Dingle

Everyone here tells us that the summers in Ireland are very short, or even non-existent. The climate in Cork is very mild. It doesn't get too cold in the winter. I think we only had 3 days last winter when the temperature dipped below freezing, and we got about 1/2 inch of snow one afternoon, but it was gone within an hour. The average high temperature in the winter is a nice 47F, but the average high in the summer is only 65F. After 11 years of Lithuanian winters, I'm not complaining.

But we've had a pleasant surprise this year - a real summer in Ireland! The weather has been gorgeous, lots of long, sunny days.

When we saw the first nice forecast back in June we took advantage of it and decided to go and see Dingle on the bank holiday. (Bank holidays here are the first Monday in May, June and August. It's a nice 3 day weekend, kind of like our American Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day, except they're not celebrating anything, especially not the banks! No one is very happy with the banks right now, but that's another story) Anyways, since we made the announcement that we were coming to Ireland we have heard from so many people that we "must" check out Dingle. We did, and it did not disappoint.

Dingle is a little fishing village on the west coast of Ireland. It reminds me a lot of Wellfleet the town where I grew up (only we didn't have any mountains in the background.) The scenery is beautiful, a lovely harbor, gorgeous sunsets, quaint shops and restaurants, and loads of history.

Inch Beach

Rock walls and sheep are everywhere

 

 



The sunsets were amazing.

Dingle has an interesting story. In 1984 a dolphin showed up in the harbor and he never left. It's not unusual for dolphins to be seen there, but only in the summer months and in groups. This one has stayed for nearly 30 years. Some local fishermen had been struggling with lower catches and increasing regulations and costs when they came up with the idea of taking visitors out to see the dolphin.  The locals nicknamed him Fungi and he's been a huge boost for tourism in the area. We took a boat tour to see him, and he didn't disappoint!

 

 

 

We drove over Connor's Pass on our way out of Dingle. The view from it is incredible, but the road is beyond scary. It twists and turns and is very narrow in places with crazy drop-offs and very little guard rails. At the top you can see Dingle harbor on one side and lakes on the other. We were astonished to meet bicycle riders at the summit! We hiked up the short walk from the parking lot to the top of the mountain, and that was enough for us!

 

tradition has you bring one more rock to add to the pile

 

We also stopped at Killarney National Park while we were in Kerry. It's a really lovely park with beautiful grounds and the largest rhododendrons I've ever seen in my life. They weren't bushes, they were trees! And they had so many different colors. I was really amazed. We want to go back there again when we have more time to explore. They have horse drawn carriages that will take you on a tour around the lake and to a waterfall. Plus there is an old estate, Muckross House, that you can tour.

 

 



 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

I'm looking forward to showing some of you these beautiful sights when you come to visit!

 

Invasion by Planet Banet

A few weeks ago Ron and Kathie Banet came to visit.

They danced an Irish jig on the streets with a local busker.



Climbed to the top of Blarney Castle



and had some proper Shepherd's Pie in a local pub

I doubt Ireland will ever be the same again. :-)

Jason

The team from Groningen was here April 29th through May 4th. That was brilliant scheduling on my husband's part because May 1st was our daughter Carly's due date. Having a team here meant that I was super busy and not constantly checking my phone for news. But on May 3rd we received the best news in the world

Yes, the most beautiful baby in the world was born! Jason Philip Burghard.

 

 

 

 





 



 

I was able to fly there on Tuesday, May 7th, and Keith came on the 9th. It is such an indescribable joy to hold your grandchild. So many memories came rushing back to me. It goes without saying that we are totally "ga-ga" over this little guy. He is a true mix of Carly and Desmond. His hair, eyes and skin tone are from his Daddy, but the shape of his head and facial features remind me so much of Carly as a newborn. I'm happy to report that Mom, Dad and baby are all doing well.  For now we're getting our "Jason fixes" through video-skyping and face-time, but I can't wait to hold him again!



At the end of April we had a team from Groningen, Holland. Eight wonderful people came for 6 days. We had a great time on the streets. Several people on the team spoke Spanish and were surprised how useful that was here as they were able to witness to people from Spain, Columbia and Peru. Cork is surprisingly international. We've recently had people come to church from Czech Republic, Mauritius, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and Nigeria.

 

 

They also did a great drama on the sidewalk. It was the first time that we had tried that here, and it was very effective. Lots of people stopped and watched, and when they finished Keith was able to preach to the crowd that had gathered. We're looking forward to doing more dramas with the other groups that are coming this summer.

 

 

 

Wednesday nights we usually have a Bible study, but because the team was here we decided to have a special service and Peter Gooijer the assistant pastor from the Groningen church preached. Several visitors came and one man was healed from  pain in his body after Pastor Gooijer prayed for him. We also enjoyed some special music by Justine and Reinhart.

Before they flew home we took them to see Blarney Castle - it was a beautiful day!

 

 

 

Thank-you all so much for coming to help us here. You're amazing!







Nottingham Comes to Town

Our next event was a team from Nottingham, UK in March. What an amazingly dedicated bunch of people. After work on a Friday afternoon they loaded into the church van, drove 2 hours to the ferry, spent 1 1/2 hours crossing the Irish Sea, arrived in port in Dublin and then drove 3 hours to Cork. They arrived late at night but got up ready to go on Saturday morning! We fed them breakfast, and had a prayer meeting at our house and then hit the streets. Unfortunately the weather was not the nicest, but they were troopers and we had a great time. Several people on the team sang and rapped and gave their testimonies right on the street.

 

We took them home to get them warmed up, fed and rested before the concert that evening.

 

The concert was a great success. We had lots of visitors come out. The music and testimonies were great and almost the entire team performed a very moving drama before Pastor Nick  Kyriacou preached and gave an opportunity for people to receive Jesus as their Savior. Several people responded and then stayed afterwards to talk.

 

                                                                        

With our new friends Pastor Nick and Pam Kyriacou

We're so thankful for people who are investing in the church here in Cork!

 

I know that it's been a while since I've written, so this post begin "the big catch-up". Our spring has been busy with lots of teams coming to help us here in Cork. We are so blessed by these people. They really make a sacrifice to be with us. They pay their own airfare, hotel and restaurant costs, take time off from work and family, and travel lots of hours. Then when they get here they work really hard - no matter what the weather.

In March we had a team of 7 people from Bury St. Edmond's, England. Four of the ladies on the team are a music group "One Man Band", the one man being Jesus! These girls are amazingly talented. They all sing and all play multiple instruments. It was so fun to watch them switch places from song to song. They played on the street for hours on Friday, and then again on Saturday night at our hall. They drew good crowds and the rest of us got to witness and share our testimonies with those who gathered around.

                                                                                    
                                                                              

We had such a great time getting to know all these people. We had met Pastor Julian Mabey in 2011 when he happened to be in Romania while we were also there. Julian preached 2 great sermons on Sunday and prayed for all the visitors.

 

Monday we took some time to play tourist and went to nearby Blarney Castle. It was a beautiful day and we explored a part that we hadn't seen before, the Rock Garden. It was beautiful, like something out of a Narnia or Lord of the Rings novel.

 

                                                                       

With my new friend Claire

these crazy girls!



Michael and Brandy



"Uhm...Claire, there seems to be something on your nose!"



and my husband decides to take up rock climbing!

We so appreciate Julian, Claire and their church and can't wait to see them all again!