A Day Off...=)

Mondays are my days off. It's great! I get to sleep in as late as I want and do whatever my little heart desires. However, I am finding that it is really the only day to ever get anything, like doing laundry and getting groceries. So I have come to realize that Mondays for me really aren't a day off at all. And maybe this is just me becoming more of an adult and taking on more responsibilities. It's like I'm looking for time to do things and it's not there like it used to be. Finding time to rest is a lot harder these days. Oh well, please don't think I'm complaining, I guess I am just realizing that I'm growing up! Ha! =)



Well, lets see here, what has gone on since I last talked to you. Not too much. Saturday was super slow for most of the afternoon. Not many people came in. Then around 3:30 or 4:00, a bunch of the kids that come in during the week came in to hang out. Oh my word, there were messes everywhere. It was super frustrating but through it I think I learned and gained a little more respect for the people in other places that do just the same thing that I have been doing for only two weeks. So thanks to all the waiters and waitresses, to all the people who have to wait on other people with food and many different things. It can be a hectic job but thanks for your hard work!



Anyway, we were packed around 4:00 and 4:30 on Saturday. It was a madhouse but we mad it! I worked on the floor and took orders from people and delivered food. Things are getting easier for me as the days go on, but I am still learning. We work really hard here too. Got to make sure everything is super clean for the next day. No joke, all this past week, I have seriously been on dishes so much! It's okay to do, not my favorite, but it's just been funny that I've gotten stuck with dishes multiple times this past week.



So Saturday, enough of the work part, maybe on to some more interesting stuff, I was talking to some kids. They came in and had been hanging in the shop most of the day and one of the kids comes up to me and asks me why I go to church. Now, I must explain that when I am put on the spot like that, I have a super hard time responding, but I tried my best and asked the Lord for help. I told him I go to church because it is a good time to fellowship and be with other people who have the same beliefs that I do. I told him that it is encouraging to me and my life to go there. And I told him that it gave me the opportunity to learn more about God. Of course, he didn't seem to think those were any valid reasons to go to church, especially when sex and alcohol seems to be more of a fun thing to do (not that those things are bad in the right conext like in marriage and then moderation of alcohol, but when out of context they can be a problem). Then something came up about going to a Catholic church and I said that I had never gone before but I am planning on it and want to. Then the boy basically told me that I lost all credibility because I don't go to a Catholic church and that he would never step foot into a "proddy" (Protestant) church. Wow, I was taken back a bit by this conversation. I didn't mean for him to think that I wanted him to go to a Protestant church. You have to understand that religion plays a huge part in Irish culture, especially between Catholics and Protestants. There are many hard feelings against the Protestant church and many people nowadays will have nothing to do with them. The thing that I love about working at An Tobar Nua is that we are not trying to force anyone to become Catholic or Protestant. We simply just desire for people to know Jesus Christ as Lord and for Him to become a part of their lives. I wish I could have conveyed that to this boy that I spoke to (and who knows maybe I did or maybe I didn't). I want him and all the others to know Christ like I am beginning to know Him. "Taste and see that the Lord is good." -Psalms 34:8a He is so good and I want so badly to bridge the gap and for him to see the Lord's goodness. It is not about him going to one church or another. It is about a life full of so much more, full of meaning and purpose. Full of unconditional love! I know deep down he and all the other kids want that, but they just don't know it yet. It can be discouraging and hard but I know God is in control and any little bit that is shared is a seed. I just need to pray for God's to become even more real to him in his life.

So after my long day on Saturday, it was finally the weekend! Yesterday I went to church at Discovery where the pastor talked about marriage. I sat next to my friend Leanna who also went to Taylor and we both had a Christian Marriage class this past semester. We kept looking at each other and smiling, thinking that we were there all over again. Haha! Then, after church, a bunch of us went for Indian food. It was really good but we were there for like 3 hours! Oh my word it was crazy! We had a fun time and it was good getting to know new people. CJ and I were the only Americans that went and it was fun just hanging out with the Irish! They are so funny!

After lunch I came back and just laid around all day. I put my Colts jersey on around 6pm because the game was starting. Yes people, it is Colts season and I am not in the states to watch it. It is so sad and discouraging. However, I do have nfl.com which allows me to watch lines on the screen and gives me a description of the plays just after they 've happened. It can be discouraging though to sit in front of your computer for 4 hours just watching these lines but at least I know what's going on! I do miss watching Manning and Harrison and the rest of the gang! Oh well, they won last night and are 2-0!! Woohoo!! Leanna and I celebrated with a little photo shoot in our jerseys. It was good craic. Every week, after every game, we are planning on taking pictures in our jerseys. So stayed tuned for what's to come next! GO COLTS!

Well, I think that's about it for now. I have probably bored you all long enough again...=) Please continue to pray for strength and energy. Please pray for roommate situations and for unity. Please pray for the ministry that more youth would come in and for sales to increase in the shop. Please pray for God's presence to be felt when people walk into this place and that they would feel it as a safe place. And praise God for His goodness and faithfulness in the good and bad times. He is incredible and is our strength through everything. He never leaves us! So praise Him because He is good!! I love you all and will catch ya later!

Cheers!

-Michelle