When we arrived in Dublin, we were shown generous hospitality by our amazing friend who let us stay in her place (in the fancy schmancy ”Dublin 4″ area, no less!). But it was still nice to find a place we can call home.
Besides the need for it to be south of the river Liffey (Church is on the south side), we had no specific location in mind. This meant I (Dave) spent a bit of time trekking all over town trying to find the right house – a great help in getting a feel for Dublin and piecing together where everything is.
We found a place that looked good after a few days of looking, and signed a 12 month lease the next day – which was back on the 1st of July. So let me now show you our Irish home.
Firstly, here is its location and proximity to the city and Church. It’s inside the ring road, and near lots of great parks (the best of which is Marlay Park, which is Dublin’s second largest and is absolutely perfect for wasting a Saturday afternoon with the boys – and it’s only 5 minutes away!). I have timed how long it takes to get to church: 10 minutes drive or 18 minutes bike ride (for me – Cadel Evans may do it slightly faster!). There are regular buses into the city too.
Now, let me show you what the house looks like. Here is the outside (with our new car in the driveway – a Kia Carens which has 7 seats so is perfect for when visitors come from Australia). All the houses in our street look virtually identical, and all the streets in our estate have virtually identical names – Llewellyn Lawn, Llewellyn Way, Lewellyn Grove… you get the idea. Very confusing!
Here is our lounge room. The place came furnished, but it was pretty sparse so we had to do a few trips to Ikea and Argos to buy some more furniture. And yes, that is a fireplace. We’re looking forward to sitting in front of it with a hot chocolate when winter comes.
Here’s the kitchen and dining room. Irish kitchens often double up as laundries too, with the washing machine being under the bench along with a small fridge and freezer.
And now upstairs. Our bedroom is at the front of the house, which looks out onto a large green across the road. We have set up an office in the corner of our room, which saves having to go into the church when preparing Bible studies and talks – though we’re still waiting for all our books to arrive by sea freight.
The boys share a room, so we’re very happy with the size of it- second bedrooms are often quite small in Dublin.
The third room is tiny, only just fitting the double bed and small wardobe in – but it should get good use as family and friends come to visit us. We’ve already got two confirmed arrivals and can’t wait to hang out and show off Dublin to them!
We’ve been told the bathroom is “very Australian”, with Irish bathrooms often having no tiles on the walls (or even the floors), so we did well there too.
And finally, the backyard. It was empty when we arrived, but we have since put in a small shed for the bikes, a picnic table, compost bin, herb and vegie patch and a few other plants. The latest addition, though not pictured here, is a small chicken coop with two chooks. No eggs yet, but the plan is that they will give us a regular supply of fresh eggs. If they don’t start laying soon, I’ll have to show them an axe and remind them that they could serve another purpose if they don’t want to supply us with eggs! The big green tank holds oil for the central heating, and the the little room next to it is not an outdoor dunny – it holds the boiler for the heating.
We are very mindful of God’s provision in all of this – the house-hunting went so smoothly and we are already feeling at home. We are thankful to those who are giving generously and praying regularly. Please continue to pray – that we would use this house for God’s glory, growing in our love for him as a family and opening our doors to others so we can use hospitality as a way of furthering his kingdom.
Love lots,
Brooke, Dave & the boys
