Ballymun and Dublin

We left Kesh a week ago and stopped at Slane Hill on the way to pray. This is a place where legend says that St. Patrick lit a fire in resistance to the ruling powers of his day and upon seeing the fire, many others lit fires on surrounding hills and brought in the spread of Christianity in Ireland. U2 also recorded their album The Unforgettable Fire in Slane Castle - now we know where the name comes from!

We have spent the last week in Ballymun, an area North of Dublin that has a history of poverty and many issues along with that. We stayed with families and joined in the work they have been doing in Ballymun.

There were seven notorious tower blocks for housing and in recent years all but one have been torn down and new housing built. 

We went in teams and knocked on hundreds of doors in the old apartments and new to invite them to a community group called the Mustard Tree to study the Bible and get to know others. There were many people who we had long conversations and prayer with and some breaking down and weeping, telling their stories. 

 We spent time in working with an after-school program there called the Aisling Project where we helped with homework and other activities. We also ran a fun sports day in the park and it went really well!

Some of the kids needed a lot of assistance to finish their sack race! This boy Jordan really connected well with Joey.

We are now in the center of Dublin for the next couple of days doing work on a 150 year old house that was just given to some friends who are staring up YWAM Dublin next month. We have been painting and cleaning the house to get it ready for the Discipleship Training School that is starting in a few weeks. 

It has been a busy time - good overall - and we are thankful for the connections the Lord is building with us and others around this island. 

Love,

Joseph and Christy