New Kid in Town

I can not believe that I've been in Ballymena, North Ireland now 2 weeks! Totally insane to me!

I'm living at the manse for the moment with the minister I'm working  for. Before I introduce the McNeely's, let me explain what the manse is. The manse is the house the minister and his family lives in. Normally it's literally right next to the church, sometimes it's actually a little way away. In the case of Ballykeel, it's right next to (as in slightly behind). Ok, so now that we have to first question taken care of, let me introduce the McNeely's. Marty, the minister that I'm working for, and his wife Julie, have 2 children, Joshua (12) and Martha (8). Fantastic family! So so gracious! They are not only housing me and feeding me and just taking care of me as I adjust to a new culture, etc. They have also taken in my Serge team leader, Bruce, for 6 months. So, family of 4, suddenly transformed to a family of 6! (2 of them American...). 

I feel like my thoughts and thus this post are going to be a bit all over the place, just because I feel like there is so much to tell! So I'm sorry for any of you English majors out there if the flow of this doesn't make any sense. 

The first couple days here were reversing everything I did my last couple days in the states. That was weird. For example, my visa. I went through this whole long process to get a UK visa, upon getting here, I got to actually go and get said visa. My phone too. Getting that all taken care of in the States, then going through that whole process again here. The last really crazy reversal was all the good-byes I said in the states... I'm now saying "hello"! 

Note on the visa thing. I am, officially, the first Serge missionary  in North Ireland, (with a North Ireland UK visa). Always wanted to make history... done! 

I'm also the only American apprentice with Serge in Ireland to be able to drive! Yep, I get to drive a little purple Nissan bubble car!! Marty keeps apologizing for how old it is, it's color... says it'll keep me humble. I however am excited about it! (Super easy to find on the car park!) I'm learning how to drive on the left side of the road, that's fun. But thankfully the car is automatic, so I only have one thing to learn, not 2! Also learning how to do round abouts. Which, naturally is loads of fun!

I guess the question you might be asking now is why on earth do I need a car? Ballymena (where I'm living) and it's surrounding towns, are a bit like Huntsville (where I'm from), yeah, sure there's public transportation... but it's just not very practical. People live too far away, or too close... a car just makes sense! So there you go. 

So, what is Ballymena like? Well... honestly, not my first choice, if I'd been given one. Thankfully, I was not given that choice. It's funny actually, people have such an idea of Ireland... must be nice to go there! Wouldn't we all like to go there? "Mission trip" Don't they have the religion thing down there? But when I first got here, I was a little taken aback by it. Ballykeel is a lower income estate  (neighborhood), working/middle class, government housing.... These people know life. If I did't know for a fact this was where God wanted me, I'd wonder if this was really where I was supposed to be, am I really the girl for this place? 

From the little I've gotten to experience of the church, I'm amazed by the healthy variety of people that walk through it's doors. It's crazy to me the number of generations in the church! You can have 3 generations, and with that siblings and cousins and in-laws... a bit confusing when you discover that half the church is actually related to itself (ok, exaggeration!)!

As they (Marty and Bruce) have been just letting me get my feet back under me and figure out life here in Ireland. I've gotten to do a lot of running. Through that God had shown me Himself in Ireland, by allowing me the chance to just, literally, get lost. Last week, I was supposed to just go for a 6 mile run.... Been doing 4 miles, time to spruce it up a bit... 15 miles later! It was such incredible! The rolling hills (let me remind you, I was running, meaning the "up" part of those "rolling" hills, not fun!), country roads, pastures, cows, sheep... Slemish off in the distance, clear skies.... When I was support raising, my spiritual mentor, Mama Murph, while spending a holiday in the UK, encouraged me with this verse: "For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills." PS 50.10, and here I was just a couple months later... seeing God's cattle upon a thousand hill!

There was my little Ah-ha moment, as Ken Leggett would say. 

Every other Wednesday is apprentice team day with my fellow Serge apprentices. This past Wednesday was just such Wednesday, which means I got to spend a couple days down south in the big city of Dublin. It was fun. I had this fear going into it of the trains and.... And like most things that get over thought out, it was grand! No hitches! I have to say though, for as much fun as I had, I was glad to be back in the North, back in Ballymena. (Just not meant to be a city girl). So, in conclusion of that thought I started ages ago, I am so thankful that God's ways are not my ways, nor His thoughts my thoughts. And that, as with Ruth, He can change my heart. Teach me to love a people I would not naturally love on my own. 

Every other Sunday evening is a thing call Youth Fellowship, YF. For youth 11 to 18. I will be participating in that, and hopefully during the week getting together with some of the girls, for one-on-one time. Monday evening's are Good News Club, for children 4 to 10. Which I will also be helping with. Tuesday's I'm hoping to be able to volunteer at a Salvation Army resell store, here in Ballymena. Thursday's are going to be find me in Belfast for a couple of days of big city ministry. Ministry Thursday will be ministering to Somalian refugees, teaching them English. Then on Friday nights I'm going to be part a ministry called Nightlight, basically ministering to drunks out on the streets of Belfast. Just offering them a cup of tea/coffee, being there for them as they wretch, witnessing to them just by loving them.

If you've stuck with me thus far in this post, thank you! I'm done now. 

Final Thoughts on Fundraising

I was going to be so good and write every month at least! Ha! Three months later….. Summer was crazy, as I’m sure is the case for most people. I just honestly couldn’t be bothered to slow down and write more than a very short update email maybe twice in those summer months. 

I was though going to write about the garage sale my parents did as a fundraiser for me, and how really amazing that was. Like for example these neighbors I met for the first time, that bought our canoe from us, and the total God moment that inspired when they found out all the money made from the garage sale was going to getting me to Ireland. 

Or I was going to write about….. I can't even remember, but I'm sure it was going to be profound! That's what I get for not blogging. 

I didn’t even bother to write about actually making 100% with both my one time and also with my monthly. (Kind of a big deal!) The really amazing part with that was my deadline for reaching 100% with my monthly was August 1st. I was like at 98%… not there, but close enough that I wasn’t worried about not being able to leave the 1st of September. I happened to be talking to my brother the evening of the 1st, and he asked where I was support wise, I told him I was about $40 a month from reaching my goal. He immediately responded that he could do that. 100% on the 1st!! Someone once encouraged me with “God loves a cliff hanger”. Seriously, it’s true. 

The past 3 months I think have been my favorite months of the support raising journey. The first month, June, was working through why God had not opened the door for me to go to Ireland by June 1. Then figuring out what I was supposed to be doing for the summer. And struggling with would I even make the new support deadline in 3 months! But the end of June, beginning of July I’d really gotten in the swing of support raising, close enough that it was easier to tell (/ask) people “Just 8 people at $100/month!” then “just 8 people at $50/month!” 

About the beginning of June, I started officially transitioning out of my church's youth group that I had been heavily involved in for the past 3 years. Strangely during those months of weaning off of youth ministry I got totally sucked into volunteering at Manna House (a soup kitchen/ clothing closet/ who knows what else) and into rowing! I also learned how to swing dance! 

Confession, by the middle of July when I started closing in on my deadline, I started freaking out a little about what if I didn’t want to actually go?! What was so wrong with staying in Huntsville? Living a normal life…. Then just as strangely as that was; by the middle of August, I was totally ready to go! Had checked out, mentally. Packing my room, I thought I’d get super emotional and sentimental. I was so excited!! I’ve seen all 4 of my siblings leave. Every fall, all these college freshman leave…. Finally it’s my turn to leave!! Through the whole crazy month of August of wrapping things up, talking to the bank, talking to the insurance, getting a will and a POA, going to the doctor’s, getting a new laptop and figuring out my phone situation, I was never once stressed! Someone explained to me that was called peace. As soon as she said that I realized that was exactly what it was! I can’t really explain it, this peace that surpasses all understanding just engulfing me! Knowing this was exactly where God wanted me, doing exactly what He wanted me to be doing. With that came such joy!! I was probably the most annoying person to be around that last month. Beaming like an idiot! Almost literally almost bouncing off the walls! 

Final reflection on support raising. Even though my goal was to reach 100% by the 1st of May, and I did all that I could, and still didn't  make it. With that came confusion. But then when I did make it, it was very obvious that it was God’s timing, and His timing is perfect! His plans are not mans plans, His ways, not mans ways….