Monday morning around 9 I'll be hopping onto a plane bound for New York! I'm very excited to be coming home for Christmas break, but I'll miss Ireland and will be looking forward to picking up our ministry in January!
Please pray that I have a safe flight home!
Blessings,
Leanne
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
"For in Him we live, move, and exist..."
"One of your assignments; start a youth group." That was the only piece of information we were given by our pastor on this assignment. It was a brand new ministry he wanted to start in his church and we were the ones to do it! It's an exciting thought; to start something brand new and brainstorm about it.
Many of the youth here in Ireland attend the Catholic church but only out of obedience or culture. They don't understand the true meaning of the church or a relationship with Christ. So, for our youth group, we wanted to provide an opportunity to meet and talk with the teenagers of Tullamore. At first, we thought of a Battle of the Bands night because there are many bands around the town. But we thought this would defeat the purpose and become too big of an event. So instead, we had the idea of hosting an open mic night on Saturdays with a cafe feel. After deciding on what we were to do, we had to think of a name. We decided on the name of the youth group to be "Exist" based off Acts 17:28 "For in Him we live, move, and exist..." We thought this was a fitting title because of the suicide rates of the teens here and how they feel under appreciated and invisible. We want to show that our identity is found in Christ and in Him, we exist. Our first meeting of Exist is this Saturday and we're really excited! So far, we've told quite a few people and many are interested!
One thing we have already done to reach out to the youth here was a "Girl's Night" at the church. Last Saturday, 20 preteen girls came to Tullamore Presbyterian Church to enjoy games, makeup, chocolate, nails, and music. It was a fantastic experience and we've decided to have a "Girl's Night" monthly! We began to establish a lot of new relationships and hope to grow them as we continue working here.
As I mentioned before, we are working with Mountmellick's refugee asylum to run a parent/toddler daycare. The first day was last Monday and it has become one of my favorite things we do in Tullamore. For two hours we get to play with some of the sweetest 3 and 4-year-olds I have met! It's such an eye-opening experience to see people who have escaped their country in search of refuge and trying to get by. It humbles me when I think about my life in comparison to theirs. But still, these people smile and play with thier children as though nothing is wrong. It's incredible! I can tell we're making an impact there and hope to soon speak with many of the parents about the spiritual refuge found only Christ.
Another of the most recent things happening with the church is their "Alpha" course now being taught at the local high school [or "college"]. I and Jinhee [a Korean girl on the team] go with our pastor on Tuesday mornings to Tullamore College to help teach a course for their Religion studies. It's another great way to get to know some people my age and talk about Christ. It's awesome to see the teachings of Christianity and Jesus in the schools and I pray that the teens actually listen to what the teachers are saying. The numbers this week for Alpha were less than they were last week due to the fact it's an optional class. Pray that the numbers grow and the students who have stayed will continue to come.
I am very excited about the things happening here in Tullamore and can't wait to come home to tell you about them! To tell the truth, I am excited about coming home for Christmas, but am looking forward to next semester to see what God will do further in Tullamore!
For those who have sent support and continued to pray for the Immersion team, "thanks a million" as they would say here!
Blessings,
Leanne
Many of the youth here in Ireland attend the Catholic church but only out of obedience or culture. They don't understand the true meaning of the church or a relationship with Christ. So, for our youth group, we wanted to provide an opportunity to meet and talk with the teenagers of Tullamore. At first, we thought of a Battle of the Bands night because there are many bands around the town. But we thought this would defeat the purpose and become too big of an event. So instead, we had the idea of hosting an open mic night on Saturdays with a cafe feel. After deciding on what we were to do, we had to think of a name. We decided on the name of the youth group to be "Exist" based off Acts 17:28 "For in Him we live, move, and exist..." We thought this was a fitting title because of the suicide rates of the teens here and how they feel under appreciated and invisible. We want to show that our identity is found in Christ and in Him, we exist. Our first meeting of Exist is this Saturday and we're really excited! So far, we've told quite a few people and many are interested!
One thing we have already done to reach out to the youth here was a "Girl's Night" at the church. Last Saturday, 20 preteen girls came to Tullamore Presbyterian Church to enjoy games, makeup, chocolate, nails, and music. It was a fantastic experience and we've decided to have a "Girl's Night" monthly! We began to establish a lot of new relationships and hope to grow them as we continue working here.
As I mentioned before, we are working with Mountmellick's refugee asylum to run a parent/toddler daycare. The first day was last Monday and it has become one of my favorite things we do in Tullamore. For two hours we get to play with some of the sweetest 3 and 4-year-olds I have met! It's such an eye-opening experience to see people who have escaped their country in search of refuge and trying to get by. It humbles me when I think about my life in comparison to theirs. But still, these people smile and play with thier children as though nothing is wrong. It's incredible! I can tell we're making an impact there and hope to soon speak with many of the parents about the spiritual refuge found only Christ.
Another of the most recent things happening with the church is their "Alpha" course now being taught at the local high school [or "college"]. I and Jinhee [a Korean girl on the team] go with our pastor on Tuesday mornings to Tullamore College to help teach a course for their Religion studies. It's another great way to get to know some people my age and talk about Christ. It's awesome to see the teachings of Christianity and Jesus in the schools and I pray that the teens actually listen to what the teachers are saying. The numbers this week for Alpha were less than they were last week due to the fact it's an optional class. Pray that the numbers grow and the students who have stayed will continue to come.
I am very excited about the things happening here in Tullamore and can't wait to come home to tell you about them! To tell the truth, I am excited about coming home for Christmas, but am looking forward to next semester to see what God will do further in Tullamore!
For those who have sent support and continued to pray for the Immersion team, "thanks a million" as they would say here!
Blessings,
Leanne
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