A Hot Cup of Irish Adventure

What's next?

2007-05-22T23:00:00.000+01:00

We're on tour with the band for the summer. Read about it on "A Cold Pint of Canadian Adventure" (working title) at pleisenhauertour.blogspot.com!

Cheers.

Appeal

2007-05-07T06:51:00.000+01:00

Have you ever observed the phenomenon that occurs when one owns a digital camera for some years? Namely, this is that one goes back after a while, and—hopefully—gets to go through thousands upon thousands of pictures from recent… months, and one finds that, in a thousand pictures, one has maybe a hundred good ones, and none of them have their friends in them! I just got around to organizing our 8-month archive of digital photographs from Ireland, and this was true for me. So, I just want to say that, if you happen to be from Ireland, and you know us, and if you took any pictures of, say, anything that might have vaguely involved us, or that we might appreciate to look at, such as yourselves, then we would be most obliged and ecstatic and all that if you would maybe put some of those pictures on a CD and just pop them in the mail for us! We would be so thankful. Cheerio.

Memo

2007-05-02T23:54:00.000+01:00

To all our readers, including the lurkers, the active contributors, our family, our friends, those who still occasionally check our blog with the smallest hope of an update, and those who have fallen away.

Thank you, our supporters and friends, for the most incredible eight months of our lives to date. We left Ireland--Swords, the church, Tim, Eric & Donna, and all the youth that we have come to love--with much sorrow, much hope, and much anticipation for what is to come this summer and beyond. We felt like there was so much more to be done, like we were just getting started, like we were finally getting to know people, and like God was finally using us in others' lives; but at the same time, we felt so privileged to have simply known the Irish, to have spoken into their lives and to have them speak into our lives, to see the way the Spirit moves around the world, and to experience that the God of Ireland is the God of our own church and our lives as well--the fellowship that we shared with these folks was the best part of our eight months in Ireland. Please, if you talk with the Lord regularly, do remember the youth in Swords--whose names are many--the youth pastor, Tim, and those who sacrifice their time every week for this work: Eric & Donna, Nev & Hazel, Liz, Alice, and perhaps others by now. Pray that they will continue to grow in their knowledge of God and their commitment to Him, and that, through them, His name will be known in Ireland.

In other matters, our four-week vacation in France, Spain and Italy was a much-needed getaway, a blessing from God, and not at all funded by missions money. Don't ask for pictures though! We have little more than our memories, and several hours of video footage (thank you Eric & Donna, again!).

During the month of April, we visited our beloved niece & nephew (and their parents too) in Beaverton, ON, as well as the family in Manitoba. Good times and many laughs were shared, Canasta and provocative word games were played, lost pounds were regained, overweight bags were packed and re-packed, and disaster in Heathrow was averted! We are now in Gold River with Ashleigh's parents for two weeks. I am relishing the fresh, rainy, mountain air and the overwhelming green-ness.

Speaking of Ness, three months of our summer (constituting nearly the whole) will be spent in a camper van on the roads of Canada with my wife and my bandmates, Jeremy Eisenhauer, Sheree Eisenhauer (Plett), Jordan Ness, and Jeremy Penner. We are coming to a church or coffee shop near you! Visit Wallow Records for dates, links, and further details. Our first show is at the History Maker Festival in Chilliwack, BC, on May 19th at 12:00 PM. If you're in the area, come and say hi! We may or may not be setting up a tour blog; if so, we will of course link to it from this page in the next two weeks.

Cheerio for now! God bless!

Jordan Dueck

Europe Train Travel March Madness!

2007-02-27T15:30:00.000Z

Hi all. It's been a long month, and I just can't get into it all now. Let's just say, it's been good, God has really blessed us, and we'll write something really substantial when we're back from our awesome holiday. That way we get loads to time to let everything sink in. Thank you everyone for reading. Don't expect anything until after 27 March, please. God bless you all! Good bye for now!

Calendar our travel plans for March.

End days.

2007-02-15T15:41:00.000Z

So... it really has been a month, hasn't it? I suppose we got a little less than enthusiastic about blogging during these end days, for many reasons. Busyness is the big one, and it's everywhere, in every little corner of our lives, coming through every door and spilling out of every cupboard. We don't get much time to open the windows, which is sad because we have had some gorgeous weather lately. Some days, it is incredibly springy, other days feel like autumn... and then there was February 8th, the day we went to Dublin to get our visas renewed (it worked!), and it snowed all day. It was a day of mess and slush and wind and cold in the midst of an otherwise tropical February. Figures. So, since we have Irish visas until the beginning of April, we really do get to go to Europe. Until then, we were kind of thinking that this dream was going to go all Heathrow on us--let the reader understand--like every other plan does. So, it's happening, and now we actually have to get everything planned out. Yes, of course we started that a long time ago! Why would we be finished yet? There's far too much else to do besides!

A few highlights and lowlights from the past weeks: Last Sunday was a special "Youth Sunday." We have around three, maybe four, times a year, so they're meant to be unique, special, and very youth oriented. What happened last Youth Sunday? Nothing special really, except that the youth pastor preached--nothing wrong with that, but not terribly different. So Tim and I decided that this one would be different. It was quite amazing to see how it came together from its conception to its realization. The most unorthodox bit of it was either the liturgy, the photo-acting, or the musical reflection pieces. There was a worship band, as usual, though it was unusually good. We read about 14 lines of "His love endures forever," as well as the entire story of Jonah. Tim came through in the early hours of the morning to deliver a fine sermon, which just tied the whole service together beautifully around the theme of God's great compassion. There was some spontaneous open worship from the congregation, which was quite a blessing to be a part of, and then Foy Vance sang "An Indiscriminate Act of Kindness" to cap off the morning, accompanied by an artistic slideshow of Swords put together by Dave Wiley which, I'll admit, brought a tear to my eye.

As for the lowlights: Ash fell ill this last weekend and had a sudden craving for Tater Tots. Fortunately I found a suitable substitute, or Ireland's dynamic equivalent: Croquettes. It sounds French, but it really isn't. Also, we're going to miss our cat. Finally, last Saturday night's Impact was very nearly a big, worrying disaster. The idea was that everyone is too busy to arrange a Bible study, so let's just watch a good ol' film, something clean, and rated for 12 year-olds, just to be sure. Like Adam Sandler's Click. We really thought it would get better, but 25 minutes into it, we were all blushing and cringing and exchanging meaningful glances, and finally Eric said, "Well, I think that's enough of that." So we played a game. But it was the saddest thing, to find that a film that was rated for 12 year-olds wouldn't pass our very reasonable filters!

That's all I've got to say right now, because I need to get back to other work. By the way, does anybody else still have a shelf full of leftover Christmas sweets?

Sights from the North Coast.

2007-01-18T18:48:00.000Z

Welcome to Northern Ireland. I nearly wept at the wondrous yet familiar sight of snow once more.

There seems to be a rainbow over every bay in Ireland. We never get tired of them.

Another illustration of the incredibe diversity of this tiny island.

Contributing to the differnt feel of Northern Ireland is the plethora and diversity of Protestant churches. Except this one is actually Catholic.

A stark and haunting reminder of the recent Troubles.

Sheep! My heart's delight.

This village resembles one of the many places we dream of living in.

A very small church in a sparsely populated cove.

View from the cliff walk enroute to the Giant's Causeway. We also caught a glimpse o' bonny Scotland across the North Sea.

Donna was the only one who would pose in front of the Organ. She did so with aplomb.

And here are some Little People looking for clues to the secret of the Causeway.

I built this with Lego one day last week. Read the hilarious story of Finn MacCool here.

The waves of the North Sea are violent and mesmorizing. And cold.

The Chimney and some interesting red rock, which really is as red as it looks.

The Giant's Boot. Note the shoemaker elf, resting after a hard night's work.

This little bit of rock was called Sheep Island. We nearly froze.

Eric & Donna: thank you for a most excellent and memorable day!

After that and before this.

2007-01-18T17:44:00.000Z

Since any semblance of order or logic seems to have vanished from this blog, here are 5 things for you, with snappy comments. Enjoy, if possible.

Bray Head. This is at Bray. We bought some all-day train passes for a very cheap price and flew down the Dublin coast to the southest point, where we spent a good deal of our day, walking, enjoying, photographing, eating chips, and so forth. I had a most enjoyable eggnog latte.

This picture really needs no clarification.

Look how long my hair is. And that was 3 weeks ago.

There's my wife. Isn't she so cute and cold-looking?

The interesting thing about this picture is...
No, wait, there was something...

Oh, forget it.

The last last word on Christmas. Really.

2007-01-18T10:06:00.000Z

Random thoughts first:
The longer we live and work in this foreign country, the more familiar the everyday things begin to seem. We've even begun to wonder whether things really were so strange and new in the beginning. Is everything truly smaller than its North American counterpart, or was that just an illusion? However, as a humbling reminder of our origins, I still could not successfully locate a bottle of methylated spirits for our Christmas Eve fondue without the help of our Irish allies, Eric & Donna. After scouring the entire grocery store, I resorted to asking one of the employees where I might find "methylsomethingspirits?" She couldn't seem to understand why I would want to put that in my fondue and I assured her I wanted to burn it, not drink it. She suggested brandy, but said I might try the chemist and pointed in that direction. I looked at her blankly. Perhaps I did not understand her correctly--after all, that happens routinely. "Umm... what?" She realized we weren't exactly communicating, so she apologized and said they don't sell that here. I left and rang Eric, who taught me that a chemist is a pharmacist. Ash claimed she knew that all along, so now I'm not sure, but do we always call them chemists in Canada? Like I say, I've lost track of what's foreign and what's commonplace!

Also:
On one particularly retrospective day, Ash said, "I imagine when we get back to college life and all that, we'll look back on this time and wish we'd appreciated it more."

Finally, the point of this post:

I apologize for this picture. Let's hope Alice doesn't see it.

So today, as the fourth and final part of our series of flashbacks, I'm writing about Christmas and the week that followed it. Christmas week was not nearly so hard to bear as the weeks precluding it. We no longer felt the absence of family and old friends so dearly because the need was met by our most favorable Christmas company. We spent Christmas Eve and morning between just the two of us, perpetuating the traditions of cheese fondue, White Christmas, fancy breakfast, and gifts in the morning. We ended up spending much more time opening gifts than we might have expected at first, amazingly; so many people were generous enough to bring us gifts that we felt right at home during Christmas in Swords! A few noteworthy gifts: four hand-made clay mugs, a bodhran (traditional Irish drum) for Jordan, a bottle of red wine, a 3-disc set of the Dubliners, a funky pink & grey houndstooth hat for Ash, and many other wonderful books and CDs. Now that we have been showered with material blessings, we have to figure out how to bring everything home with us...

Here am I, attempting to play the bohdran, just as Conor Long instructs me.

The rest of Christmas day was spent at Eric & Donna's house. There were 13 in total at the party, and a most delicious dinner was enjoyed: three meats, every colour of vegetable, Christmas crackers and Christmas pudding, Mrs. Hegarty on my left and neighbor Catherine on my right. A round of toasts followed the meal, and I believe I was strongly encouraged to stand and say something after a good deal of reluctance on the party's behalf. What I actually said I cannot tell, nor can I be held accountable for it; but I do recall, "Hear, hear," so it must have gone reasonably well. We also attempted a few rounds of the infamous Cranium. It went satisfactorily.

I began writing this on the 6th of January, intending to follow-through with my New Year's resolution, but by now, so much time has past that I've more or less completely lost my train of thought! Cheers!

Whatever happened during the Dueck parents visit?

2007-01-05T14:00:00.000Z

A good question if I say so myself! We were tremendously blessed to have my in-laws, Rod and Sharon Dueck, come and visit with us in Ireland way back in November. It's hard to believe it was two months ago already! The much anticipated arrival came, the weeks sped by, and when they left we were thrown right into the Christmas whirl and never got around to posting pictures. We had a wonderful time with Mom and Dad, and are so thankful for the many great memories in Ireland we get to share with them!

We did so much that I'll not attempt to record it all here, but rather take you through a photo-tour of some high-lights of the visit.

The Cliffs of Moher:

The most windy place on earth - Jord held onto me so I wouldn't blow away!

But the views were worth it!

It was so windy the waterfalls couldn't fall!

Some sights from our road trip:

Shepherd Jordan

A Dolmen

The Atlantic:

Bunratty Castle:

A re-created traditional Irish village:

Serious Farmers

A walk through Powerscourt House & Grounds:

Malahide Castle & Grounds:

An Ashleigh-sized door!

A lovely evening at the Chaloners:

A very cold & windy day at Newgrange:

The Irish Sea:

After our adventuring

Thanks for the great visit!

Pictures to Go with the Last Post

2007-01-05T12:20:00.000Z

Argh! Decorating with lights!

Birthday dinner at the Old Brough School House

The River Liffy, Dublin

Grafton Street to your right.
St. Stephen's Shopping Centre is the white building on the left.
Taken from the entrance to St. Stephen's Green.

Jordan in St. Stephen's Green - what a poser.
(Jordan: She made me pose!)

A pretty spot in the green.

It's alive! - no joke.

A live manger scene - well, stable scene, no humans.

Jordan making faces so the girls will laugh.

The week before Christmas.

2007-01-05T10:15:00.000Z

The week leading up to Christmas was a lot of fun, thus deserves a proper post. The following will be some highlights:

Exactly a week before Christmas is a wondrous holiday, more commonly known as "Ashleigh's Birthday." Jokes aside, it was a wonderful day, thanks to my thoughtful husband. I was woken to breakfast in bed, had a leisurely morning doing whatever I felt like (the day happened to fall on our day off). More people than ever before actually remembered my birthday (being so close to Christmas, it's easy to lose in the shuffle) and I felt very cared for. Thank you to all who were so thoughtful. It meant much to me, especially this year. Even though I am now 24, and quite independent, I still very much miss my parents when I am not with them on this day. That, combined with the approaching Christmas without them or any other family, made things a little sad at first. But the thoughtfulness of people near and far was just so great, that the day couldn't be anything other than great too. Jordan even bought me "White Christmas" and we watched it in the afternoon. I have watched this film multiple times EVERY Christmas for longer than I can remember, so Christmas and my birthday started feeling much more right again. Funny how attached I can be to fictional characters in a film! But, none-the-less...

After some lovely talks with family back in Canada, Jordan took me out to the Old Borough School House for dinner. SO delicious! In all, it was a fab day and Jordan earned himself many a point in the "Wonderful Husband" book.

Birthday socks - crazy with my shoes, eh?

The next day, Linda picked us up in her car, and we all drove up to Balbriggen, where a friend and fellow-student of ours has begun her internship! We really can't believe how long it took us to get together with Andrea once she arrived here, but we finally did and it was great to see her! She is working through TEAM as we are, and is in the same Inter-cultural Studies as I am. Her dream and calling has been to come to Ireland for years now, so it is very exciting to see her here. She's been placed with a church in the sea-town of Balbriggen. It sounds as if the church family there has embraced her, and that she is finding many areas to serve. Please be in prayer for her, the small church body as they prepare for their pastor to leave, and the people in the area who struggle with drug addictions and alcoholism. And also for Andrea, that God will be her strength and joy and purpose.

Unfortunately, we forgot to take a picture, so just imagine a smiling face right here!

On Wednesday, the 20, Tim and I met up with a young girl who is going through a terribly difficult time. I cannot give any details, but please, please, please pray for this girl. Pray that we as youth workers, friends, and followers of God would have wisdom and be able to show her love in a relevant and changing way. Pray that she will be healed and come to know in her heart how much God loves her.

As the official Impact events were suspended until after Christmas break, we were getting together with the teens in more casual settings. One thing we did was meet up with any of the younger youth who cared to come to see Santa Clause 3 at the cinema. It was such good fun, and we thoroughly enjoyed chilling with them all!

Friday was actually a full day of fun times. Jord and I decided to take the day off, and head into Dublin to see the city dressed up for Christmas. We had no presents left to find, no people to meet, and no places we had to be, so we wandered to our hearts content and enjoyed it very much! It was a beautiful day (quite cold though), tons of shoppers out and about, festive decorations and music everywhere, and even street performers! We walked down O'Connell (the main street), then onto St. Stephen's Green (a great park right in the middle of the city), into St. Stephen's Green Shopping Centre (beautiful place), and up Grafton Street (the posh shops).

Inside St.Stephen's Shopping Centre

Ash at the entrance to St.Stephen's Green.

We even found Starbucks and Jordan finally got his eggnog!

Can't you see the Christmas delight in his eyes?!

Side: We thought eggnog would be quite the thing here, but most people have never heard of it, or have heard of it only as an alcoholic drink. Jordan was depressed. Eggnog to Jordan=White Christmas to me. So he went online, found a recipe, and made some! Christine and Leanne were over baking cookies with me and thought it was the grossest concept ever.

After delighting in our Eggnog & Gingerbread Lattes and the feel of something so familiar, we hopped on the bus home. We got back in time for a good bye dinner for Lillian, a girl from Switzerland who has been a part of our church. Despite it being a good bye dinner, it was a good time. Who knows, maybe we'll see her in Switzerland one day!

From there we rushed onto a kind of repeat from the night before. This time we met with the older youth to see Stranger Than Fiction.

Saturday consisted of girl time with some of the younger girls, and a Christmas get-together at Hazel and Nev's. And that brings us through the highlights of what went on the week before Christmas.

Leanne & Christine posing with their Christmas cookies (wouldn't let me get their faces!)

"Christmas makes you feel emotional, it may bring parties or thoughts devotional.. "

2007-01-02T13:43:00.000Z

That's a quote from a song on our Nat King Cole Christmas CD and it is indeed true. Sounds a little cheesy when typed out, but still true.

After the dust settled from the Carols, Jordan and I found ourselves beset with conflicting emotions. Family and friends felt so far away, and we had a few days of missing them desperately. On the other hand, we began to realize that our time here is rapidly running out. You might think that, as we were missing family and friends, this would make us feel encouraged, but no, it made our hearts bleed to think of saying goodbye to the fabulous people we have come to love here. It seems you can't win. Until I started looking at it a different way. Instead of thinking that wherever I am, I will be missing someone very much (which is true), I started to focus on thinking that wherever I am, I am so very blessed to be with someone very dear to my heart. I began enjoying where I am at right now, the people I am with, and looking forward to what is coming in the future and the people I will be with then. That doesn't make me stop missing those away, but it does help me take joy and contentment in the people I am blessed to be with now and hope in the future. Enough on the emotional.

Christmas did also bring parties! On the 15th of December, we met up with the older Impact at Donna & Eric's for a Christmas dinner party. Their home was decorated so beautifully, and the group was intimate but not too small. Eric made his famous currey (Mom, I will get that recipe!), Tim made a delicious stew, Donna prepared the desserts, and we brought the sides. And that, my North American friends, is the closest you get to a potluck here. It was a lot of fun, complete with Christmas crackers, a "Kris Kindle" or gift exchange, and the film "Elf" projected onto the Chaloners' wall.

Two-thirty the next afternoon and we were bundled into cars driving up north about 40 minutes, to an ice rink! Yes, we went skating! We had a large crowd of 12-15 year-olds and a very good time. Ice skating isn't really the thing here in Ireland, so most of the teens had been skating once or never. In fact, most Irish have only been a handful of times in their lives, so you never knew when someone was going to fall in front of you or ram into you. With the exception of Christine who left her friends in the dust. Personally, I was very excited about going skating. What with the bizarre health happenings these past years, I haven't been able to skate for five years! I was so thankful to be out again and nothing could bring down my exuberance - not even rental skates. Jordan was dismayed when he found that they rented only figure skates. It was quite funny to see this ex-hockey player trying to find his feet in a pair of figure skates. I wish so much I had remembered that movie and remarked "toe-pick" after one of his bails. He's big enough to get over his pride, so it was a lot of fun and by the end he was getting up speed and mastering the toe-pick.

Relieving our aching feet and ankles, we piled again into cars and headed back to our usual place of meeting. And guess what we ordered for our party food? PIZZA! As if we hadn't had enough the weeks before! It still tasted wonderful but unfortunately for me, gave me food poisoning. Somewhere after the gift exchange, I was hit with it. And that ends my description of that night=).

A flash back in time...

2007-01-02T12:47:00.000Z

Here's to catching up in things procrastinated. The next few posts will take you back in time to the many adventures we failed to post. First up:

Tim & Ashleigh's Fantastic Christmas Play of Fun!

Have you ever asked yourself the question "How does one become entangled in a Christmas play?" Me neither. But nevertheless, I found out this Christmas.

Our church here puts on a Carols service every year for the community. Scads of folk turn out for this event, which has earned itself a high reputation. Even government officials receive and accept invitations. In fact, so many people from outside the church come, that this year all regular church attenders were asked to come to the morning service only, unless they were bringing friends/neighbors/family to the evening service. I had heard about this renowned event and thus, you may have an idea what happened inside of me when, three weeks before the Carols, Tim and I were given charge of the Christmas play that takes place during the service. If it weren't scary enough to have this resting in our hands, they also proceeded to tell us they had a plot they wanted us to follow, but no script, so we were to write that. Oh, and get the teens to put it on. Right.

Tim and I drank many a coffee in the local shopping centre while writing the script. As this was the first time either of us had ever attempted to do such a thing (well, there was that time with Chels when we were about 10 - remember Evil Lord Druke, Prince Hombre, Princess Melba, wooden swords, black capes...that was class). Tim and I are both new to this Irish culture to boot, so we were a bit overwhelmed to write something appropriate to the people and that would connect with them. Eventually, with some editing and suggestions from Clem, our pastor, the script was in form enough to begin rehearsals.

Have you ever tried to convince a 14 year-old lad that he really does want to get up on stage, in front of a crowd of family, friends, and strangers, in a costume, and act in a Christmas play? Well, our powers of persuasion were tested but eventually we had an almost full cast of fourteen lined up. As one lead after another fell through, it became apparent that Tim would have to step into the main role as Ernie, the Innkeeper. We convinced Elaine, a college student, to play his wife and Jordan to fill a small role as one of the wisemen. I ended up as Mary, but, luckily, that was a very small role, so I was able to do most of the directing. What with at least one person missing from every rehearsal, unexpected deadlines and changes, drop-outs and replacements, eating much pizza, not being able to practice on the actual stage until the night before, rummaging for costumes the week of, first me and then Jordan getting very sick, the regular event ongoing, and a bunch of 12-15 year-olds in a small space hyper off of fizzy drinks, Tim and I had quite the ride. We did have a ton of fun in the midst of the mayhem and loved the chance to interact with the teens in this way. Much laughter was had along-side the not so fun elements, so in all, we managed to stay afloat and keep perspective. Most of the time. Jordan was an incredible encouragement to me. It's amazing how the simple presence of someone can give strength and support. Tim was also awesome to work with and we made a pretty good team. It's a good thing we get on well, because we saw a lot of each other!

Well, the day before arrived, and found Tim and me at the hall helping the decorators transform the barren walls and space into a Christmas fairy-land. It found Jordan at home sick in bed. Poor guy. It was "good craic" putting up the decorations and I really have never seen a place so transformed. There was scaffolding, wood, miles of cloth, trees, bobbles and bows, and endless lights involved. The set for the play was brought in, taken apart, cut up, and put back together again, but that actually turned out to be a ton of fun. Dress rehearsal followed then off to Older Impact. That day was full to say the least and it gives a pretty good idea of what that week had been like.

The morning service was great fun. The feel of the audience was very festive and familial and thus, made a perfect place to run through the whole program for the first time. It was truly a dress rehearsal for the whole deal. The bassist got sick, so Jordan filled in and ended up on stage pretty much the entire service. Good thing his fever had gone away. The afternoon brought ANOTHER pizza party (you really wouldn't believe how much pizza we ate during this time) for the "cast" and then onto the evening service. This was different. The ambiance was brilliant. The play came and went and the message Clem gave was challenging, yet easily identified with by anyone. Mince pies and Christmas punch were served afterwards and people connected with each other. We stayed until the end, then helped take down all the hard work of the day before. Having a building to call their own will be wonderful one day! We were graciously given a lift home and arrived eager for bed, only to remember we had left our bedding in the wash...

Our New Year's Resolution:

2007-01-01T17:05:00.000Z

This year's resolution: post updates more than once a month.

Well, welcome to 2007, everybody. Now I get to mess up everytime I write the date for the next six weeks. Last night we squeezed 11 large people into our microscopic trailer and partied until early morning. Here's what happened:

Leanne hosted a Name That Cadbury Chocolate Quiz. The winner gets the chocolate. We played Pit with spoons, as you can tell from the remnants.

Paul and I played our bodhrans. He is much more skilled than I... for now.

Ian is evidently quite excited about this ornament. Strangely, he gave it to us for Christmas.

Josh and Zoe showed up. They were very civilized, though that didn't stop him from cheating in Pit.

I'm pretty sure they didn't know we were taking a picture.

Paul incited the guys to a lengthy wrestling match. No one was severly injured, although Ian got badly blurred.

Happy Christmas!

2006-12-25T23:33:00.000Z

What we did on Christmas Eve:

Sang some Christmas carols...

Had a delightful cheese fondue...

And sat in front of the Christmas tree, just to say "HAPPY CHRISTMAS!"

It's that time again!

2006-12-06T14:04:00.000Z

It's Christmas time in Ireland! (As it is in many areas of the world—though not all.) And what would Christmas be without some great, "ol'-timey" music, a real living fir tree with presents underneath, hot chocolate, and—rain. Well, that's no damper for us ;-) because Christmas is more than all of those things. Still, we love them. Our favorite CDs right now are Christmastime from City on a Hill, Rose of Bethlehem from Selah, and Christmas Favorites from Nat "King" Cole. Sadly, that nearly exhausts our holiday repertoire, so the playlist is growing repetitive.

Bringing home our new baby from Woodie's.

We spent a good bit of time this morning writing Christmas cards to family and friends, but we won't have the time or money to write a HUGE THANKYOU to every individual who got a card or scribbled on a napkin and sent it to us in Ireland with my parents! It was a great blessing to hold a physical keepsake from you, and it got us right in the Christmas spirit, it did. In fact, I might even say that was the day Christmas started for us.

The Christmas Tree in its natural habitat.

Not that everything is bells and lights and holiday cheer during this dark and rainy season. As long as the annual Swords Baptist Church Carol Sing is in the planning stages, there will be a little less cheer around here. Fortunately, there have been glimpses—I say glimpses—of the light at the end of the tunnel, and it is a bright one. I think that everyone is keenly anticipating this Sunday's festivities, and I have no doubts on the fact that it will be a beautiful and memorable time. There will of course be carol-singing, as well as special music from some talented youth, Josh Lamb and friends, an Amazing Ten Minute Christmas Play, written by your very own Ashleigh Dueck with Tim Burns, mince pies and punch served by cautious youth, and who knows what else! If last year is any indication of this year's expected turnout, then we will have eager partyfolk spilling out the back door for lack of adequate seating. Perhaps we will even violate a firecode regulation or two. All will be revealed in a matter of days…

Christmas card.

2006-12-05T17:43:00.000Z

This picture is just for my mom, who is putting together a photographic Christmas card. So, it won't be here forever... maybe. Okay.

As the world turns.

2006-11-28T16:00:00.000Z

Hi there! We've been busy milling about the country for the last week. I will take you through a little photo tour of our excursions later. For now, I just want to get caught up on what's been happening.

The Duecks Sr. left early Saturday morning after a healthy holiday with their favorite son and daughter-in-law. A grand old time was had by all, and we amassed between us 689 digital photographs and nearly 1,000 kilometers by car, not too mention the ground that was covered by train, bus and foot. Ash and I had a very big rest once it was all over, and she even came down with a cold. Right on time!

That night, no one was up to preparing a Bible study for the youth, so we ducked out and watched a movie instead. Madagascar. The only one who was not entirely enthusiastic about watching it was Paul, because he didn't like cartoons. He would have rather watched Family Guy. Someone mentioned that Family Guy is a cartoon as well. But it is a good one, he replied. Everyone enjoyed the film.

Sunday was quite a change of pace. The leaders of the Group Formerly Known as Older Impact (GFKOI has a nice ring to it)--that is, Eric & Donna, Liz, Tim and ourselves--skipped church and drove up to a beautiful little borrowed cottage on the a golf course on the ocean east of Drogheda. We spend the day in prayer and reflection as we searched for a clearer vision for the direction of GFKOI. Although much was discussed and written down, in the end, we managed to boil it all down to a simple Biblical passage.

This is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9-11)

In other words, we want to focus on these five principles: love, growth, understanding, holiness, and worship. That's a lot of priniciple in just five simple words, but we hope it will help us to clarify our vision for the youth.

So, Sunday was a long day. After the retreat, we had a quick supper and then it was off to Christmas play practice! Ashleigh and Tim were "nominated" to write the script for this year's Christmas play. It has been a trying journey for them, and there are only 2 weeks left before the big day. Obviously I have been likewise nomitated for a role in the play, but it is a comparatively small one. At any rate, none of us was quite up to a lot of hard work that night, so we managed to have a bit of fun with it. However, by 9:30, it was very much time for bed.

So, as you can see, the world did not in fact stop turning when we took a bit of time off to entertain my parents.

People in Ireland.

2006-11-16T19:09:00.000Z

Okay, what's new? Well, last week wasn't incredibly eventful. We did the usual thing: we met people for coffee, we prepared Bible studies, we cleaned up the house and overhauled the yard in anticipation for my parents' visit--oh, that's a very unusual thing!

Yes, the folks booked their transatlantic flight for the 13th of November, and so set in motion a complex series of events. Upon deep introspection, it was decided that our yard was a disaster zone and would require some serious rejuvenation if it were ever to meet approval from the parents. It never was much to begin with, but we could at least cut the grass, which was brushing at the knees, and maybe tackle the weeds and brambles that occupied our patio space. After everything was said and done, we wished that we had taken a "before" photo to complement the "after." The change was dramatic. We spent 2 hours chopping away at those thorny vines; blood was shed, hair was tangled, but it was worth the pain endured. My experience in the garden was good fodder for the Bible study. Can you guess what passage I used?

I suppose Sunday was a newsworthy day. It was decided that younger Impact must have a day of fun, as older Impact once had at Drewstown House. So we all went to the Dublin Zoo in Phoenix Park, directly from church, and had a big photographic treasure hunt competition! We divided up into 4 groups and were given a list of 17 photographs that we had to find, including a picture of Jordan & Ashleigh with Tim Horton, a picture of the longest toilet queue, a picture of your group acting like apes in front of an ape, a picture of your group with a zookeeper, a picture of someone doing a handstand in front of an animal, a picture of someone proposing to a stranger, and so forth, you get the idea. I think that everyone managed to acquire all the images, but they have yet to be judged and so I can't say who won! Perhaps in a couple of weeks.

Everything about this day was great, with the exception of Tim Horton's. You can imagine how excited Ash & I were to hear that Timmy had taken up residence in Phoenix Park, Dublin, for we hadn't had a sip of our favorite Canadian coffee since June. Sadly, this restaurant was nothing at all like the Real Thing. We didn't even bother spending a Euro at that location, for fear of severe disappointment. Fortunately, my parents brought us a dozen TimBits from the Winnipeg Airport! (Boo-yah! That's right, I said it.) This was Very Good.

Anyway, the next 10 days will be mostly visiting and touring the country with our parents, so don't expect too much news until then! I may not even put up pictures right now. In fact, I am adamant about not doing so. If you want to see pictures of people in Ireland, just go to Google Image Search and type in "People in Ireland" and you'll feel much better. Alright, until next time!

The Flaming Avenger

2006-11-13T08:50:00.001Z

Well folks, here it is. This is the film we made for the Combined Impact night, 3 November. See if you figure out what the moral of the story is. (There is meant to be one.) Cheers!

Where's Wife?

2006-11-07T17:50:00.001Z

For a bit of craic, head over to the official Swords Baptist Church website, click on the front page picture, and try to find Ashleigh.

If that's too hard, here are some hints:

Hint #1: She's wearing blue.
Hint #2: She's holding a balloon.
Hint #3: No more hints!

Apples and bananas.

2006-11-07T17:41:00.000Z

I'm not going to write anything about dunking for apples today.

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that, by now, you're probably thinking, "Do these crazy people ever do anything besides go on huge, beautiful trips and take lots of breath-taking pictures?!"

Speaking of breath-taking pictures...

The answer is yes. Yes, we do. We just haven't written much about it for a while. However, I think it is high time that we lead you into the wonderfully normal and ordinary (but not dull) life that is ours. Without further ado then...

We consume several cups of tea and coffee a day, above the recommended daily intake. A good number of these cups are consumed in fellowship with various teenagers, teammates, and friends. Excellent conversation is generally perpetuated in these circumstances, and we have gotten to know many people in the best way here. At times, we might even go to Eddie Rocket's (or "Empty Pockets," as the locals affectionately lambast it) and buy them a burger and a malt. Ash does this more often than I, because we've found that the young girls have a greater aptitude for conversation than the guys. That doesn't stop Tim and I from having some great times with them however! We've gotten the lads together for some casual football, which actually turned into a game of rounders with the girls, and most recently to play Lord of the Rings Risk, which Ian won.

Last week wasn't quite your average week in Swords. We set the 3rd of November as a night to get all the youth together, young and not-so-young, and have a big event. We even managed to coerce the older youth into helping plan and organize some of the night! The evening's bill included tasty snacks served on platters, games by Anna, Claire & David, music by Matt, Josh, Claire, Liz, Jordon and myself, an inspiring talk by Tim, and a seven minute homemade film by Tim, Paul, David, Ian and myself again.

Paul played the evil-doer naturally.

Preparing for the music and film caused me to work much overtime. Luckily, last week was midterm break for the youth, so they were at my disposal 24/7. Mwa ha ha ha! Just kidding; I was not very hard on them at all. Friday I got up at 7 A.M. and was busy until I went to bed at 11 P.M. Fortunately, we had a lot of fun. In the morning, we shot the footage for Friday night's film in downtown Swords; the reactions were priceless. Some people did not realize that we were acting at first, and others were worried that we would be caught on CCTV (public surveillance) and hauled in the by Gardaí (police)! In the afternoon, I sat down to edit the footage, and did not get up until 6 P.M.! That's cutting it close.

Matt, Jordon & I practise for Friday night.

I really want to share the film with you right now, because it seems to have been generally enjoyed by all, but you will have to wait a few more days, for technical reasons. Sorry! Keep checking for updates. We also have the DVD for TeenStreet 2006 to share with you soon! Neville has been working on this since August, and we are very excited to finally have the finished product. There is a long version (1 hour) and a short version (6 minutes); I think I'll post the short version.

Nathan gets the box. Everyone claps.

Anyway, this is all lead-up for last Friday's Impact. The event was hosted in Tim's house, and the number of attendees made his house look small (or, the size of Tim's house made the number of attendees look large...?). Well, either way, I think everyone had a lot of fun stuffing bananas in each others' faces, picking up cereal boxes with their teeth, and all that other stuff that we do at Impact. The film went over quite well, and Tim's talk about the Pharisee and the Tax Collector was right on—oh yes, there is a point to the film.

The point of the game was to stuff bananas in the other person's face. It worked.

On Sunday, Ash continued in her tradition of hosting a small group Bible study with four of the girls. They stayed for 3 hours, during which I was confined to the kitchen, which was a complete mess before I was done with it. I believe the study went so well that Lynsey forgot her brand-new brown/pink backpack at our place.

Tim's little room.

Then there was Monday. Monday was our much-needed day off—and what a day off! We slept in. We had porridge for breakfast. We made two huge pots of soup. And that's it.

We must ask that you remember to pray for these teens once in a while. The more we get to know them, the more we love them, and the more they let us see their complicated lives. There are the "church kids," who have got it all together, and are the pillars of the teenage community; they have struggles too, but it is harder for them because they're not meant to. There are the teens who come from Catholic or Church of Ireland homes, whose parents think that we are part of a cult that eats children; they've heard about God, but have never met Him. Then there are the teens who come from single-parent (or half-parent) homes, whose parents don't know or care where their kids have gone on a Friday night. They have got the greatest struggles to face; some are in potentially dangerous situations; others are in danger of making decisions that will only harm themselves. We lose a lot of sleep over these teens, but we know that it comes to a point where you can only ask God to protect them and hand the rest over to Him. I don't usually end a post this seriously that has begun so lightly, but I think it's the most important thing that we want everyone to remember! We're not just here because of an internship: God has led us here for a short time to be a part of these teens' lives. All we ask is that we will be of use to Him!

This is Conor and I going head-to-head.

Castle Time: Castlewellan Castle… castle.

2006-10-28T15:08:00.001+01:00

It wasn’t too long after we started regular older youth meetings in September that we realized we needed more than just one Saturday a week to really get to know our teens. Part of the solution to this quandary was our Great Day of Fun at Drewstown House, but the second—and more elaborate—scheme involved an entire weekend away at a castle in Northern Ireland. The castle was Castlewellan Castle in the town of Castlewellan. We like to say castle.

The trip, as planned, went through many changes and upheavals before it came true, and cancellations was at one point considered. The youth were concerned that they wouldn’t get enough time to study that weekend (imagine!); they were sick, but then they got better, but then someone else got sick; or, they mightn’t be able to get time off work for 2.5 days. Well, in the end, six leaders went (that’s all of us: Tim, Liz, Eric, Donna, Ash & myself) and six youth. That’s a 1:1 leader-to-youth ratio: any youth worker’s dream. The official date of the older youth (currently in the process of re-branding...?) Super Weekend of Fun was Friday 13 to Sunday 15 October 2006.

There's the entire Castlewellan gang.

And what a super weekend it was. Ash & I traveled with Eric & Donna for the entire 165 minutes (shorter than your average full-length film but, nonetheless, a very long time in Ireland) and enjoyed an absorbing lesson on the history and politics of Northern Ireland, complete with a healthy, rousing debate and two different Irish perspectives (that of the first-generation English immigrant versus the tried-and-true, pure-bred—sorry Eric—southern, Catholic-raised Irishwoman). I do not at all mean to make this sound uninteresting or dry; it was not so.

At any rate, we eventually turned onto the castle grounds as the last rays of the sun disappeared ‘neath the horizon. We were cordially welcomed and shown to our rooms—pleasant enough, indeed—before we headed to our lounge for a light lunch of hot dogs and crisps, at which point the guys were thoroughly educated in the way of manners concerning women. We ate the last hot dogs.

That very night, at 22:45, we began a game of Mission Impossible, which pitted the boys against the girls in a race to deliver tokens to a designated spot whilst remaining undetected by the leaders. This was carried out in a wonderfully dark wood without torches. The boys had a very blitz-like strategy which won them 3 points, but the girls, who were far more cautious and clever, amassed a grande total of 0. Fair play to them! Next, it was the leaders’ turn to take on the youth. We played for 15 minutes before they got bored of patrolling the grounds, but we did manage to deliver 3 tokens in that time. We all gathered in the stone circle and began to think about going to bed—it was Saturday now. Wait a moment—where are Ashleigh and Liz? Alright girls! The gig is up! Time to come out! You don’t have to hide anymore!

Nearly half an hour and several grey hairs later, Ashleigh and Liz realized that, no, the youth were not trying to be tricky by impersonating the leaders and announcing that the game was over so that Ash & Liz would come out of the bushes and get caught—brilliant scheme—but no, that was not it. No, it was actually the leaders who had been looking for them since midnight. We all had a nervous chuckle about it.

The next morning, when we finally got around to inspecting the castle, we realized that it had many interesting and castley features such as rooms on the ground-and-a-halfth floor, many small and large stairways, doors that don’t close and doors that don’t open, a mounted moose head, and probably enough plaster to bridge the Irish sea. However, by far the “coolest” feature was this room:

Saturday was packed with activity and—you guessed it—fun. But I can’t go into detail on everything, though it would be fascinating, I’m sure! The meals were very, very good, especially considering that they were cooked up with 150 people in mind (there was another group staying at the castle as well). Tim led two excellent reflective Bible studies on discipleship and the story of Zacchaeus. While the oldest youth took a study break, the rest of us went for a leisurely stroll around the lake, which proved to be longer in circumference than we initially estimated. Along the way, we learned how to make a real raft.

The four of us climbed this tree stump.

Tim and I and the guys put together the zodiac and inflatable dingy which we had packed for just such an occasion as that afternoon presented us with, while Eric and the girls went horseback riding, English-style. No one fell off, but Claire had a lot of trouble with her stubborn old steed. They proceeded to the hedge-maze, which took Lynsey no time at all to conquer. However, as it turned out, the first was indeed last, for she had to sit there and wait over an hour before the last girls staggered in to the finish. While she waited, Paul and I were climbing neat-shaped trees on a little island we had chanced upon, but due to a stroke of ill luck, both of the branches Paul was holding on to broke within seconds of each other. It was a tense moment, but all turned out well, with the exception of Paul’s nerves.

Ian, Paul, and Tim.

What else did we accomplish that weekend? Very little, but we managed to scrounge up a bonfire Saturday evening. Also, at 3:00 in the middle of the night, the fire alarm went off and pretty much caused me to have an involuntary reaction. It was absolutely black as pitch, so Eric deduced there must have been a power-outtage; a fine way to inform us, I thought! But no, the lights worked fine. After some detective work by Eric, it was discovered that it had been a false alarm and, while all 130 of the kids sleeping in the castle were safely outside, ALL THE GIRLS HAD SLEPT RIGHT THROUGH THE ALARM. Paul had, in fact, woken up. But when he observed that no one else was getting up, he went right back to sleep.

The girls, who did not wake up.

On Sunday, we got the camera out and took pictures of people jumping down a grassy slope which was quite slippery. I couldn’t pick out the best one, so I made a collage. We also enjoyed the araboretum.

It was fun. Did I mention that?

Glen WHAT? (Liberally peppered with photos.)

2006-10-27T11:33:00.000+01:00

One clear, sunny morning, we set out for another exploration. After much delay, we headed out a couple hours later than we intended, but nevertheless with a good outlook. Donna and Eric lent us their car again, and so we were off. We headed into the Wicklow Mountains, only an hour's drive from our home here (more or less—depends on the mad traffic and construction that you can run into driving the Dublin bypass). We were soon off the main road and onto narrow, bumpy roads that wound into wood and field. After a scenic detour (we got lost), we found ourselves at our intended starting point on the loop of Military Road at Glencree.

A bit of history for you: The Wicklow Mountains were used by Irish rebels when the British were establishing rule here. There were no roads through the mountains, and the rebels held onto freedom by living where the British couldn't get to them. That is when the British made a road winding in and through the mountains, peppered it with barracks, and were able to get to the rebels. Hence the name "Military Road."

Our starting point was at one such British barracks, and we wandered around them, but more enjoyed the stream we found down a little valley. Once again, we took a scenic turn and here is where we have been learning about another wonderful aspect of driving in Ireland. Though the signs may be next to non-existent, and rather cryptic when found, no matter how lost you get, you can't really go terribly far from where you want to be. You can go in circles though.

Back on track, the road took us through a landscape neither of us had ever experienced. We drove through the beautiful moorland called Sally Gap. It truly was beautiful. We were high up, and stretching out all around us was bog covered with heather and ferns. The autumn weather has brought the ferns to the end of life, but this has turned them into a burnt-orange colour that, when mixed with the greens and yellows of the moor, made a wonderful impression on the eye. We drove up and through, never getting tired of it and always marking something else we'd never seen before. Unfortunately, we had put our camera batteries in to charger the night before (smart, right?) and forgot them (wrong). Hence, no pictures of Sally Gap.

Another highlight from that day was stopping alongside the road to catch a glimpse of a random lake, and then deciding to hop out and go climb to it. This point became yet another place where Jordan "is going to live." (Jordan reminds me of his discovery here of a waterfall IN A FERN!)

As we drove along through this high moor, it dropped suddenly into the lush, green valley of Glenmacnass. A dramatic waterfall rushed down and into a river that snaked through the valley below. There were sheep. We do have pictures of this (we bought batteries), but they really don't do it justice!

We explored Glendalough in the afternoon, two lakes, upper and lower, surrounded by woods with old monastic buildings. St. Kevin is your man known for having lived here and built many of the buildings back in the day. It is something else to wander around ruins of old chapels and dwellings and wonder about the people who lived here. The woods added so much to the beauty of the place and we walked and walked and walked.

Eventually, we headed off to find a place to make camp in Glenmalure. Off the beaten track, this was a place our friends here have camped before and recommended. Not being a camping ground, but rather woods and fields, they told us to cross the fjord before setting up camp, and to make sure we weren't on some farmer's land. We found ourselves in a narrow valley, with a boggy wood on one hand and open fields and brush on the other. We found some high ground in the woods and set up camp, collected wood for our fire, and had it all sorted before night fell. The woods were so green and rich—no brush to hide things, so you could see through the tree trunks on and on. It felt light and inviting.

Having set up, we headed back into town to the local public house and had the best dinner ever! (Jordan has since had an even better dinner, but this does not malign the memory of Glenmalure.) It was an old, low, stone and wood building with creaking dark wood floors and a huge fire on the hearth. We sat close to the fire (it was chilly) and ate our delicious meal. Then we headed back to the woods, started the fire we had already prepared, and enjoyed the rest of the night by a warm fire. By chance we camped under a full moon, and the moment it rose over the high valley walls, there was the most luminescent moonlight flooding through the trees! (Papa—"I'm being followed by a moon-shadow…")

The next day we had a relaxed start—not late, relaxed. I was up at 7:30, scrounging for more wood, and we were both up at 8, cooking our eggs and porridge right in the fire. We took our time reading the Bible and praying together and, by the time we had packed up and left, it was 11, but we loved it.

That afternoon we hiked above Lough Tray, a very impressive lake. The mountains go steeply into the water and the lake itself is terribly dark, giving the impression of incredible depth. The lake, along with the land, cultivated gardens, woods, and huge house all make up one of the Guiness Estates. Can't even begin to imagine what it would be like to live in such a place!

The trail we hiked hooked us up with the Wicklow Way, a walking trail through the mountains. There are many such "ways" in Ireland and we'd love to get out on one of them. This took us along the ridge of the mountain and would you believe it—we walked on boardwalk on the top on the mountain because it was bog! We never knew bog could be on the top of a mountain!

Next we tackled the Sugar Loaf, another mountain that we've been able to catch sight of once in a while. It was a very steep climb up, but short so that we climbed up, chilled out and took pictures at the top, and came back down in an hour and a half!

It still took it out of us though and we set out in search of a coffee shop. In Enniskerries, we found "Poppies," a quaint café filled with homemade everything. Carrot and Parsnip soup and a latté made us very happy, and we set out for home feeling so relaxed and refreshed from our days out.

Goodbye for now! We miss you all.

Funday on a Sunday

2006-10-18T17:30:00.000+01:00

Wow, it has been a while since we were able to post! This Day of Fun took place not this past Sunday, nor the week before, but the week before that - which would have made it the 1st of October. Can you believe we're working through October already?!

The plan was to meet up with the older teens at church and embark straight away after the service for a mystery day of fun. We leaders planned a day away at Drewstown House with the headlining event of Raft Building Competition. Only it wasn't headlined, as we tried to keep everything a surprise for the teens. As our whole day was based around the outdoors, waking up to rain and clouds dampened my starting enthusiasm. Leaving from church "straight after" didn't exactly work either, as I'm sure my parents and brothers can relate to (all those attempts to leave for our holidays right from church and on time=). With that, plus a smaller turn out than what we'd hoped for could've really put a damper on our day. Fortunately, the leaders Jord and I work with here are the kind of people whom we would have had fun building rafts with it was only us! They also possess the ability and desire to choose good and enthusiastic attitudes. So, after mowing down some amazing chicken wraps, we packed into vehicles and headed off down some bouncy roads to Drewstown House. The rain came and got us wet enough to not care about getting wet in the lake after the sky cleared up. From then on, we had clear skies. Two teams were made 1) Jordan, Donna, Paul, Lynsey, and David 2) Eric, Tim, Laura, Anna, and myself.

We had so much fun! I can't convey enough what an awesome time we had! We were mucky, wet, using our imaginations, pushing and getting pushed into the lake, and even learning about teamwork and sportsmanship! No matter how much fun we were having, I don't think we would have ever gotten our rafts to float without the scavenging inspiration of Donna and Lynsey. The two of them took off for a while while the rest of us worked away at thinking up some plan to get our heavy, wet logs and our tarps to float. They returned bearing two big, empty plastic barrels to their teammates.

They were on "the other" team, however, and for a while it looked as though my team hadn't a chance. After Donna put a word into the ears of her team, they offered us one of their barrels, realizing that a competition where neither can do much is more fun than one that is terribly imbalanced. While quite impressed by this, my team wanted to first do some scavenging of our own. It was then that we made the discovery of milk crates that would turn the tide. At first the "barrel team" continued to look with sympathy at us as we bound our crates together, but eventually it became clear that we had something going!

The launching of the rafts was by far the best part of the day - so much laughing and messing. Funniest moments - Jordan slipping off his barrel and lounging on his raft submerged in mucky, smelly water; Eric leaping onto the crate raft which held Anna and Tim, then suddenly pushing them out to sea while Anna and Tim were half on, half off; Jack (Donna and Eric's boxer) going for Tim's shorts and the look of his face. The race commenced between teams with Jordan and Paul of their barrel raft and Tim and Anna on our crates. We blasted them. Then the rest of us raced to the boathouse and pulled out open kayaks and joined the others on the lake. War ensued as we soaked each other with our paddles. I even capsized while trying to help Anna out of the water where she had fallen. I haven't had a day where everyone laughed so much for a long time.

Thankfully, the owner of Drewstown House let us use the showers and after we were washed and into dry clothes, we headed out to a bonfire. It was dark early, so we managed to squeeze in a tense walk around the lake in the dark woods. Tense because Jordan and Paul ran ahead and the rest of us were wound up waiting for them to jump out at us. A stop to pick up chips and we were on our way home. The day turned out to be such an encouraging and nourishing one. As we chatted about the event over coffee the next day with the other leaders, we all expressed how uplifted, refreshed, and renewed we were from that day. Praise God for good fun and the bonds of fellowship that grow when we take time to enjoy one another and have FUN!

More from our Funday

2006-10-18T17:00:00.000+01:00

Team Barrel's First Launch

Anna & Tim Into the Reeds

Jord & Paul Finally Set Off

Backpaddle

Nice & Warm Again

Dr. Dueck's Successful Operation

2006-10-18T15:46:00.000+01:00

It's been a while but we FINALLY have our computer back. It was amazing how debilitated we felt from the lack of our computer! Jordan plunged boldly (but not without trepidation) into the bowels of our beast. The part that was broken during the last venture needed to be replaced - and naturally it happened to be underneath all the other parts. Isn't amazing how what starts out looking like a minor task so often evolves into an all-consuming ordeal? I, claiming unspeakable ignorance in the whole computer field (which, unfortunately is true) managed to escape the worst of it. Jordan, on the other hand, put much research, searching, effort, prayer and time into this process of healing. Some things did manage to get my optimistic husband discouraged and frustrated (such as his endless search for a T10 Torx screwdriver), and it was quite disturbing for us both as he totally dismantled our laptop. But I must brag a little here because, not only did he have the guts to proceed and the brains to learn, but he did an excellent job as the fact that I am currently writing on that once-dismantled machine testifies! So hear and wonder at the marvelous Dr. Dueck!

Loaner.

2006-09-30T13:35:00.000+01:00

Hello. I regret to announce that updates on this blog, for an indefinite time, will be scant and inconsistent, at best. Our laptop went under the scalpel and did not wake from its drug-induced sleep. The doctor's hand, though sure and skillful, missed its mark. A donor has been located somewhere in the United States and the vital organ is being shipped overseas by helicopter as you read. We hope to get plugged in again, as soon as possible. Gently bear with us as we get by from one friend's kindness to another's.

Until then, we will attempt to distract you with pseudo-artistic pictures of black berries, and of Ashleigh picking black berries.

People you meet when you're on the street.

2006-09-30T12:48:00.000+01:00

"Are you sure we're nearly there?" Ashleigh queried, as Jordan reassured her it was not far now. They had been trudging for nigh on half an hour now, and their destination was still not in sight.

"I looked at the map just before we left. See! here is the Spar she told us to watch for. Now we just need to find that roundabout and we're nearly there," Jordan replied, perhaps overcompensating with enthusiasm and optimism for his own frustration.

"Mrmmgh.. 'nearly there'... mrmmr heard that before..." Ashleigh murmured.

"Maybe we should have taken our bikes," Jordan thought aloud.

Earlier that week, Jordan and Ashleigh had made an appointment with a fellow Canadian in their church to meet over tea -- or coffee -- on Thursday. Joanne was an expatriate counsellor in Ireland who came over from Vancouver and had never gone back.

* ~ * ~ *

Phew! I don't think I can keep this up! I thought the third-person would be a novel way to start a blog, but I won't go any further. Perhaps someone else can finish the story. I have cultivated a deeper respect for storytellers, at least.

Well, we did have a magical Thursday. It was great to get to know Joanne from Maple Ridge. We talked until 5 PM, and then thought that we would head home. As fate would have it, however, the Molloys live two doors down, and Mrs. Molloy was just bringing young Robert home from school.

"Fancy meeting you here! Come in! Have some tea!" says Mrs. Molloy.

Oh, but we just had two cups a piece, and chocolate, and biscuits, and conversation, and I've been working all day, and I just want to go home and fall asleep on the couch...

"Alright! Thank you very much!" We followed them inside and met her husband Greg and their children. Robert offers us some of his homemade shortbread. As he slices it, I wince at the prospect of a hard, stale piece of this concoction. It is the best shortbread I have ever had. Robert is the most surprising teenager I have known.

Even though we are not home before 7:30 in the evening and supper is barely a forethought, we feel blessed to have spent our time with all these people.

Rock on.

2006-09-21T22:15:00.000+01:00

This is interesting. It is 10:15 PM and I am in the midst of a fantastic wind storm. Our precious mobile trailer is literally rocking to and fro upon its cinderblock foundation! Let's hope we are sufficiently weighed down with possessions to save us from a tumble....

Now is a good time to listen to Sufjan Stevens and read Tozer.

Jordan goes AWOL. Ashleigh covers.

2006-09-21T13:20:00.000+01:00

Today I’ll be greeting yous all in classic Dub fashion...

"Alright?"

"Alright."

Now go and impress your friends with your Irish-savvy salutations.

From what I’ve been told, the past week was great! Sadly, I missed it, stuck in bed with my disturbingly persistant virus. Well, I think I’m on the road to kicking it now. Ash performed an astounding variety and quantity of tasks in my absence, helping out at Pathfinders (ages 6-12), doing studies for both Junior and Senior Impact, baby-sitting for two women’s meetings of some sort, teaching Sunday School, making little sandwiches for the church’s 21st birthday party, socializing with the youth, baking coffee cake with blackberries, cleaning the kitchen, somehow keeping on top of schoolwork and taking care of yours truly all along…! We should applaude her.

Meanwhile, I cancelled everything and slept and read and drank cough syrup and ate vitamins.

Monday was the exception. Declan (search our blog for his name and you will find it is connected to Irish Immigration and visas) rung us up and let us know he was in the area. We had in fact been trying to get together with him for weeks now, ever since we got our visas, but it hadn’t happened yet. Twenty minutes later, just as the coffee cake came out of the oven, Declan showed up, looking quite sharp in a dress shirt/sweater combo with suit. He had been counseling. I made two pots of coffee and told him that he was very lucky that the cake was just finished, with fresh-picked blackberries. He didn’t seem too certain that fresh-picked blackberries in Dublin were safe to eat, but not one has reported feeling queasy as a result of Dublin blackberry consumption to date (and we have fed it to seven people). Anyway, we had a grand time learning more about our fortunate benefactor. He is a recent addition to Swords Baptist Church, and has a most moving and inspiring testimony to share, which he does with candour. We told him he was welcome anytime.

Today, I’m looking forward to tea with Ian, a 16 year-old who loves going to church and is considering studying forensics if he doesn’t end up in ministry! He doesn’t have too much going for him except determination and heart, which are the two most important things in my view.

We re-booked our flight home today. It was originally booked for 3 months after arriving in Ireland, for visa purposes, but is now set for February 28, 2007. We really wanted to leave later and travel Europe in March, but we are not sure if that will be possible now, because of visa restrictions. Declan is looking into it, but the flight is already booked (we couldn’t wait any longer) and we really don’t want to re-book it again. So, that is quite disappointing, but we trust that the Lord knows what He’s doing and the extra month of time will be well-spent in Canada. By now, we have learned to keep our plans very tentative!

"Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’" James 4:14-15 NIV.

Let's get away for a holiday!

2006-09-15T20:00:00.000+01:00

The last few days have been absolutely incredible! Our friends and mentors, Donna and Eric, were on their way back to their hometown of Cork and invited us to join them. Cork is the rival city to Dublin but, after seeing Cork, there is no competition in our minds. Cork was fantastic! Dublin is a cosmopolitan, swanky, rushed city in which you can lose yourself into anonymity within seconds if you so desire. Cork gives a different feel altogether. The city itself is set in among massively steep hills and curving streets which adds to its aesthetic appeal. It’s also smaller than Dublin, but still with a busy city centre which gives no end to variety and interest but allows locals to meet various acquaintances as they walk down the streets. Anyhow, I may be ostracized by our Dub friends here for my Cork sentiment, but there it is.

Here we have Cork at night, centered on a particular Roman Catholic chapel named after a Lady.

Before I really take off on recounting our trip, let me pause over last week’s Friday night Impact. At last I was able to turn up! Being sick the week before and left out of that week’s fun was frustrating so I was especially happy to be there this time. There are so many teens in the younger group that we’re too big to meet in homes and have been renting a room in a school. A good number of youth showed up last Friday but "your man" (slang for "the guy") who was meant to open the doors for us failed to show. So we played games outside until it became too dark to be safe, then seated ourselves on the stone steps while Jordan led us in a Bible study. Eventually, someone showed up and let us in (by this time it was nearing 10 p.m.) and we were able to finish up in the warmth of indoors. Even with all the distractions and Jordan catching my virus, the night went well. There are a bunch of teens who are new to the group and without a church background, which is very exciting.

Saturday morning we set out on our first road trip in Ireland. Donna and Eric were generous to offer not only the use of their second car, but also insurance for the trip so we were able to get ourselves about! Jordan adapted very well to the right-hand drive – even with it being a stick! (We drove around Swords the night before just to practice and I played a more active role than usual as the navigator as I helped him get in and out of the roundabouts at the right places.)

Welcome to Donna's childhood home, Shadow Lawn. Idyllic, no?

Eric and Donna and their son Paul (and boxer Jack) had gone onto Cork the night before, so we joined them just outside the city at Donna’s mum’s place. As Jordan and I pulled up the drive to the home (called Shadow Lawn) the word idealistic was out of our mouths. It is a truly lovely home and we enjoyed the chance to get to know Donna in her growing-up home and alongside her mum. I always love going to the family homes of my friends and meeting their family – you get to know them at a different angle. We filled the afternoon by exploring a black, narrow tunnel at the base of Blarney Castle with Paul and Eric and the seatown of Kinsale with everyone. Jordan fulfilled his promise to Harley when he kissed the Blarney Stone (I didn’t much fancy the thought of all those other lips that had kissed that exact spot or hanging upside down at the top of the castle wall to reach it) and Eric pilfered the coin-filled stream to find how many different currencies were represented. At Kinsale we sat in the vehicle and were mercilessly entertained by two inexperienced sailors trying desperately to make it to their mooring. After a brief rest over dinner, we headed in to see Cork by night with Eric and Donna and Mrs. Hegarty as our guides.

Jordan is kissing the Blarney stone in this photo. There used to be nothing between the kisser and the ground but 50 ft of air and a tree, so they put some bars in.

Sunday morning we set out for Killarney, just Jord and I. We were there in great time, Killarney only being an hour from Cork and, after finding a great little B&B, set off to take in the sights. What we saw and attempted to take in was more amazing than words or photos can capture. Our first stop was Muckross House and when I say the grounds are stunning, I mean stunning. We didn’t even go into the house proper because there wasn’t enough time with our wanderings around the grounds. There were gardens, "collections" of beautiful trees, wandering stone steps through beautiful wilderness, and amazing views of the lake and house. We both could’ve happily stayed there for a week or more, just exploring its vastness and discovering its beauty.

Ashleigh's jaunting cart dream comes true.

We couldn’t live there, however, and had more to see in a short space of time. So we headed up a narrow road close to the lakes to Torc Waterfall and onto Ladies’ View. Ladies’ View is, I think, one of my personal favorite stops of the weekend. The view was spectacular. It’s called Ladies’ View because when a certain Queen of England was traveling through the lakes, her Ladies in Waiting were delighted with this spot. Consequently, thousands of people (including us) now flock to this view point but I must say those ladies had taste.

Ash over Ladies' View, Killarney National Park.

After exploring an old abbey, we caught a ride in a Jaunting Cart (SO rad) and headed into our B&B for, yes, a quick rest! Sounds like we’re old, eh? Almost "grown-up" status with that one. But we relished the rest anyhow and sipped some tea before heading out in search of dinner and genuine Irish music. What a night! We were directed to The Grand Hotel for the music and that was an experience I won’t forget. We crammed into the old-style pub along with other tourists and many locals to listen as three musicians played incredible traditional music. The guitarist, fiddler, and Uilleann piper sat around a little table and jammed. It was such beautiful music – the word inspiring was used to describe it I think.

Ash enjoying some traditional Irish music at the Grand Hotel pub.

The next day took us round the Ring of Kerry and to tell you of all the wonders and adventures we met that day would take ages. We drove through wild, remote hills; along very narrow, very winding coastal roads; through picturesque villages; into sandy coves and bays; up, around, and down mountains and through fog, rain, and sun. We explored an ancient fort, Derrynane House (the seat of the leader of the uprising of Ireland), and found the best seafood chowder of your life overlooking Kells bay which happened to be the most beautiful bay of your life. All in all, it was an incredible, unforgettable journey!

This is Jordan running around an ancient fort, Leacanabuaile.

We stopped Sunday night at the home of Joan and Stephen Singleton, good friends of Eric and Donna who offered to put us up for the night. Stephen is the pastor for Thurles Baptist Church, a small congregation out in the middle of the country. They have been there for the past eleven years and have worked to build ties into the community. It was really neat to meet them and see another story of people who seek to follow God’s call on their lives. Stephen and Joan both also make the two-hour commute to Dublin to teach at the Irish Bible Institute.

Tuesday morning we went to the Rock of Cashel, as it is very near to Joan and Stephen’s home. We actually got a guided tour of this one! After exploring the ruins of another nearby abbey, we decided to cut our plans just a little short and head home as Jordan hadn't gotten rid of that virus yet and wasn’t feeling so hot. Thankfully, he was well enough the whole time to really enjoy it!

As we pulled up home and unpacked, I couldn’t believe that we had just had such an incredible few days. I was overwhelmed by the blessings of God and our friends. It never stops amazing me how loving God is to have not only made such wonders of beauty, but to have also made us with the capacity to experience and revel in that beauty.

I was overwhelmed in another way as well – with the amount of tasks before me now that we were back! Being sick for that time before and leaving for our holiday shortly after I was better put me behind in many things. But God has been reminding me that it’s not only in the crunch times that I truly need him, but at all times. I’m very glad to be "back in working order" again am especially excited to catch up with some of the teen girls. Please keep these relationships in your prayers as well as the weekend Impact meetings. Jordan is still fighting with this virus so please remember him as well.

P.S.
Also please note Jordan’s very fine and fashionable authentic traditional Irish headwear from Shandon. "The fabric has the colours and character of our countryside. Ruggedness to wear well. Softness for comfort. Joy and health to you who wear this. J.O.’Gorman, designer." – Jordan

Cork & Kerry: The definitive holiday album.

2006-09-15T19:59:00.000+01:00

Close your eyes and imagine...

2006-09-07T06:00:00.001+01:00

This post goes in a different vein; I haven't taken any pictures since Drewston House, so I'm forced to talk about intangibles! ;-) Here goes nothing...

It's been two and a half months since we arrived in Ireland. To me, this is a frightening thought. It means that we have five and a half months to go, and we feel like we have barely scratched the surface of relationships yet! In fact, "surface" might be an uncomfortably apt word to describe many friendships that we've made thus far. Several, however, show promise. The most frustrating aspect has been dealing with sickness the last few weeks and feeling like so much potential has been lost. I was fortunate enough on Tuesday to apparently catch whatever it is that Ashleigh has just gotten over, although to a lesser degree. Still, it has taken its toll on me, and I am typing this when I should be sleeping--but I can't.

We are both incredibly thankful to have met Tim and to work with him. (Refresher: Tim, the new youth pastor from Northern Ireland.) In this, we have at least two obvious things in common: the first being youth, and the second being foreigners in the Republic. His accent no less marks him as Outsider than ours, but we've been reassured that this is an attractive quality to youth these days. I comprehend the attraction in a posh English or Irish accent, but this I can only accept as I am told! At any rate, we were both relieved to find that Tim is not a stereotypical youth pastor in any way (I won't go into details), and that we agree on many things and get along just great. It is satisfying to know that, long after we have returned to Canada, Tim will still be here, ministering to and loving the youth.

Impact has now successfully been "kicked-off" for the school year, by the way. We had a mad time with the younger group Friday night. This is a perfectly natural and spontaneous dynamic that they create. Fortunately they listened quite intently when I became serious for a few minutes and shared our goals for the year with them. The older group has a very different dynamic, although they are still highly capable of having fun! There is much depth to them, and I am especially excited about spending more time with them. With the oldest (and most influential) youth moving out of the program and the younger ones coming up, we are anxious about them accepting each other and gettting along well, but Saturday night was very encouraging.

Finally, some very good news and an answer to prayer: we have received some very generous contributions recently, and are now approximately within $2000 of our target! We must acknowledge God's incredible response here and His promise to provide for us when we trust Him. This does conflict with the report in our new prayer letter which we have just sealed and are mailing tomorrow, so please bear that in mind.

By the way, if we raise more money than we end up using, it will be designated to other TEAM missionaries. If you are happy to support TEAM, so are we. However, if you wish to donate (a sum of $150 or greater) but only wish to support us, it must be marked "in escrow." This will keep your funds in our personal account until needed without requiring it to be used for other missionaries.

Doubtless you are anxious to hear our prayer requests by now, so if they haven't been clear up to this point...

1) HEALTH! We don't like working when we can't talk.
2) RELATIONSHIPS! We must use our time as best we can.
3) THE YOUTH! We hope they will accept each other and grow in the knowledge and the love of God.
4) MONEY! But only a little bit.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Cheers, and good morning.

Nowthing special.

2006-08-31T10:18:00.000+01:00

It has been a more-or-less uneventful two weeks, so I've decided not to bore you with too many details, although we have had our share of fresh sights and smells.

For example, Eric & Donna took us out to County Meath one beautiful morning for a stroll around the Boyne River Valley. The history-savvy amongst you will recognize the name "Boyne" for its famous battle, but we shouldn't get into that. While our landmark of choice may well have had its own share of strife, Newgrange is best known for being older than most pyramids and Stonehenge (3200 B.C.) and for its narrow underground passage enjoying natural lighting but one day a year, on the winter solstice. (So much for boring details!)

Unfortunately, the Newgrange tour was at an inconvenient time, so we opted for the less spectacular Nowth.

This is what we saw:

And this is what we saw from atop the mound which is called Nowth:

Nice little place, isn't it? Anyway, the important point is that we enjoyed gorgeous weather, excellent company, strange new sights, and a picnic. Donna brought pineapple-flavoured cheese.

I also enjoyed some football field camping last weekend at Ignite Festival 2006, Drewston House, Athboy, County Meath. This was yet another youth rally-type thing (a la TeenStreet), but 2000 times smaller; in fact, the number of attendees was embarrassing. So we laughed in the face of embarrassment and made a good time of it anyway!

This is Drewston House. It used to be an orphanage:

It hasn't been all gallivanting about, however. Ashleigh has been most unfortunately oppressed by some sort of infection for the better part of two weeks now, so we've been taking it easy. Each day seems to bring some small improvement, but youth groups are starting up full-swing tomorrow, and I don't think she will be too involved at first. She's not too happy about it, but we'll just have to wait. If you find time to remember her in prayer, we would be most grateful.

By the way, this is our mail box:

It's empty at the moment–but it doesn't have to be! I'll leave it there.

Well, last night Ash & I spent a good deal of time talking about smells. It was a grand old time. I'm talking here about the kind of smell that suddenly evokes some distant memory, or a time, or even just a feeling. Like the smell of waking up in a car on a field, or the smell of the ferry landing on Vancouver Island, or a chai tea latte at CityBlenz. So we started to miss home a little bit, but that's normal, right?

Come to think of it, I would love to hear about a smell or two of your own. If you have recently had a smell-flashback, feel free to leave a comment for us to enjoy at the bottom of this post. Don't be shy now, it only takes a minute (I feel like some kind of sleazy infomercial salesman).

Thank You for the Germans!

2006-08-17T16:04:00.000+01:00

What's all this TeenStreet jive?
I can't attempt to explain what TeenStreet really is if you've never been to a youth event like this before. However, what teens experience there is something like a recharge for their spiritual battery, or a booster for their strawberry smoothie, or any other such silly illustration. At TeenStreet, teens meet God in community & worship, spend 7 days studying His Word and getting to know each other ridiculously well, and hopefully go home a different kind of Christian. What creates the climate for this metamorphosis to occur? 3000+ teens from all over the world (especially Europe) congregating in one massive warehouse, a super-talented worship band designed especially for this once-a-year party, endless prayer & cooking, two worship leaders who speak more languages than we've heard of, nearly 1000 adult leaders & staff to keep them all "under control" (they could rebel at any moment if they really wanted to!), and--most importantly--Rules. Thank the Lord for the Germans, who know how to make rules and stick to them, no matter what may come! (They got on my nerves more than once, but nothing would have happened if they were not intolerably inflexible.) Of course, we know that all of this would amount to no more than a pile of dry sticks if the fire of the Holy Spirit did not light them. Fortunately, He did.
Too many great things happened during the week of TeenStreet to recap all. Therefore, in order to keep this simple, I have undertaken to vote on the top three events at TeenStreet Germany 2006. The official results are, in order from greatest to less great:

NET Group Time
The Throne Room
Afternoons at the lake

NET Group Time
On Tuesday morning, when the guys had gathered on their air mattresses for NET time, Neville announced that NET group time was the highlight of TeenStreet. The guys digested this for a moment, then replied enthusiastically, "No it isn't! The Throne Room is!" Neville put up his hands apologetically and assured them that he was right. However, one of the lads, who had not been paying attention, suddenly tuned in and asked what we were talking about. I informed him that NET time is the highlight of TeenStreet. "Is it really?" he said, looking surprised. "I always thought it was the Throne Room."

A NET group is essentially what is known to many as a Small Group, only it comes with a more descriptive name. The NET is meant to evoke the imagery of a net (brilliant, no?), such as the safety net that is generally found beneath trapeze artists. What would you think if you were watching a trapeze artist at a circus who had no net? Why, you would be very nervous! We are very nervous for teens who do not have a social net to catch them when they fall (I'm not talking about Child Protection Services or Welfare). NET time is about exploring God's Word, spiritual growth, and a community of peers who commit to looking out for each other. The girls seized on this idea beautifully when they were challenged to avoid physical contact with boys for one day in order to evaluate why they do it and feel they need it. Long after the challenge was over, they were reminding each other to consider their actions around the guys! We were very encouraged.
The Throne Room
Okay, so the real highlight of TeenStreet, as voted on by the teens, is the Throne Room. This is TS lingo for worship time. Christians have a tendency to be cynical about these events because we've learned about peer pressure, mob mentality, orchestrated emotions, and so forth. Therefore, when the worship leader encourages us to put our hands in the air, we bitterly shove them deeper into our pockets. Those who surrender to his black arts often find themselves in tears at the stroke of a guitar chord or a sudden crescendo. Is this the Holy Spirit of God moving through a crowd of repentant teenagers, or have we simply turned them into robots? I don't think that either scenario is impossible! Some may weep at a Smashing Pumpkins concert, and yet go to church week after week and never feel a thing besides tired and bored. However, in the Throne Room, many teens accepted Christ and dedicated their lives to God, others caught a deeper grasp of His boundless love, and still more recognized their need for fundamental change. We were there with those teens to pray with them and support them, and we can only pray, as they return home to their old routines and their old friends, that the flame that was kindled in their hearts and minds will not grow dim but be fed by constant prayer & fellowship. I have been cynical of the Massive Emotional Worship crowd, and I have been part of the Massive Emotional Worship crowd. For my part, I was impressed by how the worship leaders at TeenStreet handled it. They were talented musicians, but moreover, they were humble Christians who obviously walked with God and recognized when His Spirit was prompting them to step up or step back.

Afternoons at the lake
Twice we retreated to a nearby lake for sun, water, pleasure, solitude, rest and relationships. We threw the frisbee around, piled up the waterslide, and talked our heads off. Great crack, that was.
Finally, the unofficial highlight of TeenStreet:

The Coach's Café
Where would we have been without the exclusive and inexpensive Coach's Café? Open all day to everyone except teens, all-you-can-drink coffee, tea, or any hot drink, and a variety of salty and sweet snacks to sample... just what the soul needs after a long, cold, wet (did I mention the weather?) day with 3000 teenagers. Mmhmm...

Thanks for caring!

Some TeenStreeters on the town:

We're back.

2006-08-15T13:38:00.000+01:00

Hello faithful readers!

We are back from TeenStreet Germany 2006 as of last Saturday, and have spent the last few days recovering from that experience and moving into our permanent residence at Mantua Park. You will hear more about these things shortly!

The end of July.

2006-08-03T13:33:00.000+01:00

Hello there! If you think that you can manage to take your eyes off of my enormous face for a minute, I'll tell you what happened...

The 27th of July was a particularly warm day. Ash & I grabbed a bus to O'Connell Street and ran into a young man with a tanned complexion and a very European accent who was selling yellow flowers. He asked us, "Would you like to buy a flower?"

"Okay," I said. "How much are they?"

Much to our surprise, this question seemed to catch him completely off-guard! "How much do you want to pay?" he replied.

"Umm..."

Meanwhile another Irishman had approached our young entrepreneur and offered him €2 for a flower. However, when I pulled out €1, the Irishman quickly revised his offer to match mine, which made me feel bad. But then again, the young tanned man seemed so happy-go-lucky that everyone felt very good about the deal afterwards.

Anyway, we took the flower to the Immigration & Naturalization Office across the Liffey and waited (not in the queue, thankfully!) for a nice man who shall remain anonymous (let's just say his name was Oliver) to stamp our passports and write good things in them and take our pictures and print out little white cards for us to take with us. We celebrated over a cup of coffee and took pictures of ourselves with the flower on the quays opposite the Immigration building.

The following Saturday, we had all of the Junior Impact youth (which totalled two) over for a movie. We could not believe they had not seen The Incredibles before, but we were more than happy to see it again.

Sunday night, we did the same thing again with the Senior youth, and then the Junior Impact-ers showed up! Here they are having two conversations. Actually, Lynsey (on the left) is not Junior anymore.

And here is Claire (on the left) between laughs, Paul (in the middle) with seemingly huge knees, and Keith (on the right) inspecting his new Converse shoes.

Quite a dynamic bunch, I assure you. We watched Napoleon Dynamite. It was enjoyed by most, underappreciated by few, and hailed as "pure genius" by Claire.

On Monday, we celebrated Clem Hegarty's 50th birthday. He is the pastor at Swords Baptist Church, but (still) don't call him that. Everyone brought a bowl of interesting food and partied, Christian-style. It was great. We're going to meet him for coffee in about 70 minutes.

Well, now we're getting ready for TeenStreet 2006. Just as I found this link, I read that Switchfoot have indeed cancelled their European dates! I am very disappointed, but we all know that TeenStreet is about much more than a Christian concert. We are, in fact, restless with anticipation. We will be up very, very early Saturday morning to catch our flight to Offenburg.

I must ask you all to pray for the youth, especially during this upcoming week! Like most youth groups, there are some who eagerly wish to go deeper into Christianity. Pray that TeenStreet will be a life-altering time for them, and that they will sustain the spiritual momentum they've gained there.

Thanks for your interest and support. We'll be back 12 August, so don't expect an update before then. Cheers!

"Ceeyaptain Keeyetchup!"

2006-07-22T19:04:00.000+01:00

"I love ketchup, ketchup, ketchup!" has been the familiar chant of the week. The past five days have found us running around, singing wacky songs, and playing lots of "What time is it Mr. Wolf?" with a bazillion kids at the two Kids' Clubs that Swords Baptist Church ran. It has been a hectic and physically demanding week to say the least!

Here's a run-down of a typical day:

We started off our days packing up Nancy's car with the day's supplies, heading off to the green in River Valley, setting up the stations and running our morning club. I have become quite adept at thinking up kids' games and getting them off and running while Jordan's got to practice his footballing (soccer) skills with a less intimidating crowd. Just when I thought another relay may possibly lay me flat, the kids would be broken into their small groups and trotted off with their leaders. The Baptist association sent a team of teens from Northern Ireland to help out with our clubs and we decided to try them out as small group leaders. As this was a first for many of them, Jord and I were appointed to wander between them and give a hand as well as a sense of support.

Nancy: the amazing woman who organized the whole kids' club op!

It was really cool to see how these teens grew in their leadership and confidence as they led the discussion questions and talked to their kids about who Jesus is and what He's all about. I also got to get to know most of the kids by helping their leaders out, which was so fun. After small group time, the groups were rotated around the craft station, story station (with Captain Ketchup and the Red Hot News Desk reporting on the story of Joseph), and work sheet/snack station. Finally, all the kids gathered to finish off with songs (Jordan got some fame by playing guitar). After getting people moving to pack up, we'd head off for lunch, then up to Swords Manor to do it all again!

Our days did not end here though. Since the B.Y.E. team (the teens from the North - don't ask me what it stands for, it just is) were here for the week, there was more to be done. It was super hot this past week so a shower was a must, but then we would pack up and head for whatever house Hazel was feeding them all at. Hazel did a marvellous job at getting food together for everyone and she let me help when I could. The evening entertainment ensued and we had much fun with them. We even made it out to Howth (does not sound like "mouth"), climbed a small mountain, and got some great views. Jordan and Nev also nearly made some of our girls wet themselves by scrambling up two trees along the trail and screaming at them when they walked under. The team also had a leader named Andrew from the south side of Dublin who led them (and often us) in a nightly Bible study. By the time we fell into bed, we were spent! It was great being able to be involved with the B.Y.E. team and I think it was an encouragement for our youth who were also helping out with the clubs. We'll post some sweet pictures from this excursion shortly.

Finally, a picture of Hazel-Anne and Neville!

It was really exciting to see kids come to the clubs who normally don't have much, if any, contact with the gospel message. The stories followed Joseph and brought out the points of God being a planner, helper, provider, forgiver, and King and the small groups had great material for presenting the message of Christ in a clear, understandable, and relevant way to the kids. We even had a parent come to check out what was going on and he seemed pleased with how open and non-pressured the club was. So please be in prayer for the kids who came out and their families! There are so many people here well acquainted with the terms of Christianity and the Name of Jesus, yet unaware of the meaning for them personally (similar to what we experience in Canada) so please pray that the truths these kids heard would penetrate their heart and that God's Spirit would move in them to bring understanding.

Last night we finished off the week with a BBQ at Hazel and Nev’s (EVERYONE who helped with the clubs plus more were invited - I don't know how Hazel does it). It was great "crack" and I was so over-tired that I had an uncontrollable laughing fit with Claire (one of the older Impact girls). Everyone was feeling the effects of the week which resulted in much levity and laughter. It was a great way to end off the week.

View from Howth

2006-07-22T18:08:00.000+01:00

That's Dublin you're looking at:

We started down by that castle.

Jordan looking suave.

The Swords girls: Leanne, Kristine, Lynsey, and Laura.

The village of Howth.

You never finished the story about Fair Glen!

2006-07-22T14:44:00.000+01:00

It's been over a month since we left our family at Fair Glen for this trip across the pond, so I think it's about time we put up a bit more on our time there. First of all, it was absolutely great to be there with Ben and Jocelyn not to mention our niece Suava and brand new nephew Kai.

Out days typically started at the easy time of 8:30ish with the sound of Suava running about and calling out "Ashee! Ashee!" or shouting for "Uncle Dornan." We loved it. We had such a wonderful time getting to know this little girl who won our hearts completely before the first half hour was over. On top of that, we got to snuggle and see our nephew Kai for the first time. Even over the two weeks we were there we saw him change and become more interactive. We were SO glad not to miss out on Kai's baby-stage. He was easy to get a giggle out of and seems to be just as ticklish as his dad. Understandably, the babes consumed most of our attention and we were pretty enamored with them. Spending time with Jocelyn and Ben was also a total blessing and although they feel backstage to their little ones, they really did make our time in limbo much easier and fun for us.

A few of the highlights beyond the relational touchy-feely jazz. A big one was camping! Ben had to check out a site for this summer's Woodsmen camp through Fair Glen Youth Camp and we all got to tag along. This was such a boost for us since we had been commiserating in our disappointment of missing a summer of camping with our dear Jer and Sheree as well as missing the camping trip with the Swords youth. Not only did we camp, but we also got out on the water in a couple of kayaks (Jordan's first time) and were there for Kai's first canoe trip. (Another point of pride - we were his first babysitters=). Then the guys played in some caves and had a great time.

After a refresher on belaying, the four of us started our way up the rock wall. Jordan scampered up quite fast, while I, being fairly height-fearing (and restricted) took my time but did eventually make it to the top. Next day we hit the high ropes and Ben beat our friend Tyler Yancy's record on the playpen with a stunning 26 seconds. Suava topped us all though as this tiny little 1 1/2 year old fearlessly and smoothly went to the top of a ladder that leaves most of the staff shaking (Jocelyn was right behind watching over her of course!). THE most precocious little one EVER (and that's not only a biased opinion).

All in all, we had a fab time, lots of laughs, lots of good talks and so much great Suava and Kai time. It took me by surprise just how very difficult it was to leave them all. Very glad that's our first stop when we return eight months from now!

An uncensored glimpse into the Hoffman house.

2006-07-22T14:01:00.000+01:00

Meet Kai Thomas Hoffman:

...and his big sister, Suava Amai:

Kai loves his blanket and soother...

...but Suava is just too cool for such babiness.

However, she does love a good bag and her shades.

Kai enjoys a one-on-one sess. with mum.

Goodbye...

...for now.

Great view, but could we move that huge fence?

2006-07-14T14:47:00.000+01:00

Hello, what do you look so apprehensive? Oh, you're wondering about that visa thing I mentioned in my last post? Dear me, I've really lost my head this time -- I'm sorry to leave you "sitting on pins and needles!"

It turns out that the truth was indeed more anticlimatic that we could have imagined. In fact, we'll have to wait until next week for the answer to our Question. (The question is: will we get a visa and stay in Ireland, or will we take the next flight back to Canada?) Someone is on vacation and, logically, unable to help us for a few more days. Hang in there!

Before I go any further, I should perhaps clarify something. If you're not big into dogs and you don't read the comments after a post, you may not have realized that Jack Russell is a terrier and not a surly immigrations officer! Thank goodness!

Now, let's see what the girls are up to!

It looks like Ashleigh, Leanne and Christine (the one who's hiding) are doing crafts. Christine was caught on video camera last year break-dancing on a picnic table at TeenStreet, but she's not about to make the mistake of getting caught of film again! The crafts are for KidsClub, which is happening next week, Monday to Friday, 4 hours a day. I have been practising playing upbeat children's songs such as "I'm Gonna Jump Up & Down" and "Man Looks On The Outside" on guitar.

On to the subject of today's title, "Great view, but could we move that fence?" I'm sure your brain has been subconciously attempting to solve the question of what this might mean, but time is up. I was in prison on Wednesday.

No, this has nothing to do with immigration. Could we not make anymore jokes about that, please? While we were making name tags Wednesday afternoon, Rory invited me to a game of football at the juvenile center north of Swords. Just for crack, of course. Now, I haven't played football (soccer) for a good many years (excepting Sunday), so I was pretty nervous about playing with a bunch of die-hards against a team of juvenile delinquents. Fortunately, I wasn't the only one who showed up without knee socks and shin pads, and no one was as serious as I feared they would be. In fact, the biggest challenge was keeping my eye on the game, because the scenery was jaw-dropping. (I had not really gotten out of the city and into the country since we arrived, so hadn't had much of a taste of "the real Ireland" yet.) The field was on top of the highest hill, and all around us, as far as I could see, was bright green rolling farm land. The sun was 2 hours short of setting, and there were next to no clouds in the sky. As for the game, it was super. Playing an aggressive game with juvenile deliquents results in a very unique dynamic. It was clear to me that they had a lot of anger and aggression which was channelled directly into the game, either through physical exertion or shouts of frustration at a failed goal-attempt. Hungry came to mind. But when I caught their eye, talked to them, or shook hands with them after the game (we won 1-0), they were shy and respectful. I think I'll be returning for another match.

That's all for now. We're going to a BBQ today at the Chaloner's house. Donna makes excellent food, for the record. Until next time!

Jack Russell and his evil minions.

2006-07-09T22:53:00.000+01:00

Saturday was a red-letter day: we moved into Linda Wagner's condemned mobile home at 19 Mantua Park after months of living with various hosts; we are free, like birds. Sure, the walls are as thin as paper, the roof leaks, the heating is shot, and the long drive is guarded by three, maybe four, unfriendly dogs--two of which do not wear a leash. We will win them over yet, but I do not have a very good track record with Irish dogs thus far (see KidsClub pamphlets). Strangely, as I sat here, a Roman candle exploded against the foundation. On the positive side, it's free and not likely to be bulldozed in the next seven months!

Also on that rainy day, the 8th of July, was our first experience of an Irish wedding. We didn't know the bride or the groom, but one of the bridesmaids, Ruth, invited us. We thought it might be very different from our North American weddings, but it may have passed for an unorthodox one. The wedding was held, as it turned out, in the very church that first caught our eye when we walked to Swords three weeks ago: St. Columba's.

Well, in Ireland we don't let a little rain stop us from getting married or, in the event of this Sunday afternoon, getting together for a picnic at Newbridge House. (I've already mentioned that Newbridge House inspires Austinesque sentiments.) This was an interconference Baptist Church event, but we all sat at our own picnic tables and played it safe. Kudos to the two men from another church that came over to our table and got our names. We also gathered a dozen people together for a game of European football, including 5-year old Kate Robinson. She was perhaps the most promising player of the bunch, but got a red card for tackling me and not letting go. (Did anybody see that massive French head-butt tonight? Trop mal.)

The picnic.

Tomorrow is, somewhat anticlimatically, the day of our moment of truth. We will either be awarded an 8 month visa, or pack our bags. Pray for us and our good man on the inside, Declan.

Sixteen youth sack Swords Castle.

2006-07-05T16:27:00.000+01:00

Okay, what you are looking at right now is actually nature's petri dish. The Irish Sea separates Ireland from the United Kingdom (unless you count Northern Ireland). If you want to go surfing, you have to go to the west coast, but there are lots of cliffs there. The east & south coasts have the beaches. One such beach is at the mouth of the estuary, at Malahide. We know because we went to this beach on Saturday. We didn't know exactly where we should go, but we started pedaling in the direction of the sea and ended up about 25 minutes away, in Malahide. The beach is quite rugged. We had a modest picnic of apples, yogurt, ham sandwiches and absolutely nothing to drink. So we had lattes and wrote significant things in our journals. Ashleigh took a picture of me squatting with Ireland in the background:

Today, being Wednesday, was a particularly beautiful day. Ash & I made our second attempt at organizing a youth group event, all by ourselves (the first didn't really work out, but we did end up spending an evening with the Robinsons, who are simply wonderful people. I should elaborate: we played Rounders). Anyway, I sent a "text" (that's modern lingo for "text message") to perhaps 25 kids and informed them that they would be more than welcome to join us for a picnic and games at Swords Castle Park. Swords has its own castle, of course. 10 said they would come, but the final number was closer to (you guessed it) 16.

Well, we had a great time. The girls all ran out onto the grass and started engaging in sports, while the boys lazed around on the blanket and improved their tans. Finally, David took it upon himself to teach me the rules of rugby. I made myself an enthusiastic student, and then 12 of us, including 4 girls, took to the field. The final score was very high, but I remembered that I am fully out of shape. I think that our time here will be very good for my physique.

We didn't take any pictures at the Castle because we were too busy having a great time. The football (soccer, for you Americans) went in the creek. Then the frisbee went in the creek. Then the park ranger informed us that we couldn't play here, but he would let us anyway, so we cheered cautiously. Then several people nearly lost different parts of their face to the frisbee, while others were winded or otherwise in a rough game of double-touch rugby. Best of all, I think I nearly know everyone's name. Cheers.

P.S.
I almost forgot to mention that it was hotter in Ireland than in Manitoba and British Columbia.

Hot/cold

2006-06-27T15:53:00.000+01:00

How can we possibly keep you up-to-date with our lives in Ireland? The last 3 days have been packed with interesting, challenging and exciting events, some of which have been hot, others cold.

One such cold event was our excursion to Dublin on Monday morning. As we had been in Ireland for 5 days already, we saw no other option than to make our way into the capital city for a little how-d'you-do. Elaine was so kind as to show us the bus on her way to work, and the traffic was horrible. When we stepped off, we were in the thick of things, complete with gigantic black rabbits bounding down the middle of the street and one enormous, oft-maligned spire (more fondly known as "The Spike," "The Stiletto in the Ghetto," and "The Skewer in the Sewer," to name a few)--I wish I had photographed it. We crossed the Liffey on foot and quickly located a coffee shop wherein we retreated in order to collect our thoughts.

We eventually found a tour coach that would take us around the city as many times as we wanted within 24 hours, and it was manned by a very witty Irishman (not a rare specimen) who had no particular love for Irish politicians and was a self-professing "Doubtin' Thomas." He even conducted a poll comparing the number of tourists that would get off at Christchurch Cathedral and St.Patrick's Cathedral versus the number that would get off at the Guinness Brewery (another supposed "Christian site"). He correctly predicted that the latter stop would easily receive more visitors than the former two combined. Our coach driver illustrated a worldview that is proving to be very popular with this country's citizens: "Hang the church--we've been there! Let's go for a pint."

After a turn about the city and a tasty bacon & egg sandwich, we again embarked on the bus, this time hopping off at Trinity College (Ashleigh is pictured there, above) where the ancient Book of Kells is housed, and finally at St.Patrick's Cathedral (pictured above). Johnathon Swift, author of Guliver's Travels and A Modest Proposal..., was the Dean of that Cathedral for some 20-odd years in the 18th century and lies buried in the floor. While the church was beautifully restored (there has been a church at that site since the 5th century) and the exhibitions were fascinating and inspiring, the whole thing had a very commercial feel to it; they have turned my Father's house into a den of thieves!

This picture is of no particular interest, except that the building is covered in ivy and the doorknob is in the middle of the door (as anyone could easily discern for his or herself). Dublin is a city of grey stone & skies, green trees, and outrageously colourful doors.

We did many other interesting things besides visit Dublin. Today, for example, we delivered leaflets to 400 homes to advertise the church's upcoming KidsClub2006, and I nearly was eaten by a rabid dog who mistook me for a postman. Last night we made an appearance at the church's general meeting on the need for a new building. This is a very interesting story which I will not get into at present, but is in need of much prayer and wisdom. I should add that we did not at all regret going, for we were acquainted with 15 or so very pleasant Christians who represented Swords Baptist Church very favourably.

Sunday was perhaps the most refreshing and enjoyable day we have experienced in a long while. We went to our church--of course!--in the morning. It was everything that a small, young community church should be, and more. Most of the day was spent in the company of our excellent pastor, Clem Hegarty, his wife Valerie (incredible cook), and his well-adjusted and friendly children, one of which is nearing our own age. We strolled about the hundreds of acres of grounds around an old family "house" (more like a castle) and felt like characters out of a Jane Austin book. The weather was gorgeous. I'm afraid I haven't any pictures to share of that day.

If I may take you back still a little further, I will quickly recap Saturday as well. Saturday was painful, in the way that implies one has learned something. Neville, bless his heart, took us out on the sea with his little boat and introduced me to wakeboarding (Ash has already done this). It is a fortunate fact that Neville is very patient with learners, because I was in need of a good coach. In 10 attempts, I got up perhaps one and a half times. The last time, I fell in a very bad position and swallowed an unhealthy amount of salt-laden water. Ashleigh then proceeded to show me how it was done. We had fun.

Later that evening, Nev & Hazel had as many youth over as liked to come for a BBQ. I learned that a burger in Ireland does not equal a burger in North America (let alone their crazy words for bun, which I have forgotten). Even in the Burger King advertisements, you will find nothing but bun-ketchup-meat-bun. This is the simple equation and, to tell the truth, it was a rather welcome change to Chicago-style everything with anything you can think of on top and a bag of chips. However, Elaine told us that most Europeans are sensitive of the fact that they do everything smaller than we do in America! This was a surprise to us--we always felt exactly the opposite way (and this may be correlated to the discussion we observed at the church meeting last night).

At any rate, I have waffled on long enough. Please pray that we will find some suitable housing very shortly, and that God will provide us with wisdom, direction, and all good spiritual fruit to meet the youth at the various points in their lives and figure out how we can be a positive influence on them for the short time we have here. Furthermore, we are soon beginning the visa application process. This is crucial to everything.

Thanks for reading!

Touchdown

2006-06-23T20:33:00.000+01:00

At the moment the clouds parted and we descended upon Dublin, I thought to myself, "I will do whatever is necessary to get into this country." The view from my seat on the jet was incredible (I attempt to convey it in a photograph, but fall short of justice), and I plastered my face to the window for the rest of our descent.

It turned out that we still had to jump through a few ropes to get our entry visa. Fortunately we had an extremely kind customs officer (a precedant) who didn't seem to judge us based on our unfortunate label. While he did require more information and explanation than an ordinary vistor might have been obliged to divulge, we finally set foot on Irish soil (or concrete) after a mere hour of investigation.

Over the next 36 hours, we had the extreme pleasure of meeting the faces that belonged to the barrage of names we had received from Linda over the months. Our temporary hosts, Neville & Hazel-Anne, are lovely, hospitable folks who kindly informed us not to talk about our pants in public (they don't mean "trousers") and have a cheerfully coloured house. We also met pastor Clem (but don't call him that!), who is perhaps the most personable chap we know to date, and a few younger friends as well. First, but not least however, was Linda Wagner, who met us at the airport and made us feel at home immediately. She took us around the town today and astonished us with some wonderfully idyllic scenery.

We also had the ambition, after a brief siesta, to walk down to Swords Main Street ourselves -- not an ambitious task in and of itself, but to a couple of foreigners like ourselves, it felt like a momentous accomplishment. We found a park surrounding a small castle and noted the incredible abundance of youth, 98% of whom are nominal Catholics and yet struggle to find meaning in life.

As we meandered down a narrow lane called Church Street, we spotted an ancient-seeming tower covered in ivy, with a graveyard and a parsonage on the grounds. We conquored the hill that led us thence and discovered it to be a beautiful tucked-away little Church of Ireland in a copse of trees. There were a total of four buildings in the vicinity, one of which is pictured below. The church door had a key-hole whose key must have been as large as a pipe wrench, and we both could have sworn we heard somebody plucking at the piano from within the stony walls. As we rounded the yard for the second time, our ears again discerned some stray notes -- however, the very minute we were within clear earshot, not a sound was to be heard. Not a sign of life beyond pigeons and doves... is this an indication of the condition of the Irish Church? Some might say. To us, it was a strange and wondrous sight.

At an intersection near Neville's place, we ran into an average looking, thiry-something, Irish man who stopped us and said, "Excuse me, I'm wondering if you might help me -- (little does he know we are foreigners who've just arrived today!) -- I'm looking for downtown Swords?"

"Erm, ah! yes, it is right down that direction; stay to the left."

"Thanks! Cheers!"

Surreal.

Like something rolling.

2006-06-19T01:41:00.000+01:00

Yikes -- I feel like we've pushed something down a hill and now it's gaining momentum so rapidly that it's almost beyond our control. The very day after we found out that we could finally go to Ireland, we got online and checked out ticket prices. We either had to find a great deal before the 21st, or else wait until the 26th (so that we would have a ride to the airport). Amazingly, we found the most incredible deal through Air Canada for a flight this Wednesday! So we're going to land in Dublin at 10:30 AM Thursday morning.

In addition to this sudden change in outlook, we have to hurry up and apply for Operation Mobilization's TeenStreet 2006 in Germany by tomorrow! So things are picking up speed rather quickly.

This is a welcome change.

Now we just need a place to stay once we get there, and several thousand dollars.

Cheese (cake).

2006-06-17T15:15:00.000+01:00

I said I would post cheesecake pictures and now I have. This is us, squinting and having a grand old time and eating cheesecakes in commemoration of our wedding at the Mariposa Market Square in Orillia. Rumor has it that Ron Sexsmith is coming to Orillia in July, but I won't be here to catch him! (Never mind that he was in Dublin two weeks ago...)

A cautiously optimistic face (:^|

2006-06-17T02:42:00.000+01:00

Incredible news! We've learned something today! (This is a rare occurrence when one only hangs out with 2 year-olds.) Things are happening in Ireland...

We finally received correspondence from the Isle of Emerald and we seem to have been cleared of all erroneous charges. We don't know what are friends on the inside have done (God was in on it!), but we are currently allowed into Ireland for 3 three months -- in other words, we have a guaranteed visitor's visa. That still falls rather short of our anticipated 8 month stay, but the field missionary, Linda Wagner, is optimistic that we will be successful in securing a work visa once we have arrived. We will maintain a careful optimism. Not that we're cynical, of course! Just not too keen on being detained overnight, or being escorted to an America-bound jet plane in an armoured car again. (The first time is always fun, but the novelty wears off.)

So, whatever happens next, it will happen quickly! We (cautiously optimistically) expect to be on a plane direct to Dublin sometime next week. Which raises two more issues:

We still don't have enough money to pay for 8 months in Ireland
and

We still don't have a place to stay in Swords.

If you're the praying type (like us), then would you like to slip two extra small petitions in there? It would mean a lot to us.

Thanks for listening!

One year ago, today.

2006-06-13T00:47:00.000+01:00

Monday was our very first wedding anniversary ever. To celebrate, we stole an SUV from Ben & Jocelyn and drove to Orillia for a lakeside stroll, cheesecake, a movie, and an Italian supper. Everything was either tasty or entertaining (not that we need entertainment, because we're so naturally entertaining), which helped to take our minds off of the unbearable waiting game that is Irish Immigration. On top of all this, we received a huge bouquet the following day!

To commemorate this special event, I will list all the provinces and states (or overseas cities) that we've been to since our wedding:

British Columbia (home!)

Alberta

Saskatchewan

Manitoba

Ontario

Washington

Oregon

Idaho (honeymoon!)

California (Disneyland!)

Illinois (TEAM!)

Indiana

Michigan

and, last but not least...

LONDON!! (boo)

Ah, what an impressive list. Sure, a bunch of those places we merely passed through. Try not to take the wind out of my already-limp sails. Here's hoping that next year's list will include Ireland. That is, after all, only the unifying theme of this blog!

Maybe we'll put up some pics of the cheesecake later.

Fair Glen good.

2006-06-06T01:58:00.000+01:00

The next time you hear from us, we'll be at Fair Glen, Ontario. We've got at least another week before things clear up in Ireland, so we're going to visit our little neice, Suava, and her even smaller brother, Kai. So long, Wheaton! We've enjoyed squatting in your vicinity and exploring your city parks. Until debrief, then...

What's going on over there?

2006-06-03T02:09:00.000+01:00

So, we've been hanging around the TEAM office for over a week now, enjoying the oh-so-changeable weather, collating papers, entering data into computers, whatever, because we'll do anything right now. We're just getting a little antsy to hear something new. (If you are too, then this post is for you.)

Imagine, then, how excited we must have been to talk to Linda Wagner, Ms. TEAM Ireland herself, today! We have been anticipating this news report for many days now -- will Irish Immigration clear our names or not? She caught us up on what she had done this week: first, she sent a letter of apology and explanation to Immigration, while the Swords Baptist Church sent a letter to verify her position and our planned internship. Then she waited 3 days for the letter to be delivered and read. Finally, on Thursday, she called Immigration to follow up on the letter and answer any questions they could have. I think she talked to a secretary or something, but the response was, "Oh, we won't get to your letter for another 2 or 3 weeks, I imagine." But Linda, bless her heart, was rather persistant, and managed to get her to concede, "Well, try the Monday after next."

Linda does have a back-up plan, as well. Don't ask me how she gets her contacts, but she knows two T.D.s (which, in Ireland, is like a Senator) who just might step in and use their weight to get things moving a little quicker. This won't be attempted until next week Tuesday at the earliest (Monday being a bank holiday), so it looks like we have another weekend in Chicago!

Good thing Arthur & Meg lent us their car. Otherwise we'd be stuck here with nothing but Irish Breakfast Tea and a swingset.

To London and back in 36 hours!

2006-05-31T22:04:00.000+01:00

On Tuesday, May 23, at 9:15 PM, we finally boarded the plane for London Heathrow airport to catch our connecting flight to Dublin. We were excited beyond words, so we enjoyed the flight in silence and tried to catch some sleep as we spend the next 8 hours over the Atlantic Ocean. When we landed in London, it was 11:00 the next morning. We hurried to the next terminal in order to catch our connecting flight with some time to spare, when we ran into customs. We had carefully planned our story and hoped to enter Ireland as "vistors," as we had been instructed by both our coordinators and the missionary on the field.

Unfortunately, our customs officer was either not having a very good day, or else she had a quota to fill. After much inquiry, she discovered that we did indeed plan to stay for up to 8 months and do volunteer work with a church. She judged us "deceptive," told us to take a seat, and immediately left to talk to Irish Immigration. One hour later, she briefly returned to inform us that we were being detained, then inexplicably vanished again. Our plane came in and we watched it unload and load as we sat there; so near, yet so helpless to take those last steps! So many questions went through our minds while we waited indefinitely. Is this the end of our dream? Is God really in control? Who is to blame for all this -- the officer, TEAM, ourselves!? Our thoughts were interrupted by the abrupt return of our officer, who told us she was going to take our bags off the plane and hand us over to another officer.

The next chain of events were a blur: a nice official led us all around the airport; we sat for various lengths of time in different seats and rooms; Jordan tried to figure out British pounds and pence, international calls, country codes, phone numbers, contacts, pay phones; we were led to pick up our bags, which turned out to be somebody else's baby carseat; interviews, pictures, papers, explanations; finally, a holding room, cold sandwichs, a drink dispenser, a TV for entertainment, and a long night ahead of us.

We finally determined that we had no choice but to return to Chicago at 8:30 the next morning. We were escorted (via armoured car!) to another terminal and assured that our bags were onboard the plane before the guards said farewell at the door of the plane. We tried to discern whether we felt that we had been treated like criminals or Very Important Persons. Then Jordan remembered that V.I.P.s don't get searched so much. Upon reflection, however, it was decided that every guard and official that we interacted with (after our initial incident) had been beyond civil and even apologetic. The last guard pleaded with us to consider returning to the U.K. again! We said we would see.

Of course, we will see where God leads us next. For three days, we had trouble thinking about anything else. We're still occupied with these thoughts. Fortunately, we have incredible connections in Ireland working on the issue and, better still, we have faith that God is still working in or through this -- what looks to us like a big mess may be God's carefully controlled plan. Who knows what will come of it? For the moment, we are patiently waiting on word from Ireland. Thank you for being patient and supportive, and for praying for us.

Greetings from the Windy City!

2006-05-17T05:31:00.000+01:00

Well, we haven't had the opportunity to get over to the windy part (the skyscrapers) of Chicago yet, but we ARE scheduled for a good old fashioned urban plunge tomorrow, Tuesday evening!

Let me tell you what's happened in the last week. First of all, we have been missing our friends' most enjoyable company. The biggest downer is leaving some place just as you have gotten comfortable and used to having awesome friends whom you are beginning to understand and seem to understand you.

Nextly (if I may coin a word), I must comment on the journey from Gold River to Chicago. It was long. The drive to Victoria was of course beautiful, and the flight from Victoria to Seattle was also beautiful -- and short. We took off in a tiny, perhaps 20-passenger, plane and toured across the many and varied islands between us and our destination. There was no shortage of interesting sights! 24 minutes later, we landed in Seattle. Then, at 11:30 PM, we left for Chicago on a much larger and, surprisingly, much noisier jet. It was incredibly uncomfortable, loud, smelly -- everything that is unpleasant. I tried to sleep, but only managed to feel groggy for about 2 hours before I finally gave up and watched the clock. At 5:30 AM we landed. Then we hung out in the airport for 2 hours, wishing we could eat or sleep or shower or something, until our TEAM friend, Gary, picked us up. However, we spent another hour looking for Peter, who was flying in from Chattanooga. He was lost in the airport, so we left. Thus ended our voyage. We arrived at TEAM headquarters, found our room, and crashed.

Now that we've more or less caught up on sleep, we're starting to enjoy ourselves. The grounds are lovely and well-treed, and the
buildings are all bricky. In fact, we're just two doors down from Tyndale Publishers and "The warehouse that Left Behind built," as Gary put it. It is truly huge. We had a very curry Indian meal last night, upon which we did gorge ourselves, and attempted to partake of a chili lunch today with inflexible cardboard tubes on our arms. The resulting vista was spectacular, and I was immortalized on film while throwing a scoop chip into my mouth.

Besides these exciting events, we have learned about effective evangelism (I participated in a roleplay), the captivating history of
TEAM (really!), and the post-modern post-Christianity of Europe, among other subjects. We are getting more excited about getting to Ireland everyday, especially upon realizing that it is only ONE WEEK AWAY. For the time being however, we love this place, these people, and everything that is to be learned about ourselves and God!

I see that Ashleigh has fallen asleep with a full cup of tea by her side again. If she was awake, I'm sure she would say hello.

Adventures in Gold River

2006-05-11T22:24:00.000+01:00

Just three days until our journey truly begins! We have been soaking in our time here in Gold River before we head out as well as keeping very busy with all the last minute details. It has been wonderful to be able to take a break in between the craziness of finals and moving and beginning our mission assignment. As always, the Hoffman parent home has been a place of refreshment and rest. We've had so much fun with family and friends and have been captured by the beauty of God's creation all around us. We were also able to have a great last weekend with our good friends, the Eisenhauers, when they were visiting with us in Gold River.

This Sunday we will be making a very brief appearance in church, driving as fast as we can to the Victoria airport with my (Ashleigh's) parents, and flying all night to Chicago! We will be arriving in the wee hours of the morning (5:30am) where we'll be picked up by some TEAM workers, taken to our housing and given a nap before our training begins. Apparently the five days of training at TEAM quaters in Wheaton, IL, will be quite intense and consuming and we would appreciate prayer! We want to learn as much as we can and prepare for our arrival to Swords. It feels rather like just before you get on a roller coaster ride: you are really excited to be almost to the end of the line, nervous of all the unknown twist of the ride, sharply aware of the fact that once you're on the ride, there's no getting out, and overall experiencing an extreme sence of anticipation and adventure. It is very reassuring to know that we are following God who knows all and can give us what we lack. We are continually being amazed at His provision and blessing!

First things

2006-05-06T22:36:00.000+01:00

Hello there. Thanks for visiting our blog. We won't be updating very faithfully until the 15th of May or later, due to the condition of this internet connection. For the time being, it will have to suffice to say that we are loving our two week vacation in Gold River and still waiting for around half of our funds to come in!