UCF Interns in Ballymena

Finale

2008-06-23T20:09:00.005Z

Well, I've been back about three weeks now, and it still bugs me that this blog doesn't have any closure. So here it is.

First of all, thank you to everyone who prayed for us this last year in N.I. We really appreciate it and couldn't have made it without your support! Thanks for all the letters, postcards, packages, and comments, and for being so encouraging!

Our last few days in Ballymena were really good. We had a lot of fun with people from church, including an awesome Kidzone end-of-the-year party at Monkey Business (think Chucky Cheese) with about 25 kids from church, or 26 if you include me... I got a little carried away. Turns out that over 100 different kids came to Kidzone last year from the estate, with about 20-30 on average. It is such a big ministry for such a small church, which is why it is so good that Elizabeth is going back and can help with it.

We spent most of Saturday and Sunday saying goodbye to everyone, which was sad, but good. Everyone had really nice things to say to us, telling us how big of an impact we had had on them or on the kids we've been around for the last year, which was so encouraging. Sometimes it takes someone else telling you something before you can see it yourself. We even ran into one young woman who knew all about us from her 7-year-old niece named Kennedy. Kennedy became a Christian last year and used to be one of our neighboors. This lady said that she might come to church because she could see how much of a difference it was making in her niece's life!

We also spent a lot of time saying goodbye to some of the people from the estate we've been around the most: Calvin and Marty, Luke and his brother Paul, Michael, Katie, and of course Colin. We actually said goobye to Colin twice because he said the first one wasn't good enough. He told us how appreciative he was of us being there during one of the hardest years of his life, and that he didn't know what he was going to do without us. It was hard to say goodbye to someone like him, but we know God will take care of him, we are hoping that one of the guys from church can start spending time with him, and Elizabeth will be around too.

So after all of our teary goodbyes and late night packing, we slept for about 10 minutes and then went to the airport. We are all currently somewhere in the southeast; Dwight is in North Carolina, Elizabeth is in Georgia or sometimes Birmingham, Erin is at the beach or Bham or Moultrie depending on what day it is, and i'm in the computer lab at Samford looking for jobs. The Fellowship is broken.

Fortunately, there is a sequel. Elizabeth is going back to the City of the Seven Towers in July and staying for another year (have i mentioned that?), which is awesome. And we'll all be back next summer for the wedding. Just kidding:) The blogging continues at elizabethannhill.blogspot.com ,starting in August.

So overall, it was a really good year. The biggest thing for me was seeing how God moves in His timing, bringing us over there for a season to help a hurting church and be around hurting people. And He isn't finished yet.

Until the King Returns,
John

2nd post this year...that's pretty good for me, i'd say :)

2008-05-27T09:17:00.005Z

it's amazing how the days fly by when something is coming to an end. i fly home tomorrow (eek!), and truthfully i'm quite sad about it. not to say that i'm not excited to see everyone at home...it is just hard to leave a place and people that have grown so dear to my heart, especially not knowing when i'll be be back. OH! and here's some exciting news...ELIZABETH IS COMING BACK FOR ANOTHER YEAR!!!! she talked to sam and alan, who are happy to have her stay and work for hillside again. she is coming back in july with the UCF team and will be staying here when they all leave. we are all super excited for her, and i have to say it is good to my heart to know that someone will still be here to continue the specific relationships that we have developed and grown. YAY!

anyway, since our time here is quickly growing short (john, elizabeth, and dwight leave next monday!), we have been trying to see and spend time with as many people as we can. last friday we hosted a bar b que in our back garden for our friends from both churches as well as from the estate. it turned out to be a beautiful day, and i'm proud to say that we successfully went through...dum, dum, dum...130something burgers and 50 sausages!!! needless to say, we all had a lot of fun. (and just to let everyone know...the guys from the church take very good care of us. we definitely could not have done it without all of their help!)

saturday we went up to coleraine with our friend danny to play on his boat. despite the combination of cold water, one hurt ankle, and one horrible wake-border, we had a great time hanging out. yesterday was our day to spend with our friend paul. we went to see indiana jones (i have to say, i was a wee bit disappointed), had family dinner, wore funny hats (see picture below), and spent the evening playing music and talking. elizabeth and i took a hiatus from paul for an hour or two to hang out with amy, reegan, anna, kay, and lauren.

since this is our last week, it is full of many "last moments." today is my and elizabeth's last art club with the girls. we are having a party and our friend amy is going to come, too! the guys are heading over to calvin and marty's, and i'm pretty sure that they will be two very sad boys when dwight and john leave (of course, dwight and john will be two sad boys, too). later this evening bobby and norman are stopping by for a while. even though we've only spent one day with them since we've been here, they are one of the most encouraging couples we know. we are excited about seeing them again! oh, and tonight is also our very last family dinner...sad.

please pray for us as we are saying goodbye to all of our friends here. pray for opportunities to spend quality time with them and last chances to share the gospel. specifically, the girls on my heart right now that you can be praying for are amy, anna, and danielle. also, please pray for our readjustment when we head back home. it is going to be a different life for us than the one we've grown accustomed to this past year. i mean, we all have to find jobs and everything...yuck. thank you all for keeping up with us and being faithful to pray.

I wish I had witty subject lines....

2008-05-19T14:54:00.004Z

Oh boy. It is so hard to believe how short our time here is: two weeks from today for the three of us and one week from Wednesday for Erin! These past few weeks have flown by as we are bringing some of our regular programs/clubs/bible studies to a close for the summer and trying to spend plenty of time with all of our friends here. Here's the quick rundown:

-While the girls are continuing the Tuesday after school art club with their faithful 5-6 girls for the next two weeks, John and I have had less faithful attendance from our 5-6 guys in the last few weeks, and so are going to spend the time with the two brothers that we have invested most in, Marty and Calvin

-Ballyloughan, as we have mentioned before, has started a Wednesday night outreach into the estates, and we are helping for the next two weeks with that, leading sports activities for kids

-We are continuing our Thursday door to door prayer ministry until we leave, as we are nearly finished with individually visiting ever home in the estates. While this sometimes proves routine, or without many people to pray and talk with, the past few weeks have been so encouraging! During the last two weeks, we met and talked and prayed with two grandmothers of one of the largest families in the area. When I say large, I mean they each told us that they have a range of 60-90 grandchildren and 20-30 great grandchildren. This family is a traveling family that is very very closely knit and is matriarchal by nature, and so it is a huge thing for us to not only meet these lovely ladies, but to receive such warmth and acceptance from them. We were also able to pray with them and will be giving them Bibles. This is also the same family that supplies about 50% of regular attenders for Kidzone at church at Hillside each week, so please keep this ministry and this family in particular in your prayers.

-Our Thursday night youth club is finished, which frees us up to hang out with everyone. Since the weather has been phenomenal for the past three weeks, and it is light until 10:30, there are many older kids out. John and I have been playing much more football on the courts recently, and it is prime time for strolling around and visiting. It is also clear that the summer is nearing, as the older ones around here start getting into their crazy mindsets again, complete with excessive drinking, late night parties, fighting, police riots, and the like which are already becoming regular.

-Fridays and Saturdays are pretty free for us to meet with any people we are close with, and to just hang around with the kids.

-Besides our weekly events, we are scheduled to have dinner with someone different nearly every single night until we leave, so this is great to get some final quality time in so many different friendships. We have already had tons of great times recently, including going to a huge motorbike race at the coast this weekend (similar to Nascar in popularity and style, but a roadrace), and a huge barbecue with friends yesterday after church. We are soo thankful for the hospitality and level of love that our friends here have shown us this year.

-Finally, this Friday evening, we are having a big goodbye barbecue for pretty much everyone we know here, including people from both churches and especially people from the estate. Some friends from church are helping us with the food and supplies, and we are beginning to tell everyone. Please pray for this time, as we expect and hope to see lots of people we know, get a chance to say a final goodbye, and still share our love of Christ through this final act of kindness.

Well, true to form for my updates, this has become longer than I intended, but hopefully you have found this encouraging and will be faithful in prayer for us through this last bit of our time here. We love you all!

may day and hayley

2008-05-12T09:53:00.003Z

Last Monday we celebrated May Day. We really have no idea what exactly May Day is other than it is a bank holiday which means everyone is off school and work. We think it is similar to Labor Day. We loved it. I think it might be my new favorite holiday. The weather was amazing! It actually was incredible for most of last week. Even the 'not so great' days were great. The days do warm up over here believe it or not, though we usually still wear jackets on the 'warm' days. But this week we were all wearing t-shirts and flip flops!

We celebrated May Day with Hayley and Paul at People's Park, one of our favorite places in Ballymena. We had a picnic, played frisbee and made daisy chains. Dwight made his first ever daisy chain after learning several different methods. Erin and John rescued the frisbee from beyond the fence a couple times.

We also said good-bye to our dearest friend Hayley this week. Hayley was the first person we met when we moved to Ballymena last summer. She was our next door neighbor for a while and we quickly became friends after I walked into her house without knocking a few times. She took us to Belfast to explore caves, to Downpatrick and Newcastle. She taught us to play scrabble and then we quickly learned a new meaning to the term 'competitive.' She opened her home to us and became part of our family. She even let me have a party in her house one night while she was upstairs on the phone. And no matter how mean the boys were to Kat the cat, she always let us back in.*

She is beginning an adventure...she left Dublin at 12:30 am last night to visit a friend in Estonia for a few weeks. There is talk of a European road trip as she makes her way to France to find a job teaching English or writing. I am a little jealous. I'd never heard of Estonia and kind of want to go there now. We love her and can not wait to hear about her travels. I personally think she is going to be the female Bill Bryson.

Check out her blog: http://coffeehelps.wordpress.com

* If anyone reading this would like a cat, Kat still needs a home.

burgers, indiana jones, and clean clothes

2008-05-07T09:11:00.005Z

During our time in Ballymena, we have found some great places to eat, one of which is the Spinning Mill. Our friends took us there last summer for breakfast and we have made use of the inexpensive meals over the past months. A couple months ago, I was invited to have lunch with Dwight and Paul. I went to the counter to order my sandwich and went back to the table to wait for the guys. They returned excited and informed me that they had discovered that you can order an extra slice of meat on a double burger for only a pound (approx $2) extra, making it a triple.

So, after months of planning, we took a family outing...

...they ate every last bite.

The new Indiana Jones movie comes out May 22 in Ballymena. To celebrate, we watched Raiders of the Lost Ark with our friend Danny Sunday night. We met Danny through working with Ballyloughan Presbyterian Church over the past few months. He is a physics teacher for an all boys school in Belfast where he teaches ages 12 to 18. He drives up to Ballymena (approx 30-45 minute drive, depending on the traffic) every other week to help with the community youth club. He is great.

To continue with news of laundry...the weather has been amazing and I dried my clean clothes outside on the line yesterday. They smell so good.

All of my clothes are pink...

2008-05-04T14:40:00.006Z

It's sunday afternoon right now and we are all enjoying a couple of hours of rest and reading in between the morning services and the night services. After church this morning, we were invited to lunch at a couple's house from Ballyloughan. It was a great time and we really enjoyed getting to know them more, and experiencing the love of Christ through their hospitality and the fellowship of the body here. Elizabeth is about to go have a meeting with the elders from Hillside about trying to figure out a way for her to stay on living here after this year. Actually, they are here right now to pick her up, so please be praying that they will have wisdom and discernment in this matter, for Elizabeth really feels that the Lord is leading her to stay.

We had an unexpected, pleasant surprise visit from Colin the other night! He called my phone and said he wanted to see us, which was very exciting, because we have been trying to get ahold of him recently, to no avail. Anyways, he came by sometime after 11 and ended up staying till near 1am. It was so good, and we were able to make him his favorite food ever-bacon! He didn't like our American biscuits as much, but breakfast, football, photo shoots, coffee and tea, and a group walk through the estate was never as much fun. Please keep praying for Colin, that the Lord would continue to seek him, even in the midst of his running from him, and that Colin would give in to the Spirit and yield to his ways.

Yesterday, Elizabeth went to the coast for the day with a friend and had a great time, John and I went rock climbing at an indoor wall again, and Erin guarded the fort. We took Steen, on of the boys from the estate, with us climbing and we really enjoyed hanging out with him, since we haven't seen him around much recently. We also went to Mark and Jacqui's house the other night and made them chicken quesadillas and saw their baby Jonathan.

Well, the only other important thing that I can think of is that I had a tragic blow to my limited wardrobe. I had delayed in washing my clothes for so long that I was finally forced to do it so I would have something to wear. Rather than split it up into two loads, i literally shoved it all into the tightest single load ever...much to my dismay, I realized far too late that I had also included in that load my red boxing wraps. That's right, my ENTIRE load is pink, not an even, slightly distinguishable pink, but bright, random splotches of red and pink everywhere. oh well, I guess I am reminded that life does not consist of these things, but things of far greater importance. I better get used to pink.
Until next time, we love you all!!!!

It's nearly May!

2008-04-30T14:21:00.003Z

we are alive! haha, and two of us are back after being in the states for a week! its been a busy last wee bit, so sorry we havent written in a while, ill try to catch you up on the main stuff

lets see, first, erin and i went back to bham last week for two separate weddings and it was such an awesome time of refreshment and encouraging time with friends and family! the weddings were beautiful and it has rejuvinated us for our last 5 weeks here (4 for erin)! how crazy is that-a full year nearly gone. anyways, we are all glad to be back here together again

all of our normal clubs and bible studies and meetings have been going well. our tuesday afterschool club has been slightly crazy for the past few weeks and we are having a difficult time getting the kids to behave and pay attention, especially for the boys. John and I were really frustrated after this past week and are trying to figure out how to get them to act better and listen to the bible story, so pray for us about that.

since the nights are getting longer and brighter, everyone is out late at night more as well. this is good for hanging out, but also hard to get kids indoors for our youth clubs, etc. so this will probably be our last thursday of having youth club until after the summer. instead we will just have the time to be around the estate and hanging outdoors with everyone. Ballyloughan church is also starting a summer project where people from the church come into the estate every wednesday night and do cleanup for needy people, football clubs, door to door ministry, and just being around the estate to form relationships and help in any way. we are going to help with this as well, and are praying that it has a positive impact and that the estate accepts and is thankful for this effort.

just before going to america, i was able to go to dinner with eamonn (aymon), a friend i have made from the gym. it was a very good and encouraging time and though he is very anti-religion by his own profession, we spent a large portion of the night discussing spiritual questions he had and he learned what i believed. though it was quite intense at times, i think he was pleased with it and he said that after returning from my week home, he wanted to have me over to his house for dinner. i have been communicating with him since being back and we are trying to find a time to hang out again, so pray that the Lord provides this opportunity and that he will begin to respond to the Holy Spirit's promptings in his heart. pray also that i may have the words to say to him, because it is very intimidating to openly contradict his beliefs with my own, and to know the balance in when to speak and when to not push him.

john and i have been rock climbing with mark in the past week and are starting to go more often. we are trying to get several guys from the estate to go with us this saturday, and make it a regular thing. we even are beginning to plan an overnight climbing trip with them before we leave, so pray that all of these opportunities come together and guys will want to go.

well, im sure there is much more, but this is getting long. we will do better at updates in the next few weeks. as we sense our time beginning to draw nearer to an end, pray that we will be very intentional with our time and make the most of all of our opportunities. The Lord is teaching us so much and I am constantly reminded of his faithfulness and sovereignty! Praise Him for his love to us and you and the people here.
until next time, we love you and miss you all. dont be afraid to send us encouragement!

Dinner guests

2008-04-16T19:55:00.003Z

John and I had a wee dinner party tonight. Amy Lynn and her two and a half year old daughter Reegan came over. We had tacos. John gave Reegan black beans. She did not like them. She ate a plate of shredded cheese for dinner. Then Reegan had her first music lesson. It was a great night.

Downpatrick and Newcastle

2008-04-15T16:59:00.005Z

Erin and Dwight are away to America for the week to be in friend's weddings. John and I decided to take a day trip with Hayley and Paul on Monday. We headed towards Downpatrick, the burial place of Saint Patrick and decided in Belfast to take a different route through Portaferry so we could take the ferry. We ended up going to an aquarium and stayed for the 'hands-on' program, during which we got to pet sharks and sting rays and hold starfish, sea urchins, and clams. We were by far the oldest ones in the group, unless you count the parents of all the wee children.

We took a very short ferry ride over to Downpatrick. We saw the possible grave of St. Patrick and the Cathedral, which had a beautiful stained glass window. We think the window portrayed images of 10 the the disciples. We think they left out both Judas and Judas Iscariot and added Peter and Paul to make 12. We went in search of a mountain with a statue of St. Patrick. The mountain turned out to be a hill, but the view was amazing.

Feeling spontaneous, Hayley decided she wanted to go to Newcastle and since she was driving, we all happily agreed to the adventure. We walked along the beach and the boys taught Hayley to skip rocks.

We ended our day by going for coffee and ice cream at Maude's. We sat outside and talked about what kind of bird we would like to be and watched the water. It was a great day out.
This week, John and I are holding down the fort. We had our afternoon clubs at Hillside, with the help of Paul, Louise, Brid, and Amy. We taught the parable of the Good Samaritan. I had the girls make cards of encouragement for someone as an example of how to show love to others. We ended 10 minutes early because they girls were making 'kick me' signs and gluing them to each other's backs. Obviously they listened really well today.

pictures and sister

2008-04-04T06:50:00.002Z

My baby sister, Laura arrived from Spain Wednesday afternoon for a long weekend. She is a senior at Auburn and is finishing university outside of Madrid. I haven't seen her since Christmas and am enjoying getting to introduce her to our friends here. Erin and I met her in Belfast on Wednesday and brought her back up to Ballymena. We went to dinner at the Blackstone Restaurant with our friend Paul. Erin and I have been waiting to go for ages since we heard it was the best restaurant in town and thought Laura's visit was as good excuse as any. The food was amazing and the music was interesting.

Yesterday, we took her along on our 'prayer walk' around Millfield. Every Thursday afternoon, we help Ballyloughan with a door to door prayer ministry. We met a really cute little girl named Caitlin who had a bag full of bread to go feed the ducks at The People's Park. She was very excited.

It was a beautiful day, so we met up with Katie and went on a walk around the estate to take pictures. The kids have all been off school for two weeks for Holy Week and Easter Week. They are in the process of going back to school at the moment, so some were out playing while we walked. We got to see Lizzy Carson and her girls, a family in Millfield we met on a walk last summer. They were out in their front garden one day last July and happened to have a trampoline, so of course I introduced myself and asked if I could jump on it. We have been friends every since. Erin used to help Chelsea, the oldest daughter, with her homework last autumn. We enjoyed chatting with them and some of the other kids we met along the way.

Some pictures from our walk:

One often comes across interesting things when walking around Dunclug. I have seen a dead cat, a decapitated doll, a burnt motorbike, a dog hanging from a rope of the football goal, and now an abandoned trolley. You can't hep but to take a picture.

On Tuesday while locking up after the afternoon art club at Hillside, I noticed a bit of graffiti on the church gate. I have quite a fondness for this particular art form around here. I'm not sure if the artist here was trying to communicate here.

On Monday, the boys left for France to snowboard for a few days. The weather was perfect, so Erin and I recruited Paul for a trip to The People's Park. The bit of water in the picture has ducks and swans. Since we have been here, we have learned that the swan is protected by the Queen and you will serve eight years in prison for killing one.

On Easter Sunday, I went to a sunrise service at Mount Slemish. I took this picture through the car window, so you can't see how clear this rainbow was. I have never seen one where the green was so clear and bright. Since I was in the car with a physics professor, I learned the scientific explanation of how rainbows work. They are from God.

We are off to the coast for the day. The boys get back tonight, hopefully in one piece.

it is late and i am tired...

2008-03-30T23:43:00.003Z

hey to all friends and family!!! ok, so it's been a few days and i wanted to give a brief update of what has been going on here, so here is the story:

all of the kids have been out of school for a week for easter and most are still out of school for this upcoming week. this has given us tons of cool chances to hang out with them. though we haven't had any of our normal clubs this past week due to the holidays, we have seen the kids more because we all are free to hang out. several girls have been coming by the house nearly every night and have asked all of us our testimonies, and continue to come by.

on tuesday, john and i took three boys from the estate-luke, connor, and tully-to go to an indoor climbing wall in belfast for the day. we went with mark and russell and it was a great time and the guys really loved. we really enjoyed having such a cool activity to do with them, and are going to try to plan many more, even going on outdoor trips when the weather is nicer.

after our friends matt and jamie left on easter, we had a brief visit this week by some of john's family. his sister and brother-in-law and brother all came and stayed with us for a few days, and it was a real treat to see them and get to hang out.

our good friends from Hillside, Robin and Heather, have bought a special channel on their tv during march madness so that we can go over to their house and watch the NCAA tournament! this is super exciting since it is a big thing that we have missed from home right now. all the games are actually shown live, and so are in the middle of the night. the last two nights i went over to their house around 11 or 12 at night and stayed up till around 5am watching the games...last night the others joined me. although i am quite exhausted, it was well worth it to see UNC advance to the final four! go tarheels!

finally, me and john are heading out tomorrow afternoon to get a few days of holiday. we are meeting up with his brother who lives in scotland, and we are all going skiing and snowboarding in the french alps for several days! i am sooo excited about this, since it has always been a life goal of mine to go boarding in the alps. and they just got a meter of snow this past week! pray that we are safe and dont get hurt!

well, thats most of what has been going on. our time jumped forward an hour last night, to catch back up to our normal time difference from the states. the weather has been slowly getting better over the past week or so, and we are really hoping that april will bring us much more sun and blue skies, free from rain.

well, i gotta go pack. we love you guys tons! and miss you all! oh ya, and why does no one ever really comment on elizabeths posts? we were wondering that and i told her i would ask/chastise...thanks to will and pat for their comments on hers...we love comments, so please leave some love and encouragement!!! Praise the Lord for his faithfulness! Read John 15 this week and let these words dwell with you as you go throughout your days.

until next time,
Dwight

Pictures!

2008-03-25T10:52:00.004Z

Saint Patrick's Day parade in Belfast

Reegan Lynn at the Easter Community Service. Her mom, Amy is a good friend of ours and 'posed' Reegan for this picture.

The boys have found a new hobby - playing video games on the internet.

Happy Easter!

2008-03-24T15:28:00.003Z

Our internet went out again! We're not sure what happened, but it is up and running again. The past few weeks have been pretty busy. We helped with an Easter Community Service at Ballyloughan. The St. Bridget's Primary School choir and the Dunclug Primary School performed. We had a great time hanging out with members of the church and some of our friends from the community. Erin was adopted by some kids to play follow the leader and ran around with a line of kids dancing behind her.

Matt Francisco and Jamie Simpson left this morning after a 10 day visit. We loved having them here and especially loved their gift of The Office season one dvds. There was a good bit of sightseeing done over the past few days and a rented car, which was actually returned in one piece with no injuries.

We helped Lorriane with a program for the first year class at Dunclug College last week. This was the end of a course on relationships she teaching at the school. We each had a table of kids we led in discussions about bullying and other various topics. It was fun to interact with kids who live in other areas as well as some we already knew.

We also got to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Erin and Matt went to Dublin for the day. John, Jamie, and Dwight climbed Mt. Slemish (the legend is that St. Patrick tended sheep on Mt. Slemish and drove out all the snakes from Ireland, but according to my 8 year old friend Lauren, that is impossible). Every year there is a pilgrimage up the hill. Our friend Paul and I went down to Belfast to watch the parade which displayed lots of asian styled costumes and a good bit of reggae music. We met up with Dwight, John, and Jamie and walked around the city for a while. The weather was amazing so we all took advantage of the chance to walk around without rain jackets.

All the kids are out of school for Easter holidays - the Northern Irish version of Spring Break. All of our activities were cancelled this week and we are looking forward to hanging out with bored kids during the day.

The next few weeks will be different as we have visits from John's family and my sister, the boys are going snowboarding, and Erin and Dwight are going home for a couple weddings. Our time here is quickly coming to an end. Pray that we will make the most of the next couple months and take every opportunity presented.

this is good stuff if anyone cares to read it all....

2008-03-09T14:38:00.006Z

well, i would just like to start this post by announcing my jubilation over the massive game last night! in case anyone doesnt know, UNC beat Duke last night for the ACC regular season title. yes, the game was on at 9, which means it started here at 2am, and yes, i stayed up until near 5am watching the live updates on sportsline.

in other news, the weather this week has been very fickle, raining one moment, then clearing up for a moment with a wee bit of sunshine and blue sky, then rain, then a downpour of hail for 4-5 minutes, then rain, then snow (we woke up the other morning with an unexpected layer of snow covering everything, though it melted within hours). you get the idea. it does that about 20 times a day. but mostly rainy, im afraid...and very windy. this makes it a bit difficult to be outside with the kids, though i do feel that it is improving, albeit rather slowly. so, john and i were able to play football on the courts with some of the boys this past week, which was a fond memory of this past summer, and a hopeful view of weather to come.

the tuesday afternoon club this week went fairly well, with about 7 guys and 5-6 girls, our typical numbers now. both groups can particularly rowdy, though, especially when it comes time to do the devotional part, so pray that the kids will calm down and pay attention to the lesson. pray that the spirit will work on their hearts and make his truth from his word come alive to them, as many of them are not christians.

i have had several encouraging encounters this week, as well, specifically at the gym. since i have been working out most mornings at gym near here, the Lord has really provided some cool opportunities to develop some new relationships. i have met many believers and have been very encouraged by simply seeing that the Lord does have other people of his in this needy area, and to see them regularly and share with them. I have also met a few others who are not believers, but whom i have been able to go a bit deeper with in our relationship. one guy is named Eamonn (pronounced Ayman) and is a 42-year old man who is married, has kids, and is school and town bus driver. However, he loves intense skateboarding, rock climbs, surfs, has a shaved head, earrings, tattoos, and acts quite young. for some reason we have hit it off great and work out together a lot. though he is very turned off to "religion" and insists on having no part of it, he seems interested enough to discuss the subject and seems "timidly interested" (if that makes sense) in my views. i have previously suggested hanging out sometime over coffee or lunch/dinner, but he has seem noncommittal. recently however, he has several times suggested that we go out for pizza and this week, he gave me a lift home during which we discussed some of my "Christian views", and then exchanged numbers, so as to get together for pizza soon. please pray for Eamonn and that the Lord would sovereignly appoint more opportunities for us to hang out, maybe at dinner soon, and that the Lord will give me the wisdom on how to best speak the Truth in love, because he is quite cautious and cynical about anything resembling "religion", though it is clear he knows nothing of Jesus. One other person I have built a relationship with is names Byron, who is a personal trainer at the gym. Byron is the uncle of one of the boys that we are friend with in Dunclug named Rory. Byron has always been overly affable in gym, daily giving me pointers and help. He recently broke up with his girlfriend and moved back into the Dunclug with his mom, who lives near us. We have invited him over for dinner and he is supposed to come next Friday, so be praying for him, as he is not a believer, either.

lets see...not a whole lot else has been going on...we have our bible study tonight with the youth from Ballyloughan and we are taking them to a monthly worship gathering for late teens to young adults, which we have heard is very good. we are excited about that. and erin is an aunt! yay! her sister had a baby this week, so that is exciting, but hard to be away for...so pray for aunt erin. this friday, matt francisco (erin's boyfriend/me and john's best friend) and jamie simpson (john's girlfriend) are coming to visit, so we are excited about that too! thanks for all of your prayer and support you offer! please keep praying for us and the people here...and feel free to lave encouraging comments, we like those!

until next time,
unashamed Carolina fan in a land where no one knows or cares,
Dwight and Co.

here are a few extra pics to spice up your day:

this is the picture we used to promote the afternoon club for boys in the estate

this is the four of us on the London Eye, just before Christmas

this is an unnecessary picture of john in a wet-suit...an awesome wet-suit...

friends....

2008-03-05T11:13:00.003Z

We got to spend some time with Mark and Jacqui this week and meet the newest member of their family, Jonathan Mark. He is tiny. He was born a month or so early and is a testimony to the power of prayer as he and Jacqui are both doing well. We had a great afternoon catching up with Mark, Jacqui, and their five year old Katie. We watched dvds of the boys rock climbing, Mark skiing, and their trip to the Canary Islands.

We had dinner with Norman and Bobbi Murphy, a couple UCF met several years ago. The entire evening was refreshing and encouraging as we caught up with these friends and picked Norman's brain about missions. Pray for their family as they travel to visit their son and daughter-in-law who are missionaries in Peru.

On Sunday night, we met with a few kids for our community Bible study. It was interesting as the conversation topics shifted throughout the evening. We talked about drugs, death, poverty, and our purpose in life. Pray for the kids who came: Anna, Danielle, Luke, and Tully and for us as we plan for this time and spend time with these kids.

Please pray for our friend Paul as he interviews for a new job on Friday, 7 March. This new job will change his work schedule and allow him to be free in the evening and weekends. He has a great attitude about it and know it is in the Lord's hands. In fact, I have learned that he has a better attitude than I do about pretty much everything. We are all very thankful for his friendship and his example of truly trusting in Christ.

And last but not least... Manchester United beat Lyon 1-0 last night!

afternoon art club

2008-02-27T10:31:00.003Z

just a few pictures from our afternoon art club on tuesdays.

NBA, broken windows, Rocky, UNC bball...

2008-02-25T21:59:00.003Z

well, it's monday night and we are about to start a new week after enjoying a nice day to rest today. this past week had all of our typical, weekly programs, as well as a few noteworthy events:

the tuesday after school club for the guys had a record-high 7 guys! this is especially encouraging and noteworthy, because the last week had only 1, and the week before, only 2. so praise the Lord for brining those guys out and hearing the Word while having fun hanging out. Pray that they, and maybe some more guys, will show up tomorrow again for the same club.

erin explained in her last blog that we had a really cool opportunity to talk to one of our friends, Michael, on Thursday night after youth club. He invited John and me to go riding around town with him and his cousin, which was a good time, hung out in our house for a while, and then went on a long walk with me and John. During this 1-2 hour timeframe in which we walked around all of the estates at least 4-5 times, we were able to answer a lot of his questions about the Lord. Michael is a really cool guy and has always been one of our close friends here, helping us out when we needed it, whether it was giving us a massive, extra TV he had, offering to beat up other people to protect us, or just inviting us to hang out with him and his friends. However, he doesn't know the Lord, and has made it very clear in the past that he has no interest whatsoever in wanting to ever know the Lord. Yet, we found ourselves on this night, talking for hours about the deepest questions and longings of his soul, and how Jesus can answer those. while he made no decision that night, he now knows the truth and will hopefully ask more questions in the future. pray that the Lord would allow us to have good opportunities to just hang out with michael and grow our relationship with him, and provide the chance for more good talks, and then that he would accept the Lord's call to him.

our friends Luke, Steen, Connor, and Tully have continued to drop by our house regularly and it has become somewhat routine to discuss spiritual matters with them now, so pray that this will continue to happen, but that they will begin to move past this stage and desire more of Christ, forsaking their sin and current ways of life. I also had a chance to go to Steen's house this week and spend time playing his favorite NBA game with him and see all of his NBA apparel he got when he was in the states (Steen is unique for this area, in that he is one of the few who like basketball, and he is obsessed with the NBA). this meant a lot to him and was a really cool opportunity to deepen that relationship, and even get some time to talk with his mom, brother, and grandfather.

sunday was an interesting day. during the bus runs for hillside in the morning, when we collect the kids from all over the estate and bring them to the church, some kids threw rocks at the bus and busted the window in. the bus driver was livid and proceeded to inform me that we (yes, thats right, me and him) were going to track and chase these boys down. so after a long hunt/chase through the alleys and streets of Dunclug, we caught the 3 boys and cornered them until the police came. they officially arrested the 3 boys, but since they were all 13, they took them home to their parents. one of them is named Redroof, the local arsonist and biggest troublemaker in the area, who is not unaccustomed to regular run-ins with the police. we are praying that he will not be mad at me and hold a grudge by getting trying to reciprocate somehow. i also have to go to the police station this week sometime to make a statement. oh well.

on a better note, that night we took the youth from Ballyloughan church to a special service at another local church. there was a band and a speaker and it was encouraging to all of us. after the service we talked to the speaker because we realized that he was American. It turns out that he is from Atlanta, GA and actually went to Samford University many years before us! he is living in Portstewart, northern ireland now with his wife and kids and is on staff at a church there. that super encouraging and cool to us and a reminder that God is Sovereign and has his people everywhere.

last, but certainly not least, Steen lent me the whole Rocky series since i had never seen any of them. so this weekend, i have been making my way through them and tonight the four of us spent family time reliving the cold war via boxing and outrageous acting in Rocky 4. i must say, i don't know how i have made it thus far without seeing these movies....

well, thats all i've got, i'm sure that i've bored you at some or every point, but if anyone is still reading, we love you tons and truly envy your prayers and encouragement. and oh ya, watching live updates of carolina basketball is not the same as watching it live or on TV, but it's certainly better than nothing. Go Tarheels!

until next time,
dwight and fam

quick update and prayer requests

2008-02-22T15:17:00.004Z

1. our tuesday art club with the girls is now in full swing. so far we've talked about how we are made in the image of God and let the girls create whatever they wanted, the next week we talked about God's love and how we should love others and made valentines, and last week we talked about friendship and the girls wrote pen-pal letters to the girls that my mom works with at her church back home. we have a group of 6 girls and are having so much fun getting to know them! pray for us as we are planing the weeks to come and pray for the girls as they are hearing about the Lord.

2. last night we had 35-40 kids come to the thursday night youth club, which is about 15 more kids then usual. Michael, one of our friends here, came back home with us to hang out after the club. the guys went walking around with him and they had a really good conversation about God (i'm sure dwight will update more on this later). Pray for Michael and for more opportunities to hang out and talk with him.

3. we are continuing our group time with some of the Ballyloughan youth this sunday night. we met with them two weeks ago to talk about what they wanted to discuss. we've decided, for at least the first few weeks, to talk about how to grow in your Christian walk. pray that we will be able to develop trust with these kids so that we can have an open, truthful, and encouraging time together.

4. on the alternating sundays, we've planned to have a bible study/open discussion and question time at Ballyloughan with the kids from the estate. we're still in the process of evaluating whether or not this is the best time or place to have this group of kids meet. pray for God to give us wisdom in this, and pray that He will send the kids that He wants to be there.

also, pray for Anna, Danielle, Katie, Amy, Toni, Chelsea and Jade. these are some of the girls that Elizabeth and I have gotten close to and hang out with on a regular basis, and the Lord has laid them on our hearts.

thank you for being so faithful to pray for us!

Captions

2008-02-18T11:54:00.002Z

For some reason, I wasn't able to explain the pictures in the last post, so here you go...

1. Our new home!

34 Dunvale

Ballymena

BT43 6NX

2. Hillside Community Church - one of the local churches we are working with

3. Dunvale - the estate we live in

4. A traditional Irish Fry - a typical fry includes an egg, bacon, sausage, soda bread, potato bread, and black pudding. Erin and I found a cafe that lets you create your own fry by choosing five pieces from a list. We have gone to breakfast with our friends Anna and Danielle a couple times and enjoyed this cultural experience.

5. This is the main street in Dunvale - the end house in where our friends Bridgene and Paul live. It is by far the most cozy house in the community. They are incredible generous and have opened their home to us more times than we can count. Bridgene has had us for dinners that deserve a blog post of their own. On Saturday night, we watched Manchester United beat Arsenal 4-0!

Pictures!

2008-02-18T11:19:00.007Z

After the snow...

2008-02-15T16:18:00.002Z

...came a week of incredible weather, which was much appreciated. It warmed up for a few days and we had actual sunshine!

We are still settling into our new schedule and are enjoying our new programs so far. Last fall, our friend Hannah (her dad is the pastor of the church from Nashville that comes every summer) lived next door for a few months and started an afternoon dance program for girls in the community. Due to our lack of dance skills, Erin and I decided to turn it into an afternoon art club. The first week we had five girls and let them loose with various craft supplies left over from the UCF team last summer. The results were quite impressive. This week we made Valentines Day cards and watched as two girls made cards for the same boy. At the end one of the girls changed the name, so all is well is the world of 10 year old romance. We meet on Tuesday afternoons for a little more than an hour. We have a short Bible study, a snack, and an art project. We have talked about being created in God's image and love so far. Any ideas are very welcome. We are also planning to have a night near the end of our time here where the girls can display their artwork and invite their parents.

We made our weekly visit to Ballykeel this week and met a bunny rabbit named Pepper. Please pray for our relationships in Ballykeel. Our time there each week is very limited and usually show up as the kids are getting in from school and going straight to dinner. The days are getting longer, but we still only have a little bit of time.

Several years ago, UCF went to Doury Road, another estate near Dunclug, for the first time. We went around knocking on doors trying to meet people. The first door I knocked on was opened by a man named Barry who informed me he was a Christian and had been to New York. He then took me around and introduced me to kids and families in the area. He even brought a kid who had been away to our program the following week in another area. I have seen him a few times since I've been here this time and found out he lives in Dunclug now. Dwight and I ran into him last week and got to spend some time talking to him. We both walked away very encouraged. The few minutes spent with Barry were like a breath of fresh air. He is a youth worker and is running a fitness program for the teenage boys in the area. Two of his nephews are good friends of ours and we live next door to his sister. He has a heart for the youth in this area and spoke about his faith with a sense of maturity that we have not often seen here.

Sorry we have taken so long to update, but in our defense, we just got internet. Hopefully, we will be better about it now.
later.
elizabeth

a few days late...

2008-02-15T09:48:00.003Z

it snowed!

Birthday week!

2008-02-04T16:51:00.000Z

Well, it has been a busy week and weekend, and it is good to have this day off to kina of relax and get ready for this next week. Especially since last night we spent the night at a friend's house from Hillside and watched the Super Bowl from 10-3:30am. It was tons of fun and we were really grateful for their hospitality that allowed us to feel like we were still enjoying such classic American event. We spent the night at their house in some spare bedrooms and since we take it easy on Mondays, we had the liberty to catch on some sleep and relax.

so this past week we began some of our regular "scheduled" things that will take place each week, and they all went really well. all of our meetings throughout the week with the church to plan and pray and study the Word are going really well. We printed out flyers that announced the start of our after school crafts and sports club on tuesdays, so we are very excited about that starting tomorrow. pray that the Lord will bring out the kids that he wants and that we will be able to use that opportunity to share the Word during that time. Our time each Wednesday in Ballykeel is going very well and though it has been quite cold and nasty, we have still had a lot of kids that love seeing us come out. the youth club continues to go very well on thursday nights and we have begun to use this time to tell the kids about the Bible study that will take place every other sunday. we started that this past sunday evening and it was a good start, with 5 kids showing up. we hope that these numbers will grow as they spread the word and get interested in talking openly about any spiritual questions, topics, etc. we continue to have kids dropping by the house each evening, which has been such a blessing. our friends luke and tully and steen continue to ask tons of questions about the Lord and are very interested (these three also came to the Bible study on sunday). luke especially seems to be prompted by the Holy Spirit's leading, and he accepted a Bible that we gave him to read, and he said he would, in fact, read it. please pray for them.

this week is special because erin's birthday is tomorrow, the 5th, and john's is the 7th! we are so excited and will have a birthday party on wednesday. it is also very special because erin's mom will be coming in on tuesday for a week, and we are all excited to see her, erin especially.

the other good news is that it snowed this weekend! friday night we got about an inch of snow and all of the kids were out playing in it until late, so we joined them. it was so much fun, but sadly short-lived, for in the morning it had all melted, as seems to be the pattern here if there is ever snow. it was fun while it lasted.

well, i wont bore you all with more details, but thank you so much for your prayers, please keep them coming. we love you all.
dwight

when it rains, it pours

2008-01-29T11:37:00.000Z

hey to all our friends and family from the constantly rainy NI! seriously, we have had very very few days here since being back that it hasn't rained at all. as in, maybe none. but anyways, here is a quick update coming from the computer of our friend hayley, who is graciously letting us use it while we still have no internet.

well, this past week went very well and it seems the location of our house has turned out to very convenient thus far, because we are constantly having visitors and friends stop by, which we love! we have had some boys that we are close with stop by several nights last week and this weekend, and one night, we got into a very good discussion about the Lord! it really has been amazing to see how the Lord is opening up doors in this way, and these boys heard the Gospel very clearly for maybe the first time in their lives. pray for them by name-luke, steen, conner, and tully. speaking for myself, it seems that there have been more direct Gospel opportunities in this past week or two than usual- the Lord has opened up the door three times with seperate boys for me to completely share about the Jesus with them, so praise the Lord! keep praying for more "random" stop-ins at our house. i know the girls have had plenty of these as well, so pray for amy, tony, and katie for the girls.

this sunday we are starting a bible study for the kids from the estates, which had seemed to be something that they seemed interested in, so please pray the the Lord will bring who he wants to this on sunday, and that it will be a safe time for the kids to learn and ask about the Lord...and invite their friends.

last week, we also had the chance to meet with some young believers and are starting weekly bible studies with them. john and i will meet with kerry on friday afternoons to study the Word and then with Marty and Calvin on friday evenings to do the same. please pray for these times of discipleship and that the Word will take root in their hearts and grow. our friend Colin has also made contact with us again and seems to be doing better than before Christmas, so we are encouraged by that and hope to start some sort of regular discipleship with him, also. please pray for all of these opportunities.

well, thats about it for now. we love you all and miss you.
dwight

Our Apologies

2008-01-25T15:14:00.000Z

Sorry for the embarrassingly long time since we last posted, if anyone still reads this then we plan on posting again regularly now that we're back. We're back! We got in 8 days ago, had no trouble with our passports, and moved in to our new house in Dunvale, which is pretty much the same area that we have been living in, except now we are in a more central location (the address is changed on the blog). We have met with and are officially working with the two churches that we built relationships with last semester, Hillside Community Church and Ballyloughan Presbyterian Church, and we are really excited about what we are going to be doing with them. We plan on posting later about the switch, but it is great to be working with churches in the estate! We don't have a phone or internet yet, so our gracious ex-neighbor Hayley is letting us use hers until we do. Here is how our week is shaping up to look like:

Monday: Mainly our day off, but the girls may help with childcare for a mothers and toddlers event at ballyloughan when they can.

Tuesday: We will meet with the main youth worker from ballyloughan, named Lorraine and have some time in the Word and to pray over the week together. We then have an afternoon kids club through Hillside which will have crafts, sports, homework help, etc., as well as a Bible study

Wednesday: We have an afternoon club with Lorraine for anyone from the estate either not in school or work- more or less a time to just hang out and build relationships. Following this club, we will go to Ballykeel to hang out with the kids we know there.

Thursday: We will do a door-to-door prayer ministry around the estate during the afternoon, asking the people what we can pray for them about, and either praying there with them if they would like, or writing it down to pray over later. This evening, we have a weekly youth club that meets at Ballyloughan, where most of the older kids that we know go to play and hang out.

Friday: Free afternoon to hang out with kids. That evening, we have music practice at Hillside for church on Sunday, as well as meeting and prayer with the elders, Sam and Alan.

Saturday: Free time to be with the people. This evening, the boys will help with a youth club for the younger kids from Ballyloughan church youth group.

Sunday: We will rotate having two interns at each church every Sunday morning. Hillside only has an evening service once a month, so we will attend that service once a month and Ballyloughan each other Sunday night. After the evening service,once every two weeks, we will run a youth Bible study for older kids in the church youth group. On the in between weeks, we will run a different Bible study for the kids from the estate, which is a really big step for them. So pray that as we spread the word about this bi-weekly Bible study, many will come and it will be accepted.

That is the basic schedule of planned events each week, with a lot of time in between to be available to hang out with kids and people from the estate as opportunities arrive. We also have several people who we will be meeting with weekly to either disciple through a Bible study, or to build on the relationship.

Well, as we said, we don't actually have an internet connection in our house yet, which is why we haven't blogged yet since we have been here. We will try to update as we can until we get the internet, which could be another 1-2 weeks. So please be patient with us, and continue to pray as we continue building on the relationships that the Lord has given. Spread the word that we are actually using our blog, for anyone who may be interested, and feel free to leave us any comments. We love you all!

Time to play catch-up...

2007-11-11T14:14:00.000Z

Well, it has been quite a while now, and I am sure that many of you are either frustrated with our inconsistent blogging patterns, or wandering if we are alive. Sorry, on both accounts...we are not dead. We are quite alive, actually, and have been pretty busy here, with a variety of events (excluding blogging). After Joel's short visit, we were forced to get back to real work going on here, and no longer stayed up at night playing simplistic games like "Hold the chair over your head until your arms feel like they will fall off and the the last man with any strength left in his body wins (see picture below for proof. and laughs).

So, as you know, we began planning tons for our Fall Festival that was coming up. Though we didn't have tons of time to plan and prepare, the Lord was very gracious and helped everything come together, according to his plan. On the Wednesday and Friday, we held bible clubs in 3 seperate houses in the 3 estates we live in/around. About 8-15 primary aged kids attended each house on each of these days, as we taught them about Creation, God's love for them, his plan for their life, and His desire to have a relationship with them. All of this was geared towards the basic theme: Jesus had to die to make you friends of God. During these bible clubs, we taught a basic lesson, played games, made a craft related to the topic, and just hung out with the kids. It was a great opportunity for us to build on the relationships with these kids that we had specifically invited. On the Thursday, we had a big Fall Festival event, where about 30 kids showed up and we played games, learned Bible verses, sang songs, did puppet shows, and ended with a drama of the fall of mankind, leading to Jesus's death. The week ended up being a great time and we trust that the Lord had each kids there that he wanted and that they took something away from it, whether we see the fruit now or not. We were able to see at least 3 kids make professions of faith from the week, and have had multiple great conversations with others since, so praise the Lord!

During this time, my family was also able to come for the week of Halloween, which was a great blessing and encouragement, not only to me, but to all of us here. They were able to help a lot with the events of that week, which was great to have extra and experienced help. My mom made new meals for us, which was great, too! They got to see TONS of incessant fireworks the whole week, especially on Halloween night. Since the 31st was also my sister's 16th birthday, I tried to convince her that I had personally arranged the fireworks for her, but it didn't fly. They also got to walk out late at night and see a lot of the drinking teens out celebrating in numerous ways, including stealing a tool and opening many fire hydrants around the areas, flooding the streets and depleting neighborhoods of water. At the end of the weekend, my family and I went to London for 3 days to visit our family friends who are missionaries there, which was very encouraging! During this time, one of our friends who came to Northern Ireland with us last summer, Ben Harmon, came to visit us during a free weekend he had while studying in Madrid, Spain for the semester. It was great to see him and have a little sense of home and familiarity, which I think he also benefited from.

For the next 3 weeks, we will be leading the junior SU's at Dunclug Secondary School, so please be praying for us. We also are doing a school program at a primary school tomorrow. We are starting to plan for a big Christmas event similar to the Thursday event during the Fall Festival. Also, this week we are going to Belfast on Wednesday and Thursday to shadow an experienced school's group called Crown Jesus Ministries, and see if we can pick anything up to help us. This next weekend, our good friends Will Weir and Brian Sharon are coming to be with us for the whole week of Thanksgiving and we are so excited to have them come. It's slightly more than a month now til we come home for Christmas, and we are getting very excited, but want to maintain our focus until then, so please pray for that. We miss you all so much and really really envy you prayers as we near the end of this season here and continue to seek the Lord's direction in our ministries here. Please try to remember to bring us before the Lord daily, we really need His strength and wisdom! Until the next time my friends...(which likely will be when we see you, at his rate, haha)...
with love...dwight and his roomies....

Here are some pics:

why is halloween such a big deal?

2007-10-24T20:01:00.000Z

with missy, emily, and joel (he was here this past weekend...not sure if that was ever mentioned in the previous blogs) safely back home, we've returned our normal routine...almost.  next week is halloween which is one of the biggest holidays in northern ireland.  the kids are off school for a week, so we are planning a three day fall festival for them.  two of the days are going to be similar to the backyard bible clubs that the ucf team did this summer.  one of the days we've rented out the community center and are having a much bigger presentation complete with puppets, games, songs, memory verses, crafts and the gospel message presented by way of a drama.  pray for us as we prepare for this festival.  we're pretty short on time...we started to plan today and the festival starts next wednesday.  and pray for the kids that are going to be there.  jacqui estimates that there will be around 60 kids on the day that we have the community center.  the backyard bible clubs are taking place in different areas of the estates, which means they will be much smaller and more intimate.  pray that God allows opportunities for us to talk to the kids one on one during this time.

we're still going every monday to the scripture union at dunclug secondary school, which has become one of my favorite times of the week!  last monday dwight, john, and elizabeth ate dinner with the teachers who lead the scripture union and went bowling with all of the kids.  (i was sick, so elizabeth made me stay home and sleep...).  some of the teachers that lead su are christians, but some are not.  pray that we will not only have opportunities to talk to the kids, but also the teachers.  and elizabeth wanted me to inform all of you...she bowled one strike and three spares on monday.  yay!

thanks for all of your prayers and thoughts!  we love you guys!

Pirates and Chinese

2007-10-19T09:38:00.000Z

We said goodbye to Melissa and Emily yesterday. It was so great having them here and taking them around to introduce them to people we know. They were a huge encouragement to us all and we are so thankful for good friends. Joel arrived this morning and we are excited about spending some time with him over the weekend.

Our dear next door neighbor had a birthday this week, so we celebrated with beef in black bean sauce, prawn crackers, and coffee cupcakes. Hayley has become one of our favorite people. She is a star. Check out her blog:
http://coffeehelps.wordpress.com/
We love you Hayley! Happy Birthday!

We visited Ballykeel this week and got to introduce Emily to some of our friends there. She had the pleasure of meeting the one and only Nigel and seeing her first Northern Ireland rainbow. We have become a bit accustomed to seeing rainbows throughout the week, but this one was absolutely glorious. It was amazing. The colors were so bright and clear, they seemed to be glowing.

Dean(s)

2007-10-17T01:21:00.001Z

Dean no. 1

As mentioned earlier, we usually go out late on Friday nights, praying and looking for opportunities to talk to people. Well this Friday the four of us (and Mark, a director), wandered out to around twenty guys out on the pitch, rowdy and drunk as usual. We said our "hello's" and went on our way before the police showed up, noticing that the guys had gathered some stones to throw at them. Well we went and prayed some, and then looked back from the other side of the pitch to see a police wagon thing driving up on the pitch spotlighting guys, and the guys in turn pelting the wagon with fist-sized rocks. This had an effect similar to that of hitting a wasp's nest with a baseball bat, so we decided not to walk back that way this time. We wandered for about 20 more minutes, by then having circled around back by our house. As we sat there trying to decide whether or not to go back inside, a guy walked by looking visibly upset, and mumbled something about the hopelessness of this estate. We asked a few questions and found out that this guy was named Dean, and that the mob had put in all the windows on his mom's house and tore down the fence. After talking to him some, praying with him, and giving him a New Testament, we walked inside, smiling at the providence of God for putting us in the right place at the right time. We have seen him a couple times since then, met his mom, siblings, and grandmother, and gave him another little book to read. It seems like God is working on him, so be praying for him. Also convenient is that fact that he works at Dominoes, so we got a good deal on pizza tonight.

Intermission

Melissa and Emily are still here, they leave Thursday morning, and they have been awesome! It's been so fun to have extra people around to talk to and cook for you, and they've been very encouraging to us. They will be missed.

Dean no. 2

The other Dean is a 15 yr. old guy who lives around here. He is much easier to find than Dean no. 1 because i've never seen him anywhere except hanging out in the cul-de-sac in front of his house. From what I can gather, this is because of two reasons. One, he is a slightly bitter protestant, which is not the best thing to be in Dunclug, and two, he tried to steal a Wii from another protestant around here, making him shunned from that group as well. Besides these things, he is on all accounts a very cool guy, so about once a week i wander over there and play soccer with him... he usually schools me. Due to his confined space, he has to be rather creative, using a tree and a lamp post as a soccer goal, even though the soccer cage is about 50 yards from his house. The funny thing is that Dean is a microcosm of what life is like for a lot of the people we hang out with. They can only walk so far into town, and wouldn't dare go near certain protestant estates, for fear of losing life or limb. Since this is how "protestants" treat them, you can imagine how they'd feel about going into a church. Pray that God might overcome culture and politics and the hatred done in the name of "religion", and spread the real Gospel around here. Also, pray for Dean and his brother Calum, and his mom, that they might meet Jesus. Thanks for praying!

David Gray album, part 2

2007-10-12T09:16:00.000Z

My sheer excitement over the David Gray album came to a screeching halt when I discovered that it was a live album of covers that was only available on his website. But, that disappointment was soon replaced when I remembered Erin's sister, Melissa was coming! At the moment, Erin and I are waiting for our lift to the airport to meet her delayed flight.

Last Monday was our first time at the Scripture Union at Dunclug College, a secondary school on the edge of our estate. For the rest of the semester we will be attending the junior and senior SU to help out and to get a chance to meet another set of kids. This school draws kids from all over Ballymena, so there are students we know from both the Dunclug area and Ballykeel, as well as areas we have yet to visit. We are also hoping to encourage some of the students we already know to start attending these lunch time meetings. This week we heard about the math teacher's summer trip to Uganda and next week we will be working on getting Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes filled and sent out. Over the next few weeks, we will have the opportunity to go bowling with the students and have dinner with the teachers who lead SU. Beginning in January, after we return from Christmas, we are planning on leading the meetings ourselves using the Junior Alpha course.
http://uk.alpha.org/
Be sure to watch the video that is on the main page of the website. Dwight, Erin, and I saw this in the previews at the movie theater a few weeks ago.

This past week also included:
a great visit with some friends in Ballykeel
an encouraging prayer meeting with the Hope team
a school assembly
several packages from home
listening to Joel's sermon with Catherine and Paul
baking brownies with girls
introducing Neil to The Frames
a prank phone call
Dwight busting another bike tire on the way to the gym
a visit with Colin
Hebrew bible study
going to breakfast in town
the new Radiohead album

We can not believe that it is already October 12. The months are passing far to quickly.
love,
elizabeth

David Gray's new album comes out on Tuesday!

2007-10-07T08:40:00.000Z

As previous post explained, we have moved into a new "season" of our internship. Over the past month we have been learning to adjust to the community schedule as all the kids returned to school and this past week really kicked off some new activities and programs.

We started "homework clubs" on Tuesday. Jacqui, one of the directors of Hope in Ballymena, helped us arrange and schedule time with different kids she knows in Dunclug. We all came back really excited and encouraged after the first day. Tuesday, Erin and I went to a house with 4 girls and had a great afternoon. We helped the 9 and 11 year olds with their math and english homework. I learned a new way of taking percentages by multiplying fractions and drawing boxes which I found much easier than I remembered from middle school. The mom asked us about cooking and agreed to teach me to make Irish stew for this winter. After the girls finished their homework, one of them told me to ask their mom how to make pancakes and as she was explaining the ingredients, she got out a bowl and started making them for us. So Erin and I made brunch for the boys the next morning. Being in the kids homes allows us to spend time with their family as well as help them with math.

We also went to a local church's youth outreach on Thursday night the boys stumbled across a few weeks ago. Each Thursday evening, the church is opened up for the older kids to come play indoor football, ping pong, pool and hang out for a couple hours. The leaders are happy for us to come by anytime and we are planning to take advantage of this time as much as possible as there are a lot of kids we know all in one place.

Friday night we had the pleasure of Mark McGladdery accompanying us on a late night walk around the estate. We had a great night. We have come to the conclusion that Friday night is the best night to be out late. We have also come to the conclusion that anything late at night is completely random. We ran into a friend of ours and ended up at a bus shelter at the bottom of the estate so he could rest his back. A few minutes later, a group came down and hung out with us for a long time. We got to meet some of the girls we didn't have a chance to talk to the night before at church and invite another to the Scripture Union we will helping with on Mondays.

The weather has been amazing the past few days. Dwight and I went to People's Park one morning and ended up taking a couple friends, including a 2 year old who entertained us by feeding the ducks and pigeons. It is still pretty green, a few leaves turned but nothing like the trees in Georgia. Thursday night was really clear and the stars were amazing.

In other news, we were bummed that The Office was no longer available on itunes, but that was turned to pure joy when we found it on youtube.

love, elizabeth

October kicks off the fireworks...

2007-10-04T13:05:00.000Z

It should not have surprised me when I returned from England and found our blog without update...that is, since my last update on September 25th. But for some reason, I keep holding out hope that one of my other roommates here will feel some urgency and pressing need to beat me to the next blog update. However, I am coming to grips with the fact that this may never happen at all. In fact, I think that my dear roomies are quite content with allowing almost all updates to come by way of me. While I will surely face all kinds of denial and harassment over this conclusion, I will happily admit my error if they begin to prove me wrong...But I wouldn't hold your breath...

So, here is another update of the work and lives of the UCF Interns in Ballymena (as told by Dwight Castle):

Well, I returned from my friend's wedding on Monday, the longgg day that began at 5:30am for me, and after becoming very acquainted with the Manchester airport, finished after I arrived at our home around 5pm. The wedding went very well and it was quite refreshing and encouraging to spend time with my friend, Jon, and meet all of his friends there. There were quite a large number of missionaries there that were close friends, and so the Lord undoubtedly meant to encourage me through this, as I heard how the Lord was working through the lives of others around the world.

Though Monday is typically our day off to rest, the others did a school assembly Monday morning, before I got back. It seems that this went well, but we are continually trying to think of ways to improve our schools' programs. Tuesday, we started our first day of after-school tutoring in the homes, and every one of ours went really well! These are cool opportunities for us to not only help the kids with their homework and build our relationships with them, but also to be in the homes, building better relationships with their parents and the rest of their families. We were very encouraged by how well these went for all of us on Monday, and though we don't do any on Wednesdays, we all will go shortly to new homes for our Thursday students, and will do so on Fridays, also. Please continue to pray for these.

Yesterday, John and I joined a local gym, and are quite excited about regularly working out and trying to stay active and in shape. However, our first day proved quite interesting. We have to ride our bikes to this place, which conveniently, is on the other side of town. Not too big of a deal, except that we didn't really know how to get there...and it was raining. So, after about 40 minutes of wrong turns, weaving through cars on the way to work, kids on the way to school, and old men on the way to....well, to nowhere, I guess (but nonethless calling us cheeky for scaring them with our weaving), we made it to the gym, fairly wet, but not yet disheartened. We then had to sit and fill our paperwork and become official members for a while, before we finally began an abbreviated work out. During this time, we heard something that sounded like nothing short of a second great flooding of the earth. After reminding myself that God gave the rainbow (which we see so often) to ensure that this wasn't the case, I thought, maybe the massive air conditioning unit had kicked in...I then looked out the front door. When I saw our bikes float by in the newly formed river, I knew our ride back would not be fun (ok, it wasn't quite that bad, but it may as well have been). By the grace of God, when it was time to go, it had lightened from a deluge to a mild full-body massage, and we set out on the more accurately-guided ride back. We made much better time back for the first half of the trip, but then my back tire blew out and we had to walk the rest of the way back. However, the wonderful girls had decided to make homemade pancakes for us, so we felt much better after that.

Though we were supposed to go to Ballykeel, the incessant rain kept us from doing so. It was good for all of us to spend some time working on (catching up in my case) on our Hebrews Bible study that meets bi-weekly. Today, since the bike tire was still busted and erin wanted to come with us, we caught a much shorter taxi ride and had a great workout. It has been a gorgeous day and we have been able to hang out with a lot of people so far today. As I am typing this, we just watched our neighbors get busted for having MASS QUANTITIES of fireworks in their house, which they have been selling to the neighborhood kids for jacked up prices. (Starting on October 1st, you can hear fireworks going off all day long, as everyone gears up for Halloween, which seems to be a big excuse here for fireworks) You would have thought that it was a major drug bust or something since they brought out 11 police officers and 4 cars. But no, the drug dealers are still around.

Well, I guess that should catch you up on everything up to the past 30 minutes. We've gotta head out to tutoring now, so yep, that's all. Please keep praying for us to have wisdom to know who to spend our time with and doing what. Tonight, we are going out late again to see what the older kids do and where they hang out on Thursday nights, so pray for that too. We love you all!!! keep in touch.

Until later, my friends,
dwight

We see at least 2-3 rainbows a week...

2007-09-25T12:55:00.000Z

Well, life here continues, and it is still getting colder and wetter (if that is possible) each day. This past week, we did assemblies at two schools, and we did one today (our only one for this week). They all went really well and it is cool to see how excited the kids can get about us coming, and then to see some of them listening so closely to the message of Life we bring to them. It struck me this past week that many of these kids have never heard the Gospel before and many never will, except for our short little time at their school. We may never get a chance to follow up with most of them, or explain more fully the Gospel, beyond the story we tell and the songs we sing. And so the Lord really just showed me how important it is that they see something different in us, something that they want in their lives. Even if it is just the smile on my face that represents and reveals the deep, abiding joy that I have in my heart and life, I want to show them that joy and hope. As the Lord showed me how easily my heart can become hardened and apathetic by routine and familiar grace, he gave me his heart for these kids, and it changed the way I approach the simple, normal things like this.

We start our after-school tutoring this week, so pray for us to have wisdom on how to best meet the needs of these kids, and that relationships will develop and deepen, leading to opportunities to share the Good News of Jesus.

That's mostly all that has been going on this past week, as we still try to make time to see the kids after school through football or visiting houses, etc. We did get to do some really cool activities this past week that I've gotta brag about. Well, last week, we all 4 went climbing on an indoor wall with Mark, one of the HOPE directors, who is an avid and experienced climber. On Saturday, he took John and I to the Northern Coast and we climbed all morning on the cliffs there. It was so cool and the most hard-core climbing I have ever done, up to heights of about 120ft. Yesterday, on our day off, Alan (one of the elders at Hillside, the church we all go to) took us to a place called Glenariff. It is a beatiful wooded area in the mountains with tons of waterfalls. It was great hiking and cold swimming (just kidding). Well, thats about it for now. I leave tomorrow morning for York, England until Monday to go be the best man in my best friend, Jonathan Doub's wedding. Pray for safety in travel for me and that the other 3 here don't cry themselves to sleep every night with me gone. We love you all and hope to hear encouragement from you!

Here are some tight pics (don't be jealous):

Notice how small the people down below are!

Like the tongue sticking out?

It's getting colder...

2007-09-17T09:55:00.000Z

OK, so we are slowly getting better at updates again. This past week was the first week of our school assemblies, so thank you to all of you who prayed for the school on Thursday. Things went well, and though we had a few kinks to work out and some fine-tuning, all went well and the headmaster loved us and invited us back. This was our first time in this school and it was the only one in the area that we didn't have a pre-existing relationship with, so praise the Lord for this new school contact! We have two more schools this week, one on Tuesday and one on Thursday, so please pray that those go well for us and that we continue to develop our relationship with these kids.

This week we will also start our after school tutoring with kids we know in the estates. We will each work one-on-one with a new kid every day this week, and then repeat that schedule for the next few weeks, giving us consistency with those specific children. We also started our Bible study of Hebrews as a HOPE team, and are continuing that, though we only meet every two weeks. This past Friday night, we went out in the estate from about 10pm-2am to try to see who hangs out where and doing what on a typical weekend, so that we can begin to try to minister to these people. We will do this "research" for the HOPE team for the next few weekends, late at night, and then as a team, we will all try to figure out the best way to reach this late-night crowd, such as bringing out tea and coffee and snacks, and then starting conversations. So pray for this developing ministry, that the Lord will guide us interns and protect us as we head out on these late-night excursions, and then also that we would know how the Spirit is leading us to reach these older kids and adults.

I don't think we have written much recently about Colin, so I wanted to give you a quick update with him. A few weeks ago, his granny finally passed away, and though it was long-coming and somewhat of a relief, it proved much harder on Colin than even he expected. Since his granny practically raised him and was certainly the most important person in his life, he took it hard and hasn't known how to handle the pain. In the past few weeks, he has acted out his hurt and anger and confusion in a lot of the same ways he has in his past, rather than allowing this to push him to the Lord. We have tried to be there for him and direct him to the Lord through this, but he recently told us that he's having doubts and trouble believing the things he believed about God before she died. He left yesterday for England, supposedly to move there for a while, and start over, which is probably one of the best ideas for him, because he has so much here from his past lifestyle that he simply cannot escape. He told us bye and how much we meant to him and that he hopes he can believe in God again, so please pray for him as often as you can, and that the Lord will redeem his broken heart and show him the depths of his love for him again.

In other good news, John and I got two new bikes this past week that actually work, which will greatly increase our travel efficiency. We are both trying to join a local gym around here, if we can work out a good price, because we will need it as it turns to winter. The days are much shorter already, as it gets darker much earlier, and the fall weather is turning colder and wetter, which means less physical activity outside. I am already about to go crazy with the prospect of that, and am looking forward to hitting the weights and running this week, hopefully.

Well, I guess that's about it for now. Please keep praying for team unity, among us 4, and also with the greater HOPE team. We look forward to hearing back from you all through comments, emails, letters, packages, messages delivered by pigeons, very very large gifts, surprise visits, and anything else the Lord lays on your heart...haha, only joking. We do love and miss you all and depend on your prayers and encouragement, so please keep them coming. Until next time,
Dwight

because i don't like being called a liar, or this one goes out to laura and lauren...

2007-09-11T10:38:00.000Z

obviously, as dwight mentioned in his previous post, we need to work on updating more regularly. sorry about that! well, we returned from our holidays (which were fun, but honestly, we were ready to get back!) about a week ago. the kids have all returned to school, so we've begun to plan and train for our primary school assemblies. our first school is on thursday, and we are pumped! basically, we will be singing songs with the kids, telling a bible story, doing a song with the puppets, and just connecting with the kids. we're trying to be where the kids are so they are familiar with our faces, who we are, and what we believe. hopefully, when we see them outside of school they will recognize us and we will have opportunities to build relationships and have conversations with them.

we also met with the board of HOPE last week to discuss the plans for the following months. plans include starting a precepts bible study for the HOPE team, after school one on one homework help (which should start in the next few weeks), guitar lessons, house visitations, the possibility of teaching a session or two in the Religious Education classes at the schools, eventually starting on secondary school assemblies, possibility of working with Scripture Unions (the school's bible club), and late night ministries (ie pub ministries). we also brainstormed ideas about ways to get people into our house, which include cooking with or for them, craft days, game nights and other fun activities that will provide opportunities to hang out! this past week we had nicolas (8 years old) and sean (9 years old) over for breakfast. they are two of the biggest trouble makers in dunclug. it went really well and was good to see the "child" side of them as opposed to the "stealing-our-stuff-and-cussing-us-out" side of them. pray for these two boys as we are trying to spend time with them and show them love. we are all so so excited about our plans! thanks for your prayers and thoughts!

Back to life as we know it...almost...

2007-08-23T21:58:00.000Z

Ok, so as many of you few faithful readers out that may have noticed, we have not been doing as good recently with posting often. As you may imagine, things have been pretty crazy and busy around here lately, and there has been a lot going on, so I will try to give you a quick run-down of the highlights to get us all caught up:

As John explained earlier, for the past month, the UCF team has been here in Northern Ireland in a few different spots. The past two weeks had them here in Dunclug, where we live and we were with them all day, each day. Though occasionally overwhelming to have 15 people in the house at any spare moment, it was mostly refreshing and good to see friends and have that kind of fellowship for that length of time. All of us here were very encouraged by how great the team worked together and how they were able to really invest in the kids and people here, which we can now follow up on.

Those two weeks with the team consisted of splitting up into multiple wee bible club groups for the afternoon in and around the estates of Dunclug. Then, in the evenings, we would do a variety of things in the estate, including prayer walking, visiting homes, playing football, walking around and meeting kids, and anything else that the Spirit may have led to do. All of this was great for us, because we were able to not only loosely "head up" or help out when needed, but also to keep an eye out for who all were coming out, so that we can now follow up on these relationships.

This is much of what we have been doing since the team left on Sunday, though this week has also served as a slight recovery time for us. One of the girls on the UCF Team stayed a few days extra and so we went to Dublin with her for a few days, and have been back here since. We have been able to spend a good amount of time this week with the kids here in Dunclug already, and we also went to Ballykeel today and had a great time with many of the kids who were happy to see us. I personally was encouraged today because I was able to spend plenty of quality time with many of the older kids, as well as the younger ones, growing many different types and levels of friendships. I know the day was good for John, too, because at two points, I overheard his conversation with an approximately 13 year old girl. The first time I heard John say, "Well, the reason that there are bad things in the world is because God has subjected his creation to futility..." Haha, the second was something like "...so if God doesn't pre-exist all matter, from what source are we?" I laughed at how funny John is, and I hope you are too. Oh yeah, and John and I bought a bike off some kids today for 13 pounds, and though it doesnt have any brakes at all and half the rusted gears don't work, we feel that we made a good buy. In fact, while the others took a taxi back to Dunclug, I rode our "new" (in the loosest terms) bike back and a walk of normally 30-45 minutes took about 15, so I am already pleased.

On Saturday, John leaves for Scotland to go meet his family for our end-of-summer week off. On Sunday, Elizabeth, Erin, and I will all fly to Italy, where we will spend our much-needed week off. This time will be great for us relax and recover after a go-go-go summer pace and get ready for an entirely new schedule for the fall, with the start of school. We will meet with the Hope Team after this break and discuss more what that will look like as we begin to do assemblies at several schools a week and have much less free time with the kids in the estate than we did during the summer days.

Well, this is too long, as usual, but I am banking on the fact that you people reading this are reading because you love us and are dying to know what is going on in our lives and how you can pray for us...in which case, this would be a pleasing post. Please pray for us on holidays, that we will have safety and a refreshing time. Pray that when we return, we will be ready to get back into following up on these relationships and excited about the Lord's work here, though it often occurs little by little.

If we don't blog again before Sunday, we will talk you all in a week! Love you all and miss you tons! Feel free to leave comments expressing your love for us!

What's Happenin

2007-08-16T00:34:00.000Z

What we've been doing:
This week is similar to last week in that we and the team are doing Bible stories and games in the afternoon, and then spending time in the community at night prayer walking, meeting people, playing football, doing dance classes, and anything else we can to build relationships. Thursday and Friday are the team's last two days in the community, so please be praying for them that they might best make use of the time they have left with any of the relationships that they have made so far. The team has been great, and i think i'm gonna be a little depressed when they leave...

What I've been doing:
I have had the pleasure of spending a fair amount of time with two boys who're responsible for this little incident, which made the bbc: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/6944902.stm . Aging 7 and 9, these guys played hurling, which is like lacrosse but with a big stick, with a family of hedgehogs. Please pray for Joel (http://ucfinterns.blogspot.com/2007/07/joel-hedgehog.html), we hope that he was not involved. The sad part is that it really didn't surprise anyone when we found out who it was, since the two youngsters are pretty infamous around here. Pray that we can show love to these guys when no one else will, and that God will change them since no one else can.

What I've been learning:
I've been learning that it is hard to consistently read and pray, that good arguments don't convert people, that playing guitar for church is scary, and that tigers kill for fun. Fav. sermon this month: http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/ConferenceMessages/ByDate/2239_Open_Their_Eyes_Doing_What_Only_God_Can_Do_Part_1/ .

Lots of links and love,
John

in case you forgot what we look like....

2007-08-10T12:02:00.001Z

there's a first time for everything

2007-08-07T00:12:00.000Z

i guess it's about time i wrote a post...

these past few weeks have been crazy busy with the ucf team here.  they've been such an encouragement to us interns and we are so excited that we've been able to spend time with them.  today was their first day in dunclug, and i think that they got a good taste of what it is like here.  as three of the girls on the team and i were walking around the estate praying and talking to people that we passed, a group of guys (from dunclug) ran past us with one of our soccer nets that they had stolen from the game going on at the pitch. after being cussed at by a 9 year old, we finally were able to get the net back with some help from some of the guys dwight and john have been hanging out with.  i think that this incident showed the team a little about what the kids are like here.  never the less, i think the team is excited to work here for the next few weeks...and i know that i am excited for them to be here, to introduce them to some of the girls that i've spent time with, and also for them to build relationships with people that we could follow up with once they are gone.  pray for the team this week as they are meeting people.  the atmosphere of the estate is a little dreary this week seeing as wednesday is the day for the big bonfire in dunclug.

tomorrow elizabeth, hayley (our next door neighbor) and i are starting a bible study with katie, one of our friends that we've been hanging out with a lot.  we are so excited!  also, francine, another girl that i have spent a lot of time with, just came back from her two week holiday today.  i am hoping to hang out with her this week and really grow closer to and invest in her.

on a different note...please pray for the church here in the community.  they are going through some changes and we would all appreciate your prayers.

Juniper Hill

2007-07-31T08:26:00.001Z

The UCF team arrived last Monday and spent their first week in Ballykeel, an estate in Ballymena. John, Erin, Dwight and I love having them here and are really excited to have them in Dunlcug for two weeks. John, Erin, and Dwight spent last Saturday with them in Coleraine and along the coast and came back encouraged by the fellowship and slightly injured by a fierce football match. I am incredible proud of Erin for holding her own and taking out one of the boys.

I took the bus up to Coleraine yesterday in hopes of spending the day with Connie and to go with the UCF team to Juniper Hill, a caravan park in Portrush that UCF has worked for several years. Connie's flights were delayed and she ended up not arriving until 6 o'clock or so, but she is here and that is exciting!

In previous trips to Northern Ireland, I spent several weeks at Juniper Hill and jumped at the chance to spend the afternoon there. In Northern Ireland, cavarvans are similar to beach houses or condos. The wealthier families will own or rent one and spend the entire summer on the coast. In general, the "residents" change from week to week as it is a holiday destination, but over the past four years, there have been several people UCF sees every year. One of those people is a guy named James.

I met James when he was 14 and was thrilled to see him as soon as we pulled up to the park. Henry, James and I sat in the grass and talked while the kids played football. James announced to us that he was saved! (He told Henry before I sat down and then caught me up on the conversation.) He said he had been praying for about three weeks and trying to do everything right but knew there was something else that he needed to do. So he went to see his girlfriend's father, who is a pastor, and they got it all worked out! So, I am already jumping up and down with excitement. I have known this kid for four years and watch Joel and UCF share Christ with him and in one of those rare moments from the Lord was allowed to see the fruit of all those words, prayers, and time. And, he goes on to tell me that he will be going to school in Ballymena this next year and there will be days between classes and football practice that he will have some time to kill. I ma already planning on what to cook him for dinner.

So, it was a good day.

Joel the hedgehog

2007-07-25T00:08:00.000Z

so that's right...this is...well, was for a short time....our new pet. We were out talking to Colin a few nights go and some kid walked up and was like, hey there's a hedgehog over there. Then we were like, oh really? so we ambled over and quickly got excited when we saw it. Colin immediately decided to pick it up with his bare hands, calling it a "cute wee animal" and immediately suggesting that we name it Joel. We brought it in for a while, and though Colin informed us milk was the best thing to feed it, we soon learned online that they are lactose intolerant. nice. so we played with it for a while, which involved watching it curl up in a ball, trying to feed it a centipede and mushrooms, Colin repeatedly kissing and then regreting that, and watching it run around...after a while we decided to keep it in our neighbor, Hayley's garden (yard), which had a high cement fence and a gate. only later did we read online that they can apparently climb walls over a meter high or up houses, if they wedge themselves in between the wall and gutter. I am still doubtful and think he is hiding in there somewhere and we will find him soon. Poor Joel.

In less important news, things have been great in the past week, but are very busy now. The American team from Nashville arrived on Sunday and the Birmgingham UCF team on Monday. We have been splitting our time between those two teams, since the UCF team is working in Ballykeel this week and the Nashville team here in Dunclug. It has been very encouraging to see other Americans again, especially some of our friends from UCF, and to receive a few amenities, such as American peanut butter, measuring cups, black beans (for elizabeth), and my ab roller. so anyways, things are going great and it's late and I am exhausted and need to go to bed. So, this won't be that long, but I simply wanted you all to know what has been going on here. Please continue to pray for our work with the American teams, that the surplus in numbers will be beneficial in reaching more people and establishing new relationships, and then that we 4 will be able to follow up and build on those. The UCF team in particular will be here for a month, so we will be able to have a lot of interaction with them and be encouraged by their support and friendships. We love you all!

It came upon a midnight hour...

2007-07-22T20:14:00.001Z

...and Erin was there to collect her reserved copy.

wowsers, there is a sun!

2007-07-19T00:55:00.000Z

ok, so i realize it has been a whole week since anyone has blogged at all, and though the public outcry and popular vote seems to be for john, he seems to diregard this, and it has once again fallen to me to inform you all of any of the happenings lately. Ok, it has been a busy week...where should I start?

Well, the 12th went relatively well this year and seemed devoid of any major occurences, so we were very thankful to the Lord for that. The parades and marches in town on the 12th day were very interesting and though it heightened the tension, was soon over with none too worse for the wear. The kids here in Dunclug are still working on their bonfire, which will take place on the 8th of august, but seems to be characterized more this week by destruction, rather than construction. we find this humorous, for they have gathered lots of materials (wood pallets, tires, lumber, furniture, tree limbs, rubbish, etc...) and proceeded to spread it all over their football pitch in no apparent order. Then, they actually found a wee shed that they brought up onto the pitch to serve as a guard shack, to make sure no protestants come and light their material. At first, we were impressed for them to actually think of this on their own, but then realized they stopped all work and hung out in the shed all the time and griffitied it with IRA propoganda. Then, after a few days of getting bored, they tore the shed apart, breaking the 4 walls away from each other and the roof. With their guard shack destroyed at their own hands, they decided to build a new one with the pallets and lumber. Their new fort is bigger and was completed tonight, utilizing most of the substantial fire material that they had spread around the field for the bonfire. The rest of the materials they have been slowly burning in mini-American sized, normal fires each night, and actually all throughout the day too, as they get bored. I wonder if they will soon realize their stash is severely depleted and they are trashing their own estate. Oh well. It's good craic, as they say.

In other news, we have had several awesome opportunities to continue to develop the relationships with the kids. The girls have taken up baking and have had several girls over to cook, as well as making cookies for the wee kids around our house. We have also had several of the guys over to play monopoly for about 6-7 hours on a rainy day, and they want tp come back and play everyday, even though the sun has come out in the past two days and it has been beautiful outside (something we have not experienced in the month we have been here). Tonight, we had Sean (one of our closest friends here, whom the Lord has really layed on our hearts) and his girlfriend Lisa over for tea, complete with a full meal and cake made from scratch. They really enjoyed that. These opportunites are soo encouraging for us because it gives us chances to take our relationships with them past the normal, shallow level. We are beginning to get into the swing of actually living with the people now, like knowing where they live and feeling comfortable stopping by and the same for them, calling them to come play football or cook or play games on a rainy day or chill, getting to know their families, etc. All this is not only growing our friendships with them, but is providing more specific opportunities to talk directly about our faith and what we believe. As you might imagine, these times are very encouraging for us.

Let's see, what else...Colin is still hanging out with us a lot, too, which is great, but the Lord has really been stretching him to grow deeper in his relationship. Though he became a believer about 3 years ago, and even gave up a lot of the bad lifestyle things of his past at that point, the Lord is teaching him to trust him and grow in his walk. His granny is still in the hospital and on the verge of death, and he is spending all of his time with her, as she is the most important person in his life. Pray that the Lord would grant him peace and even joy in this tough time and teach him to pray and trust the Lord, even with this. Also, pray for his safety because some of his old enemies from his past lifestyle have recently been hunting him down with the intent to settle the score for good, and though he wants nothing to do with it, it is very hard to know how to respond.

John and I also just got back from talking with some boys at the bonfire tonight and feel very burdened for them. Though it started out with many guys and a lot of talk about the Bible and Christianity, a few persisted and led to some good questions and conversations. At the end, we talked with two guys, Paul and Aaron for an hour by themselves, presenting the Gospel in all of its entirety, as clear as possible. Paul is so close to believing and is clearly being pursued by the Lord, always full of questions and open to the Truth. Aaron was remarkably open and receptive tonight as well. Pray for them, as well as Michael (whom I talked with tonight clearly about the Gospel, but is not quite open yet, though he is one of our closest friends among the guys in the estate), Sean, John, Luke (Paul's younger brother), Decky, Brian, Rory, and another Brian.

On Saturday, an American group from Nashville with about 40 people will be coming to Dunclug, as they do every summer. They will be here till the next Monday, working in the estates, so please be praying for them as we help them and try to build on the work they will do with their large numbers. Then, this coming Monday, the UCF team, which comes every summer as well, will arrive in Ballykeel. They will be there for a week, then in Coleraine for a week, then here in Dunclug for two weeks. These teams help bring out a lot of kids and start relationships that we will then be able to follow up on and build on for this year, so be praying for these teams as they come and things get crazy for the next month or so. Also pray for good weather as they are here, for it is hard to get much done with rain, especially as we have been having record amounts the past month with hardly any sun. Please continue to pray for the unity of us 4 and for our personal walks, as the Lord is growing and teaching us each daily. Pray that our time in the Word and personal prayer, as well as group prayer, will be protected and a priority.

Well, sorry that this is so long, but I guess that's what happens after not posting for a busy week. We will put up more pictures of life here soon... We love you all....

the 12th of July

2007-07-12T11:45:00.000Z

Well, this past week was marked by the beginning of the building of the bonfire here in Dunclug. Though the bonfire won't be until August 8th, they started building it this past week and will not stop working on it every single day until that day. This is also motivated due to the fact that the Protestants are in full force, with their massive day, July 12th. In Ballykeel, their bonfire last night was at around 40-50 feet tall and there were about 5 other big protestant bonfires around Ballymena. This is the marching season, full of bonfires, different paramilitary protests, demonstrations, and bands, and much hatred.

We are warned regularly now to be sure to always lock our doors and windows and leave nothing in view outside, or it will be lifted as bonfire fodder. This includes anything, from trashcans to clothes to bikes to cars. During the 12th and other big days during this marching season, older kids and some adults here in Dunclug get wasted and go around in mini riots, wreaking havoc on everything in their path, regardless of reason, logic, or owner. They break every window they cross, burn every car they see, and just destroy everything.

Last night the catholics here in the estate already burnt one car and broke into several homes, and it wasn't even their holiday. This is the kind of atmosphere and hatred and heightened emotions that go on during this time, which as you may imagine, makes it very difficult to break through this darkness. Almost all of the people fighting and all worked up have no idea what they are so mad about, but simply know that this is how it has been done for generations, and they know nothing different.

Please pray for the people during this time, that they may see some light in such a dark time, and that this year will be less violent and tumultous than past years. Pray also that we will have wisdom to know how to be friends with these kids, while showing that we don't agree with what they are doing. Pray also for safety and protection, for us and our friends, as we try to learn to minister in this difficult time. You saw in the last post what happened to our friend Colin last week, and that is not uncommon during this time. Also, pray for Colin and his family this week. His granny is very sick and the doctor is only giving her a few days to live. I was with him at the hospital a few days ago, and he is very close to his granny, so he is trying to trust the Lord through this. We love you all, and are encouraged by your comments and emails, etc, so feel free to send any our way!

2007-07-09T01:52:00.000Z

As hesitant as I am to break the ice, people have been getting on to me (Pat), so here goes.

So Colin got jumped... in his own house. One night after hanging out with us, he went home and a few minutes later heard a knock on the back door. He opened it and was greeted with a punch in the face, then three guys attacked him until his 60 yr old ex-boxer neighboor came and chased them off. Colin fared well, getting out with only a black eye and some scrapes, but is worried about his mom, who he lives with.

This is the atmosphere approaching the 12th, which is the big Protestant holiday. The guys we know have been getting in several fights, mainly with each other, but its clear that there is some tension in the air. On the 12th communities light massive bonfires, 60ft. high, and bands march throughout the town as the prods celebrate winning some battle 200 years ago. It serves well to give an excuse to get drunk or get even, and then the catholics have a go at it on the 15th of August with their own fires, which the teenagers around here have already started working on.

There doesn't seem to be much escape from the cycle. The young prods and catholics grow up playing on the same football teams, and then get old enough to realize that they hate each other. Certain areas of town are strictly off limits for certain groups, with both sides feeling mistreated by the other.

There is an escape though, as Colin has shown us. After a rather thuggish adolescence, he became a Christian and walked away from the violence and drinking. The attack, that would in the past have been returned and then some with 15 or so friends, has been dealt with (so far) with a warning from his 300 pound dad. It is a good reminder for me that a social problem like this will rarely be solved with a secular solution (in this case integrating the schools or the myriad of other things the govt has tried), but when the Gospel spreads, the problems seem to take care of themselves.

For us however, spreading the Gospel is the problem, so please be praying for God to do His work through or in spite of us. People around here view Christianity as a list of do's and don'ts, as opposed to a relationship. I was talking to one girl probably 14 yrs old the other night who asked me if I was a Christian. I said yes, and she told me that she was a good girl; she didn't drink or whatever else. I asked her if she was a Christian, and she told me that she wasn't that good yet. That is the thought process of alot of people we are around, so pray for Brian, Luke, Decky, Rory, Ross, Chrissy, Shawn, Paul, Ryan, Kylie, Michael, John, Vinny, to name a few, that the light would break through in some of their hearts. Thanks!

Black Beans

2007-07-06T23:54:00.000Z

For three weeks I have been searching all over Ballymena for black beans and had come to the conclusion that there were none to be found in Northern Ireland. Then today, Colin shows up at our door and hands me a bag of black beans! He is weak cool.

God Bless America (and Northern Ireland)!!

2007-07-06T11:05:00.001Z

well, we have been here more than 3 weeks now and I have hit the point where every day doesn't seem to last forever and make it feel like we have already been here for 3 months, not three weeks. This week actually flew by and I can't believe it is already Friday. On Wednesday, we had an awesome 4th of July party and put on our own barbecue for us 4, Russell and Danielle, our neighbor and friend Hayley, our friend Paul, and then had more guests over after the barbecue for the rest of the night. We made everything true to American form this time, which meant, cheese and bacon and lettuce and tomato on our burgers and not just a plain meat patty. We had doritos, baked beans, chips and dip, sweet tea, homemade cookies, cheesecakes and ice cream. It was great, and Erin had brought us tons of decorations, so we were probably the most patriotic we have ever been. Here are some pics of our rockin party...don't get too jealous...

ok, so then... yesterday after playing football with some kids here in Dunclug for a few hours through light rain, Colin called us up and wanted to go to Ballykeel to play football on the big pitch with him and his mate David. So, when us 4 (me, john, colin david) got there, we were more than annoyed that someone had stolen both of the soccer goals, leaving an empty, useless field. So, we proceeded to walk the 20 minutes to Harryville, another Protestant community where there was a group of football pitches. However, on our walk, we were met by a torrential downpour that did not look like it was going away. The next 3 or so hours were an amazing time of playing mud football in a flooded field in the rain. Undoubtedly, penguin slides, diving headers, and completely unnecessary slipping and sliding ensued and made for a great time until the sun started going down a little after 10. At that point, we began a cold, soaking journey home and arrived ready for a nice cup of tea and shower. But not until we had ravaged our grocery armada, recently arrived from tesco. All in all, a great night.

Well, Im away. More to come soon. More pics of the coast with our friends...

Yay for friends!

2007-07-03T00:10:00.000Z

This weekend turned out to be an encouraging and energizing time for me. On Saturday, we waited out some bad weather in the morning, which seems to be a pattern here. After cold rainy nasty mornings, many days during this time of year turn out to be sunny warm days. It turned out that Saturday became such a day and we went to Ballykeel with Colin and played football with him for several hours, as well as a few kids from Ballykeel. I was very encouraged by the time and had the opportunity to really find out more about his personal life and his story. That evening, we went to a Hope barbecue at Niel and Catherine's house, which not only served as great meal, but also some good time in relaxation, prayer, and worship. On Sunday, the Hope team put on the morning service, and though (or because) we did not play any major role, all went well, followed by another splendid and free meal at our friend Paul's house.

Today was our day off, as is each Monday, and Erin and I traveled to Coleraine, Garvagh, and Portstewart to meet with three of our friends from Samford, Danielle Greenwade, Laura Vandal, and Chad Robison. They are over on a 2 week mission trip and it was so encouraging and exciting to see some familiar faces and friends.

This week, we look forward to a sweet 4th of July party with at least us 4 interns, as well as Danielle, our intern coordinator with Hope, who is also American. We will have decorations and good food and will see what kind of havoc we can wreak upon this part of the UK. This week, be praying for more specific opportunities to spend quality time with some kids, particularly for me: Sean, John, Michael, Benny, and Vinny (some of the older kids I play football with-none of which are believers). Also pray that my relationship with Colin will continue to grow and deepen so that we can go deeper and help him grow in his young faith. As one more request, please be praying for healing in my knee, which I injured early on while playing football, and has continued to decrease mobility and increase pain. Thank you all for praying and for you love and support- I am a weak vessel that needs all the support I can get so that the Lord's love will be shown and not me.

tirty tree...still funny

2007-06-30T00:43:00.000Z

Yay! Erin is finally here, and we are happy. Here are sweet pics to prove it:

ok, so we thought that since we were finally together, we needed to take an awesome family picture. here are two:

I hope that you enjoyed those as much as we did.

Here is a list of the things that have filled our last week:
-rain
-hanging out with Collin almost every day, either playing football or having tea and talking late at night
-hanging out with the kids here in Dunclug, which has consisted mainly of playing football, wrestling, walking around with the kids, sitting with the kids, talking with the kids...you get the idea.
-John and I went mountain biking with Niel and Chrissy (his son) and three of the older boys from Dunclug, and it was not only the most extreme mountain biking experience of our life and the funnest day yet, but a great time with the boys
-Erin and Elizabeth made fairy cakes (I have no idea what that is, but she told me to put that) with one or two of the girls
-Three of us got to go a primary school "leaver's assembly" (skit day) for the kids moving on to seconday school
-We attended a community barbecue with the kids in Dunclug
-We have been invited to/have attended/are attending/will attend at least 3 other barbecues or meals with Hope and Hillside Church members
-more rain
-one cool looking rainbow
-We have been learning to cook scrumptious meals for 4
-We are going to Ballykeel again tomorrow to hang out with some Protestant kids.
-We are helping the Hope Team to lead the service at Hillside Church on Sunday
-We are all learning (mainly me, Dwight) how to play the guitar from John, our resident musician. Elizabeth wants everyone to know how proud she is that she can now play the chord G. wow.

Things really have been going so well and the Lord is providing some great and now regular opportunities to develop relationships with the people here. Please continue to lift up the people here and pray that the Lord will continue to grant us wisdom and more opportunities. The weather is weird, too, so pray about that.

Here are more sweet pics to feast your eyes upon:

Our favorite sayings...

2007-06-25T23:13:00.000Z

OK, so to put it mildly, they speak a lil differently here than we do. so here are a list of our favorite Irish sayings thus far (definitions and/or use in a typical sentence will follow, as necessary):

"class" or "pure class"-really cool or awesomely awesome (in the words of John); said after an impressive trick or feat of strength

"sham"- friend, synonamous with mate and feen, which are also used here

"couldn't be bothered"- one of our favorites; a sign of pure laziness (it's epidemic here); like saying, I don't feel like it
-in a sentence: luke, are you guys gonna build a bonfire this year? no. why not? couldn't be bothered..."

"craic"- pronounced "crack"; best described by examples: "whats the craic?" (whats up?), "that's good craic" (it's fun)

"lethal"- awesomely awesome- similar to pure class

"happy days"- probly the most worthy of laughing at...basically, good news/times...expression used in joy at something.

"mucker/muck"- mucker is friend, muck is mess up, a bad situation

"right"- used in a real peculiar way, almost as an interjection or conjunction; like saying ok, or but, or now...

"I'm away"-rather than "I am leaving/going" or they are not here/there, say "right, I'm away"

"wee"- used to describe something small, or just as an adjective before anything at all.... for example, you could say the wee man or wee boy (a baby) or that wee bug (a small bug) or that wee house (not small) or lets play a wee match...

"fanny"-trust me, just don't say it; highly offensive, ask Joel Brooks for a personal testimony if you don't believe me...

"tirty tree"- how a southerner would say 33

"jdfiojsdfksdfkjslkdcn"- usually what we understand from Niel McMillan, because he talks so fast

Hope you enjoyed these, we recommend you start using them in your daily rhetoric if you want to be cool...

Orange Peels

2007-06-22T19:25:00.000Z

John, Colin, and Dwight

Last night, after dinner while the boys were playing football, I went for a cup of tea with a group of girls who live in the estate. It turns out two of the girls knew Joel and and the UCF team from seven years ago. They told me two of the girls from the team, Heidi and Ashley, gave them their first bibles and that they kept all their letters. It is exciting and encouraging to see how much of an impact UCF has had on this community.

we are still alive!

2007-06-22T00:30:00.000Z

OK, so we have officially been here slightly more than 1 week now. In one sense, it feels like we have been here a lot longer than that already, but on the other hand, I look ahead and realize that it has been a short one week out of a whole year we have ahead of us. That is definately a bit overwhelming to think about in many ways, haha, so I just try to forget about all that and go through each day one at a time. I figure thats the best, if you have any better ideas, let me know. The Irish do things differently here so it may have clouded my mind.

Anyways, things have been grand since the last post. We have continued our orientation stuff with Russell and Danielle are beginning to have a much better grasp on understanding the culture, the people, the need, and what our role and daily life will be like. At the same time, we have been very eager to get into the community and begin to make the connections with the people again. The Lord has been so faithful already in helping us to have great opportunities to do just this. Every day, we have just been able to spend a lot of time in the community here in Dunclug, reestablishing old relationships and building new ones. Most of that time has consisted of a lot of football...and...well, just talking with the kids, especially. A lot of the people in this estate, especially the young ones, dont do much with their time. The kids have about one more week of school left. So they do that or sleep in they dont have school. Then, they walk around a lot, congregate and talk, play football, play a little hurling, eat sweets, and then repeat it all. While this is a much slower pace from our normal lives and with far less activity, it has been really cool because we have literally just had tons of time to chill with these people. And each time, the Lord has brought around just the people we needed to spend time with at that moment. I have personally been able to see almost all of my friends from last year's trip, and they are so happy to hear that we are here for a whole year. Today, we spend several hours walking to a river with some kids to jump in the really unimpressive, but very cold water, and then walk back a long time again. But it was so great, and we can see how the Lord is using the times to help us build and strengthen these relationships. Then we had a great tea (dinner) at our new neighbor's house, a young girl names Hayley who is Northern Irish and is helping with Hope and Hillside. It was so awesome to spend that time with her and she cooked a lot better for us then we did for her when we had her over 2 nights ago, I think. Then, as we walked around the estate after tea, which most people do, we ran into tons of more people. John and I, again, played some intense football matches with some of the guys, forming several new, really valuable relationships that we had been praying for. We also had a really cool prayer walk around the estates with the Hope team on Tuesday night, which will become a weekly thing.

Let's see, what else recently? We did our last school assembly with Hope on Tuesday, and it went really well. Then, I spoke at a primary school to the oldest students who were about to move on to secondary school on Monday, which also was a great growing opportunity for me, and went great. Elizabeth did the same at another school yesterday, and John will do the last one on Tuesday. Heres another awesome thing the Lord has recently done: Collin is someone that Joel Brooks, with UCF, formed a relationship with about 7 years ago on their first trip to Northern Ireland, and since then the Lord has pursued Collin until he finally became a believer a while ago. He is now 23, but is very shy and quiet around anyone he doesn't really know- basically any Americans other than Joel. Joel encouraged us to find him and pursue a relationship with him and get him in a Bible Study or something. I had only met Collin once before for about 5 seconds, but we stopped by to see him several nights ago, and he warmly talked with us for about 20 minutes, a huge encouragement. Well, Joel, you won't believe this. Last night, we swung by Collin's house to see if he was home. He and his new friend David were there and quickly invited us in. We ended up staying for almost 3 hours, playing intense games of darts. He is really good and killed us most of the times...we even got to a point in the night where he was throwing darts in between people's fingers, placed on the dart board, and throwing them into smal tomoates people held up in front of it. He was like a whole new person and I think he is just so excited about hanging out with us and we are equally excited! Tomorrow, we are going to Ballykeel to meet him and play football with him. He is going to introduce us to his 7 year old son, and hopefully his brother. So, thats so awesome and he seriously wants to hang out as much as he can, so praise the Lord!

Well, thats most of what has been going on, and we will continue to build on these relationships through any means we can. Since the kids are done with school, we will not do any more school-related things until the fall. There will be summer teams coming that we will help and work with for most of the summer, as well as plenty of other regularly and randomly planned events. The UCF team is coming in July and we are so excited about them coming and will be working closely with them while they are here. The saddest part of our time here so far has been not knowing what happened to our friend from the airport, the Chinaman who knew no english, who we led around for a night. I hope he made it ok.

On Tuesday, our long awaited last intern, Erin, will arrive, and we are sooo excited! So be praying for her, please. Pray this week that the Lord will allow us to form the relationships with the people he wants us to. Pray that we will be sensitive to His voice as he leads us to choose who to start new relationships with and which old ones to work one, and the wisdom for how to do each. Pray that we will each stay in the Word and in step with Jesus so that we will be able to walk with him here, knowing what he wants us to in this needy place. We love you all, please feel free to leave comments, or email us. we love hearing from you. Until next time...

Chinaman

2007-06-17T22:03:00.000Z

The chinaman mentioned in the above post.

Hope House

2007-06-17T21:49:00.000Z

Here are a couple pictures of our house and the view from inside.

Today was the first day of sunlight

2007-06-17T18:41:00.000Z

Update!

Traveling: Every flight was delayed and we missed two, but after 60+ hours of traveling, some complimentary hotels stays, and leading a chinaman around Newark, we arrived in Ballymena (only 1 1/2 days late). oh ya, and we argued with a Buddhist priest about truth, creation, God, and his mac being an animal for a good hour. We were picked up at the airport shortly after arriving by two of the men on the Hope in Ballymena Team-the organization here, Niel and Russell. They helped move us into our new house, which they have been preparing for us for the past few weeks, and if I may say so myself, is a very nice place. it is a small, but nice house in an estate called Dunclug, one of the primary estates that Hope is reaching out to. The church we have been associated with in the past and will work with some, Hillside Community Church, is in this estate as well.

Jetlag: it stinks. John woke up each morning wanting to eat a full steak dinner. We are almost through with it now, though, thank the Lord.

Orientation: We having been spending a lot of time with Russell and Danielle, who are the Hope team members overseeing us four interns, which has not only been extremely helpful in our adaptation to this culture, but a great time of more fully understanding our role here in the community and with Hope. They have a 3 month old son named Samuel and it has been fun getting to know them a lot more over lunch and tea (dinner).

Ministry: After a quick night of rest on the day of arrival, we woke up on Thurday and went to our first school ministry at a local special needs school. Hope has been granted permission to go into all of the local schools and have free reign to talk about any religious material. It went really well, though we were all still slightly disoreiented. We sang some worship songs with them and then did a puppet show about the story of Daniel in the lions' den, followed by more songs, this time with the puppets. This was, of course, followed by tea and coffee with the Hope team, which is not only practiced about 3-4 times a day, but was useful in keeping us awake. On Friday evening John and Dwight were informed that they were going to have the opportunity to play in one of the first ever 5 vs. 5 football (soccer) tournament going on the next morning. It went very well and was a great opportunity to meet many new people, especially footballers we hope to develop further relations with. Though we lost our two games, both were only by one goal, and John scored the only goal of our team. Then we were able go with the youth from Hillside church to climb a local mountain called Slemish, where St. Patrick spent time herding sheep. We were also able to meet with some of our old friends here from previous trips, especially one friend named Collin. Tomorrow, Dwight is going into one of the local schools to speak to all of the students who are about to enter secondary school. Then Elizabeth will do the same on Wednesday, and John on next Tuesday. All of the Hope team will do an assembly at another school this Tuesday, similar to the one we helped with the day after arriving. This will be our last school program until after the summer, because schools get out in less than two weeks.

Weather: Though it is rumored that it was sunny and warm only a few days before we came, nothing but incessant rain and cold has filled each day up until today. We got our first sunlight and slight warmth today, which was incredibly refreshing. It is again rumored that it is to be nicer this week. Time will tell.

More to come after we get more settled! And we can't wait until our fourth companion, Erin, arrives next Tuesday. Sorry this post took so long to get up, and that it is so long, the others will hopefully be more timely and less boring.

From the interns, we love and miss you all! Keep praying!

Our First Post

2007-05-08T17:57:00.000Z

Welcome to our blog! We hope that this will be a great tool to keep you guys updated while we are away. Check back regularly for new posts and pictures.

We leave in 34 days and a lot has to be done before we go. Please keep us in your prayers - specifically as we raise support and as the Lord prepares our hearts to leave. Please pray, too, for us as we pack up and say good-bye to our family and friends. Thanks for praying and loving us.

If you want to know more about supporting us through prayers and finances, contact Melissa Richie - melissa@ucfbirmingham.org. Also, if you'd like to be on a mass emailing list, contact Dwight - dacastle@samford.edu.