Sep 29, 2014

Stranded in Strandhill

One week of survival for Team B at our DTS.  We are still in one piece, at least for the evening.

This past week has been kind of a whirlwind, yet in a good way.  We feel that we have finally settled in here at the White House here in Sligo.  All items have been unpacked, our sleep schedule has officially changed and jet lag is a fleeting thought.  We have fully embraced what is life here in Ireland and we could not be happier.

Mama B showing off her 17 week belly at the Sligo Abbey

Lecures officially started today and this week our focus is on relationships.  We are watching a video series featuring Dean Sherman, the Dean of the University of the Nations.  There has been healthy discussion on what a Godly relationship looks like and we are excited to dig deeper throughout the rest of this week.  It is encouraging to know that the two of us have been doing things the way God has intended them to be.  It is confirmation that The Lord has truly blessed us so that we may, in turn, be a blessing to others.

This past weekend, we visited a small town on the coast just outside of Sligo called Strandhill.  Strandhill reminds us much of Bodega Bay in Northern California with plenty of artisinal shops featuring all types of sustainable cookery, produce and gifts.  It was nice to finally have fish and chips that Korina remembers being so good!

Mammy Johnston's Ice Cream Shoppe had this lovely sign out front. What a lovely way to live life.

The beach was breathtaking.  God's might and power was ever evident in the thrashing of the waves, His beauty in the color of the clouds, and His love in the company.  This is a side of Ireland most don't experience and we were fortunate to witness this beautiful place.


Caught in the act of looking good while enjoying the view.

While at Strandhill, we decided to venture a little down the coast to stumble upon some church ruins. It was so peaceful looking at crumbled piece of history somehow surviving for some 500 years.  It's hard not to gain some perspective when you think about how long a structure has survived.  What did it endure to still hold onto a shred of its identity?  How many people were able to witness these broken walls as we were?

The back wall to the Killaspugbrone Church where St. Patrick tripped and lost a tooth. The tooth lived here for a while before moving to Dublin.

We have a doctors appointment tomorrow! Yay!  We will keep everyone updated as to what is going on...maybe if its a boy or a girl!

Looks like everyone thinks we are having a boy...except George?

Edge of a grave at Sligo Abbey.




Thank you all for joining us on this incredible journey.  We are consttantly amazed by the beauty of this place and will continue to share our pictures, our stories and our love.

Prayer Requests
-Justin has managed to get a cold, so prayer that he quickly recovers.
-For Korina's doctor's appointment tomorrow.
-Continued support raising: still need $3100 to pay off tuition.
-Team members who may be feeling homesick or having a tough time coping with all these new experiences

Irish Lingo
"Getting knocked up" in English
"Up a pole" in Ireland.  My wife, Korina, is up the pole!

Sep 22, 2014

Dublin Troublin' and Mutton Bustin'

I'm not even sure where to start so I guess I will start at the beginning....
We left Oakhurst for Burbank Tuesday morning with my father-in-law. It was a relaxing drive down to Hollyweird. Our hotel was really nice and we grabbed what might have been the last Mexican food for a while. It might have been that we knew it was our last American dinner, but that was the best Mexican I've had in a while. If you're in Burbank head over to Salsa and Beer! 

In the morning we met up with our sister Amber and her husband Chris to have breakfast before our flight left. It was great to see them one last time. Our short flight to San Fran in the tiniest plane I've ever boarded was pleasant enough. Our flight from San Fran to Dublin was actually not too bad, a little over 9 hours. It included meals and snacks and a personal touchscreen tv with a ton of stuff (Justin watched the new Captain America while I indulged in some True Detective-boo ya!)

Once we landed in Dublin it was 11am the next day.... but our brains were still on 3am time. We got to our hosts house by bus from the airport in a suburban town called Santry halfway between the airport and the city center. We spent the afternoon and evening in Santry.
Back yard of our hosts house -pretty sure they filmed part of Shawn of the Dead back here....

The next morning, after some much desired sleep, we took the bus into Dublin and spent the day exploring the city. Justin got his first taste of fresh Guinness, genuine fish and chips from his first chipper, and a relaxing walk through Saint Stephens Green. 

Justin overlooking the pond in St. Stephens Green











The next day we met up with one of our fellow DTSrs and hopped the train out to the opposite coastline to Sligo, our final destination. The train was nothing short of magical (you guys wild horses- or at least they looked wild, like Shadowfax status guys! -ran alongside the train as we passed through the countryside) Also the sun was shining, which was weird, but so so nice.



Our arrival at the base was met with a warm welcome from the rest of the students and staff. We are staying at the White House Hostel here in town, a cozy little old place that overlooks the river. So far we have done a bit of exploring of the town of Sligo, getting to know our fellow DTSrs, and today was our first offical day of orientation!  Currently we are taking bets on who will do some actual mutton bustin' (riding sheep for as long as you can -for you non-hillbilly people) My bets are on a student named Ruby 😉 Life is so so different now, but so so good. 










I am feeling great pregnancy-wise. 17 weeks on Wednesday. Still no discernable movement but in the next week or so we will hopefully find out if its baby boy Barigian or baby girl Barigian! Taking votes now! Still waiting for this second trimester energy to kick in but all signs point to soon. Still no crazy cravings, or aversions really, I just have a preference for salty and savory and not so much sweet. 


Prayer requests-
We still need to raise about 3,500 for the outreach portion of our DTS. So finances and also  safety while we are in Morocco. 

That we would  be effective in our minstries here, and a good influence on our fellow DTSrs.

For teachability and a curious heart.

Last but not least...thank you. To everyone of you who have supported us through prayer  and finances to get us to this point. To every person who wished us well, encouraged us, even liked a photo on Facebook, you're all our heroes. 

Until next week- The Barigians 

For old times sake....some lingo for ya:
"Like" always goes at the end
In America - "That sheep is, like, really fat."
In Ireland- "That sheep is really fat, like." 





Sep 5, 2014

Home again, home again, jiggity jig

"The mountains are calling and I must go" - Muir

We made it Oakhurst!

(Last Coney before we left...it was so good I cried)
Our goodbye from Avalon was overwhelming and filled with tearful hugs. We have never had such an amazing community of people send us off. Our hearts were both broken and filled with hope at the road ahead of us. We continue on with joy knowing we will see them again in just a few short months. It was a tight squeeze but we fit it all! Our car is awesome :)


We had a great visit with Justin's parents on our way up the hill and got to share more about this new journey. It's hot in Fresno but their solar powered air conditioner made it amaaaaazing. 

We have had the blessing of visiting with friends and family here in these mountains. We really did miss them all so much. We have been able to visit with our future YWAM base friends and talk more in depth about our future stay on base. 


We are also prepping for our support dinner here soon next week and getting excited to see more of our friends before we leave. 

I am feeling great now that I am in my second trimester! Yay! 


Baby is now the size of a lemon and I am hyper diligent about feeling for any movement - even though I know I have a few weeks to go before I'll feel anything. I also have a little bump now! Well, not that little haha, my torso is so short baby has nowhere to go but out!

We will find out the sex of the baby while we are in Ireland! We really don't have a preference although everyone else seems to have a pretty strong opinion about it hahah. 

Now taking bets....and name ideas ;) 

We will post again soon before we leave!