lol!) we were driving to Mullingar and the whole drive there was this extremely ominous cloud in front of us. I was a little worried because we hadn't been through any rain the whole time we were in Ireland until that point. So we were driving and the big, scary cloud kept shifting from one side of us, to the other side of us, until it was far away enough, that I came to the conclusion that we weren't going to go through it. There were a few other patches of dark clouds that we saw, but I wasn't as worried about them. We kept driving and then we hit a little bit of rain from one of those clouds. I have to admit, it was pretty scary. Partly because the windshield wipers on our car were pretty horrible, so whenever they would go to wipe the rain they would totally smear and obstruct the view. It wasn't raining that hard THANK GOD, but it was still enough to make me a little freaked out. lol! I kept my cool, though, as I always do (at least on this trip), and we made it through it. It's pretty amazing that that is the only bit of rain that we've hit since being here. Other than that, it's been absolutely LOVELY! :D I mean, the other day, it was like Dublin, CA weather! It was so great! So anyways, we're driving to Mullingar, and we realize that our gas tank is about half-empty (yes, only half at this point. Our car was a diesel and it had AMAZING mileage). So we were like, "Okay, we should top off the tank." (this part of our journey was just chock full of new experiences) So we get to Mullingar, and we pull into the gas station and we have absolutely NO IDEA what to do. We see the diesel pump and regular pump, but we don't know what to do besides that. So we go into the little gas station store and there's this little old man who is the sweetest thing ever, but swears like a sailor (I thought it was hilarious, but Grammy didn't even notice because she couldn't tell with his accent. It was. SO. FUNNY.). So he helps us get the diesel pump into our car and says it'll stop when it's done. So we wait for a while and then we thought we heard the "Clank" sound that means it's done. So we go back into the little store and say we're done, and he rings us up and starts LAUGHING! He starts laughing so hard, he thinks it's the funniest thing! He says, "1.40 euro! 1.40 EURO! That wouldn't take ya over the *expletive* bridge!" We all started laughing so hard! And I said, "We don't know how to do it!!" haha! So he says, "I'll help ya, I'll help ya." So he saunters back out of his little store and we follow along like lost sheep and we get by the car and he looks at us pointedly, "Ya gotta HOLD the handle while it pumps ta gas!" Me and Grammy both chuckled and said okay. So we learned from the awesome, swearing-like-a-sailor, Irish man that in Ireland, you hold the handle up while it pumps the gas, or you might only get 1.40 Euro worth of gas in your car and get laughed at. lol! 

So we filled the car up, got some water, went to the loo, and asked the man where Annebrooke House Hotel was and he directed us toward it, saying that it was a wonderful place. So we got to the hotel and it really was beautiful and the service was great. They had pretty good hotel food, too! :) We pretty much chilled the rest of the day because the drive had been a bit exhausting with the rain and everything. I know, for me, that when I have so many different emotions going on, like I did that day, that I get REALLY tired from that. So we just rested and enjoyed our little hotel room and the good dinner that we had there at Annebrooke. The next day was absolutely beautiful and the drive to Rostrevor was going to be about 2 hours long. We were really excited about going and I got to explain to Grammy more about what exactly I was going to be doing there, and that made her really excited. So for those of you who don't know, Youth With A Mission (or YWAM) is a non-profit missions organization that has schooling and short-term missions trips that are more geared towards raising up youth in missions and teaching them how to go out and spread the love of Jesus in the most effective ways possible. YWAM has a base in Rostrevor, Co. Down, Northern Ireland that has something called a Discipleship Training School (DTS) that they do every year (most YWAM bases have this school) for people ages 18+. Next calendar year, 2013, I am going to do the DTS with YWAM Rostrevor, so it was a really awesome opportunity for me to go there. I'll tell more about that part of the trip in my next blog, coming soon! :D TTFN! :P

Prayer Points:

1. Good Sleep

2. Healthy bodies

3. Safe travels 

4. Good moods, even though we're leaving Ireland. :(

Thanks, guys! :)

Ahh... The Countryside! (Ireland Blog #5)

Oldcastle, Co. Meath
11:18pm


Well, I left off in Galway... so here's what happened after that. When we got there, our friends told us a lot of places that we could visit there in a day. I knew I had heard the city name of Cong, but I wasn't sure how I had heard it. Then, I remembered that that had been where Ashford Castle was. This castle was one of the castles I was looking at to stay in while we were there, because it had been converted into a hotel. Anyways, I'll get back to that in a second. So we woke up the next morning at our friends' house and it looked wonderful outside so we decided to go on a walk through the countryside of Galway! Our walk was absolutely amazing! Although we loved driving through the countryside, there's nothing like walking through it. You really get a sense of the atmosphere, the oldness, and the realness of the place. Ireland really felt real when we went on that walk, and as silly as it may sound, it was one of my favorite parts! I loved going on that walk! :D It was obviously so different than Dublin. It was great! We took tons of pictures, and I had a fun time with the cows in the pen on the side of the road. lol! :D They all started staring at me and walking towards me! It was hilarious! After that, we got back to our friends' house and decided that we wanted to go to Cong. I remembered that that had been where Ashford Castle, and thought it would be fun to go there, that we would maybe see some cool things along the way! So we drove to Cong, which was about 45 min from our friends house (according to Google, it took us about an hour). We didn't know the exact address for the Castle, but decided to just drive to Cong anyways. We had quite and interesting time driving to Cong. Most of the roads were really little and we even hit a little town where we got turned around and had a little bit of a scare, but our handy-dandy GPS lead us through! We were driving for a while, and still hadn't arrived at our destination when we decided to pull over because there was a line of cars behind us (we tended to drive a little slow), and when we did, BAM, we were at Ashford Castle! haha! We just drove right up to it! So that was pretty amazing! The guy had also just taken in the sign that said we had pay a fee to get in, so we got in for free, too! :D
So we drove in and seeing Ashford Castle come into view was just.... surreal. I mean, this thing was MASSIVE and really really old. It was just gorgeous. We parked the car and just walked around for a really long time. On our way in, I really wanted me and Grammy to have a picture on the Castle bridge. So I pulled this guy over and asked him to take a picture of us, and he said sure. So he took the picture, then, afterwards, he said that he was going to be doing a boat tour of Lough (lake) Corrib and going to Inchagoill (EEn-shA-geel) Island (where St. Patrick was banished). He said that there were ruins on the island from when St. Patrick was there, which immediately caught my and my Grammy's attention. We said we'd think about it, and then we continued walking on the grounds of the Castle. The grounds were absolutely beautiful. It was green and there were TREES!! And tunnels and gardens and stone stairs and willow trees and ponds and hedges and a bunch of other lovely things! It was so wonderful! :D So we wandered around for a long time, and then Grammy had to use the "toilet" (as they call it here, which seems kind of derogatory, but it's not) so we went up to the front (which looked very fancy and a little bit intimidating) and asked the man in front if we could use the toilet, upon which he lead us through the inside of this beautiful castle to the toilets. I only got to take a couple of picture of the inside, but it was so magnificent. When you stepped inside, you literally felt like you were stepping back in time. We were seriously considering staying in it by this point...
So we decided to go on the boat tour because it sounded fun and it was a relatively good price. The guy who was leading the tour was Irish (of course) and he and his brother had been working on Lough Corrib ever since they were boys. Their family lived by the lake and they knew every nook and cranny of at least the parts by Ashford Castle. Patrick (I think) was the main guy who was sailing the boat and guiding the tour. He knew so much about the history and really did a great job at recounting it all. I loved every bit of the tour and once we actually got on the island, the history was absolutely fascinating. The castle itself had been owned by the extremely wealthy Guinness family for a very long time as their winter and summer home. They would spend 2 weeks of the winter in it, and 2 weeks of the summer in it. My Grammy made a good observation when she said, "I wonder how much fun those kids had... they had full reign of the whole castle." I can't imagine what that would have been like. That would have had to have been "make-believe" PARADISE! So much fun! Many, many, MANY famous people have also stayed at Ashford Castle from the likes of King Henry IV, to Fred Astaire, to Mel Gibson and Brad Pitt, to the Reagan family! Once we got close the Inchagoill Island, he started telling us more about the Islands history. As I said, St. Patrick was banished to this island and he built a church during this time in the 5th century. This church is called "The Old Church". Then, there was another church built in the 11th Century called "The New Church" (Go figure). These ruins were soooooo pretty! And the scenery on this wild island was so gorgeous. It just looked so untouched! I loved it! We also saw the house that used to belong to the person who used to watch over the island, hired by the Guinness family. The Guinness family really cared about the things they owned, and I think that's one of the main reasons why they were so successful. They took care of the things that they owned. They had about 300 staff at Ashford while they were away, and they had a man on Inchagoill Island to watch over the ruins of these churches and makes sure that they were preserved well and were taken care of. This man lived on this island all by himself, dedicated to the care and keeping of these relics. We also saw this tall skinny stone in the graveyard of the "Old Church" that had ancient christian writings on it. This stone is the second oldest Christian inscription in the world (I believe). It was so amazing! So then we headed back and we were freezing from being in the open, cold wind of the top of the tour boat, so we sat below decks on the way back. We decided that we definitely wanted to stay in the castle that night. We were just going to splurge and go for that once in a lifetime opportunity.
When we got to our room it was absolutely spectacular! It was just a regular room, but it was so beautiful! They had peach and cream wallpaper and bedclothes, a flat screen t.v., lots of closet space, complimentary water (? haha!), and the service was impeccable. They seriously were so accommodating, and I have never been in that kind of ritzy-ness before, so it was a very new experience for me. We went down to "The Dungeon" bistro for dinner that night (the less formal one, since we were both wearing very casual clothes, and had nothing BUT the clothes on our backs) and the food was great, but I was trying so hard to be proper that I kept clanging my fork on things and flinging food. It was actually really hilarious, but I was kind of embarrassed at the time. Then, (something else I was NOT used to) we got back to our room, ready for bed, but when we opened the door, the room looked very different than the way that we left it. So different that I thought it wasn't ours, but what had happened was that the man who checked us in had made dinner reservations for us (which we knew) and then, while we were out, the maids had come and drawn the sheets for us and straightened up the room. It was so crazy! haha! Grammy and I both had a pretty hard time sleeping that night, but it still was totally worth it to stay in that castle. I mean, really... if you get a chance to stay in a castle in Ireland... do it.
So the next day we had room service breakfast and the poor man who brought the breakfast spilled some, but it was all okay. Then we "packed up our stuff" (my purse and Grammy's bag. lol!) And left to go back to our friends' house. Sadly, when we go there, they weren't home, so we didn't get to officially say goodbye to them, but they had left a nice note, and we left a nice note for them, as well. We packed up the rest of our stuff and then headed out towards Mullingar; our halfway point between Galway and Rostrevor...

And that's where I'll leave off until the next blog!




Please continue to pray for:
1. Good digestive systems
2. Good sleep
3. Grammy's doggy
4. More divine connections, even in these last few days! :)

Thank you! :)

Woohoo!! (Ireland Blog #4)

Mullingar, Ireland
11:30pm

Ohhhhhhh kay! So it's been a while since I've given an update, but to all of you who are wondering, we're doing GREAT! I haven't had good internet or opportunity to write anything since my last post. After that post, the next day we went into Dublin again, and had A LOT of fun! We took a while to get going (as it has most days, just because we're feeling lazy in the mornings. lol!) then we left the hotel about 11am and we caught the Dublin Tour bus, which was awesome because it was a "Hop-on, Hop-off" bus, so at any of the stop points, we could get off and explore. One of the first things that the tour bus guide told us (he was live and VERY funny) was that a lot of people just stay on the bus for the first round, and then go on the tour again (the ticket is valid for 2 days) and get off at the places that they want to go! Pretty awesome, right? So we went around to a bunch of different places, which he told us about like St. Patrick's Cathedral, a number of museums, the Guinness Distillery, the Zoo, and a number of other places. The tour guide was really funny with his occasional quips such as saying a different name for himself every time new people would get on the bus ranging from Sean, to Paddy, to Greg (which he SAID was his real name)and also saying jokes like "What do you call  a zoo with no animals?" "A shih-tzu." haha! Craziness... but it was great! :) So we went through the whole bus tour, except for the last few shops because we wanted to stop at a souvenir shop, where I proceeded to buy all the souvenirs that I needed for everybody! It was awesome! Grammy also bought a few things, as well. We decided then to get back on the bus (which dropped off right by our hotel) and go back to our hotel room, but by the time we were done doing that, the bus was almost done doing it's rounds. So we thought that we could just walk around O'Connell Street a little more. So we went down to what I think was called Henry Street, which was a walking street. We ran into some street performers and a farmers' market which was cool!! We also got a pay-as-you-go phone, too. Then, later that night, when we got back to our hotel, we packed up and got ready to leave in the morning.
The next morning, Sunday, April 1st, we went to a church in Dublin that was recommended to us by our friend, Angie, called Liberty Community Church. Going to this church was seriously so good for my heart. The worship to God was so genuine, it was SO GOOD! :D Everyone was really nice, and really accommodating. I was actually really surprised because when we go there, the greeters just grabbed me and my grammy into big hugs! It was really funny! :D The speaker during the service was actually this guy from South Africa named Dino. He was very energetic, but he really seemed to have tapped into something in God's heart. After that, Angie took us to the Dublin Airport so we could pick up our rental car. On the way there, we saw a BEAUTIFUL cathedral. Not sure which one, though, and then we saw this really heart breaking statue monument that was commemorating those who had fled Ireland during the Potato Famine in the 1830's. I got all choked up when I saw this memorial because I knew that that was probably something that my ancestors did during that time. Once we got to the car rental place, I realized that I had left my back pack at the church... :( Boohoo. (But I just learned that I'm getting it back soon! YAY!) After we let that go, we went to the car rental place, got some food, and then Grammy was psyching herself up for driving even more. I could tell that she was a little nervous, but I seriously am so proud of her because she really was pretty confident about it! Once we got all of our information, we found the car in the "car park" (As they call it) or parking garage (as we call it). We checked everything out, made sure Grammy knew how to adjust the seat, that we knew when the gas pump thing was, how to work the lights, all that good stuff, and then off we went! We probably started off in the hardest places to drive in Dublin besides the city center of Dublin itself, and this is why I was so seriously proud of Grammy! We even went through a round-about almost right away.
After we got through that hairy part of traffic, we were on our way to Galway! The drive there was pretty smooth. I just had to keep reminding Grammy to keep to the left, but not too far to the left. That's something they don't tell you, is that while you ARE trying to stay to the left, you also need to be careful about being TOO far to the left. Another thing, is to look right when you're turning... we've assigned me to look left when we're turning and then Grammy looks right. It really is a team effort. But anyways, after a long drive, a TON of round-abouts (which are still a little freaky, we finally made it to Galway! Once we got to Galway city, we still had a little ways to go before we got to our friends' house. They live up in the countryside, so that means 2 miles of LITTLE TINY ROADS. And when I say "Little tiny" I mean LITTLE TINY. They are so narrow that barely one car can fit through, but they go both directions, so literally every hill you come up on when you can't see the other side, you're going at a snail's pace because you're worried that another car is gonna be on the other side, heading toward you.  We traveled on that little tiny road for about 2 miles, like I said, and even thought it was scary being on those little roads, the scenery up there was BEAUTIFUL. I mean, really, it was the countryside of Ireland, and we had yet to really see that. Seriously, it was like the pictures you see of Ireland, or the movies. It was absolutely gorgeous. Once we finally got to our friends' house, we got settled in and hung out with them for a while. I met these friends, a couple who have been missionaries in Ireland for 4 years, in Dublin, CA on the Friday before we left. It really was a divine appointment because I had 1) never met Irish missionaries before and 2) really wanted to go to Galway when we visited Ireland, but didn't have anywhere to stay. So when a fried of my mom's told us that she had Irish missionaries staying at her house, we said that we had to meet up with them. We met up with them, connected immediately, and they said that we could stay with them when we went to Ireland. So awesome!! So when we got there, we talked with them for a bit, and then decided to watch "The Quiet Man" with John Wayne because a lot of the movie takes place in Galway. It was really fun to watch! After that we went to bed, because we were exhausted from the long day of driving! This trip has seriously been so amazing so far, and I will tell more about what happened the day before yesterday and on in the next blog, but NOW I have to go so we can get on the way to ROSTREVOR!! Which is the YWAM (Youth with a Mission) base in Northern Ireland that I am going to do my DTS ( Discipleship Training School) at. YAY!

Prayer Points:

1. That we would continue to have safe driving (PLEASE! haha!)
2. That we would be able to sleep well (that's been a difficulty, lately)
3. My Grammy asks that you guys could pray that Grammy's puppy stays well while we are in Ireland because her puppy has cancer and my aunt is taking care of her while we are in Ireland.
4. Also for our digestive systems, we've been both having some stomach issues.

Thanks guys!! :D

LOVE! :D (Ireland Blog #3)

11:50am
Dublin, Ireland

WOW! It's my second day in Ireland and Oh. My. Goodness. I LOVE it so much! I had a friend ask me if it met my expectations, and honestly, I didn't really have any expectations. I didn't know what to think. lol! But man, oh man, it's so amazing! I'm so amazed that I'm even here. As cliche as it may sound, it literally feels like I'm in a dream. It's so surreal. God is so amazing. There is no way I could be here without Him. It's seriously a miracle.
So yesterday was our first dull day in Ireland. We arrived in Ireland on Thursday night, settled in, then went to bed. That night was interesting taking into consideration jet lag, and such. I had a pretty hard time sleeping from 4am-6am, but after that I went right to sleep and we accidentally woke up around 11am. We needed the sleep though. The main plan for yesterday was for us to meet up with my friends Mark and Cathal. They have both been my "pen pals" ( I put it in quotations because it's not really that. We're totally friends.) for the past couple of years and I really wanted to make sure that I got to see them on this trip. I mean, how could I not? I'm in Ireland. lol! Anyways, so we made plans to meet up with them at their school which is Trinity College Dublin. It was a place that I just wanted to go look at anyways because it's absolutely gorgeous! It was made in 1519 by the Queen for her court or something like that. It's BEAUTIFUL! :D So we went there to meet with them and had to stand around for a bit, which was a little nerve-wracking because I didn't want for us to keep missing each other or something. That would be a bummer. We found each other and it was so awesome! I really couldn't believe that I was actually meeting them in person! I told my mom and my Grammy, "Who gets to do that?! Who gets to meet their 'pen pals' in another country?" It's so cool!! :D  So after we all said hi to each other and I introduced them to my Grammy, I was like, "Well! Show us around!" haha! So they took us to the Book of Kells exhibit, which was pretty cool! I'm still not totally sure what it is, but it was old and it had cool pictures (that sounds so dumb. lol!).  Then, we went to the Long Hall (both of these places did not permit pictures) which was Trinity College's original library. It was so pretty! There were all these old books and busts of famous philosophers and writers. They had books in French in cases with descriptions by them and all of these amazing old things! Then we went to an extremely expensive little gift shop and looked at stuff. Then they showed us Trinity itself, which is just..... so awesome. The architecture of the buildings is so incredible! :D I would love to go school there. But, like Mark said, you can definitely take it for granted if you're there all the time, which is totally understandable.
After that, we decided to go to Grafton Street, which is like the place to go to see street performers and to go shopping. Mark had to leave to go home before we got there, but Cathal stayed with us and showed us around for about an hour and a half which was so nice! :)

(As you can tell, I'm still really tired. My vocabulary has digressed considerably. haha!)

So we walked around Grafton Street for a while, but most of the street performers weren't there because it was later in the day. We saw lots of cute little shops and such that we will most likely explore today when we go into the city again. Then we saw a pretty church, which was really cool. Then Cathal showed us St. Steven's Green which was really beautiful! There were flowers and ponds everywhere and the grass was so green! There was even a little waterfall and a cute little house at one of the exits (Although, I don't really know why it was there. lol!)

I have pictures of St. Steven's Green on Facebook. :)

By this time,  it was about 6:30pm, so we decided that it was probably a good time to head back towards our hotel before it got dark. We decided to walk so we got to walk across one of the bridges that goes over the River Liffey which is the main river that flows through Dublin. Across the river is O'Connell Street, which is like the main drag through Dublin. We knew that our hotel was somewhere off of O'Connell Street, but we weren't sure where, exactly. So we got a little lost, but we were still on O'Connell. We asked a girl with a really thick British accent if she knew where Cathal Brugh Street (the street that our hotel was on) was and she said she didn't know at first,  but then she was like, "Oh, yeah!" and she told us to go down the street and turn left and some other things that I don't remember. Lol! So then we walked down and did what she said, but we still weren't sure where we were. On our way, we went to Carroll's, which was an Irish (obviously) gift shop. I got my Irish flag while I was there!! I'm so happy that I did that! :D  Grammy got her Irish Whiskey Fudge, too. haha! So we were still kinda lost after that, so we were like, "Okay, we need to ask somebody." So we went up to the security guy in front of a cell phone store...


To the guy at the store in Dublin, "Hey, do you know where Cathal Brugh Street is?" Guy at the store shakes head, "Mmm.... no." Me, "Do you know where The Academy Plaza Hotel is?"Guy, *Thinks*, "Academy Plaza Hotel...... nope, sorry."Grammy, "Ohhhh! What's the name of the pub by there?"Me "The Living Room?"Guy, " OHHHHH! Yeah, turn left down this street to the light, then left again, and you'll be there!!" 



It was so funny and so typically Irish. That totally brightened my mood. He didn't know the name of the street, or the hotel, but he knew the name of the pub (well, it was more like a club). I thought that was hilarious! So we made it back to our hotel, thanks to the cell phone store security guy! By the time we got there, our feet and legs were super sore, but we were happy to be able to go to sleep! So I Skyped my mama and then went to bed! So now it's the afternoon, and we're about to go on a tour around Dublin! I'm excited about seeing more of the city! Woohoo!

P.S. My Grammy and I both got a pretty bad night's sleep last night, so please pray for strength and alertness today! Thanks! :)

You guys are awesome!
P.S.S I've gotten 100 views on this blog since I left for Ireland on Thursday! Craziness. :D


I LOVE IRELAND! I could definitely imagine myself living here. The weather's great. The people are great. The culture's great (besides the drinking part). And the scenery is AMAZING! :D

We're here!! :D (Ireland blog #2)

11:32pm
Dublin, Ireland

Well, we're finally in Ireland!! It's been quite a journey and I am exhausted to say the least, so this update is going to be short in nature, and please excuse any grammatical mistakes. :) We left SFO in the afternoon on Wednesday and arrived here in Dublin at 8pm on Thursday. We had a 4 hour flight to Chicago with an hour layover. A 8 hour flight to London with an 8 hour layover and a 1 hour flight to Dublin. That's 21 hours of travel, plus an 8 hour time difference and 3 hours of sleep! Woot. lol! It was all so worth it, though, and wow, these people in Ireland are so awesome already. I've barely seen any of them, but the ones I have seen are loud, fun, and SUPER nice! :D I'm loving it already! And it wasn't even super cold! :D I'm so happy right now. My heart is so full, and I can't wait to take in even more of this lovely country and it's people. My Grammy and I are doing great! Pray for my Grammy, though, because sometimes it is hard for her to carry heavy things and to keep up with me (though I slow down considerably for her...:( ) and she just needs some grace from God on her body. So please pray for her. She is keeping an awesome attitude despite this though.

Ahhh... Even as I'm writing this I can hear people talking outside and THEIR ACCENTS!! haha! They're SO COOL! I told my Grammy that I would have no problem asking people questions on this trip just because I want to hear them talk! haha! :P Seriously, though, it's the best accent in the world. :) I'm having a lot of fun, and I will post a more in depth blog tomorrow!

Love you guys! Keep praying! :)

Wow wow WOW!! :D (Ireland Blog #1)

Okay, guys! Here we go! I'm leaving for Ireland today and should arrive in Dublin tomorrow at 8:20pm, if all goes as planned. I know a ton of you are praying and I appreciate that SOOOO much! KEEP PRAYING! We need it! So far, things have gone pretty smoothly. Our adventures with our plane tickets have been kind of interesting, but God's been working it out. Just pray that there are no further delays. Our layover in London (LHR) has been upped from 5 hours to 8 hours, but... what the heck... it's LONDON! haha! And I've heard that that airport is MASSIVE. Anyways, I am so excited and I can't wait to see what God has in store for me AND my Grammy!! There are so many things in my heart right now, I can't even express it in words. Just the thought of stepping out of the airport, into this country that my heart has been with for such a long time, and actually FEELING the air and the ground beneath my feet is just.... I don't even know. It's crazy. I feel like God is going to do something amazing in my heart and is going to really set up some incredible connections that will be life-long. This blog is obviously going to be shorter than others because nothing's really happened, yet, but I will continue to blog while I am in Ireland. I will try to convey every detail to all who are faithfully contributing to this trip in prayer (and some in finances). I also wanted to THANK YOU all because you seriously are so pivotal to this time. Thank you for praying, and PLEASE continue to! I love knowing that while I am in Ireland, I am going to be completely covered in prayer! You all are AMAZING! :)

 Let's go into some practical things...

Plane schedule:
We are leaving SFO at 2pm headed towards Chicago (O'Hare)
We arrive in Chicago at 8:15pm
We leave Chicago for London Heathrow (LHR) at 9:10pm
We arrive in LHR at 11:15am on March 29th
We have an 8 hour layover in LHR
Then we leave LHR for Dublin (DUB) at 7pm
We arrive in Dublin at 8:20pm!! :D

Then we are going to get a hotel for the next 3 nights in Dublin!

Basic Itinerary:

Stay in Dublin for 3 days (March 29th- March 31st)
Galway for 2 nights with some friends of ours (April 1st-2nd)
Back towards Dublin to stay with a friend in County Meath (April 3rd)
Then Rostrevor YWAM Base in Northern Ireland (April 4th and 5th)
Then back to County Meath (April 6th)
Then back to Dublin (April 7th)
Leaving to come back home!! (April 8th)

:D


I'm so excited about this trip and I can't wait to share it with you! PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY!!!



THANK YOU!!

Common Sense

What causes the heart to ache?

A lost love? A distant friend?

The pain is soft and sharp simultaneously

Almost too hard to bare

But the companionship is almost comforting

A cave is deep and wide

Sometimes things dwell within it

and other times it is empty

It can be at the base of a cliff

or within the trees of the forest

It is like a whisper, this feeling

soft and quiet, but deep and full of sentiment

It can also be loud and hard to dismiss 

Common sense says to turn away and face the sun

but a whisper is direct and close to the ear

Wowzer! (Ireland Trip)

Wowzer! It has been a long time since I've posted something on here... sorry, guys.

I have been extremely busy in the past month or so, having people visit, going places, trips here and there, and planning for the upcoming amazingness-es this year! As most of you know, I am going to Ireland and England this year. (If you didn't know that, see posts "First Out of Country Adventure..." and "Second Out of Country Adventure...") My Ireland trip is coming up VERY soon, and it still feel so surreal! I cannot believe that I am going to Ireland. FINALLY. I am always amazed at how much God wants to make the things that we WANT to do possible. We just have to agree with Him. I think that we tend to think that things like going out of the country, even on a fun little vaycay, can be completely impossible. Be it because of money, time off from work, family, WHATEVER, we just that there is no way in heck that is ever going to happen. Let me tell you something..... THAT IS A LIE FROM THEE PIT O' HELL, folks. If what you want to do is in God's will... DO. IT. Don't worry about making time or getting money, or whatever you're worrying about. Just DO IT. Obviously, there is a certain amount of determination and responsibility in partnering with God's will involved, but seriously, if God wants it to happen, and YOU want it to happen, it will happen, trust me. ANYWAYS, (I'm done preaching at you. lol! :P) my grandma and I are scheduled to leave at 2:20pm on Wednesday, March 28th for Dublin, Ireland. We will have a 7 hour layover in London (yes, my fellow London trip-ers, I will get to go to LHR before you. haha! :P), and then we will arrive in Dublin, Ireland on March 29th  at 8:20pm. We are coming back on April 8th, at 5:20pm. It's so funny because that all just feels like dull information when I read that. It has not set in AT ALL that I am ACTUALLY going to Ireland. I know that I won't even fully realize it until I'm there. I'm afraid I might burst into tears when I finally set my feet on that countries ground. My heart is so full for that place. This isn't technically a missions trip, but I'm praying that God would use me to touch the lives of others greatly on this trip. I feel like this may be a practice run for me for next year, when I go there to do my DTS with YWAM in Rostrevor, Northern Ireland. It's so hard to even express the feelings that are in my heart and what I feel toward Ireland and the UK, as well, is something that I think only God and I can really understand. It is extremely difficult to articulate. I know that this trip is more that just looking at the beautiful scenery and hanging out with lovely people, for me this is a time for me to get my feet on the ground of the country I feel called to, and to pray, in that atmosphere, for God's heart. I know that God heart desires for the Christians in Europe to be freed from mundane, dead, unrelational Religion. He wants to see His European bride crying out to Him day and night. He wants to see intercessors begin to talk with Him and pray for their people in Europe. I believe that when Irish believers really start to understand what it means to have a deep, intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, when the divides between the protestants and the Catholics fade away in the UK, and the Bride is unified there is going to be a cry that is lifted up amoung these people that is going to be deafening to the rest of Europe. The sounds that they are going to bring, the determination, strength, and opinionatedness that will keep them strong in their faith in Jesus, and their voices will pierce the veil of every other false religion and darkness that is trying to keep the Bride of Christ in Europe silent. I believe that the Irish in particular are a HUGE part of this. I don't know how or why, but I have a very strong feeling that revival is going to happen in Europe, starting with Ireland and it is going to be loud, and it is going to be massive. Get ready people, there are 3 million people in Ireland and they are ALL going to be pounded in the LOVE of Jesus Christ.


Anyways, so we are going to be in Ireland for 11 days and we are going to be in Dublin March 29th-April 1st, which we will most likely meet up with my awesome friends Mark O'Donnell and Cathal O'Leary, and we will also visit a church called Liberty Church! We will probably just walk around and enjoy the city, then we will be off to Angie's house where we will stay and maybe wander out from to visit other cool places until April 4th, where we will then venture off into Northern Ireland (which is part of the UK) and we will stay at the YWAM Rostrevor base (where I will be doing my DTS next year) for 2 days! Then we will go back to Angie's on the 6th, and maybe wander around some other cool place. Then we will be taking off on April 8th, at 10:50am and arriving home at 5:20pm. :) I'M SO EXCITED!!! :D Ahhhh! :)



Some Prayer points:

-That God would keep my grandma and I safe everywhere that we go.
-That we would walk in the Spirit, even as we're having fun and enjoying this amazing country.
-That my grandma wouldn't get freaked out if I randomly start crying or going up to people with prophetic words in Ireland (lol!)
-That God would speak to me and reveal even more His heart towards Ireland and what His plans for me are there.




Love you all!
Rachelle

The Path

A canopy of trees
bowing, bending towards each other
their upper branches tangling together
becoming one

Their boughs create an arched tunnel
Under which a path is protected
The path, though overgrown, is sometimes traveled
but only by those passing through

Lonely wanderers
traversing the path, only momentarily
they travel its length, dedicated, yet visionary
the path is only a gateway, not a home

The path grows weary of being stepped on
though the purpose may seem to be this
much pounding breaks down the earth
it is no longer steady and sure

Steadfast dwellers
they live to the side of this path
they are the most frequent of travelers
their footsteps are light and made with care

The path longs for more dwellers
or maybe one single dweller
who will stay forever to help keep the ground firm
and the overgrowth tended so it is not to become gnarled

The path grows tired of passerbys
when will there be an adjoining path
to share the wanderers
to know the pain, borne easier if shared

The Open Door (Inspired by Revelation 4)

Come up, come up, ‘tis an open door
I’ll do what He says, I shall not implore
For once I take His offered hand
Enter, I shall, to a foreign land
To see before me men clad in white
On their heads crowns quite a sight
But then a marvelous thing did occur
They threw down their crowns at the feet of Abir (a name of God meaning the Mighty One)


I saw them humbly knelt 
Their faces to the floor
I knew not with which they felt
That they need nothing more
Another sight I beheld
Four creatures before Him
Forever in the meld


One was like the ox of the field
The angels’ sword they did not wield
Another like the majestic bird
They did not speak but a word
The third was like a human being
They had eyes all around, gleaming
The fourth was like the lion great
These amazing things God did create

What is LOVE?

If LOVE is the most important thing

then why do we treat it as if it were something trivial?

If LOVE is the most valued thing

then why do we throw it away as if it were not meaningful?

LOVE is Patient and LOVE is Kind

but why do turn away from others and act as though blind?

LOVE is not Jealous and LOVE does not Boast

but we covet each other's beauty and think that we're better than most. 

LOVE is not Proud and LOVE does not Dishonor others

but we take offense easily and slander our brothers.

LOVE is not Selfish and LOVE is not quick to get upset

but we think of "number one" and over small things we fret.

LOVE does not count up wrongs that have been done

even the prostitutes and tax collectors communed with the Son

LOVE takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices in truth

so let's LOVE with a passion that we learn in our youth

LOVE patiently accepts all things

so let's take our inheritance and live like real Queens and Kings

and not forget this wisdom that makes us what we are

LOVE always trusts, always hopes, and always endures

so I won't forget that You are mine and I am Your's

and no matter what  nothing can pull me back to the start

LOVE never ends

so let's make this where the LOVE revolution begins...

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Serenity

Open for Interpretation, meant to inspire. :)

There she was; standing, feeling, tasting. Her eyes were shut; she could feel the wind reaching out with deft fingers, playing with her ebony hair, tugging on her garments. She could hear the grass as it swayed in that wind, dancing to the symphony those fingers conducted. The blades were just as moved by it as she. She was standing in this field, atop a rolling hill, listening, touching, communing. Her eyes were shut because, she found, if you eliminate that sense, everything becomes much more alive and, well, real. With arms spread wide, she began to picture the sounds in her mind. It was surreally beautiful, elegant, inspiring. The colors flew in synchronization with the music, blue, yellow, green, purple, red, orange. The grass was still the natural light brown hue, but it has a phosphorescent glow that made it almost seem heavenly.  The sky was also glowing, but it was deep azure. The serenity of the moment was perfection. The peace that flowed in and out of her very being made her want to never leave, she wanted to stay, and never be in strife again.  

A Letter to Maman-Nainaine

If you have read the short story "Ripe Figs" by Kate Chopin, you may enjoy this creative writing piece that I had to do for my AP Language an Composition course! I had to pretend that Babette was writing to Maman-Nainaine while she was staying at her cousins house. If you have not read "Ripe Figs" copy and paste this link (http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/kchopin/bl-kchop-ripefigs.htm) and then read this...

My Dear Maman-Nainaine,

              Since my departure to Bayou-Lafourche to stay with my dear cousins, I have missed you terribly. Though, during my stay here, so far, it has been a wonderful experience, as it always is with my cousins and Tante Frosine. I am well, and I cannot wait to hear how you are faring, as I am always inquiring about your well-fare to whoever may know. These summer days have been filled with adventure and intrigue. Last week, the dog, Garcon, caught a bird and it was quite a fiasco trying to calm the younger ones, for they could not stop speaking of the incident or the dog and bird of which the incident included. Many interesting happenings like this one have occurred, and I anticipate many more. Nothing is ever dull in Bayou-Lafourche and I enjoy the excitement.

            I must let you know that your lesson about the figs ripening has been on my mind incessantly. My sweet Maman-Nainaine, your wisdom goes beyond my miniscule understanding, but this last morsel of wisdom you have bestowed upon me has made a lasting impression. I am more often than not noticing my impatient nature, and I desire to be more like you. I see your patience, your stateliness, your generosity, and your understanding and I have decided that I will aspire to be like you and to have your characteristics all of my days, for I believe that because of these attributes, your very countenance is calming and inviting. I fear my impatience, my indignity, my greed, and my impudence have made me most unlike you, but these are characteristics that can be and will be changed. I will endeavor to change these things, as they are unladylike and inhospitable. You are my model, Maman-Nainaine, and I hope you know how much I try and hope to be like you.

            The figs continue to grow and they constantly remind me of you and your care of me. They came early and still thrive, which quite impresses me! I would think that because of their early arrival, their departure would also be premature, but alas, they continue to flourish! Their persistence and determination are quite familiar as they bring to remembrance a sweet old lady that is dear to me. I must say, your decision to make me wait to come to Bayou-Lafourche until the figs were ripe was very wise, indeed, as the weather here is now nearly perfect, when before it was not as pleasant and would have been quite boring, in my opinion. Next year, I shall try to be more patient than last for the figs to ripen, for I see the reward now before my eyes. Though, I am extremely thankful that the figs ripened when they did, for I fear my patience would not have lasted much longer. It must have been the grace of our dear Lord that made them ripen at that exact moment in time.

            Oh, Maman-Nainaine, I do miss you so. I cannot wait to hear from you! I’m sure you have much to say about the happenings at home. I hope the weather has been kind to you and your health. I want to see your new trays and furnishings that I am sure you have bought by now, as it is near the time that your yearly shopping takes place. Do tell me about your new pretty things! I hope you are not too lonely in that grand house of yours. You must get a dog or a cat or some kind of animal as a companion for when I am not there. I can’t imagine you being alone in that dark place. As lovely as it is, it must feel very empty without my constant conversation and your attentive listening. I’m sure you have found ways to occupy yourself. Tell me how your knitting and quilts are coming along. Any news from town, recently? I wonder, are the figs still growing near you, as they are here?

            As to my lovely cousins, they are all fine and keep themselves busy with many adventures and get themselves in trouble constantly with Tante Frosine. Do not worry, Maman-Nainaine, I take no part in their mischievousness, at least, not all the time. I often help Tante Frosine, who has taken ill recently and has a hard time with the children. The responsibility has fallen on me a bit, but I actually take pleasure in it. It gives me something to do, and it is very entertaining. It is not very hard work, at all. Well, I must close now, as dinner is fast approaching and I must help Tante Frosine prepare it. I await your reply!

Your dearest goddaughter,

Babette