As I'm sitting here finishing my final paper for my last class, I am finding myself allowing my mind to wander over the memories of this semester. The friends made, lessons learned, sights of God's handiwork, and memories cherished will last me for a long, long time.
These past few weeks, we've had "debriefing" sessions with Kyle and Laura-It's really just an easy, open time to process all we've seen and learned, and to figure out how we will live life differently from now on. While the idea of our time here coming to an end is certainly not welcome, I appreciate that we are not just being left with an anticlimax. We have been encouraged to engage in those conversations, take those people on walks, and enjoy a chat over a "cuppa" (coffee). We have especially needed those walks and talks after some recent class times. In our Cross Cultural class, we watched a movie about laundries that were being run by the Catholic Church in Ireland during the 60's. The events that happened there were hard to believe, and even harder to process. After watching the movie, Jen Lewis asked us to write a paper about what the gospel was and how we would present it to the people who had been deeply wounded, like the people in the movie. It was a really hard, but neat time to be raw with each-other in how we handle grief, anger, pain, suffering, and brokenness. I know that I have enjoyed the chats with various people over coffee, and being able to pick their minds on all sorts of subjects. The people in this group are smart, witty, deep thinkers, and completely in love with Jesus. What a blessing to be surrounded by the body of Christ.
I can't even begin to list all the lessons I've learned, so I've been going through my journal to try to figure out which ones have meant the most to me, or been the hardest to learn. I am so thankful that I was able to keep that journal during this time, as it has been my best friend and most trusted confidant. It has in no way eaten its way into my relationships here, but it is the one place I can go to work out thoughts on paper that I can't say in words. Thanks, Dr. Maloney, for making us do that=)
In the meantime, I will be saying my goodbyes, living up my last few days in Ireland, and ceaselessly praising God for His wonders anew every day...
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appears
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee O Israel
O come, thou rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny
From depths of of hell thy people save
And give them vict'ry o'er the grave
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee O Israel
O come, O Dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by thine advent here
And drive away the shaves of night
And pierce the clouds and bring us light
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee O Israel
O come, Thou Key of David, come
And open wide our heavenly home
Make safe the way that leads on high
And close the path to misery
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee O Israel
O come, O come, Thou Lord of might
Who to thy tribes, on Sinai's height
In ancient times did'st give the law
In cloud and majesty and awe
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee O Israel
-Much Love,
Rinny
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