3rd Team meeting

We had our third prep/training meeting today after church. Kim Garrity, the project supervisor of our team, was there which was super cool. He was able to tell us a little more about Ireland, and specifically Dublin. We talked about stereotypes and what we kind of expected over there. If you've seen the movie Waking Ned Devine, then you kinda can see what my preconceptions of Ireland might be! If you haven't seen that movie, well, then watch it because it rocks. So yeah, my preconceptions:

1. Old (not really the people physically, but the surroundings.. houses, buildings, roads, etc)
2. Deeply rooted in tradition
3. Funny accents (I totally think this one is valid!)
4. Laid back and slow
5. Very family/friends oriented
6. Quiet, empty streets...dreary almost. No crowds
7. Dirty.... Yes, that sounds bad, but it's true!!
8. Lots of farms and farmers
9. Very religious. Think "high church"
10. I'm almost afraid to say this one, but when I think of Ireland, I think of lots of drunks and pubs on every corner.. Instead of Starbucks they have like O'Toole's Pub or something. Forget morning coffee, go in for your morning shot of whiskey!

Now, keep in mind I've never been overseas so all I really "know" is what I've seen in pictures, movies, and read about in books. Some of these stereotypes I have were shattered after listening to Kim talk this morning. Apparently Dublin somewhat resembles America; meaning that it's modern, bustling, fast-paced and CROWDED! But, definitely not America. Still, this is completely NOT what I was thinking. I'm very interested to see how many of my other stereotypes will be ripped to shreds once we get there and experience the culture for ourselves!

Kim also told us that we will be working with parolees/ex-cons. There is a program there that brings in people who've just gotten out of jail and puts them to work. This helps them come back into society and gain useful working skills in the meantime. It's safe to say that many if not most of these people are non-believers. I'm actually really excited about this part! Having worked with Mission Arlington for years, I know that the roughest, toughest people are sometimes some of the people with the most raw, open and receptive hearts. I can't wait to see how God uses us to interact with these people.

We also spent some time in prayer. For those of you who have committed to praying for us and the team, here are some specific requests:

1. That the Lord will soften and prepare our hearts for what we will encounter there. That He will help us to be open and flexible in everything we do. That He will help us stand strong and not be discouraged when Satan throws things in our way, which he undoubtedly will do.

2. That God will also prepare the hearts of those we will be working with. This would include the church members, the project contractors, the parolees, and the strangers we may meet in our daily interactions

3. The health of our team members as we prep for the trip and especially while we are there. Some of the team members have some health issues as is so please pray that the Lord will protect us all while we are in Ireland

4. Peace for all of us as we've all experienced some nervousness in sending out our support letters. It's much easier to ask for support when you're a broke college student, but being a responsible adult makes it a whole other level. Also, please pray for the recipients of those letters and that the Lord will lead them (you!) to pray for us continually in our mission.

Those are the major ones for now. I'm sure we will be adding to that prayer list as we go!

I'll end with a joke that was told during our meeting today..

Q. What do you call an Irish 7 course meal?


A. A six pack and a potato :)

Interesting Ireland Facts

We've been on a 2 week hiatus from our team meetings, so nothing new to report yet. We have our next meeting tomorrow morning and each Sunday from then until our trip. We'll be posting more soon! In the meantime, here are some interesting facts about Ireland that one of our teammates gave us all at the last meeting 2 weeks ago!

1. Population over 4 million (as of July 05) - equally divided between males and females
2. Over 40% of the population lives within 97km of Dublin (the capital of Ireland)
3. Median age is 33 years
4. 98% literacy rate
5. 12 million sheep
6. Average life expectancy is 77.56 years
7. There are 900 pubs in Dublin, but rural pubs are closing at a rate of 1 a day due to a combo of high costs, smoking ban, and tougher laws against driving while intoxicated
8. All windmills in Ireland turn clockwise, the rest of the windmills in the world turn counter-clockwise
9. over 10,000 new businesses started in the first six months of this year
10. Ireland is the 2nd wealthiest nation in the world with over 30,000 millionaires
11. First divorce ever granted by the Irish government was in 1997
12. Vikings founded Dublin in 988 and they called it "Black Pool"
13. Dublin is the newest "microchip" capital of the world and world's largest exporter of software
14. Dublin is second in traffic jams behind Calcutta, India
15. The average cost of a home in Dublin is $283,000
16. World's only country with a musical instrument for a national symbol - the harp
17. The original White House was designed by Irish architect James Hotan in 1792. He oversaw the 3 year long restoration after the British burned it in the war of 1812.
18. The first American general to die in The Revolution Richard Montgomery, born in Donegal, Ireland
19. Natural resources are natural gas, peat, copper, lead, zinc, silver, gypsum, limestone, and dolomite
20. 10,000 Chinese students a year come for 12 months , spend 3 months learning English, 9 months working, then return home and allow the next group to come. 125 workers look after all of them
21. The battle of 1690 led to the battle between the Protestants and Catholics that is still going on today
22. The 3 color Irish flag, created in 1848, reflects the country's political realities. Orange stands for Irish Protestants, Green for Irish Catholics, and the white stripe for the hope that peace might eventually be reached between them
23. Ireland has the 2nd highest number of lawyers per capital in the world, after the USA
24. Ireland has the lowest unemployment rate of any country in the European Union
25. In a recent national survey conducted for Catholic and Protestant organizations, only 5% of 15-24 year olds could quote the 1st commandment. About 1/3 didn't know where Jesus was born, and 35% did not know what is being celebrated on Easter
26. Old Irish legend says that while Christ will judge all nations on judgment day, St. Patrick will be the judge of the Irish.