Gorey & Greystones signing off

Good morning parents!

We are currently sitting at the gate waiting for our flight, and as I look around, I see lots of tired, but accomplished faces. Your teenagers are spent, but in a good way. These last few weeks in Ireland have been an absolute blast, and watching your teens serve has been extremely encouraging. God showed up, and used each and every one of them for His glory. 

You should be proud. We'll see you soon!

In Christ,

Tim

FLIGHT INFO:

Aer Lingus 105

*we should be arriving at Cornerstone around 3:30pm

Last Day in Greystones

The last day is here :/

It was a sad night at the drop in center. Many youth came out to say goodbye to us as we held our last drop-in at The Cove. It was bittersweet, but we are confident in the work that God has done over the past few weeks.

Our ohana ("family", for those who haven't watched Lilo & Stitch) ended the night reflecting on our trip. We spent some time in worship and going through the days that we were here, writing out all of the memories that we had over the course of the trip.

There were some hilarious memories, as well as some awesome, serious ones.

We as a team are so grateful for the opportunity to serve such amazing people and pray that they would only continue to grow in their faith.

Yours Truly, 

The Cove Crew

Blogging Game STRONG

Good morning friends and family!!

Today is the final day of our trip here in Gorey, and we all have mixed feelings--sad to leave our new friends and old friends, but also happy to see you all soon.  We've been having a blast here the past two weeks and it has been a true blessing to see each and every one of your kids grow so much individually in their walk with Christ and with each other.  They are all amazing young men and women of God who have worked hard and served humbly and have just been so fun to get to know! :)

We have had some awesome experiences the past few days; here are a few sweet pics to give you an idea:

(Jeremy's/Clutch's 16th birthday ICE CREAM cake..homemade by us girls; special thanks to Caroline for working at Ben & Jerry's)

A lot of the girls bought sweet ukuleles from the local music store...YGUB

(Youth Group Uke Band)

Our second open mic night was a success...soo many kids came out to sing along to "Party in the USA"

Our trip has been AWESOME and we the leaders are so proud of all of your kids.  They have shared the love of Christ with all of the Irish teens and have showed them how much they are cared about and valued.  Tonight will be a very sad night to say goodbye to everyone, but with modern technology we know that we can all keep in touch on Facebook, iMessage, Twitter, etc to continue those relationships and good conversations...It is a bittersweet day! 

This will be our last blog post...see you all tomorrow, 'Merica game STRONG.

"Tan game strong" - Karly

It was a beautiful day here in Greystones! 

We had a relaxing morning which consisted of rest and time spent with God, a team walk, and some Irish Sea fun! Below you can see AJ contemplating whether or not he should jump in. After AJ tested the waters, the boys (Stephen, Bradley, Josh, and AJ) all decided to jump in together.

After an amazing dinner and setting up for the night session of the drop in Heidi finally caught a chicken!! 

We had quite the eventful evening at The Cove last night. Along with our usual set up we played  ultimate frisbee while enjoying the beautiful weather outside! Kaytlynn and Anne did Henna and Sharpie tattoos while Karly and Heidi did some hair chalking!  

  

Our kids handed out many copies of the Life Books that we brought with us. They are taking their friendships further and having deeper and more intentional conversations with the teens at The Cove. 

We are definitely making the most of our last few days here in Greystones! Please keep praying that our team will stay motivated as they are tired and our trip is winding down. We still have some work to do here and we cannot do it without God.

Love 

The Greystones Crew :) 

Greystones ON FIRE

Hey friends and family,

This evening was a blast here in Greystones. We ran The Cove out of the Presbyterian Church, and we packed the place out for an open mic night and an unbelievable fire show by Steve (the Irish youth pastor we have been working with). 

The mic bounced back and forth between the American and the Irish teens. One of the Irish youth workers shared that she was impressed by the teens that signed up, seeing some names she wouldn't have expected to perform. Clearly God is at work making these teens feel comfortable and safe here at The Cove.

After soaking in all of the talent in the building, we headed outside to see Steve put on a fire show. Here he is BREATHING FIRE. Don't worry, we told your teens that they're not allowed to try this at home.

Throughout the night, your teens stepped up and dove into deeper conversations with their newfound Irish friends, asking them about their faith and encouraging them in their journey with Christ. A few of these conversations have been ongoing since last week, and it's great to see relationships deepening.

Thank you for your prayers back home. Please continue to pray that we encounter more opportunities to share the gospel as we approach the final few days of the trip. 

In Christ,

The Cove Crew

Gorey Update !!!!!!!!

Hey y'all,

We've had an eventful few days here in Gorey spending time together as a team and with the Empire student leaders.  Monday was our free day, where we slept in while Riley and Mike made us a gourmet brunch.  After that,  we all went into town for a bit of souvenir shopping.  It was a day of french toast, fun, and friendship!

Monday night the leaders planned a time of worship for the team as well as the Irish student leaders and our good friend Stevo.  We had a candlelit service where Amy and Jack played some worship songs and Mike gave a talk about the life of Jonah and his ministry, and how we all need to trust God and trust what he is telling us to do here, even when it gets hard.  To end the night, all four leaders washed each student's feet just as Jesus washed his disciples feet on the night of the last supper.  We also washed the Irish leaders' feet and Steve's, which he expressed to us was a huge blessing.  To the leaders' surprise, our kids sat us leaders down and began washing our feet as well, wanting to serve us as we were serving them.  It was an emotional night for everyone and brought us all closer together as a family.  We invited the Irish back to our house for snacks and some silly games of charades.  It was a really fun opportunity to all worship and have fun together, Irish and American!

Here is what Bryan Zeug, a senior student on our trip, had to say about the night:

"Getting a chance to worship with the rest of my team and the Empire student leaders was a unique and special experience because it pulled the entire team closer together and gave us a chance to show the Empire leaders what we believe. While we've been telling them our beliefs throughout this trip, but worshiping with them let us live out our faith in front of them.  It was a powerful experience to see some of the student leaders singing along, praising God with songs that they had never heard before but connected with because of the message of the songs. I also loved the foot-washing experience, as our team was able to show how much we loved each other and were willing to support and serve each other. Everyone was crying and hugging by the end of the night and it proved that we are more than a team; we are a family."

Tonight we are having our annual Tie Dye night and tomorrow will be our second Open Mic/ Coffee and Convo Night, so please be in prayer for that and for the coming nights and activities until our last Empire session on Saturday night.  Talk to you all soon!

Amy & Riley (and Bryan)

Flashback to Greystones Free Day

Just a quick video of Jesse, Stephen and Maddi taking a plunge into the Irish sea.

Philippians 3:14

What a great day in Greystones!

During a slow afternoon session at the drop-in, we spent some time in prayer seeking God's plan for the rest of our trip. When we arrived back at the Naz for the evening session, God once again proved himself faithful. We saw dozens of new faces walk through the door, and it was so encouraging to see your teens building relationships and having meaningful conversations over card games, ping-pong, soccer and tie-dye. We even enjoyed a visit from the Kilkenny Rock crew (Dougie, Conor, Kaddl, Paddy and James) while Tim spent the day with the Gorey team.

Check out the photos below to see your amazing teenagers at work! Please pray for extra strength and energy as we've decided to run the drop-in for an extra hour each evening this week because of the CSSM schedule (see previous post).

Love and miss you all!
The Greystones Leadership Team

Greystones Team ... is ON POINT.

Parents, your teens are absolutely phenomenal. And I'm not even exaggerating. It is an honor to be leading such an awesome group of students.

Today we spent our Sunday worshipping, fellowshipping, and relaxing. We started off the day at the Sunday morning service at the Nazarene Church, where Tim and Steven (the Irish youth worker we are partnering with) spoke briefly about the drop-in center and their vision for youth ministry here in Greystones. 

After lunch, we headed to the beach for the kickoff service for CSSM, an annual local Christian outreach for children and teenagers (essentially a VBS). Not only was it epic to worship on the cliffs, but it was great to see so many locals from the community with a heart for the Lord. 

After the service, the team ventured into town to partake in much-needed milkshakes and ice-cream cones. Back at the home front, Master Chef Tim was at it again. (Heidi enjoyed the chicken terriyaki stir fry after she mourned the loss of her dear friend Rooster Earl.) Cooking for 13 hungry Americans initially seemed daunting, but we the leaders have enjoyed the opportunity to serve your hardworking crew.

Once our bellies were full, we enjoyed a relaxing evening watching the World Cup final, playing soccer and frisbee, and sitting around the fire pit. We topped off a great day with a big bowl of ice cream!

God is good and working here in Greystones. We know we say this a lot, but it's worth the repetition: we are extremely proud of your teenagers- each and every one of them. God is at work in their hearts, and it's apparent in their actions and attitudes.

With love,

Tim, Matt, Anne, Jesse, and Mary-Grace

One week left in Gorey!

Hey all, here are some pics of our relaxing Sunday afternoon after church, complete with a backyard BBQ, naps, running around at the park, and finally watching the big game with our Irish friends. :) Some great relationships have been forming and we are excited to see what God has in store for next week!

~Gorey Team

Even in our brokenness, God transforms lives!

Another "grey" (as in cloudy) day here in Greystones! After our normal morning routine two of our team members (AJ and Karly) shared their testimonies.  The team bonded over an inspiring worship session in which we chose to have a longer period of worship rather than hangin' for free time. During that time, we sang a song called Brokenness Aside, which talked about the brokenness that we have in our lives and how Christ will take that hurt and transform it into something beautiful. It was extraordinary and refreshing.

We then walked through town, and had our first afternoon session of The Cove in the park.

We Americans tried our best to keep up with the Irish teens we met while they played football (soccer) and at best I'd say it was a moral victory. Above you can see an Irish teen playing keep away from AJ, Josh, Maddi and Mary-Grace.  We also tried our best to fly a kite (with no luck), along with frisbee (that we lost in the woods), and some cards. The park is a hotspot for meeting groups of teens.

The afternoon session was followed by a spectacular Italian meal made by our very own leaders. Below you can see Maddi enjoying an entire loaf of garlic bread. In all seriousness, two team members actually ate an entire loaf by themselves, pretty impressive if you ask me.

Tonight's session was at the Presbyterian church instead of the Naz. The turnout was awesome, best we've had so far, and included a rather large group of kids we met at the park. Actually, a group of kids told us that it was "too crowded" for their liking and that they'd come back later. Even though we'd rather the kids come, that is an amazing thing to hear in the first week of a new drop-in centre. The Presby features a cafe style drop-in including wii, four-square, music, etcetera, etcetera. The friendships between us and the Irish are growing by the day. We are all excited to see what the next couple of days bring.

We are having an absolutely amazing time here and we want you to know all the prayers you've been sending our way, God is answering them. We appreciate your love and we miss you so much but we are doing great and are learning new things every day. Enjoy your vacation from us, there's only 6 days left! 

-DJ Kay (Kaytlynn Knyfd) ... with a little help from Tim

Open Mic Night in Gorey!

Today was another awesome day in our lovely town of Gorey, Ireland.  We just finished our first of two open mic nights for the trip.  Tonight we mostly let the Irish teens perform as they wanted, and next week we will be having a similar night before we leave with a few performances but also a message about why we are here and what we believe.  All the performances were great today!  Right now we are running the drop-in center out of the Gorey Methodist Church, so as I am typing this most of our team are moving pews back the way they were and taking down all of our Empire equipment in time for church tomorrow, haha!  We will be setting it all back up on Monday to continue the drop-in next week. :)

This marks (about) half way through our trip here.  The time seems to have gone so fast, we feel like we all just got off the plane in Dublin!  I expect the second week to go just as fast, so we are encouraging our kids to soak in every moment they have here and to not take the time we have with the Irish teens for granted.  God seems to be blessing The Empire immensely this year, bringing out so many new teens and building awesome relationships with our kids.  Praise Him!

Tomorrow we will attend church here at the Methodist and then have a relaxing time at Steven Foster's house for a BBQ with some of the Irish student leaders.  After that, of course we will be watching the World Cup final with some Irish teens, woo!  Monday is going to be the well-deserved day off for our American teenagers, where we will have some time to spend with each other as a team and end the day with a worship night to rejuvenate our energy and remind us all of our purpose here--to serve our big and wonderful God! (We will probably put up another post Monday night or Tuesday morning to let you know how it all went!)

Thank you all so much for your continual prayer and support, God is good!!

Amy :)

Kilkenny.. Over and Out

Today was such an amazing day. We went into town, walked around, ate some delicious paninis and climbed to the top of St. Canice's Cathedral (that we so lovingly call St. Phanny's) to see the beautiful view of the town of Kilkenny. Our team is super-silly and it has been a very interesting ten days. To say the least, we will miss all the giggles and team-times very much.

Today's sessions at The Rock were an amazing closing to an awesome trip. We opened the night with a funny video and some games. Then Mike gave a very passionate talk about the love of God. He gave the Gospel message to all of the kids and shared a little of his testimony, focusing on the impact that the love of God had on his life. He then played "By Your Side" by Tenth Avenue North which gave such a powerful message. Afterwards, we had some discussion questions up for the groups of Irish teens (with a leader) to discuss. The conversations happening all around the room were so deep and impactful. We were all able to personally give a "Life Book" to each teen with a personal message inside. (The Life Books have a summary of the Old Testament and the book of John with notes and Q&A's in the margins. It is a great intro into the Gospel.) God was working in so many hearts tonight and it was such a privilege to be a part of it. 

Although we were inexpressibly sad to leave all of the kids, we know that we are leaving them in great hands. Conor, Kaddl, James and Paddy will be continuing the summer Rock next week and in the time to come. The impact that God is having on the teens of Kilkenny through The Rock is so amazing. Although we will be leaving in the morning, we will be leaving behind a piece of our hearts in this city.  

Thank you so much for all of your prayers. We will be seeing you soon!!

Welcome to The Cove!

Good evening America!

WHAT. A. DAY.  Jam packed and fun filled ... your teens are taking the town by storm. We took the afternoon session off to catch up on some sleep and spend some quality team time down by the water. After finishing a late breakfast, we headed down to the rocks (which is literally a minute away from our accomodations) and enjoyed some quiet time on the peaceful harbor.

One by one, team members have been sharing their testimonies with the group, and today we heard Bradley and Heidi's stories. Such an encouragement listening to your teens journey and how God is working in their lives.

After a beautiful morning on the water, we were inspired with a name for the drop-in! Here's the initial mock up of the logo that Tim created:

Not only is the name suitable for the coastal town of Greystones, but it alludes to the fact that Jesus Christ is our shelter and protector even in the toughest of life's storms.

While the rest of the team went to town to hand out flyers for the drop-in, Tim, Mary-Grace and Anne cooked up a fabulous dinner of chicken and beef tacos. Master Chef Tim manned the cooktop while sporting an apron and making a mess.  The critics (your teenagers and a few Irish youth workers) raved about the meal.

This evening, we had the opportunity to run The Cove out of the Presbyterian Church which is much closer to the center of town. Although numbers were small, the layout provided a more intimate setting. The teens are looking ahead to the upcoming week, hopeful that numbers will increase and Christ-centered conversations will continue. 

We are truly blessed to have this opportunity to invest in and lead your teenagers. They have impressed us time and time again, and we are so excited to see how God will continue to use them on this trip and after they return home.

Parents - thank you for raising such respectful, caring and willing individuals. They truly shine. 

In Christ,

Greystones Leadership (The Cove Crew)

Tacos, and Spikeball, and Ice Cream-OH MY!

Hey Hey Hey! Team Gorey here! We had a great time today at the Empire, and enjoyed the great breeze all day! We played some Spikeball (which is a variation of volleyball for those who don't know in pictures below), soccer, made some sweet bracelets-the whole nine yards! We had some sweet convos with the Irish teens, including an awesome coffee date two of our girls took two Irish girls on where they shared their testimonies. Some of the Irish were intrigued about why some of the team would disappear randomly throughout the night, and when they found out it was to pray for everyone at the drop-in center, they wanted to join! There were great talks going on in there, and the kids were really opening up! For dinner we had to fend for ourselves today, but the heroic boys saved the day and surprised everyone with a homemade taco dinner! Nothing like a small taste of Americanized ethnic food to give us a taste of home! After dinner and heading back to the drop-in, we had some great conversations with the Irish student leaders about where they are in their faith and how they have gotten there, giving us a huge chance to continue discipling them. We definitely have to say the sweetest time of the days have been sharing testimonies with each other. The team has had an awesome vision for seeking God out for their time here, from games to prayers, and we have definitely started seeing the Irish come out of their shells. I am currently sweating from playing a super intense game of charades with everyone (which in Caroline's mind means screech out the first thing that comes to mind), so in saying that I will tell you all that your prayers are appreciated so much over here. God is working in, on, and through us, and it is a true blessing to serve. We miss you all!

Mike

When The Tim's Away ... The Team Will Play!

Good morning! Just a quick recap of yesterday's happenings...

Tim left for Gorey to hang out and spend time with the other team, so the Greystones crew ventured on without him. However, in holding back many tears, a great day was had by all!

It was yet again a blessed sunny day, and the outreach team consisted of our amazing leader Anne, as well as Stephen, Josh and Heidi.

At the drop-in, the teens challenged themselves to step out of their comfort zone and began to initiate more intentional conversations about their faith in Christ.

Stephen Byford yet again blew us away, not only with his great hospitality, but with his phenomenal culinary skills. He made us a rice and chili dish which was beyond delicious.

We ended our day with "chips" (fries) from the local chipper and a big game of "Fishbowl."

Below is a video starring Heidi and Rooster Earl. You should watch it.

Over and Out.

G-Stones

Kewl Beanz

Hey Ya'll,

Greetings from Kilkenny! Time flies when your trip is only 10 days! Since we last posted we have been busy as BEES (we literally have a bees nest in our backyard that Conor Ege will take care of "tomorrow"). But in all seriousness our trip is sadly coming to a close but our last few days have been filled with lots of laughs and relationships forming. Our first "God themed night" went better than we could have ever prayed for. We had the theme of "Kewl Beanz" as we tried to answer the question "What is life?" incorporating Jelly Beans. Followed by inspirational and funny videos, we had two team members, James, who gave his testimony, and Alyssa, describe the meaning of Gods love to the teens. After that we had the teens answer "Reflective Questions," in which we had amazing responses, better than we have ever seen in the Rock history. It was absolutely incredible to see the work God is doing in this Drop-In-Centre. We broke into small groups to answer these "Reflective Questions" and many teens told us they would like to see "more stuff like this happen more often at the Rock." It gave them a good chance to reflect on themselves, what the Rock means to them, as well as who God is, and why He loves them. It was really awesome to see God working in the hearts of these teenagers.

Today we had some team bonding free time at Kells Seven Castles before our afternoon session. The afternoon session was more relaxed, filled with a Fifa Tournament and Mario Kart (Alyssa and Emily are obviously really good). It was really encouraging to see almost every face we saw at our "God themed night" last night at our afternoon session today. During our night session tonight, we had another "Open Mic Night" (which the teens absolutely love), as well as a "Talent Show." There were numerous performances by both the Irish Teens and the Americans. It was a good laugh and some great music.

Tomorrow night we will be having our last "God themed night" to end our session at the Rock. Please please please be praying for us and the teens. Pray for God to soften the hearts of the teens, supernatural energy for our team, creative ideas, and a successful night, ultimately to lead these teens closer to the Gospel. Your prayers are so much appreciated and God has been so evident in our trip thus far. Jesus has moved in really powerful ways this trip and we are so excited to see the outcome of tomorrow night and the conversations that will be had.

Love,
Alyssa Farraye & Emily Provencher