April Accents

April has come and gone, and so much has happened. The highlight of the month - a visit from my family!!! Dad, Mom and Caleb flew into Belfast on Easter Sunday and I enjoyed a fast, but wonderful five days of their company. We spent the majority of our time touring the Ards Peninsula, a ring of land east of Belfast which surrounds Strangford Lough, a body of water which flows out to the Irish Sea. We took the opportunity to see some of the old Monastic sites: Nendrum, Inch Abbey. We also drove into Downpatrick, a town along the peninsula which hosts St. Patrick's Centre, a museum dedicated to the life and work of St. Patrick. We also got to see Down Cathedral and the alleged burial spot of St. Patrick (one of many).

Mom, Dad, Caleb and I also spent a good deal of time touring the Antrim Coast, and particularly the Giant's Causeway, a long stretch of basalt rock columns and beautiful oceanic views. The weather we had was absolutely remarkable! The coast was so clear, and we could see for miles, with Scotland visible in the distance. We even made a trip out to Tayto Castle, the manufacturing plant for Northern Ireland's Tayto crisps. Traveling to Tayto Castle also provided my family an opportunity to meet the people I work with in DFCI on a regular basis - both the volunteers and their families.

During all of this traveling, Dad received a prime opportunity to learn how to drive on the opposite side of the road. It took him about ten minutes to find the reverse shift in the rental car, and I think it took the majority of the week for all of my family members to get used to riding along with him.

What meant the most about my family's visit, however, was the fact that they got to meet, and even dine with several of the people that have been so instrumental in making me feel at home here in Belfast. Arriving on Easter Sunday afternoon, all three of my family members had the opportunity to attend an evening service at Dundonald Methodist, and there they were introduced to the majority of the congregation. My mother mentioned to me several times over how relievingly satisfying it was to be able to put names and faces together. For six months I had been mentioning the people who were caring for me, seeing to my needs, and welcoming into their homes over the phone and in emails. The reality of the warmth of welcome and fellowship I have found I know meant the world to my parents. Various families within the church had us to dinner or to share a meal, and one family from the church even hosted my parents and brother for a couple of evenings.

The warm welcome that my parents received, like the welcome that I have received over the past several months, has reconfirmed for me the unique bond that Christianity creates. No matter where you go in the world, the commonality of Christianity binds people together, so much so that the notion of "home" can be completely redefined and reshaped. As I mentioned to my parents in some reflective discussions about the year, "home" ultimately becomes the place not where we find comfort, but rather the people through which we feel God move, and how we respond to that experience.

Another highlight of the month was organizing and leading a Youth Fellowship overnight lock-in in Dundonald Methodist Church. Eight young people came together to spend a night playing board games, making pizza, playing volleyball, and learning about the Methodist church's youth mission organization, JMA (Junior Missionary Association). It was my first time leading a lock-in, and I left on Saturday afternoon, ecstatic about how the kids had expressed before they left how much fun they had had. I can't say that I got a good night's sleep, but this was well-expected, because the noise level didn't actually subside until 4.30am. What made up for the lack of sleep was the amount of fun I had getting to know better a few of the youth that attend the Bible Class that I help lead on Sunday mornings (and not youth fellowship in the evening), and, of course, the Starbucks coffee my mom brought with her on her visit helped as well.

I suppose that's all for April - May will be on the way soon!

Thank you for all of your support and prayers!

-Hannah