Going Home

Well, it's 1:30 AM… I will be riding away in a taxi from 18 Lower Mount Pleasant Avenue in 5 hours. I don't have time to write a very in-depth post because I need sleep, but I wanted to jot down the feelings I have on leaving. I'll write a post documenting my epic weekend in Paris and my last 2 weeks in Dublin once I get back home.

I guess leaving is bittersweet in a way (cliché, I know). I think the sweet outweighs the bitter though. It will be bitter because I'll definitely miss the people I've gotten to know here (my co-worker Erin in particular). I've been seeing the same people every day for 2 months and now there's a possibility I'll never see them again. Also, I'm sad to be leaving Ireland because of its sheer beauty. I've been more overwhelmed by the majesty of God's creation in Ireland than I have been anywhere else in the world… even though I will miss Ireland, I absolutely can't wait to be home! I miss familiar places, my church family, my house, my dog, my car, normal food, my normal cell phone… there are so many small things that I miss about the United States that I never thought I would miss… normal shower heads and power outlets for example… but mostly I just miss my family and Chris. I miss them so much it hurts. One thing I've learned from living in Ireland is that, it doesn't matter how beautiful your surroundings are. All that really matters are the people you're enjoying those surroundings with. Indiana obviously doesn't even come close to comparing to Ireland's beauty, but I've never been more excited to go somewhere :)

This summer has been an incredible learning experience, and I would never trade the lessons I've learned while I've been here. God has been making me constantly aware of his presence and provision in my life and he's been teaching me to put my hope in him instead of the people around me. He's also made me overwhelmingly aware of my sin. This whole experience has been very eye-opening. God knew exactly what he was doing when he set this up for me. I can now look back on the experience and see how God was able to use the loneliness that I've felt here to not only push me to him, but to also strengthen my earthly relationships. I'm grateful for the lessons God taught me, as well as for the opportunity he's given me to experience more of his world and creation. I look forward to the day when I can return with the people I care about. Slán go fóill ("goodbye for now"), Ireland! I'll be back :)

Eventful few weeks… robbery, wicklow mountains, Spain

Sorry I haven't updated in so long! I've been pretty busy the past few weeks… I'm approaching the end of my internship! My last day is Thursday. Can't believe it's almost over! I've really enjoyed the work I've done this summer. I feel like I've gotten some great work experience along with some great credentials. My résumé is gonna be staaaacked. My boss is going to write me a general recommendation letter for me to use for future job applications. Think about how legit it will be for me to have a letter of recommendation from the CEO of an Irish company which I interned for. Awesome! God is so good. This has been an amazing opportunity for me.

So anyway, a lot has happened since I updated last! I'm sure most of you know our house was robbed 2 weeks ago this Thursday. It was actually pretty awesome to see how God took care of us through the whole thing. I had stayed home sick from work the day before, but I was feeling better that morning, so I went to work. Think about how terrible things could've been if I had been home by myself when a whole group of robbers broke into our house! God's hand was totally in that… I started feeling sick again that night and ended up having to go to the doctor later the next week. It was totally a miracle! Things could have been so much worse than they were. They stole 4 laptops, 2 cameras, a backpack, and about €600 in cash; but they didn't steal any of our clothes, trash our house, or break any windows or anything to get in… and none of us were hurt! We confronted our landlord about the lack of security on our house (we think they simply picked the lock on our front door). We're getting our security deposit back, but we're pushing to get part of our rent back to cover damages. We'll see though. There have been a lot of other really bad things wrong with our house (smoke detectors with no batteries, etc.), so we brought those up in the letter we sent to our landlords. It's a scary situation, but I know God is looking out for us. He's proven himself time and again, so it hasn't been difficult to trust Him in this situation.

We didn't have a trip planned for the weekend after the robbery, which turned out to be a really good thing. We hung out around Dublin on Friday and Saturday and were able to get things sorted out with the Garda (Irish police). We went to see X-Men one day which rocked. We also walked around some parts of Dublin we hadn't really been to before. On Sunday my roommates, Matt and Ben, and I went on a bus tour of the Wicklow Mountains. It

was absolutely breathtaking. The Wicklow mountains have been used a lot for filming movies (including Braveheart, Saving

Private Ryan, and P.S. I Love You), which is very understandable after seeing it. It was some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen in my entire life (comparable to the Cliffs of Moher). Ireland is seriously one of the most gorgeous places on Earth. Being in the Wicklow Mountains was an incredibly spiritual experience. It's awe inspiring being surrounded by God's epic

creation like that! That tour also took us to an old monastery called Glendalough. It was beautiful! It was situated perfectly in the mountains. We also went to this adorable little mountain village for a pub lunch. It was definitely a worthwhile day :)

This past week we went to an event hosted by our study abroad program which included a 3-course meal, live Irish music, and traditional Irish dancing. It was awesome! I had bangers and mash. Ohhh yea. It was nice to have a night out with our whole program group and experience Irish culture a little bit.

This past weekend my roommates and I went to ESPAÑA! Spain was absolutely incredible. We started out in Barcelona, which was unlike any city I had EVER seen. Every single building was gorgeous! I couldn't believe how unique the architecture was there. I think my favorite thing

that we saw in Barcelona was la Sagrada Família (pictured to the left). They've been building la Sagrada Família since 1882. The famous architect, Gaudí took over in 1883 and worked on it until he died in 1926 with less than 1/4 of the church finished. They just passed the 1/2 way point last year and expect to have it finished in 2026 (100 years after Gaudí's death). It was the most intricate building I've ever seen. It had the crucifixion scene on one side and the birth of Christ on the other with all kinds of other Biblical images all over it. The detail work and hidden symbolism was awesome! The interior was indescribable. The pictures I took don't even do it justice. The food in Spain was absolutely fabulous too. Tapas and Paella. Can't go wrong. I wish I had gotten more time in Barcelona, though. I'll definitely have to go back sometime. I got a chance to swim in the Mediterranean! That was a neat experience. On Sunday we went to the Fib music festival in Benicàssim, Spain to see Mumford & Sons. We rode a train along the coast to get there… we had the mountains on one side and the Mediterranean on the other. It was gorgeous. Mumford was AWESOME live! They gave a great show, and they sounded just as good as they do on the album. For those of you who have never heard of them, here's a link to their most famous song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tL_Ye0h5xEI

and my favorite song of theirs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl-VCHzS1So

The festival itself was nuts. Everyone was crammed together at the concert and everyone was super sweaty. It was pretty disgusting and definitely an experience, but one I can live without

ever having again haha. I'm pretty sure this festival was the most uncivilized event I've ever been to… I don't even feel comfortable describing it here. Ask me if you're interested in more details haha. The festival started at 6:00PM and lasted until 7:00 Am and went for 4 days. We only went for one of the days, bust most people there went for all 4 days. We stayed up the whole night and listened to other bands such as Arctic Monkeys and Primal Scream. After we left the festival we walked to the beach to nap until we had to leave for the airport. I stayed up and watched the sunrise over the Mediterranean. It was incredible :)… We had to take a few trains to get back to the airport and we had a few hours in between trains so we were able to go to the beach in Taragonna, Spain. People in Spain just walk around naked on the beach… pretty shocking haha. We made it back to Dublin at about 10:30 on Sunday night having not slept or showered since Friday. Epic weekend :)

I've still been studying the Psalms, and they've totally been sustaining me in my time away from home. I've been so aware of God's presence here with me in Dublin-- especially after the robbery. Knowing that God is with me makes being away from everyone easier. God has also been totally been convicting me about how much I marginalize my sin. Psalm 51 definitely made me aware of that. God hates every single sin, even ones that don't seem like that big of a deal. Every "small" sin nailed Jesus to that cross. God's been using this realization to make me appreciate the epic sacrifice that Christ made to save me from my sin. Psalm 51:1 says "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions." God's unfailing love and great compassion are the basis for which we receive His forgiveness. Awesome :) Thank the Lord for grace. I'll be trying to let God humble me in regard to my sin and give me a heart of repentance. "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." Psalm 51:10

Thanks for reading :) Continued prayer for witnessing opportunities and boldness would be much appreciated. I only have 11 days left!

Psalm 25

I know this has nothing to do with Ireland, but I don't care. I felt convicted to share. I'm doing Nancy Leigh DeMoss' 30 Day Walk With God in the Psalms and today I read Psalm 25. Oh. my. goodness. most convicting thing ever. In this Psalm David is suffering because of his enemies, but the way he responds is the way I always need to respond to suffering. Rather than blaming God for his affliction, David becomes more aware of his own sinfulness and of God's mercy and love. I don't think I have ever responded to hardship in that way.

David recognizes that the cause of his affliction is not only his enemies, but also his own sin. Instead of responding in anger or denial, David admits his complete and utter dependence on God (verse 1 "I lift up my soul; in you I trust"), asks for guidance and instruction (verses 4 and 5 "guide me in your truth and teach me"), asks for forgiveness from his sins (verses 7 and 11 "forgive my iniquity, though it is great"), turns his eyes to the Lord (verse 15), and asks for God's protection (verse 20). Charles Spurgeon says, "It is the mark of a true saint that his sorrows remind him of his sins, and his sorrow for sin drives him to his God."-- awesome. I wish that my sin made me as sad as it makes my God (James 4:9).

Another Charles Spurgeon quote… " 'Forgive all my sins' is the cry of a soul that is more sick of sin than of pain and would sooner be forgiven than healed. Blessed is the man to whom sin is more unbearable than disease; he shall not be long before the Lord shall both forgive his iniquity and heal his diseases. Men are slow to see the intimate connection between sin and sorrow." I don't deserve one good thing in my life because of my sinfulness and depravity, so rather than blaming God for the trouble in my life I need to be praising Him for who He is and what He's already done for me. How great is it that we can still have an intimate personal relationship with the creator of the universe, in spite of ourselves? Psalm 25:18 "Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways."- Praise God.

whooooooa we're half way there

I'm a little over half way done with my trip! Feels pretty weird. I feel like the days go by fairly quickly, but also like I've been in Dublin for.ev.er. I only have 10 days of work left! Crazy. The past couple of days have been pretty slow. The company is in the middle of a merger, so my supervisor has been very preoccupied with that. Also, I need to work with our IT guy to get things up on our website, and he's preoccupied with merger stuff too. Hopefully I'll have more to do the second half of this week. I'm writing this blog post at work (*gasp* i know)… that's how little I have to do right now haha.

So two weekends ago we went to Cork in Southern Ireland. Not the most exciting thing we've done. We went to a hurling match, and that was really fun! I think they should bring the sport

to the US. It's kind-of a combination of every sport known to man and it's really fast-paced and exciting. You should look up a video of it

if you get a chance. We also went to Blarney Castle and "kissed the Blarney stone." It was very tourist-y, but we had a good time. The castle itself was really pretty. They had signs everywhere documenting the "history/story" of Blarney castle and the Blarney stone with super corny illustrations on them. Dead give-away that it's merely a tourist attraction. Oh well, we made if fun. Took a nap in the grass right next to the castle :)

This past weekend we went to LONDON!! I love London. It's such a beautiful, unique city. Last time I was there I didn't even get to come close to experiencing it. I feel like we did a better job

this time. We got to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, took a tour of Westminster Abbey, saw Parliament and Big Ben, explored the park and saw all of the street performers around the London Eye, walked around Trafalgar Square (where they were having a huge "Canada Day" celebration to make fun of American Independence Day) and Piccadilly Circus, saw the m&m store where we got some red/white/blue m&ms thinking we were being patriotic before we realized that those are also Great Britain's colors (oops), took a tour of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, walked across Tower Bridge, and toured the Tower of London. It was a very eventful 2 days! I loved London, but it made me miss Dublin. London is huge and fast-paced while Dublin is small and chill. I prefer it :)

So I've been having a relatively hard time with missing home recently. Don't get me wrong, I'm having an amazing time in Dublin, but I've just never been away from home this long before, and I miss it. It's pretty draining being constantly out of your comfort zone. Being away from every single person you know is difficult. Also, I don't get to talk to Chris at all this month while he's at ROTC officer training, so that doesn't help. God has really been reminding me that He's always with me even though everyone I love is on the other side of the Atlantic. Joshua 1:9 says "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” What an awesome promise :) I'm still studying Psalms, and pretty much every Psalm talks about God being our refuge and source of strength. I've been experiencing God as my refuge in a whole new way this summer. Things are different when you have to turn to God because there's literally no one else around for you to turn to. I know God is using this summer to really teach me how to be completely dependent to Him and to really surrender. Forever a work in progress, to be sure.

I've had a little bit more trouble in the witnessing department lately. Witnessing takes work, and it's really easy to be selfish and to just not "feel like it" sometimes. I was really convicted by 2 Thessalonians 3:13 "But as for you, brothers, do not grow weary of doing good." Continued prayers for witnessing opportunities and boldness would be much appreciated. I watched a Faith sermon with my only girl roommate, Laura (pictured above), the other day and she seemed to enjoy it. He gave me the opportunity to share my faith and testimony with her, and that was an amazing experience. God works in pretty incredible ways. Thanks for all the prayers and support! I'll be home before you know it.

whoa whoa whoa... where did the last 20 days go?

Oh hi :) I've had a super busy week! The last half of my first work week went well. The CEO gave me a pretty legit project. Like I said before, I'm working on promoting their big National Day of Volunteering. The CEO put me in charge of putting together the two flagship promotion events that they're hosting to bring attention to NDV. The first one is a knit-a-thon where they're trying to get people all across Ireland to knit for charity. We're going to try and break the world record for "most number of people knitting simultaneously." I had to plan the event, write up an official proposal, contact knitting groups asking them to get involved, and contact charities who we would donate the knitted items to. We've had a lot of groups express interest in being involved, which is encouraging. I have to have meetings with the CEO of one of the charities and the head of one of the knitting groups next week (by myself! eek!). I'm also setting up the flagship event that will feature the Scouts of Ireland (basically Boy Scouts of American, Ireland edition). I sat in on a meeting with them and the CEO of VCI last week which was a really neat experience. I'll be working on putting that event together more next week.

So now I want to tell you about the trips we've taken! In my last post I totally forgot to tell you about our trip to Belfast in Northern Ireland. It was hosted by UCD, so it wasn't the most exciting trip ever, but it was really interesting! For those of you who don't know, Northern Ireland is its own country apart from the Republic of Ireland and belongs to the United Kingdom. It's whole history is based on religions conflict (Catholics of Ireland vs Protestants of the UK). Apparently there's still a lot of prejudice and conflict. In fact, there was just a huge riot there this past weekend. Good thing we weren't there!

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3652030/Burning-hate.html

There are still big propaganda murals all around the city, and there's a HUGE wall running through one neighborhood dividing the Catholic side and the Protestant side. When you drive down the Catholic side of the street, all of the houses are sporting Irish flags. On the Protestant side, they all have British flags. I've never seen anything like it! It reminded me of stuff we learned in high school World History about WWII. The picture on the left is a picture of the Belfast wall covered in propaganda murals.

This past weekend we went to Galway on the West coast of Ireland. This was another UCD trip, but it was a little more exciting than the Belfast trip. The city itself was pretty fun. The night life was a little ridiculous. It felt like a college campus times 10. We stayed in a relatively "dodgy" hostel, but it was livable. On Saturday we

visited Connemara, which has some of the most beautiful scenery in Ireland (which is really saying something). We also visited the oldest whiskey distillery in Europe (so they say...), and all I could think of was Hot Rod. Also, it felt like we were standing in line for Splash Mountain, so it made me want to go to Disney World really bad. We also visited the ruins of an old monastery, which was beautiful. I was just so excited to get to see some of the countryside! I was starting to get a little claustrophobic in the city. We also went to see the Kelmore Abbey (left) which was AMAZING. On Sunday we went to the Cliffs of Moher (below). That was by far my favorite thing that we've done so far. It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. It was legitimately a spiritual experience. I was speechless just marveling at God's creation. Ironically enough, the background of my blog is the Cliffs of Moher, which I didn't realize until about 10 minutes ago.

So this past week, God has really been reminding me of His faithfulness. I haven't met one Christian since I've been in Ireland. It's a pretty lonely feeling, but it's also been presenting me with a lot opportunities. I'm trying to have the mindset that I may be the only Christian that these people ever meet. I was able to tell one of my co-workers all about my faith. He had never even heard of the concept of "saved my grace through faith" and not having to earn your way to Heaven. That was really eye-opening. God has been using people in my life like my wonderful boyfriend to encourage me to be a light here. Even though Ireland is seemingly spiritually dead, God has been reminding me that He is still God of the nations and everything in Ireland belongs to Him. It's amazing to me that so many of these people can live in one of the most beautiful places in the world, surrounded by God's amazing creation, and still not acknowledge Him. This nation needs prayer for sure. Being in this environment can be overwhelming because I want to share the news of God's saving grace with every single person I meet, but I know that I just need to be available for God to use me in whatever way He wants, and He will remain faithful to His promises. I'm learning to depend on Him in a whole new way during this trip. Thank you so much for your prayer support! I have faith in God's power to change the hearts of the Irish people.

Sam

Working girl... I feel like a grown up

Well, hi :) So I know I said I was going to try to update pictures everyday, but unfortunately I brought the wrong camera cord with me, and I'd feel bad asking my roommate Kyle to borrow his laptop with a memory card slot every day soooo... yea :)

But anyways, I started work this week! I'm liking it so far. I'm going to be working with 3 other American interns, but they don't start until next week, so I probably won't do any real work until next week. Right now my supervisor is sort-of using me as her assistant since she's going on maternity leave next week. I've just been updating their social media sites and researching better ways to promote their annual National Day of Volunteering.

It's really interesting working with Irish people. I had lunch with the receptionists today... Sample conversation:

Lauren- "Indiana... that's under New York, right?"

Me- "No, it's under Michigan... the one with the lakes."

Lauren- "Don't know what that is... Indiana isn't a state, is it?"

Me- "Yea, it is... it's right next to Illinois where Chicago is."

Lauren- "Bollocks, I don't know anything about the states... so what is Rhode Island then?"

Me- "A state"

Lauren- "but Las Vegas is a city... and New York is a city AND a state?"

Me- "Yup"

Lauren- "Goodness... America is just too darn big."

Oh it's fun :) Anyways, I actually had a really great spiritual talk with one of my roommates yesterday. God toootally gave me an opportunity to tell him about my faith, and it was awesome :) Keep praying for opportunities!... and boldness!

I was having a hard time the other day missing everybody and just being out of my comfort zone here, and then I read something out of Crazy Love by Francis Chan that really challenged me. Talking about the profile of someone who is radically obsessed with God: "A person who is obsessed with Jesus is more concerned with his or her character than comfort. Obsessed people know that true joy doesn't depend on circumstances or environment; it is a gift that must be chosen and cultivated, a gift that ultimately comes from God... Obsessed people orient their lives around eternity: they are not fixed only on what is here in front of them." It doesn't matter if I feel uncomfortable here, God has me here for a reason, and I want to be available to be used by him rather than be grouchy because I miss everyone. I shouldn't be focused on that, I should be focused on God's eternal purpose and His plan for me here. I've been super encouraged by the reading I've been doing in Psalms recently, so that's helping. It's such a freeing feeling to surrender your circumstances to God. Thanks to everyone who's been praying for me! :)

Sam

Days 2-4

Woo! I love Dublin! I'm having an amazing time so far. I haven't done much other than go to class at UCD, but it's been so great just exploring the city! I've been going on runs, and it's not even torture because there's just so much to look at!.. also it helps that there is zero humidity and it's usually about 55 degrees outside :) Class is suuuuuuper boring though, omg... but I'll be done with it after tomorrow. I get 3 credits for a class that lasts 1 week. I feel like I'm cheating the system :)

These are my fantastic roommates and me on our first day of school! These guys are fantastic. We're all gonna take weekend trips together to Edinburg, London, Paris, and Barcelona and I can't wait! Our whole program is going to Belfast in Northern Ireland this weekend, so that should be fun :) I'm really just excited to finally see the countryside! The city is amazing, but i want to see some of those rolling green hills. I got to experience my first real Irish pub last night! Exciting stuff. I also had my first ever Guinness!

I got to walk around the city by myself a lot today. I had an interview with VCI this afternoon, and their office is a 45 minute walk from my house. It's pretty far, but I really don't mind because I get to see so much of the city on my way :) I pass St. Patrick's Cathedral every day, and it's AMAZING. I'm gonna stop on my home from work one day and go inside. Not a whole lot to report other than that :) I got to see my family on skype today, which was awesome. Keep praying for opportunities to share my faith. Thanks! Sam

Day 1!

Day 1- Success! I got to our house at about 9 AM and met my roommates for the summer. Kyle, Matt, Ben, Laura, Charlie, and Robb. They seem pretty great! This is a picture of our cute little street...

and this is our lovely home for the summer ;)...

By far the jankest house on the block, but that's ok. It has character or something. The inside isn't THAT bad. The bathrooms are... interesting.

Dublin is so great! It's a big city, but it really doesn't feel like one. It's probably a good thing that I'm not Irish. I would never stop talking because I would love the sound of my own voice so much. But anyways, my flight was uneventful. I slept on and off. I sat next to a really nice family and was able to talk to the mom about my faith a lot. Once I got to the city I had the best taxi driver of all time. It's been an overwhelmingly positive experience so far :) Class starts tomorrow and lasts the majority of the day. Prayers are still much appreciated. I miss everyone!