Tall Ships - Dublin Harbour

Jen on the Liffey

Thanks Pat & Anne sharing your piece of Portugal!

Listen to Rick's Talk on Jonah 3

Salvation from The Grace of God

http://ballycullencc.org/talks.php

Spencer is now officially in secondary school! This is following a massive water fight with his 6th class schoolmates... what a finale!

FAME! The school play - I'm so proud of the performance Spencer put in, and all the memorization...

Way to go Spence! One more day of school!

CLASSIC - an Irish '99'

(soft serve cone, with red syrup, and a 'Flake' stuck in the side)

YUMMMMMMM!

Happy B-day Spencer!

I think we must've lost our sanity - 18 12-&-13-yr-olds for a birthday party! We all had so much fun though! Happy birthday Spencer - your last one as a 'pre-teen!'

Ali won 2nd Place on the Slip Jig in Irish Dance!

Tough Competition!  (She's also the cutest one in the middle in Purple and white!)

She LOVES Traditional Irish Dance - look out Riverdance!

MItchell Graduates!

Mitchell finally made it! He graduated well with his classmates from The High School, yes that's the actual name! It was a beautiful graduation ceremony, and they had an excellent keynote speaker, Vincent Lavery - what an interesting fellow!  We are very proud of him.  His next step is to take 2 weeks worth of State Examinations (it would be similar to taking 6 SAT's over a two week period, covering each subject - in essay form! Very Intense!)  Then, the scores are tallied and back in late July - these dictate Irish Third Level offers from university departments.

Mums & Tots

Another year of Mums & Tots is over... we're gonna miss you all until the fall.

Don't forget about Mums & Tots during Holiday Bible Club in August!

Happy Mother's Day!

Gaeltacht

Spencer had a fantastic week at Gaeltacht (Irish Camp)  They are not supposed to speak English for a week, only being allowed to communicate in Irish.  (Although, he said they weren't very strict about it this time)  I hope he learned something!

Ballycullen Youth Group - playing the TRADING GAME.

We scored some seriously deadly stuff - including a watch, a Man U collectors edition album, a DVD series of the greatest boxers ever, some video games, and other bits and pieces.

Not bad, when we started with a paper clip!

Excitement at BCC

Way to Go Andrew!

Return from Nenagh

We had a great time with our friends, the Langley's, and Sue and Steph in Nenagh, Co. Tipperary.

And even caught this amazing rainbow on the way home!

Reminder of God's Creative Beauty - Dublin Bay - view from Grand Sugarloaf

View from atop Grand Sugarloaf - Dublin Bay

Easter Sunrise Hillwalkers from BCC

Easter Meditation

St. Kevin's Cross, Glendalough, Co. Wicklow, Ireland

“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard.” (Romans 3:23)

"For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 

(John 3:16)

Jesus said, “I have come that [you] may have life, and have it to the fullest.” (John 10:10)

“without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness...so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.” (Hebrews 9:22,28)

“they nailed him (Jesus)to the cross. And the criminals were also crucified—one on his right and one on his left.” (Luke 23:33)

“He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.” 

(1 Corinthians 15:4)

“During the forty days after his crucifixion, he appeared to the apostles from time to time,     and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive.” (Acts1:3)

“After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.” (1 Corinthians 15:6)

“And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ.” 

(2 Corinthians 5:18)

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

Happy Paddy's Day!

No Parade is complete without Candy Floss!

Mum & Son, feeling Green!

Jen & Christine, our German friend!

Making certain all is in order... 

U of Mizzou? In Dublin?

At least we could see the tall ones!

Well, in one sense "Saint" Patrick was and is no more a ''saint'' than any other christian.  The Bible clearly calls all who believe in Jesus - "saints." In fact, the New Testament refers to every true christian as a "saint" 45 times.  But, Patrick was extraordinary.  He was an amazing individual of great courage and faith, depending solely on Jesus Christ for his salvation.  It was his deep and unwavering faith that pushed him though every kind of adversity and trouble to complete his mission of spreading the gospel - the story of God's redeeming love through the perfect life-death-burial-and resurrection of His Son Jesus. For that mission, and ultimately the repercussions of his passion for it Patrick is the most highly esteemed "saint" in all of Ireland.  Thus, it is fitting to celebrate this man's courage and mission!  (Even though the parade was rubbish!)

Nope, not homeles... just tableless... BIG MISTAKE! the Shamrock shakes aren't THAT good!

Painful Petrol....

I just experienced some serious PAIN... the kind for which there may be little cure.  Reminiscently, I recall being back in America a couple years ago and being really disheartened that the price of unleaded gasoline was headed over $3 per gallon... OUTRAGEOUS.

Well, my friends, I would emphatically welcome even $4 per gallon today!  At our cheapest reputable 'petrol' station, today I paid 1.629/litre for regular unleaded (86 octane).  For all you non-mathmaticians (I confess I used a calculator and currency converter myself), that equates at today's currency rates to a whopping $8.08/ US gallon! Now THAT is OUTRAGEOUS!  Happy motoring anyway!  

Oh, and by the way, the GREEN pump is unleaded, the BLACK pump is diesel (the opposite to most stations in America - and that, too is a very expensive mistake to make!) 

Tuck In!

One of the new phrases we've learned here in Ireland is "tuck in".  This is equivalent to the American phrase "dig in".  Thus, when we open a "snack shop", it's called a "Tuck Shop."

So, when Dodgeball night for Tribes (Ballycullen Youth Group) is on, the Tuck Shop is always a big hit!

Happy Leap Day!

Once every four years we get an extra day on the calendar.  Some people see this day as a day they have to work without pay (salaried employees).  Many of us see it as a day we get free rent!  Today, I just want to be reminded that "this is the day the Lord has made, let us be glad and rejoice in it!"  In a way, we all get and extra day this year to thank God for all our blessings.  It's a free day ---- make good use of it!

3 days in paradise...

 

A massive thanks to our mates from Donegal, who let Rick, Mitchell, Christian and Jeff crash their gaffe (flat / apartment) in France and who made it possible for us to hit the slopes for 2 days! And the croissants were AMAZING!  We really miss skiing at Perfect North Slopes, but, in all honesty - 2 days in the French Alps eases the pain a little.  God is so good to provide us with this undeserved blessing.

London Break

Visiting old friends is great, especially when they live in London!  Jen, Ali and Spencer were excited to stay a couple days with our friends, the Lee family, in Milton Keynes North London.  It's only a pond-hopper flight from Dublin to London, and it costs only €15!  At least ONE thing is cheaper in Dublin!

Rick Speaking at BCC

Rick was privileged to speak at Ballycullen Community Church on the text of Acts 3.

It is quite a challenging text... if you dare, have a listen! 

Xbox Anyone?

Is there a better way to spend a cold Saturday evening... XBOX?

The Peace Lads and Andrew, a friend from BCC, and a new friend, Aubrey,  

had a great time doing hand exercises. 

 They could even play with some of their old friends back in the States!

Irish Fire...

There are few things in Ireland as comforting and cozy as a genuine Irish turf fire.
The idea of burning 'dirt' in America is completely foreign, but the bogs of Ireland produce soil, or as the Irish call it "turf", that is rich in petroleum-like fossil fuel.  All one needs to do, with permission from the government of course, is to slice off a piece of this lovely black sod, dry it, and light it in your open fireplace.  The sweet, aroma wafting through the air takes your mind back to the ancient days... I can just imagine St. Patrick enjoying the company of the dancing flame as he read from the precious Book, and warming the Spirit next to the warmth of a turf glow.  Not, to mention, the cost efficiency of the heat!  If you ever have opportunity, grab your Bible and cozy up to an Irish turf fire, even better if your with your most beloved...

                       
(and, thanks for the turf Pat Gunning!)


P.S. - The turf fire also reminds me of my christian life.  Before the burning fire within me - fuelled by the oil of the Holy Spirit, all I was --- was dirt!

Liverpool 3:2 Manhcester City

What a match! We saw our faves - the boyz in Red take it to the league leaders and advance to the Cup Finals! Go on Liverpool!  We thank God for a great trip and the blessing of being able to see such a contest - what a Christmas present, huh, Spencer!  In case you were guessing how we managed to get in on a match like that - there were six of us guys that took the ferry over to Liverpool and got the tickets and transfer from Wharton.  Oh, and Jeff and I had ours sorta for "free"... heeheehee!
As we say at BCC - God is Good!

Here's my friend, Pat, and 25 of his babies! Absolutely loved spending the day on the Roscommon farm with Pat.  And... I got to bring home some real Irish turf for the fire... 

(a post is forthcoming soon on that)

ABWE Seminar 2011

Some of our New Friends!  What a great time we had at the conference in Pennsylvania.