Mission Blog #23

Member & Leader Support 

Alice Gernon - what a great friend we have made with Alice here in Dundalk. Alice is the first convert to the Church in Dundalk - 40+ years ago. We have had a few Monday Family Home Evenings with her - we'll take turns each week providing the spiritual thought, then have some nibbles, and a game - we taught her how to play SWOOP this week. Alice has a great sense of humor and we're constantly teasing each other. Alice is mindful of those around her, in her own family, or other single sisters in the Branch; always willing to provide whatever service is needed.

Elder & Sister Kitchen (home for them is South Carolina) have become our missionary friends. They are assigned to the Belfast area which is just over an hour's drive away. There was an important item that they had tried to mail from up there to an address in ROI, but it didn't get through so they drove down to Dundalk (Republic of Ireland) and couriered it to some missionaries needing whatever it was, on the west coast. They showed us a great spot for lunch, The Food House, which will now be one of our faves. Aside from their regular missionary duties in Belfast of Member & Leader Support, the Kitchens lead the meal preparations for All-Ireland Zone Conference - menu plan, main course prep, and delegation to other missionaries like us. They don't hog the lime-light, but they work hard and do their utmost to lift and support members and leaders any way they can. We connect with them on many levels - they were MTC colleagues of my sister Valerie and husband Scott Johnson; and have about 5 months left to serve before returning home?!

Back row here is our Branch Relief Society President, Anna, and her very good friend, Amber (green sport shirt). Anna has been great friends to Amber for several years through the connections between their children in school and sports. Amber and her boys have just taken up the Irish sport of hurling. They live in Monaghan, about an hour's drive northwest of Dundalk. Amber has attended the baptism of Anna's son, Andrus, and recently her son Ben attended church with Anna's family, returning home to ask his mother - 'Can we go to that Church every Sunday?' Amber is from Lancashire, married to Mark who is Irish. He runs the feed mill operation across from their home. The home was built by his grandfather, and the feed mill has been in the family for many years - Mark being the one selected to keep the family business thriving. Amber fed us missionaries, followed by our giving an overview lesson on the Plan of Salvation, and the Restoration of the gospel/church in these latter days. It was a special night and we've made a special new friend.

Surprise!!

Michelle and I had planned for a surprise visit by Michelle during Tina's birthday weekend. How would we get Tina to the airport? With the help of our District Leaders - they asked us at District Council on Thursday if we could go to the airport Friday morning to pick up an incoming missionary who was being 'emergency transferred' from Scotland. Of course we would help. At this point in the photo, Tina is still looking for a young missionary dragging a few large suitcases. The moment Michelle came through was priceless.

Haha, gotcha! I think she liked this surprise alot. Michelle lives near Birmingham, England in Lichfield. Her flight was less than an hour. We last saw Michelle last January and she is the first of the family - hopefully not the last, to come see us in Ireland.

Now what?

We had a few things planned for the first day, in Dublin.

Trinity College, University of Dublin is Ireland's leading university, and ranked 98th in the World. 25th in the world in English Language & Literature.

Founded in 1592, it is steeped in history. It has helped produce some of the world's finest, most original minds including the writers, Oscar Wilde and Samuel Beckett, scientists William Rowan Hamilton and Ernest Walton. It is home to 20,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students 

'Meet you at the bell tower' is commonly used. There are some interesting superstitions regarding the bell - any student who passes beneath the campanile when the bell tolls will fail their exams, causing some to never pass under it until they finish their time at Trinity College.

The Long Room

The Long Room is one of the most beautiful libraries in the world, with 220,000 volumes. It's the kind of library you only dream of walking through. Amazing. The precious collections have been in the library's care for over 400 years and it now faces conservation challenges - pollution, dust taking their toll. The Old Library Redevelopment Project will safeguard the 18th century building and conserve the collections for future generations. One by one, each book is cleaned with a special vacuum, measured, electronically tagged and linked to a catalogue record, before being relocated to a climate-controlled storage facility. 

The Brian Boru Harp is a medieval musical instrument on display in the long room of the library. It is dated to the 14th or 15th century and along with the Queen Mary Harp and the Lamont Harp, is the oldest of three surviving medieval harps from the region. The harp was used as a model for the coat of arms of Ireland, and for the trade-mark of Guiness stout. It was reputedly owned by Brian Boru, High King of Ireland but that has been disputed.

One of the cultural treasures of Ireland, the Book of Kells, is an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament together with various texts and tables. It was created in a Columban monastery in either Ireland, Scotland or England. It is believed to have been created in 800 AD. The illustrations and ornamentation of the Book of Kells surpass those of others in extravagance and complexity.

The manuscript comprises 340 leaves or folios, of high-quality calf vellum.

We did see the actual book, but were not allowed to photograph it. These are enlarged backlit displays to show the detail and brilliance.

We know about Temples, but this bar known as Temple Bar is one of Dublin's famous landmarks, named after a family whose surname was Temple. All day, everyday, you'll hear traditional Irish Music, with the patrons singing along with the musician/singer. While it's a specific bar (Temple Bar), the term Temple Bar usually refers to a whole area of the city of Dublin. It is on the south bank of the Liffey River, in central Dublin. Sir William Temple was the provost of Trinity College and had his house and gardens in the area now called Temple Bar in Dublin.

We opted for the quiet of an adjacent establishment, The Shack, and had the most amazing fish/chips, bangers and mash, and seafood chowder. 

We realized we were near our friend, Grace's small salon up Temple Lane so we dropped by to say hello. Grace is off to Italy for a 4-day movie shoot in which she'll be a stunt-person.

How about Belfast while we're at it??

2nd day of the surprise visit, we drove north 70 minutes to Belfast to spend the day with Tina's brother, James, Lorraine, and family. It was a bright, sunny day and our spirits were brightened by seeing more family togetherness.

Michelle meets cousin David for the first time, ever. Special memories were being made for sure.

Michelle meets her 2nd cousin Cara for the first time. Cara is not shy! We love her hugs.

Connor is the shy one, but he loosened his grip on dad after awhile.

Time for a walk with Michelle's uncle James. We headed to the national park and grounds at Stormont, the Parliament Buildings that are home to the Northern Ireland Assembly, the legislative body for Northern Ireland established under the Belfast Agreement 1998 (Good Friday Agreement). Built in 1921 and officially opened by the then Prince of Wales on behalf of King George V.

From the front gate up to the steps of Stormont is about 1 mile. There are families, dog walkers, joggers, walkers - all enjoying the invigorating journey to the top as well as the fabulous children's play park and other amenities.

We made it.

Lorraine, Julie and gang prepared some lunch for us while we were out walking - Julie's first attempt at an angel food cake was perfect; and her sticky sausages were amazing, as usual.

I could eat the entire tray, and drink the remaining sauce. It is that good. Somebody stop me!!!!

Carlingford - we deserve it after all that walking in Belfast!!

Michelle came to Ireland and only experienced sunshine and clear skies - it only drizzled a bit as we drove her to the airport.

So many cute shops, boutiques, crafts, restaurants/bars....

King John's Castle was especially ominous against the clear blue sky.

At the Priory

SWOOP is the game! Michelle picked it up quick and we battled it out in the evenings and today before heading to the airport.  

A stop for lunch at The Food House - utterly amazing food here. Saw our friend Ita, her daughter and grandson and we sat with them during their lunch break.

Monsterboice - on the way to the airport we decided to stop in at one of the sites we'd driven past many times. 

Monasterboice is a monastic site with an impressive round tower that stands 110 feet tall, and two high crosses - Muiredach's High Cross standing 5.5 metres high, and the West Cross at 7 metres - regarded as the finest high cross in all of Ireland. There are biblical carvings of both the Old and New Testament. The round tower was used as a watchtower and refuge for monks and valuables during times of Viking attack. The site dates back to the 6th century when it was founded by St Buite. The graveyard dates to the 10th century.

We three attended the Sunday session of our Dublin Stake Conference, another hi-light of our amazing weekend. After parking the car we said hello and introduced Michelle to Elder Hans T Boom, Area President. I've mentioned in previous blog posts that Elder Boom was just a 14 year old teenager in the first area I served my mission, Breda, Netherlands. In this exchange we learned that a former missionary in Sherwood Park, Maarten 't Hoen, also of the Netherlands, is a very good friend of Elder Boom's. Elder Boom provided us his email so that we can get Maarten's contacts, and reacquaint with him. Elder Boom asked Michelle if I had taught her any Dutch words, and she said 'poffertjes', which are a delicious mini-pancake snack. He smiled at that.

A few hi-lites of his address to us:

Elder Boom recalled that when he was 13-14 yrs old he was not too interested in attending Church. He would count the bricks on the wall, or he would suck on a peppermint and see how long it could last (12 minutes was his record). This is when I was a missionary in Breda - he said that he decided to read the Book of Mormon that the missionaries are always asking people to read. His intent was to find that it wasn't true and then he could just sit at home on Sundays. But he read it and found that it was true, and it changed his life. And he learned to be obedient in difficult situations.

He reminded us that we live in the days foretold by all the prophets, of wars and rumors of wars, and quakes and tempests, etc prior to the Savior's return. Reminded us to 'stand in holy places' - the Temple, our Churches, our homes; and make sure our homes are clean, a place for the holy ghost to reside.

He gave suggestions on building love and unity in families using his own parent's home and his family now as the examples.

We felt buoyed by meeting with 500 faithful church members. Met one man who was one of 24 children. He was 21 yrs older than one of his brothers - only had 2 sisters.

Our new friend, Eric, from Brazil, took the bus from Drogheda and walked to the building (about an hour). I saw him and welcomed him and then in a few moments someone overheard us talking and was also from Brazil. He sat with them, and after the conference he told me that the young woman was a neighbor he had in Brazil. Talk about a small world!

This is a lengthy blog - and it's late. Apologies on both counts. Tina and I feel blessed in being here, in being able to testify of our Savior, Jesus Christ and to invite all to come unto Him. Our family means so much to us and they are mentioned in every prayer and are in our thoughts often. Thank you to any of you who may voice prayers to bless the missionaries - we love knowing that we have your faith and support.

Sincerely,

   Elder Eric & Sister Tina McMurray