Friends.

My friends truly mean the world to me. And right now, they are all over the world. Each of them are involved in different things, most of them being ministry. I have been very discontent lately, honestly being jealous of where everyone is and why I'm not gone too. But I am recognizing that God can use me right where I am. I am able to spend so much time in prayer for my sweet friends while I'm working, because cleaning is so mindless. Since I can only communicate with them through email and Facebook, I don't know how my prayers are being answered. I know that God is working in them and through them, and I can't wait to see them when they come home.

Katie- Panama City, Florida. She's doing Beach Project for Campus Outreach. She is leading a room of girls, and is working long and crazy hours at McDonald's. Through that, she and the girls that live with her are able to be a witness to those that they work with and those they come in contact with.

Rachael- Mbarara, Uganda. She is there working with a girls' program, working to teach them about the Lord and how to serve in their community. She has told me that she feel so comfortable there, and I'm so happy for her. I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't end up there permanently.

Virginia- Alaska/Yukon, Canada. She's traveling around doing Vacation Bible Schools and ministering to people in villages. She gets to live in perpetual sunshine and cooler weather. Jealous.

David- Bangkok, Thailand. He's there with MTW, doing campus ministry on the local college campus. All I've gotten so far is that he's playing music, which is perfect for him. I know that he's doing much more, and it's great.

Micah- The Middle East. He was studying abroad in Turkey, and has just recently met up with a group from home on a missions trip in Beirut. Then I think he's going to Jordan? I don't know, but it's awesome. Things fell into place for him to be right where he is, and I am praying that God does amazing things through him.

Baxter- Jordan. He's there for a month for an archeological dig with Wofford. He's going back to study abroad in the fall. Something amazing will happen, trust me.

Sarah- Peru. She's studying abroad, and is the only Christian she knows. I can't imagine how difficult it has been, but I pray that God will use this to draw her closer to him... That when she looks back on it, it will be a sweet time for her relationship with him.

Ellie- Uganda. She will be working in displacement camps, and then hanging out with Invisible Children for a few days. She has a huge heart for the country, and for the work that God is doing there.

Rachael- Ghana. She's going with West Point to do a community development sort of thing for women. It's awesome.

Regan- Duluth, Georgia. She's working at Camp All American at Perimeter Church. This is an awesome outreach to the community, and she get to interact with kids of all ages all. the. time.

Anna Clare and Crystal- They're at Camp Westminster, rockin' being counselors. They both love that place, and I'm so glad they're there. Liz and Allie are also camp counselors. So many people are doing that I can't even name them all. It's great.

Lisa- She's going on a cruise to Italy. It will be so fun.

Me- I'm cleaning. All summer. At Covenant. I'm also interning with Covenant Presbyterian's youth group. Hopefully that will pick up more soon. And hopefully I will see how God is using me. Soon?

My heart.

My heart is hurting to go back to Ireland.

This time last year, Baxter was over helping me rearrange my suitcase. I had way too many clothes that I wanted to take, most of them on the floor of my bedroom. Mom had been trying to help, and David and Rachael before that, and it was a fail all the way around. I can't pack a suitcase to save my life. Way to save the day, Bax.

It was the beginning of an adventure. I went to sleep with a full and excited heart, ready to go the next day.

I made my bed and cleaned up my room as best as possible, knowing that I would want it decently clean when I came home. I had no idea it would be the last time I walked out of that room.

I miss Ireland. I miss the people, I miss my team. I watched P.S. I Love You tonight with Apartment 5. Love it.

A Sweet Friend.

Having sweet friends surround me is such a blessing. Tonight, I had the privilege of crying and praying with one. Things happen. Life happens. It's hard. Having the opportunity to love and bear one another's burdens is so precious. My heart is so full of the joy that petitioning to Adonai brings.

FOCUS.

This word has become the word I use most often in convincing myself to do my work. Exam week is fast approaching, and I have 4 exams, 4 papers, 500 pages to read, and 10 journals to do, and $500 to help raise for Invisible Children. Yes, I am behind. Yes, it's my fault. Yes, I am TERRIBLE at managing my time. I am stressed beyond words. I already live off of Diet Coke and coffee. I should probably just get an IV.

On the other hand, I have wonderful friends. I have a roommate, whom I dearly love, that is getting married. Which really just means we're hanging out a lot before she peace's out. I have dinner dates, and lunch dates, and coffee dates, and I love each of them. I want to dedicate my time to them, but I have too much stuff to do.

2 more years. 4 more semesters. (or 5, if I study abroad and graduate when everyone else does.) That's it. I need to enjoy it. But I need to make good grades more than I need to enjoy it.

In other words, I need to FOCUS.

Oh, and I love frosted animal cookies. And waking up to snow outside of my window. And Panera with Pvirg. And fair trade coffee with Rachael. Just sayin.

I love this country.

This was supposed to be posted so long ago. Today is 15 November, 2009. I wish I could say it was half past something, but it's really just two in the morning.

I am in love with Ireland. Period.

I love the green.

I love the castles.

I love the music.

I love the people.

The Moore family.

Paul.

Heather and the youth.

These girls.

Dee.

There are so many others. Alice, Anna, Valerie (and many Harpers, for that matter.) Duncan, Mrs. Candler, Catriona and David, The Dowlings, The Sandalls, The Clarks (they're from Atlanta) The Shaws, The Connors, and really the list could go on. These people were incredibly hospitable and loved us for the short time we were there. They will always have a place in my heart.

I love the chocolate.

I love the tea. I love the rain. I love that I would have to re-wash my clothes because they would get rained on AT LEAST four times while hanging out on the line. I love that I had to hang my clothes on the line to begin with. I love that I ate way too many Magnum Ice Cream Bars and watched all but ten episodes of the seven seasons of Gilmore Girls with the fantastic women I lived with. I love the time we spent in the Word and in prayer. I love the growth and change that occurred in me. It was painful and difficult at times, but looking back almost four months later, it was one of the best experiences of my life. I will cherish it forever.

Oh, and I love this video. Some background info: Caleb is one of those people who likes to find what bothers people and do it ALL the time. He found out I HATE for my chin to be touched, and I begged him not to touch it. I told him if he made it the rest of the summer (which was about a month) that he could touch my chin at the end of the summer. Here are the results of his patience. Thanks for videoing, Suz!

Highs and Lows

High #1- I video chatted with my family. It was wonderful to see them.

High #2- I video chatted with good friends.. I miss them.

High #3- We had Bible Study with The Rock committee today. Suzy and I co-led it, teaching about Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane in Matthew 26. It turned into a great discussion.

Low- My family found out last week that both of my parents have been transferred for work. They move to Ringgold, Georgia (2 hours from Lawrenceville) before I get home. It's awesome that I'll be so close to them (only 30 minutes from Covenant) but hard that we're leaving our church, friends, and the house that we've lived in for almost 15 years.

God has a plan, and knows all of my highs and my lows.

He uses each of them for His glory.

Four Leaf Clovers Do Exist

On Monday, June 15th, Suzanne Parrish and Emily Morris went to Dublin. Hitching a ride with David Moore --who was on his way to a class at the Irish Bible Institute-- we made the two hour journey to Ireland's capital (In case you didn't know, all roads lead to Dublin). Upon arrival, we met up with Alex, MTW's intern at Abbey Church.

We went to lunch at a cute little cafe called Lovin' Spoon. After lunch, we hit up Carroll's, the MASSIVE ridiculous tourist shop, where you can get anything and everything Irish for insane prices.

The Book of Kells consists of an illuminated manuscript in Latin, containing the Four Gospels of the New Testament together with various prefatory texts and tables. (Thank you Wikipedia.) It lives at Trinity College.

The plan was to see The Book of Kells. When we found out it cost 9 euros (about $14), we opted to look at the pictures of it in the gift shop. We wrapped up our Trinity adventure and headed to Grafton Street, where Once was filmed. I, being an American tourist, asked someone if there was a Sony store somewhere. I secretly hoped to get a picture in front of it, just because I wanted to stand where Glen Hansard stood. Yes, I am ridiculous. Anyway, the Sony store closed a couple of years ago. Bummer. I did get some cool pictures though.

Our afternoon was spent at St. Stephen's Green. I found a four leaf clover. We had a great afternoon of relaxing.

We went and got coffee, then headed to Penny's. I love Penny's. It's like Target, only bigger and cheaper. I got real cute yellow shoes for 6 euros. I'll post a picture of me in them once I have one.

Can't leave without a picture of the Spire.

This concludes our day in Dublin.

Walk Straight

This week was wonderful.

Sunday night- We had a Gilmore Girls night. Dee (who is quoted as saying that she has three lunatics living with her. David Moore's response: That makes four Lunatics in one house. (: ) has all 7 seasons. Heather (the youth director at KPC) and Katie, one of the girls here, came over and we got a few episodes in before bed.

Monday- I slept until 10:45, and then spent some time at the house reading, talking to my parents and responding to emails while everyone else went running. It was an awesome relaxing morning. Monday afternoon we did some shopping in town and had fish and chips for lunch.

Me and Brittany

Capone and Suzy

Caleb

Fish and Chips

Monday night, we went with David Moore and Ande to a Bible study at Cahir Presbyterian Church. The church doesn't have a pastor because it is so small, so more of the pastors in surrounding towns are helping to lead this Bible study. The study was on Psalm 22, and we compared it to Jesus' death on the cross. Very cool passage. Check it out if you have a minute. Cahir Castle is beautiful, and we got some great pictures.

Cahir Castle

Team Ireland

Tuesday- We lead an assembly at The Model School, one of the local schools. We sang "Every Move I Make" and taught the kids the actions (NOT motions.) The kids did a skit of the story of Lazarus, and it was awesome. They were all dressed up and everything. Caleb spent some time discussing resurrection, and how both Jesus and Lazarus were resurrected. Then Brittany sang another song. IT was the tenth anniversary of the school being in the building they were in, so the kids got an extra recess after the assembly and we got cake and tea with the teachers. Toddler group at the church was right after the assembly. Then we had a quick lunch break and headed back to the church to do some clean up. I ended up going to Lidl's, a cheap grocery store, with Heather to get food for the sleepover. Brittany and Caleb made some fantastic banana pancakes for dinner.

Oh the sleepover. It's been a while since the last time I stayed up until 5 in the morning. The night was spent talking about God, boys, what God thinks about boys, and more boys. I mean, what else would we talk about? A girl named Chandini moved from Fiji last year and now lives here in Kilkenny. In Fiji, she was trained to be a beautician. She spent her night doing up-do's and THREADING MY EYEBROWS!

My eyebrows being threaded. And everyone watching.

The Sleepover Girls!

Hannah (David's daughter) and Kelly (Hannah's best friend) did an awesome mime type thing to Casting Crowns' song "Does Anybody Hear Her." It was incredibly moving. They did a great job. We watched "Step Up" and then headed to sleep.

Wednesday- Staff Meeting at the church. Lunch. We did Keep Kilkenny Beautiful, where we picked up "rubbish" for a couple of hours. We looked awesome, I'll just be honest.

Wednesday night, Suzy and I made Pizza Casserole for dinner and then chilled at home for the evening.

That's cutting it a little close to the chin, not gonna lie.

Thursday- It was a great morning of just enjoying each other's company and spending time in the Word. Thursday afternoon, we had The Rock Bible Study. It's a time for The Rock Committee to come and spend some time studying God's Word as they prepare to be a witness to the rest of Kilkenny's teens. We had a really good discussion time, and loved hanging out.

Friday- Staff meeting. Door-to-door Evangelism. I was extremely nervous and anxious about it, but Tom (the church's evangelist) kept me with him the whole time. All I had to do was smile and say "Hey" in my American accent. Friday night, we went to The Rock. There were about a hundred teens there. We just hung out and talked. People threw around Caleb's American football, danced, and played a couple of group games.

The walk back is where the title of this blog comes from. Caleb and Brittany were walking in front of Suzy and I (Matt had the night off) and Caleb kept walking crooked, making Brittany walk really close to the street. We started laughing about it, and then I talked about being in 6th grade walking down the hall next to people and I'd always run into them. I said something along the lines of "I could never walk in a straight line. People should have known it was because I couldn't see straight!" They all got a good laugh out of it. It might be one of those you had to be there type of stories. But whatever. Laugh if you want. :)

This morning- Prayer meeting at the church. Then we went with some of the women of the church to have tea and scones at a cute cafe called Food Works. As I sat there with conversations all around me, I thought about the fact that I'M IN IRELAND! Three months ago, the thought of spending my summer here never would have crossed my mind. Three weeks ago, it was still unsure. Ireland was a place I wanted to visit, but I had never imagined being a part of a ministry here. The realization that by being here, by sitting in that cafe with those women was EXACTLY where God wants me to be was amazing. I mean, I know I'm always where He wants me to be. He's God. He can use me anywhere. But realizing that He got me here, that I am in Kilkenny, serving and getting to know these people because God wants me here completely blew my mind. It's a feeling I can't even describe. And I love it.

Grå Beo

The title of this blog comes from a DiscipleNow I participated in this past March. The theme for DiscipleNow was Live Love. Living the love of Christ is something I’ve been learning (and will continue to learn) to do for the past couple of years. It has been put into practice a lot, having come into contact with many different types of people in different settings.

For the summer, I will be living love along with a team of four other students, two mentors, and a really cute baby. I will be grå beo (living love in Irish) in Kilkenny, Ireland. Upon our arrival, we were told we would be doing “anything and everything.” The pastor of Kilkenny Presbyterian Church, David Moore, wants us to have a taste of all types of ministry.

My plan for now is that prayer requests and updates will be sent out over email and through my Facebook group. Those will also be posted on this, in addition to stories and pictures. That is all subject to change. For now, I think we’re looking at internet access about once a week, so we’ll see how it goes. (That will probably mean multiple blogs will be posted at once. Just sayin'.)