How do you begin to describe something that completely changes your life? How do you begin to describe this when it happened in one week? My week in Wicklow was incredible, I knew it would be simply because it would be in Ireland. I never imagined how much God would use this trip. First off, I was terrified. I have never gone on a trip before without having at least one of my friends there with me. I actually ran from my friends to sign up for this trip so I could do something on my own. I began to regret that decision the night before I left. It seemed as though everyone else on my team was bonding and I was the odd man out. But regardless, I trudged on and arrived at the airport the next day. My fears didn't really subside until we got to Ireland. It was like as soon as I breathed in the air that even seemed to have an Irish smell to it, that I finally saw the hand of God work instantly. I began to bond with my team and I instantly bonded with many of the Irish. My roommate ended up being one of the girls that I never thought I would become friends with, not in a hundred years. We hang out with different sides of the track at school, sides that will really unlikely ever mix. I loved living with her and it was so easy to open up to her and discuss everything I had dealt with and where I was. It was also beautiful hearing about where she had been and where she was, and what I could look forward to from her journey.
If I had to choose one word to choose for this trip it would be the word CONNECT. From the first cultural blunder of asking the Irish what color pants they were wearing (which means underwear there) to the tears I cried when having to say goodbye we instantly bonded all around. I have never seen the body of Christ connect so quickly and work so efficiently. Here we were, fixing up a town that stood in the shadow of a church that has seen more years then our country. We spoke different words and yet we all worshiped the same God. The true beauty of this is indescribable. I don't know if you have ever sat and talked with someone who you would think has nothing in common with you and yet realize that there is little you have NOT in common. That is a fraction of what it is like to connect with a body of people in another country.
The weird thing about this country is that it is such a Christ-deprived nation and yet I couldn't help but think that if the churches here had the same amount of passion and love then truly I wouldn't feel so different in my beliefs a lot of the time. I finally saw a glimpse of the church as it was supposed to be. This isn't to say that I think the church in Red Cross to be a beacon of heavenly light with no flaws, but rather in a week I saw the body of Christ at work in a way that showed His love as a testimony rather then the obnoxious Tel-evangelists that sadly represent such a stereotypical view of religion that many people have. In a week I was able to experience MY God, one that, to be honest, I haven't seen in a while, and one that I missed. A God is less about words and more about actions. Less about condemning and more about loving. One that is less about standing and judging but more about working and living.
So I cried when I had to leave Ireland. I knew I would miss the rolling green hills, the lush overgrown hedges, the simplicity of frolicking through fields with my new CCU friends who I knew I wouldn't really talk to as soon as we hit Colorado. I would miss coming home to see two little Irish girls run into my arms, I would miss the indescribably amazing young people that I had the honor to play, work and joke with, the loving hearts of the people who opened there homes to us, and I would miss the laid back fun culture. But I knew I would also miss this beautiful glimpse of paradise, of working hand in hand with people who were strangers a day before who I saw MY God working through. So as I come back I continue to hope that God will continue to work with me, in me, and through me. With Strength not my own. Cheers!!
