After the snow...

...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