A Special Friend

We had great neighbors in Ireland...Leo and his granddaughter, Kayla.  We'd get to see her on weekends and have fun together.  Now that we are back in the States, our heart aches when we remember them and think how far we are away now.  When I think of Ireland, I think of this sweet, cherubic face!

Here is a picture of our neighbor friend.

That's a beautiful rainbow!  We miss you Kayla!!

Rani's visit

This was a special week for the girls, and me!  Almost everyday there was an activity planned.  We kept very busy and had a great time!  I didn't get pictures every day, but thankfully, a few.  Here's some:

  First day together.

They took lots of group shots.

Up in the mountains.

Enjoying the country

visiting a castle

Lambing Time!

Random pictures at lambing time in Ireland.  After seeing field after field of these adorable fellows, we got permission from the farmer to go into his field and hold one of them.  Sebi caught this cute lamb for us and then we each took a turn squeezing its cuteness!

Daffodils

These daffodils are abundant in the spring.

Walking in front of our good neighbor's yard.  

Resting up on the roadside hedge.

How fun!

Titanic Museum

We visited the Titanic Experience, a museum in Cobh Ireland.  This was the last port of call for the Titanic.  And personally, we believe this is the port where my Grandma's parents left Ireland to begin life in America.

walking around the town of Cobh (pronounced:  Cove)

My awesome men!

Ezra outside the Cobh museum, looking at the ocean.  Wish I could do a panoramic picture here!  See that huge church in the background, we even went in there and the next picture shows the inside:

Quite breathtaking!

Nehemiah making friends.

Comeragh board meeting

The board comes to visit in February:

The board rented this holiday home in Ireland.  It was roomy and beautiful!  Here the board discusses camp life while the sun pours in on them.  They were here for several days and got a lot accomplished.

My new friends!  They are the wives of the board members.  For privacy, I won't write names...but assure me, if you see their faces around town...you will WANT to get to know them.  Absolutely awesome woman!!

Camp and board ladies eat out, a rarity for all of us.

The hidden sheep

The other day Duane, Sebi, Ezra, and the entire work group decided to climb this mountain.  If you look closely, you'll see sheep grazing here and there.

If you walk up to the edge and peek over, you'll see this view!  By the way, did you see the sheep yet?  There's one on the cliff.  Well, if you still don't see it, Sebi will help.

Look quickly!

The guys really got to like this fellow.  That blue paint blotch on the sheep indicates ownership.  They all had a great adventure!

Well, all but one.

He was a good sport, though!  And he soon got his wish...to run and play all day, everyday, in the beautiful Comeragh Mountains!

Camp Starts

First day of Camp was today!  I haven't heard how it all went, except from Susan, who cooked the meals.  She said everything went well from her perspective.  

The first morning of camp.  It was a full rainbow over the Chehorta.

...and we found these girls at the other end of the rainbow.    It was better than a pot of gold!  These girls, Janae and MaryJane, extended their stay in Ireland so they could be of assistance to Karen Zeiset, who is expecting a baby soon.  They have been such a blessing!!

Quinten and Nehemiah working at the campsite.

Sebi doing what Sebi does best!  

the Comeraghs

String art made by Karen Zeiset.  Isn't that amazing?!  In the foreground is Beth's knitted scarf.  These were made for the Christmas craft exchange day.  But, the string art, in particular, seemed perfect for this post.

Hurricane and More!

Recent update:

Biggest news is that we survived a hurricane!  In my ignorance, I didn't know Ireland even got hurricanes.  But they do.  The worst storm (in Ireland) in the past 15 years happened this past week.  Many of us were without electricity, to say the least.  Roads were littered with trees and limbs.  One limb, in particular, caused us to be in a car accident.  Wolf slowed down/stopped when we suddenly realized a limb was in the road.  While waiting for oncoming traffic to pass so we could drive around it, a car came slamming into us from behind.  All of us were in the van at the time, but none of us were severely hurt- just minor aches and pains.  Then, two days later, I was driving to a friend's house, and not seeing the downed power line, I drove right into it.  It hit our windshield, and thankfully, just flew up over our car.  Thanks to the Lord, we survived it all!  The only result of the storm that 'home folks' might see is when Wolf arrives at Cedar Crest Wednesday with a rather 'shaggy' look.  Never procrastinate with haircuts- you never know when the power/water may go off.

 

Camp life has been interesting.  A while back, a reality show producer contacted our little camp here.  They came for a visit and wanted to know if we'd be willing to be part of their reality show.  The series would involve a spoiled, rich girl from England who would be sent to different environments to see how she would fare.  They wanted to send her to a Mennonite wilderness camp along with visits to an Eskimo village, a Buddhist Temple, and who knows what else?!   We decided not to accept the offer. 

Life is never dull in Ireland!

                                           My camera didn't take good pictures, but here are some results of the storm.  

Truffle Making Day

Naomi Byler got her SS class together, at our house,  to make a surprise treat for church members.  So yesterday,  6 girls had fun making truffles!

There were 3 kinds of truffles- dark chocolate, peanut butter, and coffee- yum!

Naomi with Violeta and Victoria

Anna is putting each truffle in its own special cup.

Don't they look great?

Then they made cards and put them in individual  bags.  The next day they were secretly put into the church members' mailboxes.  It was a fun day!


Naomi explained to me how she made the truffles.  First, she put chocolate bars in a bowl, or you can use chocolate chips.  Along with the chocolate, you could add peanut butter or instant coffee granules, or whatever you like.  Then pour whipping cream over that until covered.   Melt this concoction.  Then chill it.  Once chilled, scoop it into tiny balls, then roll into outside coating.  She had 3 coatings to match her 3 different bowls of chocolate- cocoa powder,instant coffee, and peanut bits.  I tried the peanut coated truffle and it completely melted in my mouth!  So scrumptious!!  Somehow, out of nowhere though, my boys appeared and devoured all the extra ones.  I never saw them come or leave.  Amazing how precisely accurate their timing can be when it comes to food!

Recent Work Groups

Here's one of the work groups that sacrificed their time, energy, and money to come help Comeragh Wilderness Camp out.

Here's the last work group that came to help out camp.  They're singing at the Chehorta.

Some of the guys 'hung out' with us in the evenings and played games.

These were the wonderful group of guys that stayed with us.  They were from Lancaster, PA, the Weaverland Conference.  I think they were with us for about 1 1/2 weeks.
Randall Wenger
Kristopher Stauffer
Josh Martin
Jerome Martin
Nate Martin
Ray Sensenig

Mission Accomplished! Praise the Lord!

An update on life in Ireland:

We have now been in Ireland for 4 1/2 months.  So much has happened in that short time!  I was talking with Dolores Wagler, my good friend in the States, and told her that I've gotten used to driving on the opposite side of the road and in the opposite side of the car.  Now....I might be more dangerous driving in the States!  We both laughed!

Honestly, the 'mountain' of driving quickly became a 'molehill.'  I rather enjoy the challenge.  The fear of the unknown was the hardest thing to conquer, as it usually is.

Truly, the hardest part of being here was trying (with the Lord's help) to get the authorities to let us open Comeragh Wilderness Camp, a camp to help troubled boys.  Wolf put tremendous time and effort into it.   Other men helped, too, to be sure.  And of course, the Lord!  

I must say, though, that I love, love, love my husband!  The more the years go by, the more I realize what an awesome man he is!  Let me begin by saying, my dad was also an incredibly wonderful man.  Really great and loving and hardworking....and I knew that if I got married, I wanted to marry a man just like him.  Well, then Wolf came on the scene, and I knew I found the right one.  Anna has a blog post with a Jim Elliot quote, "Wherever you are, be all there."  I kind of chuckle when I read that because if anyone knows my husband, then they may think that quote is describing him.  He gives each thing he does 100+ !!  I wasn't actually planning on making this a Wolf post, but looks like it's heading that way. 

I think it's worthwhile to take a moment to honor him for the sacrifices he's made these last several months and for his life of integrity, in general.

First off, when Wolf is at work, he puts his heart into it.  He likes and appreciates his staff, and from what I can see, they feel the same.  And if another doctor needs 'time off,' he is often willing to pitch in.  He doesn't view his work just as a job, but a calling.  I've really admired that!  That may be why he has several job offers in the mail every week wanting him to come work for them.

The same goes for family....when he's home, he's really home!  He completely loves his children and they love and respect him.  Now life isn't always perfect, and some days aren't quite stellar, but overall, it is like this.  He spends hours talking with us in the evenings about anything that is on our minds, or even things that aren't.  Situational ethics and honoring God is often the focal point.  He also plays games with them- especially Scrabble and Catan.  And boy, I'm glad he does, because when the evening comes, I'm too tired to do much of anything!

And lastly (or the last thing I want to say about him), we came to Ireland because he felt responsible to help the camp stay on its feet.  He is on the board, and they needed someone, so we thought it would be a sacrifice in various ways, but one he/we were willing to make.  The sacrifice was much bigger than I expected.  Half days turned into full days and he was under tremendous pressure to be everything to everyone and to do it perfectly.  Plus, he needed to deal with jet lag, though he did do great with that!  But, as usual, he gave this work 100%, and we are proud of him!

(As an aside:  Honestly, if anyone is EVER thinking of doing a missions trip- you need to be absolutely sure of the Lord's calling in that direction, or 'your boat won't float.'  Thankfully, we definitely did feel the Lord's leading and that gave us the needed strength).

But, at last, our mission is accomplished!!  Approval for the boy's return has been granted.  Although we are hosting 6 men (work group) from the States for 1 1/2 weeks, we are trying to wind down our activities, and focus more on family time now.  We feel this is pleasing to the Lord at this time.  

There will be a board meeting in Ireland at the end of February.  They will discuss all those details needed to keep the camp on its feet. 

But, we are leaving the rest in the Lord's hands...and saying, For now, For always.....to God be the Glory!