In the land of leprechauns

Greetings from Ireland! We have arrived safely and are settling in nicely. It is so good to finally be here. We are living in the town of Greystones, which is about a 50-minute train (DART) ride south of downtown Dublin. Erin and I have a small apartment in a retreat center setting. It is cozy, but it get’s the job done and we are thankful for the great deal we are getting on it. The location of it is amazing as we are right on the Irish Sea! As a bonus, we are basically around the corner from the Irish Studies Program students from Taylor University and their small campus here. We know the professor-leaders (Scott and Jenn Moeschberger) of their group as well as some of the students, so it has been fun to have some familiar faces around as we have transitioned to living here.

Erin has begun her student teaching at St. Andrew’s College in Booterstown, which is a 40-minute DART ride toward downtown. Her first day was yesterday and went very well. The school is in large part, very international, as she has students in her classes from nearly every continent. The school is very prestigious in the area, and we are very thankful for the opportunity that Erin has to train there.

As for me, my work does not begin until the middle of next week as the leader of the two ministries with which I will be apart is gone in the States for a conference. Therefore, I have been able to direct my time to getting things settled for us, as well as resting, reading, exploring, and getting rejuvenated. It has been excellent! Erin and I did get a chance to stop in at St. Mark’s church, where we’ll be helping with the youth ministry. We met a couple other staff members and we are very excited to get going with that.

Many thanks to all of you who are praying for us and financially supporting us here. We hope the kingdom of God will be advanced here in Ireland and that we ourselves would continually experience the presence of God in our lives, as we seek to implement the gifts and abilities that God has given us.

Many blessings on you all,

Tyler and Erin

Prayer Requests,
1) For Erin, that she would really be able to get to know her students and would be able to reflect Christ to them.
2) For Tyler, that God would continue to recharge him in every way.
3) For us, that we would continue to transition well.

The time for us to leave is approaching quickly and we are extremely excited. Our flight is scheduled to take off on Sunday evening out of Chicago. We will fly through the night and arrive in Dublin mid-morning on Monday. Erin will begin right away with student teaching, beginning on Tuesday. As for me, I have a little breather once we arrive, as Dan - the leader of the ministries with which I will be volunteering - will be away at a conference.

This week is full of finishing up duties here as we try to finish out our current jobs, pack up everything, and get around all of the details that are involved with moving overseas for 6 months. This weekend, we were able to enjoy seeing some friends and family down at Upland, and we got to share about what we are about to do and give the lesson for the Upland Community Church senior high youth group - which we have both volunteered with in the past. We had a lot of fun doing so and it gave us even greater enthusiasm for the work we will be doing in Ireland.

Prayer Requests:
-That Erin and I finish well, at the school and at the golf course respectively
-That we get all of our bases covered with documentation, financial support, insurance,and a work permit for Erin that will begin after she is done student teaching
-That God will continue to prepare us in every way for the big transition