in which we venture into the communities

Today felt like about four days in one. Both the Kitty's Road and Attical teams spent their first day in these communities. Just a few brief updates as it's late and we've got an early morning tomorrow:
-Attical in particular faced a challenge in that the community had, due to a miscommunication, arranged for their own evening program for the week--a talk on a secular approach to Protestant-Catholic peacemaking. The Northern Irish leaders of our Attical team were able to negotiate such that our gospel-centered message was proclaimed instead, as had been our plan. The team is encouraged by this, awkward and hostile as the mishap was, because it is a demonstration that God is fighting for us and for our ability to proclaim the gospel in this brief window of opportunity we have. Praise God with us for that answer to the prayers of the several Attical team members who were interceding as the discussion was taking place. Some folks did turn out and overall, the day was a good one.
-Kitty's Road was full to the brim with women and some men and their children of all ages, from a year-old infant to late teenagers. The community gathers multiple times a day as this is their Kitty's Road Festival Week, and it's a great grace that our team of Jesus-lovers are so welcomed to be a big part of it, organizing Bible-focused activities for the kids and leading a gospel-proclaiming evening session that almost everyone attended and paid careful attention to. It's only day one of official ministry, and even those of us for whom this is our first time on the trip are feeling connected and able to have good conversation with those we've met.

      Praise God for the love he's given us for those we're ministering to! As our Northern Irish leader Dave told us, "You won't find them hard to love." It's true.

      Both teams are tagging along to off-site activities that our respective communities have planned tomorrow: Attical to a murder mystery in a castle, and Kitty's Road to Tayto World (I think officially known as Tayto Park) outside of Dublin. We've heard conflicting stories about Tayto World, but I finally Googled it tonight and found that it is, in fact, an amusement park built off of the Tayto crisps company--a theme park whose theme is potato chips. We'll have a two-hour bus ride to the park, which is on the north side of Dublin, which should provide some excellent time to continue the relationships we've begun, as we hope to do the whole day.
       The thing with these activities is that it means we're losing a day of our programming. Pray that we'll be able to love truly and witness faithfully to Jesus as we just spend time with these folks.

An encouragement from Jeremiah 46: " 'But fear not, O Jacob my servant, nor be dismayed, O Israel, for behold, I will save you from far away, and your offspring from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease, and none shall make him afraid. Fear not, O Jacob my servant, declares the LORD, for I am with you."

Rejoicing that he is with us!