Winding Down - Ramping Up

Celtic News 2019.05.27

Last newsletter from Ireland is the plan as I sit in morning sun enjoying the “big sky” visible from our perch in our apartment. We have started the wind down process saying “till we meet next time” to many new friendships that have been established these last two months. In my other trips in life I have always longed to return home. This has been quite interesting to ponder as we have begun potentially lifelong relationships in Ireland that will require extra effort to maintain from afar. We, as humans, are quite often not proficient at maintaining relationships that are not conveniently within the bounds of our regular circles of contact.

A tidbit of tourist interest. This past Saturday we traveled to Cork to see a bit of the “big city”. Roughly 415,000 population with a very pedestrian friendly downtown core that is pedestrian centric with lots of retail and eateries. We then traveled to west County Cork, “I know, it can be confusing,” to Drombeg Stone Circle. An ancient site older then the Great Pyramids and Stonehenge. The information stated that buried remains excavated were from 1200 BC to 800 BC. The stone slabs set in a vertical orientation were positioned such that the sun during winter solstice aligned similar to a gun sight. On our travels homeward, we had a flat on a rural backcountry road. God had His hand in it by allowing us to make it to a level driveway before the tire was completely flat and that the spare was intact and all tools necessary to change the tire were on board. Linda saved the day by finding and figuring out the little plastic tool that removed a pair of security covers on the lug nuts. I was looking for the more traditional lug adapter which for this car didn’t exist. Question. Be honest. Do any of you check the spare when you rent a car?

Oh, Happy Memorial Day to all Americans. It is just a regular Monday here. In Ireland, like the US, once the weather warms many of the cemeteries see an uptick in care and sprucing up. My understanding is “Cemetery Sunday” happens annually parish by parish during the summer months and includes a special service to remember the dead. These services extend to rural cemeteries where the ancient church may no longer be standing, but people gather to remember the dead.

This past Sunday we returned to Living Rock Church to see folks there and were given the opportunity to speak to the congregation. In addition to expressing thanks, we spoke about the importance to question if God wants us to be comfortable week after week, or to upset that by meeting with others during the week, to venture to other congregations to expand our circle of believers and to add regular contact with believers in a smaller setting. Above all, if you don’t remember sharing your faith with someone, do you think THAT is what God intended for your life?

Thursday we travel to Dorchester, England to visit family there. We have seen God in so many people this trip. We seek to know what His plans for us are. We get glimpses and see many areas of potential but desire to fine tune our future with Ireland. We look forward to sharing our experience with you over the coming months. I would ask that you be praying that the Holy Spirit reveal to you how Ireland may fit in your own lives either in regular prayer, financial support, or joining a short term missions group for Summer of ’20.

Love in Christ,  Tom and Linda