Day 8

WOW! It is hard to believe that today was our last full day in Ireland! We were lucky today and were able to sleep in as Owen, our bus driver, didn’t pick us up until 10 a.m. We were all thankful for the extra rest. Once Owen arrived, we headed into the beautiful city of Galway. He gave a brief tour showing us the beautiful universities, rivers, and historic buildings. Our first stop was St. Nicholas’ Collegiate Church. Built in 1320, it is the largest medieval parish church in Ireland that is still in use today. While we were there looking at the beauty of the church, the organist came and played some stunning music while we took it all in. After we finished our tour, we went for an afternoon of shopping in Galway. Many of our pilgrims still had gifts to get for people back home, but at the end of our spree, everyone found the prefect gifts for their loved ones. Heidi and Bella even got to meet the mayor and police commissioner of Galway! 

Heidi and Bella with the police commissioner and mayor of Galway.  

Getting ready to shop!

Later that afternoon, Owen picked us up for our scenic cruise of the River Corrib in Galway. Once aboard we were able to see many sites not visible from the road such as the remains of an ancient castle and one of the beautiful universities in Galway. As our 90 minute cruise was coming to an end, we learned that one of the crew members is an Irish Coffee-making champion! She showed all on the boat how to make her award winning coffee. After the demonstration, I was the lucky person who got to enjoy it, but only after I did some Irish dancing with her! Some of the pilgrims also got some dance lessons and learned a traditional Irish dance. Don’t worry, I’ve told them that we have to do it for y’all once we get home!

Pilgrims enjoying some fresh air on the cruise. 

Award winning Irish Coffee-maker.

After our wonderful day in Galway, we boarded the bus for a three hour drive to Dublin. There was lots of laughter and giggles on the bus, and of course, a few who were snoozing. Once we arrived to our hotel, we ate our last dinner together. It was there when we started to really realize our time together was coming to an end. 

Our last dinner together,

During our reflection tonight, I asked each pilgrim to think about a spiritual highlight of the trip. Here is some of what they shared:

Bella C.- Evensong at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin was a highlight for her. Bella enjoyed praying and listening to the men’s choir during the service; it was very beautiful and moving.

Heidi C.- Climbing Crough Patrick was her highlight. It taught her that no matter the obstacles and rough times, God will help you overcome them all.

Ben A.- Ben enjoyed visiting Inis Mor, one of the Aran Islands. He particularly liked sitting over the cliffs and seeing the water crash against them. It reminded him how small he was in this world and brought him closer to God.

Claire A.- Crough Patrick was a highlight for Claire. She wanted to give up and turn around at the halfway point, but she felt God push her to continue. Making it to the top was worth all of the struggle.

Elisabeth A- Elisabeth also enjoyed the visit to Inis Mor. She felt very close to God looking at the ocean from on top of the cliffs.

Alex H.- Alex’s spiritual highlight happened on his birthday. After a long day (and week) of tours and history lessons, he was happy that we were able to pray Compline together (his first time praying it) at the end of the day and enjoy good fellowship with one another.

Nikki+- Nikki enjoyed learning from the pilgrims and seeing a different side of them. She’s learned more about them in these past 9 days then in the last few years she’s known them.

J.C.- My highlight was being with the pilgrims. It has been amazing to see their growth spiritually and to see who they are as a person. I feel very blessed and humbled that I was able to spend this time with them.

These past 9 days have truly flown by and I think we’ve all grown both as individuals and spiritually. While it is bittersweet to leave Ireland, I think we are all excited to get home to see family and friends. Our flight leaves tomorrow morning around 10 a.m. Keep us in your prayers as we travel home back to you. We are all excited to share what we’ve learned on this trip with you and can’t wait to see you all!

Thank you for all of your prayers and support!

God’s blessings,

J. C. Albritton