Weekend Traveling: Malahide Castle

Hello Everyone!

Friday was a good day of hard work at Charleville! I helped out more in the office today, updating lists of people who made donations to IOI in the month of June. God has provided in so many ways for IOI, and it's exciting to see answered prayers for funding at Haven of Hope etc.

I didn't have any obligations in the evening so I went on a long walk in the area. I left Dalkey and walked down along the water up to the next town of Dun Loaghaire. I took a trip to the EuroSpar also (a nicer version of 7-11) to see things in there too.

Today we (The Cromptons, Brian Johnson, and myself) took the DART (also a nicer version of SEPTA) to the town of Malahide, which is about 45 minutes away. Besides having a very nice downtown area, Malahide boasts the famous Malahide Castle, with original parts dating back to 1190 A.D.!!! The castle was inhabited by the Talbot family line for over 800 years, with the last surviving family member passing away in 1975. Although photography wasn't permitted inside the castle, I was able to get beautiful photos of the outside. We ate lunch in town, and stopped at a really cool playground too. It was nice to have Brian around to answer all the questions I had (he has lived here for a while, but is originally from Texas) and the kids loved going out too. I loved seeing such a historical part of Ireland, especially since the buildings we have in the states aren't nearly as old!

Tomorrow we have church at Fairview Hall at 9am. They observe communion every Sunday, and then have a "Family Bible Hour" with more worship and an extended sermon. Fairview Hall is really close to Dublin, so in the afternoon we'll head into the city for some sightseeing! St. Patrick's Cathedral (The oldest Catholic church in the country), Christ's Church (The oldest Protestant Church), and a few other things.

Please be in prayer for:

---A restful weekend before a busy week! Jim Gillette (the founder of IOI / the guy in charge of everything at Charleville) is traveling to the states for a conference on Tuesday, so lots of things have to be ready before he leaves so that while he is gone everything will go smoothly

---The Crompton family and the kids (Daniel, Matthew, and Lizzy) for their continuing adjustment to life in Ireland and a new culture

LOVE LOVE LOVE

Em

P.S. Still working on adding pictures...

Day #3

Hi Everyone!

It's a beautiful day in Ireland! I woke up on time this morning, but no exploring because it was pouring rain. Then we had our prayer meeting. IOI started a school and medical clinic in Nigeria called Haven of Hope, and we spend a lot of time praying for the work that happens over there. They are in the process of purchasing a new Jeep for the clinic to use, and cars like that equipped for off-roading and the like are apparently pretty expensive, even new. It's exciting to hear about how much is accomplished through Haven of Hope!

After the prayer meeting, I started cleaning out the second kitchen for the team coming on July 14th. I washed out two refrigerators and cleaned out under sinks and inside ovens and microwaves. Thursday is laundry day for everyone in Charleville, so I helped out with that too. Laundry is easy at home when it's just my clothes, but laundry for 15 is time-consuming! After lunch, it was a total 180 change from the morning weather (apparently this is typical) so I walked to the bank (5 mins away) to exchange my US dollars for Euros, and stopped to take some pictures of the beautiful houses and the center of Dalkey. Part of my afternoon work is to watch my aunt and uncle's kids while they work in the office, so we went outside and played soccer (excuse me...football) so that was fun. I had plans to go explore more of town tonight but I was asked to watch the kids while all the adults go to a business meeting at Fairview Hall. Maybe tomorrow? We'll see!

My work in Ireland is different than most of what I did in Kenya 2 years ago. My role at IOI is really support for the missionaries who live and work here full-time. Less handing out food/relief work or direct street evangelism. It's an adjustment for me, and I must confess it's difficult to be joyful about scrubbing out a dirty old sink, but I need to remember that the full-time workers are often too busy to do these kinds of little things, so I really am helping out in a big way.

Things you could pray for:

---My continued willingness to serve wherever I am asked, no matter how small the job

---Haven of Hope in Nigeria

-the safety and health of their workers

-funds for the new vehicle

---Fairview Hall (the local church) and their continued ministry in Dalkey, Ireland

LOVE LOVE LOVE

Em

Hello from Ireland!

Hello Everyone!

It's the end of my second day here in Dalkey (9.6 miles from the center of Dublin) and things are going well! Praise God for a quick and safe flight (my parents are still away on a trip, and they left before I did so I was a bit nervous about that) and I found my way around the airport by myself pretty well! I arrived at 9 in the morning in Ireland and was greeted at the airport by Brian Johnson (a younger guys who lives here at Ireland Outreach International---IOI with his wife Rachel, 2 1/2 year old daughter Selah, and a baby due in two weeks!) We drove (on the wrong side of the road!) to Charleville, the headquarters of IOI. They name all their buildings here! Dalkey is situated right on the coast, so the harbour and boats are beautiful! I met up with my friends Dan and Beth Crompton and their kids Daniel (8), Matthew (6), and Lizzy (4), who moved to serve the Lord with IOI full-time 3 weeks ago! They live on the second floor of an apartment building next door to Charleville. (By the way, I wish I could show photos, but I don't have a way to get them on the computer---yet!) I'm learning about what my jobs will be to support IOI in their ministry, but I'm already starting to feel like they will be very practical things to help make their jobs easier. Everyone is preparing for a team from the States to come the day after I leave to help build a shed for IOI on the property, so I'll be cleaning and stuff to get things ready for them!

Tonight (Wednesday) we went to their church (Fairview Hall) for the mid-week prayer meeting. It's a lot different from HBC and other American churches, so tiny! Only space for about 40 people max, and there were only about 20 at the meeting. They call their churches Brethren Fellowships and they're pretty conservative, women wear head coverings and music is a piano and a hymn book with just words. But it was encouraging to hear the fervent prayer for all aspects of the church and the local believers.

One funny anecdote before I leave you for tonight! There is an alarm clock in my room that I set on Tuesday night to wake me up this morning. At 8:40 in the mornings there is a prayer meeting for everyone in Charleville before work starts. So I set my clock for 7, to allow time to go running by the docks and get ready. But I forgot that I was in Europe and didn't take into account that they do things on a 24 hour schedule instead of a 12! So my clock never went off and if my Aunt Beth didn't come knock on my door at 8:30, I certainly would have missed the prayer meeting! So I had my walk of shame into the meeting late, and everyone had a laugh over the silly American who operates on a 12 hour schedule :)

Here are some things you could be praying for:

---My willingness to serve in any way I can, regardless of how small I may perceive the task to be!

---Safety for the workers and the property (Harbour Rd, where Charleville is, is one of the wealthiest areas in Ireland, but is also right next to areas of relative poverty. Lots of breakins and the like occur when people enter the neighborhood from other areas of the city)

Thank you so much for your prayers! I didn't have a ton of time to explain everything now, but feel free to ask questions you might have about my routine or IOI that I can answer :)

LOVE LOVE LOVE

Em