laundry

It's been three months

And it's still always an event doing laundry here

As much as I try
Each time something goes wrong

Jeans shrunk

A favorite sweatshirt turned pink

Trying the delicate setting
In hopes that it'll show favor

Not knowing that setting it to delicate

Would make hang drying impossible
Flooding the house with a surplus of puddles 

And putting these overly soggy clothes in the dryer 

Would make the whole kitchen steam up
'Cause the dryer seems to want to set the whole load on fire

Or realizing that after 30 minutes

Eggs were still not frying

Because who would have thought

I would have needed to turn on the main oven switch
before I turn on any stovetop

Or when I try to make chocolate chip cookies

Craving something from home

I realized that in Europe they measure things differently

And that converting the recipe from cups to grams can make for some

Real buttering thin burnt crisps

Real life stories
The differences here may be subtle
But the learning curve is growing

A couple weeks ago

I went with a team from OM

To help with a school program

For high school students

In hopes of sharing with them truth

One group in the morning
Another in the afternoon

13 and 14 years old
120 students

In the morning

I led a small group of 12 kids

So hyper

Asking so many questions

We played some games, had some talks
Aimed to be real, aimed to love

Pulled out my Bible to look up some verses

"Is that your Bible?"

Their faces were confused

They couldn’t believe that I had my own
With my name on it

That I dared to write in it

Because in their context, a Bible is only for the priest

It's hard to think that most of these students have never even held a Bible before

These students are not Americans
Or Canadians
These students are Irish
Coming from a different context
Get rid of the assumptions, Ell

The students took turns looking up different verses

Reading them out loud

It is a slow process 

But to have them read God’s words themselves

So cool

Trying to explain what it all means

Realizing that this was literally an open door
To share the gospel with these kids

God thank you

For some they don’t care

They’d rather know what Irish words I know

Or if I know how to play Gaelic football

Others sadly just leave

But there are some that just look at you like

what you’re telling them is everything

God only You know

You care about these kids more than anyone

This same day

Sharing my testimony with the whole group

I never thought that one day 

I’d be talking about my dad’s death

with 120 Irish high schoolers

In hopes of sharing with them

That even when life is in the pits

And it doesn’t make sense

Hope still remains

Seeing purpose in pain

I don’t know what’s going to happen with these students

But we need to be praying for them

So cool to see how there are opportunities to go to these schools
And these opportunities are multiplying

It's eye-opening and heart breaking

The more I learn about Ireland

Realizing how much I don’t know

Moving to a country

Where on the outside
They may look like me
Dress like me and

Speak English like me

But the inside is a different story

Trying to wrap my head around the fact that

When I look at the people around me

98.5% wouldn't know the real Jesus

But what if they knew that this man Jesus
Already made it possible to be right with God?

That His sacrifice was sufficient once and for all?

That no matter how much we try and try

Going to Mass
Going to confession
Is not what saves?

But only by faith

Through God’s grace?

There
Is
Freedom
For
You

Month three
Still battling their washing machines and ovens
Still learning the hearts of the Irish

It's been a process
But I think my heart is slowly finding its way here

Thank you for everything
I miss you all
Until next time,
Ell

⇿⇿⇿

Love these people

Sharing my story with the students 

Trying out some hurling

Something about west coasts

Seeing that there's more than just green hills  

Thanks for the day 

When the guys from operation needed help painting 

2am and still watching the Super Bowl  

Thanks for stopping by, Raph

Ever wondered where your hair ties disappeared to...

Write to you soon ♡

It is profoundly humbling, humiliating even, to stand before the cross of Christ and be forced to admit: “There is nothing I can say, nothing I can do, nothing I can put forward in my own defense. All I have in my hand to offer are my sins. 'Oh God, please forgive me.’ The strange thing is, though, that this moment of base humility at the cross is also the moment of great joy. When you realize that your salvation is accomplished not by anything that you or any other human can do or contribute, but only through Chris’s infinitely worthy sacrifice, made once for all, there is peace and assurance and comfort like no other. The weight of a lifetime’s sin falls from your shoulders and lands at the foot of the cross, and you realize that Jesus meant when he said: 

'It is finished'

- Ray Galea, Nothing in my Hand I Bring