Enjoying Some Family Time

Since August 29th, Bob and I have been in the states enjoying some precious furlough time. We are loving being able to spend time with our daughters and, of course, our grandson! Although we are very blessed to be able to keep up with our families via Skype, nothing compares to being able to physically give them a hug or to enjoy a "family game night". We are also enjoying being a part of our home church again. One of the first things I do when I get back to the states for furlough is to jump back into the church choir! I really miss being a regular part of CBT's music ministry. We are also spending time getting reconnected with friends and making sure we are getting our fill of our favorite foods. Funny though, we've been in Ireland for four years now and I have made such wonderful friends there that it's now hard to be away from them also. I'm so glad that God gives us exactly what and who we need in our lives to be able to serve Him wherever He places us.

I'm So Bad At This!

I've decided that I have to be the world's worst "blogger"! I can't even claim "blogger ignorance", I know that I'm supposed to update on a regular basis. I just never get around to it for some reason. I'd like to say that I'll do better, but I doubt that's going to happen. Guess I won't be winning the "Blogger of the Year" award. I was so looking forward to all the fame and fortune that comes with that honor. The talk show circuit, the magazine articles, speaking for all the college commencements, etc. Oh well, something to strive for next year!

Things here in Ireland are going very well! The church continues to grow and God continues to give us new outreach opportunities. We had a great Kids Holiday Bible Club this past summer. The kids absolutely love coming to this each year. Kids will even stop us in town and ask if we're going to be having it again. It's a lot of work, but when you see the excitement on those little faces you know it's worth every minute of planning.

Our family is doing well also. Our grandson will be a year old on October 29th. It doesn't seem possible that it's been a year already. Just thinking about him and his adorable smile warms my heart. I love being a "Nana". Our youngest daughter, Tiffani, is a Junior at Liberty University. She is studying Child Psychology and doing very well. Our middle daughter, Tara, also the mother of our grandson, is finishing up her Nursing Degree and working full time. Needless to say, she has her hands full! Our oldest daughter, Trisha, works at a bank part time and is also very active in our home church. God has blessed us with an amazing family!

I think this brings us up to date so far. Oh, I did forget one thing ~ we have added a cat to our family. Sheldon, (named by Tiff), is five months old and has become quite a joy to have around. I forgot how crazy kittens can be, but I'm sure he'll mellow with age. Ohhhhhh, how I hope he mellows with age! Okay, now that really should be everything.

May God bless you and yours and may each day be a new reminder of His amazing love!

Not Quite What I Had Planned!

Towards the end of October, 2010, Bob and I headed back to the states for the birth of our first grandchild (see previous post), and then to spend the holidays with our family. What we didn't know was that I was going to end up getting sick right before Christmas and would require a total Hysterectomy. I had surgery on Saturday, the 22 and am on my way to a full recovery. Praise God, they found no Cancer, and the doctor has said that I should have no further complications. I have six weeks of recovery and then I should be released to fly back to Ireland. I am very thankful that God had us in the states when all this happened. I would not have wanted to have this done in Ireland. I was very fortunate to be able to recuperate at my parents house, especially since we felt that Bob needed to return to Ireland to continue the work there during these six weeks. Besides that, things always seem better with my "mommy" to take care of me.

I wish I could say that I didn't get frustrated during this process, but I must admit, I was a bit confused at why this was happening. I realize now that God's timing was perfect ~ as always!

Lord willing I will be back in Ireland the first of March. I really miss all my Irish friends and are looking forward to getting back to the work there. Don't get me wrong, I am enjoying my time here with the girls and of course the baby, but Ireland is where I belong :o)

Introducing David Robert

On October 29th, our middle daughter, Tara, made us grandparents for the first time! She gave birth to a little boy named David Robert, (named after both grandpas). He weighed in at 7 lbs, 10 oz and was 19 inches long. As you can see from the attached picture, he was born with quite a thick head of hair. I was so blessed to be able to be in the United States for his birth and then to enjoy snuggling with him through the holidays. I've always heard that being a grandparent is wonderful, and I do have to admit. . .I LOVE IT!

I am so thankful for the family that God has given me and for the pleasure of being able to experience the pure joy of having a grandchild. There is just something truly special about holding your childs child. I look at this little guy and my heart melts.

Thank you Lord!

And Me Without My Camera!

The other day Bob and I were driving down through the main part of Mallow, on our way home from town. At one point we pulled in behind a man driving a smaller, maroon SUV. As we came to a stop, at one of the few traffic lights in Mallow, I noticed something moving in the back of this guys SUV and told Bob to ease up closer so I could see what it was. It looked much bigger than a dog. I was quite intrigued as to what I was seeing moving around. As we got closer and the moving object came into view, I was gobsmacked with laughter to see a full grown sheep in the back hatch area of this SUV. I'm not kidding you, this guy had a big, woolly, black-faced sheep along for the ride. The sheep didn't seem to mind being there, in fact, it looked like he had been in there before because he was fairly relaxed and enjoying the view.

Only in Ireland my friends, only in Ireland! And me, without my camera!

Busy, Rewarding Summer

This summer has been filled with lots of activity and many opportunities to present Christ to the people of Mallow. In July we had a group of 26 from Breezy Hill Baptist Church, in South Carolina, come over to work with us for 10 days. They did everything from passing out flyer's, (over 4,000 of them to be exact), to conducting a Kids Bible Club, and then presented the people of Mallow with a free Gospel Concert. They even built the town a much needed fence. They worked hard and made a positive lasting impression on the towns people.

Then, the first of August, we had another group of 16 from our home church, Canton Baptist Temple, come over to serve with us for 7 days. They also passed out church information, held a Holiday Bible Club for us and helped us get our church name out to the community. Both of these groups did a marvelous job and people have already been added to our church because of their efforts. It takes more than just missionaries to make missions work. . .it takes all of us working together to bring Jesus to the world.

We also enjoyed having our youngest daughter, Tiffani, here with us for the summer. Nothing makes my "mama's" heart happier than to have my girls around. I do have to admit though, now that everyone has gone back to the states, our house is way to quiet for my liking, hahahaha!

Thanks to everyone who came, who worked, and who prayed for us this summer. God has great things planned for Mallow, and we're glad that you were a large part of that.

Summer ~ Finally!

Summer has finally arrived in Ireland! We have had lots of sunshine, blue skies, and nice warm temps for the last couple of weeks. Unfortunately, the Irish people are telling us that this is not "normal" summer weather and that we shouldn't get used to it. BUT I WANT TO! They are saying that when it gets this nice this early it usually means the rest of the summer will be rainy and cool. I'm hoping that this year will start a new trend. I believe that Ireland deserves sunshine too.

This summer brings lots of exciting opportunities for our Ministry here in Mallow. We have two mission teams coming from the states, one in July and another in August, and we are looking forward to the many different outreach opportunities that this will give us. The church people are also very excited about working along with these teams to reach the people of Mallow. We will be doing everything from "Holiday Bible Clubs" to "Community Outreach Projects". Little quiet Mallow won't know what to do with all this activity, hahahahaha!

I'll post pictures along with "outreach" updates as the summer goes by. Please pray that God will really use these mission teams along with our own church people to make a lasting impact for Christ on our town. This is why God brought us to Ireland ~ to make a difference for Him!

New Puppies Next Door

Those of you that know me well, know how much I love pets, (especially dogs and cats). Well, one of the things that we were unable to bring with us to Ireland was our dog "HalfPint". Fortunately, he was "adopted" by my parents and is living the "life of Riley", so to speak. I honestly think if we tried to take him back now he would hate us forever. He lives very well at Grandma's house!

When we arrived in Ireland I was so delighted to find that God had even taken our "missing" pet issues into consideration when He gave us our house here in Mallow. You see, our next door neighbor, Nora, has a dog named Sandy who I just absolutely love. On February 18th. Sandy had puppies and now I'm really in "doggie heaven". They currently have two puppies left and I go over everyday to play with them and get my puppy fix for the day. Sandy is a wonderful mommy and keeps a very close eye on her babies.

I know to most people this may seem like a wasted post, but when you stop to realize that God cared enough to make sure I had a dog to love here in Ireland, it just reminds me of how much He really does care for me. I miss my "HalfPint", but now I have Sandy and her puppies (Herbie and Monty), to fill the "missing" pet hole in my heart.

Even in the simple things, God always provides!

Spring Arrives In Ireland -- FINALLY!

Spring has finally arrived here in Ireland. As you can see from the attached pictures, the sun has been shining and flowers are blooming everywhere! It is so good to see and feel the sun after a very long cold Irish winter. While working out in the yard recently, Bob found that we have a whole row of beautiful Daffodils lining the front drive. After the very long and tiring chore of digging all the grown up grass away from the plants, Bob now has it all mulched off and looking very nice. I love to walk around our house and see all the new things growing. I never get tired of seeing God's beauty through nature. I'm so thinkful that He shows His love even in these simple things in life. Oh, may I never stop being amazed by His awesome handy work.

Breaking Records

As most of you know, Bob and I arrived in Ireland July 1, 2009 to begin our missions work. Since then, Ireland has been breaking all sorts of "weather records". For instance, August and September were the two wettest months in 20 years. These large amounts of rain brought extreme flooding. Our city centre was flooded (see attached picture), along with many other city's.

Already, this winter has been the coldest winter in Ireland in over 50 years. On Sunday, January 10, 2010, we had 3 1/2 inches of snow in Mallow - the most snow to fall here in over 50 years. . .are you getting the picture??? It's been so cold that water pipes have frozen and burst all over the city. We were without water for three days. You never know how often you use water throughout the course of the day until you don't have it to use! We were able to get drinking water and "dirty" water (used to flush toilets), from our Landlady. She even picked us up on Sunday and took us to her house for brunch and then let us shower. I think maybe we just smelled so bad she felt she had no choice, hahahahaha.

At any rate, all is back to normal (for now). Except the temperatures that is. It's still very cold for Ireland. Thank God for fireplaces, lots of coal, wood and turf to burn. Keeps us nice and cozy on those extremely LONG winter nights.

I've attached a picture of our snow storm. I know it's not much by Ohio standards, but it was a huge deal here. Ireland has no snow tires, no snow plows, and very little salt for the roads. When it snows this much here, city's come to a complete stand still.

Holiday Adjustments and Joys

Once again, I must apologize for the absence of new posts recently. I always have good intentions, however, those intentions don't always make their way from my head to the computer screen. Things here in Ireland have been moving at quite a fast pace. Although Ireland does not celebrate Thanksgiving, Bob and I had our own "Thanksgiving Day" celebration, despite being away from our families. It was very strange spending the day alone when we knew that back home our entire family was at my parents enjoying lots of food and fun. We tried our best to keep it as "normal" as possible, but it just wasn't the same. We had turkey, pumpkin pie, the whole works, we even spent the evening watching American Football, but we went to bed that night feeling quite homesick.

We are now preparing for the Christmas holidays, which will be quite a different situation. Two of our daughters will be coming to Ireland to spend Christmas with us this year. Needless to say, we are very excited to get them here. Unfortunately, our oldest daughter will not be able to join us. Please keep Trisha in your prayers, as this will be very difficult for her to have all of us over here and her back in the states. She will spend the day with her husband, my parents and my brother and his wife. They will also be spending time with her husbands family. Although she will have family there, it will still be quite a change for her. We will definitely be setting up some "Skype" webcam time, that should help a little.

The Church here is going well. We are currently running right around 19 each Sunday. We had a Christmas Dinner after church today, the people seemed to enjoy the time of fellowship. The Lord has really blessed us with a great group of people.

As you can see from the attached picture, the Christmas decorations are all up and ready for the girls arrival. I love Christmas. . .I love everything about it! I know this year will be quite different for our family, but I trust that God will ease the ache of being apart and give each of us a wonderful holiday.

To each of you, I wish you and your family a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year. Enjoy your time with family and friends and be sure to give hugs and kisses in abundance :o)

My "Spidey Sense" is Tingeling

As some of you might know, Ireland has no snakes! Irish folk lore has it that Ireland did at one time have snakes, however, St. Patrick charmed all the snakes on the island to come down to the seashore, slither into the crashing waves, thus drowning all of them. Hence, the absence of snakes on the Emerald Isle! Okay, I think we all know the real reason Ireland has no snakes ~~ God didn't want any snakes here. . .however, for this blogs sake, let's just pretend that St. Patrick really did banish all the snakes to a watery grave. . .WHAT WAS HE THINKING!

Did he not realize that if he banished all the snakes off the island, there would be a bil-zillion spiders moving in? I really don't think he thought his plan through very well.

Everyday, I go out with my "spidey" broom and I whisk all the cobwebs, with their occupants, away from my house, windows, deck, balcony's (you name it those stupid spiders are there). Ireland is seriously being invaded with those nasty, crawly things. The Irish people are telling me that this is the worst time of year because they are looking for a nice warm place to hang out for the winter. . .NOT IN MY HOUSE!

Now, I realize that if I was Tom Hogsed, (a great friend, and fellow blogger), I would be making all kinds of spiritual applications from this experience. Well, I'm not Tom, and I HATE SPIDERS! That's the only application that I can dwell on right now. I read an article once that said that nine out of ten women are born with a fear/hatred of spiders. . .so nice to know I finally made a "statistical group".

I'm sorry, but I have to go ~~ my "spidey sense" is telling me that somewhere a spider is trying to attach it's little creepy web to my house ~~ now, where did I leave my "spidey broom"???

Learning To Drive In Ireland

Sooooooooooooooo, the time has come for me to learn to drive here in Ireland. Normally, driving would never be a problem for me. I have actually always enjoyed driving. However, it's all the differences in driving here in Europe that have me a little uneasy about this new adventure. There's the obvious difference. . .they drive on the opposite side of the road, and then there's the fact that they drive from the opposite side of the car, and then, if that's not enough, I've never driven a stick shift. . .which is what they drive here in Ireland! My brother told me that I wouldn't have any trouble learning to drive a five speed since I ride motorcycles. He said I already have the basic knowledge of how it all works, all I have to do is transfer all that knowledge to my feet. Well, he was right! I haven't really had any trouble learning to drive stick shift, it's just getting used to all the other stuff. I did drive myself to choir practice last night. I didn't have any trouble until I hit the hill at the end of our road. Don't let anyone tell you that a little Fiat Punta won't burn rubber, especially when you're trying to get it up the hill after stalling it once. . .;o)

We are going to take our "Driving Theory Test" next week, and then we have to wait six months before we can take our actual driving test. We are going to take some driving lessons right before our final test. Apparently, the National testers have a list of driving skills that you have to be able to do if you want any chance at all of passing. The driving schools here will teach you exactly how to do those exact skills. They did tell us that most people don't pass on their first try. . .now that's encouraging!!!! Keep praying and I'll keep you posted as to my driving progress.

Our church services are going very well. We had 24 in attendance last Sunday. The people are excited and very happy to have their own church to be a part of. We will be choosing a name for the church in two weeks. Please pray that God will give us direction in this matter. We want to be sure that we choose the name that He wants for this ministry.

God did answer a huge prayer for us just recently. We had been praying that God would provide us with Hymnals for the church. We had nothing for the people to use during the song service. I was typing up the songs each week and then running 15 to 20 copies for Sunday services. Well, the Massillon Baptist Temple donated some of their old Hymnals and then two families in the church paid to have them shipped over to Ireland. Praise God. . .we received them in less than a week! In fact, we had them for our services this past Sunday. Our people were so excited and amazed. They couldn't believe that people they have never met, and probably never will meet, would be willing to go to that much effort. It's things like this that make me feel so honored, and privileged to be part of God's work here in Ireland.

First "Church Family" Get Together

Today we had our first "Church Family" get together! We had a grand time! There were a total of six people there, (including Bob and I). We shared food (duh. . .we are Baptist!),
tea (duh. . .we are in Ireland!), and lots of giggles. Our main objective for today's get together was just to get to know each other better and hopefully help them feel a little more comfortable with Bob and I.

They told us how they had been praying for God to send a preacher to Mallow. They wanted someone who believed in eternal security and preached the Bible. . .guess God answered their prayers :o)! It was so sad to listen to them tell us about how alone and lost they felt without a church or a church family to connect to. One lady told us that she has felt more alive in the last two weeks, (since we started our services), then she has felt in years. I am once again humbled, and amazed at how perfectly God orchestrated all of this. I am so thankful that God is allowing Bob and I to be a small part of what He has planned for these dear people! They truly love the Lord, and as they said today. . ."we were just waiting for you to get here".

Thank you for your prayers and support of our ministry! Despite missing our families, and our friends, there really is no place we would rather be. . .especially now that we know how long they have been waiting for someone to come.

Oh God, please keep us faithful to you!

Good Things In Ireland

Things here in Mallow Ireland, are falling into place rather nicely I must say. It has become home, and we are very happy and comfortable here. Aside from missing our daughters, family and friends, we have adjusted to living in a different country quite easily. God has continued to go ahead of us in each situation and make our transitions very easy up to this point.

We received our Immigration/Garda cards yesterday and have already gotten our "first year" visa stamp in our passports. After some of the horror stories that we had heard from other missionaries, about the hoops they had to jump though to get their stamps, we were very relieved to get ours in one trip and with no problems. The next step is to go to Cork City and get our PPSN numbers (basically, the equivalent of a Social Security Number). We will attempt to do that on Monday morning. After that is done, we will have completed all the government requirements to stay in Ireland, (other than our drivers license). At this point we do not have to check in with Immigration again until next August. Once again, God has proven to be Almighty!

Our first services are this Sunday (September 6th). We are very excited about getting the ministry off and running. We have had a number of people show an interest, but it will be exciting to see who actually shows up for the service. Please join us in fervent prayer for this service. I will write a post on Sunday afternoon to update all of you as to how things went.

Another answer to prayer for me was that I was able to join the Mallow Community Choir! This choir does a lot of singing around town and also competes in a number of choir competitions throughout Europe. I am praying that God will allow this to be a great opportunity for me to meet more people from Mallow, and also to make many new friends. More friends mean more opportunities to share the love of God.

When we came to Ireland, we told God that we would walk through every door that He opens for us. That we would take advantage of every opportunity that He brought our way to win the Irish people to Him. We are trying our best to do just that. Please pray that we will remain faithful to that vow.

First Year Stamp In The Books

Yesterday, Wednesday, August 26th, Bob and I had to go to our local Immigration Officer here in Mallow to see about getting our "one year stamp". Ireland only gives "Religious Workers" permission to stay in the country for a year at a time now. It used to be that they would give you a three year stamp, but that has changed within the last year or so. Anyway, we went to the Immigration Office in order to get our stamp, not really knowing what to expect. Other missionaries had told us how they had to go back seven or eight times before Irish Immigration was satisfied. We had also heard stories of people not being allowed to stay in Ireland and being told they had three months to leave the country. With all this in our heads, we went with quite a bit of reservation and "nervous belly". We arrived at 3 pm (right on time), and began the process of registering as "Missionaries" in the country of Ireland. In less than one hour we were leaving the Immigration Office with our "one year stamp" granted. We will receive our Immigration Cards next week. Praise the Lord, once again He proved "Almighty".

We will have to return each year, for the next three years, to allow Immigration to recheck our status. After the three year mark we may have to change our visa status unless the Irish laws change in regards to "Religious Workers Visas". However, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it, for now, we are praising God for giving us our "one year stamp", and for allowing us the privilege of serving Him here in Ireland.

Thanks to all of you who have been praying for us -- God is hearing, and answering those prayers.

Tiff's College Address

Here is Tiff's college address if any of you are interested in sending her mail. I'm sure she would appreciate it bunches. Please continue to pray for her, as she is trying to get adjusted to college life and having her mommy in another country. I know both of us will be fine in time, but right now it's really difficult. I know that both of us are where God wants us, which means that He will also take care of us. This is just another of many transitions in our lives for this year.

She is going to love Liberty, as soon as she realizes that she can survive without me there, :o)

Here is her address:

(For regular mail use this address)

Tiffani Hutton
MSC Box E9612
Liberty University
PO Box 20,000
Lynchburg, VA 24506-8001

(For packages use this address)

Tiffani Hutton
MSC Box E9612
1971 University Blvd.
Lynchburg, VA 24502

Thanks in advance to any of you who take the time to send her a card. It means a lot to me!

College Bound & Ireland Address

I will start this post by apologizing for the lack of updates lately. As most of you know, I am in the states preparing to take Tiffani down to Liberty University for college, thus the lack of time for blog updates. I have also been without Internet service since Tiff and I are staying with my parents. I know, it's hard to believe that there are still people in the states who don't have Internet in their homes, hehehehe!

Please pray for Tiff, myself, and my mom as we will be pulling out of the driveway bright and early Monday morning to begin this next adventure in our lives. Tiff, like myself, has mixed emotions right now about this new venture. We are excited, nervous, and sometimes numb! I know she will be fine, and will love Liberty! I also know, that I will be fine in Ireland without her. Right now, it's the task of getting her there, and then leaving her there that keeps me right on the verge of a mental "meltdown". God has made it very plain that Liberty is where she is supposed to be. God has also made it very plain that Bob and I are supposed to be in Ireland, so given those two facts, I have no doubt that God will give all of us exactly what we need to get through this huge change in our family dynamics. . .just like He's done with all the other changes in our lives. I love knowing that in times like this I can step back and let an Almighty God be just that. . .ALMIGHTY!

Some of you have been asking for my address in Ireland, so I will be including that at the end of this post. As I've told some of you, I love to get mail! It really is the highlight of my day when I find mail waiting for me in the morning after the postman has come. For most regular letter/card size things it will cost around .94 to send it to Ireland.

I want to thank all of you who have been so faithful in praying for our family as we have embarked on these very large family changes. God has already blessed us in so many ways it's absolutely amazing to wake up each day to see what He's going to do next. Life is exciting, and it just keeps getting better!

Ireland address:

Marilyn Hutton
Woodlawn, Navigation Road
Mallow, Co. Cork
Ireland

No Rain, And New Friends

Well, we made it all day (so far), without any rain! WOOHOO! That may not seem like such a big deal to most, but here in Ireland that's HUGE. Oh well, Ireland has never claimed to have the best weather in the world.

I was able to meet another one of my neighbors Sunday afternoon. Tiff and I were walking into town and met our neighbor, Olive. She lives three houses down from ours. I have now met Nora, Noreen, Olive and LaLon (not sure of spelling). All four are very pleasant widow ladies, who love company. I am so excited to begin these new friendships.

I decided to bake some Banana Bread today and take some to each of my new friends. I spent the majority of the morning baking and then Tiff and I delivered a portion of bread to each lady. They all seemed very thrilled with the bread and the visit. Hopefully they will remain thrilled after they taste the bread, hahahahaha.

Please join me in prayer for each of these wonderful ladies. Pray that God will allow me, though friendship, to show each of them the love of God.

The Practical Stuff

We have now lived in Ireland for three weeks, and I have to say, I love it here! I understand that three weeks might not seem like a long time. However, when you're living in another country, away from your family, friends, and every other person you know, three weeks can seem like an eternity.

We are adjusting very nicely so far. Bob is getting very good at learning his way around Ireland, and also learning to drive on the left, (wrong) side of the road. I haven't started driving yet, so I'll have to get back to you on how that goes, should be very interesting don't ya think?

The house is done, for all practical purposes. It has already started to feel like home for us, which is always a nice feeling. I am learning how to use the cooker (oven). All the temperature settings here in Ireland are in Celsius instead of Fahrenheit, so that has proven to be quite a task. I have figured out that 180 Celsius is 350 Fahrenheit (just in case you ever need to know). I have also almost got the washer and dryer figured out. . .at least I think I do. Again, it's not as simple as picking which fabric and wash time you want. The washer settings go by water temperature instead. The dryer goes by settings like "Ready To Wear", "Cupboard Ready", or "Iron Ready", etc. I have yet to find a setting that offers an anti-wrinkle option. Apparently, the ladies here like to Iron! I really can't complain though, I haven't shrunk anything to "Barbie Doll" size, or turned Bob's underwear pink yet, so things are good, yes!

I can also now cook an entire meal without having to stand in the middle of the kitchen and think "Where in the world did I put. . ." (whatever I happen to be looking for). See, I told you it was feeling like home.

As some of you know, Bob is allergic to dairy and eggs, so everything I cook or bake has to be done with Soy. I've been able to find Soy milk and butter in our local supermarket, but cannot find an egg substitute yet. Our local health food market is supposed to be ordering me a powered egg substitute to try, but it hasn't come in yet. If this works that would be great! Right now I'm limited to cooking things that don't require eggs. I have also found that no one sells "Minute Rice" here. I have found a good "cook" rice that actually tastes very good and works well in recipes. See, God is supplying us with everything we need, even down to egg substitute.