As I’m writing this, it is snowing like crazy outside! The weather has been insane this semester. We’ve gotten sun, snow, sleet, rain, fog, etc. Some days feel like the dead of winter and others as though spring has arrived! As we adjust to the wild Irish weather, we’ve been getting back into our weekly ministry-WITH an addition to our team! Anna from Canada has joined the Immersion team and has come to Tullamore. We’re excited to have her! All of our usual activities are continuing to go well. Here’s a brief overview:
Sunday: Church: We were excited to have had some new people visit the church this month. In fact, we realized that there were many nations represented in church this month! It’s great to see people of every “tribe” and “tongue” coming together to worship God.
Monday: Mountmellick Montague Refugee Asylum Center: A new preschool has started at the Montague, taking the time we used to have for the parent/toddler group on Mondays. We were disappointed to hear we wouldn’t be playing with the same children anymore, but we still have the opportunity to supply a parent/toddler group for 1-2 ½ year-olds! The woman who started these programs finished her term this month and was thrilled to see that her program would still continue with us even after she has gone. I was happy to see that we were a help and blessing to not only the parents and children, but also this woman who has devoted her time to the Montague center!
Tuesday: Tullamore College Alpha Course and Busy Bee’s Toddler and Parent group: Busy Bees had its first birthday this year and has grown tremendously since we have been here! We continue to help each week and even have some of the parents come to a Bible Study the church has started.
We are beginning to get regular students attending the Alpha course we teach at Tullamore College. I was able to teach my own lesson a few weeks ago on how God guides us. It was a great experience to interact with and teach the students by explaining how God guided me to Ireland. Anna was also able to share her story of how she came to Ireland.
Wednesday: Bible Study and Church Opening: The church has started a weekly Alpha Course Bible study. We provide a day care so that parents who couldn’t usually come because of children now can. In fact, some women from Busy Bees are beginning to attend the study!
The Church opening is continuing to go well. We use it as Bible Study time in-between visits from people who stop to chat and see the church. We were surprised and thrilled when five teenagers stopped in last week. They seemed to enjoy talking with us and even stopped in again on Saturday during the book store. They say the church is now their favorite “hangout spot.” We are starting to develop relationships with the teenagers here and getting great ideas for activities from them.
Thursday: Kid’s Club and Bible Study: We have about five kids each week at Kid’s club and we teach them a Bible lesson. We’ve recently been going over Paul’s missionary journeys and helping them understand what it means to “race toward a goal,” “persevere,” and help others.
Thursdays nights at the Catholic Parish center we have a Bible Study. We are now going through Philippians. It’s a great experience to meet more Christians in Tullamore, hear their experiences, fellowship, and encourage each other.
*some Thursday nights some people from the group go listen to local Irish music. It’s a fantastic cultural experience to hear real Irish music, played by real Irishmen, on real Irish instruments.
Friday: Day off: On Fridays we SLEEP IN after the long week! We usually try to do some activities in Tullamore on this day like visit the heritage center or the park. At the beginning of the month, though, we took this day and the weekend to visit Whitney and Ashlyn [our other team members] in their town of Athenry. It was great to see them again and spend time with them!
Saturday: Book Store, Bible Study, and monthly Girl’s Night: The Book Store is going well – we usually get adults poking their heads in to see what a protestant church looks like!
In the evening, we have a youth Bible Study that we have started. Last week was our first week and we had one of the teenagers from the church come. He doesn’t regularly attend church, but says he enjoys it more than Catholic Mass. We asked him what kind of questions he’s had about the church, God, Jesus, and Christianity in general. Some of them were “who is God,” “was Jesus really God’s son,” and “where is God when bad things happen?” They were excellent questions we were excited to get into! Over the next few weeks we’re going to look at all of his questions and explain the Christian worldview and Biblical explanation for them. Another friend of ours is going to start attending our Bible Study as well. Please pray for wisdom, patience, and discernment during these times. It’s going to be difficult, but we’re excited.
This month we had our third girl’s night. Our timing for it wasn’t exactly perfect though. We placed it at the end of a week-long school break, so many of the girls were on vacation and no one came. We were able to enjoy ourselves and bond together as a team, however, and are still looking forward to next month’s girl’s night.
Next month the entire Immersion team will come to Tullamore for a team-ministry weekend. With advice from our friends in Tullamore, we have decided to have a pizza and movie night. Please pray that we can spread the word effectively and that many teens decide to come. Also pray that the team can be used in Tullamore efficiently. We’re excited about this time and will even do a little sightseeing by visiting Charville Castle in Tullamore!
Thanks a million for your prayers and support!
Blessings,
Leanne
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
2010!
Wow! It has been a busy few months! I apologize for not writing you all sooner! I left Ireland at the end of November for Christmas holiday and the time has flown by. I had a wonderful Christmas home visiting with family and friends and continuing the Christmas traditions of making cookies and acting in our live nativity. But soon, January came around again and I came back to Ireland after the New Year! Let me tell you about some of what’s been happening:
The team and I arrived at Lacken House and stayed for two weeks for classes and “team time.” We were surprised and thrilled when it snowed about three inches one night. Spontaneously we decided to throw on some jackets [in our pajamas, mind you] and play in the snow for thirty minutes. Oh...did I mention it was one in the morning? That was just one of the great adventures we had at Lacken House next to painting rooms, baking American chocolate chip cookies, and finishing up our studies with a look at postmodernism. After that, we packed up and headed for our individual cities. The teams are meeting up, however, each month to do ministry work in our different towns. The Tullamore Team [me] is planning a “sports day” in our park during the month of March. Pray that it works and we have GOOD WEATHER in rainy Ireland! We’re excited about this new addition to the second semester agenda and can’t wait to see the team each month to do ministry work!
Here in Tullamore, our team is getting excited about projects we’re starting. Girls Night is going well! We’ve invited a lot of girls to our second “Girl’s Night” next Saturday where they can do nails, hair, play games, eat chocolate, and more. It’s one of my favorite events and I hope more girls come. We’re also starting a weekly Bible Study for teens. This is a bit of a blind leap – we don’t have any youth who regularly attend the church so we’re asking two friends we’ve met here, who sometimes attend, to come. They’ve both agreed! Pray that they’ll be faithful in coming to the meetings and doing the Bible reading so that we can minister to them – and pray that more students become interested!
All of our regular events are going well. I’m still enjoying the Montague playgroup with the African Refugees. When we arrived for the first time after break this Monday, the kids gave us big hugs the minute they walked into the room! Busy Bees daycare at the church is going well and a few of the adults are starting to ask questions about Christianity. Pray that we can be good witnesses and examples to them!
I can’t wait to keep you updated about what God has in store for us this New Year of 2010!
Blessings,
Leanne
The team and I arrived at Lacken House and stayed for two weeks for classes and “team time.” We were surprised and thrilled when it snowed about three inches one night. Spontaneously we decided to throw on some jackets [in our pajamas, mind you] and play in the snow for thirty minutes. Oh...did I mention it was one in the morning? That was just one of the great adventures we had at Lacken House next to painting rooms, baking American chocolate chip cookies, and finishing up our studies with a look at postmodernism. After that, we packed up and headed for our individual cities. The teams are meeting up, however, each month to do ministry work in our different towns. The Tullamore Team [me] is planning a “sports day” in our park during the month of March. Pray that it works and we have GOOD WEATHER in rainy Ireland! We’re excited about this new addition to the second semester agenda and can’t wait to see the team each month to do ministry work!
Here in Tullamore, our team is getting excited about projects we’re starting. Girls Night is going well! We’ve invited a lot of girls to our second “Girl’s Night” next Saturday where they can do nails, hair, play games, eat chocolate, and more. It’s one of my favorite events and I hope more girls come. We’re also starting a weekly Bible Study for teens. This is a bit of a blind leap – we don’t have any youth who regularly attend the church so we’re asking two friends we’ve met here, who sometimes attend, to come. They’ve both agreed! Pray that they’ll be faithful in coming to the meetings and doing the Bible reading so that we can minister to them – and pray that more students become interested!
All of our regular events are going well. I’m still enjoying the Montague playgroup with the African Refugees. When we arrived for the first time after break this Monday, the kids gave us big hugs the minute they walked into the room! Busy Bees daycare at the church is going well and a few of the adults are starting to ask questions about Christianity. Pray that we can be good witnesses and examples to them!
I can’t wait to keep you updated about what God has in store for us this New Year of 2010!
Blessings,
Leanne
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Pictures
Hi everyone! I just wanted to drop a small note to say that I've put my pictures on facebook. If you don't have a facebook, I'm slowly putting the pictures on picasa but it takes a while to download them. They will be up soon!
Leanne
Leanne
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Homeward Bound!
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
Please pray that I have a safe flight home!
Blessings,
Leanne
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
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Tullamore
Wow! It's been a crazy month. My apologies for not updating this more frequently.
After 1 month of training at Lacken House, the group was divided into three teams to go assist with outreach at churches across the country. Three other girls and I were sent to Tullamore Presbyterian Church. It's been a great and crazy experience to move into a new town. I feel like an Irish native as I walk the streets to shop at the local grocery stores, go to church on Sunday, or even attend a movie. We have all gotten situated very well and are enjoying our new home. Here's a schedule of the things we do at the church:
Sunday: Attend the Tullamore Presbyterian Church [and usually shop for much needed food afterwards!]
Monday: [we do a few things depending on people's needs] Clean houses for people who need the help, visit Mountmelick Presbyterian church and help there in any way, do a prayer walk through the town and get to know the people.
Tuesday: Busy Bee's - This is a parent/child day-care at the church from 10:30-noon. We have crafts, music, games, story time, snack, etc. that children and parents both enjoy!
Wednesday: The church is open all day for Tea and Coffee where we also sell some new books. We only get a handful of people for this, so our time at the church is often spent doing our monthly homework for OM. Pray for us in this area of service to Tullamore - that more people will come to the church Wednesdays to talk with us.
Thursday: Alpha Course! This is a worldviews discussion course with a Biblical basis. It talks about big issues and shows the Biblical answer for them. The adult course is just now ending and there is a young-adult course starting at the local College [high school] that we will be assisting in/leading group discussions for. I'm VERY excited about this!
Friday: Day off. We get to enjoy the city, see the sights, and even take the train into Dublin if we would like. :)
Saturday: Book store open most of the afternoon. We have many new books on worldviews/Deveotion Books/Bibles/etc. for sale at the church. This has brought in a few people, but again, pray that more will come!
Thank you all again for the support you gave to help me come here. I can really feel God working in this country that understands Religion, but doesn't have a Relationship. I only have $1,000 more dollars to pay SCORE and any money is VERY much appreciated. You can mail checks to my home address or you can donate online! http://scoreinternational.org/give/ and scroll to the donation for the GAP program. At check out, you can specify the student you are sponsoring. Please put: GAP Ireland Leanne Livingston.
I'm having such a fabulous time, but can't wait to come home in December to see all of you!
"Thanks a million" as they would say in Ireland!
Leanne
After 1 month of training at Lacken House, the group was divided into three teams to go assist with outreach at churches across the country. Three other girls and I were sent to Tullamore Presbyterian Church. It's been a great and crazy experience to move into a new town. I feel like an Irish native as I walk the streets to shop at the local grocery stores, go to church on Sunday, or even attend a movie. We have all gotten situated very well and are enjoying our new home. Here's a schedule of the things we do at the church:
Sunday: Attend the Tullamore Presbyterian Church [and usually shop for much needed food afterwards!]
Monday: [we do a few things depending on people's needs] Clean houses for people who need the help, visit Mountmelick Presbyterian church and help there in any way, do a prayer walk through the town and get to know the people.
Tuesday: Busy Bee's - This is a parent/child day-care at the church from 10:30-noon. We have crafts, music, games, story time, snack, etc. that children and parents both enjoy!
Wednesday: The church is open all day for Tea and Coffee where we also sell some new books. We only get a handful of people for this, so our time at the church is often spent doing our monthly homework for OM. Pray for us in this area of service to Tullamore - that more people will come to the church Wednesdays to talk with us.
Thursday: Alpha Course! This is a worldviews discussion course with a Biblical basis. It talks about big issues and shows the Biblical answer for them. The adult course is just now ending and there is a young-adult course starting at the local College [high school] that we will be assisting in/leading group discussions for. I'm VERY excited about this!
Friday: Day off. We get to enjoy the city, see the sights, and even take the train into Dublin if we would like. :)
Saturday: Book store open most of the afternoon. We have many new books on worldviews/Deveotion Books/Bibles/etc. for sale at the church. This has brought in a few people, but again, pray that more will come!
Thank you all again for the support you gave to help me come here. I can really feel God working in this country that understands Religion, but doesn't have a Relationship. I only have $1,000 more dollars to pay SCORE and any money is VERY much appreciated. You can mail checks to my home address or you can donate online! http://scoreinternational.org/give/ and scroll to the donation for the GAP program. At check out, you can specify the student you are sponsoring. Please put: GAP Ireland Leanne Livingston.
I'm having such a fabulous time, but can't wait to come home in December to see all of you!
"Thanks a million" as they would say in Ireland!
Leanne
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Open Eyes
"Hey, here's a million euro for you!"
"What? Why are you giving me a million euro?"
"Because it has the million euro question on the back: Will you go to heaven when you die?"
That is how most of our conversations went yesterday evening in Roscommon. But, the later it got, the more we had to add, "Read this when you're sober tomorrow" at the end of our sentences. Yesterday at 4:30 we left Lacken House with the Cross. Yes. A literal 12 foot Cross. We walked it from Rahara to Roscommon - an eight mile trek [we cheated because we had a wheel at the end of the cross]. On the way, people waved at us, looked at us funny, or sat on their horn to show disgust. When we got near to town we passed a house where two men where outside working. They asked where we were going with the cross and we told them we were going to church. [We were going to a Brazilian church that night where Mike, our OM director, would be speaking.] When we said we were going to church the man replied, "Oh! You're going to Mass!" We clarified that we weren't but I asked if he had a history in the Catholic church. He answered yes, and my stomach did a flop. For the past two weeks we had been training for evangelism through "Way of the Master" - a technique to show people the seriousness of God's judgement and mercy. We had practiced and studied the Bible and now, it was time to plant seeds for God's harvest. After the man told me he attended Mass on Sundays, I asked what the Catholic church said it took to get to heaven. He said they had to follow the Holy Sacraments and the Ten Commandments and try to live a faithful life. I asked if he had followed the Ten Commandments, God's law. He said yes...we then ventured into a twenty minute conversation talking about God's justice and judgement and mercy through the cross - how we all deserve Hell, but God sent His son as a sacrifice. It was the first time I'd ever truly and intently witnessed to a stranger. And there was a peace. God opened the eyes of those men and you could see the transformation from haughty laughter to conviction. It was an exciting experience and we continued to witness after church in the town of Roscommon. We talked to many people ranging from 18-year-old teenage boys to 20-something men and women outside of pubs. Not many conversations were easy, though, and many of us were ridiculed [especially because our audience had a few too many drinks that night] but we pressed on, still carrying the cross. God not only opened the eyes of the people of Roscommon, but He opened our eyes. No matter if the person disagreed with us or was willing to hear, 99% of the people we talked to wanted to listen and responded to what we were saying. It was a neat experience.
Today three team members and myself visited the church we will be a part of the rest of the time we're in Ireland. The team is being split up to help different churches in parts of Ireland. We are going to Tullamore to help a Presbyterian church, specifically in their young adult ministry. We're excited about the opportunity and move in Saturday. Pray that God can use us to draw the Youth of Tullamore to God through this church.
Thank you for all of your prayers and your support! I still have $1,000 to earn for my trip and any additional funding would be appreciated. :)
Blessings,
Leanne
"What? Why are you giving me a million euro?"
"Because it has the million euro question on the back: Will you go to heaven when you die?"
That is how most of our conversations went yesterday evening in Roscommon. But, the later it got, the more we had to add, "Read this when you're sober tomorrow" at the end of our sentences. Yesterday at 4:30 we left Lacken House with the Cross. Yes. A literal 12 foot Cross. We walked it from Rahara to Roscommon - an eight mile trek [we cheated because we had a wheel at the end of the cross]. On the way, people waved at us, looked at us funny, or sat on their horn to show disgust. When we got near to town we passed a house where two men where outside working. They asked where we were going with the cross and we told them we were going to church. [We were going to a Brazilian church that night where Mike, our OM director, would be speaking.] When we said we were going to church the man replied, "Oh! You're going to Mass!" We clarified that we weren't but I asked if he had a history in the Catholic church. He answered yes, and my stomach did a flop. For the past two weeks we had been training for evangelism through "Way of the Master" - a technique to show people the seriousness of God's judgement and mercy. We had practiced and studied the Bible and now, it was time to plant seeds for God's harvest. After the man told me he attended Mass on Sundays, I asked what the Catholic church said it took to get to heaven. He said they had to follow the Holy Sacraments and the Ten Commandments and try to live a faithful life. I asked if he had followed the Ten Commandments, God's law. He said yes...we then ventured into a twenty minute conversation talking about God's justice and judgement and mercy through the cross - how we all deserve Hell, but God sent His son as a sacrifice. It was the first time I'd ever truly and intently witnessed to a stranger. And there was a peace. God opened the eyes of those men and you could see the transformation from haughty laughter to conviction. It was an exciting experience and we continued to witness after church in the town of Roscommon. We talked to many people ranging from 18-year-old teenage boys to 20-something men and women outside of pubs. Not many conversations were easy, though, and many of us were ridiculed [especially because our audience had a few too many drinks that night] but we pressed on, still carrying the cross. God not only opened the eyes of the people of Roscommon, but He opened our eyes. No matter if the person disagreed with us or was willing to hear, 99% of the people we talked to wanted to listen and responded to what we were saying. It was a neat experience.
Today three team members and myself visited the church we will be a part of the rest of the time we're in Ireland. The team is being split up to help different churches in parts of Ireland. We are going to Tullamore to help a Presbyterian church, specifically in their young adult ministry. We're excited about the opportunity and move in Saturday. Pray that God can use us to draw the Youth of Tullamore to God through this church.
Thank you for all of your prayers and your support! I still have $1,000 to earn for my trip and any additional funding would be appreciated. :)
Blessings,
Leanne
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