First weeks in Waterford, Ireland

I cannot believe I have been in Ireland now for 3 weeks. I am so thankful for the time I have had already and all that the Lord is teaching me. What a blessing it is to have the opportunity to go to school and serve the Lord here at the same time. Since it has been a few weeks, let me tell you a little bit about my life here in Waterford, Ireland.

It is such a beautiful city and so much to explore. The weather is very similar to home, rain, misty, but when the sun is out it is beautiful. I am here with 4 others students, 3 from the states(Kylie, Hannah, and Riannon) and 1 from Germany(Tara). We also have a lovely dorm mom(Ericka) and a roommate from Ireland(Cat). It has been such a blast getting to know these girls and all the other people that come to classes and are involved with the church, Calvary Waterford.

Living life day by day

So basically, everything we need, places we have to be, housing, school, and church, are all within walking distance. We walk seriously everywhere. This can be,sometimes, not the most pleasant thing, mostly because it is wet and cold, but otherwise it is not bad. The flats we live in are about a block or two away from where the school and church office are, and then the church is about another two blocks down the road. Our flats are, to say the least, a place to live. Haha...It is not the best, but trust me, I have seen and lived in worse. We get by with the room we have, and we are learning to love each other and know each other very well. We cook, clean, eat, sleep, study...everything in our flats. It has been a fun stretching experience.

School Life: 

My classes are super great. I have a Women's Bible study class, Nehemiah, Luke, Psalms, Hebrews and Theology. All the teachers are great and the classes are very personable. Because they are small classes, we get to discuss more and ask more questions. I have learned so much already and it has only been 3 weeks of classes. It has been a blessing to learn under these teachings here in Waterford. 

We only have WiFi at the school, so this has been somewhat of a challenge. But we have figured out our ways to finish homework, turn it in, and also communicate with all our friends and family at home. Kylie and I spend a lot of time in a cafe next to our flat while enjoying a great cup of coffee...plus they have WiFi :)

Continue to pray for me as I work through my classes. I only have eight weeks left of class and I hope to get everything out of them that the Lord wants to teach me.

Church, Calvary Waterford.

We attend Calvary Waterford and have the chance to also serve the church. We work in the children's church and on the opposite week we do hospitality, which is serving coffee, tea, and biscuits and greeting those who come and go. I have absolutely loved this so far! It is so neat to see a group of people, across the world, loving and serving God together. Everyone is so nice and has an interest in who you are. We have started to build relationship with a number of people, and I am excited for them to build even more.

We each have a family who has adopted us while we are here in at school. They are praying for us and checking up on us here and there. My family is a lovely newly married couple(Melanie and Dimitir), who have been so sweet to me, giving me gifts and even invites over for dinner. Last night all of us girls and Mick(the churches admin and our very awesome friend) went to Melanie and Dimitir's house for dinner. It was a blast and such amazing food!

Another neat thing that we are involved in is the churches coffee shop. It is called Portico and it is located in the center of town. It has built into a very neat ministry that reaches the community and I love being a part of it. I work there once a week and it has fulfilled my withdrawals from making coffee at Starbucks. :) It is such a fun environment and an amazing way to show Christ to the city of Waterford.

Missing Home

Even though it has been a great time so far, I MISS HOME!! I have been able to talk with a few people on skype and it has been awesome! :) But the time difference makes things really hard. I am s thankful for my parents and all they are doing for me back home. I have talked with them a few times and it brightens my day! Josh and I are doing great! We talk about every other day. It has been a big adjustment, but it is making my love for him grow even more. I am so blessed! 

I miss you all and I pray that you are all doing well. Thank you for all your prayer and support.

Listening and Striving