Team Ireland Expansion Pack, Entry 3
I love my job.
One more time, for emphasis: I...
...LOVE...
...my job.
Okay, sure. Today started off with a child protection seminar. It was all good & necessary information. But, no matter how you slice it, a seminar is a seminar.
Then we broke for coffee and some more cage soccer (see Facebook) in which Charlie led Team USA to a victory against Italy, 3-2. The soccer world may never be the same.
Followed by a few hours roaming around Belfast...in which most of you reading this will likely be getting some souvenirs from so I won't spoil the surprise. What I will tell you is that one of you WILL NOT be getting a Guinness Beer glass, which was dropped on the bus apparently. My guess is you'll be getting something else. Shame. It was a REALLY good glass, too.
Then we went to our 2nd dinner at The Seasons restaurant. Again, the owner and his wife closed their restaurant to the public and fed the entire Project 32 team...tonight it was a choice of lasagna or Chicken Tikki, but you didn't have to go either/or on the deal. You could go both/and, and followed it up with a parfait. Last night it was Pavlova. Google that and make the recipe. You won't regret that.
Afterward the team went to a very special event at City Church Belfast where we were commissioned. The worship was honest, and prayers were offered for the leaders/teams/cities we're going to. Parents and friends of all the local people who are involved in Project 32 were there to support the mission. I even got to greet the congregation on behalf of Crossroads--it was a pleasure to represent a congregation that wants us to be here.
And, yes, that is one of the parts I love.
But here we are.
Some 9 months after this idea came about to send a team of students on an 8.5 hour plane ride to tell people about Jesus in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland...
...money has been raised.
...team member applications have been screened and members chosen.
...prayers have transpired on both sides of the ocean.
...and the team arrived and has been trained.
...and the team has now been commissioned.
Vanessa, Cheri & Nicole are off to Nenagh Baptist Church in Tipperary, Republic of Ireland.
Charlie, Macy and Kathleen are off to Gorey Methodist Church in Wexford.
Parker & Lauren are off to Enniskillen YFC.
Ryan & Elli are off to serve the churches in Garvagh in County Londonderry (truth be told, this is going to be one in a city I'd really love to spend a week in in North Ireland).
Me, Sue, Justin & Grayson are off to Dungannon YFC.
Each team has different ministries involving everything from children's vacation Bible schools to nursing homes to teen clubs to serving churches and prayer ministries.
(as an aside, now that all the team members are scattered for the next 8 days, they're on their own for Facebook updates and such...so tune in. I'll have access to the Internet for my team, but not all will, and so all my entries will be from my own perspective. So make sure to check their pages and such--they were told to update as often as possible!)
Yes.
I feel confident that God will be at work through the teams as they work with international teams from France, Italy, Canada, Ireland & Northern Ireland. And yes, that's another of the reasons I love my job.
But I just had a conversation with one of our teens.
She told me she felt like God has erased the whiteboard of plans she had drawn up for her life.
She told me that she felt like, for the first time, she was going to hand God the marker and let him draw what He wants on it.
She told me that it might look like the one she drew up. It might not. But she was sure she wanted Him to do the writing, and she wasn't going to put a lot of pressure on herself to figure it all out right now.
She told me that she was going to enjoy simply knowing that God was up to something in her life and that she has time to see what that looks like...but she didn't want to miss what He has for her today.
What she didn't know is that she was reminding me of why--
--exactly--
--that I truly love my job.
It's what He does IN my kids, moreso that through them, that reminds me He's at work and all I have to do is water and plant.
He'll grow them.
And manalive is it beautifully terrifying to watch.
I love my job.
One more time, for emphasis: I...
...LOVE...
...my job.
Okay, sure. Today started off with a child protection seminar. It was all good & necessary information. But, no matter how you slice it, a seminar is a seminar.
Then we broke for coffee and some more cage soccer (see Facebook) in which Charlie led Team USA to a victory against Italy, 3-2. The soccer world may never be the same.
Followed by a few hours roaming around Belfast...in which most of you reading this will likely be getting some souvenirs from so I won't spoil the surprise. What I will tell you is that one of you WILL NOT be getting a Guinness Beer glass, which was dropped on the bus apparently. My guess is you'll be getting something else. Shame. It was a REALLY good glass, too.
Then we went to our 2nd dinner at The Seasons restaurant. Again, the owner and his wife closed their restaurant to the public and fed the entire Project 32 team...tonight it was a choice of lasagna or Chicken Tikki, but you didn't have to go either/or on the deal. You could go both/and, and followed it up with a parfait. Last night it was Pavlova. Google that and make the recipe. You won't regret that.
Afterward the team went to a very special event at City Church Belfast where we were commissioned. The worship was honest, and prayers were offered for the leaders/teams/cities we're going to. Parents and friends of all the local people who are involved in Project 32 were there to support the mission. I even got to greet the congregation on behalf of Crossroads--it was a pleasure to represent a congregation that wants us to be here.
And, yes, that is one of the parts I love.
But here we are.
Some 9 months after this idea came about to send a team of students on an 8.5 hour plane ride to tell people about Jesus in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland...
...money has been raised.
...team member applications have been screened and members chosen.
...prayers have transpired on both sides of the ocean.
...and the team arrived and has been trained.
...and the team has now been commissioned.
Vanessa, Cheri & Nicole are off to Nenagh Baptist Church in Tipperary, Republic of Ireland.
Charlie, Macy and Kathleen are off to Gorey Methodist Church in Wexford.
Parker & Lauren are off to Enniskillen YFC.
Ryan & Elli are off to serve the churches in Garvagh in County Londonderry (truth be told, this is going to be one in a city I'd really love to spend a week in in North Ireland).
Me, Sue, Justin & Grayson are off to Dungannon YFC.
Each team has different ministries involving everything from children's vacation Bible schools to nursing homes to teen clubs to serving churches and prayer ministries.
(as an aside, now that all the team members are scattered for the next 8 days, they're on their own for Facebook updates and such...so tune in. I'll have access to the Internet for my team, but not all will, and so all my entries will be from my own perspective. So make sure to check their pages and such--they were told to update as often as possible!)
Yes.
I feel confident that God will be at work through the teams as they work with international teams from France, Italy, Canada, Ireland & Northern Ireland. And yes, that's another of the reasons I love my job.
But I just had a conversation with one of our teens.
She told me she felt like God has erased the whiteboard of plans she had drawn up for her life.
She told me that she felt like, for the first time, she was going to hand God the marker and let him draw what He wants on it.
She told me that it might look like the one she drew up. It might not. But she was sure she wanted Him to do the writing, and she wasn't going to put a lot of pressure on herself to figure it all out right now.
She told me that she was going to enjoy simply knowing that God was up to something in her life and that she has time to see what that looks like...but she didn't want to miss what He has for her today.
What she didn't know is that she was reminding me of why--
--exactly--
--that I truly love my job.
It's what He does IN my kids, moreso that through them, that reminds me He's at work and all I have to do is water and plant.
He'll grow them.
And manalive is it beautifully terrifying to watch.
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1 Comments:
You can go to Target and buy a four-pack of Guinness glasses for like $20 or so. Rip'em out of the pack and hand'em out, no one's the wiser.
But I want the real thing. 8^)
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