Missio Dei

The building where we stayed.

Most of the group (missing a couple).

The chapel on campus.

A poor bee that we terrorized for a while to get this photo.

They had small doors inside the big doors to our building.

This weekend I attended a conference with IFES called Missio Dei. We left Ulster on Friday afternoon and drove down to Maynooth, which is in the South (the Republic, but no one here calls it that). It is close to Dublin. I rode with Rachel and Ashely, along with Sarah and Erin, so we had a good time. The countryside is beautiful.

The drive took about four hours, plus a pit stop at Rachel's house to switch cars because hers was dying. We got there just in time to take a walk across the campus, then walk back because we realized the sessions were actually held in a building fairly close to the one we were staying in. There weren't as many people as I was expecting, no more than 100 students, but that ended up being very nice so that we got to talk with a lot of them. About 12 came from Coleraine, so we were actually one of the larger groups there.

The music was very good, and I learned some new songs. Our speaker came all the way from Australia (yep, Chelsea, I got to listen to his accent all weekend), and at first I wasn't sure about him, but he ended up giving a powerful message.

We stayed in very nice accomodation with warm cozy beds (I say this because the room where we had sessions had no heat so we froze all weekend). The only problem was that the girls had no showers. The boys did, and we actually had cold showers on Friday night, but then the water was shut off so we didn't have any showers and had to wash our hair in the sink. I luckily got a cold shower on Friday night, so at least I was somewhat clean for the weekend.

Breakfast was amazing. They gave us all kinds of choices, and these included delicious danishes and croissants filled with chocolate. I ate some fruit too so I felt healthier. The provided lunch, too, but for dinner we had to get our own. Friday night we got Chinese (but no silverware, good times) and Saturday we went out for dinner. Can I just say that chiken and sweet corn sandwiches are genius?

On Saturday, we had a couple hours of free time, so Erin and I walked around campus taking pictures. I think I ended up with about 200 for the whole weekend. But it was gorgeous, so we had to take pictures.

Saturday night there was a prayer time where they put up different stations to pray for different things such as the world, our campuses, friends, etc. I've done things like this before, but this one had a few different ideas than I've seen, so it was neat. And prayer is always good.

After all the sessions, Erin and I convinced a couple of kids to learn Euchre, so we taught them. We were excited to play, though I'm not sure they appreciated our competitive attitudes. One guy I learned is also obsessed with Doctor Who, so I think we're going to have a party and make a Tardis cake since we never did that before I left.

Sunday was the final session, and then we packed up to leave. On the drive back, we stopped at Robin's house for some tea and sandwiches and dessert. His family is so sweet, and his little niece was entertaining. We also made a stop back at Rachel's house to switch back cars, since she was using her mom's. They had a nice fire going, something they do a lot over here, and we sat and talked for a while with her family. It seems her suspension in her car was not quite right, which is why it was making strange noises, but it was alright to drive, so we took it the rest of the way home. I think Erin, Sarah, and I slept most of the way back.

It was a great weekend, and very encouraging to see so many Christian groups throughout Ireland, and learn about more throughout the world. I got to know people a lot better, and I'm so glad I went.