GAPIreland

3 Days More

2010-06-02T06:05:00.000-07:00

Monday was my last day in Tullamore. It was such a blessed weekend with a goodbye BBQ at the church. As people came to thank us and bid us farewell, I was able to see how many people were touched by our work there and it was so much more than I thought. I was humbled and felt very loved. I loved my time in Tullamore and hope to visit again.

Monday afternoon, we came back to Lacken House and were reunited with the team! We then hopped into the car and drove all the way to Derry in Nothern Ireland. It was such a fun time and we enjoyed seeing Historic Derry and spending time together before I leave on Saturday...

SATURDAY! WOW! I can't believe I leave in THREE days! It still hasn't really hit me and probably won't until I'm saying goodbye to my friends at the airport. I'm not a really sentimental person, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to tear up when I say goodbye to the people I've spent this life-changing experience with. :)

Thank you for keeping me in your prayers and please remember the team during this time as they have chosen to stay for one more month to work further with OM's missions.

Blessings,
Leanne

1 Week Left

2010-05-25T04:48:00.001-07:00

Wow.

I only have ONE week left in Tullamore and TWO weeks left in Ireland! I can't believe it! As my time here comes to a close, I keep thinking about home and how exciting it'll be to fly back and give my family and friends big hugs. Then I thought, "why am I counting down the days to home instead of looking back on the days here?" God has taught me so much and I have so much to be thankful for. I feel like I'm coming home a different person [that's not a bad thing, though!] I've been in my Bible here more than I think I have ever been, and it's very uplifting. I've learned a lot about God, my purpose in life, the Bible, etc. Besides the spiritual and mental growth I've experienced, I have also learned practical life lessons. I've learned how to live with three other [and very different!] people. I've started good habits like eating healthily and exercising. I've learned how to budget and shop. I've learned a lot of different game, activity, and craft ideas for future children ministries. I am taking all of that and so much more away when I fly out next Saturday.

During our last week in Tullamore, we're wrapping up our weekly ministry and also partying! =D We're spending time with friends at BBQs this entire weekend to say goodbye, especially Sunday after service where we will say our official "goodbye" to all of the friends we have made here.

On Monday we're back at Lacken House and hope to take a team trip on Tuesday to Northern Ireland. During the rest of the week we'll be debriefing on our time here, giving presentations about the entire year, and hanging out with each other before leaving. I'm looking forward to the time at Lacken House and know that it will be hard to say goodbye to the families there because they were the first to help us adjust to Ireland. :)

Please pray for the entire Immersion Team as our time comes to a close!

Blessings,
Leanne

Harvest

2010-04-25T16:10:00.000-07:00

The month of April has been a month to evangelize. After our parents came for spring break the first week (we all had a great time and loved our families being there!) we were able to kick-start the last few months in Ireland with the Big Red Bus. The Big Red Bus is used for different kinds of ministry OM Ireland does, specifically for children’s events and tea and coffee evangelism. Sunday night we took the bus to Athlone to do street evangelism and offer tea, coffee, and/or prayer for anyone interested. We had a fantastic experience sharing God’s word. I personally was able to speak with three teenagers who were willing to listen and understand what we discussed. We had a great conversation and they told me they had never heard the gospel explained in such a clear way before and promised they would think about what I had shared. The Big Red Bus gave us more confidence to share God’s word with others in Tullamore. We have shared with schoolboys that come to the church during their lunch break, friends at the pub, and even explained the way we evangelize to friends from our church.

This past weekend was “Team Weekend” in Ballina. We brought the Big Red Bus to Cornel and Lukas’ church youth group where we played soccer and served coffee. Then, we took the Big Red Bus to a housing estate and had about 30 children attend. We all had a blast making crafts, listening to the puppet shows, playing outdoor games, singing, etc. To end it all, the Athenry and Tullamore team were able to participate in the Big Red Bus ministry in Athlone once more. We were able to evangelize to many people and I personally was able to speak with two teenage girls. One said she was somewhat of an Athiest but believed in a creator, heaven, and hell. The other believed in Evolution loosely because her friends did, but said she wanted to believe in a God but hadn’t gotten to that stage of her life yet. As we talked, we discussed sin, God, Jesus, evolution, creation, Catholicism, repentance, and a number of other things. They were very interested and said they enjoyed the conversation. It was a very uplifting experience!

As I told you in my last post, a woman here in Tullamore has been going through a rough time. I’ve been praying for an opportunity to speak with her and it came about the week before our Spring Break. She brought her daughter to Kid’s Club and was obviously upset about something. After the lesson (about Easter!) she and I sat and talked. As she talked about hopelessness I talked about hope in God. As she talked about sorrow, I talked about Joy; as she talked about grief I talked about Mercy; as she talked about disappointment, I talked about love. She said she felt God was distant during her time of depression, but at the end of the conversation she admitted she was the one distancing herself. I told her to pray every day to God about her problems and ask for His help and she promised she would. The week after break, we saw her again at our Kid’s club. She was happier and more joyful. I asked how she had been and she said wonderful. She had prayed every day and said it helped her a lot. I was so glad to hear she is doing better! During our last month here, though, I hope to sit down with her at least one more time and talk specifically about salvation. Please pray for an opportunity to do this!

Please continue to pray for the entire team in Ireland – Athlone, Tullamore, Athenry, and Ballina. God is working and convicting so many people. I pray that if revival doesn’t happen now, we’re at least planting the seeds for a soon-to-be “harvest.”

Blessings,
Leanne

Pictures!

2010-04-09T07:39:00.000-07:00

Just an update to let you know pictures are updated on facebook!

Spring!

2010-03-19T04:08:00.001-07:00

Spring seems to have finally arrived here in Ireland! It is VERY welcome! As flowers are starting to grow, so is our ministry. ;) I wanted to drop a note about how our Immersion Team Weekend went!

Last Saturday, the entire Immersion Team came to Tullamore to help with our teen movie night [Pirates of the Caribbean!] We arrived at the church about 2 hours early to prepare and there were already four teenagers waiting for us! These four teenage boys [around age 14] have been getting to know us by stopping by the church openings and bookstore on Wednesdays and Saturdays. For two hours before the event officially began, we played card games and nintendo wii. We had a total of seven teens come that evening - a great number for the work we do here in Ireland! We were able to talk a lot with the boys and develop even stronger friendships with them. After the movie ended they asked if we would be doing it again next week! It was great to see their excitement as they started to feel at home in the church. It was also a blast to have the team over. We were able to laugh and share stories about our own towns and simply "hang out." Thank you for your prayers for this event! We were blessed!

I would like to also ask prayer for a friend of ours who lives here in Tullamore. We have become friends with this woman and her daughter and see them often. Yesterday, she revealed to me that she was on the verge of committing suicide that morning but was stopped by a friend that arrived at her door. Thank the Lord her friend came! She had told us before that she was struggling with depression but recently said she was doing much better. We are going to visit her more regularly now. I really feel like God is preparing us for an opportunity to lay out the entire message of His gift of salvation - please pray for this woman and our team, especially for this woman's young daughter who doesn't realize at all what is going on.

Thank you for your continued prayers.

Leanne

February Update

2010-02-23T10:24:00.000-08:00

As I’m writing this, it is snowing like crazy outside! The weather has been insane this semester. We’ve gotten sun, snow, sleet, rain, fog, etc. Some days feel like the dead of winter and others as though spring has arrived! As we adjust to the wild Irish weather, we’ve been getting back into our weekly ministry-WITH an addition to our team! Anna from Canada has joined the Immersion team and has come to Tullamore. We’re excited to have her! All of our usual activities are continuing to go well. Here’s a brief overview:

Sunday: Church: We were excited to have had some new people visit the church this month. In fact, we realized that there were many nations represented in church this month! It’s great to see people of every “tribe” and “tongue” coming together to worship God. 

Monday: Mountmellick Montague Refugee Asylum Center: A new preschool has started at the Montague, taking the time we used to have for the parent/toddler group on Mondays. We were disappointed to hear we wouldn’t be playing with the same children anymore, but we still have the opportunity to supply a parent/toddler group for 1-2 ½ year-olds! The woman who started these programs finished her term this month and was thrilled to see that her program would still continue with us even after she has gone. I was happy to see that we were a help and blessing to not only the parents and children, but also this woman who has devoted her time to the Montague center!

Tuesday: Tullamore College Alpha Course and Busy Bee’s Toddler and Parent group: Busy Bees had its first birthday this year and has grown tremendously since we have been here! We continue to help each week and even have some of the parents come to a Bible Study the church has started.

We are beginning to get regular students attending the Alpha course we teach at Tullamore College. I was able to teach my own lesson a few weeks ago on how God guides us. It was a great experience to interact with and teach the students by explaining how God guided me to Ireland. Anna was also able to share her story of how she came to Ireland.

Wednesday: Bible Study and Church Opening: The church has started a weekly Alpha Course Bible study. We provide a day care so that parents who couldn’t usually come because of children now can. In fact, some women from Busy Bees are beginning to attend the study!

The Church opening is continuing to go well. We use it as Bible Study time in-between visits from people who stop to chat and see the church. We were surprised and thrilled when five teenagers stopped in last week. They seemed to enjoy talking with us and even stopped in again on Saturday during the book store. They say the church is now their favorite “hangout spot.” We are starting to develop relationships with the teenagers here and getting great ideas for activities from them.

Thursday: Kid’s Club and Bible Study: We have about five kids each week at Kid’s club and we teach them a Bible lesson. We’ve recently been going over Paul’s missionary journeys and helping them understand what it means to “race toward a goal,” “persevere,” and help others.

Thursdays nights at the Catholic Parish center we have a Bible Study. We are now going through Philippians. It’s a great experience to meet more Christians in Tullamore, hear their experiences, fellowship, and encourage each other.

*some Thursday nights some people from the group go listen to local Irish music. It’s a fantastic cultural experience to hear real Irish music, played by real Irishmen, on real Irish instruments. 

Friday: Day off: On Fridays we SLEEP IN after the long week!  We usually try to do some activities in Tullamore on this day like visit the heritage center or the park. At the beginning of the month, though, we took this day and the weekend to visit Whitney and Ashlyn [our other team members] in their town of Athenry. It was great to see them again and spend time with them!

Saturday: Book Store, Bible Study, and monthly Girl’s Night: The Book Store is going well – we usually get adults poking their heads in to see what a protestant church looks like! 

In the evening, we have a youth Bible Study that we have started. Last week was our first week and we had one of the teenagers from the church come. He doesn’t regularly attend church, but says he enjoys it more than Catholic Mass. We asked him what kind of questions he’s had about the church, God, Jesus, and Christianity in general. Some of them were “who is God,” “was Jesus really God’s son,” and “where is God when bad things happen?” They were excellent questions we were excited to get into! Over the next few weeks we’re going to look at all of his questions and explain the Christian worldview and Biblical explanation for them. Another friend of ours is going to start attending our Bible Study as well. Please pray for wisdom, patience, and discernment during these times. It’s going to be difficult, but we’re excited.

This month we had our third girl’s night. Our timing for it wasn’t exactly perfect though. We placed it at the end of a week-long school break, so many of the girls were on vacation and no one came. We were able to enjoy ourselves and bond together as a team, however, and are still looking forward to next month’s girl’s night.

Next month the entire Immersion team will come to Tullamore for a team-ministry weekend. With advice from our friends in Tullamore, we have decided to have a pizza and movie night. Please pray that we can spread the word effectively and that many teens decide to come. Also pray that the team can be used in Tullamore efficiently. We’re excited about this time and will even do a little sightseeing by visiting Charville Castle in Tullamore!

Thanks a million for your prayers and support!

Blessings,
Leanne

2010!

2010-01-19T12:31:00.000-08:00

Wow! It has been a busy few months! I apologize for not writing you all sooner! I left Ireland at the end of November for Christmas holiday and the time has flown by. I had a wonderful Christmas home visiting with family and friends and continuing the Christmas traditions of making cookies and acting in our live nativity. But soon, January came around again and I came back to Ireland after the New Year! Let me tell you about some of what’s been happening:

The team and I arrived at Lacken House and stayed for two weeks for classes and “team time.” We were surprised and thrilled when it snowed about three inches one night. Spontaneously we decided to throw on some jackets [in our pajamas, mind you] and play in the snow for thirty minutes. Oh...did I mention it was one in the morning? That was just one of the great adventures we had at Lacken House next to painting rooms, baking American chocolate chip cookies, and finishing up our studies with a look at postmodernism. After that, we packed up and headed for our individual cities. The teams are meeting up, however, each month to do ministry work in our different towns. The Tullamore Team [me] is planning a “sports day” in our park during the month of March. Pray that it works and we have GOOD WEATHER in rainy Ireland! We’re excited about this new addition to the second semester agenda and can’t wait to see the team each month to do ministry work!

Here in Tullamore, our team is getting excited about projects we’re starting. Girls Night is going well! We’ve invited a lot of girls to our second “Girl’s Night” next Saturday where they can do nails, hair, play games, eat chocolate, and more. It’s one of my favorite events and I hope more girls come. We’re also starting a weekly Bible Study for teens. This is a bit of a blind leap – we don’t have any youth who regularly attend the church so we’re asking two friends we’ve met here, who sometimes attend, to come. They’ve both agreed! Pray that they’ll be faithful in coming to the meetings and doing the Bible reading so that we can minister to them – and pray that more students become interested!

All of our regular events are going well. I’m still enjoying the Montague playgroup with the African Refugees. When we arrived for the first time after break this Monday, the kids gave us big hugs the minute they walked into the room! Busy Bees daycare at the church is going well and a few of the adults are starting to ask questions about Christianity. Pray that we can be good witnesses and examples to them!

I can’t wait to keep you updated about what God has in store for us this New Year of 2010!
Blessings,
Leanne

Pictures

2009-12-16T06:56:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! I just wanted to drop a small note to say that I've put my pictures on facebook. If you don't have a facebook, I'm slowly putting the pictures on picasa but it takes a while to download them. They will be up soon!

Leanne

Homeward Bound!

2009-11-28T09:56:00.000-08:00

Monday morning around 9 I'll be hopping onto a plane bound for New York! I'm very excited to be coming home for Christmas break, but I'll miss Ireland and will be looking forward to picking up our ministry in January!

Please pray that I have a safe flight home!

Blessings,
Leanne

"For in Him we live, move, and exist..."

2009-11-17T08:48:00.000-08:00

"One of your assignments; start a youth group." That was the only piece of information we were given by our pastor on this assignment. It was a brand new ministry he wanted to start in his church and we were the ones to do it! It's an exciting thought; to start something brand new and brainstorm about it.

Many of the youth here in Ireland attend the Catholic church but only out of obedience or culture. They don't understand the true meaning of the church or a relationship with Christ. So, for our youth group, we wanted to provide an opportunity to meet and talk with the teenagers of Tullamore. At first, we thought of a Battle of the Bands night because there are many bands around the town. But we thought this would defeat the purpose and become too big of an event. So instead, we had the idea of hosting an open mic night on Saturdays with a cafe feel. After deciding on what we were to do, we had to think of a name. We decided on the name of the youth group to be "Exist" based off Acts 17:28 "For in Him we live, move, and exist..." We thought this was a fitting title because of the suicide rates of the teens here and how they feel under appreciated and invisible. We want to show that our identity is found in Christ and in Him, we exist. Our first meeting of Exist is this Saturday and we're really excited! So far, we've told quite a few people and many are interested!

One thing we have already done to reach out to the youth here was a "Girl's Night" at the church. Last Saturday, 20 preteen girls came to Tullamore Presbyterian Church to enjoy games, makeup, chocolate, nails, and music. It was a fantastic experience and we've decided to have a "Girl's Night" monthly! We began to establish a lot of new relationships and hope to grow them as we continue working here.

As I mentioned before, we are working with Mountmellick's refugee asylum to run a parent/toddler daycare. The first day was last Monday and it has become one of my favorite things we do in Tullamore. For two hours we get to play with some of the sweetest 3 and 4-year-olds I have met! It's such an eye-opening experience to see people who have escaped their country in search of refuge and trying to get by. It humbles me when I think about my life in comparison to theirs. But still, these people smile and play with thier children as though nothing is wrong. It's incredible! I can tell we're making an impact there and hope to soon speak with many of the parents about the spiritual refuge found only Christ.

Another of the most recent things happening with the church is their "Alpha" course now being taught at the local high school [or "college"]. I and Jinhee [a Korean girl on the team] go with our pastor on Tuesday mornings to Tullamore College to help teach a course for their Religion studies. It's another great way to get to know some people my age and talk about Christ. It's awesome to see the teachings of Christianity and Jesus in the schools and I pray that the teens actually listen to what the teachers are saying. The numbers this week for Alpha were less than they were last week due to the fact it's an optional class. Pray that the numbers grow and the students who have stayed will continue to come.

I am very excited about the things happening here in Tullamore and can't wait to come home to tell you about them! To tell the truth, I am excited about coming home for Christmas, but am looking forward to next semester to see what God will do further in Tullamore!

For those who have sent support and continued to pray for the Immersion team, "thanks a million" as they would say here!

Blessings,
Leanne

Tullamore

2009-10-29T02:20:00.000-07:00

Wow! It's been a crazy month. My apologies for not updating this more frequently.

After 1 month of training at Lacken House, the group was divided into three teams to go assist with outreach at churches across the country. Three other girls and I were sent to Tullamore Presbyterian Church. It's been a great and crazy experience to move into a new town. I feel like an Irish native as I walk the streets to shop at the local grocery stores, go to church on Sunday, or even attend a movie. We have all gotten situated very well and are enjoying our new home. Here's a schedule of the things we do at the church:

Sunday: Attend the Tullamore Presbyterian Church [and usually shop for much needed food afterwards!]

Monday: [we do a few things depending on people's needs] Clean houses for people who need the help, visit Mountmelick Presbyterian church and help there in any way, do a prayer walk through the town and get to know the people.

Tuesday: Busy Bee's - This is a parent/child day-care at the church from 10:30-noon. We have crafts, music, games, story time, snack, etc. that children and parents both enjoy!

Wednesday: The church is open all day for Tea and Coffee where we also sell some new books. We only get a handful of people for this, so our time at the church is often spent doing our monthly homework for OM. Pray for us in this area of service to Tullamore - that more people will come to the church Wednesdays to talk with us.

Thursday: Alpha Course! This is a worldviews discussion course with a Biblical basis. It talks about big issues and shows the Biblical answer for them. The adult course is just now ending and there is a young-adult course starting at the local College [high school] that we will be assisting in/leading group discussions for. I'm VERY excited about this!

Friday: Day off. We get to enjoy the city, see the sights, and even take the train into Dublin if we would like. :)

Saturday: Book store open most of the afternoon. We have many new books on worldviews/Deveotion Books/Bibles/etc. for sale at the church. This has brought in a few people, but again, pray that more will come!

Thank you all again for the support you gave to help me come here. I can really feel God working in this country that understands Religion, but doesn't have a Relationship. I only have $1,000 more dollars to pay SCORE and any money is VERY much appreciated. You can mail checks to my home address or you can donate online! http://scoreinternational.org/give/ and scroll to the donation for the GAP program. At check out, you can specify the student you are sponsoring. Please put: GAP Ireland Leanne Livingston.
I'm having such a fabulous time, but can't wait to come home in December to see all of you!

"Thanks a million" as they would say in Ireland!
Leanne

Open Eyes

2009-10-04T15:02:00.000-07:00

"Hey, here's a million euro for you!"
"What? Why are you giving me a million euro?"
"Because it has the million euro question on the back: Will you go to heaven when you die?"

That is how most of our conversations went yesterday evening in Roscommon. But, the later it got, the more we had to add, "Read this when you're sober tomorrow" at the end of our sentences. Yesterday at 4:30 we left Lacken House with the Cross. Yes. A literal 12 foot Cross. We walked it from Rahara to Roscommon - an eight mile trek [we cheated because we had a wheel at the end of the cross]. On the way, people waved at us, looked at us funny, or sat on their horn to show disgust. When we got near to town we passed a house where two men where outside working. They asked where we were going with the cross and we told them we were going to church. [We were going to a Brazilian church that night where Mike, our OM director, would be speaking.] When we said we were going to church the man replied, "Oh! You're going to Mass!" We clarified that we weren't but I asked if he had a history in the Catholic church. He answered yes, and my stomach did a flop. For the past two weeks we had been training for evangelism through "Way of the Master" - a technique to show people the seriousness of God's judgement and mercy. We had practiced and studied the Bible and now, it was time to plant seeds for God's harvest. After the man told me he attended Mass on Sundays, I asked what the Catholic church said it took to get to heaven. He said they had to follow the Holy Sacraments and the Ten Commandments and try to live a faithful life. I asked if he had followed the Ten Commandments, God's law. He said yes...we then ventured into a twenty minute conversation talking about God's justice and judgement and mercy through the cross - how we all deserve Hell, but God sent His son as a sacrifice. It was the first time I'd ever truly and intently witnessed to a stranger. And there was a peace. God opened the eyes of those men and you could see the transformation from haughty laughter to conviction. It was an exciting experience and we continued to witness after church in the town of Roscommon. We talked to many people ranging from 18-year-old teenage boys to 20-something men and women outside of pubs. Not many conversations were easy, though, and many of us were ridiculed [especially because our audience had a few too many drinks that night] but we pressed on, still carrying the cross. God not only opened the eyes of the people of Roscommon, but He opened our eyes. No matter if the person disagreed with us or was willing to hear, 99% of the people we talked to wanted to listen and responded to what we were saying. It was a neat experience.

Today three team members and myself visited the church we will be a part of the rest of the time we're in Ireland. The team is being split up to help different churches in parts of Ireland. We are going to Tullamore to help a Presbyterian church, specifically in their young adult ministry. We're excited about the opportunity and move in Saturday. Pray that God can use us to draw the Youth of Tullamore to God through this church.

Thank you for all of your prayers and your support! I still have $1,000 to earn for my trip and any additional funding would be appreciated. :)

Blessings,
Leanne

Activities and thoughts...

2009-09-16T05:13:00.000-07:00

While being in Ireland with OM, it's such a great experience to immerse yourself in the culture of all nations. We have people here from the Middle East, Asia, South America, and Europe. One of the other girls pointed out that "this is kind of what heaven will be like." All believers from all nations coming together for one purpose - to serve and worship God.

Our group was assigned to put together this month's "prayer emphasis day." On this day, you chose a main theme and pray for that. We chose to do "The Youth of Nations." Today we started the morning session and it went well. We had praise songs and talked about the nonbelieving youth in Ireland who drink away their depression or commit suicide and we had a time of prayer for them. We also prayed for the believing youth who are severely outnumbered here - and we prayed for their strength. Our theme verse is: 1 Timothy 4:12, "Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech in life in love in faith and in purity." I had the opportunity to talk about Rachel Joy Scott, a girl I did a speech on once who was shot at Columbine High School in 1999. I talked about how she lived a 1 Tim. 4:12 life and how we need to pray for youth to be as bold for Christ as she was. It was such a great experience.

The evening program starts tonight and all of the Immersion members are going to give specific prayer requests for their home nations. It should be a neat time. I love how the entire team only found out we were putting this on three days ago and have worked together so well!

New pictures are up on picasa: www.picasaweb.google.com/ozgrl16/ireland

Blessings,
Leanne

A week at Lacken House

2009-09-08T09:08:00.000-07:00

Well! It has been a busy week here at Lacken House! I'll begin with just the basics of what we're doing!

Tuesday - Friday we have classes from 10:30-4:00. In these classes we study chapters in the Bible, Irish culture, Church history, etc. These classes have been really enlightening and fun! This past week we studied the entire old testament. That part of the Bible has so many stories that we can learn from! We acted out some of the stories, or got into groups and did mini-reports.

On Friday afternoon, we went on a field trip to Clonmacnoise. It is one of Ireland's first monastic sites and dates back to 545 AD. It was BEAUTIFUL! I am putting pictures up soon. [And for those of you who don't know - facebook isn't uploading my pictures so I've had to use my picasa page. You can find the album at: www.picasaweb.google.com/ozgrl16/ireland ] After the fieldtrip, we went to our weekend outing. We were going to help a church on the East side of Irealnd [nearer to Dublin]. The church was having a prayer event and needed help with childcare, so our group entertained children from the ages of 5-15 all day Saturday and taught Sunday School in the morning. We had around 30 - 40 children at once, for only 4 or 5 teachers because some of the other Immersion members had other jobs during the conference. It was tiring - but fun! During the weekend our team grew and we realized how much we already had grown within just the first week as we were missing Lacken House as "home" while away for the weekend. We are happy to be back.

When we got back to the house, we decided that we needed some structure. We were running out of food and funds quickly. :) So one of our super-organized girls [that we all love!] got us together and we made a grocery list, chore list, and teamed up to schedule who would make dinner each night. In fact, last night, I and Whitney made dinner for the house. It was an impromptu recipe of pasta and chicken. And might I say - it was amazing. ;)

Just some fun Irish facts for you too, that I've learned while here:

Lunch is called dinner and dinner is called Tea.

And Irish man will usually never tell you "no" to something directly. Trust me. I've experienced this by offering some food. If the Irishman doesn't want it, they'll simply say "I think I'm good now." They NEVER tell you "No."

The trunk of a car is the "boot."

My favorite: They never say "thirty" like in the states we would say: it's five-thirty. They say it's "half of five."

That's it for now! More pictures to come when I can find the time to upload them on Picasa - just keep checking that link.

Blessings,
Leanne

ps: for those of you wondering, yes - I and the other girls are picking up a slight Irish accent ;) and I've become addicted to tea. :)

Our arrival

2009-08-31T13:54:00.000-07:00

This is the first time I have been able to sit down at my blog since Saturday night. On Sunday morning, I woke up and got ready for the 9:30 service where my GAP Immersion team was to be commissioned by Dr. Johnny Hunt. After the service had completed, my team met at the world impact center to change and load luggage, and the families drove to lunch for one last meal together before we left. After lunch the team went to the airport. We boarded our plane at 4:00, and with delay, landed in New York, and boarded our Dublin flight at 7:30. From there, we flew to Ireland and arrived 8:00 am Dublin time this morning. The time now is 10:00. This means the team has been up for about 32 hours. Please excuse this blog of any spelling or grammar, for I'm very tired AND lost my glasses on a flight so the screen is blurry. But! In light of all this: I'm having a FANTASTIC time! Ireland really is a beautiful country and it REALLY is extremely green!

When we arrived at the Lacken House, we had a tour of the grounds and were impressed with the work OM is doing all over Ireland, not just with the GAP year but many other ministry events as well that our team will be able to help with. Today we unpacked and rested. I am rooming with two girls from the states: Ashlyn Chambers from Georgia and Whitney Ratcliff from Louisiana. We're having a blast and have met so many wonderful, kind, and God-honoring people here. Tomorrow, we will have our orientation and then get acquainted with the local town while doing some much needed shopping. (We realized how high the voltage is here, when I almost blew my hair dryer up while turning it on LOW and another girl fried her straightener after turning it on for four seconds) So, we decided to spend some money on appliances that are accustomed to Ireland's electricity.

Pictures are coming soon! If you're friends with me on facebook, they should be uploaded by tonight!

Blessings,
Leanne [and the Immersion team]

One day more...

2009-08-29T11:09:00.000-07:00

What a terrific weekend I've had- and am going to have! Yesterday was my going away party and so many people were able to come! I am blessed to have so many friends that my home doesn't have enough room for them! It's neat to see how God used each person to impact my life in different ways. Whether it was from speech and debate, our local theater, school, or church - all of those people have helped me at some time in my life and I am thankful for that. Now, it's my turn to help the people of Ireland! Tomorrow, 3 other girls and myself will fly out at 3:30 from Atlanta. We fly to New York and then to Dublin, where we will arrive around 8:00am Monday, Ireland's time. I'm looking forward to the flights because I've always been a fan of overseas trips.

There's one neat thing I'd like to share with you before I end this note and go pack! As you know, I had to raise $6,000.00 before the trip. Well, I was only $520 dollars away from that goal yesterday. Last night, many of my friends brought me gifts! I was overwhelmed by their generosity. After counting the donations, I found that I had been given exactly $522.20. God does bless those who are faithful to Him - even at the last second!

So, here I go to start a new adventure in Ireland! I'll be updating this as frequently as I can while I am away!

Blessings,
Leanne

Less than 90 hours!

2009-08-25T18:54:00.000-07:00

In less than 90 hours, I step onto a plane that will fly me to a country I have never been to! I'm thrilled! Many people ask me if I'm ready, and I can honestly say "yes!" I have all of my clothes, accessories, and appliances ready to go! My most recent statement from SCORE said I only had $2,720 more to collect. I only need $720 of that before Sunday. YES! Sunday! I know that God will provide, though!

As the day to leave is coming up, I've been getting a lot of emails from the other girls in the group and I have a feeling we're all going to get along well. I've already met two of the girls and Saturday night, it seems that all five girls will be able to meet over dinner! I'm looking forward to getting to know new people and experience new things! Once I'm over there, I'll be able to tell you more specifically what exactly we're doing. But, for now, I know that the first, I believe six, weeks are devoted to our study time. Part of the GAP program is a learning-abroad Bible credit. I'll also be taking courses in Gaelic! This will all be done at the Lacken House, outside of Dublin in the country. After that, I believe our field work begins!

I'm looking forward to filling you all in with more detail in the coming weeks!

God Bless,
Leanne

Closer to our goals!

2009-08-11T11:59:00.000-07:00

Sitting down at my computer today, I found another statement from SCORE! I only have $2,980.00 left out of the entire $8,000! So many friends have been generous in their donations! THANK YOU! I have also started something new! My grandmother had a great idea to sell our home-made fudge! I have gotten around $150 dollars from that and I made $85 from a garage sale! It's such a blessing!

Mary Wallace from FBCW, who is already in Ireland, tells us that the temperature will be 60 degrees going down to 30 degrees in October. Cold and rainy! That is actually my favorite kind of weather! I even got adorable polka-dot rain boots for the occasion.

I am also visiting my mother's 9th grade Sunday School class this coming Sunday to meet the girls so that we may all become pen-pals during my mission trip!

In other news: I am proud to announce the OM Ireland Team! Please pray for each of these individuals.
I hope to keep you further updated more frequently!
God Bless!

Trust

2009-07-20T09:26:00.000-07:00

Proverbs 3:5-6: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."

I have one more month before the flight to Ireland! It's an exciting thought, but quite an emotional one. I'm not usually an emotional person, but recently I've thought about how my life is literally changing now. What I've known for the past six years: my speech league, my school, my friends - it's all changing. But just because it's changing doesn't mean I'm sad. And just because it's emotional doesn't make it depressing. It's an exciting and new time for me, and I am simply hesitant. The verses above, Proverbs 3:5-6, remind me that when I am hesitant in anything, I can trust in the Lord. When I do so with all of my heart and lean on HIS understanding and not my own, my path will be made straight.

Right now, I'm having to put complete trust in God because I am still in desperate need of funds. I currently have $4,498.98 toward the trip. Now, that may seem like a lot, but I still need $3,501.02. Please remember that you can donate online! Go to:
http://scoreinternational.org/give/ and scroll to the donation for the GAP program. At check out, you can specify the student you are sponsoring. Please put: GAP Ireland Leanne Livingston.

During the 4th of July weekend, I was asked to present my American Legion speech at a couple of Tea Parties where I was also able to mention my Ireland trip. At one event on the 4th, I collected $100 in cash! What an experience to see people willing to help further God's Kingdom!

We're a little more than half-way there! I'm sure we can make it with your help! Thank you and God bless!

Leanne

Matthew 7:7

2009-07-02T07:07:00.000-07:00

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." - Matthew 7:7

Last night, I was worried about funds for my trip. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to make the deadline. I was too far behind. Then, God reminded me of Matthew 7:7. "Ask and it will be given to you." I knelt down and prayed. I knew that if God wanted me on this trip, he would provide the funds and if not, then I just wouldn't go. I asked God to grant me patience and to simply provide. I sent an email late last night to the organization I'm with asking for a copy of my statement so far. I then went to sleep.

This morning, I woke up and found that the $660 I've had in that account had almost DOUBLED to $1300 dollars from donations! It's just another way of God reminding me that He is here for me and all I have to do is ask.

After adding up the money I have in my savings accounts with the SCORE account, I have $4353.98. We're almost to that $6,000 mark! THANK YOU to all who have contributed to my trip!! You are all BLESSINGS! Pray that God continues to provide for me and prepare me!

Funds

2009-06-29T10:35:00.000-07:00

With two months until I leave for Ireland, I am still $2,000 short of my $6,000 goal before August 30th and $4,000 short of my entire trip cost of $8,000 dollars. That's the bad news. The good news: God is still going to provide! THANK YOU to those who have contributed to my trip! Also, even better news! I received a link from SCORE International for people to donate online! Go to:
http://scoreinternational.org/give/ and scroll to the donation for the GAP program. At check out, you can specify the student you are sponsoring. Please put: GAP Ireland Leanne Livingston.

Thank you for your prayers and support!

The countdown begins!

2009-06-21T18:52:00.000-07:00

In exactly 10 weeks I step on a plane and fly to Ireland. I must admit, I'm scared. I'm usually a sociable person who easily adapts to new experiences. But I find, that I am wary of my new surroundings. I will not know any of my team members before the day I fly out, and I will be unaware of what exactly to expect when I arrive. However, God is giving me a peace about my trip and I am excited beyond belief! However! I still need help. Ten weeks is not enough time to gain the rest of the funds for my trip on my own. I need 6,000 dollars before I leave on August 30th. Right now, I am still in need $2,343.40. To those who have contributed to SCORE International already, THANK YOU! If you have yet to make a donation, I would ask you to prayerfully consider doing so. Any amount will help! Remember that these donations are tax deductible. You may write checks to Score International with an attached note to put the amount on account for Leanne Livingston, and send them directly to:

SCORE International
PO Box 9994 Chattanooga, TN
37412

If you would prefer to send checks to me, I would be happy to send them to SCORE on your behalf, and you will still receive your tax deduction.

Leanne Livingston
3251 Eagle Watch Drive
Woodstock, GA
30189

Phone: 404-824-1037

I hope to keep all of you updated through this Blog while I am in Ireland so that you may see all that our wonderful God is doing in the hearts of people across the world.

God Bless,
Leanne Livingston