For some reason I thought it would be cool to do a post from Greystones, so here it is. After all, as I just told my dear friend Jurgen, if I were to move anywhere outside of Galway and yet remain in Ireland, Greystones just might be at the top of my wishlist. But Dad and Mam, if you're reading this, don't get any ideas. I plan on living at home for a very long time, so there's no cause for celebration and rejoicing just yet. No that's not true. I've given myself a rigid deadline, so I can say with full confidence that I will be moved out of home not a day later than 15 years from now...and that's the absolute maximum figure. Who knows? If I find that someone special or just decide to settle for whoever will take me, then that figure could be reduced to 12 years, or maybe even less. I aim high, don't I?
OK all of this nonsense aside, it's good to be back in Greystones, and more to the point, it's good to be back with friends again. Sure I have friend in Galway (that's you Paul, just in case you think there's someone else), so it's been sweet to be back there and doing some long overdue hanging out. But it's also good to reunite with these newer friends, especially since I may not see some of them for a long time, or maybe even ever again (for more on that, see my first post).
There are a lot of things I enjoyed about Encounter - Greystones itself, the Sonship Course, all the stuff we did on O-teams - but the one thing that stands head and shoulders above everything else for me is the fellowship (I really wanted to use a different word to 'fellowship', but I just didn't have the heart).
Being from the West of Ireland tends to marginalize you when it it comes to having Christian community. Don't get me wrong - we have some smashing people in Galway, and if you ever visit I'll be sure to introduce you to them. But there is still something lacking, especially during the summer when all the students disappear. So going to Encounter was my way of trying to just get out there and meet new people. I didn't have any prerequisites for these people - they didn't have to be interesting, funny, intelligent - which was fortunate considering the group I was stuck with at The Y.
Ah no I'm just kidding around. I met some of the most interesting, funny and intelligent people I've ever met in these last few weeks. (I'll be posting a list of names over the coming days, so well done if you made it, and better luck next time if not.) Just being able to have fun and listen to other peoples stories and experience the kindness of (at one point) strangers was a real eye opener to me. God used every single one of the people at Encounter in some way or another to demonstrate some of Himself to me, and none of it will soon be forgotten.
So yeah, this is just a general thank you to any of you who may be reading this. Maybe you don't feel very Christ-like, or maybe you do. I don't know. But throughout my time at Encounter you were a mini-Christ to me (which is what the term 'Christian' actually means), be it in small or large ways, and I'm so thankful to God for using you as only He can.
By the way, there's no one I know in the picture of the Happy Pear, just in case you've spent the last 5 minutes trying to figure out who those people are. I just googled 'greystones happy pear' and this is what I got. I do wish I knew that guy on the left though. He seems pretty cool.
OK all of this nonsense aside, it's good to be back in Greystones, and more to the point, it's good to be back with friends again. Sure I have friend in Galway (that's you Paul, just in case you think there's someone else), so it's been sweet to be back there and doing some long overdue hanging out. But it's also good to reunite with these newer friends, especially since I may not see some of them for a long time, or maybe even ever again (for more on that, see my first post).
There are a lot of things I enjoyed about Encounter - Greystones itself, the Sonship Course, all the stuff we did on O-teams - but the one thing that stands head and shoulders above everything else for me is the fellowship (I really wanted to use a different word to 'fellowship', but I just didn't have the heart).
Being from the West of Ireland tends to marginalize you when it it comes to having Christian community. Don't get me wrong - we have some smashing people in Galway, and if you ever visit I'll be sure to introduce you to them. But there is still something lacking, especially during the summer when all the students disappear. So going to Encounter was my way of trying to just get out there and meet new people. I didn't have any prerequisites for these people - they didn't have to be interesting, funny, intelligent - which was fortunate considering the group I was stuck with at The Y.
Ah no I'm just kidding around. I met some of the most interesting, funny and intelligent people I've ever met in these last few weeks. (I'll be posting a list of names over the coming days, so well done if you made it, and better luck next time if not.) Just being able to have fun and listen to other peoples stories and experience the kindness of (at one point) strangers was a real eye opener to me. God used every single one of the people at Encounter in some way or another to demonstrate some of Himself to me, and none of it will soon be forgotten.
So yeah, this is just a general thank you to any of you who may be reading this. Maybe you don't feel very Christ-like, or maybe you do. I don't know. But throughout my time at Encounter you were a mini-Christ to me (which is what the term 'Christian' actually means), be it in small or large ways, and I'm so thankful to God for using you as only He can.
By the way, there's no one I know in the picture of the Happy Pear, just in case you've spent the last 5 minutes trying to figure out who those people are. I just googled 'greystones happy pear' and this is what I got. I do wish I knew that guy on the left though. He seems pretty cool.
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