Back at the School of Ministry

So I'm back in the wonderful place the called Canada. The trip over was fun. Heathrow was surprisingly easy to get through with the whole security stuff. I almost missed my flight because I was so engrossed in an episode of Lost on my laptop that. Also in my defence no one around me was moving so i thought I was fine. But somehow (thank you Jesus) I heard "the final call" for my flight through my headphones. So I got on board but the flight was delayed by an hour anyways due to traffic. God bless British Airways, lovely flight crew. Best I've come across in my brief flight experience. I watched the Notebook which was fun, romantic but apparently it was a must see so I took the plunge. i also slept on the plane which i haven't done for a long time. That was nice. We also hit some turbulence with about two hours to go, so I was ill. I have now vomited on land, sea and air transportation. Is that something to be proud of?
I eventually got to Canada and went through immigration. No hassle really but just it took a really long time so I missed my luggage coming off the carousel. When I came out my suitcases were among a pile in the floor and my hurley was lost. Nowhere to be found. So I'm in mourning but eventually I'll live. So I was really tired yesterday and did the whole unpacking thing and realising how bad the food is here. But I'm glad to be back. Missing home a bit and ups and downs. That's all part of settling in. I head on retreat on Wednesday which will be fun and the school starts next Tuesday. I'll keep everyone updated on the goings on over here and feel free to email me. God bless.

11 days until I leave

So the day is drawing closer until I return to Toronto. At this moment in time it feels like a completely different world and like it was an age since I've been there. Its been 7 weeks since I left the school and I feel detached from there now and settled back at home. However, I have to leave again and return to the place where God altered my life. I'm excited to return, i really am but sad to leave home. I found settling in at home easier than expected and its been great seeing everyone and catching up. I think I'm in a stage in my life where change has become a major player. My life up to now has been based around routine and I've been in a comfortable place. I've reached an age where significant change is becoming more and more prevalent and from what I here it set to continue for pretty much the rest of my life. I am adapting though and I'm learning to keep trusting God and put everything into his hands.
One thing that is good is that I finish work soon. I can't say I've enjoyed it but it must be done and the money has helped towards my trip. I'm just going to enjoy my last few days and spend as much time as I can with my family and friends. Exciting times.

28 days until I leave

So instead of a count up its now a countdown until I leave. Its hard to believe its just four weeks away until I return to Toronto. It feels like an age since I left the school and its like a different world. Its been fantastic coming home and catching up with everyone here and just spending time with the people I love and care about. I'm having mixed feelings about going back which is normal I guess. When I think about certain aspects of the school, I get really excited and really look forward to my time there but then there's times I feel apprehensive and nervous. I think its just the thought of leaving home again and for such a long time. I'm going into a position that is outside of my comfort zone and something that I've never done before. Its going to be a challenge which is something I look forward to. Even as I write about it I'm getting excited which is good. So at the moment I'm working saving money towards my trip which is very monotonous but has to be done. So for the next month I'm going to spend as much time with my friends and family as I can and just enjoy my time at home.

Day 142

I'm at Youthstorm and its lovely to be back. I left Toronto on Saturday after spending lovely time with Allan and Paula. I had some fun on my flight with spending over an hour queuing in customs, all the time thinking I'm going to miss my flight but arriving at my gate and finding out we had no pilots. So my plane was delayed by an hour. I eventually arrived in Boston and I met Denise and Joe and it was great to see them. Then only one of my bags arrived. My second bag was on the next flight so we had to hang around the airport waiting for my bag to arrive. We eventually left the airport at midnight. So that was a fun experience. So I'm here at Youthstorm just hanging out catching up with people. I'm leading worship at the prayer furnace tonight which I'm looking forward to. I'm very excited to be coming home and its hard to believe that my flight leaves tomorrow night. I can't wait to see all of you and just catch up and share what God is doing. Its been great to catch up with Denise, she is doing well and really enjoying her time here. Well I'm looking forward to seeing you all in the next few days. See you all soon and God bless.

Day 138

I seem to start every post with an apology for the inconsistency of posting so I apologise for my inactivity. Its been a very busy 3 weeks with a lot of stuff having been packed. Since my last post the "come up here" conference has come and gone. It was great to see my Mom and everyone else and God moved which was fantastic. I also led worship at single parents retreat which was interesting. Its just been a very hectic few weeks but its been really good as well. I've learned so much and just drawn closer to God. Also a lot has happened. My room-mate and another girl were asked to leave the school about 10 days ago which was tough. On that same day I was asked to stay on as a small group leader. So my head was spinning taking in everything that happened. I took a few days to think about it, talked to some people, sought advice and prayed and I decided to take the position. So I will be here for another year growing myself but also helping others to grow and draw nearer to God. So I am now coming home a week earlier and I arrive in Shannon on the 29th June around 7am. Also there is a team from here coming over to Cork to work with us for a week and just pour in, I'm very excited about that. I officially graduated yesterday and we were anointed with oil too which was fun. So today has been a day of goodbyes and tears for some. I've had a fantastic time here and I'm just excited to tell ye all about it. I fly down to Youthstorm tomorrow evening which I'm looking forward to. A chance to hang out with Denise and the rest of the gang there for a few days. I'm in very much a transitional stage in this next few weeks but I'm trusting God. looking forward to seeing you all soon. Keep in touch and God bless.

Day 117

Again my apologies for the long gap between my posts but life is busy here and has been especially over this last two weeks. When I last posted I was in the middle of a fast which God brought me through. It was really good. I spent a lot of time in prayer, reading my bible and just seeking the Lord. Since then I've been to Philadelphia which was an amazing experience. Its still hard to believe there's a third world in the richest nation in the world. We went right down into east Philadelphia to Kensington Ave. This is an area that is rife with poverty, addiction and prostitution. Us guys slept right in the ghetto in this empty women's drop in centre place with no air conditioning. We went to sleep to hip hop beats and other sounds of the ghetto. That's an experience everyone should have. The main reason we were there was to bless the people. There was a large Markee set up in the park that's right along where all the solicitation goes on. We set up a sound system and worshipped over the course of the day. We handed out hundreds of bags of groceries and fed people. We prayed for everyone who came in. Every person had a heart breaking story and tears just flowed when we prayed for people. The place is rife with drug addiction. We were told every third house surrounding the park was a crack house. Some of our group found drugs on the ground under the tent and people would be taking heroin literally 30 feet away. It was an experience I'll never forget. Most importantly God was there. People we touched. We saw people healed and we had some amazing times of worship not just in the music we played but in just reaching out to the people in the community. So that was an amazing weekend.
At the moment we're in the middle of the "Come up here" conference and its been really good so far. My Mom is here as well as Doug, Julie and Eilish so its been great spending time with them and catching up. I don't have much more time left here but it has been an amazing experience. I'll be home in 33 days or so. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone again. God bless.

Day 102

I've surpassed a hundred days. That's weird. 100 days without my mom's cooking, the fry, 4 star pizza. Notice all of what I miss is food, that could be due to my fast. Of course I miss you all as well and Ireland its self but its all been worth it. God has been doing so much in me. I'm starting to realise now how far I've come and I'm seeing the fruit of his work in me. I'm in the middle of a fast and its been good. God is bringing me through it and giving me strength. Even doing a fast shows what God has done in me because ye all know how much I love my food. Noel Richards is here this week and he is just amazing. His heart, attitude and knowledge is totally class. He is so down to earth and just a great teacher. He did worship this morning and I got to play bass with him so that was really cool. I'm looking forward to the "Come up here" conference which is in two weeks. My Mom and a few others from home are coming so seeing them will be great. We leave for Philadelphia on Friday so keep me and my class mates in your prayers for that. I'll leave ye with some photos from my time here. They're mostly from a social night we had here last week. We had to dress up as someone else from the school. I was my friend Tim and he took a stab at being me. Also you might see some orbs in a couple of them. Our building is full of angels as you'll see. God bless.

Just to let you know 2..

I was involved in worship again on Thursday night this week. If you want you can watch it on tacf.org and click on revive tv.

Day 95

Once again my apologies for the lackage of postage but life as always is hectic here and I'm always busy. Exciting news, the worship school which I'm part of is going on a mini outreach down to Philadelphia. We're going to be going to a real ghetto type area just reaching out to the people there. There's a lot of brokenness and addiction in the area. Its going to focus around worship. There will be worship going on all day and we hope that will attract people and we'll just reach out to them, feeding them and just helping. So that's exciting. I also spent last weekend in Minneapolis catching up with Hannah and that was a really good time.
God has being doing a lot over here in me and in the school as a whole. These last two weeks my emotions had been very up and down and I didn't really know why. Then last Thursday God was speaking to me about it. At the beginning of the school I asked God for that real heart wrenching touch, where my emotions would just be overwhelmed and there would be an out pouring of my heart. In March he was saying be patient, this is a process I'm putting you through and I will give you your hearts desire in my timing. On Thursday night I was just worshipping and pressing in even though my mood was crappy I just said to myself I'm going to push through because my mood shouldn't inhibit me giving glory to my Father. So I just went for it and God spoke to me. He just said this is me, I'm doing this. Its another step in the process. I'm taking you there. So it's good to know God is hearing my prayers.
The school as a whole is really going for it more too. Last Monday we just had a spontaneous time of intercession and it was really good. God is here and he's doing loads. God has laid it on my heart to fast next week so keep me in your prayers if you can. I'll try and be more vigilant on my posts. Email me anytime. Its nice to hear from everyone. God bless

Just to let you know..

This post is mainly for my mom. I was involved in worship on the Thursday night meeting here, the 27th of April. If your signed up to revive t.v you can watch it. Its also free to sign up for future reference.