I'm Irish, Not An Idiot

Whoa, what a week!  Our lecture this week focused on the Father Heart of God and how we have certain areas of darkness in our lives that are keeping us from seeing the Father.  It was impactful, to say the least, but also super encouraging as well.  Before we dig deep into that subject,  lets update you all on everything else that has been going on in our lives here in beautiful Sligo, Ireland.

Last week's lecture was on experiencing intimacy with the Holy Spirit.  Hearing Him talk to you and the feeling of "closeness" with Him.  It was a great reminder of all that we had been doing with Singing Waters on the island, and it was great to see all the students excited about hearing The Lord speak to them.  At the end of the week, we visited Northern Ireland to experience just a wee bit of St. Patrick's ministry.  We first visited Downpatrick to see one of the major spots of St. Patrick's  hometown ministries as well as visit the very first church planted by St. Patrick.

After visiting Downpatrick,we made our way back home and stopped at Armagh, another one of the cities that St. Patrick had a big influence.  We were able to stay at a nice hostel there and explore the city some before we came home.  We were abe to visit both churches of Ireland, one being an Anglican Church planted by St. Patrick, with the other being a Catholic Church, which was breathtaking.  It was great to be in these towns with buildings and places that are a few thousand years old.

Returning back home, we celebrated yet another birthday here and another this week as well (so many October birthdays!). We prepared our hearts to receive the message this week about God's Father Heart and man, it was awesome.  Larry Nichols, our guest lecture this week, is from Montana and has worked with YWAM for many years.  His love and passion for the Father Heart of God was astounding and very encouraging for Justin as he  prepares to be a father himself.  Larry also brought a guest with him, Les Sannes, who was such a joker.  Les bunked here with us at the hostel and really spoke into our hearts.  He prayed over us for our finances and really encouraged us to constantly seek after the heart of God.  It was great having the view of a sender, one who donates and supports missionaries, rather than a receiver (us).  

It was so impactful to hear about God's Father heart.  We were challenged to really investigate the heart of God and understand exactly how much love the Father haves for us.  It is overwhelming to try and understand just how much God loves us.  Even when we disobey The Lord, He still beckons us closer and wants an even deeper relationship with us.  This sometimes, seems unfathomable.  Why would such a powerful being want that from us?  Because that is precisely who God is and it was great to experience that this week from Larry and Les.

Next week is an exciting week for the group because we were invited to staff a holiday Bible camp for a local children's organization.  We will be staffing this camp most of the week and then hosting a party on Halloween night for the children.  Both of us are ready to take part in the local children's lives as we show them the love of God.

Also happening next week is lecture focusing on a discovery Bible study to aid us in sharing the Gospel.  We have a gentleman from Egypt coming in for lecture and Justin is very excited to meet him.

Korina's doctor was finally able set an appointment in a few weeks to have her ultrasound to determine the sex of the baby, so we won't be keeping y'all in the dark for that much longer!  

Some continuing prayer requests for this week...

For finances as we are nearing the due date for our outreach costs.  You can donate many ways, either online here or by donating directly to YWAM Sligo via PayPal (click on donate, add our names in the memo/comments box).  For further ways in partnering with us, please send us an e-mail at justin.barigian@gmail.com .  

For further revelation from this past week as we continue to dig deeper as a group following after the Heart of God.  As we continue to grow more vulnerable as a group, the enemy tries to tear us apart any chance he gets, so for protection as students open up together and grow.

Baby things.  Continuing health for the baby and the mother.  That the baby will be turned the right way as to reveal the gender, because this will be our last ultrasound.

"Look at this door! Have you seen this door?!"

Culture Corner.

So instead of lingo this week, we are going to explain the title.  We went to a local coffee shop with one of guests this week, Les, and he decided to pay for the hot chocolates.  Being his first time in Ireland, let alon Europe, his Minnesotan accent was easy to spot! When paying for the drinks, he pulled a handful of small change out of his pocket and asked the lady at the counter if she could help him count the Euro.  Mind you that Euro coins have huge numbers on the face of the coin and are very similar to American currency.  As she is picking through his change, he dropped an American quarter on the counter and she said, "That one won't work here". Les chuckled and tried to explain that it was worth $4 or $5 in Irish currency.  The lady quickly responded, "I'm Irish, not an idiot" and everyone, including Les, got a good laugh out of it.  

Twenty-Seven and Still O.K.

This week can only be described as rich. It was packed full of intensive lecture, outdoor adventure, deepening relationships, and hope for the future. 

We started our lecture series on "Sin, Repentance, and the Cross". I know...heavy stuff. But our speaker and his wife delivered their message with such grace and such true character of God we could not help but want to get rid of junk and really focus on God's call for our lives. It was so powerful to watch all our fellow DTSrs and leaders alike be moved by the Holy Spirit in such loving and humbling ways. 

Our guest lecturer, Johnny Dixon and his wife Tracy, visited us from their home YWAM base at the Kings Lodge in England. They were such an influence on Justin and I as they have raised all six of their kids in YWAM and had so many nuggets of wisdom about being in missions as a family.  Needless to say, we are looking forward to they day we will see them again. 

We celebrated my birthday on Sunday! That was a blast :)  Justin spoiled me yet again with breakfast in bed, flowers, cozy wool socks and a beautiful wool sweater from the same little wool shop that I bought his cap from 7 years ago! We went to church, and made dinner and dessert together for the whole lot here and had a great evening.

Later this week we were  able to make our 20 week ultrasound appointment for tomorrow! If all goes well, we will know if we have a little girl or little boy in our midst! 

The last few days our team has been doing some training for our local outreach, CEF. Childrens Evangelism Fellowship works with several local curches to help bring the gospel to young children through weekly "youth group" settings and week long "day camp" settings. We are really looking forward to spending more time with the local kids and working with the leaders who put it all together. Brian and Helen, who head up most of the work with CEF, invited us all into their home for training, took us all hiking up Mt. Knocknerea and overfed us all with homemade Irish lamb stew and about 5 desserts (aka why doesnt America have honeycomb ice cream?!)

We  were also able to play with their puppy, Fudge, and make fools of ourselves harassing thier neighboring cows. 

So, all in all, such a great week. So much learned. We really are overwhelmed by how much our God loves us. We are so excited for the things God is doing, how He is using us all, where we will go. We are falling more in love with Jesus everyday. It's hard to imagine walking away from this experience and not spending our lives devoted to sharing about who He is with the world. 

For now, we are taking this journey one step at a time...

and loving every moment

Some prayer requests:

For grace as we continue to serve, that we would be as impactful to this community as possible. 

As the local churches grow, that they would be "Characterized by the presence of God" in the words of a local minister. 

That the heart for tradition wouldn't overrule the heart for making room for change through the Holy Spirit. That there would be balance and appreciation for both aspects in the local churches. 

That the Lord would provide financially for the rest of school, as well as the rest of the students still needing provision. 

For our local outreaches and eventual Moroccan outreach, that we would be effecve and that God would equip us for every interaction. 

Aaaaaand last but not least...some lingo for ya 😉

"Tea"

In America "Would you like to have some tea?" (aka-a noun, or beverage)

In Ireland "Did you have a nice tea?" (aka- a verb, in place of the word "meal")