Saturday in Ireland

Today's blog is being written by Michael Schoettle!

Well, our second day went much smoother than yesterday! Much less traveling and on Ann and Mike's(me) part...no flying!! Today started out nicely, the guys went out for breakfast with Denny and his two friends from his prayer group, Michael and Michael(Me-haul). The food was great, but much different to what we were used to in the states! Michael and Me-haul were two hilarious guys!! Michael is just like King David, a man after God's heart. He is a true warrior! I put Me-haul next to the other Michael because he was raised to speak Gaelic and that is how his name is pronounced. The girls went out to breakfast with Linda to a Cafe, and from the sounds of it they had a good hardy breakfast too! After we ate we all met back at the home in Balbriggen, and got ready to go to Dublin by train. A few of us decided to walk to the train station because we were told it was only a half mile...some believe it was more than a half mile. But we all got there with the assistance of Denny coming to pick us up when we were about 3/4 of the way there. We were on the train for about forty minutes and admired the beautiful Irish country. When we got to Dublin Denny told us that for today Matt and I were Linda and his children; and Bruce and Dennis were Jim and Ruth's children I'd like to say that Ann was our aunt. Quick prayer request: Pray for Jim and Ruth, because their "children" have got some serious issues on NOT leaving their parents alone!!! We did that because we got family passes for the train and it was most believable if we did acted in that way. Hey, it was cheaper!! Good times, good times. Dublin is a great city, with great people! We learned that some phrases in the U.S.A DO NOT mean the same thing in Ireland...thanks Bruce. Again, good times! The first thing we did was went gift shopping for stuff to bring home. We found some nice merchandise, I must say. But the prices for EVERYTHING is expensive! After shopping we went to a restaurant to get some delectable sandwiches. I personally believe that the location of the restaurant was not appropriate for the building (it was a former church that the government bought and turned into a business center), but Ireland's society accepts it. After eating we shopped a little more and then walked down a very busy street, where a lot of popular shops and street performers are there for exploration. Soon before the shopping came to an end, Bruce and Dennis wanted to get group shirts that showed Irish tradition, but Leader Ann turned down the idea in a very blunt way. The question for group shirts was never brought up again. After we dropped from shopping we went to Trinity College to see the campus. On the campus, was an exhibit where The Book Kells was. Quick history lesson: The Book of Kells is an ancient bible written in the 1400s. At the end of the exhibit was the library, Dennis and I both wanted to take pictures of it, but it was not permitted. The library was so breathtaking the furnished wood, tall ceiling, to try to visualize the size of the library...over 200,000 books. If you want to see a picture there should be one on Google images under Trinity College Library. After the library, we went to the Dublin Castle to take pictures, the court yard was beautiful! After the castle we went to the place CW was stationed the first time here in Ireland. It is called The Lighthouse and it is in Dublin in a not so nice neighborhood. We met a lot of nice people there. One man by the name of Alan really stuck out to me. He had a terrible life before he became a christian. He had trouble with drugs and alcohol, but when he turned his life to Christ, EVERYTHING was accounted for by Christ!!!! We went home after the Lighthouse and had a late dinner because of Denny's directions to Ann and Linda. He told them they were going the wrong way in Balbriggen to get the pizza, but it soon occurred to him that he sent them in the wrong direction when we passed the market on the way home. We ate, and it was good! God has blessed us on this trip, and he has certainly blessed us with Jim and Ruth coming! Without your prayers and the grace of God, neither of them would be here with us. Thank you for your prayers, and keep on praying!!! We start ministering tomorrow! Mike and the rest of the CW Missions Team

Quick note on leader Ann vetoing the team shirts...had they picked ones that were...shall we say...appropriate...I might have agreed. Nice try guys!