December's Done and 2009 Has Begun

It's hard to believe that I am already 1/3 into my mission year here in Belfast! December has flown by and 2009 comes sailing in tonight with the same speed.

December, in a nutshell has consisted of a variety of Christmas celebrations. Not only were there plenty of parties held among church family and friends, but PAKT held its own Christmas Activity Afternoon for the children of Ballybeen. Nearly forty children participated in the event, taking home not only decorated Christmas cookies and angel crafts, but also the essence of the Christmas story provided in our program.

If there is anything that is unique about Northern Ireland, it is the concept of Christmas dinners. When I first heard the phrase I immediately associated with one meal, that would be consumed, as expected by the phrase, on Christmas day. However, as I quickly discovered, Christmas dinner is an opportunity for any social group to get together to celebrate the holiday. As you can imagine, there is a plethora of social groups/church groups operating in and out of Dundonald Methodist. Needless to say, I had four Christmas dinners this year, and only one of them was actually on Christmas day.

Another aspect that I discovered quickly about Christmas dinner is that there is a standard menu, that every Northern Irelander knows about. First, there is turkey, lots of turkey with stuffing and ham and gravy. Then, there are usually two types of potatoes, brussel sprouts, carrots, and turnips in some shape or fashion. Together the foods merge into a moundMind you, this is preceded by a starter, usually bread and casserole or a soup. Dessert follows all of this, usually in the form of pavlova, Christmas pudding, or pie. And yes, if you were wondering, my trousers are feeling the effects. I'm hoping that will ease with the running I intend to get back into in the new year.

I spent all of Christmas day with the Camptons, and had an absolutely fabulous time eating way too much, playing several rounds of Nintendo Wi with Sally and David's sons, Owain and Ciaran, and then, of course, curling up with Mittens, their cat, on the couch for a power nap. I will confess that I was moved to tears by how much the Camptons' felt like home this Christmas. I am blessed with a wonderful Irish family here.

Post-Christmas vacation time was spent gallivanting around Dublin with my direction-savy and thoroughly entertaining housemate, Elizabeth. We found ourselves a nice bed and breakfast in the heart of the city that put us in walking distance to almost all of the sites. Some of our favorite sites were the churches of Dublin. Christ Church Cathedral and St. Patrick's Cathedral offer a plethora of history and we were astounded by their beauty. One of my favorite stops was Dublin's infamous Writer's museum, home to the works of James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, and Seamus Heaney just to name a few. I really could have spent several days in that museum alone, but Belfast called me home for the New Year.

Tonight I will ring in 2009 by helping David Campton, Dundonald's minister, lead a communion service. The remainder of my evening will be spent in the fellowship with friends I have come to know and love here in Belfast, eating fondue and counting down the music hits of the year on the BBC. It would be an understatement to say I'm looking forward to it. :)

Hope you all have a Happy New Year and Many Blessings in 2009!

-Hannah

November News - From the Top

The days are getting colder and darker here in Belfast as winter begins to settle in. As rainfalls take on chilling proportions and the sun hides away, life takes on a warm vibrancy, especially inside the homes and churches of Dundonald. Over hot cups of tea and coffee (and occasionally a cholocalte digestive biscuit), Sally, Heather, John and I begin our day's work with DFCI. The fellowship I find in the PaKT programs, the Beaver Scouts and Guides, the Youth Fellowship and Bible Classes is what especially keeps me moving.

November has seen many special events for DFCI and for myself personally. On the 8^th of November, twenty-five young people came together to participate in an event called Clean the ‘Been sponsored by the Castlereagh Borough Council and the Police Service of Northern Ireland. The day consisted of a debriefing brunch, a two-hour clean up of the Ballybeen Estate and a trip to Lisburn Omniplex which hosts a giant leisure pool with slides. Youth participating in the event came from a variety of community churches and youth organizations some of which included St. Mary’s Church of Ireland. I got the opportunity to do a bit of planning for this event, which made it extra special to watch come together.

It was especially nice to have some of my family come and visit me this month as well. My cousin Rob came to join me with his girlfriend (and my very good friend) Laura. I had an opportunity to travel up the North Coast to the Giant’s Causeway, a compilation of 40,0000 basalt rock columns. One of the tallest set of columns is known as the Giant’s Organ was a great day for walking around when we went, and the scenery was spectacular! (See the pictures to the side)

Another highlight of their visit included a pre-Thanksgiving meal, cooked by some of the finest chefs I know. J We also took a day trip down to Belfast’s Titanic Quarter and over to the Shankill Road which hosts a variety of paramilitary murals and Belfast’s peace wall. We each left our mark on the peace wall with a permanent felt pen, which I think we all felt was testament to how far Belfast has come since the Troubles.

November has also included a retreat with my fellow YAVs to the Crom Estate located in southwestern portion of Northern Ireland in a place called Fermanagh. All eight of us spent some much-needed quality time bonding over car rides (and sing-a-longs – yes, we sing LOUDLY), board games, and long walks around the ancient castle ruins of the Crom Estate. Some of my favorite parts of the weekend were climbing 400-year-old yew trees, singing worship songs to the guitar instrumentals of YAVs Kevin and Megan (see video), and simply resting among the people I’ve come to know and love. And, as a traditionally country girl, I will attest that there is nothing like walking down a Fermanagh country road overlooking miles upon miles of sheep and green.

I think that what has been extra special about November is that I’ve come to recognize and fully appreciate the support I am finding from the people here in Belfast and those at home. As we all know, Thanksgiving is quickly approaching and Christmas isn’t too far behind. A couple of families at my church found out about my turkey celebration day, and offered to jointly prepare a feast for myself and any of the other YAVs who might want to join on Thanksgiving day. Needless to say, I will be one stuffed and happy American on Thanksgiving evening in Belfast, and I am looking forward to it!

Another thing I've noticed in the past month is the impact my presence has had here already in Ballybeen. Several of the kids approached me after my absence at my retreat last week and demanded "Where were you?" some more forcefully than others. Some of the moms from the Sticky Fingers program see me regularly walking around Ballybeen and a few of them acknowledged that they had missed me on Wednesday morning. It's exciting to know that my presence is beginning to fit into the pattern of peoples' lives here. I'm continually amazed by the number of people I come in contact with weekly, and am truly grateful for all that everyone here and at home is doing to support me.

October Happenings

I cannot believe that a month has gone by so fast! Time is flying here in Belfast, but it has been full of fellowship and fun for me. One of the highlights of October was a tour that I was invited to attend with David. A group from Florida came to visit their sister church, Springfield Road Methodist, and they decided to take a tour of Northern Ireland monasteries under David's guidance. So, I tagged along as the "intern," and found that my tagging was extremely beneficial. Not only did I get to hear about Irish religious history, but I actually got to see it. Yes, it was in its very remnants, but the theological foundation upon which each site was constructed was absolutely fascinating. Our stops ranged from the alleged buriale site of St. Patrick in County Down to the healing springs of St. Patrick. My favorite site was our first stop at Nendrum. Nendrum is a monastery that was founded in the 5^th century by St. Machoai. Structured in three concentric rings, Nendrum held a variety of life and was able to flourish on its own until invaded by Vikings in the 7th century. Within the outer ring (or wall) was the agricultural sector of the community – where livestock flourished and farmers harvested produce. The middle ring was the business sector of the community. Blacksmiths, weavers and produce sellers would have presided within the walls. And, at the center of the community was the church, where the abbot and clergy would have lived. People could come and go from one area to another and life was woven together in a series of circles. Celtic monasticism held that faith was interlinked with all areas of life, from the tilling of the soil to worship in the church, and unlike traditional monasticism it did not advocate for a complete separation from the world in order to draw closer to God. The idea was that God was at the heart of everything. I think that there is a lot to garner from this Celtic theology especially when it comes to living through each day. There are days here in Ballybeen when I am very tired, when the rain seems to get the best of me, but I think that visiting Nendrum was an enlightening experience in that it got me thinking about all the different levels in which God moves through our lives -even on those wet, miserable days. I think sometimes we tend to confine Him to the 2 hours of worship on a Sunday morning. It's easy to think that our worship of God is separate from our professions, our relationships, our daily tasks. But really, as Nendrum demonstrates in its concentric rings, He's in everything - in every conversation we have, in every task we perform, in everything we think and feel. And somehow, these people, thousands of years ago, somehow understood this so much so that it literally shaped their lives. A main question that has pervaded my mind during the last month has been: Can we, and if so, how do we live in response to the knowledge that God is at the center of everything? And I've discovered that it's simply a matter of opening our minds to the smallest of things, that could easily, in a world that demands our time and attention, get overlooked. It takes some slowing down, and some reflection. Because for me, He's in the construction paper that evolves into a Halloween card, given to me by a Scout on one of my loneliest days. He's in the sausages and toast, and sippy cups of juice that bring smiles and satisfying burps from the toddlers in our Sticky Fingers program. And, yes, as hard as it is for me to admit, He's even in the never-ending rain showers, that makes the earth a breath-taking emrald-green when the sun shows its face. I'm a beginning learner at this mentality - it takes a lot to look beyond circumstances and immediate demands to watch Him moving. But I've found when I do stop for a minute that I am moved in a such a way that I am forever changed. Thank you for your love, support and prayers.

Actively Waiting

I have gradually been introduced in the past two weeks to the staff and programs of Dundonald Methodist Church, and am still discovering my role and place in the community that I have been place. On a weekly basis I am in and out of the church for a variety of youth and fellowship activities that include not only the members of the church, but also the surrounding community. On any Monday or Thursday afternoon I am busy helping to coordinate the PAKT (Parents and Kids Together) program. The program is primarily geared for children from the community between the ages of 4 and 10. It offers a drop-in half hour of table games and homework time, and then an hour of gym games, crafts and cooking classes. Nearly 35 children participate in the program. Monday nights I help assist John, Dundonald's associate pastor, with the PAKT+ program geared for community children ages 11-14. On a typical evening John and I take the kids on outings in the community and invite them into the church to play football (soccer here) and to play games and do crafts. (In the next few weeks we plan to take them swimming at a local club - I'm super excited about this!) Wednesdays I assist Heather Woods, Dundonald's family worker with the Sticky Fingers program, which is geared for young (often single) mothers and their toddlers. The program provides an opportunity for the mothers to socialize and to bring their children to a safe playing ground in the community. I find myself interfacing with the mothers, asking them about their weeks, and, of course, playing with the kids (they are precious!). We also serve the mothers and their children toast, juice, coffee and tea which makes the visiting time extra special. Wednesday afternoons I help to coordinate Kidz Klub, an afterschool program geared toward 4-10 year-old children which provides table games, crafts and gym games. This program serves as a recreational alternative for community children. Belfast is a city with very few recreational spaces and facilities, and the churches are opening their doors as a playing venue to keep the kids out of the streets and out of trouble. Wednesday and Thursday nights I help assist with the Guides (the equivalent of Girl Scouts) and Scouts (the equivalent of Boy Scouts). Both groups are filled with kids from around the community, and from the planning meetings I sat in over the past week, I have the feeling that I will be going lots of places and doing lots with both groups this year. Sundays are comprised mainly of church-related activities. I lead a Bible class for 11-14 year-olds in the morning, and assist with Youth Fellowship (for 11-18 year olds) on Sunday evening. And, somewhere in the interim I do a bit of admin work in the church office. So, I am anything but bored, and am feeling very welcomed by the church family at Dundonald. I cannot begin to count the number of people who have asked me for Sunday lunch or who have invited me to their home to welcome me to Belfast. It is truly amazing the amount of welcome I have received. David Campton (the minister) and Sally (his wife and community coordinator) have been wonderful in helping me to get acquainted with the church and the programs, and I've enjoyed, among other things getting to know them and their two children Cairan and Owain (whom I have "child-minded" on two occasions and thoroughly enjoyed). All in all, I've found that my first two full weeks in Dundonald have been predominantly comprised of waiting. I've been waiting for these programs to start, waiting to find out what my role is in each of the programs, waiting to get to know and develop relationships with the kids. Waiting, however, I've found can be active. Waiting, I think is one of the hardest things for any one to do. As an American I am inclined to thing that if I'm not constantly moving and doing something then I am somehow inefficient or out of place. My greatest challenge over the past two weeks has been responding to that cultural train of thought. Somewhere in the midst of clearing out game closets and putting together bulletin boards for the many community programs that Dundonald runs weekly, I found myself thinking about waiting and what it entails. As I was stapling and cutting and clearing I realized that in many ways waiting is about preparation, quite like the preparation that I was doing for the upcoming community programs. As preparation, waiting is really anything but stagnant. Waiting , rather, becomes a response to the knowledge that God is continually molding and actively shaping us into the people we are to become for Him. Understanding that God is moving in every second, minute and hour in our lives with compassionate grace, we realize that the "waiting time," or so we dub it, is anything but insufficient or unproductive. Waiting provides us moments to listen deeply, to look critically, and to love more fully on those around us. It is precious time embodied in alphabet bulletin letters and Monopoly pieces. Psalm 130:5-6 - I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord, more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.

Belfast Beginnings

I'm here! At last! After a week of an amazing orientation in Louisville, Kentucky, we arrived in Belfast, jet-lagged but ExTrEmElY excited! There are eight of us YAVs working in Belfast this year. Alex Creager from Ohio, Joel Pier-Fitzgerald from Michigan, Emily Wilson from Ohio, Jessica and Kevin Crossan from Pennsylvania, Megan Buff from Washington, Elizabeth Cluff (my housemate) from Texas, and myself make up the team. Elizabeth and I live in Dundonald, a district in East Belfast, a predominantly loyalist section of the city. We have a very spacious apartment, and are already getting to know our neighbors - many of whom consist of single mothers with children. Alex and Joel live in North Belfast not far from Kevin and Jessica. Megan and Emily are in Lambeg more towards the West side of Belfast. The past two days here have been full of rain, but also full of Doug-Baker-led orientation. Doug (our site coordinator) has had us up and moving about and has done a terrific job of introducing us to the city. Each day he has taken all of us to our placement sites to meet our supervisors and to witness the extent of the church's response to the underlying hostilities and past violence of the Troubles. Cross-community work is key to the peace-process. Not only does it involve bringing Catholics and Protestants together in a variety of environments, it also stresses relationship-building among its workers. The church has an evangelical role, but rather than focusing solely on the need to convert non-believers, cross-community work emphasizes relationship-building as key to developing opportunities for sharing the Gospel, but most importantly for sharing the love of community that God calls us into. Doug put it this way to us: Jesus said "Go therefore and make disciples." He didn't say believers. Disciples are those who seek to continually grow in Christ and who seek to imitate Christ's commands. The greatest commandment is found in Matthew when Jesus is questioned by a Pharisee and states that the Pharisee should: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself." Essentially, our greatest commandment as disciples of Christ is to love God, and in a reflection of that love and understanding of grace to love others so that we might live in the community that God has called us into. In the Good Samaritan story that follows, Jesus breaks down the walls of politics, ethnicity, race, and just about any other human categorization to suggest that our neighbor is anyone and everyone. I've discovered in the past couple of days, that the tension underneath many Northern-Irelanders revolves around a question of identity. There are physical (wired fence) boundaries that haunt the streets -markers of the deliberate separation of Catholics and Protestants. There is constant talk about Nationalists and Unionists, Loyalists and Republicans. And one cannot help but notice the giant murals of paramilitary groups hovering over the city streets. I learned in our tour of different community centers today that a good majority of the lower socioeconomic sections of the city face high suicide rates, teenage pregnancies and drug and alcohol abuse. This stems in a large part from low self-esteem, again, a factor of a blurred identity. A lot of the problems are by-products of paramilitary violence as well. Single mothers are often in their situations because fathers have not returned from prison for the violent crimes they have committed to prove their allegiance. Youth turn to alcohol and drugs as a means to alleviate their misunderstandings of themselves. But again, the work that is going on here is phenomenal. There are so many people that are living for the community. They are sacrificing their time, energy and financial security all for the sake of Christ. I hope that in the weeks ahead to begin developing relationships with the Irish people that will open my eyes to my own identity in Christ and how God is alive and working here.

Hello Everyone!

Hello Everyone!

So, I decided that it would be a good idea to have a way for you to frequently keep up with my Belfast mission experience. Here, I'll delve deep into daily life in Belfast and share the view with you through some pictures and videos. Read and enjoy!

Much love,

Hannah