Oh and by the way...

I GOT MY VISA! such a relief!
Well that was a total God thing... 
Flashback.
Last week, after trying two other offices, I finally got a hold of the office I thought I needed to see to get my visa. Made an appointment, drove an hour, waited 15 minutes, listened to a crazy woman tell me about the knife fight she was just in, then went in. Then the lady, who made it very evident she wasn.t pleased with me and what I wanted, curtly informed me I was in the wrong place and I needed to speak to an office in Enniscorthy. I left, annoyed she couldn.t have told me that over the phone, frustrated by the distance driven and time wasted, and discouraged by her negative reaction to my plea.  
 So I called the office in Enniscorthy about 10 times over the course of 4 days. I finally got a hold of the man I needed yesterday, a cheery ol chap who politely informed me that no, I didn't need to talk to him, I needed to talk to the office in Gorey. Not wasting any time, I immediately called up Gorey and was relieved when I was told I could have an appointment for this morning. 
Last night I went for a walk [the weather has been so perfect!] and spent a lot of it praying about this appointment. I was feeling very positive but I really wanted others to know and be praying as well, however the internet here was down for the past 3 days and I wasn't able to reach out to anyone to let them know what was happening. 
I got in bed, turned out the light and was still praying about it when a verse came into my mind and I couldn't remember the exact wording, that usually doesn't bother me but I just really had this strong urge to look up the verse. So I rolled over, turned on the light and grabbed my Bible, and it literally plunked open to Hebrews 13 and my eyes landed on this verse 
[For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” So we can say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?”]

It was definitely a Spirit led thing that gave me a lot of peace and I also saw a verse that referenced how the Lord will equip us with all we need to carry out His will and it made me think how if it's God's will that I stay in Ireland, He will equip me with a visa. 
So today we went to the new office and to my great relief, the Lady was super nice! 
Everything was going so well...She looked over my paper work, and started to fill out the form and then stopped and said she would have to check something. She came back and told me that I was at the wrong station but she.d call the one she thought I should go to... My heart stopped for a moment -I knew the office she would call and the lady she would talk to and how that lady was not my biggest fan. So she called and I prayed- hard, and the woman she wanted to get ahold of didn't pick up [few!]- I began to try and piece together the next step and then, total God moment- she goes, ya know you're here, let me just do it and I'll let them know.
so I.m officially cleared to stay in Ireland. 
The more I think back on this morning the more I can see how God worked it out. The lady didn't ask me any questions about what I was doing, barely looked at my passport and letter from Huntington, didn't even ask for other documentation I was told would be needed. She just did it! 
I found out today, after the internet finally kicked back in that last night- when I most craved prayer but was unable to ask, people were praying for me and this situation at my home churches prayer meeting.
God is good.  

365

                   

                                                

365 days ago I boarded a plane with 11 friends and left America for the first time, bound for Ireland, not knowing how much that week would shape me.

God used so many different things from that trip to grow and change me. So many lessons taught and desires shaped in the past year from that one week. 

From those lessons and trials, God taught me about perseverance and patient hope. 

.[we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.  Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us].

With those lessons, came ones about trusting in the Lord's plan for my future.

.[In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps].

Even though it hurt, I learned my happiness was ultimately in the Lord and His plans form and not in that which I thought would make me happy.

.[I will never forget this time, as I grieve over my loss. Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”].

And after having learned all of this, I have found this one thing to be true.

.[Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart].

Very little time passed in that year that I was  not thinking about Ireland and my desire to return there. 

Now, 365 days later, I find myself again in Ireland. It's quite different than I had envisioned, but I believe it is what the Lord envisioned when I prayed to return and I trust that He is again at work in the midst of this and teaching me new lessons. 

.[The LORD will fulfil his purpose for me; your love, O LORD, endures for ever].

To the Sea

.[I have always loved the beach. The smell of the salty water, the wind in my face, the gentle roar of the waves all combine to create a sense of peace, calm, and home].

I have not been so happy to see a beach in a very long team.

Yesterday the entire house decided to take Wednesday off, so I wandered down to Ireland's oldest city, Waterford. While I had been looking forward to this adventure, by the time I got there I was in a bit of a funk and didn.t really know what to do with myself. So I went back to the bus station and found a bus to the coast and hopped on.

This took me to the very sleepy coastal town of Tramore.  

I wound my way down the quiet streets, catching glimpses of the sea through the buildings as the road twisted and turned its way down the rugged cliff on which the town is set. As the small stretch of beach finally appeared, suddenly, everything was right in the world. I rushed out onto the beach and breathed deep as I took in scents and sounds I didn.t realize I had been missing until that moment. As I kicked off my boots and let the waves lap my bare feet and embraced the feeling of the sand, this feeling of normalcy descended upon me.  Nothing has felt that normal in the last two months.