Mission Blog #39, 1st Week in Cork

Some of Our Heart Will Always Be in Dundalk & Carlingford 

One of our favorite places is this little spot of heaven in Carlingford, Louth County on the Cooley Peninsula. We just had to take the young missionaries with us for one last visit, before we left for Cork.

These two are among our favorites - Elder Schneider (the 'crazy German' as he calls himself), and Elder Truman. He has been so kind to us, always thanking us for every little thing we do. And he is so kind to everyone he meets, not of our faith. We have seen amazing growth in both of them in the few months we've been together.

I

Alice Gernon, Mary Kenny, and Anne McCartney - three great friends we've made in Dundalk.

I could have shown a photo of myself holding the Swoop Championship trophy after being trash-talked, threatened, and assaulted, but that would be boastful - so, instead I am showing this photo of us with our dear friends.

For 8 months we've gone up and down the M1/N1 to and from Belfast. Just south of the Northern Ireland border, about 15 minutes from our home in Dundalk, is a resort hotel, The Carrickdale Hotel. Alice Gernon invited Tina and I to lunch in their Secret Garden Cafe. What an amazing gem, a new discovery but we'll likely not get back there again. 

A perfect day for uncovering the cafe and just let the sun shine in. 

Alice loves Dundalk and all the people and history there, and so do we.

The gardens are constantly being groomed and manicured. Lots of walking paths give many opportunities to enjoy nature's (God's) creations.

The cafe, with roof open.

We didn't really know we'd be going someplace hoity toity, or we would have dressed for it. We were in the middle of cleaning when Alice picked us up.

About 24C and nominal humidity on this picture perfect day.

The last supper, at Monasterboice Inn. Great food and company. The staff were outstanding, and curious about us, what we do as missionaries, where we're from, etc. It was the best evening, and then on the drive home Elder Truman and Schneider were phoned by their Zone Leaders and told that on Tuesday they should only buy a 1-way ticket to Dublin for Zone Conference....because they're getting a car!!!! They were beyond joyful upon hearing this miraculous news. A great blessing to them.

We had a really nice visit with Noeleen O'Rourke. She is one of the most generous people. She feeds the young missionaries at least once/week even though she herself lives in humble circumstances. She will be moving soon, to a brand new apartment - she presently lives in an older part of Dundalk, above a barber shop with an alley entrance. It was humbling that she requested a Priesthood Blessing to help overcome the anxiety of her upcoming move. Even though it'll be a fabulous new property, it's hard for her to move, and to take on all the changes that come with it. 

Our moving day crew - the Elders came at about 10am on Thursday; first, to help our 'man and a van' driver, Wol, to load up the Mission owned furniture that needed to go north to the storage space in Belfast, and secondly, to help us load up our little car.

Wol was early (not Irish, but rather a South African with obviously some Dutch blood coursing through his veins). 

He really appreciated the Elders' help, and even offered them a job helping him if they had the time. We kindly advised that they are volunteer missionaries (full-time) and for that and reasons of their visa conditions, they could not accept any payment, or work for pay on any future jobs.

It said something of the young men that he would make the offer - we sure appreciated their help and his expert moving/packing ability.

We believe in miracles, like the one that allowed us to get all of our belongings - 4 large suitcases, plus books, grocery items, and other items accumulated over the last 8 months, into our little hatchback.

I know, I know... the Cork missionaries look like a father and son missionary companionship. But, Elder Botos (from Hungary) is only 22 yrs old. Elder Durham (from Sandy, Utah) just turned 19. They both helped us move into our Cork flat. Botos (a body builder) carried one 60lb suitcase in each hand and walked up 15 stairs into our apartment. Amazing strength. 

We took them for supper at the Marina Market afterwards. They earned it!

For comparison's sake, I thought it would be interesting to compare the size of the Republic of Ireland, to Alberta. Our 3.5hr drive from Dundalk to Cork represents one of the longest drives you can do in the country. 

In Alberta, you would be driving about 7 hours from Coutts at the U.S. border to Edmonton - which is almost the central point in the province, then you could drive north another 5 hours to Fort McMurray, or Peace River, and you'd still have hours to go until you got to the Northwest Territories border. 

We haven't explored the south or west of Ireland yet so we look forward to doing that.

Welcome to Cobh - Pronounced 'Cove' and named Cove in 1750. It was named 'Queenstown' by the British to commemorate a visit by Queen Victoria to Ireland. In 1920 the name was changed to the original Irish spelling of Cove, 'Cobh' since Irish does not have a 'v' in their alphabet. 

The colorful Victorian houses adjacent to the St Colman's Cathedral are known as 'the deck of cards'.

From the Cathedral grounds, looking south to the second largest natural harbor in the world, Sydney, Australia being #1.

The Cathedral is one of the tallest buildings in Ireland, standing 300ft to the top of the spire.

Cobh today is the only dedicated cruise ship port in the country, but back in the day, it was the last port of call for the Titanic before sailing out into the Atlantic, in April, 1912. 123 passengers boarded here, and only 44 of those survived. Over 1500 in total never made it to their intended destination of New York City.

On the waterfront in Cobh, still stands the White Star Line building, through which passengers walked before boarding the tenders that would take them out on the 90 minute trip to where the Titanic was anchored beyond Spike Island in the harbor.

 Can't have a credible Titanic Museum without a scale model of the ship. The facts are same as at the Belfast Titanic Museum; 850 tons of coal a day, 23 knots top speed, Captain Smith at the helm and prolonging his retirement to take her on the maiden voyage. And same tragic ending.

We ventured from Cobh back to Cork, and stopped at the Mahon Point Shopping Centre, a very large and bright shopping mall to buy a few needed things. There are many signs of affluence in this city. Movie for 2, plus 2 sodas and a popcorn, 39 Euros. Yikes.

The Branch President invited us in to meet this morning and discuss how we can help and serve in the Branch; it looks like teaching a weekly English class, and Self-Reliance class may be in the works. There are 24 countries represented by the church membership here in Cork; Mongolia, Nigeria, England, Wales, Germany, Netherlands, Russia, U.S., etc etc. We enjoyed meeting many of them but it'll take a few weeks; there were about 90 attending services today.

We watched some of our Calgary Fish Creek Stake Conference on YouTube today. The talks we saw given were excellent. There are so many dedicated people in our Stake, and they're a great example and an inspiration to us, as we try to do our best here in Ireland. Whether your congregation is a little Branch or a large Ward, the gospel of Jesus Christ is a deeply individual thing - there were 3 individuals who witnessed the beginning of the Atonement of Jesus Christi n the Garden of Gethsemane, but they mainly slept while the Savior endured what he had to there - before being tortured and killed in the most gruesome fashion - for us, individually. We always, therefore, just look for one at a time that we can reach out to, and lift by serving them, loving them, and inviting them to come unto Christ.

On this Father's Day I give thanks to my father, Jeddy Merrill McMurray...a man devoted to service in the kingdom, and to his family. I am proud to be your son. Thank you Dad. I miss you.

God bless.

  Elder Eric & Sister Tina McMurray

  Scotland-Ireland Mission

P.S. We hit our half-way mark of our 18 month mission tomorrow. Hard to believe.