A short recap

Well hello there,

Apologies for how long it has taken to give everyone an update! The summer became quite hectic and it seems that the busyness has spilt over into the fall. However, I did want to take a moment and catch everyone up on the events of the summer and beginning of fall. I last wrote a post in April. I will just walk you through the past months!

MAY

This past May our good friend and Harrison's "roommate emeritus" Richie came to visit! We throughly enjoyed hosting our first guest! If you would like an awesome photo in front of our door like this one, then you should come visit us as well! Richie was with us one week. We spent a day in Dublin exploring Trinity College, Harrison and Richie went up the coast road and saw the Giant's Causeway and the Carrik-a-Rede rope bridge, they spent time in Portstewart, we spent a day in Downpatrick exploring the St. Patrick museum, and enjoyed lots of good pizza! We were sad to see him go but grateful for the time that we had with him!

JUNE

This past June, Harrison and I celebrated our fourth anniversary! We kept it low key, but our good friends invited us that week out to their boat in Enniskillen for the day! I don't remember the last time that I've actually been on a boat! It's not a super common thing here to be well acquainted with the water so they were a little taken aback when we didn't want to take a life jacket. We assured them that if we fell in we would be okay! They took us out to a little island called Devenish where the ruins of an old monastery still sit. We enjoyed exploring the area and then went back to the boat to have a wonderful lunch!

JUly

At the very end of June, we left for London! We came back the beginning of July. LONDON IS AMAZING. If you ever have a chance to visit, please do! Harrison has a friend from seminary that is a medical doctor in England (who is originally from Northern Ireland!) that invited us over to stay with him and his wife for a few days! They live in Colchester which is northeast of the city, but we were able to go into the city for a couple of days. Every square inch of London is oozing with history, every building has a story, and every part of the city is so beautiful and well looked after. We saw Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, Harrod's , Westminster Abbey, The British Museum, the Tower of London, the Tower Bridge, St. Paul's Cathedral, and Platform 9 3/4. We rode the Tube, took a ferry down the Thames, rode the London Eye, and I feel that we just scratched the surface in what London has to offer! We have another trip planned this December when we have more friends coming to visit and I am so excited to go back! We also were able to see a lot of the beautiful English countryside while staying in Colchester including visiting Lavenham, a quaint medieval village, on the way back to the airport!

August

This past August, Harrison had to go to the library at Cambridge University to get some primary resources for his PhD. Some of James Ussher's original sermon manuscripts are there. Harrison has a travel budget each year provided by Queen's that allows him to go on research trips like this one! I was able to tag a long for one night. Cambridge was incredible! I didn't know that some place could be quite so beautiful. It's almost like stepping into a story book! We were able to stay on campus at Churchill College. We enjoyed just walking around and seeing the sights of such a beautiful village! This is another place you should put on your to-do list!

September

This past September, Harrison and I set off for camp! The Boys' Brigade and the Girl's Brigade are major organizations tied in with the church here in Northern Ireland. I have been helping lead the Brigaders' (the older high school girls) and Harrison was asked to come be the speaker for the weekend for the BB.

We stayed down at camps in Newcastle which is right along the Irish Sea. We had many fun activities including climbing (my personal favorite!) and activities on the water at nearby Castlewellan Lake. Harrison got to go canoeing with the boys as pictured here!

It was a fun weekend and a great time building relationships with the young people! However, we were very glad to get home and be showered!

That brings us to October! In just over a week, Harrison will be embarking on his second research trip, but this time to Oxford! We are both very excited! I'll be tagging along on the last few days of his trip!

Thank you to everyone who has been supporting us and praying for us. It has meant so much! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity that we are so grateful that you have helped us achieve!

Blessings,