February 2012
1 post
Hello Everyone,
Today marks the beginning of my last month on field, which makes this update a difficult one to write. I have completely fallen in love with my home and life here in Northern Ireland and I cannot believe that my time here is almost over.
I will be flying out with my teammates on February 28th from Belfast and I will arrive in Houston later that evening. I will then be home for...
January 2012
1 post
December 2011
2 posts
Hello Everyone,
I swear, the last time I checked my calendar it was almost Thanksgiving and I was worrying about whether or not my Pumpkin Pie would burn or not. Now I’m looking around at the empty shells of our Christmas parcels, and I realize that today marks the fact that I only have two months left in this wonderful country.
In other news, it’s been one of the busiest months I’ve had since...
November 2011
1 post
Hello Everyone!
I’m sorry for not posting sooner, but the last few weeks have been absolutely hectic for my teammates and I. We’ve been working on new projects, getting used to life without our fifth teammate (Roy) who went back to America and doing a wee bit of revamping on our activities and schedules. It’s been rather mad over here, but I really feel like everything’s balancing out once...
October 2011
2 posts
Hello Everyone, I’m so sorry about not updating these past two weeks. It’s been a hard time for my teammates and I as we’re facing a series of really difficult changes, decisions and transitions. Roy left Northern Ireland today (we said goodnight Wednesday, though) and he will officially be stateside sometime on Friday. We’ve lost a teammate before, but this time it was...
September 2011
4 posts
“My add my niece, Jenny Davis, to your prayer request as she has just been...”
– A prayer request/email I got from my Grandmother tonight
Hello Everyone! I’m so sorry that it’s been a full week since you all last heard from me, but I have been having a lot of trouble with my laptop lately. In July, my screen stopped working and on Monday my keyboard decided that it just wouldn’t work either. However, I realized that I could just write my updates using my phone. Thank goodness for technology! Anyways, these past...
August 2011
4 posts
1 tag
Hey Everyone!
I’m officially back after my month-long sabbatical in the wilderness! Sorry I didn’t post while I was away, but when you spend three weeks in a tent…you don’t really get much wifi access.
Camp Shamrock was amazing! For those who don’t know what it is, it’s two eight-week camps that are split up by gender. The first session is Boy’s Camp and it was so...
June 2011
4 posts
3 tags
3 tags
May 2011
6 posts
Just a little thought for you all,
Hey Everyone!
May is coming to a close and my teammates and I can see June coming up over the horizon, and it’s looking like a good month for us. We’re starting a few new projects, we’re digging deeper into relationships and all the while we’re falling more in love with our field, our church, our friends and each other.
One of the new projects we’re working on is...
3 tags
3 tags
The Festival of Colours: →
These were some of the photos that my teammate Mel took today at the festival. The festival was hosted by a forum we serve on, the Coleraine Multi-Cultural Forum, and it was to celebrate the Indian holiday called ‘Holi’ when they celebrate the coming of Spring with the throwing of bright colours, dancing and music. It was an amazing day with an even more amazing turn-out and we even...
3 tags
2 tags
This is a story about how I killed someone...sort...
I am not the only American who works for the Church here in Coleraine, Northern Ireland. In fact, there are five of us total who work here and we are fondly called ‘the Americans’ by the Church Family we work with here.
Well, one of the families went on a two week holiday following Easter. They are a family of four, and they have a set of twins. While they were on holiday in Florida,...
Sorry, I think I was abducted by aliens or...
Well, hello friends.
I know that it has been an age and a half since I last posted here, or even advertised it in my blog, but I promise to be a faithful poster from now on. I want to keep an updated blog for you all to read, because that way you’ll be more informed that you would be if you just read my newsletter every month.
If you read my blog, you’ll also get to read the little...
November 2010
1 post
October 2010
3 posts
(random) Adventures in Missions
Before I get into this story, let me explain two things that might not make much sense otherwise.
1. People outside of the states are generally very quiet. They don’t yell or cause a scene unless something is wrong. Here in Coleraine, people stick to that rule. They walk close to their friends in order to talk with them, they are soft-spoken when talking with strangers and anything...
October 3, 2010
Hey friends,
Today marks the end of my third month here and the beginning of my fourth and it feels like God has just blown me away every day of the last four months. I am so blessed to be here, far more blessed than I ever could have hoped to be.
I have made some amazing friendships and memories here and I am so thankful that you, my supporters, have answered my prayers and have faithfully...
September 2010
3 posts
October 1, 2010
Hey friends!
Well, September is over so you can expect to have my newsletter any day now. I postponed writing it because a very special event happened on the last night of September and I desperately wanted to include it in the newsletter. Don’t worry though; it will be in your inboxes in a matter of days.
Sincerely,
Kelly
“Every relationship for a Christian is an opportunity to love another person like...”
– Joshua Harris
August 2010
4 posts
August 31, 2010
Hey Friends!
This is just a quick update to let you know that my newsletter will be headed your way in the next couple of days and that my team is getting to meet some of the Colerine Police Officers this afternoon. This is a great opportunity and we are very excited about learning more about our city from some of the people that know it best.
Sincerely,
Kelly
August 23, 2010
Dear Friends,
First of all, I want to thank you so much for your faithful support during my first month and a half on the field. I appreciate it so much and I want you to know that things here are brilliant.
This week promises to be a busy one. My team and I are finally getting introduced to one of the ministries that excites me the most, The Kilcranny House. The Kilcranny House is a Peace and...
August 3, 2010
Hey Friends!
Sorry it has been so entirely long since I last wrote. However, I have lived in a tent for the last three weeks, so this is really the first opportunity I’ve had to write to you all.
So, Northern Ireland is completely amazing and things are very different here than what I expected. I came here thinking I would understand people just fine because we all spoke English. Boy, was...
July 2010
2 posts
June 3, 2010
Hey everyone,
Just wanted to drop you a quick note letting you know that I have arrived safely, with only a smidge of chaos, and I love it here. I will write more when I have an adapter to charge my computer with.
I will have internet until the 10th, We’re looking for a flat on Monday and we’re starting work tomorrow. Oh, and within my first five hours here, I’ve learned how to...
July 2, 2010
Dear Friends,
Believe it or not, I am leaving for Northern Ireland in just a few hours. I will fly out around 8 this evening and land in Belfast around 3 p.m. on Saturday their time.
Please pray that our travels will be smooth and uncomplicated. Pray that all of our luggage arrives safely and that it doesn’t get lost during our transfer from Houston to London and from London to Belfast.
Thank you...
June 2010
11 posts
June 26, 2010
Dear Friends,
The countdown just keeps getting smaller and smaller while my excitement for finally getting to Coleraine just grows and grows. I will be in Coleraine in exactly seven days, and flying out of Houston in six.
This past week has been full of good-byes and my official ‘last supper’ with my entire, lovely family was last night. We ate at Chili’s, made entirely too...
June 22, 2010
Dear Friends,
These last few days have been chock-full of spending time with my family, getting prepaired to finally leave for my field, talking with neat people and reserving flights to Northern Ireland.
We have reserved a flight from Houston to London, and from London to Belfast. We would leave Houston on July 1st and arrive in Belfast on the afternoon of the 2nd. I’ve made the flight...
June 17, 2010
Hey Friends!
Oh my stars, y’all must be praying up a storm out there. I got a call at 8 a.m. this morning from UPS saying that my visa would arrive this morning. I was shocked a little bit, but hopeful that it actually would. I started my workout around 9 and no later than 9:30 the UPS was walking up with my visa.
I honestly can’t believe it arrived this quickly, but...
June 16, 2010
Hey Friends,
Well, I just want to praise God and thank you for all of your prayers, because…MY VISA HAS BEEN APPROVED! I didn’t expect it to come this quick, but it’s on it’s way to me right now! I’m so excited.
Now, I’m going to begin seriously packing and getting ready to leave. This is so exciting.
Thanks again for all of your prayers.
Sincerely,
Kelly
June 15, 2010
Hey Friends,
Today was a very good day. The consulate sent me an email stating that they had received my application and had begun to process it! I’m just waiting to hear back from them once more. However, this doesn’t mean that my visa has been approved. Please continue to pray for my visa. Pray that they will accept it and send it back to me promptly.
I’m really looking...
June 8, 2010
Dear Friends,
I wasn’t able to send off my visa application today, due to one missing document. That was really hard, but I know God has a reason for it and I don’t have to understand what those reasons are. Who am I to question the God who calls the stars by name?
But, God gave me the opportunity to turn a normal spiritual conversation into a immediate bible study. I praise God that...
June 6, 2010
Dear Friends,
Yesterday I was blessed to have the opportunity to see my cousin graduate from High School. I am so proud of her for completing all 12 years of school and I am so excited for her to begin her journey in the world.
The thing I wanted to bring to y’alls attention is something I heard one of the speakers say yesterday.
“May each step be stronger than the last”
...
June 4, 2010
Hey Friends,
My visa application is almost complete! All of it should be in the mail by Monday, including my bioscan. After it is all completed, if pattern holds, it should only take one to two weeks for my visa to be processed.
Also, my team is seriously looking at plane tickets for the 25th of June. I’m so excited about finally getting to be in Coleraine. Sure, I’m still praying...
May 2010
11 posts
“Give love to the ones who can’t love at all
Give hope to the ones who got no...”
– Jon Foreman in his song “Instead of a Show”.