2 weeks down...

Friends & Family of FISP 2009,

It has been too long since I last updated you on our time here. We have had a full week in which we spent a day in Dublin seeing the Book of Kells and Trinity College. We also stopped in at the National Gallery for students to select the works of art they will be presenting on later in the semester. The students had time to explore the city on a rainy Monday afternoon.

Tuesday we visited Newgrange which is a breathtaking ancient Irish site. No one is quite sure how it was constructed or for what purpose, but it dates back to 5000 BC and it's quite incredible to be inside this burial site/religious building/memorial of some sort and realize that it has stood for about 7000 years. We also stopped in for a short tour of the Old Melifont Abbey which now represents one of the oldest and most magnificent Abbeys in Ireland.

Wednesday through Friday have been full of class, rain, DART trips, homework, sleep, lack of sleep, and Greystones exploration.

The students are becoming quite a close knit group as they spend a lot of time together. There are plenty of exciting things to learn together and about each other and we tread ahead...mostly with joy. I am so proud of the way the students are embracing this experience and seeking to learn along the way.

While we face the normal of challenges of living life together and away from home, I can say without question that God has been faithful to us in so many ways to this point.