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