Sunday

In the kitchen at 8 to set out things (and make coffee, tea and toast)  for the continental breakfast….6 canisters of cereal, sugar, milk, juice, jam, and all that goes with it. I looked out the window at the eastern sky with the sun rising in a bright orange red burst and thought of yesterday in Tolleymore….look around you at all that God has made! It is always an awesome thought…”when I in awesome wonder, consider all…….”

That led me to think about the scriptures and I just wanted to read a passage from The Message. I knew there was one in the lounge/sitting room so I went to retrieve it. Imagine my surprise to find one of our guests asleep on the sofa!! I backed out and chuckled to myself…there’s one for the blog!

The guests were very appreciative of the simple breakfast. One woman said to me, “you make a mean cup of tea…for an American”. I think it was a compliment. : )  I told her I had been well trained! Thanks Deirdre!!

The group did the washup of the dishes so all Bebe and I had to do was to finish a bit in the kitchen. It still took until 9:30 to clear everything.  We will be able to get to church in Castlewellan by 10:30. Since we only have ten weeks here—and only four after today with one being in Dublin  (Bebe leaves on 12 Dec. so we will spend that weekend in Dublin), we are trying to visit as many different churches as possible. There are multiple reasons for that. (I do have Bessbrook and Moyallon on the list!)

Later…

The speaker at Castlewellan was from an organization that reaches out to believers who are being persecuted in various countries. She had stories of many places and a list of how you and I can be more mindful of the persecuted church. How often do we think of those who are denied water because they profess faith or the ones who are disowned or the ones who are beaten and imprisoned?

We came home from Castlewellan for a few minutes and then to the home of John and Jo Moxen. Bebe drove because I thought she better understood the directions. We still missed the road, then found it, then decided it must not be right because there were no houses. A couple of turnarounds and then a call to Deirdre put us on the right track. We had been on the correct road, Moneylane, but had not gone far enough. When we went back to that road, John was standing out in the middle of it! Deirdre had called to tell them we were on our way. They have a charming little home with a fantastic big view. It was cozy with the fireplace and Jo’s collection of ceramic cats. She served a wonderful lunch and dessert with tea and biscuits after by the fire. We had a good visit and then back to Murlough House.

We had planned to go to the Brethren Church for evening services. Bebe asked me how I felt about that and I told her I was really tired and aching from yesterday’s trek. She was too so she called with our regrets. The next few hours were quiet and restful.

Monday

The battery on my laptop isn’t holding a charge and the adaptor isn’t working too well. I priced a new battery…$155…I’ll get it when I get home. But I did recommend a book to Cynthia and another to Deirdre…both by Henri Nouwen. I went to Amazon.co.uk to order them and found a Nouwen title I don’t have. All three books are on the way now! The Return of the Prodigal, Bread for the Journey and Spiritual Formation. (Since I wrote this on 20/11 and am posting on 29/11, you know that I did indeed have to shell out the $155 or 122 pounds...and there's a story to come about all that.)

I was the first one up and around. Joan arrived at 9:30. Richard was around at about that time. I took some fliers to Dundrum to post in businesses. A few businesses were not open on Monday so I’ll have to make that run again. I was back at MH by 10:45. Sarah came in after that. John Moxen stopped in to feed his birds so I asked if I could see them. We went to the aviary where he has at least ten birds…all from Australia. There are love birds and several kinds of small parrots. It was a nice time visiting with John.

Back in the house to help Bebe prepare lunch. We went down to the craft room to locate some games for the Wednesday group. Jen and Sophie joined us for spaghetti. I laminated the signs I had made for Alan and then helped Jen start knitting another scarf. Of course, knitting generates good conversation too!