Category: N.Ireland Mission Trip (Page 1 of 2)

(Two years ago this month, I went on my first mission trip. Our Sisterhood team spent a week in Craigavon, assisting Celebration Church Northern Ireland.  I recorded our adventure as the official blogger for the team and the trip was indeed life-changing.  Recently I’ve been reflecting on my time there, and wanted to share some of our experience here, now that this space has been created).

June 28, 2014

Our last day in Ireland.

After awakening to the delicious aroma of breakfast cooking, we forgot any thought of tiredness and clamored downstairs to find the source of that enticing scent.  We discovered that we were being given the privilege of experiencing an Ulster Fry—a traditional Irish breakfast consisting of sausage, Irish bacon, potatoes, pancakes, bread and eggs.   Whew.  It was simply delicious.

Afterwards, we somehow managed to dismiss ourselves from the dining area and make our way to the meeting room for our morning devo and get our plan for the day.

The group was to be split. Three team members were to stay on the grounds and assist Pastor Rachel for the day.  They helped her with child care, accompanied her on errands to serve the community, and spent time ministering to her personally. According to one of them, it was a beautiful morning of slowing down, being quiet, and allowing the Holy Spirit to lift and encourage.

The remaining nine of us loaded into the van and started for our assignment of the day.  We were going into Southern Ireland for our outreach.  After almost 2 hours of driving, we found ourselves in the parking lot of what appeared to be a warehouse district.  As we climbed out one by one, we were met by a little bundle of energy and love we came to know as Pastor Kim.  She greeted us with a hug and a smile that never dimmed the entire day.  And then she led us through the Open Door.  Literally.

As we gathered around the table sporting various breads and jams, we listened intently for the next hour as she told her story.  She spoke of being called to the mission field, and how many years ago she had the vision that is coming to fruition only now.  She shared her many years of trials and anonymity before being allowed the privilege of opening the door of Open Door.  Some of us had tears as she spoke, seemingly telling our story instead of hers.  Many of us find ourselves in a season of trial which can allow for doubt to creep in.  Her testimony of endurance and perseverance was  lesson for us all.

Kim told us that in her home, she has a set of stairs. Near the bottom, the stairway curves, so that the last step is unseen from the top.  She said that for years, she has sat on the bottom stair to get alone with God.  She goes to her secret place, unseen, and prays for wisdom and direction.

I believe we should all have a bottom stair.  For the bottom stair is the first step to the next level.

The Open Door Christian Centre is a church for the un-churched. The people who find their way here come from various cultures and backgrounds.  Many have never experienced church before, or they had grown up with tradition and rules and have become distant through the years.

They discover here that it is not about religion; it is about a relationship with Jesus.

Our job today was to assist with general housekeeping of God’s house.  We were honored to be asked, and we dove right in.  We washed dishes, dusted bookshelves, vacuumed, and cleaned the restroom.  We wiped down furniture and walls.  Nilda and Tess walked through the sanctuary, and put hands on each and every chair, praying for those that would one day be sitting there.

After a while, Kim pointed to an opening high on the wall at the back of the sanctuary. The building has a loft, and she and Pastor Moba dream of one day making that area the children’s section.  Trouble is, there is no way to get there.  There are no stairs.  The only way to reach the loft is by ladder, and so Pastor Moba maneuvered the large device and extended it to the loft.  While a couple of us held the ladder steady, several of our team members climbed up the steep incline and crawled through the opening.

I asked Nilda if she was going to go up.  She is our sister that had such a fear of heights.  She took one look at that ladder perched precariously against the wall, and said, “No way.”  But then, she stopped, and grabbed my hand.  She said, “What am I afraid of? I walked across that rope bridge. I’m going up.”  And without so much as another hesitation, she climbed that ladder rung by rung, and made her way into the loft.

Our God is so amazing.

And so those team members, along with Pastor Moba prayed over the naked sheetrock and drywall, the dust and debris that will one day become a beautiful children’s area, clothed in rainbow colors and covered in love. It was a beautiful moment.

After several hours at the church, Pastors Kim and Moba took us to the thrift store that is operated by their ministry.  All items are donated and proceeds go to the church and its various outreaches.  We were asked to set up a display in the back room for an area dedicated to helping one young woman get to Mexico.  She had donated all of her belongings, and any monies collected were to help her to her destination.  We unpacked and cleaned and set up a nice area displaying her items.

When we were finished, we were treated to a lunch of buttered bread and sliced ham.  We were joined by a few locals who frequent the store daily about this time, as lunch is always provided.  We chatted with the “regulars” and then ended up gathered around Pastor Moba as he told us some of his story.

He is from Congo.  He has been in Ireland for 11 years, and has such a heart for the people here, while still yearning for peace and presence in his homeland.  We sat mesmerized as he spoke, and when he had finished, we circled around him and prayed over him.  It was  very touching, and a memory we will carry with us forever.

We really loved our day.  Listening to the heart of Pastor Moba and the vision of Pastor Kim, we were inspired and moved.

You know, it’s kind of funny.  We went on this mission trip to reach out.

But in actuality, we’ve reached in.

(Two years ago this month, I went on my first mission trip. Our Sisterhood team spent a week in Craigavon, assisting Celebration Church Northern Ireland.  I recorded our adventure as the official blogger for the team and the trip was indeed life-changing.  Recently I’ve been reflecting on my time there, and wanted to share some of our experience here, now that this space has been created).

Monday morning found us tending to the garden.

The team house is a beautiful home located amid beautiful grounds with blooming flowers and luscious hills.  In the back, the yard gently slopes upward to a carefully planted and well maintained garden.  Many of us spent our morning devotional time sitting among the tender foliage, enjoying a moment with our sweet Savior as we breathed in fragrant perfume of flowers in bloom.  As I walked the pathways of the garden, I noticed the pristine flower beds and wondered at the lack of weeds growing.  There were a few stray strands here and there, but for the most part, the soil was free of undesirable vegetation.  For most of the week, I wondered how they were able to maintain the garden in such a way.

On Monday, I found out.

The weeding of the garden is very intentional. Every mission team that is housed on the property is assigned a few hours to mill around the garden and pull out the weeds. Our day was Monday. On hands and knees, with fingers in the dirt, we pulled out the things that could eventually choke the growth of the purposeful flowers. I m so grateful that this process is done routinely.  Had we been assigned to pull weeds from a garden that had not been tended for a long while, we would have been overwhelmed by the amount of work there would have been to do.  We would have wondered where to even start, and maybe even considered that our efforts would be for naught, so why even try.

As it was, this garden was maintained as we all should maintain our own–intentionally.  We should deal with weeds as they appear, and not let them sit in our soil unnoticed.  If we give them a opportunity to grow, they will choke out the beautiful flowers and the fruit-bearing plants.

Later that evening, we were getting ready to meet for our evening devotional.  We were approached by the young man who had escorted us to the graffiti bridge, who asked if he and his two friends could join us.  We were thrilled that they had asked. These three teenagers spend a lot of time at the team house, and we had all come to love them.  They have such energy and a great zeal for life. And considering their backgrounds, this is amazing.  Their lives were literally changed when they walked through the doors of Celebration Church Northern Ireland.

The fact that it was Lea’s turn to lead the devotional that night is just further proof of God’s perfect timing.  Those kids sat as we did, mesmerized by the wisdom and knowledge that poured forth from her.  They took notes. They asked questions.  They soaked it in as these 12 American ladies poured into them and showered them with love and affection.  We spoke words of affirmation over them. We let them know that we were proud of them.

That’s not something that they have gotten a lot of previously in life. When they left that meeting, they were walking a little taller. Their heads held a little higher.

It seems that Monday morning was not our only time to tend the garden.

We left those kids amidst hugs and tears.  We prayed over them, and will continue to lift them from across the ocean. We are incredibly humbled that God has given us the opportunity to plant a seed in each of their hearts.  And we will wait patiently, as God continues to grow and nourish them, guiding them into the man and the women he intended them to be.

“This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground.  Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.  All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.  As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.” –Mark 4:26-29

Seeds have been sown.

A harvest is coming.

(Two years ago this month, I went on my first mission trip. Our Sisterhood team spent a week in Craigavon, assisting Celebration Church Northern Ireland.  I recorded our adventure as the official blogger for the team and the trip was indeed life-changing.  Recently I’ve been reflecting on my time there, and wanted to share some of our experience here, now that this space has been created).

June 22, 2014

Tomorrow , like every other Sunday, we will attend Celebration Church.  Just in a slightly different location. Celebration Church Northern Ireland is a young church, having been established in 2010.  They don’t yet have a permanent building, so they are currently meeting at a community center’s gymnasium.

They are a mobile church.  The chairs have to be unstacked and set into place every Sunday morning.  Every piece of equipment, every speaker, wire, monitor, sound and light component  and even the lights themselves has to be loaded and driven to the church.

Then they have to be unloaded and set up.  And after the service is over, it all has to be done in reverse order.  Only to repeat the entire process the next week.  And the next.  And the next.

It is physically demanding.  It takes a team of hard working individuals with a heart for the church to successfully accomplish these things week after week.  Likewise for the ones who provide childcare, run the media station and lights.

And what do they get paid?  Absolutely nothing.  Not in dollars, anyway.

(Excuse me, I meant in pounds).

They are volunteers.  And like very other church, we couldn’t exist without them.

They serve.   And they do it well.  Week after week.

Today, it was our honor to serve the servers.

Our team hosted a Volunteer Appreciation Night here on the grounds this evening.  Pastor John gave us very few guidelines, and said to just make them feel special. I believe we did.

There are challenges to putting on an affair. A few more show up when you are hosting in a different culture.  We know how WE would like to do it, but more to the point is how would THEY like it done?  We may have a few  differences, but we have  more in common.

We serve, too.  And the mindset of one who serves is not, what I want– it is what can I do? How can I assist you?  We look for needs and we fill them.  Even when it’s inconvenient.  Especially on a mission trip.   The heart of a true servant is one who puts the needs of others before his own.

There was nothing inconvenient about today.  We simply asked questions to determine their likes and preferences.  And then we got busy.  Twelve women  quickly divided the tasks.   Some worked on decor, some worked on the more menial chores like vacuuming, dusting, and making the bathrooms shine.  Furniture needed to be moved and groceries needed to be purchased.

And there amidst the busy hum of housework, God gave me my big blessing of the day.

I was unable to blog the night before, and with today’s packed schedule, I wanted to make sure that I did not get further behind.  When the strategy meeting ended and everyone scattered to begin their tasks, I stopped our co-leader and  asked her if I could please have a couple of hours somewhere in the day to do the previous day’s blog.  She told me to go ahead and start writing. I balked, thinking how in the world I could sit and write while the rest of the team is working ?  I was concerned it would appear as though I was trying to avoid some hard work.  She said, “This is what you came here to do.”  And so I set up at the kitchen table and began to compose.

I am not sure how long I was there, but at some point, someone came behind me and wrapped her arms around me.  As she held me, I asked her  why she was doing this.

“Because I felt like you needed a hug.”

During the next couple of hours,  four other women got that same nudge.  And one by one they stopped by, unaware that others had done the same.

When we broke for lunch, I  told them how much their hugs had meant to me, and I admitted my earlier concerns of how it would look if I sat out during the hard stuff. Every woman at that table, whether she had embraced me or not,  told me that it was never even an issue.

That’s the heart of servanthood; it doesn’t matter what the other person is doing, you focus on the task you were assigned.  And that’s the heart of every woman sitting at that table today.  It was such a beautiful display of grace and teamwork. I am so honored that God chose these women to pour into  my life.

We are sisterhood.

After lunch there was again the hum of busyness, as we  transformed the house and property to resemble a carnival.  The team really did a phenomenal job of putting the event together.

As the guests began to arrive,  we were delighted to see their faces light up at the festive atmosphere.  There was food, games, and props, but mostly, there was love and appreciation for all their hard work and sacrifice .

They were the guests of honor, and it was an honor to serve them.