Well, I have been back from Ireland for about a week now and am so thankful for all that God did....it was like a nightmare preparing for the trip! So many things seemed to go wrong, and I could feel the enemy trying to distract me and sap my energy. At times like that, I find myself asking God if I can quit yet! But He reminds me that there is always a price to be paid and sacrifices to be made for the harvest. It is not me that pays the price, but Christ, of course. BUT the Word says that a servant is not above His master and we are blessed if we are sharing in His suffering. Following in His footsteps means we are not exempt from walking in some of the difficult places where He walked....so when I see it that way, I feel honored that I get to fellowship with giants like Paul and Peter who suffered greatly for "the way".
In the end, it was so worth it! The ministry concerts were all full and fruitful. Hearty thanks to all those who helped bring in the harvest: the Galvins who carried my stuff around, fed me, housed me, and taught me more proper Irish English. (now I know how to 'murder a coffee'!) Thanks to the churches who received an American woman very graciously and informed me that 'there is deliverance for me' (being American! :)) It was such a blessing to meet and fellowship with Pastor Frank and Miriam Copeland at New Hope Christian Centre in Killarney and Pastor Pat and Sian Fiztgerald in Dublin. There was such immediate kinship in the Lord and such an openness to the Spirit in the meetings. The men and women at the Teen Challenge Centre in County Wicklow blessed my socks off as we worshipped and sought the Lord together!
I always come away blown away by the hunger for God that I see in Ireland right now. I feel like one person holding out a piece of bread for starving people. There is such a blessedness found in HUNGER. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. I am humbled by that hunger - especially that of the men at Teen Challenge. The Lord was so present in that place as hearts burned for the Lord!! The big thing that the Lord told me to do on this trip was so say little and just TOUCH people with His love. So, believing that He is in me, I touched and watched as He broke strongholds, healed, delivered, and saved.
The highlight of the trip was a moment at Teen Challenge where I prayed for a young man bent over with shame, covered with tatoos. I just touched him and instantly, the Lord allowed me to feel his pain. It went right through me and I wept with him - Jesus' tears mingled with ours. I don't understand all that the Lord does, but I do understand one thing - that the greatest of these is love. Jesus delights to enter our pain with us, to bear our suffering, to carry our sorrows, to heal, and to save. May we all know the love of Christ which passes knowledge and be filled with all the fullness of God...may we all know what it feels like to be HUNGRY. :)
In the end, it was so worth it! The ministry concerts were all full and fruitful. Hearty thanks to all those who helped bring in the harvest: the Galvins who carried my stuff around, fed me, housed me, and taught me more proper Irish English. (now I know how to 'murder a coffee'!) Thanks to the churches who received an American woman very graciously and informed me that 'there is deliverance for me' (being American! :)) It was such a blessing to meet and fellowship with Pastor Frank and Miriam Copeland at New Hope Christian Centre in Killarney and Pastor Pat and Sian Fiztgerald in Dublin. There was such immediate kinship in the Lord and such an openness to the Spirit in the meetings. The men and women at the Teen Challenge Centre in County Wicklow blessed my socks off as we worshipped and sought the Lord together!
I always come away blown away by the hunger for God that I see in Ireland right now. I feel like one person holding out a piece of bread for starving people. There is such a blessedness found in HUNGER. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. I am humbled by that hunger - especially that of the men at Teen Challenge. The Lord was so present in that place as hearts burned for the Lord!! The big thing that the Lord told me to do on this trip was so say little and just TOUCH people with His love. So, believing that He is in me, I touched and watched as He broke strongholds, healed, delivered, and saved.
The highlight of the trip was a moment at Teen Challenge where I prayed for a young man bent over with shame, covered with tatoos. I just touched him and instantly, the Lord allowed me to feel his pain. It went right through me and I wept with him - Jesus' tears mingled with ours. I don't understand all that the Lord does, but I do understand one thing - that the greatest of these is love. Jesus delights to enter our pain with us, to bear our suffering, to carry our sorrows, to heal, and to save. May we all know the love of Christ which passes knowledge and be filled with all the fullness of God...may we all know what it feels like to be HUNGRY. :)