Farewell Dublin

            This looks to be my final blog post in Ireland which is a bittersweet moment. I’ve had several different thoughts run through my mind as I’ve pondered what I will write. It is hard to place a conclusion on this trip or add the final pun

ctuation mark to the work here. The reason for this hesitancy is that I realize t

he work he

re

 is not nearly

 complete; there are many more things that God is doing and needs to do here in Dublin and at A

bbey Church. My time here was a small clause in the greater work that is being scripted. For me to say mission accomplished

or goals complete would be to cheapen or oversimplify what is attempting to be accomplis

hed here. In the end, it is the spirit of God that needs to come and move hearts, change attitudes, and renew lives and my hope is that our team’s presence,

 prayers, and involvement has helped tilt things towards that horizon.

            This past week has been the least structured si

nce we’ve arrived here, and we were given a lot of free time to see parts of the city and the countryside before we left. Our team took advantage of this

 and we took a two day trip, on Monday and Tuesday, to Northern Ireland and the north coast. We rented a nine passenger van and drove a couple hours

 north of Dublin into County Antrim. We stayed at a youth hostel in a little town called Bushmills. We were only a few miles fro

m the coast and we spent our time up north exploring Giant’s Causeway, Carrickaread Rope Bridge, and Dunluce Castle as

 well as exploring other places along the coast. It was beautiful scenery and the ideal picture of Ireland with small villages dotting a rolling and green landscape with the occasional sheep and cattle grazing in the pasture.  Standing on the shore, looking out into the North Sea you could even see, in the distant horizon, the western tip of Scotland

            This week we had our Men’s Bible study and it looks like it will continue to go on after our team leaves which is an answer to our prayers. We really wanted this Bible study to continue after our team had left, and with two Abbey members stepping up to lead it – it looks as if it will.

            Even though this is my final blog in Ireland, I plan on writing one more time during my few days in Atlanta and summarize my trip more succinctly and with greater detail. But I’ll leave you with this thought:

            Sitting on one of the hexagon shaped pillars at Giant’s Causeway, I looked out for several minutes into the dark, green North Sea. I watched the water rolling onto the rocks and listened as it made a symphony of waves.  As I looked to my side, I noticed a man come and sit down across from me. He was a middle aged man and had his dog, a german shepherd, with him. I thought it was peculiar that while the man stared out into the endless stretch of mist and waves that the dog’s eyes gazed in the same direction. I knew that this dog couldn’t appreciate and understand the beauty of the scene that his master was looking at, but being obedient he followed his master’s example. It made me think of Dublin and the many things that become obstacles and barriers between me and the finished work to the point where I can’t see the final picture. I am at a loss in understanding how things will work out. I’m blinded by difficulties, technicalities, and disappointments. I know, however, that God has important things in store for this city, He is orchestrating things at this very moment, and He is on a mission to build His kingdom in Dublin. At this moment,  I look out hoping to see someday what my Master has cast His eye towards now.