Gettin' the Ball Rollin'

This week we began work with both the St. Mark's Church youth group and in Ballymun with Sportslife International. On Tuesday evening, both of us met some of the youth from St. Mark's for the first time at a a Halloween alternative party. With students in Ireland having this week off, Halloween is that much more of a problem over here with drunken bonfires taking place all over. The party was a first-time attempt to provide a fun alternative event for the local youth groups. It went well and was fun for all. I was humbled in the blow-up sumo ring as Andrew, one of the older kids in the group, got the best of me with his size and rugby skills. Erin and I will both be helping out with the normal youth meetings on Friday nights.

Yesterday, I got my first experience with the Sportslife ministry in the Ballymun community. As referenced in our initial letter, Ballymun is a rougher community in northern Dublin that has been ravaged over the years by unemployments, drug usage, and suicide. The event we put on yesterday was a three-on-three basketball tournament for mostly 10-12 year olds. We only had about a dozen kids, but I think they all had a good time. One of the other volunteers presented a short lesson on John 3:16 during a break. It looks as if ministering to these kids will be a tough task, but if God is with us anything can happen.

Erin is in the middle of her midterm break. Pretty rough to work 3 days and then have one week off! On Tuesday, we got to enjoy a long hike on Bray Head, which was a gorgeous walk on a gorgeous day.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers and support. May God bless you richly.

Love,
Tyler and Erin

Prayer Requests:
Tyler - That good relationships would start to form with the kids at St. Mark's and at Ballymun.
Erin - That Erin would continue to know her students on a deeper level

Erin and I at St. Stephan's Green in Dublin


Carrig Eden - where Erin and I live