Breakfast & Pyjamas

I've had another brilliant week in 'norn iron', it's going way too fast. One of my highlights this week was the ladies precept bible study where we were looking at chapters 3+4 of Corinthians. It was all about turning away from the foolishness of this world and really challenging us about what we fill our lives with- whether it's with "gold, silver & precious stones or wood, hay & straw"- meaning do we fill our lives with things worthy to God or are they filled with the world's rubbish?

   "If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person's work." Corinthians 3:12-13

The next morning Heidi and I went out for breakfast to a wee farm shop called McKees. We both had fresh fruit salads and cinnamon scones and I can easily say that it was the nicest breakfast and possibly one of the biggest I have had. 

Saturday started off with a baking session with Lara and Ellie which was loads of fun. We made 'buns' (the new word for anything that represents a tray bake or cupcake) and iced them with pretty icing and pink sprinkles. After lunch we all went into Belfast to go on the 'Belfast Open Tour Bus' and have a look round the Christmas market. The excitement before the bus actually started was reaching a new level! As the bus began we were thankful for the warm Christmas lattes we had just had and the amount of clothes we had on.  

On Saturday night I went with some of the yf to the Christmas Market again and I tried a kangaroo burger which surprisingly tasted really good! The market was jam packed with people making it difficult to move around so after about two hours out in the cold we headed back to the car. Rachel's car was parked in Castle Court car park and as we neared the entrance we came to a slight difficulty- it was closed! Of course, it was raining as well which made running round the outside of the car park even better. The whole situation was a bit stressful but thankfully in the end a security guard let us in and we managed to get the car. Naomi made the story better by stating she needed the toilet and couldn't wait. Rachel had to pull over in a Markies car park and let Naomi out so she could pee on the sidewalk next to the car. "At least I always carry hand wipes with me"-Naomi. 

     All I can say is at least the N.Irish don't let anything get boring.

Halfway

I can't believe it's now my third week in NI. The time has gone really fast and I've loved all the things that I've been doing. Each week has been packed with so many different activities - assemblies, SU's, visitation, rallies, mums and toddlers, kids clubs, addicts, bible studies, lunches, dinners.. I feel like I have joined in with nearly every group in the Church! This past weekend I went on the YF weekend away which is a weekend where all the youth go away, spend time with God, have 'banter' and eat food. I had a really great time and I learnt so much through the different sessions and group discussions we had and feel really challenged about where God's leading my life. The weekend was based on the book of Jonah- how if God is calling us to do something we need to get up and do it and no matter what situation we're in God will hear us when we call out to him- "l cried out to the Lord in my great trouble, and he answered me." Jonah ch1v2.

This week I'm staying with Heidi and her two girls Ellie and Lara because Glenn's lecturing in Motherwell at the Glow college so it's all fun and games! Yesterday I had a great day, shopping and out for lunch with a lovely lady called Eleanor, then to a kids club at Scrabo Estate, dinner with another v.nice couple and then onto the addicts group in the evening again which I really enjoyed. Today was also another really good day, mainly out doing visitation with George which I love. About to head to bed now but hopefully I will update this sooner than last time.

Leprechauns and Rainbows

On Friday my two amazing friends- Sarah and Hattie came to visit me. Glenn and I met them at 2.30pm at the Europa bus station in Belfast (it was my first time into the city) and it was a very exciting moment  spotting them through the crowds of people. It was so so nice to see some familiar faces! Once we were back home we decided to have a walk into Newtownards before going back to Glenn and Heidi's for pizza. This was a bit risky since none of us really knew the way, but we let our noses direct us. And according to Sarah we were never going to get lost because she has a "very good" sense of direction (I'm not so sure about that). Thankfully we didn't get lost and by the time we were back at the house we  were all pretty hungry. Glenn and Heidi had also invited two other girls for dinner so it was really nice getting to know them a bit more too. We then went to YF with these girls and all in all had a great evening. Sarah and Hattie were fortunate to have their own personal guided tour around the Church as well. 

On Saturday I walked up to meet Sarah and Hattie at 9am to start our full packed day of touring. Gwyneth and Katie (the Mum and daughter in the family that I was staying with) had given me 3 maps and 2 bus timetables which would help us in basically any situation we could get ourselves into! I was very grateful for all the advice and tips that was given and we set out pretty confident that we couldn't get lost. Our first stop was to a little place called Cafollas's where we were all going to try our first Ulster fry- sausage, bacon, fried egg, pancake, fried soda bread and fried potato bread along with a cup of tea. I know you're all probably jealous of this right now and so you should be. It was extremely tasty and all for £3.50 which made it even better. After filling our stomachs we headed for the 10.40am bus into Belfast which came to an outrageous price of £5.00. (I thought Aberdeen was expensive) The ride into the city was quite pretty and the red brick buildings were a nice change from the grey granite back home. We got off at the Laganside bus centre and then walked along the river Lagan to the titanic museum. This probably should have taken us about 20 minutes, however due to the amount of photos taken (Hattie Turner) it took us more like 40. We were very lucky to be able to just walk right into the museum and start a tour right away. For the next two hours we wandered through the different sights, rooms and memories of titanic. I would recommend this to anyone who fancies a trip to Belfast. 

   After the museum we re-traced our footsteps back into the city centre and into Victoria Square (the big shopping centre). On our way into VS we spotted a group of men from Deeside who were over for Mandate- a conference about missional prayer that was being held in Belfast. (It was very strange seeing them there!) After this weird encounter we felt we deserved a Starbucks and all of us really wanted to try the 'Eggnog latte'. Sarah had a slight problem being understood however as instead of being given an Eggnog latte, she was given an extra-hot latte! (we all know how much of a Scottish accent she has!) Don't worry though, we soon set it right. 

   The next thing on the list was to walk to the top of the glass dome that was in the middle of VS. From the top we had a view over all of Belfast which was beautiful to see. This took all our energy out of us so again we decided that we deserved some food. We went to a place called 'Made in Belfast' and it was the cutest place I have ever had dinner in I think. Our water was served in jam jars and our meal came served on a chopping board with the chips in a rustic old fashioned mug. This decor made the food all the more tasty. We tried to persuade them to expand to Scotland and open a - 'Made in Aberdeen'. Our day didn't end here.. we managed to get locked in Marks and Spencers, buy jeans for £4.00, eat 'Mauds' ice cream and watch a disney movie, Geek Charming - recommended by Glenn's wife Heidi. We were all exhausted by the time the film finished and couldn't wait to climb into bed. Sarah and Hattie were leaving at 6.30am the next morning so it was going to be a very early start for them but Heidi very kindly had offered to take them to the bus station so at least they weren't without transport! 

Becoming a local

So I feel a bit more at home now in Northern Ireland, although I did have to ask someone to translate for me yesterday which was a bit awkward.
I have enjoyed every minute of my time so far and I can feel God moving in my life even in the few days that I've had already.
Yesterday was probably the busiest day I've had so far and I can say that I was completely exhausted by the end of it! I went to Glenn's house for nine and we headed off to one of the schools in the area to do an assembly. I just had to sit at the side and watch (which I was secretly thankful of as it was quite scary being stared at by hundreds of little faces). After the assembly Glenn thought it would be nice to stop off at Castle Garden's primary school to have a casual cuppa with the principal. This was lovely and it was great just being able to drop by a school and talk to the head teacher! We then went back to Church and then home for lunch to have sausage rolls and beans. After lunch I was picked up by a man called George who does a lot of visits to elderly and ill people. He is such an amazing man and I could just see Jesus shining through his eyes. I spent the afternoon with him and we visited three different people. It was great speaking to each of them and such a blessing working with him. I think it was probably my favourite afternoon so far. At 5pm George then dropped me at a family's house where I was having dinner and then I went straight on to a Junior Girls rally. This is kinda like a girls brigade group or brownies. After this I went to the prayer meeting and then finally home for my bed. Even though it was so busy, I loved joining in with each of the different activities and I felt God speaking to me and putting things on my heart throughout the day.

I was going to write about today as well but I don't think that's going to happen because it is too late now and bed is calling. I'll hopefully do it tomorrow.


8.11.12
Had another great day today and I am so excited about seeing my two amazing friends Sarah and Hattie tomorrow. They arrive at 2.30pm so Glenn and I are picking them up from the Belfast bus station and then we're going to have a fun packed weekend of leprechauns and rainbows (thanks Sarah).

First few days in Newtownards

I had my first full day yesterday which was great and I'm staying with a lovely family this first week who are looking after me very well!  I was interviewed in Church on Sunday morning (which was a bit scary) and then I sat through a P3 sunday school class. The kids were so cute, all with their wee irish accents! The family that I'm staying with are home group leaders and in the afternoon their home group was meeting at their house. I joined in with that which was nice and then in the evening I went to the youth fellowship (yf) at the Church. This is more of a social on a Sunday night because they have their main sessions on a Friday.

Today I was lucky to have a lie in this morning because I wasn't meeting Glenn until 12pm. Glenn is the guy who's in charge of me for the month and sorting out all my different placements and activities. After I met him at 12pm I went round to his and his wife's house for lunch and we had toasties. They were really yummy! At 1pm, Glenn and I went to a scripture union at a primary school to do a small talk and see the children. We were only there for about twenty minutes and then we headed back to the Church so that he could show me where the offices are and so I could have a look at my timetable for the week. (I even have my own office!) At 3pm, I joined in with an after school club called the Crux and we made cute little frogs out of jumping clay. If you haven't used or heard of jumping clay then you are missing out! It is actually the coolest thing ever, so exciting! After that I came home and had dinner and then shortly after went back out to the Church to help out at the addicts group. About five or so men came and we had a lot of fun eating soup and doing our own version of 'Who Wants to be a Millionare'. It was boys v girls but sadly the boys won. (I think we secretly let them win though)

I've loved my first few days so far and I'm so thankful that God has put me in a Church that has so much going on and where everyone is so welcoming.

Just arrived in Northern Ireland

My adventure started by waking up at 3.00am this morning to drive to Edinburgh with mum so that we could catch our flight to Dublin. From there we drove up North to a small village called Strangford where we're staying for the night. The village is lovely with a huge 'lough' (loch) as they call it here right outside our hotel. Tomorrow we are getting the ferry across the lough in order to drive up to Newtownards, my new home for the next month. I'll meet the family that I'm staying with tomorrow afternoon so I'm really looking forward to that! About to go and have dinner now and then off to bed so we can catch up on our lack of sleep.