November And Stuff

TO EVERYONE SUPPORTING ME BACK HOME THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

Hey folks!  Haven’t written anything for a while and I am definitely needing to splurge all over this word document, so here we go!

A Lot to Be Thankful For

Right Now

Yesterday was American Thanksgiving, did you guys know there was a Canadian Thanksgiving?? (Me neither!)  And I’ve come to realize I have an awful lot to be thankful for.  Granted, every year, hopefully, most of us can see that,  but these crazy circumstances that I find myself in travelling around Ireland have shown me that I have quite a bit to be thankful for, including commas,,,.  Take today for example, I’m currently sitting in the study of my host home, this time it’s the house of Father Phillip, an awesome young Priest that NET is truly blessed to know.  Father has helped me, and many other missionaries, so much this year and staying at his house is always such an enjoyable experience.  This is my second time staying at Father’s and, like the last time, he treated us to a movie at the cinema (something we never get to do).  The food is always great, he has hundreds of great books, AND there’s a chapel in the house!  

Today (Saturday) our team is having a rare day off, and I have chosen to spend mine staying in this awesome house, writing, reading, guitar’n, business’n, and blogging.   I am so at peace right now, I’m listening to my Rhapsody account (The Weepies), something I hardly ever get to do, and just enjoying some nice relaxation time.  I am DEFINITELY thankful for that.  Being on the Road Team we’re constantly moving and constantly with each other, therefore these moments of peace and silence are treasured.  I seriously cannot stress to yall enough how much I’m loving this right now.

What’s-Up

It’s been about 5 weeks since my last blog post and man have we been busy.  We’re coming up on 40 retreats and OMG I can’t believe I just typed that.  Our encounter days have become something close to breathing for our team at this stage.   We’re getting to the point now where everyone can basically say everyone else’s testimonies and talks, while just about every aspect of retreat has been involved in some sort of inside joke or another.  It’s going to be really weird going back home and nobody knowing the NET Lingo.

Speaking of lingo, I haven’t picked up an Irish accent yet and have, at this point, officially abandoned hope of that happening.  I have, however, noticed myself falling into using some of the particularly Irish patterns of speech in my daily conversations.  For instance, the Irish throw “like” around a lot, kinda like us, however they throw it in at the end of sentences, something that I’ve started doing as well.  And besides it naturally coming out, we’ve all learned enough slang that we’d be able to turn it on at any time.  Here’s a few fun words:

•          Craic (pronounced crack) means a good time      ex. I had some good craic yesterday
•          Your Man- used to refer to someone in a story    ex.  Your man over there running the store
•          Bit-o-Banter-kinda like craic, depends on where you are in the country whether or not it’s used a lot
•          On the Lash-to be drunk  ex. Your man was on the lash last night
•          Deadly, Savage-both mean cool

Everyone also says “you’re very welcome” when welcoming people in.  I’ve always really enjoyed that one.  Anyways, there are quite a few more that aren’t immediately coming to my head right now, but those above are definitely the most fun.  Naturally “craic” caused a lot of confusion when I first got here.

Back to the overarching topic at hand, I’m thankful for the wonderful opportunity this year has presented to get away from a lot of the distractions I had back home.  Being separated from constant internet and TV has really allowed me to pursue the things I always wanted to give more time to, namely reading, writing, and music. I’ve read close to 15 books in the past three months and it has been absolutely wonderful.  So far I think my two favourites are “Mere Christianity” by C.S. Lewis and “He Leadeth Me” By Walter Ciszick.  I’ve found myself reading a ton of apologetics, partly due to the fact that I want to be able to answer any questions I might be asked by angsty Irish teens, but I also just really love learning more and more about my faith.  When people think of missionaries they generally think of all the sacrifices that go into it, and while that is very true, I’ve also found that the things I’ve gained(while certainly more abstract) far outweigh the things I’ve had to give up. 

Nothing about this year is “normal”, nothing has been and nothing will be, and it’s through that separation that I’ve been able to shine lights on all the areas of my life that, because of the conditions I was living in back home, never really got light shined on them.  Out-here I’ve been able to work out parts of my life that I never would’ve had the chance to back in Texas.  I’ve been able to pursue the things that truly give me peace, and through that, praise God, I’ve found it.  I cannot type enough on the amazing impact personal prayer has had on my life, and I would encourage all of you to set aside that time in your day for it.  I am doing things out here that I never thought in a million years I would be able to do, and it is entirely due to the daily grace I receive through prayer.  Its not like things have been perfect, there were a number of things this past month that were tough, hard to take, etc.  But being out here, I’ve learned to trust in Gods providence to a much greater extent.  Through clinging to Him I have the strength to let go of everything else, and man the joy that comes from that is something else.

Practical Snippets From The Past Few Weeks

We’ve had so many wonderful retreats lately it’s really hard for me to pick out any individual stories.  There have definitely been kids this past month that have made leaving so very hard.  I keep a log of all of my small-groups and try and pray for them everyday, but man, somedays you just wanna give em all hugs!

Music stuff is still going great, I had a blast the other day singing “Never Getting Back Together” with about 100 15 year old girls.  I’ve gotten the chance to jam with a lot of host-families as well, and that’s just been great.  I’m writing a lot of songs and stuff out here, all these emotions and exciting new things make for a lot of good material!

It’s getting cold!!  I still love the weather but I did have to buy another heavy coat to supplement my already heavy coat.  The kids are always astonished at our weather back home.  They can’t believe how little it rains, and they crack up when they hear how happy we are in Texas when it does.

I’m being considered for a job in Dripping Springs (outside Austin) that would be starting in June!  It’s as the Director of RE and High School Youth Minister for St. Martin de Porres!  I sent my resume and spoke to the priest (Father Ed K) on the phone already and now I’m just waiting for a response.  Prayers would be seriously appreciated!

My camera broke but I just got a new one(A thousand thanks to Dad)!  Sadly I missed out on a lot of great pictures.  We stayed in Dublin 3 different times and did a lot of cool stuff, in addition to going to flippin beautiful monastery’s and castles in Co Wicklow and Meath.  Nevertheless, everything here is beautiful and I’m sure there’ll be plenty more awesome things to take pictures of.

Things I Will Never Take For Granted Again

•          Fires
•          Hot showers
•          Beds
•          Fast food
•          Free refills
•          Sleeping in til 8
•          Internet
•          Time to relax
•          Sacraments

When did that happen…

We had a NET Thanksgiving this past Sunday (18^th) and it was such an awesome time.  I was excited going in but I didn’t think it was going to be as wonderful as it was.  We arrived in Co Cavan on Saturday night and stayed with the local team there at their house.  The next day the two other teams and our staff arrived and we spent the day together eating and having a great time.  Right before everyone went their separate ways we all went to the small chapel next door for adoration and worship, in the middle of it I looked around at everyone and really came to realize that these people aren’t new friends anymore, they’re just friends.  That this crazy trip has become something closer to just everyday life, and these wonderful people around me are a lot more like family than I ever thought they would be.

That night we moved on to our next destination, Derry, where we stayed, for the next few days, in the exact same place we had training.  It was so good being back.  It felt like a lifetime ago that I was last there.  Being back in Derry, coupled with seeing everyone at Thanksgiving, just really made me realize what an amazing, wonderful, life-changing experience this has been and just how truly truly profoundly thankful I am for this great blessing of service.  If you’re even somewhat thinking about doing NET or any sort of missionary work, I encourage you to keep discerning!!  I had no idea what to expect going in, but like everything in my life since God, with a little trust and cooperation on my part, its worked out amazing.

I love you guys so much.  Praying for yall.

Peace and God Bless.

P.S.  If anyone has any connections in Paris/Lyon, my buddy and I are looking for a place to stay around New Years