Whitfields in Richmond!

Trip to the Washington zoo!!

2009-04-09T20:59:00.009-04:00

What's up, y'all????? We just went to the zoo, it was sooooo cool, or as they say in Ireland, class!!! We here are a few pics of our trip!! Dad loved the lions, and we have a really good pic of one! I really enjoyed the pandas, so I hope you like these pics!!!

How Are You????

2009-04-07T11:04:00.004-04:00

Hi everyone! It's Grace, my dad let me take over the blog, so hey!! We just went to The Science Museum of Virginia for Spring Break, it was really cool! Dad's favorite part was Imax, Mom's was all the different cell parts and I liked the Imax too (Peter says he doesn't know his favorite part). On Wed. we're going to the Washington D.C. zoo.! Well I have to go, I need to call me friend Lindsay so we can finish our sciecnce project, bye!

Happy All Hallow's Eve!

2008-10-31T14:53:00.014-04:00

In Ireland, November 1st is All Saints' Day, so if God is your Father and Jesus is your Savior and Brother, you are a saint, so its your day too! Halloween (Hallowe'en) was originally celebrated in Ireland in the pre-Christian days with the belief that on this day, the veil between the physical world and the spiritual world was so thin, that spirits would easily pass into the physical world. The holiday came to the US and was Americanized and commercialized (is that the same thing?) and people don't even stop to think why they are "celebrating" ghosts, witches, and goblins. Peter and Grace are going out "trick or treating" this evening with their friends for the first time. They will not be wearing scary costumes, but instead fun ones. Should be interesting. If I can get the camera to work, I hope to post some pictures on our Flickr page. Irish friends, please feel free to correct or add to my explanation of Halloween.

It has been a busy couple of months since the school year started. Jean is enjoying being back in the classroom, although she is really having to brush up on her Biology, as it has been quite a long time since she has taught it. After this year it should be a little easier. I think she was born for the classroom, though. Peter and Grace are doing well. They are growing like weeds and making lots of friends. Peter didn't make the school football team as he is too small according to the coach. There are very few 6th graders who do make the team as the team is made up mostly of 7th and 8th graders. This would be the equivalent of 1st and 2nd year of secondary school in Ireland, where there is no Middle School.

Peter is playing soccer on a local YMCA team. The skill level is significantly lower than the league he played with in Ireland. After his first game here, he said, "Dominics (his former team) would beat these guys 50 to nothing!" They have improved some as the season has progressed. Peter scored his first goal last Saturday (he is usually in defense, as that is his preference). It was a real Zinedine Zidane goal--waist-high, side volley that banged into the back of the net. It was pouring rain the whole game, so I told him he just needed Irish-like conditions to get the first goal. he was thrilled with the goal and said it was very "satisfying". The boy has a way with words. I didn't have a video camera on Peter, so here's Zidane in a 1.07 minute spot to give you the idea (might want to turn down your sound--the announcers are obnoxious!):

I'm staying busy as well. We've just started with a new orientation group this week at the Learning Center--the largest ever with over 250 adults and over 100 children. Pretty amazing. They are here for 8 weeks. We had a couple of large furlough groups over the summer as well. They are on campus for a week at a time and manage to keep us pretty busy, as we provide debriefing and counseling for them. I really enjoy the busy weeks with these returning missionaries.

I've also just started teaching a Sunday School class (Life Group) at our church, Staples Mill Road Baptist Church. The church has now gone to 3 morning worship services and 2 Sunday Schools, so there was a huge need for new teachers. In keeping with my M training, I didn't step up right away in order to give a "local" an opportunity to teach (there is probably a better word for it than that. Somehow "national" doesn't sound right). But with several huge classes, I decided I needed to go ahead and pitch in. It is a new class plus it has been a very long time since I've tried to teach "normal" American church attenders. They think differently than both M's and Irish believers.

The IMB is also about to undergo a major reorganization in order to be even more effective in its efforts to reach the world with the Gospel. Eleven regions will become 8 Global Affinity Groups for starters. Most positions of leadership will be changing over the next few months. The week after next I will be traveling to Houston, Texas for an IMB trustee meeting, in which the new Vice Presidents will be submitted for approval. It should be a very exciting meeting. I get to go because we will also be appointing new M's and I will shadow Mark as he shares a talk with the new M's and their parents and family members. I'm shadowing him this time so that I can begin alternating with him on attending and presenting at these meetings. Here is a link that explains a little bit more about the coming changes: http://www.imb.org/main/news/details.asp?StoryID=7190&LanguageID=1709 .

Well, that's our news that's fit to print. So, how are y'all?

The First Week

2008-09-06T16:28:00.006-04:00

Well, everyone has survived their first week back to school. I think they are all glad to be back. Peter and Grace got to go to their first football game ever. We went to see Jean's school play their first game of the season on Thursday evening. Deep Run HS won 35-0 over Attley. We stayed through the band's halftime performance, since it was a school night, as that was also a first. The games are normally played on Friday evening, but was moved to Thursday because of Tropical Storm Hanna.

On other school news (it's "brag on your kids" time), Peter and Grace got all Pass/Advanced on all their SOL exams. These are the end-of-the-year, Standards of Learning exams that Peter and Grace took in June. We didn't tell Peter and Grace the tests wouldn't count since they had not been their but half the year, but now I guess they'll count. Grace got a perfect score of 600 in Reading and a near-perfect 599 in Writing. Peter got a perfect 600 in Science. Peter's Friday football tryout was also canceled on Friday because of Hanna, so the final day of tryouts and cuts will be on Monday instead. He did find out that only four sixth graders made the team last year. Middle School is grades 6, 7, 8. Peter really seems to be enjoying the tryouts so far. Grace is in the Safety Patrol at her school and is helping out with the Kindergarten (like infant classes) as well. I think she is enjoying being among the "big kids" at school.

Today we have been sort of hunkered down in the house with Hanna raging outside. We are only getting the outer bands, so only 25 mph winds and heavy rain. We really need the rain as we were in drought conditions with watering bans. My lawn was getting quite brown! The only thing I've noticed with the tropical storm kind of rain is that it rains hard constantly with those winds and it is really humid, around 90%. So it sort of feels tropical out there. Hunkering down inside on a September Saturday is fine with me though. I get to watch college football all day. Right now I'm watching the Fighting Irish! Woo Hoo!

First Day of School 2008!

2008-09-02T13:50:00.004-04:00

Don't they look so excited? Well, I think they were a little excited, a lot nervous, and a little sad that the lazy days of summer are over. Grace is in Fifth grade this year; her last at Echo Lake Elementary. Peter is in Sixth grade; his first at Hungary Creek Middle School. Oh, yes! And Jean went back to school today too! She is teaching Tenth grade Biology at Deep Run High School. I'm thinking she is probably experiencing similar emotions as the kids. Three different schools, three different start times, two different buses!

Peter is also planning to to try out for the football team (American football, not soccer). He has his physical exam today and tryout tomorrow. He and I have been working on some basic skills these last few weeks. We'll see how it goes. If nothing else, we've both improved our fitness levels! If it doesn't work out this year, he is also planning to play soccer at the local YMCA. I also "get" to go to a parent's meeting ahead of the physical today, so this should be interesting. I'll let you know how it goes. I'm sure there will be lots of stories around the dinner table tonight. We'll have to come up with a big Back-To-School feast!

Last night our family devotion was based on 2 Corinthians 5: the Ministry of Reconciliation. We talked about how our "account" with God was reconciled by Jesus' death on the cross and therefore our relationship with Him was also reconciled. Now He has given us this Ministry of Reconciliation so that we can share this hope with others. We prayed that our relationships this year will be intentional in that we will look for opportunities to share God's love and truth with others. This passage was part of the daily reading from the One-Year Bible, but I thought it was the perfect way to start a new school year.

Ten Tips for Missional Living

2008-08-23T11:30:00.004-04:00

Copied from the Dallas Morning News:

Ten Tips for Missional Living - for the everyday believer
by Philip Nation, co-author of Compelled by Love: The Most Excellent Way to Missional Living with Dr. Ed Stetzer

1. Understand the Gospel. The mission of God is consumed with the person & work of Christ. As you understand Christ, you can accurately participate in God's work of redemption. So read the Gospels - a lot.

2. Take an eternal view of people. The friends, neighbors, and co-workers around you have an eternity in front of them. We need to see them as God does and care for them accordingly.

3. Be friendly. A Christian should be the most trustworthy confidant that another person has in the world. Believers should be the kind of people that everyone else wants to be around.

4. Watch for a chance to serve. People give away all of their energy on family, work, and menial chores. Look for ways that you can care for your neighbors - even if it is just cooking a simple dinner for them.

5. Be truthful. Missional believers contend for the faith while speaking in a way understandable to the hearer. No matter what - be ready to talk about the truths in scripture.

6. Love like Jesus. He lived a robust life of caring for the lost. In elevating sacrificial love far beyond any previous thinking, he gave an example for us.

7. Be on guard. As you work alongside the King to extend his kingdom, our spiritual enemy will immediately attack. Guard your heart in holiness.

8. Live missionally at home. Family is the first place for the mission of God in your life. When people see the impact it has on your home, they will be more willing to trust its veracity for their own lives.

9. Show patience. People are farther away from understanding the Gospel than in previous generations. Do not hesitate to invite them to submit to Christ, but know that they have plenty of questions that might need answering first.

10. Do it for one reason - the glory of God. The only reason for being missional is to make Christ more widely known. God is worthy of being honored by all of creation and it should be the main reason why we participate in his mission.

Philip Nation is the co-author of Compelled by Love: The Most Excellent Way to Missional Living (May 2008, New Hope Publishers) with Dr. Ed Stetzer. Nation has authored articles for numerous publications and contributed to Dr. Ed Stetzer's Breaking the Missional Code and Planting Missional Churches. A former church planting missionary for the North American Mission Board, he has pastored in Alabama, Tennessee and now Georgia where he leads Lake Ridge Church, a 2005 church plant. Nation holds a B.A. from Samford University, a Master of Divinity from Beeson Divinity School and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Ministry from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Learn more at www.compelledbylove.com.

From Russia to the James River

2008-08-17T07:23:00.005-04:00

This past week I was in Russia for the first time in my life. It took around 24 hours and three flights to get there and the same coming back. I missed a connecting flight in Munich going over because Lufthansa was on strike, so I missed the bus in Moscow, but my new friend Mark S collected me and a new j'man, Karin, just arriving on the field. We went to a retreat site a couple of hours or so south of Moscow. That was a bit of an adventure getting there while I tried to help read the map and road signs in Russian!The place we met was a bit down-at-heel as is most of the bit of Russia that I did see to and from the airport, but it was nice and our personnel were great. It was a true pleasure to be with them. Their Strategy Associate's wife had died suddenly just two weeks before the AGM. They had a wonderful memorial service for her on the first morning that was truly a celebration of a life completely given to the Lord and to serving others. Several women especially told me they were still on the field in large part due to the influence of this godly lady. There was a cool, young worship band that lead our worship every morning from Brentwood, Tennessee just outside Nashville. I enjoyed hanging with them as well. I have to admit I was a little nervous going over as I had not ever been to Russia before and you have to get a visa and then register once you get there and all, but it all went fairly smoothly and the few Russians I did meet were very friendly. Having already known Yana and Dmitri in Dundalk, that part didn't surprise me. My first experience in Russia, though, was passport control. There were no lines (queues), just a mob. I could have fallen over and passed out, not even hit the ground and still made it to the front of the line. Once it was my turn to hand over the passport, though, it was very routine. No comments from the officer, just the routine rubber stamps and away I go. I got home around midnight Thursday and was happy to see Jean, my sleeping children and my own bed. My bed in Russia had slats that kept falling out in the middle of the night!

When I got home, our friend Peggy was visiting from Kentucky (formerly served an eon in Scotland). She and the fam had already had some adventures together, but I got to go along for a day trip to Belle Isle in downtown Richmond on the James River. Peter, Grace, Snoopy, and I had quite the adventure climbing on the rocks on the middle of the river and figuring our way back to the shore. Snoopy especially had more adventure than he had bargained for, as he had to make some mighty leaps and even swim a bit to get back to shore. He was one pooped pup when we got back! The kids found a nice deep bit close to shore to swim in as well. The weather was perfect for it, just a few clouds and not too hot. Check out some pics from both Russia and Belle Isle on our Flickr page.

Peter and Grace

2008-07-13T16:42:00.002-04:00

Peter and Grace were baptised today! Check out the pictures on Flickr. Pastor Jim came over a few weeks ago to talk with them and explain the procedure. It took longer to get it done than we planned because I had to travel on the Sunday that we originally planned to do it last month. Last night pastor Jim and his family came over for dinner and he had a chance to chat with Peter and Grace again. I told them both that watching my children being baptised was one of the proudest days of my life.

Greece Trip

2008-07-06T07:32:00.006-04:00

I'm back for a week from an AGM in Greece. It was a very good week in Greece. After a 10 hour flight from JFK, I arrived in Athens two hours late on Monday morning, so got to the AGM around noon Greece time (5:00 AM Richmond time). I rode from the airport to the hotel with one other guy from Richmond on a huge bus and we were the only ones on it besides the driver. It was an hour and a half drive along the beautiful Aegean coast, so I did my best to stay awake so I could see it. Unfortunately, that was the closest I got to the beach or even the pool all week—and it was a very nice pool. In between scheduled group programming I had around 20 debriefing/counseling sessions through the week. I also taught a class on Friday, so my schedule was quite full. Since I had to hit the ground running with no time to deal with jet lag, I took brief afternoon naps rather than going to the pool or being a tourist. Besides, I’m way too white (still have my Irish tan) and that Greek sun is way too hot! It was a very nice setting and I really enjoyed this group of M’s from Dad’s South Europe Field. Awesome preacher and volunteer team from California as well. The preacher is Rob Zinn and he can bring it! I talked to a whole bunch a people who know Dad and they all had such good things to say about my daddy! This is a hard working group of folks who have had a tough time over the years in a very difficult field. I’m sure Dad can relate. I hope I and my member care colleagues, who live in CEE, were able to be an encouragement to them. Oh, and sorry but no pictures. I took the camera but the batteries had quit. I had no chance to go change money or buy batteries. I didn’t even buy any souvenirs, but they did give me a Bulgarian cowbell as a thank-you gift. I arrived home to Richmond airport safe and sound late Saturday afternoon (almost midnight Greece time). My day started at 4:00 AM Greece time (9:00 PM the night before Richmond time). Jet lag hasn’t been too bad, but I still didn’t go to work on Monday. Jean’s dad and his wife were here that week, so I got to see them for a couple of days anyway. Jean took them back to the D.C. airport on Monday, so I hung out with the kids. We took Peter to the barber shop and he got scalped. He was a little disappointed since we asked only for a trim, but it was only his second haircut since we moved here, so it was time.

The kids are enjoying the summer with their new friends. The neighbors across the street have a membership at a pool, so Peter and Grace have been with them a few times. They are getting over their Irish tans and are developing a nice, healthy glow. It is a hot and humid summer--at least compared to what we had become accustomed to. I even have to water the lawn! It does occasionally rain, but it comes in occasional storms rather than the constant drizzle that keeps everything green in Ireland.

We had the "company" picnic last week as well. We are still re-adjusting to the American over-the-top way of celebrating Independence Day. It was fun though and helps to build community within the IMB home office. Since I'm always encouraging community I think it is important for me and my family to be there! We enjoyed the hamburgers and hot dogs, skits, games, face-painting and even the misting tent (did I mention it is hot?!).

So, what's the craic with y'all?

We got the Crate!

2008-04-28T15:40:00.008-04:00

Yes, after nearly three months of living without our stuff and with someone else's stuff, our crate finally arrived on Friday. Jean and I both took the day off to receive the crate, but the crate didn't arrive until after 1:00 in the afternoon. Then the guys who were paid to unload it complained for another 30 minutes because it was more stuff than they had been told. But, they finally got it off the truck and into the house or the garage. The house is about 3/4 put together at this stage, but it looks and feels more like we live here now. And, yes, there is plenty of stuff about which we are asking ourselves, "why did we bring that?" Maybe now people at work will also stop asking me, "when are you going to decorate your office?"

Speaking of office, last week we had a two day staff retreat with 400 of my closest, new friends held at the International Learning Center (where my office also is). The featured speaker was Dr David Platt, pastor of the 6000 member Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama. He has pastored this church for two years and still is only 29 years old! Before that he was preaching professor and Dean of the Chapel at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He is very dynamic, expositional preacher with a humble, mature heart for the Lord. We were truly blessed, inspired, and challenged. If you ever get a chance to hear him I highly recommend that you do so.

The day after this retreat, there were quite a number of people out due to apparent food poisoning. Turns out to be something called Norovirus and there ended up being over 100 people who became ill. They've had to shut down the entire home office for a few days for cleaning and to allow the virus to die as apparently it is highly contagious. I've had a mild dose over the weekend but am mostly better. Fortunately I and most of my colleagues are well acquainted with working from home. ILC will be closed for 2 weeks!

Back to some good news now: Peter and Grace got their first report cards from their new school. They send home these report cards every nine weeks. Peter and Grace were quite concerned about their grades as they felt like they had been behind since they have been here. Well, turns out they made the A/B Honor roll! Yes, that means they made all A's and B's. We told them they've blown it now because they have set the bar high for the next time. We are very proud of them. They really seem to be settling in well and making friends. Jean is also back in the classroom these last few weeks. She is substitute teaching for Henrico County school district. She has been in several schools at all levels already. She gets a new assignment either online or through an automated phone call. Isn't modern technology great! I think she is mostly enjoying it so far.

As soon as we track down the camera amidst all the moving rubble I'll post our latest pics. So, how are y'all doing?

Settling in

2008-02-12T10:16:00.000-05:00

Well, we are slowly but surely getting settled into our new home. We have been here for about a week and half and are finally getting over jet lag AND the flu. Yes, I brought the flu back from my meeting in Germany and managed to pass it to everyone in the family. Needless to say, our first week in our new home was not all that fun. Peter and Grace were delayed a whole week getting into their new school, but they were finally able to start yesterday. I think they were a little overwhelmed with the newness and the size. Peter, especially, has been saying he wants to go home to Ireland. I think we have all been a bit homesick. It doesn't help that we've been too sick to be sociable until now. I have been working half days in the office, but without too much to do yet. That will change soon and I'm sure I will be quite busy before too long. I've already been able to talk with a group of candidates as well as facilitate a small group of new orientees.
You'll be happy to know that Snoopy made the trip without any problems. After all the scrambling to get him legal, customs didn't even check his papers at the airport! They didn't let us bring his food through, but otherwise no problem. We are going to have to get a fence though. Taking him out on the lead is already getting old. And, we've discovered that if you don't take him out often enough or long enough he will act like he isn't house broken. Ewww!
The day after we got here we went to pick up our cars. Yes, we are in America now so we need two cars since I now go to an office and Jean has to do the school runs and buy the groceries and all. Jean's car wasn't ready on Saturday, so we hung onto the rented car for a few days longer. When that one broke down, they replaced it with a Mercedes. That was cool!
We've figured out how to flush toilets without clogging them up and how to turn up the hot water heater so you actually have hot water. Yesterday, Jean waited all day for the phone/TV/internet people to show up. They never did. We then spent an hour on the phone yesterday and another half hour this morning trying to figure out why. They've rescheduled for tomorrow. We'll see.
We're getting there. We can't wait to get our own household goods, but the Bruce's have been great about letting us use their stuff until ours arrives. I'll try to write more as time permits. I've posted a few new pictures on our Flickr site as well. We'd love to hear from y'all as well. What's the craic?!

Seasons of Life

2007-11-26T10:34:00.000-05:00

This is a copy of what I sent to the personnel in our Western Europe region. I want to share this news with you as well.

It has been my joy to serve the Western Europe Region for almost nine years as the Western Europe Regional Member Care Consultant. Recently there was a retirement from the Board's Richmond Member Care Department and I have been invited to fill that vacancy and serve alongside Mark Whitworth, who continues as the Member Care Team Leader in Richmond. After months of prayer and tears we have decided to accept this role. My family and I will be moving to Richmond shortly after the first of the year to assume these new responsibilities. We are choosing to think of this, not as a resignation, but rather as a transfer and as such I will relate to several of the Board's regions in this new Member Care role. We are looking forward to this new challenge while we also grieve over leaving Ireland and Western Europe. This decision has been much more difficult than the original decision to leave the US to come to the field, but we do believe this is the Father's leading at this time and so we want to follow Him in obedience. You will always be in our thoughts and prayers and we know we will remain in yours as well.

Blessings,

Jeff

First Day of School 2007!

2007-09-03T04:01:00.000-04:00

more to come...

Portugal and Beyond

2007-07-06T07:46:00.000-04:00

Last week we were all in Portugal for the combined cluster meeting of our personnel in Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Malta--about 137 adults plus I-don't-know-how-many kids. That's nearly half the region! The meeting was held in a nice hotel on the northern coast of Portugal in a town called Peniche about an hour north of Lisbon. The meeting itself was fantastic with lots of great preaching and teaching. Second Baptist Church of Houston provided both the MK program as well as the preaching/teaching/worship times every morning and evening. Pastor Ed Young himself preached in the evenings through the book of Jonah while student minister Jeff Hiett preached in the mornings. Both had some good things to say and we were blessed by their ministry.

Peter and Grace had a great time in the VBS classes. They were able to reconnect with some old friends and make some new ones. I think they are beginning to get the hang of this MK thing. They are also finally asking why we go to meetings in places like Portugal when we are not part of that cluster, so I think they are beginning to have a clue about the nature of my job as well. Jean and I also were able to connect with a lot of folks as well. We were able to have many deep conversations with folks and, prayerfully, give some encouragement to folks as well.

I also had fifteen minutes on the program and shared from one of my favorite passages, 2 Corinthians chapter 1, in which Paul explains the point of suffering especially for people in ministry: 1) to learn to rely on God rather than ourselves and 2) to give comfort to others with the same comfort that we have received from the Comforter.

We came home just wiped out. Peter and Grace had a lot of late nights and early mornings and very full days and Jean and I just had some very busy days as well. Travel day was long in that we were delayed nearly an hour and the travel itself just entailed standing in a lot of long lines--a real pain when you are already very tired. Was that our suffering? If it was, I guess we have it pretty easy compared to many!

During the meeting, we had an afternoon off to be tourists, so we were all bused up to a little town called Obidos. It has loads of little winding streets with shops on either side selling mostly local crafts plus a cool castle at the top of the hill. We also stayed over an extra day and had a few hours to look around the capital city of Lisbon, finished off, of course, by dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. We go there for the food. Really!

I also have neglected to post about my time in Malta and Italy in May. I spent a week all together on that visit, just to see all our personnel in those places. I was toured all over the island of Malta and just had a great visit with all our personnel there. They are all such sweet people and seem to be pouring their love all over the people of Malta. In Italy I was joined by Chad, our MK consultant. We visited almost all our folks in Rome and Naples. The Rome visit was like speed dating, because we just spent about two hours back-to-back with each "unit" (I hate that term). We had a bit more of a leisurely visit in Naples. Charlie is a great tour guide and just about walked our feet off! We managed to eat a lot of REAL pizza and drink a lot of cappuccino--not to mention a lot of lemon ices on those hot walking tours. Now that is my kind of member care visit!

Oh, yeah! I almost forgot. We celebrated the Fourth at home. It rained cats and dogs all day, plus I had the worst hay fever attack in ages. Then at 12:30 the sun came out so we decided to grill out. Ha! Well, you guessed it. As soon as I got the grill going it started pouring again so I finished grilling in my raincoat and under the eaves. It was still good though, as was Jean's American flag pavlova!

As usual I've posted a few pictures at my Flickr site. Check'em out!

Back from Newcastle

2007-05-28T09:25:00.000-04:00

Last week, Jean and I hosted our first ever marriage retreat for IMB personnel. We took full advantage of the opportunity to show off Ireland to our colleagues by hosting the retreat in Newcastle, County Down. Newcastle is sort of an old-fashioned British/Irish seaside resort. The Glenada Conference Centre, where the retreat was held, is just beneath the famous Mourne Mountains and across the street from the Irish Sea. It was a beautiful setting. The weather forecast for the week had been for rain everyday, but God chose to smile on us and gave us glorious sunshine all week instead. It only rained briefly as we were driving to Newcastle and again as we were driving away.
The retreat was led by Mark and Linda Whitworth with Jean and me pitching in from time to time. Mark and Linda are based in Richmond, Virginia where he is the Member Care Consultant at the home office, while Linda is the Stateside Assignment Conference coordinator. Mark and Linda always are a lot of fun while still managing to teach some good stuff on keeping a marriage strong on the mission field. They also kept a good balance between seminar time and free time. Since the weather was nice and the scenery was gorgeous, everyone took full advantage of the free time! For many of our folks this was their first time ever to be in Ireland. Everyone seemed to enjoy the craic!
The Glenada is a fantastic venue. It is owned by the YMCA/YWCA and ably managed by Ellsye Rowell and ably assisted by Sharon. They really took great care of us. The place has recently been refurbished but still retains its old-world charm. The original building is over one hundred years old.
I've posted a few pictures of Newcastle at our Flickr site. Click on the link in the side bar.

Role Reversal

2007-04-28T04:06:00.000-04:00

Jean and I sort of traded jobs this week. She went off to visit one of our single ladies in the region, so I got to be a parent sponsor on the children's school tour (field trip). We went to the Ulster American Folk Park in Omagh, County Tyrone (http://www.folkpark.com/). It took about and hour and forty-five minutes to get there on the bus through some absolutely gorgeous countryside on a postcard-quality day. The kids were pretty good on the drive. Of course, they all had PSPs or Nintendo DS, Gameboys or Ipods or something and traded them back and forth the whole way there and back.

The folk park itself is awesome. It is about the Irish immigration to America and they actually have a 19th century Irish village set up that you can walk through and see how people lived in Ireland back then. Then you walk through a wooden sailing ship to see what those conditions would have been like. When you come off the ship, you are stepping into a 19th century American town. It is all more or less full-sized and working. There are a lot of people there in costume in each house or shop to tell you what life was like.

For the school tour, the kids were divided into groups and went to one of several learning activities to learn more hands-on how people lived and worked. I was assigned to a group of boys, including Peter, who worked with a tinsmith for the day. He taught them about measuring and hammering and bradawling. They spent the better part of the day making name plates for themselves. The boys were in awe of this man.

Grace's group learned about looking after a 19th century house, while other groups did wood-working, candle making and other similar activities. The kids were great and I had a lot of fun on the school tour. I forgot to take the camera, so only managed to take this photo with my camera phone. We took Peter and Grace there a few years ago, so if I can track down those pictures I'll post them at Flickr.

The day was not over yet, though. Peter and Grace had decided they wanted pet newts. Peter, especially, has been talking about getting a newt for several months. They finally tracked down a pet shop in Newry (20 minute drive north and across the border) that could order some for them. So, as soon as we got back from the school tour, we headed up to Newry to collect the newts. Now, before Peter started talking about newts, my only reference to newts was Monty Python ("She turned me into a newt! Well, I got better!") We now we have two fire newts in their new habitat on Peter's bookshelf. I'll get some pictures posted of these guys as well. Peter and Grace finally got to bed about 9:00 last night, exhausted but happy. What a day!

Irthlingborough

2007-04-18T13:13:00.000-04:00

We attended the United Kingdom and Ireland (UKI) cluster meeting last week in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, England. The weather all week was absolutely gorgeous. The meeting was in the Frontier Centre, which is a bit of a rustic Christian Conference center. Rustic makes it sound sort of rough, but it was quite nice if a bit summer camp-like. It was a very good time of fellowship with the folks we consider our "home" cluster since we live in Ireland. We enjoyed hearing from the "Tall Skinny Kiwi", Andrew Jones, as well as many of our own folks who all had great things to contribute to the conference. A church from Arizona called Church on Mill handled the children's program and led in worship. They were awesome with both. We really enjoyed their generous, servants hearts. The children had a Vacation Bible School (or Holiday Bible Club if you prefer) with a jungle theme and they performed some really fun worship songs for us on the last night. The Frontier Centre also has a ropes course which the children were able to take part in. They were very brave! The conference ended after breakfast on Friday and our flight home wasn't until that evening, so we spent a few hours seeing the sights in Cambridge, which was only about 45 minute away. It is a beautiful town but we didn't have nearly as much time there as we would have liked. Oh, well. Another time! Check out a few pics at the Flickr site!

St Patrick's Holiday Weekend

2007-03-19T07:49:00.000-04:00

Gracie's Ballet Recital

The Dundalk Kidz Drama Klub entry in the parade lining up for the start.

Snow on the 18th, the day after Paddy's Day!

More photos at Flickr...

There and Back Again

2007-02-26T09:41:00.000-05:00

Yes, I know it has been a while since I have posted on this blog. I guess we have been having so much fun, I haven't taken the time to write about what we are doing. Well, here is a start. This last week, Jean and I went to Basel, Switzerland to attend a meeting with folks with some regional responsibility. It just so happens that the Business Services Coordinators (BSC) were also invited to this meeting, so my brother, Jon, and his wife, Lisa, were also there, so we had a great time hanging out with them. Lisa is so much fun when you keep her up too late!
While meetings are, well, meetings, the fellowship time was great. (OK, good stuff happened at the meetings too. We've got some great folks in leadership in our region and it is always good to be with them and hear their heart).

While Jean and I attended the meeting, our children, Peter and Grace (who were on their school holidays), stayed with our very good friend, Peggy, in Glasgow, Scotland. Peggy lives in Glasgow, where she is involved with a team working in the inner city doing outreach among the children and youth of that great city. The night before we went to Basel, we were able to participate in a house church prayer meeting with her Glasgow team and their friends. It was a really good experience.

When we returned to Glasgow from our meeting, we had a day before our flight back to Ireland, so we spent the day in Edinburgh. It is a fantastic city and we always enjoying going there to see the castle and other interesting sights. We took a very crowded train ride over from Glasgow because Scotland was playing Italy in a rugby match in Edinburgh. Somehow we managed to get into a business class rail car, so we had a nice, comfortable ride over. And of course, we had to go the Hard Rock Cafe in Edinburgh. They have such good food! (No, didn't get the t-shirt this time). Check out some more pics of Basel and Edinburgh at the flickr site.

Autumn Fancy Dress Party

2006-11-04T06:45:00.000-05:00

Last Tuesday, 31 October, we hosted a Fancy Dress Party (not Halloween!) for the church kids and their parents. Jean, Peter, and Grace--with some help from Molly--really worked hard on putting it together. Our two were just about as excited as if it were Christmas! We had a lot of fun and it was great for the kids to have something in place of the traditional Halloween.
"Hallowe'en" actually originates in Ireland from its pre-Christian days, with the belief that the veil between this world and the spirit world was quite thin on 31 October and thus our world could be visited by the spirits on this day. It then became the eve of All Saints Day in Catholic Ireland while hanging on to some of the old pagan practices. Irish immigrants took the celebration to America, where it was "Americanized". The Americanized version is now mostly how it exists in Ireland today. Naturally, we did not want our kids celebrating the dead, or ghosts and goblins or whatever. "Fancy Dress" or Costume parties are quite popular in both Ireland and the UK, even for adults. I think the parents of our crew had as much fun as the kids. Be sure and check out the picture at Flikr--link to the right.

What a Summer!

2006-08-23T04:49:00.000-04:00

Well, we are getting toward the end of the summer season. Peter and Grace will go back to school on 1 September. I can't say they are exactly excited about it, but I know they are looking forward to seeing their friends again. Jean has already bought their school books, uniforms and shoes, so they are good to go. It is hard to believe they will be in 3rd and 4th class (grade) this year. On 11 September we will have been back in Ireland 5 years. We are still loving being here, although I sometimes wish I traveled less so I could be here more.
This summer has been a hectic one. Shortly after school was out, we had a visit from the Lees, dear friends from New Zealand whom we had met when we all lived in England. They are back in New Zealand and came back this way for a short visit. We took them over to County Galway for a nice Conamara holiday. We had a great time with them.
The day after they left we began what was meant to be a two week tour of the UK. The plan was for it to be sort of a working holiday in which we would visit our personnel as we traveled through. However, two days in I was called away to Cyprus to help another region debrief evacuees who had become caught up in a war situation. I ended up being there for 8 days as the evacuation took much longer than anticipated. I caught up with my family in London and was able to spend a day and a half with my Member Care team before we sailed back to Ireland from Holyhead, Wales on the car ferry.
Two days after returning from the UK, Mike and Nan Dean arrived. Mike is the pastor of our sending church, Travis Avenue Baptist Church in Fort Worth, TX. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit with them and enjoyed showing off some of our favorite places in Ireland, including the Giant's Causeway and the North Antrim Coast.
At the end of the Deans' visit I flew to the US for a 3 day visit with Dad and Naomi in Lockeford, Northern California before heading off to training in Idaho. I enjoyed touring their estate, meeting their dog Beta and their parrot Loreto, walking along the canal at dawn to see the otters, beavers, and ducks. I am not usually an up-at-dawn kind of guy, but the 8 hour time difference seemed to dictate the early rising.
From there I went on to North Idaho (via Seattle and Spokane) for a special kind of intensive training to learn how to deal with, um, extreme "contingencies" that involved camping out and not getting much sleep, among other, more stressful, things. North Idaho is absolutely beautiful and I would love to go back sometime and enjoy it under more leisurely circumstances.
Travel back from the US was another exercise in extreme contingency, as the latest terrorist crisis involving air travel was just unfolding. I had to travel back via London Heathrow, which seemed to be at the epicenter of this crisis. My plane departed Seattle 3 hours late and was extremely crowded and cramped. Fortunately, I was tired enough that I slept most of the way. I was able to quickly rebook my connecting flight to Dublin and got back home only 2½ hours late. It was really good to be back home after being away for 13 days and 27 out of the last 32 days. Friend, that's just too long!
The day after I got home from the US, our friends, Johnny and Jo, arrived from Miami. They are member care consultants for the Middle America and Caribbeann (MAC) region. They are the sweetest people and we just really enjoyed getting to visit and compare notes with them.
Now we are on holiday (vacation) until the end of the month. I'm doing my best to not work at all--that's harder than I would have thought, but it is great to have some down time and family time. Yesterday we took the kids to visit the Belfast Zoo. It is sort of small, but very nice. It is built into the side of a mountain, which means you have to hike up, but there are some spectacular views back into Belfast harbor. We had a picnic near a pond and had to fight off the pelicans and lemurs to finish our lunch. One rather cheeky lemur jumped right onto our table and I had to knock him off before he could snatch my sandwich. Fortunately, the larger animals are still kept in enclosures!
Be sure and check out the new pictures. Click on the Flickr link in the margin.

Summer Sneak Preview

2006-06-02T08:11:00.000-04:00

We've always said that if you survive an Irish winter then you deserve an Irish summer. On the Winter Solstice in Ireland, the sun sets around 3:30 PM and it is dark by 4:00 PM. Sunrise will be around 9:00 AM, but even then it is still cold and damp all day. On the other hand, on the Summer Solstice, sunset is around 11:00 PM and is dark around 11:30 PM. Sunrise is around 4:00 AM and is quite bright by 4:30 AM. We are still 3 weeks away from the solstice, but it is already light past 10:00 PM and as early as 4:30. This week has also been sunny and mild. Jean and I have been able to take off sweatshirts for our morning walks finally this week and we even took the kids to the local beach. Dundalk Bay is about a 5 or 10 minute drive. Yesterday the temperature got up to about 18C (around 66F). It doesn't ever get much warmer than that even in July or August, so it has been a very nice summer preview. Peter and Grace think that is hot, so they had a great time playing in the sand and the Irish Sea with some classmates who happened to be at the shore as well. "Happened to be" is meant to be kind of funny, because on a day like yesterday and today, everyone gets to the beach or out in the garden or something. The beach was rather crowded, but Irish people tend to be calmer and quieter than Americans (at least until they've had a few pints, but that doesn't happen until the evening), so it wasn't bad. I've posted some pictures on our Flickr site. Click on the Flickr link in the left-hand column.
Our folks seem to be getting into summer mode already, looking forward to STAS (furlough), or summer projects and volunteer teams. We are hoping to visit around the region a little this summer. We are also looking forward to hosting a few visitors and getting involved in some local outreach projects of our own. Grace's 8th birthday is Sunday so it will be party weekend. Peter and Grace finish school at the end of the month, so we are looking forward to the summer!

Home Again!

2006-04-19T12:52:00.000-04:00

We landed in Dublin yesterday evening at 1730 (that's 5:30 p.m. for you statesiders!). Considering we had a 2½ hour bus ride and a 2 hour plane trip (plus the last 45 minutes home in our car) the trip could not have gone any smoother.
We had a great week in Willingen, Germany at the Saurlander Hotel with 400 of our closest friends. Our featured speaker for the week was Dr Robertson McQuilkin and he was phenomenal! We also heard from our illustrious president, Dr Jerry Rankin, as well as VP Gordon Fort. There were amazing multi-media reports from each of the 6 clusters in the region followed by a season of prayer for each M after each presentation. These reports were very moving and we were reminded once again of the desperate spiritual need in Western Europe. Most of the countries have less than 0.5% of the population that claim to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
We also had many, many small group seminars on anything from marriage to orality to church planting strategies to media helps. It was pretty amazing (have I said that?). We also had an auction to raise money for the Lottie Moon missions offering. One brother of mine I could name paid a pretty penny for an armload of Dr Pepper! Wish I had a picture of that! I also managed to have a fair number of counseling sessions during the free time. The food was great and the craic was mighty, as they would say in Ireland (that just means fun and fellowship--don't get worried!).
Peter and Grace had a great time renewing old acquaintances and making new friends. They were especially excited to see their cousins, Shelby and Jared. I asked Peter if he had a good time, and he said, "Not only did I have a good time, I'm going to remember this the rest of my life!" Their teachers, volunteers from 18 churches in 9 states were, well, phenomenal. Their VBS curriculum was an Arctic theme, with each class representing some Arctic critter. The also had an Easter egg hunt with 2000 eggs--20 eggs for each child. Such fun!
It is great to be home, but the quiet is deafening after being around so many Americans for a week.