It is the last full week of November, which means that the Thanksgiving holiday is upon us. Thanksgiving has always been a joyous time for me. It is a time to gather with family, spend time baking and cooking in the kitchen, eat wonderful food and take the time to think about the things in my life that I have been blessed with and am thankful for.
Living in Belfast though, Thanksgiving feels much different. Beside the fact that it is not celebrated in Northern Ireland, it feels different because of being so far away from the family that Karl and I normally get to be around during this time of year. I am going to miss not getting to spend Thanksgiving day with our family back home, but am embracing the new experience of the holiday away from home.
This Monday I was blessed with the opportunity to experience Thanksgiving in a totally new way. The day started out with our weekly meeting with Doug and the other YAV's in city centre. Doug planned a wonderful, Thanksgiving related exercise for us to do. We talked briefly about the history of the Thanksgiving holiday - the celebration of a successful harvest and the help of the Native Americans who aided the Pilgrims in surviving and getting along in a new territory. Doug then asked us to draw a parallel between the Thanksgiving story and our own story of living in the new territory of Belfast. He had us write down the names of local people in Belfast who have helped us to settle in and survive in our new home and work environments. I started writing down the names of all of the people who have made an impact on me and who have helped me to feel at home since my arrival at Whitehouse Presbyterian and was overwhelmed at the length of the list! Whitehouse is a church that is filled with so many caring and generous people who are willing to give of themselves in order to spread the love of Christ. I am tremendously thankful for all of the love that they have shown me thus far.
Monday night is Girl's Brigade, and the captain planned a special Thanksgiving dinner in honor of me. All of the past GB captains and leaders were invited, and the girls of the GB helped to prepare a delicious buffet style meal for us. During the meal, I shared a little bit about what Thanksgiving means to me and about the traditions of my family. The food, company and setting of the meal were not the same as a normal Thanksgiving dinner, but the warm feelings of thankfulness and family were present. As I sat at the table with all of the other GB leaders, I felt like I was in the presence of family and felt loved. From start to finish, Monday was a day to be thankful and a day to reflect on just how blessed I am.
This Saturday, Doug and Elaine are hosting all of us YAV's for a Thanksgiving dinner...complete with all of the traditional fixings. Again, it will be difficult not getting to spend Thanksgiving with our family at home, but I am excited to sit down for a Thanksgiving meal with our YAV family.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Living in Community
One of the aspects of this year with the Young Adult Volunteer Program is to experience living in community with the volunteers who are serving with us in Belfast. Most people hear the words "living in community," and think of a group of people living together in a house, sharing every day life with one another...grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, sleeping, joining in fellowship, etc. However, for Karl and I, experiencing community looks a little bit different. While the other volunteers in Belfast share living quarters, Karl and I have our own flat. In order to experience the community aspect of this year, we focus on meeting with the other YAV's regularly for fellowship and meals, engaging in bible study and prayer, exploring and growing in our Christian faith together and supporting one another in our faith journeys. Some weeks we get to see one another quite often, while other weeks we find ourselves swamped with work and only meet up once.
This past week, we had the opportunity to immerse ourselves in community while on a retreat with the entire group of YAV's. We travelled by mini bus (driven by our site coordinator, Doug) to the north coast of Northern Ireland. We stayed in a cozy house in the countryside at a place called Corrymeela Knocklayd. Corrymeela is a community committed to promoting reconciliation in Ireland and throughout the world (http://www.corrymeela.org/), and they own the house which we stayed in. The house was located in close proximity to Ballycastle and The Giant's Causeway, which we took advantage of for one of the days of our retreat. We spent a whole day taking in the breathtaking views of the coast of Northern Ireland and the outstanding rock formations of the Causeway. This country truly has some of the most spectacular scenic views I have ever seen!
There is something to be said for living in community with fellow believers. Time spent in the company of the other YAV's is enriching, challenging and humbling in so many ways. We don't always get along perfectly or agree with each others' views on everything, but each person of the community brings something different to the table. We are able to learn from each other and learn what it means to gather with and encourage one another in faith. Living in community with the YAV's is an experience which I would not trade for anything.
"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching." -- Hebrews 10: 23-25
This past week, we had the opportunity to immerse ourselves in community while on a retreat with the entire group of YAV's. We travelled by mini bus (driven by our site coordinator, Doug) to the north coast of Northern Ireland. We stayed in a cozy house in the countryside at a place called Corrymeela Knocklayd. Corrymeela is a community committed to promoting reconciliation in Ireland and throughout the world (http://www.corrymeela.org/), and they own the house which we stayed in. The house was located in close proximity to Ballycastle and The Giant's Causeway, which we took advantage of for one of the days of our retreat. We spent a whole day taking in the breathtaking views of the coast of Northern Ireland and the outstanding rock formations of the Causeway. This country truly has some of the most spectacular scenic views I have ever seen!
Aside from enjoying the scenery of the coast, our retreat was a time to relax, take part in daily devotions, converse with one another, talk about our experiences in Belfast so far, cook meals and eat together and just get to know each other even better....our retreat was a time to live in community.
There is something to be said for living in community with fellow believers. Time spent in the company of the other YAV's is enriching, challenging and humbling in so many ways. We don't always get along perfectly or agree with each others' views on everything, but each person of the community brings something different to the table. We are able to learn from each other and learn what it means to gather with and encourage one another in faith. Living in community with the YAV's is an experience which I would not trade for anything.
"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching." -- Hebrews 10: 23-25
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| Corrymeela Knocklayd House |
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| Entrance to Corrymeela Cknocklayd |
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| The Giant's Causeway |
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| Three Beautiful Ladies at the Causeway |
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| Another Great View |
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| Making Bread Pudding for Dessert |
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| Jamming Out |
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| Just Chilling |
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