365 days.

SO many fun things have happened recently! Took a wee 11.5 hour flight home to California. Some of you may not know but my best friend (Hannah) has a mom who has been an absolute God send. She took me in when I was 16, lost, angry, and in desperate need of a mom. She taught me how to do basic womanly things and has loved me unconditionally for the past 10 years. Well, SHE GOT MARRIED!! Her and her HUSBAND (still screaming about it) blessed me with a ticket home so I could be apart of their day. Let me tell you, I will go down in history as the best flower girl ever! It was beautiful, redemptive, joyful, and holy. The wedding… not my flower girl skills lol.

Then It was Dieuwke’s birthday! She’s said she hasn’t had very nice birthdays in the past. And if you know me, you know I LOOOOVVEEEE birthdays. So I did my very best to make her birthday the best one yet! I won’t give you all the deets but just know it was a three part extravaganza and one of those parts included painting pottery. I messed up half way through and had to paint over it all so, next newsletter i’ll show you how it turned out.

It’s always weird feeling like i’m ignoring a major holiday here. Meanwhile, all my friends and fam in the States are living it up with the day off. So this year I made it a point to really celebrate Thanksgiving. I made it all. And I mean ALL. You name it we had it. I even had my mom ship me canned pumpkin and went on a day long hunt for molasses (which you can find at Malloy’s health store if you were curious). There were 6 Americans, 5 Europeans, and 2 English in attendance. Since the “others” didn’t really have a standard for this type of meal, I was really counting on my fellow Americans to validate the two days I spent on my labour of love. Or should I say labour of thanks. It was a hit! The Europeans were weary of the marshmallows on the yams and also suggested we bring a bottle of mayo to the table. CRAZY PEOPLE. Don’t they know the turkey is always dry? That’s why we smother it with gravy and cranberry.. duh! Dry turkey and mayonnaise aside, It was a successful night. It was SO fun sharing a bit of our culture with them. I got many compliments on the food! WOOOHOOOO!

So i’m not sure if this counts as fun but I don’t know where else to put it. A while ago I had a mouse living in my house. I think I mentioned this. Well…long story, short… We prayed… it died. Or should I say the Lord took him. I came home from CA and he was flat out dead in the middle of my living room. RIP. It was a joyous two weeks, mouse free. Either satan is coming for me or this is a Lazarus situation. The mouse is back. Or a new mouse has arrived. Either way, its eating all my food and i’m very upset about it. Before you go on giving me advice, i’ve tried everything. Traps, poison, catching it with my bare hands. NOTHING WORKS. I need a cat, honestly.

There is a place the Lord takes me regularly. It’s always the same place but often there are elements that change, such as the weather or the way the sky looks. It’s always a wide open field with rolling green hills in the back. In the center of the field there is a very large willow tree. One time the Lord brought me there and there was a highland cow roaming the field lol.

I was saying a few newsletters back that I felt God bringing me back to the basics. In Christian circles what I’m about to say would be considered basic, even simple. But the thing is, it’s not basic and it’s not even close to being simple. Sometimes I get scared that I will be following God for so long that I won’t get excited to be with Him anymore. Or even worse, I’ll get so used to Him being around i’ll forget He’s there. You know? Like the candle on my bedside table. I placed it there when I first moved in. I intentionally placed it there but that’s where it lives. It stays there. So I forget about it. I want to constantly be in awe of God. I never want to get used to His presence. I want to be in the honeymoon phase with God all the time for the rest of my life. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve already had my fair share of fights with the Lord. I absolutely went through a season or two where we weren’t on speaking terms. But i’m talking about now. Right now, being the bride of Christ overwhelms me. The thought of Him choosing me… ugh, tears.

The other day while I was worshiping, the Lord brought me to my field again. Jesus was sitting under the willow tree. He was just criss cross apple sauce, straight chillin. So many white daisies everywhere. I sat with Him. He put His arm around me and just held me. I was ugly smile crying at this point (in real life, not in my head). He loves me. HOLY COW. He wants me!

This is “basic stuff”. right? Just stuff us, as Jesus followers know. That He holds us. The He knows us. That He wants intimacy with us. That He bled on a cross, for me. That He left part of Himself with us, giving us UNLIMITED access to Him. That He sees me and you as His bride. But I want to constantly be overwhelmed by that thought. No wonder they call Him Holy. No wonder they call Him worthy. No wonder they call Him beautiful.

I just want to be a sheep. A cute, little, aimless, sheep. I want to only go where He goes. I want to graze in the field that God brings me to, the one with my tree, where the Shepard never leaves! GLORY!

Our long awaited field leader is now living on Irish soil! YAY! Him and his wife joined us for our team retreat a few weeks back and they have just been spending the past few weeks in trainings and settling in. He hasn’t officially started yet but just knowing we have direction changes the atmosphere in the office. I’ve spent a little time with both him and his wife now and I think God really knew what He was doing by placing them here. They are wise, kind, pastoral and thank the Lord baby Jesus, they both have a sense of humour.

Things kind of go dead in the winter here. Well, literally dead, yeah. That’s what happens in winter. hahahaha. But I mean in a ministry sense. Because people are so family and community focused, there aren’t a lot of outreaches or opportunities to serve. BUT I am a table lead at an Alpha course that we are putting on in the Mercy. It’s for a group of secondary school (high school) girls. It will be running for a couple weeks and I am really hoping to create a connection with these girls. I want to create a safe space to discuss all the questions about life and God that a 15/16 year old girl might have.

I’ve been doing a lot of practical work around Lacken House recently. I’ve actually quite enjoyed it. I laid carpet in the new conference room, sanded and painted the laundry chalet door, and I’m hoping next week I can fix the pot holes. I say “I”, but we all know i’m not doing this by myself. Sander has been teaching me a lot. I wouldn’t call myself handy, but I want to be. It’s been fun to do some practical tasks in this down season.

There is a housing opportunity opening up in Feb in Sligo. I’ve been told I need to raise more support for this, but it really would be ideal. It’s centrally located right in town and walking distance to ReCentre. I have had to turn down many ministry opportunities because i’m living so far away. Moving into town would really help me engage in the community.