Day 14-16: Days go by Quickly

Thursday

I slept til about 12:15 and called the recruiter we had a great conversation. I let him know tha I as in Ireland for a ministry and he asked what religion and I told him Jehovah's Witness.  He expressed that he'd just placed a CEO that returned from western Ireland from a ministry. Needless to say we had a great conversation about Ireland afterwards he said that he would send me information on a potential position. Who knows maybe this will work out in our favor either here or elsewhere. We continue to keep it in our prayers!

We later went to Peter and Lea's house so Preben can work out. I watched a few episodes of "Big Bang" and "How I met Your Mother". These shows I must say are relatively funny!

Friday

Was a day spent in the ministry and an interesting one at that. The area we were in was Baldoyle and it seemed to be mostly men at home. However almost everyone that came to the door said the something: they were no longer interested in religion I asked it they were still interested in the Bible and they said yes. They read their Bible but they have lost their faith in religion. One man said it was because of pee-dee-phile priests.

We later found out that the church in the area had a priest that tended to be very friendly with men and was homosexual and it was a big scandal with other activities he was engaging in.

The young sister I was with, Keira, spoke to a lady at the door that was very interested in suffering and why people happen to suffer. It turns out her daughter has been suffering from depression for over a year. Keira asked me for one of the tracts "Comfort for the Depressed" and we gave it to the lady she than started to cry. She asked that we go see her daughter and we expressed the only thing we could do was offer her encouragement and hope from the scriptures which is the only thing that most of us have in this world.

Now before I go on let me say that at the previous door I offered a man the tract "Comfort for the Depressed" as that was the only thing I had at he time if they did not want the magazines while Keira had been offering the "Truth" tract. After we left his door I said "I don't know why I offered him those tracts or why I even have these with me".  Needless to say now I know why!

We went to visit the daughter and she was home but very cautious at first barely opening the door to talk. After we introduced ourselves she opened the door all the way and I expressed we wanted to share a few scriptures with her regarding the hop for the future. She kept saying throughout the conversation that "Now wasn't a good time" but she kept talking to us. So I didn't get to read the scripture but gave her the tract "Comfort for the Depressed". I asked if we could come back but said "Now wasn't a good time" I took that to mean that now in life wasn't a good time.

Her mother said that she was in her 30s but she looked to be more in her 40s  we felt so bad for her. She did perk up a little when she asked if I was from America and I told her yes Orlando, FL. She said my accent was lovely.

Later that night we went to a Watchtower study with a few young ones in the congregation to the Beeston's house (coordinator and wife).  We had a great time discussion various aspects of oaths and the "placing on the hand under the thigh" in ancient times when giving and oath and what that means. (If you don't know look it up :3)

Saturday

We did primarily "not at homes", now what is interesting in that the congregation does not put a tract in the door the first time they come and they aren't home but when they "do not at homes" that is when they will place a tract as they only do those once.

Anyway myself and John (the brother I was working with) had a great time we were able to speak with various people at the door and share a scripture or to with them. 

One lady that I spoke I initially thought was going to just say she was busy and just gotten out of the bed as she still had a robe on (an earlier lady said this to us). As I had just dropped my magazines (I seem to always drop something when someone comes to the door it is crazy) and they were all bent up I offered the next best thing I had in my hand "What Hope for the Dead". Now why did I have this in my hand.

Once again at a previous door the person wasn't interested in the magazines so I gave them the "What Hope for the Dead" tract as I only had one"Comfort for the Depressed" tract left. As we left the door I said to John "I don't know why I offered that tract I need more of the comfort for the depressed tracts". And once again now I know why...

The lady looked at the tract and said that she'd just come from the cemetery and was thinking about her mom and friend and if they were together. She then invited us in out of the cold and offered us tea multiple times which we declined as we had people waiting for us. She proceeded to tell us about her best friend that was killed by a drunk driver right next to her.

Both she and her friend were walking come from eating out with their husbands and they were walking arm and arm when a guy ran off the road and hit the both of them she went into one garden and her best friend went into another killing her friend.

She said she still hasn't gotten over it even though it has been 3 years. 

I was able to share with her the scriptures at Ecc 9:5,10 as to what the state of the dead was and Rev 21:4 which gives us a hope for the future. I hadn't gotten a chance to read the scripture about the dead being raised as her husband came in and didn't look to be in a very good mood.

I let her know I would come back with the brochure "What Hope for Dead Loved Ones". 

After her door John got a man that said he didn't have much time but spoke to Jehovah's Witnesses in the past and would like him to come back. It was a really good day.

After service we took a tea and cookie break and John and Zaha let everyone know that was out that they would be moving back to Germany and would start pioneering together. This was wonderful but sad news as we would miss them but we now have someone to visit in Germany!

Later that night we went to eat at a friends house in Tallaght, Michelle, and played a game that I just forgot the name of but was fun. Oh wait Rummikub is the name. Brandon, the brother from Port Charlotte FL was back and another sister which I can't believe I just forgot her name was there as well.

Coming down from upstairs the ceiling was a bit low

Brandon

Jo and  Brandon

Michelle did an awesome job on the salmon - no salt added at all

I loved the sink a lot of character

Food and company was great and Michelle lives on the top of a hill in a bit of the country but that has a great view of the city. My cheap little camera doesn't do the view justice as you could see a good portion of Dublin from where she lives.

Great view of city that this picture can not begin to communicate

   

Day 13: Didn't do Anything we planned

So these last few days have gone by so fast it is unbelievable.

Wednesday

We had plans to go to multiple places and made it to not a one. We return to call on a lady that we spoke with Monday and I was able to offer a Bible study but she has a very busy schedule her mother suffers from dementia.

She mentioned that she was interested in the chapter on where are the dead and how spirits affect us. She mentioned that she is a very spiritual person and had the spirit of a child that use to touch her and cling to her leg. At this point in the conversation I think my eyes got really big and my face must have said that this was a bit disturbing to me as she followed that up with it was just a harmless spirit...

Needless to say I will have to try and catch her when I can.

We were suppose to go see a brother at his job but that didn't happen as I got in contact with recruiter for an international company and had to update my resume. This also prevented us from going to the US Embassy which does not sponsor anyone for jobs. So if you aren't an Irish citizen forget about working the US embassy...

Also we were suppose to go see a basketball game but we arrived 10 minutes after it ended we thought that at least it would be half-time. Apparently basketball is very under appreciated in Ireland.

We ended up going to estate the Woolshed which was nice and seeing a movie Alex Cross which was neither bad nor good but a partial west of money.

Day 12: Picture finally!

Today was spent sleeping, cooking, and family worship with Jo Ann. We decided that every Tuesday  we will spend the day with Jo Ann until she goes on vacation to Australia.

I miss hispanic food so I tend to cook mainly items i've eaten at tex mex places such as tacos and fajitas.

We went over the lesson for tonights meeting for family worship and it took us a bit of time. I must admit that Jo Ann really makes me appreciate Bible reading. I don't think i've seen anyone devour the Bible like she has. The one she has is currently falling apart from use and she has only had it for 6 years.

Tonight I spent time uploading pictures to this blog and Facebook I want to apologize in advance to those who do not have Facebook as there will be more pictures there than here along with video that I just could not upload here. I am working on putting items on YouTube so stay tuned!

Day 10 - 11: Great day in the ministry

Sunday

We went shopping for our flat again and spent the evening with friends in Tallaght (Tall-a). Theses guys are too much fun! I love the three families that get together each weekend. I have video and pics to post on all the fun we had.

It seems that a number of persons use words that we would consider "curse words" on a regular basis here. I have to keep reminding myself that I am a foreigner.

Alderan

Darrel > Preben > Lord Pedro

Working out

The family getting ready to play card

Alderan > Ben > Lea > Jackie

Having fun

The food was awesome Yvonne > Edwin > Win

Preben > Ben : Preben was not happy with his gloves

Time to say bye bye

Monday

We slept for a good portion of the day and than went out on calls in the evening we had a great time! Below is a summary of our experience! A remember we started at about 4pm and it is dark at about 4pm...

First Call: Man from Nigeria about age 46-55

I'd met him the Saturday before last and he remembered me. He said that the only issue he has with Jehovah's Witnesses is that we do not except blood transfusions. I read the scripture to him at Acts 15:29 regarding abstaining from blood and explained that we except the best medical treatment possible that does not involve the use of blood but includes the use of alternatives.

He expressed that he'd seen items in the news about young children that died and he does not agree with that. I mentioned to him that there are often negative experiences in the news but not the positive uses of bloodless operations.

I used the example of how at one time many persons were getting different disease from blood transfusions. And he expressed that was a part of life, I than explained that if there isn't a guarantee that a person will not survive if they get a blood transfusion wouldn't it better not to disobey God on a possibility.

He than asked Preben what he thought about Christmas and do we celebrate it. We explained to him what Jesus said we should remember, which was his death and not his birth. Preben showed him the article we were featuring this month on Christmas and highlighted the article on why some do not celebrate Christmas. We couldn't go further because he had guest but said we would come back around the same time and her would speak to us further.

Second Call: Young lady with new born child

Was heading out so could not speak!

Third Call: Please follow up lady named Grace

Grace had two young children and was unable to speak but was very nice she introduced her child Jayme. Preben asked if Jayme was a girl or a boy... I was a little shocked. Jayme was a boy very pretty with long hair. I was a bit shocked over the question but Grace laughed about it. She asked that we come back in the morning.

Fourth Call: Young lady named Carol

I first went to the door without my Bible so had to go back to the car. When the young lady came to the door she expressed that she didn't remember anyone coming to her door and speaking with her before on the tract "Soon Suffering all to End" so I ended up just presenting the "Truth" tract and her name was not Carol but Karen...

I asked her if she was a Bible reader and she said that she wasn't but had been at one point in time when she was younger and kinda stopped as she got older. She expressed that I would comeback tomorrow to talk to her more on the topic of "War and Suffering to end."

All and all we had a good evening and was able to share a few scriptures which really made the evening enjoyable.

Day 8 - 9: Finally a place of our own!

Friday

So the morning was spent out in the field ministry of which I had a good day and spoke to a Number of nice persons with 4 to return and speak with. The question is will I be able to catch them home again...

We received the keys to the place we will rent out from this point forward which made me very happy!

We went to the National Arts and Crafts Fair which was pretty fun. I bought a lot of cheese and different breads. The prices were crazy for some of the items that were being sold but I found a coat that I absolutely loved. This will be the one gift to me, it has a bit of a gypsy look (pics will come later) yes I know I've been saying that but trust me they are coming!

Jo Ann and I

My new Gypsy coat

Saturday

Was spent out in service and moving more items into our new flat. A brother and sister had their car broken into before service which was really upsetting we spent the afternoon with them talking and keeping them company. I lost my brown glove...again.

Later in the evening we went to a friends house as their parents weren't in there is a term for that of which I will explain later below. We spent the night playing paper telephone and Preben and a young sister, Fiona, played the piano (keyboard) for us. We had a good time!

IRISH PHRASES

Retail Therapy -  Another way to say "Shop 'til you Drop" apparently this term seems very American.  I've never heard of this before maybe i'm just out of the loop in my own country.

No bother - This is like saying "No problem" or "don't worry" some people have complained this is a term used by too many people when they want to be lazy and not do what they are suppose to be doing.

Craic (pronounced Crack) - At times people will say "Are you up for some good craic" this is not drugs but fun.

Free Gaff - Has the meaning Parents are not home. House party while they are away Gaff means house that belongs to ones parents

Prams -  Short for perambulator this is the term used for what we would call a stroller or baby carriage

Nappie -  A diaper. A term that is used with your peers is "Are you happy in your nappie" I think this is a type of joke but I don't really get it

Starting on the left Preben > Aisling > Shelly > Rachel (in the back) > Fiona > Kiera

The tall one is Marc the one sitting down is Luca

Poppy

Day 7: Rain and Sleep

Today nothing much went on I woke early to go on a Bible study which was very interesting. I want t visit a place called Snowdonia (yes such a place does exist) the lady who we were studying the Bible with often goes up into the mountains and takes care of her older uncle that looked after her when she was being mistreated by her family.

She is very mild and sweet it is amazing how quickly people warm up to you. In a short period of time I was informed of a lot of her personal business which made my heart go out to her. While she has never went to the kingdom hall she has shared her faith with many persons. She is slowly working her uncle to let her go without a fuss. Once again I find I need to develop patience as my first ought was "do what you need to do regardless of how he feels!!" of course I am not in her situation and I obvious need to lern how to keep the peace better. Jo Ann is awesome at this ( I thin I mentioned this before).

I sewed a button on my sweater which I was very proud of, I helped Jo Ann finish up a few cards she was making (very beautiful cards bt the way) and took a nap (as I said nothing much was going on)

Later in the night we went to visit Ben and his family. His dad proceeded to tell us a number of horror stories about the Garda (police) and how terrible they are. They called them to come put one time for a problem they had and it took 3 months for them to eventually make it! Or one time someone tried to break into their house, threw a rock through the window, but didn't get in. The Garda came about 2 hours later asked "did they steal anything?" when they said no he was upset that they'd called him out...

The summary to all this...the Garda do not make me feel safe. Did I mention that they don't carry guns and bad kids can not be prosecuted regardless of what they do if they are under the age of 18. This just goes to show that kids are bad no matter where you go.

Day 6: Ireland is Cold!

So I must say that I was tricked! While it does not "snow" in Ireland the temperature does drop to snow like weather. In the ministry today we had a nice size group and I was able to place a couple of sets of magazines but eventually I could no longer feel my toes or my fingers.

The ministry here is similar and at the same time different from what I am use to in college park. The responses are similar "I'm not interested" or as one guy said to Preben "Right or wrong I am going to always be a Catholic" they people at least come to talk to you at the door. So even if they aren't interested you may be able to read a scripture or having a nice conversation.

One sister I spoke with said that the newspaper said Ireland was a post Catholic country where people have gone fromone extreme to another, from Catholism to no faith at all. There are others that sill have a sense of loyalty and there are many stories from others that had been mistreated by the church which is really sad.

There are many stories of people that have suffered abuse and are dealing with emotional scars but continue to hold on to their faith as that is the only thing they have ever known, however they are still looking for answers to Bible questions.

The other day we spoke with a nice man until he we said we were Jehovah's Witnesses and he said that he wouldn't listen to us because we let children die. Of course we tried to correct that misunderstanding but he wouldn't hear us. The sister I was working with was a nurse and proceed to explain the types of treatments we would use involving blood but he had already closed his mind.

On one call I went on was with a former nun who was really nice and had a sad story regarding leaving her post because she could not believe Jesus would approve of the way she was being treated by her mother superior afte over 26 years of missionary service in Africa. She is having a difficult time but enjoys Biblical conversations.

I want to say that the sister we are staying with Jo Ann is a great example of patience when it comes to following up with people even when it doesn't seem as if they are making spiritual progress. I am ready to turn a person loose after a while if they know that this is the truth but they aren't making spiritual progress as fast as I'd like too. A constant reminder that it isn't about what I think but how Jehovah makes spirituality grow in each persons heart differently.

I love Jo Ann