Another day in Belfast...


Well after a very long journey …I finally arrived…peter was there awaiting my arrival..and everything went rather smoothly through customs…he and I took a drive to a beach..where it took us about 30 minutes to move an inch because I had to stop and look at all the shells! (bree it made me think of you!)We grabbed lunch at….SUBWAY!..I know I know..truly American, but I really wanted a sandwich! And then we drove back to the airport to pick up Laura around 3 and drove on up Ireland to Belfast..and finally arrived at the home of the Drennan’s around half 6 or so? I truly can’t remember, I was utterly exhausted and I just felt soo dingy! Anyhow, I believe that night consisted of a shower, a lovely dinner, tea and biscuits, and an amazing night sleep!

The days have flown by…and I am sitting here in the Drennan’s living room..(I am staying at peter’s parents house with my friend Laura…and for those of you who don’t know Peter..well you are missing out!..but truthfully I met him a few years ago when I was last in Ireland, he lived in Seattle this past year, and now I am here and he is simply amazing…and we are actually working together this next year and the future seems very promising with him…but we will see!) ..anyhow..so I am in their living room with Laura and we are trying to recap the past weeks events…and all of them are running together a little…

So the week…this past week consisted of sleeping in, amazing food and biscuits…I am starting to prefer tea over coffee..YIKES and recently discovered today that Starbucks charges MORE if you eat in then if you eat out…meaning if you are staying to drink your coffee than you pay MORE…so you are basically paying for your seat…how ridiculous is that.but laura insists it is a good idea ..because people do park it at the coffee shops in Seattle…and then I think..well she is right!!..what else? …peter and I went into the city one afternoon..caught the bus and everything! And we went to a great coffee shop and got steamers (steamed milk) and treats…walked around a bit…and then caught a double decker back!…we also went up to Cave Hill..and ill try to put pictures on here…but the view from the top of Cave Hill is amazing..you can see like all of Belfast…but little did I know it would take almost a whole HOUR to get to the top…it was quite a workout…and im really out of shape!..might be awhile till I do that again!…

One night Laura and I stayed up way too late..just because we couldn’t get to sleep and we truly couldn’t stop talking…and we wanted a late night snack! Figured it might be rather amusing to creep into Peters room at 4 in the AM and wake him up too….turns out peter thought it was rather amusing and I would say rather adorable..because he reluctantly made his way down the stairs with Laura and I…and Laura and I entertained him while raiding the cupboards…we learned our lesson the hard way though when we were sooo exhausted the next day…

Umm…the next night..we went out to a few pubs and clubs with some of peters friends…which was grand..and Peter was the first to buy the rounds..Laura and I said Heineken…Peter heard Guinness…and lo and behold there appeared a Guinness before me…probably not my favorite beer..but everyone has to have at least ONE Guinness. So for those of you coming to visit…prepare yourself for the thick and dark Guinness I will be forcing you to drink! His friends were great…and Peter willingly made his way out to the dance floor. We danced to far too many techno songs…and got way too excited about some of the familiar songs….and it was only after I had been sweating for too long…and the smoke had finally got to me…did we leave…and by then it was super late and we were sooo very exhausted because we had slept soo little the night before!

Umm…on Friday I went to a BBQ for the adults who helped with the kids club at Fisherwick (the church I’ll be working at!) and met loads of people who volunteer or work at Fisherwick! I must say I have one word that sums up the evening….OVERWHELMING…I was utterly exhausted and met soooo many people whose names I truly won’t remember, but Peter stuck by my side and for that I was very grateful! Just made me realize that these people do not know me..I mean they know nothing about me, and I just might have to prove myself to them…(proving myself? That doesn’t sound right…but you know what I mean right??)..however, there were a few people that I met that I am rather excited about..so that’s always a plus!

So then Sunday was my first day at the church..and it was really good…and there were soo many people there! We sang my favorite song, in Christ Alone, and truly that sealed the deal for me! Met some more people..who struggled once again with my name…MOM couldn’t you have picked something a bit easier?…afterwards peter and I went to one of my favorite places Botanic Garden..and we parked it at a bench…and the sun was shinning down on us while we prayed together…then went to his parents house for dinner (AKA lunch)….and then all three of them went away (peters parents and peter!) and laura and I were left in the house all by ourselves…YAY..PARTAY!…well sort of? Laura and I actually went to bed real early…we are lame alright? Get over it!

Umm…then we arrive at today…and this morning Laura and I were a bit reluctant to get out of bed this morning..but due to that we were late to the holiday bible club we were helping out at in Woodvale….didn’t realize it would take almost an hour to WALK there! (so for those of you that may not know…I was in Ireland with Laura two years ago for the summer, and we helped out at vacation bible schools…and one of the places was Woodvale Presbyterian Church…I worked with the teenagers…11 yr olds and she worked with the younger ones)…anyhow it was soo amazing being back there! …saw some of our friends from the time we were there..and some of the kids even remembered us!

But the one who really stands out is ANDREW!…it has been two years since I have seen that kid, and when I was last in Ireland and last in this area, I truly befriended this 11 year old boy (Andrew) and when I got back to the states he and I wrote letters and I even sent him a few packages! It was wild seeing him, and when he was leaving he asked me for a hug…he had said his goodbyes to laura and I..and then like hung around a bit and asked me if he could get a hug!…I was like OF COURSE!..can I also get a picture??…it was funny because he knew I was going to be back, but it was just like he wanted to make sure he would get at least one hug in or something…

Being in that area makes me realize just how much I love this place…and it truly brings back sooo many memories…when I was there last…I was truly broken…and I remember crying sooo very much! It was an emotional week and I just fell in love with the children and I was amazed and struck by how the religious division and tension has divided the children! I was truly shocked at how aggressive the children were and how helpless and hopeless they seemed…the place was sooo dark, and when I say this I mean spiritually dark! And when I think about it, you don’t have to be a spiritual or religious person to experience that darkness and I think that’s why I felt soo overwhelmed by the small glimpse of light I saw in some of the children! These children are yearning for love , attention and affection like soo many of the children in the rest of the world…but this yearning had never been sooo apparent to me as it was in this place! So that is Woodvale….and Laura is working at a church near woodvale and working with that same population of people…90% of children are born to unwed mothers, 2% have a college degree…difficult situation…the young girls sometimes get pregnant because than they can live off the state forever!!

Anyhow…I could go on and on ..and on some more about this dreary situation..but I won’t, ill save that for another day…another blog entry!