Jubilee & Jetlag

Planes have always been exciting to me! I think of them as portals to new adventures I might not otherwise have. This flight to Ireland was no exception. The journey over the Atlantic was rather uneventful (in a good way) and many of us slept to pass the time. When we weren't snoozing the time away, we laughed, spoke of the coming events and ate when food was provided. Speaking of which, I don't think I have ever had breakfast in such close proximity to dinner before, but I guess that comes with the territory when you're changing time zones.

After landing, we immediately began our exploration of Ireland. We met our tour manager, Mattie, and our driver and guide, Pat. After loading our luggage on the bus, we hit the road with our nose pointed toward Clonmacnoise Monestary! Upon our arrival, we experienced a rich introduction to Irish Monastic history and had our breathes taken away by the mystical scenery of stone ruins among ancient tombs situated by Ireland's largest river, the river Shannon. The landscape was cloaked in fog and a gentle drizzle fell as we explored the ruins. A perfect welcome to this amazing Island.

From there, our journey took us to the city of Galway, the location of our first scheduled concert. Before checking into our hotel, we visited the Cathedral of our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St. Nicholas, or as it is also known, Galway Cathedral. It was a magnificent piece of architecture and we couldn't help but perform a handful of impromptu pieces. The sound was breathtaking and each of us were reminded of the blessing God has given us in music and specifically the ability to sing his praises.

Today's Prayer Request: Pray that we make ourselves available to the leading of God's Holy spirit in every situation we encounter on this trip.

For more information regarding the Clonmacnoise monastery, you can check out the following link. 

http://www.monasticireland.com/historicsites/clonmacnoise.htm

In order to help you keep track of our location you can find the city of Galway on the west coast of Ireland on the map below.