So I compiled a bunch of emails that I sent people…and a post that peter put on his own blog…and I wanted to put these things on my blog as well..its alot of text...so read it if you are willing to stick it out till the end...ENJOY!

so laura and i just finished up the woodvale camp last week..and it just reminded me of all the reasons why im back here....laura and i are working at two very different churches..with two very different congregations..in two very different areas..i dont start work till friday....but i have attended church a few times there now..and im really excited about it!..but lauras is in the woodvale area kind of..crumlin road is very similiar to woodvale in regards to the types of people the church reaches...and for me...well my church is labeled the RICH church by peters dad....the church with all the money..with all the programs..with loads of people...rich people...who dont really deal with the social issues that the people at lauras church deal with..so it will be really interesting for me i think....because ireland to me is woodvale...it is the conflict...and it will be interesting to work with kids who arent really phased by the conflict...who arnt affected by any of the social issues because their parents are middle class..so if ireland is united or not...it doesnt matter to them....

umm..what else??...laura and i saw all of our kids....katelyn..andrew..and even joshs kid raymond...but we just saw him from a distance.didnt have a talk with him or anything...and then do you remember lauras guy Chris?..the one that was all goth and had all the piercings AGES AGo?...who we met in the park and decided to come to the last kids thing on parents night??..well we saw him too...and if you check out my photos..you will see how much that kid has changed..

im soo excited to be here...i just see soo much hope in this area...and i have just come to realize..that i have a heart for reconciliation..i think thats why i have always wanted to be a counselor..so that i could reconcile relationships....so that i could link communities and people back together..and i get soo excited about the thought of that...

but there are some major obstacles..and major barriers that must be brought down first....even those people who claim to truly follow Christ are the ones who are telling us to stay out of Catholic areas..and i just think to myself...isnt there a bit of irony in that?..if Christ were here in Belfast...where would he be living?..what would he be doing?..and the truth is..he would be going where no one else wanted to go..where people feared to go...but isnt that how Christians should be??...we shouldnt be placing limitations on His greatness by instilling fear in our peers....so then yesterday peter and i talked about all of this..and he just said that many protestants do not believe Catholics can be christians..and i said..well then tell that to the girl in my core group...who is a Christian..but just enjoys the Catholic church..and all the traditions..and that is where she feels the Lord meets her, tell her that shes not a christian...and then..if thats the case...then why should we give up on that group of people?..i mean to claim that they arent christians..and they never will be...i mean thats like giving up on all humanity..and all the people in the world...saying that we live in a world where there is no salvation being offered...then we might as well die..(sounds a little drastic..but imagine me saying that with sarcasm and exaggeration in my tone..)

soo...laura and I are at an advantage because we weren’t raised here within this turmoil and this conflict, we were raised outside of this situation…and we probably appear naïve to some…so where do we go from here then?

ANOTHER EMAIL....

so about church..its sooo true...and its sooo easy to busy ourselves....i found this book amongst peters dads book collection and its called too busy not to pray...i think the part that you have to remind yourself of...is how rewarding it is to stop....to listen..to pray ..to read your bible....and its the same with running for me..or working out at all..or even going for a walk..im a little reluctant at first..and then once i get my clothes on..get outside..smell the fresh air...i realize..wow..i needed this....and then im reminded of how good it is..how sweet it all really is....

anyhow...i love you...and just a few days ago..i went running...and every time i go running i think of you...and i was listening to shawn McDonald..and it just reminded me of last september when nate and i broke up..and how i would run to greenlake..and stop off at the dock..and sit there for a bit..and just cry...feeling soooo lost..soo lonely...soo uncertain about the future...and while running again..i just started crying..remembering that time..and thinking about right now...i am once again at a good place...a place where im able to disciple others...but then i just started looking around at the people..and the houses...realizing that ireland is not much different from home....i even got caught in a downpour...and i just laughed..but the difference between here and home...is the flags...every single house has a flag up...a flag stating im catholic or im protestant...the flags are either the british flags or the irish flags...and it just separates a community...i mean you go from one area..and its british protestant..and then another area..and its irish catholic....and its just soo interesting..soo segregated..soo isolated..and sooo unfair...i dont understand why it has to be like that??...i mean especially if these people listen to anything they are told in Church...especially for those Christians...arnt we suppose to love everything..everyone?...to love all people..treat them all fairly..grant everyone the same rightS?...where did these people miss something??....how can you truly follow Christ if you are treating someone terribly by simply ignoring them entirely?...and thats how it is here....if you are protestant you dont interact with a catholic..you dont go into catholic areas..or go to catholic schools....most of the catholics live in the Republic of ireland..which is south...and not in Northern Ireland which has british ties...but how strange is that?..that these two countries...the republic and northern ireland are separated based on religion??...religion serves to separate more than unite?

and then i think..well im an american..and i cant see the differences really...all i see is a family...is a father and his daughter crossing the street laughing together...and dont all parents want the same things??....for their children to grow up happy and healthy...but do they realize that it starts with them...those stereotypes and prejudices start with the parents...so where do you begin to change that??...do they know that their children might be judged and discriminated against because they affiliate with a certain religious group?...do they realize that their child may be in danger because of that?...or that stones may be thrown at them?...or that they are soo innocent now..but depending on what area and what neighborhood they grow up in...they are going to become soo hard ...just because they will need to survive amongst the aggressiveness of the children..

and then im reminded...oh wait malia...you arnt working in that area of belfast..you are in the wealthy area...with the wealthy church...with the middle class congregation..and they really arnt affected at all by what religion they are or arnt...their chldren arent affected either..because they live in the nice homes..in the nice neighborhoods...go to the private schools..and play the expensive sports...go to university...and get good jobs..and that cycle continues..and i think..well what about the people at lauras church..in a different part of town...what about those children..and those families..and those people..do the people at my church even KNOW that these people exist...and if they do..then that makes it even worse...because then they are just ignoring everything...

and then I think about how similar this whole situation is to the situation back in the states…the university students with the homeless youth on the streets…soo close..yet soo far!…I know they exist..but what do I do?..do I acknowledge them and smile at them..maybe give them a bit of money and walk away?…or do I really help them?..i choose the easy way out..and I ignore them…or give them something that will hopefully give them a bit of satisfaction for a bit! But do I even stop to chat with them or relate to them…or tell them about this great relationship I have with this amazing person..(sorry peter im not talking about you..)…God…do I tell them that they are really missing something amazing in their life??

wow im rambling...soo many thoughts that i have OBVIOUSLY...and i dont mean to bother you with them...but this is what i face here in ireland....and it reminds me..that there are issues everywhere...that there are reconciliation issues everywhere...and thats where my passion lies...in reconciling relationships…

OKAY ENOUGH ALREADY RIGHT??...nope..SORRY!

oh i just woke up...and its a lovely day here in ireland...laura has a friend
here visiting ...and we are all staying at peters parents house...because his
parents are away for the week...eli comes in tomorrow..and i think mike yonkers
comes in on thursday or something??..maybe wednesday...but eli is staying here
at peters parents house too...anyhow..lauras going to do a bit of
sightseeing..and i think im just going to stay behind...email...journal
maybe?..write stuff for my blog...

anyhow..erin comes to visit me in a few weeks..and im soo excited..wondering what
it is i should show her though...and it has been sooo very wonderful having
laura and peter here and staying with peters parents...they are just lovely..and
i adore them!...met the lady who i will be living with next year..met her last
night at church..was a bit awkard as the pastor was like..malia have you met
jill yet..and im thinking WHO IS JILL??..and he was like jill this is
malia..malia jill..hope this arrangement works out..and im thinking okay i must
be living with her right??...shes soooooo cute..or so i think..peter begs to
differ...and shes like maybe 26?...excited to get situated into my place..but
she does live on the otherside of belfast...it would take me like 25 min DRIVING
to get to peter and lauras house...and peter says id have to take like 2 buses
to get there too...and i told peter that once i move in there..i have a feeling
i will be sad..and lonely..becuase here im distracted..and im comfortable...and
there are people everywhere..all the time...and i have to like tuck myself away
somewhere to get alone time..or just leave the house...but there...its going to
be lonely...and i said..ill probably cry the first time i stay there...sad isnt
it??...i think so...


things with peter are amazing..greta i really dont quite know where to
start...read peters blog he put a little bit up there about him and i..but
honestly...the timing is right..and i realy do adore him...yesterday we talked
about the highlights from the past week..and mine was praying together...and
running in the rain..and racing each other on the street..haha...i would have
said what peter said.but he went first..and he said...dancing and crying in the
kitchen...we made a romantic dinner a few nights ago..=) and the new snow
patrol cd..which is amazing..has this great song on there called chasing
cars...and it reminds me of peter..and I told him that ages ago when i first got
the cd..but he forgot..because then i told him again..and he was like i think the
same thing..so i was like do you want to dance...and it was funny..then we’d
stop..and peel the carrots or something..and laugh...and i just wanted to
cry...and i looked over at him..and he was crying..and so then i started
crying...we have just had soooo many good moments together...i dont even know
quite where to start...im just overwhelmed and God is sooo very good...and i
could go on and on about peter and i...but i wont..ill just give you a taste of
the goodness...I just truly can NOT imagine my life without him in it..and we
are soo similiar..yet soo different..and its amazing...he knows what im thinking
without saying a word...we have turned it into a game kind of..ill look at
him...and be like what am i thinking....or show him something..and
say..what am i thinking...and with peter..i've always been able to read
him..=)...but last night..he was telling me something...and paused for a moment
to think of the right word...and we both said it at the same time...and his
favorite phrase is..are you real??..are you sure you are real?..and truly
here?..is this a dream?...haha..and i just sit there laughing and say YES!!..im
real..of course im real....so thats me and peter....

SO HERE IS THE entry from Peter’s blog that I spoke of previously…ENJOY!

so a lot has happened since i last 'blogged'...malia and laura have arrived here in the old island of ireland...but before i get into all that..my job is going well and i just got back from a really challenging youth worker conference. it was challenging not only becaus it made me realize what an important job i have in the development of teenagers but also for my own faith.

all week i was challenged by the idea of grace. that i am truly loved by God and forgiven. peter drennan is loved and created by God and I am unique....and that i am truly forgiven...

the conference really hammered home the challenges of being a youth worker, of how lonely teenagers are and how much they need love, GOds love. but i am still overwhelmed at how to achieve this...how do i love and nuture these kids? how can I encourage, invite and inspire them? how can i spur them into taking a step of faith into the dark and follow jesus?

now malia, what can i say. some of you may be aware that me and her have had what you might call a tumultuous relationship for the last year. and it looked like the camel had broken the camels back way back in june, but that is not the case...we have embarked on a really exciting stage, a new journey...a journey where we have no expectations or guilt over who hurt who...just peter and malia enjoying eachother...

we are officially together, but way more amazing than that has been the way we have grown closer in every way...physically, emotionally and spiritually. we are setting aside time to pray together and read books together and ask each other really hard questions. she is nothing short of amazing and i never knew someone could appreciate every aspect of who i am. and i never knew that i could be so happy with a girl. we have cried together, laughed, walked, prayed, driven, eaten, danced and challenged eachother daily since she got here. i truly cant imagine her not in my life...

ok, i could go on all day, but lets just say i am crazy about her and so excited for what the future holds for us...

AN EMAIL TO MY PARENTS...

i am sending this to dad too..because mom you dont check your emails enough!...well i went to church last night...which was soo great...i love listening to the pastor derek talk!...and my job starts friday..one of the guys comes in tomorrow night..and we are going to pick him up...and i think hes going to stay at peters parents house too...full house...theres like 5 of us kids under one roof right now... so I met the lady im goin to be living with…but im not in any hurry to get out of peters parents house..especially while laura and peter..and soon to be eli are all living here....so i think ill move in next week...maybe move some of my stuf f in this week and just take a look at the place....

i was like peter..will i have a bed??...sheets?..towels?..food?....will i buy my own food?..i mean its just her..ill be cooking for myself pretty much...which is fine...because i cant imagine ill be there much for dinner anyhow...but i dont have money in my budget to buy FOOD!!...yikes....ill have to really start saving my money big time...went to the body shop yesterday and blew 20 dollars on a tub of lotion...and i was hesitant..but i justified it to peter by saying i havent splurged yet since i got here...=)..but then i thought...man this is soo cheap at ross or tj..wherever you got my last stuff that i loved mom...

which reminds me..things are soooo EXPENSIVE HERE!!..i mean truly..i dont know how anyone could save any money while living here....damn near impossible!!....peter and i went to get a late night snack for laura last night...at like 11..and all the shops were closed..except for this one shop...and what they do...you go up to the door...becuase everything is closed...or you go up to a window...and tell the guy what you want...(its almost like a bank) and then you slip your money in through the drawer..and they slip out the goods...haha...soo random..but a bag of dorito chips and a container of pringles cost 6 DOLLARS!!...unreal right??...because i think it is...i came back..and i was like LAURA you better love those things..because they cost peter a fortune!!....america is soooo cheap...i mean truly..i thought about getting a phone plan for my phone while here....and it cots 40 dollars for 75 minutes and like 100 text messages...uhh??..i just wanted to say...umm...i could get like unlimited minutes in america for that amount...how is that possible??...how can they do that?...i have NO Idea...peter just says...let people call you..and use your phone as little as possible..and i think...well thats all fine and dandy right now...but as soon as me you and laura are separated ..im going to have to use my phone right??..anyhow...enough ranting..and not enough raving..

SO THAT’S all for now..soo many more thoughts…but this will do for now right??..