Ireland 101 - Top 10 Interesting Facts We've Learned about Ireland

10. No Snakes in Ireland!

9. You drive on the left side of the road, and there is
more than one kind of traffic jam.

8. Here are the hours of daylight for Dublin.
We would walk Travis to school in the dark
and pick him up in the dark during the winter.

7. There are over a quarter of a million miles
of stone walls in Ireland. Many were created
to clear the land for farming.

6. Randal says Ireland has a "lazy sun" in the winter months. It only goes as high as about 9 o'clock, never a high noon.

5. It's not uncommon to drink tea
at least 5 times a day.
Ireland ranks in  the top 5 countries
who drink the most tea per capita.

4. Don't be confused when buying petro "gas".
The green is regular where in America,
the green means diesel. We will never forget...again.

3. Slippers were on the school supply list.
Travis would wear his wellies "rain boots" to
school and change into slippers when he
entered the building.

2. This phrase is said all the time.
What's the "crack" means "what's the story" or
"what's been going on?"

1. There is a Starbucks only
1.5 hours from Limerick!

The Good Shepherd

Having lived in Ireland once before, seeing sheep graze the land is not a foreign thought. In fact, it's difficult to go most anywhere in Ireland without seeing sheep. There would be many times that we would pass sheep on the side of the road. The boys enjoyed us driving up close and honking our horn to see them run in the fields. They also thought it funny that the shepherds would paint their sheep to identify them. My favorite was to see all the lambs jumping around in the fields during the Spring time.

I think of what a shepherd means to sheep, and how everything a shepherd does is with the sheep in mind. The shepherd wakes in the morning to tend to the sheep. He not only desires to find the best pasture for the sheep, but he will look for the greenest part of the pasture. He trains the sheep to heed to his voice because he knows what is best for the sheep. His livelihood is the sheep. He rests only at night when the sheep are safe, and when he wakes he will begin his day again taking care of his sheep.

I often think of Psalms 23 and what it means for the Lord to be my shepherd. As my shepherd, I know the Lord desires to bring me and my family to the very best. I also know that I am on my Father's mind at all times. I think of the prayer Paul prayed in Ephesians, "to grasp how wide and how long and how high and deep is the love of Christ." I think it grand that the Lord gave us a picture of his love by calling himself our shepherd. My prayer is that I can be one of his sheep that heeds to his voice.

100 Dots to go "GREEN"

One way our family is following his voice is by answering the call to Ireland. We are believing for a harvest to be added to His Kingdom with our obedience to go and share with others that He is the Good Shepherd. Our prayer is that we can raise our budget in one year and leave for the mission field next summer. We are currently at 7.5% of our monthly commitments. We need 100 green dots before we can leave. Our account #2957363. You can be a part of this harvest by joining the "Green Team"! If you believe you are to be a part of what God is doing in Ireland, you can fill out this form to help us fill our 100 green dots.

We also have an "up-front cash" budget to raise. We are at 15%. There are 2 ways you can contribute to our journey:

Our AGWM Account # 2957363

 1. Online - www.s1.ag.org/bairdgiving.com 
 2. By Mail - Checks payable to AGWM with our account number #2957363 and name.   

Checks mailed to:
                    AGWM
                    1445 North Boonville Ave
                    Springfield, MO 65802-1894