First Sunday with Whitehouse

I woke up this morning feeling quite nervous about my first Sunday with Whitehouse.  I knew I would be meeting a whole lot of people and was nervous about making a great first impression.  A wonderful lady named Anne picked me up for church and brought me right to the kitchen to get a cup of tea before services started.  Immediately I was welcomed by a room full of kind ladies who gave me the warmest hugs I have received since arriving in Belfast!  The members of the congregation are so friendly and really helped me to feel at home in my new church. 

Here is the photo that was projected
during the service for my introduction

I was formally introduced to the congregation during the children's sermon.  My fellow youth leaders, John and Francis, did a little "meet Kendra" interview with the children.  They asked me about my family, what I am hoping to get out of this year of service, where I am from, and what kind of Northern Irish phrases I am learning.  They had the children teach me some words, and it was very fun....we got some laughs from the congregation.

During the message of the service, Rev. Liz Hughes spoke about the importance of church and how church is more than what we do on Sunday morning but is a place where we can join together as family.  This message was so fitting for what I am experiencing right now.  Here I am, in Belfast, so far removed from my family outside of Karl.  I know that my family back home is praying for me and thinking about me, but it is so nice to be surrounded by a loving family inside the doors of Whitehouse. 

After church, Karl and I went to Liz's house for dinner (late lunch), and her husband cooked us a wonderful meal!  It was so nice to sit around the table and join in conversation, starting to form relationships with the people of my new home. 

Lastly today, I attended SWAT (youth group) and met some of the youth of the church.  We spent a lot of time sitting around talking and listening to music, which was a great way for me to start to get to know the kids.  We had a lot of laughs centered around my ignorance to the slang they use, but I think I will start to catch on to the jargon soon...hopefully.  The other youth leaders are absolutely wonderful, and I think that I will be able to learn a lot from them over the course of the year.  They are really good at relating to the kids and have very balanced relationships with them.  All in all, I had a fabulous first day and am excited for what it in store for this upcoming year.