Just a warning: what I am about to tell you in this blog may make you a little jealous....
This weekend I went to a town called Bundoran in County Donegal - it's actually part of the "South" (regular ol' Ireland), but it's physically in the north (confused yet?!). Anyway, Bundoran was the the site for the first ever WAVE young women's group residential. We did yoga, got massages, and went SURFING! Not to mention all the laughs we had. Just an absolutely incredible weekend.
This weekend made me think of all the 'firsts' I have had while I have been in Northern Ireland. I mean, I have never even put on a wet suit before, let alone surfing! Some of the things I hadn't done before I came here:
*Ridden in a taxi
*Eaten Pavlova (and boy was I missing out!)
*Participated in a yoga class
*Run in a marathon (I didn't run the whole thing remember!)
*Attended a table quiz
*Gotten a massage
*Lived in a city
And of course...
*Worn a wetsuit
*Gone surfing
I am grateful for all the new things I have done this year, and all the new things I have learned as a result of that. It's hard to believe that we only have about a month left!
15 June 2009
So last week Kevin, the other volunteers, Doug, and I went to Scotland. It was an absolutely fantastic trip. Here’s a quick overview:
Monday:
The day started at 6:00am, when Uncle Bobby (our adopted uncle) picked us up and took as to a bus station in the city centre. Then we took a bus to a ferry, which took us over to Scotland. Then we took another bus, missed a train so took a (very quick) 3 hour ride in a taxi to catch another ferry to catch another bus to get on one more ferry. (For those of you keeping count, that’s 3 buses, 3 ferries, and one taxi!). We ended on the Isle of Iona where a Christian community (called ‘The Iona Community’ – go figure) is based. They work to build Christian community and to promote social justice. They also do a lot of work developing Christian worship. We ended our very long day with worship at the abbey on the island. It was very peaceful and a beautiful way to start the trip.
Tuesday
Began the day again at a service at the abbey. Then we went on a pilgrimage around the island, which was super fun. The rest of the day pretty much was just goofing around with the other volunteers and then a healing service in the evening. I went up for prayer for healing for a lot of things. It was a really neat experience – having a whole community praying for you like that, even though no one really knew who I was or what was going on in my life. There’s something powerful in other Christians physically touching you and asking God for healing.
Wednesday
Got back on the ferry, then a bus, then another ferry, the a train to go to Glasgow. There we had dinner with a guy named Martin who works for the Church of Scotland (which, I learned, is what they call the Presbyterian Church in that country). Martin’s work centers around what they call ‘priority’ areas, or the poorest parts of the city. He was really interesting to listen to because he looks a poverty in a way that I had never thought of before. AND, we had Moroccan food for dinner – a first time for me!
Thursday
Met with a team of people in Glasgow who work with different faith organizations (churches, mosques, etc.) in ‘priority’ areas to develop community programs. We spent a good part of the day traveling to a couple of churches and speaking to people about what they are doing to serve the community. One church did a lot of work with youth in the community. The other had quite a lot for refugees living in the area. Both actually have a café and a relaxation room on their premises! I am pretty convinced every church should have those things! Then we took a train to Edinburgh.
Friday-Saturday
Spent these two days in Edinburgh. We spoke to the Church is Scotland’s program manager for climate change. We talked about taking care of the environment and what people could do personally, and what steps churches could take to make sure their buildings, etc. run more efficiently to decrease the impact on the environment. Then we did some sight-seeing in Edinburgh (there’s a really cool castle there!), and traveled home on Saturday night.
I really learned a lot from the week and had a great time with the group I went with. We had a blast – kinda sad that I’m going to be saying ‘good bye’ to them soon ☹
P.S. For those of you who are wondering – Kevin and I will be flying back to Philadelphia on July 28th and will be getting in around 6:030pm. T
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