...sucks! I had a bit of motivation to start packing today, mostly because I looked at my calender this week and realized that there really won't be a lot of time to do that after today, so we started. Looked up baggage and weight restrictions on the airlines we'll be flying on the way home and what the U.S. allows us to bring back as far as gifts, etc. I don't think I'm as stressed this time around as I was last year when we were packing - probably because we don't have to worry about moving furniture and stuff.
Anyway, sorry it's been so long since I wrote. There's a lot going on - saying good-byes, helping out with different summer schemes. We even took a quick trip to London.
Last week was the 12th of July. (Obviously, you knew that, right?) But here, the 12th of July is a holiday. Protestants celebrate the victory of King William of Orange over the Catholic King James in the Battle of the Boyne, which took place in 1690 (this all on wikipedia if you're interested). Anyway, here in Northern Ireland many Protestant communities build large bonfires that they light on the evening of the 11th. A lot of times they put the Irish tri-color flag on the top of the fire. Then, on the 12th they have different parades - which consist mostly of marching bands and marching members of the Orange Order. As you may have guessed, this holiday is a bit tense because it's one that Catholics here do not really celebrate and tensions often mount in the weeks surrounding the 12th. One of the main controversies have to do with the parades that I mentioned. It is not uncommon for Protestant parade routes to go through Catholic areas, which, as you may imagine, is not really appreciated by the residents of those areas. So, there are often disagreements about that which can turn into violent expressions of opinion. A lot of times there are riots as well - so many Northern Irish Folk get out of Northern Ireland to avoid the holiday altogether. This 12th, I've been told, has been pretty quiet. There was a riot a little ways from us, evidently, but it seemed to turn out okay. So there's a little bit about the 12th.
Well, my break is done! Gotta get back to packing! I'll be seeing you guys back in the States in about 9 days!
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
27 May 2009
Whoa, it’s been a really long time since I’ve written a blog (not as long as some people I know, but I won’t mention any names…Kevin). Anyway, I guess it’s been since we went to Rome over a month ago, so here’s a really quick update since then:
The weekend after we went on a retreat to the north coast with the youth from the church. It was a blast! And I even got my own room, which makes it even better. The youth are really great – a lot of fun to be around.
The Crossan family came to visit us for a little over a week – again, a really fun time. It was nice to see people from home and to show them where we’re working, etc. We also did quite a bit of sightseeing. Was really hard to see them go.
The Sunday after they left was youth Sunday, which, despite really kind of rushed planning, went extraordinarily well. I can only attribute that to how wonderful the youth at the church are. They basically each took a bit of the song “You Found Me” by The Fray and talked about the spiritual significance of the song. I was really impressed with what each of the youth talked about and the meaning they got out of the song.
The next week (which was just this past Sunday actually) the church had a formal dedication of the renovated church building. Throughout this year, the congregation had been holding meetings in the church hall while the sanctuary was getting some repairs and upgrades. We moved back into the sanctuary on Easter Sunday, and then more formally celebrated this past week by inviting a bunch of community leaders (including the Lord Mayor of Belfast and some other politicians).
I’ve also been spending a lot of time getting a church cookbook together. It was a lot of work, but also a kind of selfish project since I really wanted to take home a bunch of recipes from here.
Things are pretty much the same at the 174 Trust – I’ve been realizing how much I’ll miss the people there. Kids at the disability clubs keep saying “we’ll really miss you,” and it makes me all teary-eyed each time I hear it because I know they mean it, and I know I will miss them too. We’re getting geared up for summer programs, which will start in July. Two of the people that I work with at the Trust are going through some pretty tough times with the families recently, so if you guys have prayer lists or whatever, their names are Linda and Evelyn.
Let’s see, I think those are the major highlights. We have about two more months here in Belfast. Kevin has been accepted to go back to Eastern University in the fall to get (another) Bachelor’s, but this time in music. So, I have started looking for a job so we can pay tuition (!). I guess it’s probably about time for me to go…got to get started on writing those cover letters…
Kevin and I just got back last night from a trip to Rome – we planned to trip months ago, but I guess never mentioned that we were going to anyone. It kind of snuck on us! Anyway, Italy was WONDERFUL! Rome is such an interesting city, the food was amazing, and the people are so friendly.
We got there around 9pm on Sunday night and decided that we weren’t up to figuring out the city’s public transportation system, so we got a cab to the campsite where we were staying. I was pretty convinced we were going to die in that cab considering how fast the driver was going and how aggressively he drove. But we arrived in one piece, which I can only attribute to God’s protection.
Monday we started our whirlwind tour of Rome. Alex, another volunteer was traveling with us and was only staying in Rome until Wednesday afternoon, so he wanted to see as much as possible before then. So we started out at the Vatician, walking through St. Peter’s Square, the Basillica, and the tombs of the Popes. We also climbed the coupula at St. Peter’s square and got a great view of the city. We tried to go to the Vatican Museums and then the Pantheon, but both were closed because it was Easter Monday. So we walked over to Piazza Nuovo and Castle Sant’ Angela, and then stumbled across Piazza Popolo, where we enjoyed the sunshine and our first taste of Italian gelato. We finished the day at the Trevi Fountain where Alex and I threw coins over our shoulders into the fountain, which is supposed to guarantee that we will come back to Rome.
Tuesday was a big day! We started out at the Vatican Museums and saw the Sistine Chapel (twice actually), and viewed some of Rafael’s works. We then headed over to the Pantheon. It only took a few minutes to walk through, but it was absolutely amazing. Then we went to the Colosseum and took a tour with a guy named Max who knew all about the gladiators and stuff – not going to lie, the ‘sports’ that took place at the Colosseum were not my cup of tea. Anyway, we then took a tour of Paletine Hill and then explored the Roman Forum. We ended up having dinner at this place around the corner from the Colosseum. Our waiter was a guy named Alejandro from Peru – he was so cool, spoke Italian, French, English and, of course, Spanish.
Wednesday, I can’t really remember everything we did. We looked at some churches in the morning and went back to the Spanish steps, the said goodbye to Alex as he headed off to Germany for the rest of the week. Then Kevin and I took a self-guided walking tour of the Trastevere (a neighborhood in Rome), Isola Tiberina, and the Jewish Ghetto. Along the way we saw ‘Bocca della Verita’ (mouth of truth) that is this big stone carving with an open mouth which is said to close on the hands of liars.
Thursday was similar to Wednesday – explored the San Giovanni, the Cathedral in Rome and then too another self-guided walking tour around different piazzas and churches. We ended the day early, probably because we’re a boring old married couple….but mostly because we were tired.
Friday was the best day – we rented a scooter and went up into the hills surrounding Rome to the Pope’s summer residence, Castle Gandolfo. We ran into a woman on the street who lived in the town, so she acted as our tour guide for a few minutes and told us about the place in broken English. Evidenlty, the Pope was in the castle taking a vacation after the Easter holiday (‘He’s old’ explained our tour guide, ‘needs rest.’) Then we went over to a nearby town called Frascati and got our last gelato for the week and admired the views of Rome. I am now convinced I want a scooter when I get home, they’re hot.
A great, great trip. Now we just have to get back to real life here in Belfast
23 March 2009
Okay, so I’m going to try to knock out three different things that I do in once blog. Here we go:
The 174 Trust is a community organization that Kevin and I work with for about 40% of the week. The trust runs a lot of different projects and also houses a lot of programs that are run by outside agencies. At the Trust I work with:
1.) 174 Trust Afterschools project. It’s basically what it’s name suggests – kids from local schools come to the Trust afterschool to play games, socialize with other kids, and do their homework. Most of the children have parents who work, etc., so the afterschools can provide a safe and supervised environment for them. I’m there for a couple hours each Wednesday afternoon. It’s been great getting to know the kids, and I’ve really seemed to connect to a few of them. One even came out and told me that he liked me the other day.
2.) 174 Trust Nursery is kind of like pre-school. It’s for kids who are 3-4 years old and they focus on teaching the kids how to socialize with other, some basic reading skills (like letters and how to spell their names), and other developmental type things that will help them make a smooth transition into primary school. I’m there on Tuesday mornings and absolutely love it. I taught the little ones the “Pick Bananas” song from Camp Donegal (if anyone reading is familiar with that one) and am going to try to teach them some other ones. It’s pretty fun, and I really enjoy the women who work in the nursery too.
3). PHAB Club is part of the 174 Trust’s disability project. The project does a wide range of things, including offering support groups for children who have a family member with a disability and clubs for children, teenagers, and adults. I help out with junior PHAB club (which is for kids) on Wednesday nights and with youth PHAB club on Tuesday nights. They do different programs with the participants, like currently the Youth PHAB is doing a 6-week photography course. They’ll also have summer programs where we’ll go on day trips with the kids, so I’ll be helping out with that. The clubs are really fun – we pretty much go crazy. (Okay, well I go a little crazy – it’s fun to tease the kids. Don’t worry, the tease me right back! They really get a kick out of making fun of my accent…)
So there you have it! Another part of my schedule explained.
19 March 2009
Happy St. Patrick’s Day (a little late)! I’ve never been someone really into celebrating St. Patty’s day – I mean, in the states it’s pretty much just a big drinking holiday. Don’t get me wrong, it is here as well (as one of my friends here put it, “every holiday here is a drinking holiday”), but I thought it would be nice to celebrate the spiritual side of St. Patrick’s day since I am actually in the same part of the world where Patrick ministered. So, I went with Megan (another YAV) to the town of Downpatrick early in the morning to attend a church service at Saul church, which is located on the hill where it is believed Patrick planted his first church. The service was beautiful and very moving. The church is really tiny, and there so many people there that some folks had to sit in the isle and stand outside. Then we all lined up and went on a pilgrimage from Saul church to Down Cathedral, stopping along the way to pray for the youth, the leaders, and violence in the nation.
At Down Catherdral (where some people think St. Patrick was buried), Megan and I met up with the other volunteers (who weren’t willing to get up so early to go to the first service) and we attended another worship service there. That service was more community-oriented and had a more celebratory feel to it. They gave out prizes to kids from local primary schools who drew pictures in honor of the day, there were Irish dancers, they had choirs from local schools sing. The best part was that we got goody bags with big cookies in them! After the service, we lunch outside the cathedral – stew and apple. Then we hurried down to the main road in Downpatrick to watch the parade. Not the best I’ve ever seen, but it was okay. We had fun cheering enthusiastically.
In the evening, Kevin and I went to a party at the 174 Trust for the disability clubs, that was fun too – lots of food and fun. So, I didn’t have any Guinness, but I don’t feel like I missed out on anything. It was probably the best St. Patrick’s day I’ve ever had.
14 March 2009
To continue with introducing organizations that Kevin and I are working with here, I’ll tell you about Wave Trauma Centre. Wave exists to provide support to people who have been affected by ‘The Troubles’ – whether they lost a family member in the violence, or were injured, or a family member was injured, etc. Wave provides everything from counseling and aromatherapy to an art group and lunch club. Often, they have their groups engage is some sort of creative project, like making stain glass windows or painting pictures or making/decorating plaster shoes. These projects help people to tell their stories, and members say that it is very therapeutic for them. Generally, once a group finished a project, they publish a booklet to share with others what they have created and the story that goes with the piece of art.
Kevin works with a men’s lunch group on Wednesday afternoons. They just finished a stained glass project and are beginning to work on fixing up a conservatory at the Wave centre. Sometimes I help out in office answering phones and stuffing envelopes for mailers and things like that, but I also work with a women’s lunch group that meets on Thursday afternoons and who just began working with ceramics. The ultimate goal of this project is to make a wishing well out of clay that can be put in Wave’s garden and can represent our hopes for the future. The women in the group are absolutely incredible. A couple of weeks ago one of the Commissioners for victims and survivors, Mike Nesbitt, came in during lunch to talk to the women about their concerns and what the commission is doing to better serve this population. The women spoke passionately about their experiences, and it just struck me how brave and strong these women are. Most of them have unexpectedly lost husbands, sons, daughters, fathers, etc. in sectarian violence – but a lot of them are using those experiences to help others.
I have also started with a new young women’s group at Wave that meets every other Friday night. This group is probably one of my favorites here. The women that come are around my age and are so much fun – I don’t think we ever stop laughing during our sessions. This week we went to a fashion show that was part of Belfast fashion week. It was awesome!
As a side note – some of you may have heard about recent killings in Northern Ireland. If not, basically two young army men were shot last Saturday night outside of their barrack in County Antrim (about 20 minutes north of Belfast) and a police officer was shot while responding to a house call earlier this week. A small splinter group called the real IRA claimed responsibility for both incidents. Evidently, this group is trying to destroy the peace process. Anyway, I am sure more information can be found on the BBC website – but be assured despite the recent violence Kevin and I are still safe here in Belfast. Northern Ireland, though, could really use your prayers. The people that I have spoken to about the incidents all have a very similar reaction – they don’t want things to go back they way they were.
I thought it might be nice to describe some of the different groups that we’re involved with here that might not be self-explanatory so you have a better idea how Kevin and I are spending our time over here.
I’ll start with Boy’s Brigade. A lot of churches here have this group for boys from age 4 to 18. It’s kinda military-like in that they all wear uniforms and they practice marching. But, they also learn about different Bible stories and work on badges in things like health and safety. Discipline is highly valued at Boy’s Brigade; the boys do not get away with fooling around and are evaluated on their appearance – whether or not they have their full uniform on and if their faces/hands are clean. I work primarily with the Anchor boys (ages 4-7ish) and the Junior Section (ages 8-12). To be perfectly honest, I was not so excited about working the BB at the beginning – but the organization is so good for the boys. They not only learn discipline, but the leaders are so encouraging. I am impressed with how discipline and love are balanced in BB, and how that gives the boys confidence in themselves.
16 February 2009
Happy Valentine’s Day (a little late!). Valentine’s day is celebrated over here, but it’s not as big as it is at home. Maybe that’s a lie, I don’t know – I’m not a huge fan of Valentine’s Day to begin with. Kevin and I celebrated by staying in bed reading and playing video games all day, then getting up at 7:15pm to go to one of my all-time favorite restaurants: Pizza Hut! One thing I’m looking forward to eating when I get home is bread sticks at Pizza Hut, they don’t serve them here and I love them.
Anyway, for those of you praying for us: our biggest prayer need at the minute is for our health. I have been sick with colds, etc. pretty much since the beginning of February and Kevin’s lying on the couch as I write this feeling pretty miserable himself.
Kevin thinks I should write about this experience I had a couple of weeks ago that I can’t get out of my mind. Maybe you all can pray about this too:
I was coming home from another volunteer’s house on a Friday night a few weeks ago. It was really cold and raining pretty hard. I had just missed a bus in the City Centre, and had to wait about a half hour for another one, so I decided to stop into a nearby Burger King to get out of the rain and to get something to eat. Inside Burger King there were loads of kids – probably in their early teens – dressed in black and neon meshy things that barely covered them up, lots of dark eyeliner, funky hair, chains, etc. I walked through a crowd of them smoking outside, trying to make sure they got their fag in before the cops came around again.
So, I’ll admit it, I was scared. I kept thinking ‘don’t make eye contact, they won’t bother you.’ I sat down in the middle the restaurant to eat my cheeseburger, and I kept noticing groups of kids going upstairs, which by the way, was closed and the toilets up there were closed as well. I don’t even want to guess what they were doing up there. My first thought was, “where in the world are these kids’ parents?!” (I know, I’m like a 70-year-old trapped in a 23-year-old’s body sometimes.)
It dawned on me though – I work with kids like these pretty often. They don’t scare me when they’re dressed in their nice school uniforms or coming to be on my terms. These kids are really crying out for help. Why are they all sitting around Burger King on a Friday night? Probably some if it is that they have nothing else better to do. But, most likely, they want to be accepted into some kind of group and running a muck in the BK is the easiest way to do it. I left BK just wishing there was something I could do. Wasn’t there somewhere these people could go? Somewhere that they could spend their time more constructively and safely? So, that’s something that’s been weighing on my heart over the past couple of weeks…
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