Ireland Update - Debriefing

We are nearing the end of our time of debriefing. Debriefing is such a vital and important time of our summer trip. It is a time to prepare for going back home. Students have had times of teaching and also times of personal reflection. Students have been covering things such as what they could experience back home, what types of reception they may have, their feeling and emotions they may process through, and how to have a good plan to set them up for success in their personal growth and ministry involvement back home. Students have also done Bible studies on specific topics for coming home. These studies may address things like trust, obedience, or confidence to name a few.

In addition to personal reflection, the students have specific tasks to complete during debriefing. One of them was to write themselves a letter. This is a letter that will get mailed to them after the summer - after a few months have passed. They may have included things such as a challenge to themselves to keep in the Word or different things they want to remember or keep themselves accountable about. Another project they did is called Telling Your Story. This prepares the students to be able to share clearly what they learned and experienced this summer.

On top of the study and teaching for going home, we were able to do a couple of fun activities to learn about Ireland and the culture. The first was a tour of Kilmainham Goal. This was a prison that was built in the 1700’s and closed in 1928. It has had a very interesting history housing not only those who broke the law but also other significant political figures in Irish history. Its youngest prisoner was 3-year-old who was arrested for begging. There was also a time, during the Irish potato famine, when people would commit lesser crimes just to get put in prison, so they could get some food.

Just last night, we were able to take our team to see the 25th Anniversary production of Riverdance. Personally, in my now 17 years of Royal Servants summers, that was one of my favorite cultural things to do. It was an amazing show. The dancing was incredible. It was quite impressive to see the way they were able to move in such an interesting style. It was fun, exciting, powerful, and often loud. The music was also just as impressive with 4 very talented musicians. After the show, there was a buzz from the team, and they continued to talk about how much they enjoyed the performance. It was a great way to cap off our time here in Dublin

Today (Friday), we are finishing up with some time to see more of the city of Dublin. Seeing the sights, museums, and doing some shopping are the main things on people’s agendas. They will then have dinner, and we will cap the evening with cleaning, packing, and then a commissioning service. Thank you for your prayers and support of our team. We are excited to get back home to our families… and softer beds.

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Scott Anderson – Ireland Team Trip Leader