Welcome to Lucan

Today is Day 2 of midterm outreach! We left Rostrevor at 8:30am yesterday, and crammed awkwardly into a van with all our luggage and food packing us in like sardines (and my feet on the armrest between the front seats, since there was nowhere else to put them). We drove for a couple hours, rocking out to music, and arrived at the Lucan Centre still in the morning...at which point the clouds decided to downpour. Norman, our host, have us a tour of the Centre, after which we were elated to discover that we had the rest of the day to relax. Coming off of a crazy week, and having to get up early on a Saturday morning (our one day to usually sleep in), a day of relaxation was just what we needed before jumping into a new week with both feet. And naturally, after we discovered that laying on our beds was much akin to laying on clouds, we all gravitated toward naptime. In the evening, we spent some time meandering around the town of Lucan, which ended in McDonalds when it got dark (since that was one of the only places that was open).

This morning, we went to a nearby Presbyterian church, and got to talk with people after, and them came back to the Centre for a tasty barbeque. Later, we will go on a prayer walk around Lucan. Tomorrow, our week begins in earnest.

It is a privilege to be in another place that has a history of Christians reaching out to the local community, and has a vision for reconciliation, just as An Cuan used to be the Christian Renewal Centre all through the Troubles. The Lucan Centre used to be the Lucan Youth Centre. It's hard not to feel the history, and the potential. They have great expectations for what the Lord will do through this place. It is an honor to be here during the changing of the tides--both in An Cuan (the YWAM base), and now in Lucan Centre. I look forward to seeing what the Lord will do next, who He will raise up, and when.

In the meantime, the Lord continues to prepare me for whatever ministry He has for me. I feel much like a leaf caught in the wind of the Spirit, as He blows me along, on a sure gust between one prepared place and the next. Please continue to pray that this week He will not only keep our group, our hosts, and those we meet and minister to safe from the enemy, but that the Lord will continue to assure us of our identity in Him, and that He will show us our individual gifts and help us to walk in them even as He knits us together as a group. In this week we may be stretched in many areas, stepping into or being confronted with ideas or ministries that we have never really considered or experienced before. Please pray that wherever we walk, the Lord will Himself shed Light and refreshment, and that unique, exquisite fragrance of Christ that we have been so enthralled by, and that we and everyone around us will feel His presence and see Him high and lifted up.