Monday, July 25, 2011

a thank you note

This is another post about Ireland.  Sorry if you're sick of hearing about it, but this is my blog, so I'm going to talk about it anyways.  And I feel like this is something that's important for me to share. Thanks :)

Going into Ireland last August, I knew my main challenge would be finding a church community.  I knew it would require stepping out in faith and courage that only the Lord could give- after all, I've attended the same church my entire life, and only ever visited at other churches with friends or family.  But in Ireland, I knew I would have no such safety blanket.  And since the south of Ireland is around 97% Catholic, I knew that it might be hard to actually find a church to go to in the first place.  But despite knowing all of that and praying hard about it for weeks, I actually was not prepared at all for the "religious climate" over there, which was strange and surprising to me, and very different from the States- something I might go into later, but honestly don't want to talk about right now, because that is not what this post is about.  This post is about what I did find.

What I found was a corner of the Kingdom that changed me.
I don't know exactly when it was, except that it was a couple weeks after school started.  I know I had already attended Sunday morning mass a couple times and realized it wasn't exactly going to work (not hating on Catholics, I promise, but that particular community just wasn't enough), and I was feeling comfortable enough at school to actually speak at an audible volume in class. 
We were in Religion class, ironically enough, and doing some activity where we had to list songs we liked.  I was sitting beside my friend Alanna, who saw that I put down a song by Switchfoot.  She goes, "Ooh!  I love them!", and that gets us started on different songs by them that we knew.  Long story short, by the end of class, we had somehow made the connection that we were both Protestant (an extreme coincidence in a Catholic school, and I truly believe that connection was a moment orchestrated by God).  She invited me to her youth group that Friday, and to her church.  I decided to go, and she gave me directions.
Well, Friday night came.  I took the miniature map she'd drawn for me and grabbed my jacket, and set off to walk to the youth group.  Honestly, I was freaking out the whole way.  I kept wanting to turn around, but my feet wouldn't seem to let me.  Then I got lost- sort of.  Looking back now, I've figured out that if I'd followed the road around another bend, I would have made it in time.  But fear did get the better of me... I turned around and sat on a bench by the ocean for a few minutes, not knowing what else to do, and then walked the thirty minute route back home again.  Rationalizing it all was easy- after all, what's another week?  It'll be fine, I'll just ask for more specific directions on Monday and show up the next time!  It will be great!

Well, Jesus wasn't having that.

I arrived home thinking that everyone was gone for the night except me.  Little did I know that a friend of the family had come over and had delayed my host mother from leaving... So I walk in to exclamations of, "Carrie dear!  Is the meeting not on?  Why are you back so soon?"  I explained that I couldn't find the place, it was fine, I'd just go next week- but no.  This particular family friend, God love her, was... insistent.  And persistent.  She somehow managed to pack my reluctant self (and my equally enthusiastic host mother) into her little blue car and made it her mission to find the cottage where the group met.  "You are not going to spend your Friday night alone in that big old house!" she stated firmly, and, well, that was that.  I don't think the devil himself could have argued her out of that one.
Anyways, I arrived nearly an hour late, my cheeks red from embarrassment and the evening chill (I was not yet used to 50 degree weather in September).  I remember being terribly shy the whole night, but still having this huge sense of relief.  I knew from the moment I was introduced and everyone shouted "HELLO!" back to me that this could be my place, too.   

The church was just the same, maybe even more so.  I remember the moment I walked in to the room where the service was held in the building across from my school, and feeling the presence of God overwhelm me like a sweet, pervasive scent.  The people welcomed me, shook my hand, asked where I was from, how did I hear about the church, how was my week... When we sang the first song in worship, I remember being close to tears because of the huge sense of being right where God wanted me in that moment. 
That community, Tramore Bible Church, is what this post is about.  It is small and beautiful, a corner of the kingdom in the middle of what really is a lost place.  It is bursting with passion and love for God.  It is full of believers who have a vision of Christ's love sweeping through their entire nation, and they are working towards that with all they have.  The people of TBC taught me so much about what true community looks like.   It was a place like none I have ever been in before.
I was writing thank you notes after graduation a few weeks ago, and it struck me that nothing would be more fitting than to write one to the church in Tramore.  I have many more reasons to thank them for what they have done for me than I have reasons to thank most people in my life.  So here it goes.

Dear Tramore Bible Church,
 Thank you.
Thank you for taking in the weird American girl.  Thank you for not judging me or holding me captive to stereotypes.  Thank you for asking me how I was and really meaning it.  Thank you for loving me from the moment I stepped through the door.  Thank you for challenging me and helping me grow.  Thank you for following Christ in such a tangible, authentic way. 
You lot are truly an amazing group.  You stand for something so much greater than yourselves.  You really are salt and light to your town and to your country.  You give so much of yourselves and ask for nothing in return.  I know this because I spent five months with you, and I have seen it.  I still get compliments on my going-away presents, the blue top and the ring.  The hat sits on my dresser, and the card you gave me stays firmly tucked in my prayer journal.  Even if I did not get to know every single one of you that well, please realize that each of you impacted me in powerful ways.  I am blessed to have known you, and I feel honored that I was able to worship God with you.
You taught me so much.  You showed me what living in real community with other believers looks like in the day-to-day.  You taught me what it looks like to honestly believe that God can literally shape the nation.  You taught me what it means to really serve others.  You taught me that what I might consider to be a mundane, everyday task can be a beautiful act of service.  You kept me grounded, you helped me keep my eyes on the Lord.  Many times, you kept me sane!  You will never know how many times I was homesick and tired and worn out, but I looked forward to Friday nights with the youth  and Sunday mornings with you guys as the highlights of my week.  
God did so much in me and redeemed so much in my life during my time in Ireland.  There are some things He did that I am only becoming aware of now.  And I know it was completely the Lord who started and is finishing those works- but I also know that many of those works came about because of your faithfulness and your willingness to be Christ to others around you.  And so I thank you for that too. 
I do pray for you, every day.  So does my family.  I'm finding the further I go in my walk with God, the less I seem to know... But I do know this:  God is good, and God is faithful.  God has big plans for you, Tramore Bible Church.  I believe it with everything that I am.  I know I'm young, and it might seem strange to be getting "encouragement" from someone my age, but I hope this note can encourage you in some way. 
I love you all, and I miss you a lot.  I cannot wait to see you again, whenever that may be.
Again, thank you.  
In Christ, 
Carrie Lee Arant

"...For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you." 
-Luke 17:21
"I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now.  I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ."
-Philippians 1:3-6