Jesus is the Way!

Today has been a rainy and cold day but we've been busy inside the castle where it's warm. The Way is underway. ;) Pat arrives tomorrow so this will probably be one of my last posts on the blog. 

I thought I would just share a few more fun pictures...

(Dundrum Castle and Tollymore Forest)

We have shared some wonderful meals together and we have declared Deirdre "The best cook in all the Land". She cooks most of the meals here at the castle and she has taken wonderful care of us! She's agreed to share some of her recipes with us ladies. :)

 

Our team huddle before kicking off the weekend! Tim has been such a great leader, he's kept things fun but focused and always Christ-centered.

    

A few pictures of the love team before breakfast today.

   

Adding cowboy hats to the castle windows for our cowboy dinner. I'm not sure that goes with tradition here but it's so cute!

Time has been a little bit of challenge for us... I even sent a text to a friend this morning forgetting that it was 4:30 am at home. Oops!

  

Our time here has been so sweet. We've come to serve but we've been so blessed. Please continue pray for the team and guests, your prayers are powerful and very much felt here. God is so faithful!

"Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6   

  

Special times in Northern Ireland

Today has been such a special day here in Northern Ireland. We started the day at breakfast together, after breakfast Pastor Randy lead us in a devotion and a time of prayer for the weekend.

  

After breakfast we had a little break before lunch and final preparations for the weekend. Some of us went to the peace maze and then to town to visit the local shops while others went to Tolleymore Forest and Dundrum Castle.

(I may have asked for one too many pictures of theses guys!)

    

 Peace Maze...

After our adventures we went back to the castle for lunch. 

 During our meeting the night before many of us shared personal stories about when we were saved and began our walk with the Lord. Through the stories that were shared one of the men on our team, Jim, really felt like he would like to be baptized while we were here in Northern Ireland. After lunch we all went out to the pond in front of the castle and had the opportunity to share in this special time.

   

We spent the afternoon getting ready for The Way. All of the teams were busy serving in their different areas. 

(A few of the ladies from the love team working at the check in table)

The guests began arriving this evening and the weekend is off to a wonderful start! God is so good!!! 

Adventures in Northern Ireland

Today was a day full of adventures. After breakfast we headed to New Castle. We were able to walk by the sea, do some shopping, and enjoy lunch.



After breakfast while waiting to head to New Castle...

New Castle...

Barb and Phil with a local shop owner and her family that they met back in November when they were here. We enjoyed visiting with them and checking out her store.  

A few of us ladies picked out some scarfs to bring home while we were there, we thought this one was perfect for Geoff! :) 

After leaving New Castle we were able to visit Dundrum Castle and Tollymore Forest Park.


Dundrum Castle...
 

Here are a few pictures from Tollymore Forest Park...

   

We enjoyed a nice dinner together in town before gathering for a team meeting tonight. We are having a wonderful time so far and are looking so forward to the weekend.

Tomorrow will be a busy day as we prepare for the guests who will be attending The Way! God is so good and we are looking forward to a wonderful time this weekend!

Hello, from Northern Ireland!

Hello, this is Jamie and I will be blogging from Northern Ireland until Pat arrives early next week. Pat puts such care into her blog, I hope I can do it justice until she's back.

(This is me with my husband Justin just before our flight took off Monday ...just so you can put a face with my name.)

Our group of around 35 flew out from Chicago on Monday evening and arrived in Dublin this morning. We have had a very fun but full couple days, we are all pretty tired and headed to bed but I wanted to take a minute to share a few pictures from Monday and today. We have already taken tons of pictures but for now I will just share a few from my cell phone.

A couple pictures at the airport on Monday... 

 
 Landing in Dublin...

At the airport a bus was waiting to take us to Castlewellan. We stopped for tea/coffee before arriving and enjoyed the sights along the way.

The beautiful Castlewellan Castle... our home for the week!

This is the view from my room in the castle...pretty amazing!

After settling in at the castle we had a little free time. Several of us walked into town to check out some of the local shops. My first impression of Northern Ireland was how beautiful the land is and how warm and friendly the people are.

We came back to the castle to enjoy a wonderful dinner (they are taking such care of us).


A few pictures from dinner...

This cake with custard was delicious!

I will be back with more pictures and updates soon but for now I'm off to bed. Please continue to pray for the weekend, we are all excited to see the plans God has!