Wow, what a week. My eyelids are heavy and my mind exhausted. Its been a learning experience to be sure. Everyday there are hidden adventures waiting to be discovered. More people to meet or deepen a relationship with, always things to pray for, and more to learn. Val and Bert, the couple I interning under, are truly a blessing. They are vessels of wisdom and encouragement...a true joy to serve with. We do a lot of hosting for people to come and stay here at the house. People come and go all the time. We show them love, hospitality, and encouragement and allow them a place of rest. This week we will be doing more painting in the guest rooms.This past week I also spent time at a nearby college with a new friend named Keilah, who is 18 years old, and passionate about prayer and her ministry consists of encouraging others and starting a prayer room on campus for the students. She is a lovely girl, one of the few young people in her community with such a passion. I rather admire her and her passion for the Lord and sharing his love with people in her midst. Be praying for her as it can be difficult at times for her and be praying for those she meets...that their hearts may be open and encouraged by their conversations with her. Here are some other things to pray for:

Brokenness among the people
Suicide  ( as we have had our prayer walks in the last couple weeks, we were encouraged to hear that the rates have lowered, so thank God for that)
Jamie and Kevin ( a couple of young college age students that are seeking a deeper relationship with God but have little support; pray they stay encouraged and for their growth, that they may encourage others)
Brenden and his house church...(that God may use him and encourage him).
Val & Bert (Strength, rest, perseverance)
Neve & her family (going through difficult time, I am helping her learn guitar, pray God would deepen our friendship)
Carrie & Colleen ( missionaries here helping Brenden in his church and involved in other areas of serving, they are in their mid-twenties, they are so amazing)
Laraye ( my dear friend who is here serving with me, pray for her to stay encouraged, for God to speak through her and for foot she injured this week to heal quickly, safe travels as she returns home next week).
For me ( strength, direction/revelation, focus, awareness of His guidance throughout my day). 


I will be updating you again soon...God bless you all...thank you again for much appreciated prayers. Ireland is in great need of them.

"You may choose to look the other way but you can not say again that you did not know." - William Wilberforce

You know that passion you have...that thing that just stirs and consumes the inside you like a child in the womb...that wonderful and powerful thing gets in your blood and sends a shock wave to your heart? Do you ever feel overwhelmed by it? Defeated? Powerless to take hold of the passion inside you to make a move. I know I do. There are days I wake up...and I wonder what the heck am I doing? Am I doing something that really makes a difference? Is it the thing I have always longed to be a part? I think we all face those questions and we feel stretched and perplexed as to the outcome of our daily endeavors. I know there are moments when I am seeking to encourage someone or offer them hope they can take hold of and I walk away wondering whether the conversations I am a part of have enough substance or leave a profound effect.


William Wilberforce inspires me with the angst he felt and the passion he had to do what was right. He couldn't be put into a box by the British parliament but endeavored to fight for freedom for those in captivity, with great opposition, yet God was on his side and he won after many years of battling. I am sure there were many moments when he questioned the immense call he had on his life or at least was overwhelmed by it and pondered, if perhaps, he may not see the fruit of his labor and valiant efforts in his own lifetime. But he never gave up. He fought for what was right with the strength and the gift the Lord had given him, that gift was an ability to speak in a way that moved, engaged, and shook people to their core and over time altered history and changed lives. 
Philippians 4:13 says," I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." On days like today though I feel powerless, I cannot live by how I feel. I reminded that it is Christ at work within me that gives strength every day of my life to do whatever it is I am designed to do and be. I am only one person, one vessel, yet Christ is in me and He gives me the passion and ability to do what pleases Him. Whether I see the fruit of my labor is not what is important. But living a life that glorifies Him, is true worship...that is worshiping in spirit and truth. Showing love and being love to hurting people. In the simplicities of this life and the conversations we have, how we react speaks rather loudly.  I know I won't always say the right thing, none one of us do, but I pray that it would be my purpose to be light and love so people may see Jesus and find the hope they truly long for.
So my encouragement today is to not give up...to trust God and ask for His strength in your daily endeavors as you pursue your deep core shaken passions...its only then that we can make the difference that matters. Embrace who you already are. Writer John Eldredge says what we need are more people who come alive...those are the ones who change the world. The more we know ourselves, the more we can impact others and hear the voices crying for change in the distance. Let us walk in who we already are and embrace the gifts God in strategically placed within each one of us....just like Wilberforce did.  


"I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength." -Phil. 4:13

 "It is a sad fate for a man to die too well known to everybody else, and still unknown to himself." - Francis Bacon

Sipping my Irish coffee..about to collect myself into a bundle of blankets and find neverland. Long day. But a splendid one. Being here in this breathtaking land is a dream really. I have dreamed of it time and time again and to be here feels surreal at times. Yet here I am. The house I am staying in overlooks wilderness and lush green farmland...stoney houses and stone road rails and a gorgeous cliff hugs the sea a few miles from the house I am residing. The place is Ballycastle, County Mayo. Beautiful is a word that barely compares to it yet the lands are singing a song...and its a melancholy one. This is a homeland of great beauty yet great loss...great sadness. The suicide rates are higher here and Finland than in any other countries in Europe to give you a little perspective. A lot of it lies in history, false religiosity, and darkness. Not to be a debbie downer but I think its good for us to be educated on the reality of whats happening in our world and how we can pray more accurately.  
The loving Irish couple I am staying with, Bert & Val, have a prayer ministry and have been spending a lot of their time sharing the love of Christ and hospitality with the people here. They have people come stay with them, they visit the few churches that there are, which is few and small in congregation with youth being very few. They support the local pastors, and work to build relationships with the Western Irish locals and pray on behalf of Ireland's deep need for change. I am learning so much from them and being stretched in ways the Lord longs to grow me. This first week has been all about settling in, learning history and meeting people, getting to know Bert and Val, getting to know more about myself and getting plugged into a daily routine.
This past week, I have met some very broken people. To name a few... Cormac, an Irish young man rolling his cigarette at the local coffeeshop, previously heavy into drugs; Luke, an enduring and kind handicapped man who was interested in the prayer table we, my two friends and I, had set up today at the college, and the family down the road from me...especially the children...going through a difficult time, parents are separated. Looking at the Gospel of Matthew 25..The Lord is teaching me and stretching me...that how I treat the least of these is how I am treating Him...and what I don't do for them, I am not doing for him. Wow, what a lesson. It can be challenging for me. This means the ones who aren't always easy to love as well. Sure, we meet people of all walks of life, everyday. They may even be someone we think we know well. Do we really see them? Hear their voice? They have a voice...they have a story...we all have a story.
So why am I here? Because I just want to follow...whether its its Grand Rapids, Ireland, Russia or a friend in need...I want to be there where God leads me to show them a glimpse of what He looks like, the best I know how. God's heart bleeds for those who are broken and He longs for them to truly know His heart.
So please pray for Ireland...for an awakening to happen and for people to find the healing they are truly seeking. In Grand Rapids and Hastings we have churches on every corner almost but here, in county Mayo anyway, there's not much especially for youth.  Also, pray for me, my friend Laraye and Val & Bert. We need strength, compassion and rest.
Proverbs 31:8-9 says "Speak up for those who can't speak for themselves...speak up for the poor and helpless and see that they get justice.." Let us hear the lands singing a battle cry...let us awaken to the sound of the need wherever we are today...I pray you are blessed my friends. Thank you for your prayers...