A Rainbow, Great Food, Agnosticism, and Homesickness

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Hi.

I was given little instruction on what I needed to include in this blog other than to outline my initial impressions of Ireland and my study abroad experience. So, I’ll use that as an excuse to exercise creative freedom concerning how I’ll address my initial impressions. However, I believe this blog ought to start with a quick recounting of my departure from home and arrival in Ireland. The trip was uneventful, which is a great thing when traveling. I sat beside an old lady on my flight from Sioux Falls to Chicago, and we talked briefly. She was very excited to hear that I was studying abroad and studying to serve in the gospel ministry. I include this because I’m always appreciative when someone encourages me to continue training for public ministry, especially strangers.

After a lengthy layover in Chicago, I boarded my flight to London and got a grand total of three hours of sleep on the flight. I can’t complain too much because that’s excellent for an airplane. It also allowed me to watch the sun slowly rise over London as the plane came close to landing. I find it interesting to watch how European cities and streets snake in violent directions compared to the uniform grids of cities in the US. Once safely in London, I had to go through security again and boarded my final flight to Shannon Airport. It was brief, and I landed without any problems. In fact, once I retrieved my checked bag, it was the fifth bag that appeared at baggage claim– a miracle!

I met up with the group I am studying abroad with through ISA (International Studies Abroad), and we took a taxi to our housing. On the drive over, it suddenly started raining but stopped a couple of minutes later. After the rain stopped, the sun came out, and a rainbow appeared in the sky! It had been forever since I had seen one and it was a great reminder of God’s promise to never flood the world again! Once we arrived, our group leader, Karen, took us to buy bedding and other basic amenities. After that, I spent time getting unpacked and trying to stay awake to adjust my circadian rhythms to my new environment.

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As a student of MLC, I was required to take a class called Fit for Life. Although I don’t remember much from the class, I do remember learning about the six different types of health: Physical, Mental, Emotional, Social, Environmental, and Spiritual. I think these six health aspects are a perfect starting place for reflecting on my initial experience.

  1. Physical

Physically speaking, besides a minor cold I’ve developed in the past day, I feel healthy. One of my fears before arriving in Ireland was being unable to locate food that I would be able to eat due to my intolerance to gluten and lactose. I had nothing to fear. I have many options for buying healthy, nourishing food within one mile of my housing. Eating out has been a little tricky because many of the staple dishes of Irish restaurants include dairy and gluten.

Nonetheless, I love cooking for myself because it’s easy to control portions and ensure that I won’t contaminate my food with allergens. I’ve also had the privilege to buy a pass for the school’s gym, which has everything I could want and more. So far, I’ve consistently gone to the gym three days a week and lifted weights. This has been great, but what amazes me is how much I walk everywhere. I live about one mile from my University, so I’ve easily walked an average of 15,100 steps per day (about 8 miles per day).

  1. Mental

When it comes to my mental health, I know I’m doing well because I’m able to think clearly and keep a level head. I’ve been getting plenty of sleep here (about 8 hours per night), which has helped.

  1. Emotional

Emotionally speaking, I’ve had some successes and failures. The most significant success I’ve noticed is my ability to remain calm despite the uncertainty regarding the academic registration process here in Ireland. In Ireland, they only have you register for classes once you arrive on-site, and even then, classes start before your registration process is complete. When I started the registration process on Friday the 5th, I quickly discovered that I couldn’t take two of the four classes I had been approved to take by MLC before I left for Ireland. However, I was able to explain the situation to Dean Clemons at MLC, and he was able to provide me with alternative options. I want to give a huge thanks to both him and Professor Grubbs for quickly helping me resolve the issue!

Additionally, this uncertainty has already led to me missing a class (in my mind, a grievous sin) simply because I couldn’t access adequate information to know where the class would take place. I’ve discovered that the first week of classes is considered optional, so it’s not a big deal, but I still don’t like missing out on information, especially at the start of a semester. Despite the turmoil, I’ve stayed calm and gone with the flow. I should also note that the Irish education system cares less about class time and more about independent learning. This is a struggle for me to adjust to, but the benefit is that I don’t have any class on Fridays!

While this has been ideal, the biggest challenge that I’ve been facing so far is homesickness. For the most part, I feel great during the daytime (when the sun is out), but at night, once I run out of things to do and stay busy, I start to feel the sadness creep in. As embarrassing as this is, I’ve also been experiencing random bouts of missing my home and family during the daytime that drive me to tears. I seldom cry, but I’ve cried more in the past week than in the past three years combined. This has been the most homesickness I’ve ever dealt with, even more than when I left home for the first time for high school and college. I think it’s because I’ve developed a greater appreciation for my family and friends in the past year. I miss my parents, sister, and roommates, Rees and Adam. This is the first time in my life that I’ve been able to confidently say that I feel like I belong in a friend group, so leaving them has been very hard on me. In fact, I’m tearing up a little bit as I write this right now. I’m just so thankful for them, and even though I’m missing out on a semester with them, I know I’ll appreciate the time I spend with them when I return even more than I would’ve before. However, one of the blessings of the homesickness is that it’s caused me to read my Bible and pray more (more on that in a bit).

  1. Social

My social life has actually been going better than I expected. When I arrived, I met a group of students from all over the US because we are all studying abroad through the same company. This group of people has been super lovely, and despite our differences, we’ve bonded over the fact that we are all studying abroad and struggling with similar things. In the first week that I’ve been here, we’ve all gone out together numerous times for dinner or drinks. This is an interesting comparison point between the US and Ireland cultures. Generally speaking, in the US, when you refer to going out for drinks, you’re going out for 1-3 drinks. In Ireland, when someone says they’re going out for drinks, they’re going out for 5-8 drinks. I honestly don’t understand how they do it! The drink prices are ridiculously expensive (almost 6 USD for a pint of beer and 10 USD for mixed drinks), so I’ve avoided drinking beyond 1 or 2.

It is effortless to meet people here as long as you’re willing to be the person to speak first. From my (very limited) experience, people rarely will address you first, but if you smile and greet them and ask how they’re doing, they’ll happily respond. I’ve met several people this way, either in orientation or in classes. I have started forming a friendship with a Canadian named Josh (from Winnipeg), and the pleasure of getting to know him has been that he is very curious about God. He’s admitted to me that he’s jealous that I can have faith in God, so I’ve used this as an opportunity to share the gospel message a couple of times. He was also curious about why and how Lutherans differ from Catholics, so I got to teach him about the Reformation! Thanks be to God for allowing me to share the good news about Jesus!

  1. Environmental

The environmental aspect (my surroundings) has probably been one of my most eye-opening and culturally shocking experiences. I am definitely outside of the WELS bubble. This isn’t necessarily bad, but I think it contributes to my homesickness. I was quickly reminded of this Bible passage from 1 Peter 2:11, “Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.” Obviously, I am a foreigner here in Ireland, but I am also a foreigner of this world, simply on a journey toward my heavenly home. It’s easy for me to forget that I am a foreigner on earth when I’m at home. Being in Ireland (and especially experiencing homesickness) has caused me to remember where my true home is. The reason that I was reminded of this verse is because of the experiences I’ve had living in the “post-Christian” society that is Ireland. I have already heard several malicious quips made about either the Catholic church or Christianity as a whole….

At my orientation, we had a “sexologist” come and speak to us about consent, but with very vulgar descriptions and sayings that I honestly can’t repeat. It felt like I was the only person who wasn’t laughing. When I walk around campus, I constantly hear people swearing. I’m generally not that sensitive to swearing, but because I’ve been used to walking around MLC’s campus and not hearing it carelessly used, it’s taken me by surprise. Several of the guys my age that I’ve met have bragged about their sexual exploits, others have bragged about how much they can drink, and the list could go on and on with all of the sins that I am surrounded with.

All of this has not caused me to get angry, but it’s caused me great grief. I am constantly reminded of Jesus’ words on the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34 NIV). It could be my own ignorance, but it feels as though the people around me are unaware of their constant sin. I feel horrible for them, and I wish that they would come to recognize their sins and that Jesus is their savior. At the same time, what I’ve discovered is that (almost) everyone seems to be very curious about the idea of God– I’m surrounded by agnostics. This has been incredibly encouraging. 1) I see the great need for the gospel, and 2) people have open ears and want to learn. I pray that by the power of the Holy Spirit, I can be a tool that can be used to share the gospel with those who need it. After all, that’s what I’ve been spending all my time at MLC for, right?

  1. Spiritual

A few months ago, I attended a morning chapel service at MLC, where Professor Waldschmidt preached a sermon about God’s deliverance in times of need. He said (more or less) this: “I don’t know about you, but I need to be saved from something every day.” I don’t know why this statement sticks out, but I remember pondering it as I sat in chapel that day. As Christians, we know that we perpetually need God’s redeeming grace. But at the same time, Professor Waldschmidt also talked about how there are things in our everyday lives that we need God’s help. This is something (perhaps because of my self-reliant nature) that I have come to understand and realize in the past week.

As someone from a very independent society that recognizes self-reliance as the pinnacle of human accomplishment, I struggle with knowing that every good thing I do is from God and that without his power, I can do nothing. I cannot do everything on my own. It’s hard to see when you’re accomplishing everyday, ordinary tasks. I mention this because I have been struggling with adjusting to living abroad. Because of this, I find myself praying and asking for God’s help with the simplest things. Here are some real prayers I’ve had in the past couple of days: “Dear Lord, please keep me safe when I cross through traffic to go buy groceries. Amen.” “Dear Lord, help me remember where I have class. Amen.” “Dear Lord, give me the grace to not burn my food as I cook it. Amen.”

It’s an excellent reminder for me (and possibly you) that we must constantly rely on the Lord. And while I’ve been relying on God for the minuscule things, I’ve also been relying on him for the gigantic things. When I feel lonely, depressed, miss my family, or on the verge of tears for no apparent reason, I call out to God and ask for him to take away my pain. God has answered, not always right away, but I can trust that things will get better. In fact, when I visited the University of Galway’s chapel yesterday, I found two prayer cards in the lobby. I’ve attached a photo of them because I’ve been praying these prayers constantly and felt God was speaking to me with the line, “Give me the hope to believe that things will work out and that all will be well again. Amen.” I can confidently say God will make everything work out in the end (Romans 8:28), even if it’s hard to see amid my struggles.

Also, a quick note: I’ve kept up with my daily Bible reading plan, worshipped at the local Presbyterian church on Sunday morning, and attended morning mass with the Catholics twice. Both have benefited me, even if they aren’t WELS churches. I pray that God will continue to use both as a blessing to strengthen and keep me in the faith. Amen.

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Thanks for reading my blog; I hope you enjoyed it. I know it was long, and there’s so much more I could have talked about, but this was the most relevant. Please continue to pray for me as I study abroad.

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.” Philippians 4:7

Here’s a description for each photo attached below:

  1. The rainbow I saw right after I landed in Ireland.
  2. The prayer cards I’ve been praying (almost without ceasing)!
  3. The inside of the Galway cathedral where I’ve gone to Catholic mass.
  4. The outside of the Galway cathedral.
  5. A random alley near the city center that capture the spirit of Galway.
  6. A photo taken on a foggy morning walk to class.
  7. The inside of the campus pub. Perhaps MLC should team up with Schell’s to have it’s own campus bar??
  8. “American-style” peanut butter– tastes just like Jif, but without all of the added sugar!