The last weekend

Saturday and Sunday we had plans to be in Swords, which is just north of Dublin. Swords Baptist Church was having us do a vocal workshop for their worship team. They had decided, after the general worship workshop we did for them in September, that they wanted us to return and do one focused on vocals. So that's what we did. For 6 hours.

We had anticipated the workshop lasting about 4 hours, but in the end it was better to have the extended time, as we were able to work more with them singing on microphones and deal with issues regarding singing in ensemble with others, etc.

Saturday night we were wrecked, but fortunately didn't have to drive all the way back to Shankill (the Kingsleys' house) as we were staying with Rory and Mindy McDonald. Rory is the main worship coordinator for SBC and he and Mindy have become good friends of ours. It was so nice to be able to stay with someone that just let us veg and fall asleep in front of the TV. We really needed that.

Sunday morning, we were given the opportunity to lead worship at SBC. You never know what kind of situation you're getting yourself into when you are asked to lead worship at a church that you have never attended. However, this particular fellowship was a true joy to lead in worship. It only took a small amount of time before they got past the unfamiliarity of strange worship leaders (no derogatory comments please) and really engaged in worship.

One particularly moving moment was during a time that Beth and I were playing softly while people were sharing scriptures and prayers. Rory stood up and began singing a psalm to what we were playing. It was definitely one of those moments where the Holy Spirit was in control and it was so moving and powerful.

After service, we went to Jesse and Joyce Northcutt's for dinner. They are part of the GEM team and are in leadership at SBC. We had a great time with them and their family sitting around the table sharing stories and laughing together.

Then it was back to the Kingsleys' to pack our things and prepare to return home.

Monday's travels were basically uneventful. It was so good to see Molly waiting for us at the airport in Pensacola. She and her boyfriend William got us home and then Molly hung out for a while.

We slept 13 hours and woke up late the next morning. I am so used to being up before 7 AM that it was strange having half the day gone by the time we awoke Tuesday morning.

All-in-all this was our best trip so far. Never boring, for sure. Met some very interesting people, got a lot of encouragement, but most importantly, found God using us in many different ways in the lives of those with whom we were working. We are finding that our ministry is something that many feel is important and needed in the life of the Irish church.

This is exemplified in the following response we got from our evaluation that we send via email to those who have participated in our workshops:

Q - Did you find this workshop to be what you expected? Please explain.

A - I'd never been to anything like this before anyway, so really I didn't know what to expect to begin with...so I can't really say.The one thing I was afraid of was that the workshop would involve a lot of "musician speak" that would go over my head, discussing octaves or something! But I'm happy to say it wasn't like that at all and I found it perfectly easy to follow.

Q - What did you find most beneficial in this workshop?

A - I found it very easy to understand, and the advice you gave was very reasonable and easy to see the value of. Your experience in the area was very obvious, and I was glad that your advice had a nice balance between putting the focus on God's spirit working through you and also the more practical elements, perhaps, or worship music, such as musical competency, sound quality, etc.

Q - What did you find was of little or no value and why?

A - I think I can honestly say there was nothing I found of little or no value about the workshop...

Q - What else would you like to say about your experience Monday night?

A - Just that I think it was great! I don't think I have any criticisms, constructive or otherwise, about it, and it was a real encouragement and a learning experience for me, so thank you both and I look forward to seeing you again!!!


So now we have a mere 7 weeks to prepare for our next trip. We have 8 or 9 churches that want us to do a workshop for them. We will obviously not be able to accomplish all them in this next trip, so I guess we'll just have to keep going back. Bummer. No, not really. We love it.

Next time: this doppelganger existence.