Back from Wexford ...

It's Monday evening, and, no, we're not home in Moody. (That was an error -- my days are somewhat confused.)

The prayer trip to Wexford with the MAP team and its apprentices was really good. Stayed in a little cottage that was a nice walk from the sea. (Took pictures of the beach, kids -- unlike other beaches, it was sprinkled with large, smooth stones instead of shells.)

It was good to spend time with the apprentices -- three girls (two Beckas and Carmel) who are all just out of college and amazingly committed to the gospel.

A highlight of the trip was dinner with an Irish pastor and his wife (Mic and Bernie -- probably not spelling that correctly). Their story of coming to faith 25 years ago was moving, exciting, unusual. Now, he pastors a church of about 50 which is seeking to plant another church in a neighboring community. We worshipped at his church on Sunday, and met believers from New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa. Steven especially appreciated the sermon -- thought it was very good. (Apparently, Mic loves to listen to Keller sermons.) After church and lunch, we walked around the city in groups of two or three and prayed for the city -- anything that came to mind as we walked, eyes opened, as if we were just talking to one another. It was special and powerful. (This is something the MAP team is committed to doing several times a year for the churches it partners with and their communities.

Today, we took a great trip through the countryside back to our little town of Dalkey. We catch a bus in the morning for the airport.

I've really spent most of the time in these posts giving a run-down about what we're doing. Not really a whole lot about our reaction to it all. But two things for now:

1. The prayers that we would be able to come free to be ourselves and not feeling pressure to perform or meet expectations have been answered in a big way. Conversations have been good and open. The nature of our visit, on top of all the cultural differences and newness of everything, could have been very stressful. But, actually, in the midst of heavy conversations and deep soul-searching, it has been surprisingly stress-free.

2. There's no way anyone could come away from this experience without being changed.

A little Irish lingo
lorry -- truck
biscuits -- cookies
take-away -- to go (as in to-go food)
car park -- parking lot
prawn -- shrimp
lemonade -- lemon-lime soda

That's all for now. Pray for the plane trip home, and see you soon.

Love you, kids.

Mom/Laura and Dad/G