Belfast - dinner - goodbyes

"we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God, but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us."

1 Thessalonians 2:8

This verse, which Ryan put in our Kitty's Road wrap-up video/slideshow, applies both to the communities of Atticall and Kitty's Road and also to our Northern Irish brothers and sisters on this outreach team. When I saw this verse come up on the screen, captioning footage of a game of Lightning out at Kitty's Road, my heart felt like bursting out of my chest. This is totally what has been happening all around the board during these past two weeks. Praise God.

The outreach team spent our last day up in Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland. It's a lovely city with a lot of history and we enjoyed exploring shops, cafes, alleys, and city landmarks, to the echoing soundtrack of street musicians and Irish voices.

This evening the team gathered with our host families in the Church Hall for a meal. It was a fittingly moving time of retrospection, gratitude to the many folks to whom it is due, and rejoicing in all God has done. As Rev. Stephen of Kilkeel Presbyterian emphasized, God is doing a work here. We see it. We testify to it. We glorify Him for it and thank Him for including us, and we thank you for your irreplaceable part in it as supporters and pray-ers.

Then, of course, we turned to goodbyes, some of which will be re-enacted tomorrow morning in the dusky pre-dawn before we head for the airport. As you know, this outreach is a really special time of nearness to God and to our beloved fellow believers, and the least fun part is saying goodbye. We'd appreciate your prayers as we do so. If you think of us around 10 p.m. central time tonight (4 a.m. our time), ask God to give us hearts full of gratitude--that our sadness would be a godly sadness that reflects Jesus's perfect beauty and perfect sufficiency rather than expressing selfishness. Thanks for coming on this adventure with us!

From Him, through Him, and to Him are all things.