Northern Ireland 2015

 I had the honor of spending ten days in the beautiful and amazing country of Northern Ireland. (For those who don't know, that's the part of of the island of Ireland that is part of the UK.) I went on a music-centered mission trip with my church, The Donelson Fellowship. It's hard to sum up my time there, because so many incredible things happened, and I'm still in the throes of processing everything.

We left Nashville Thursday afternoon, and arrived in Dublin very early Friday morning. We spent most of the day at the camp center in Portadown, resting and getting settled in for the week ahead. On Saturday, we drove an hour and a half to Bangor, where we put on an conference to help train children's ministry workers. It was our first day working together as a team, and it went really, really well. After the conference, we spent some time walking around the port at Bangor, then drove into Belfast for supper and a bit of sightseeing.

 

 On Sunday we led worship in a local church (that was absolutely gorgeous), and our discipleship pastor Tommy preached. After church, we spent the afternoon out on a farm in the gorgeous Irish countryside. The food was amazing, and the family we spent time with was incredibly sweet, and outstandingly hospitable. (You'd have to be to cook for 14 crazy and obnoxious Americans.) I seriously can't tell you how wonderful the people of Northern Ireland are. Their hospitality and selflessness had such an impact on me.

^ Our fearless pastor, Tommy. 

 

On Monday, we visited our first school. We did a music camp, teaching the kids songs, stories, and verses about Jesus. We even did a craft with them. I actually enjoyed this part of the trip more than I thought I would! Even though I work in children's ministry as my job, I don't really get to interact with kids on a personal basis very often. It was so much fun getting to talk with the kids (in their adorable accents!) and share why Jesus is the greatest superhero. :) It was also incredible to me that even though we were in public schools, we were able to openly share the gospel and pray for the kids. Northern Ireland is a very religious country, but many people there don't have a personal relationship with Christ. We can only pray that God allowed our time there in the schools to help the kids see why knowing Jesus on a personal level is so important and vital. 

Monday night was--by far--my favorite night of the trip. We had an outreach service in a community center. A good 75% percent of the people who attended weren't Christians. We billed the service as a night of stories and songs, and I was absolutely humbled to be able to give my testimony. I was incredibly nervous, and felt like the words I said were jumbled and insufficient. Somehow, God took those measly words of mine and made them something that several people there needed to hear. I have never been so humbled to be a part of what God is doing. It's incredible to me that He took me all the way to Northern Ireland just so a few people could hear about what He did in my life. It's so easy to forget sometimes just how much God truly does love us. 

On Tuesday, we presented the gospel in another school, did some sightseeing at Scrabo Tower, and hung out a coffee shop with some of our new friends.

Wednesday was our day off, which we spent exploring the north coast and Giant's Causeway.  This was also the day I decided not to wear my rain jacket, got drenched in the pouring rain, and got into a bunch of nettles (OUCH!) It was still an incredible day.

On Thursday and Friday we worked in two more schools, and had two Mosaic services (worship services specifically geared towards young adults.) Our Thursday night service was on a barge in Belfast, which was really stinking cool. On Saturday, we went to Belfast and did some souvenir shopping and more sightseeing before we made the long trek home on Sunday. I don't have many pictures from these days, other than what I took on my phone. By that point, I was really into the trip and didn't feel like lugging my camera round anymore. (Does that make me a bad photographer?)

There's so much more I could say, but a lot of it is more personal (or full of inside jokes.) I can't tell you how thankful I am that God allowed me to be a part of the this amazing trip, with this amazing team, in this amazing country. I'll be reflecting on it all for a very long time.

xo,
Katy

P.S., if you want to see more pictures, following me on instragram @katherinevfry.