Tuesday In Athy

Tuesday was a good day ministry-wise. We had 60 children in our afternoon programme. The disruptive ones from the first day were not there, so everyone who was there was there because they were interested. It's so much fun working with the children. I don't yet have any photos of the kids because it takes all of us to handle all the different tasks that need to be done, but I will try to take a few minutes today to snap some shots. You'll fall in love with them as we have.

The evening youth programme has also gone well. It's different than the Gospel meetings we had in the evenings last week, but everyone is getting in the groove. Last night Carl & Collin shared their testimonies, the guys sang, the group did the "Deal With It" drama and Sarah presented the black and red pages from the Wordless Book. Many of the youth who come are there for the football (soccer to us Americans) and we did play a really tough match last night in the gym. Alasdair is amazing as is Jenni. Sarah and Ryan surprised us all with their skills as well.

We are very thankful for the Forrest family who have been providing both lunch and dinner for us this week. They are feeding us very well. In fact, many of us are trying to figure out whether we are gaining weight, but the scales here are in stones and in kilograms. Last night we had shepherd's pie at their home with fruit and ice cream for dessert with some delicious chocolates from the local Lilly O'Brien chocolatier. Mmmm! Believe me when I say that none of us are going hungry!

Today we will all say farewell to Alasdair at the train station as he returns to Scotland. Afterward, we will all go to nearby Kilkenny for a short sightseeing and shopping excursion.

Please pray for stamina and good health for all of us. Our schedule has been very full and this week because of the youth programme we are up later at night. Everyone is tired, yet pressing on with joy.