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
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3 comments:
The stew recipie is going to be money once the cool weather comes. I am not looking forward to the winter in St. Louis because is has been described to me as "brutal", "vicious", and "really, really windy and cold" so I hope you guys can survive the Northern Irish winter. Thanks for the great updates. It's always good to hear how life is going across the pond.
I'm glad that you guys are having more opportunities to share in the homes. I'm also glad I finally got to get caught up on the blogs. I hope you have a great week with Melissa!
Well, have you heard the new album?? Thoughts? I am praying for you guys!
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