my last week in ohio

the time has finally come for me to leave the states and fly back to northern ireland and find a job for a while!
i have loved this tour and we have seen a lot of change in ohio!
only 3 shows left of the whole tour and then its time for everyone to say goodbye and go there seperate ways!
its so crazy to think i now have friends all around the world, hopefully i can visit everyone! haha!!
its going to be a big change to come home but hopefully i find a job really quickly and settle in no problem!

3 weeks left!

this tour has flowen by, i wasn't expecting it to go so fast at all! we have seen God do so much stuff its crazy! just last week a girl who had a broken foot got healed in a SCHOOL!!!
its hard thinking im going to be coming home soon, i really have to prepare myself. i am tired. we have lived in a different house every week since the start of september. lots of late nights and early mornings i think i will be glad to be in 1 place for a while! its been an amazing time though!
we just all have to give it everything we have for the last 3 weeks and see what God can do through us all!

detention centre

on thursday we had the opportunity to go into a juvenille detention centre. this was a first for me! we did a school assembly set up but we were able to talk openly about God and preach to the young people. afterwards we went to their cells and where allowed to talk and pray with them.
i was talking with 2 girls, one was 17 and the other 16 and had a 1 year old girls at home. they had some questions about God but they said they wanted to start living for him so we prayed for them and encouraged them. a lot of kids would rather keep getting in trouble and being sent back to juvi becasue its better than being at home. for others a couple days is a wake up call and they come out determined to do better!
it was a realy good experience and God definately changed lives in that place!

busy busy

this has been such a busy tour i have hardly had time to think!
i am now in my fourth host home; middletown ohio.
i am so excited that this week things are going to slow down! we have more time to relax in between all the school assemblies and shows!
things are going really well. some towns are easier to work in than others but most churches are excited to have us in the area!

the other day we went to cedar point! alton towers eat you heart out! it was so good, i think it took 5 years off my life. it was good to get a break and spend time with friends because even though we are all on tour we only see each other for a hour or so ever couple days! busy busy busy!!

one week down.... 6 to go!

its crazy to think we have only been here a week because it already feels so much longer because we are so busy all the time.
this week we were actually staying just over the state line in Indiana. we have had lots of school assemblies and all the big shows for the area were this weekend.

on thurday our small team had the opportuity to preform and speak at a food bank in a church. afterwards we spent time praying for people who needed healing from different things. i was speaking to a women who had diabetes. her husband died last year and she couldn't afford health insurance to get the insulin she needs. i prayed for her for a while and she said that she felt God had done something in her and she was healed. this week we have already had many stories of people healed from back pain, migraines and sight problems.
i believe that God is here and he is working in the people of this area and its really exciting to see.
i am looking forward to whats in store the rest of the time we are here!

OHIO!!!!

so i have started another tour, this time its ohio!
i am dancing again but its a little different! i am part of a combo team so instead of skaters im on a team with strong men!!!! these guys are crazy, they break bricks, rip phone books bend bars with their teeth etc etc!
so mostly i am doing school assemblies! the team has ready done 9 in 2 days, so we have to split up a lot! im looking forward to getting to do some ministry and speak with kids also. its going to be a packed 7 weeks but so worth it!

its been great to meet up with friends from the last tour and get to catch up, its hard seeing as we're spread all over the world!

photos

brazil is over

we finally finished the houses!!!
it was very last minute, the last few days of work it rained constantly which made it very difficult to build, especially as it was so muddy and we didnt have the equipment we needed but we made it!

the families where so grateful for all that we did for them and they were so sad to see us go. i was sad to leave. i think a little piece of my heart will always be in that community in brazil.
it was such a special time and one i will never forget.

my heart breaks!

my heart breaks for this place in way i haven't experienced before.
we are helping a family and i love all of them so so very much! it is a family of 6 that like in a one room wooden shack. their bathroom is a hole outside and they lay mattresses on the floor at night! its living conditions we cannot understand. we are adding 2 bedrooms and a bathroom to the house and it seems like we should be doing so much more.
the mother maria is the sweetest kindest woman here. she has been so hospitiable to us and given us what she can and she makes the best coffee in brazil! her 4 kids are wonderful, jessica is 14 and we have taken her under our wing and talk to her lots about boys and relationships because prostitution is such a bi problem in the area.
the other 3 kids are adorable and love too see us and talk away in portuguese even though we cant reply! i want to take them all home!

i think this city will have some of my heart. for the most part it is quite a middle class city. most places in brazil have the very very rich and the very very poor but here is slightly different. i really want to come back here and be able to continue working in the community.
i can see these people through the eyes of jesus and i love them! its so hard to leave and go back to my comfortable life! so often i feel like i dont have anything because money is always so tight. but i am so blessed!!!!!
WAKE UP CERI!!! look at all you have!

more news from brazil

i have been here for nearly 2 weeks now. at times it has been so awesome and at times it has been so frustrating! the foundations for the first house are finished and we have built most of the bathroom. at times we have been waiting around for materials to be delivered which is hard when there are people to do the work.
today we started on the second house. we are not rebuilding another house but adding on to the back of it. the reason for this is that the mayor is moving people from this area into proper houses but that could take up to 3 years before everyone is moved.

its so encouraging to see the children of both houses so eager to help. both come from families with different father situations but they are all so excited to have us there. we are all their aunts and uncles and they want to be with us all day even though we don't understand what they say to us!its great to encourage them and give them a chance to do something they couldn't normally!

on saturday we had an outreach and i had the opportunity to dance and speak so that was really good. we gave out food, cut hair, did face painting and had entertainment going. it was so different from any gx shows in canada because it was just on a dirt road! but it was so good to do and God was definately in it!

pictures of brazil

first days in brazil

our first days in brazil have been great. we spent the weekend getting to know the area and seeing the city which was a lot of fun.

work began full out on monday. this week we are replacing an old wooden house for a family of 5 with a new one. its in a realy poor ares where everyone pretty much lives in shacks. words cant even discribe what its like so i hope to get some pictures up soon.
its a hard job but they are already so appreciative of everything we are doing.

it really makes you appreciate all you have and wonder why you complain about stuff that you definately dont need!

i made it

i have made it to brazil. it was a little dfficult and we left our bags in sao paulo but we did get to travel first class to brazil so that was fun!!

today we explored the city a bit and tomorrow we get to meet all the brazilians that are going to help us from the local churches.
im excited to be here, so far i like brazil!

its brazil time!!!

only a couple days to go until i leave for brazil!
i probably should have invested some more time learning portuguese but hopefully ill get by when im there and it might even be easier to learn down there i hope anyway!

im excited the time has finally come to go though, it feels like ive been waiting forever.
its only a team of 10 which is really small but we can achieve a lot im hoping and we should have a great time seeing what God can do!

i will post as often as i can to let you know how things are

i have returned

my time in canada has come to an end. i met a lot a lot of people in the two weeks i was there but i loved it.
theres something about it that was so appealing and i would love to spend more time there.

i was in saskatoon for 2 weeks staying with friends and then we started the long drive back to kansas city.

it ended up taking 3 days but it was a lt of fun. we stopped off at mount rushmore seeing as it was on the way so that was pretty cool to have seen that, despite the fact that it was raining.
i have to say though we were probably driving through the most uninteresting part of america and all the rain didnt help much, there were a few scary moments on the road.

but we made it back in one piece.

i now have 37 days to fill until brazil. at the moment i know i will be doing some gardening to work off my rent and hopefully lots of dancing to get better! apart from that theres not too much going on down here, its a pretty quiet time.

i guess that means lots of time to reflect and think and ask God what the next step is in life right now.

oh canada

so i am currently in winnipeg, canada.
its so strange that i have got to go to so many places and although all are in the north americas they are all so different. chicago, ohio, kansas, kingston ON and now Winnipeg.

so many people in this world live their lives so differently but yet in so many ways people are all the same. we all want to belong, we all want love and acceptance. to know that we matter to others and we all need Jesus.

i love travelling! i have made the decision to go to brazil in the summer and im excited to see how different things are down there. and to experience a culture that is totally different from Northern ireland or scotland!
it will be hard but exciting.

in the mean time i can continue to people watch and wonder what it is that makes us all so different but the same!

oh so random today i think i have not had enough sleep!

the day we had brazilian food and it was amazing

so i had my first experience of a brazilian resturant the other day, though it was in kansas city!!! but it was AMAZING!

i dont usually eat a lot of meat but if anyone was a veggie this would turn you!! they just kept bringing out so much good meat on these skewers and you ahve as much as you wanted of any of it! plus the salads were amazing so i was happy with that also!

we went for a birthday lunch and i pretty much couldnt move after and i didnt need anything for the rest of the day! but it was so good to be able to go out for a really good meal with really good people and have a wonderful time. it is such a blessing from God and i dont want to miss those, even though sometimes they seem like something so small and not that significant! this was definately a great day!

its tornado time

so the other night i nearly experienced a tornado!!!!

we were out in the van and just about to come home when this crazy storm started! i have never seem rain or hail like it, it was totally different from what we get at home. so we were trying to drive in it and then we got a phone call saying it wasnt safe to come home because all the sirens were going off in belton and the tornado had touched down on the freeway between where we were and home!
so we had to drive to someone elses and wait it out but where they lived about 15mins away it was hardly even raining! it was so crazy!
eventally it was ok and we could drive home.
and thats my first tornado story, a little scary but ok!

tour is offcially over

we had our last outreach in kansas city on saturday, most people have gone home and tour is over!
i tried to put a link to a video with some footage on my page but i dont know if it worked. if not go to youtube and type in iwt kingston 08 and it should come up.

for the next couple of weeks i have an interesting schedule. most nights from around midnight until 6am i will be going to the international house of prayer in kansas city. this is a 24/7 prayer room with continuous live worship. its a great place to spend time with God and pray for world issues.

apart from that i will be helping out with anything that needs to be done post tour.
in a couple weeks im going to canada to take a bit of a break. things have been really crazy and busy so it will be nice to realx for a while. i will also be doing some teaching in the local community centre.

this summer there is an opportunity for to go to either brazil or austrialia! these are amazing opportunities. God is opening so many doors and its exciting!!! its a tough decision so i will be praying about it a lot!

its april and im burnt!!!!!

so its only april but in kansas city its so hot already!!!
yesterday we went to the zoo because we have a couple of days of rest time before our last show on Saturday. but my skin; outside all day; no sun cream; not good!!! so now my arms are very red!

at the moment people are starting to leave and go back to their lives all around the world. but i am staying in kansas city. i have to sort out all the costumes after tour lots of laundry fun fun fun!!!

im contemplating whats to come for the rest of my life. so many decisions but ill figure it out eventually.
im thinking about going to brazil in july for a month but i need to see if i can afford the flights and if its what God wants for me.

just a little reminder, always were sunscreen!@!!!!!!!!!

back in kansas

we had a crazy week in ohio, with shows in churches every night!! it was really hectic but also really good.

i am now back in kansas city and we have another outreach here tomorrow night. i am planning to stay here for the next couple of months to help out wherever necessary and take some time to rest and spend time with God.

i hope to post a video with some footage of the show in kingston asap to give you all an idea of whats been going on.

canada is over!

this weekend has been amazing.
thursday night team extreme had there big show where they break bricks, flip cars etc. friday night was island breeze which is dancers from the pacific islands and saturday night was our night! there were around 6000 people there and it was so good to get up on stage and dance!!
i loved every second. so many people came forward to give their lives to God and ask questions. sunday night was combo night where all 3 teams took part and over 7000 people came to watch.

but my time in canada has come to an end. we are leaving at 630 in the morning to drive to ohio for a week. we are passing via Niagara falls which is exciting! it feels like tour is only starting and im sad that its so near the end becuase it has been so much fun and i have made so many friends.
i know this is what i want to be doing! im sad to be leaving canada because its really nice here, but hopefully ill be back to visit!

first big show!!

we had our fist satellite show is the small town of napanee on friday night.
(for those of you who may be interested this is where avril lavine is from.)
we had the stage set up in a old ice hockey rink and nearly 1200 people came to see it.
it went really well for my first show, i was still pretty nervous about messing up and stuff but i got through it all and the crowd loved the skating and dancing.
there were also some testimonies and a preach at at the end hundreds of people came forward to receive jesus or get prayer for things.
they all received bibles and their details passed on to local churches to follow up with them. its really exciting to see what God is doing is this place.

yesterday was our day off so we went to montreal to check out some of the sights and do a little shopping! it was good to relax and just hang out with people in the team and build our friendships as well as focusing on all the other stuff we're doing.

we've gone to a number of schools now and the kids are really excited by what they see and here. although we aren't allowed to talk about God specifically we can still give them positive life messages and encourage them.

another show tonight to get ready for! the time has gone so quickly here in canada and i feel like im only getting started! im trying to figure out what the next step is for me after tour!

i have been in kingston for 5 days now but it feels like so much longer! im staying in a nice flat with a girl called megan whos 24 and another girl for the team. megan has a great dane so thats interesting coz its such a big dog that likes to sit on you!
its snowed a couple times since we've been here so its pretty cold.

so far we have done 1 high school assembly and a couple of other events! yesterday we were at a Christian concert and preformed in front of about 300 young people. it was a bit nerve wracking as i feel like i still don't know all the dances as well as i would like but they will come in time!

i am enjoying my time here. i have had the opportunity to pray for some people and thats been really good. we have loads of school assemblies coming up in the next 2 weeks to plug our main hub show in 2 weeks time. its in a venue that seats around 6000 people so thats a daunting thought!!!!!

kingston is quite a small city 2 hours from toronto and it was the first capital of canada. i haven't seen that much of it yet but im sure we will!

i hope to get some photos uploaded soon but its hard as i dont have lots of time to use the internet and stuff!

enjoy your easter and remember the reason behind it.

finally canada!

yet another early morning, im up and away at 5am tomorrow morning!!! we have had a great weekend in ohio.
dress rehersal on saturday which was interesting followed by a mini outreach in a ymca.

sunday we got to go shopping for a while and just relax with each other and we had birthday meal in the evening for 3 people so that was fun.
but now we're finally off to canada! we have set aside around 2 hours to get through the border tomorrow because there are people from 9 different countries and it will take a while to process it all. but im looking forward to getting to a new country and seeing where im going to be living for the next 4 weeks and stuff so it should be great!

end of training

i am not coming to the end of training and tomorrow morning at 5am we begin the long drive from kansas city to ohio! get your maps out and check that one!!!!!!

last night we had our first preformance which was pretty nerve wracking. probably because when it comes to dance im such a perfectionist and i still dont feel like i know them that well!!
however by the end of tour im sure ill know all the dances so well i could do them in my sleep! everyone here is really supportive and helpful and we are really starting to get on well as a team. it always takes me some time to settle in somewhere but im starting to feel more confident and a part of things which is great.

the weather here has been ridiculously warm! its pretty much as nice as we get in june and its only the start of march!!!
so crazy!!!! im glad its not summer coz i dont think i could dance in that heat

my first week

i think this is one of the hardest week i have had in a long long time. emotionally, physically and mentally.

my schedule has been crazy. every morning I'm up at 630, ready to leave at 730. we go to international house of prayer for around 40 minutes and then DANCE!!! dance dance dance 9 til 4.

its hard because only 2 of us are new and we've had so much choreography to learn, i think in 5 days I've learned some 8 pieces so my brain feels like it might explode!

its also been really hard to try and make new friendships because many people know each other so well and at times it has felt very lonely, even though there are about 25 of us living in one house!
but i know i will get through that and it will just take time and i will find the place where i fit in.

i have arrived

so my journey started with an 8hour flight from dublin to chicago. it was pretty painless so thats a good start!
then i had to figure out how to get from the airport into chicago.... no as easy as i thought and people were not particularly helpful on pointing me the direction of the train so after half and hour i gave up and got a shuttle taxi which took FOREVER!!
thankfully jane was there to meet me and we got some dinner, then i had the long wait until my bus at midnight (6am uk time!)
then a 10hour coach to kansas city where i arrived at 10am this morning with very little sleep! it was a long journey but i made it!

now i have 2 weeks of rehersals. we leave at 730 every morning (i thought those days were behind me for a while after no more nero!) i think its going to be a pretty intense time but im just really hoping that i make friends quickly and keep up with the dancing!

i miss home a little already but i think its the shock of everything combined with being so tired and it will pass once i get going!!!

im certainly glad i don't have to do more travelling for a couple weeks anyway!

this is it!!!

on saturday im off to kansas city via chicago to begin my training with gx international!
this is an exciting time for me. i have included a video to give you some idea of what im going to be doing!

my trip!

this is my blog for my trip away to canada and states. i thought it would be the best way to keep everyone informed especially as i can add pictures etc!
so enjoy