Seth and Jessica's Logbook

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noreply@blogger.com (Seth and Jessica) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:32:00 +0000

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Family Services

noreply@blogger.com (Seth and Jessica) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 11:10:00 +0000

During most Sunday services at our church here in Youghal, everyone stays together for the singing and prayer time, but during the sermon the babies go to creche (nursery) and the children go to kid's club. After the service we have tea, coffee and biscuits (cookies). There's no Sunday School at a separate time, like most churches in America would have. Once a month we have a "family service" where everyone stays in and the sermon time is geared for the whole family. This year we are using the family services to go through a time line of the Bible. Last week we talked about God's promises to Abraham, and at the end of March, Seth will be sharing about how God worked through all the unjust suffering of Joseph to bring salvation to His people. Kind of appropriate, seeing as that will be close to Easter when we celebrate Someone else who suffered unjustly to bring salvation to us!

Irish Family Study

noreply@blogger.com (Seth and Jessica) — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 13:48:00 +0000

Recently an in-depth report was published about changes in Irish families over the last 20 years. The study itself is huge, but this article gives some of the highlights. Some of the findings are surprising!

Book Review: Tactics

noreply@blogger.com (Seth and Jessica) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:39:00 +0000

Seth was recently given a copy of "Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions". The book is basically an apologetics manual, but it takes a unique approach. Instead of giving you the specific arguments defending Christianity, "Tactics" teaches you how to argue in a winsome way. It gives extremely practical advice on how to start conversations about spiritual things, how to listen to what other people are really saying, and how to respond in ways that get them to actually think through the issues. Most of the tactics are simple to remember and easy to use in any conversation, the book is short, and the price is low. What are you waiting for?

Life In Ireland: The Car

noreply@blogger.com (Seth and Jessica) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 14:41:00 +0000

Of course, the most obvious difference about driving in Ireland compared to America is what side of road you are supposed to be on. A lot of times we are asked if switching sides was hard. Honestly, it wasn't - the hard part was getting used to which side of the car to get in to. Every now and then we still walk to the wrong side first. It's been a long time since either of us got in only to find the glove box, though.

There are two things that were much harder to get used to than driving on the other side of the road. One: parallel parking. Two: narrow roads. In the cities, two-lane streets are often one-lane wide. People still parallel park on the side. But the city planners rode horses, so how can you blame them? As you can see below, the roads don't get wider in the country:

Finally, the vocabulary:
trunk = boot
hood = bonnet
windshield = windscreen (and you wipe them with the windscreen wipers)
turn signal = indicator
gas = petrol
highway = motorway
parking lot = car park

Pajama Play Time

noreply@blogger.com (Seth and Jessica) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 10:24:00 +0000

Some recent clips of the boys playing in Daniel's room

Valentine's Goodies

noreply@blogger.com (Seth and Jessica) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 10:27:00 +0000

Yesterday we had several ladies at the house making loads of Valentine's Day goodies - everyone took a plate of the miniature works of art home, plus we have several plates left that we will be able give to friends and neighbors.

Visitors

noreply@blogger.com (Seth and Jessica) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:44:00 +0000

Saturday night we had lots of new faces at youth club. Sunday we had new faces at church. Plus Grandma Lewis came to visit for the week! Life is good. New pictures are up in the gallery.

Crawling

noreply@blogger.com (Seth and Jessica) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:20:00 +0000

Yesterday David started moving forward in earnest. He is very serious about it, and we are very seriously thinking about what needs to change in our house now that the little man is on the move!

Speaking Of...

noreply@blogger.com (Seth and Jessica) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 14:31:00 +0000

Every year, the Baptist churches in the Cork area have a joint missions conference. This year, Seth was asked to speak for the youth session. He talked about how it's people with a relationship with God who make the church the church, and how inviting others to have their own relationship with God sometimes means sending people to where those people are.

This morning was a family service at church and we got to help with it. We talked about the tower of Babel and how sin is us trying to make ourselves great and control our own lives, even though God is the One who is really great and really in control. Plus we had a great time singing "God is so good" in the many languages represented in our church.

Getting Closer

noreply@blogger.com (Seth and Jessica) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 10:26:00 +0000

Our church had a meeting Sunday to talk about what we would include in our doctrinal statement and constitution. Lots to think about, but the meeting went very well and we are moving closer to becoming an "official" church. Pray for us - we want the foundation that is put down for our church to be something solid that will stand the test of time.

Still Learning...

noreply@blogger.com (Seth and Jessica) — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 17:51:00 +0000

We may have a year under our belts, but that doesn't mean we always know what's going on. Last week Seth was outside with a kid's Sunday School class and they suggested that we play "catch".
Seth: "do we have a ball?"
Kids: "no, you just run around and catch people"
Seth: "Oh! ok, well I'll be 'it'"
Kids: "Ok, you're 'on'!"

We're still learning!

One Year!

noreply@blogger.com (Seth and Jessica) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 17:28:00 +0000

One year ago today our plane landed in Ireland! Wow!
We have certainly seen God's hand clearly in that time - in providing us with everything we needed (house, car, etc, etc, etc), in providing for the church, and in providing another healthy little member of the family! It has been a busy year, for sure!!

We are very happy here and after one year, I think we can say confidently that we are settled in! We really like living in Youghal. We are definitely still learning, but who ever learned everything in a year??

CrossWorld in Haiti

noreply@blogger.com (Seth and Jessica) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 16:41:00 +0000

The organization we're with, CrossWorld, has had people in Haiti for many years. One of the primary ways they have worked in Haiti is in association with a seminary that was heavily damaged in the recent earthquake. Two students were killed when a classroom building collapsed. Right now there are around 2,000 people camping on the seminary grounds and there is a shortage of food and water (as there is in the entire area). Some aid has made it through, however, and it is encouraging to hear that there are many Haitians turning to God - several at the seminary have given their lives to God! If you would like more information or would be interested in supporting CrossWorld in their relief effort there, click here.

Drummer Boy

noreply@blogger.com (Seth and Jessica) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 13:40:00 +0000

Our friend from Africa brought us some little drums, and David likes to play them.

Weather

noreply@blogger.com (Seth and Jessica) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 11:16:00 +0000

Some of you may be reading this from snow-covered wonderlands, but it's raining today in Youghal. Yesterday there was some snow on the ground when we woke up, but it didn't last long. Before the snow even showed up here in Youghal, the government had closed all the schools in Ireland until Thursday (the country was almost out of salt for the roads). Now that things have warmed up, they changed their minds and some schools have re-opened. Students are not happy.

It was cold. The pipes froze in the building we usually meet in for church, so there was no heat or water. We met in a house and had warm, close fellowship.

Little Women's Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Seth and Jessica) — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 16:19:00 +0000

an excerpt from an article by Sheila Flitton on ireland-fun-facts.com:

“Nollaig na mBan” or “Little Women’s Christmas” is an old custom that’s still celebrated by women all over Ireland. It goes back to the days when large families were the norm. Men never lifted a finger in the house to help, and were never expected to. If a man washed the dishes, he would be called an “auld woman” by other men. No full blooded Irish man was prepared to risk that!

But each year, after the Christmas holiday, tired women finally got a break – for one day, at least. On January 6th (the same day as the Epiphany), men would take over of the housework, offering women a chance to go out to relax with each other.

We did celebrate, although Seth forgot about it until that evening, so we celebrated on the 7th. There's some pretty good take out food in Youghal...

Hi Mama!

noreply@blogger.com (Seth and Jessica) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 10:27:00 +0000

David has started talking! His first (recognizable) word was "Mama", but the next day he very clearly said "Dada" and it sure sounds like he's trying to say "Hi". He even waves while he says it!

Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (Seth and Jessica) — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 09:22:00 +0000

Hard to believe it's 2010 and we've been in Ireland for almost a whole year! 2009 was a good one, and we definitely saw God's faithfulness all through it!

We rang in the new year with friends from church, and had a great time! We went to Blarney Castle yesterday as well, to show it to our old friend who is visiting. Nothing like kissing the Blarney stone to ring in the new year!

International

noreply@blogger.com (Seth and Jessica) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 09:12:00 +0000

On Sunday our church had an international service where everyone from different parts of the world shared Christmas songs or traditions from their countries. Besides Ireland and America (Seth sang "Sweet Little Jesus Boy") we also got a taste of Christmas in Hungary, Romania, Zimbabwe, Armenia and Poland! Not bad for a little church in Youghal!

Yesterday evening a good friend of ours (who is also living abroad) flew in to visit for a few days. It's great to have an old friend here to celebrate New Years with us!

Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Seth and Jessica) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 11:18:00 +0000

We had a wonderful Christmas here in Ireland. On Christmas Eve, our neighbors invited us to come by and hang out with them in the evening. Christmas Day our church had a service in the morning, but we did manage to get some presents opened beforehand! The service ended up being in our teammate's house because the heating had broken in the building we usually use. It was nice to be in a house, though. We were home in the afternoon, opened the rest of the presents and played with them some before going to our teammate's house for a fabulous Christmas feast featuring a few traditional foods we hadn't had before (it was SO good!). The day after Christmas is also a holiday here - St. Stephens Day. It's a great idea. Gives you time to play with your new toys!

Baby Moses

noreply@blogger.com (Seth and Jessica) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 09:40:00 +0000

Daniel shows off our nativity scene.

Christmas Happenings

noreply@blogger.com (Seth and Jessica) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 10:31:00 +0000

'tis the season for lots of events! Last weekend the Ladies Christmas Dinner went very well, and was well attended. The youth girls ran the evening for the most part and did a great job on the program. The food was also excellent and everyone enjoyed themselves! On Sunday, our church had a carol service in the evening that was broadcast live on the local community radio station! This week we'll be caroling some more, going to Christmas parties, and our church has a service on Christmas Day.

Christmas Play

noreply@blogger.com (Seth and Jessica) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 10:31:00 +0000

Yesterday we got to go to a Christmas play put on by our neighbor boy's play school (4 year olds). He was a great-looking wise man and it was tons of fun watching all the angels and shepherds wave at their parents and dance to the music. They sang a lot of songs, but mostly in Gaelic, so we couldn't sing along very often!

Baptists

noreply@blogger.com (Seth and Jessica) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:12:00 +0000

A teacher at the local Catholic secondary school asked our teammate Mervyn to present to a couple of classes what Baptists believe. Part of the curriculum for religion class is that the students hear from a different faith community. That happened this morning, and Seth went along to help make the technology work. It was fun!