Monday, August 20, 2012

Next Steps

Oh Belfast, what a wonderful experience.  Tonight Karl and I were presenting about our experiences in Belfast at Guernsey UPC, and I think it finally starting settling in that our time in Belfast has come to an end.  As Karl was taking his turn to speak it hit me that we are no longer there; we are no longer living on Skegoneill Ave, no longer enjoying conversations over cups of tea, no longer feeling rain on our faces each day, no longer going to Whitehouse Presbyterian and embracing members of the congregation, no longer living amongst the people of Belfast.  These realizations are probably going to continue hitting me as we transition into our next steps in life, but they will help me to form memories and reflect on what our time in Belfast meant.  These past three weeks have gone by in a blur and at times life doesn't even seem real.  But as Karl and I continue to transition into life in the States and continue to tell people about our experiences and articulate what the year meant to us and our faith, it will become more real.

Karl and I will be moving to Tucson in five days to start our next year with the YAV program in Tucson.  So, goodbye to Belfast Bulletin.  You have been a great means of sharing my thoughts about this past year, but it is time to move on to the next step.  That next step is Tucson, AZ and a new blog called Built Together In Him (builttogetherinhim.blogspot.com).  I have put up my first post at that address, so please continue to keep up with what Karl and I are doing by reading this new blog!

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Journeying from Belfast

Reflections on this year and what it has meant will last a lifetime, but as Karl and I prepare to leave Belfast, I thought I would put up a post about leaving Belfast.  For those of you who were at Whitehouse Sunday morning, you have heard a lot of what is written in this post.  Most of it comes from the address I gave in church.

In Luke 9 Jesus sent his disciples out to proclaim the Kingdom of God, and he told them to take nothing for the journey – no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt.  After what has been a tremendous year, it is time for Karl and me to set out on another journey – we will be leaving Belfast and going back “home” for four weeks (I am using the term home lightly here, let’s just call home a place where you gather with loved ones) and then will be moving to Tucson, AZ to serve another year with the Young Adult Volunteer program. 
In my time at Whitehouse, I was able to explore my spiritual gifts and received tremendous spiritual nourishment from the people and ministry of the church.  Whitehouse is a very special congregation, and I feel truly blessed to have been given the opportunity to be a part of it.  I was involved in so many aspects of the church’s life and was given the opportunity to work amongst a wide variety of people who had different gifts and personalities to learn from. 
So what will I be taking with me on my journey as I go back home?  One thing for sure is the practice of prayer.  Whitehouse is a body of believers rooted in prayer. 
On my first Sunday at Whitehouse, I walked through the doors and was immediately invited into the kitchen to have a cup of tea (Helen had already taken my order on Facebook the night before).  While Helen was pouring my cup of tea, I received hugs from everyone in the kitchen, the longest of which came from May. Before I could finish drinking my cup of tea, Francis invited me into the lounge to prayer over all of the aspects of the service that morning.  This was just the first of many prayers that I was part of at Whitehouse.  It is so important to keep God central to what the church is doing and to communicate with our Father in heaven, and Whitehouse has truly helped me to grow in my prayer life.
Another thing I will be taking on my journey is the principle of reconciliation.  There is conflict everywhere in this world and inside of us.  Northern Ireland is one place of many in this world that experiences division in everyday life, and living here helped me to learn different ways of reconciling conflict.  All conflict can be approached in a nonviolent manner to work towards peace, and this was evident in my time this year.
Every Thursday, I took part in the Friends and Neighbors Lunch Club.  A lot of people from the church attend this club in addition to four Catholic ladies from the neighborhood.  My favorite part about lunch club was the fellowship time before the meal.  Each week we enjoyed each other’s company while doing some fun activity Wallace or Colin had planned.  Whether we were playing boccia, doing a beetle drive, having a sing along, or just enjoying a cup of tea, the morning was filled with friendly conversation and laughter.  The people there were not concerned about differences they had with each other, but instead came together each week to join in fellowship and enjoy one another’s company.
When I journey from here, I will also be taking a sense of community with me.  This year, I experienced different forms of community through my time with the other YAVs and with Whitehouse.  What I want to take home from these experiences is the idea of loving and supporting one another through all times. Whether times are happy or sad, exciting or boring, scary or safe, comfortable or uncomfortable, easy or challenging, we must love and support one another. 
When I was away in Tremont for the youth mission trip, our group experienced what is was to be a community.  We shared a living space for an entire week, studied scripture and prayed together, and we lived with one another through times of joy, homesickness, frustration and goofiness.  My favorite part of the trip was our last devotional night when we gathered around a campfire to talk about the Holy Spirit.  That night helped our sense of community to grow even stronger.
Something that goes hand in hand with the love and support of Whitehouse is the act of hospitality, and that is another thing I want to take away with me on my journey.  From the moment I arrived at Whitehouse, I received tremendous hospitality.  During our first week in Belfast, our whole group of YAVs spent three days visiting each other’s churches in order to get an idea of what everyone would be doing during the year.  The day we visited Whitehouse, we were served a delicious chicken bake for lunch complete with apple tart and cheese and biscuits.  After the lunch was over, Betty told me that I better learn how to eat because I would be fed a lot of meals this year.  Well she wasn’t lying! 
Karl and I were welcomed into so many peoples’ homes and lives this year, and we are so thankful for the extra effort everyone made in helping us to feel welcome.  I did not experience too much homesickness this year, and I attribute that to the tremendous hospitality offered to Karl and me.  As Christ said, “What you have done for the least of these, you have done for me,” I want to take the act of hospitality I was offered from the people of Whitehouse and Belfast and extend it to all those I meet.
Lastly, I want to take what I learned about the body of Christ on my journey.  Effective ministry and the illumination of the Kingdom of God cannot be achieved alone or even by the hands of few.  Through my involvement in all of the various activities that go on in Whitehouse (GB and BB, Tots & Co., Tea and Coffee Morning, the Healing Service, Alpha and bible study, Luncheon Club and SWAT), I experienced the body of Christ working wonderfully.  There are so many people in the church who give of their time and talents, and that is what being part of the body of Christ is all about!  There are people gifted in pastoral care, youth activities, cooking, organizing social events for all ages of the church family, people gifted in conducting business matters of the church, welcoming, teaching, praying, nurturing, listening and much more.  When I go back to the States, I want to always remember being a part of this body and inspire other people to use their gifts to become part of the body of Christ.
So, when I journey from Belfast, I will be taking a number of things with me that are more important than a staff, a bag, bread or money.  I will be forever grateful for my time at Whitehouse and the innumerable moments which helped me to grow in my faith and love for God and His people.  I am very sad to be leaving the people I grew so close to over this year, but in the words of Dr. Seuss, I will not cry because it is over, but smile because of all that has happened.

Friday, July 13, 2012

A Trip Down South and the 12th of July


Cork University Campus
Karl and I love traveling by train and had not yet ventured further south than Dublin.  So, we decided to take a trip to Cork and Killarney this past week.  We started our trip by taking the long journey down to Cork and stayed one night there.  We didn't do too much while in Cork, but made the most of our time - walked through the shops in the city centre, visited the English Market, saw an exhibition called the Sacred Modernist by Josef Albers at the Lewis Glucksman Gallery, and walked around the Cork University campus. 

Cork University Campus
From Cork, we took the train to Killarney to spend the next four days.  We booked a room at a bed and breakfast directly outside of the national park, and spent our time in Killarney taking various walks, exploring the park.  I highly recommend visiting Killarney National Park - it is filled with beautiful scenery and plenty of attractions to keep you busy.  In our time at the park, I think we probably walked about 40 miles by the time we visited Muckross Abbey, Muckross House and Gardens, Torc Falls, Dinis Cottage, Meeting of the Waters and Ross Castle. 


Muckross House

View from Torc Mountain

Climbing Torc Mountain

Torc Falls
As all good trips come to end, we took the long train ride home on the 11th, and got home in time to drop our bags at our flat and head to Karl's minister's house for dinner.  She offered to have us over for a meal and then take us around to some bonfires being lit for the celebration of the remembrance of the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.  Over the past few weeks, we have been watching the construction of various bonfire sites all over Belfast.  Some of the bonfires are small and are meant for kids, while others are absolutely humongous, reaching heights of 150 feet.  The bonfires are actually quite impressive structurally, you might even say they are a work of art.  But these works of art are quickly tainted by the addition of Irish tricolor flags, images of the Pope and the Virgin Mary, and derogatory words against Republicans and Nationalists. These items and images are added to the bonfire structures and are scorched when the fires go off around midnight.  While some might say the bonfires are good craic, I was quite saddened by parts of the experience.  I stood watching the flames flare, as hundreds of people stood around me getting drunk and trashing the neighborhood in which they live.

Following the night of the bonfires, the 12th of July is a day in which many Unionists and Loyalists gather to watch the band parades of the Orange Order.  Karl and I went out with some friends from Whitehouse to watch the parades on the Lisburn Rd.  We had a fun time watching the bands, eating burgers and chips and getting ice cream.  Although, it was hard to completely enjoy myself when I kept thinking about the underlying issues behind the band parades.  They are a celebration of a deeply contentious date and are celebrated by only one side of the community in Northern Ireland.  Now, I understand the desire to remember momentous occasions in history with joyful celebrations - each year I celebrate Easter, the 4th of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  And maybe I am reading too much into the 12th of July as an outsider to this country.  But with each step of a marcher, beat of a drum, blow on a whistle and cheer of the crowd, it seems that lines of division between Protestants and Catholics are being highlighted. 

The efforts of those people working towards peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland are being setback each year as feelings of hatred, fear, hurt and sadness are stirred up during the bonfires and band parades.  As you read this, please say a prayer for the people of Northern Ireland, that peace may come and division may cease.

I took some photos at the bonfires and parades, but BBC did a better job in capturing the moments. In Pictures: Northern Ireland's 12 July

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Last Day of School

For the past five months, I have been spending most of my Tuesday mornings helping out in Room 7 of Whitehouse Primary School.  This is the classroom of a creative and thoughtful teacher, Mrs. McClurg, and 26 delightful P4 students.  Today was my last day helping out in the classroom, and it started out like most mornings.  I came into the class and did a few favors for Mrs. McClurg and then took some students into the hall to work on an art project until break time.  After break I took some other students out of the class to work on potion making - a great exercise for students to practice mixing colors and measuring volumes.  When we had made a complete mess of or work area and concocted some interesting looking potions it was time to clean up.  I sent the kids into the classroom ahead of me, while I finished cleaning the rest of the potions up.

I went back into the classroom, and the students got really quiet and looked as if they were going to burst with excitement.  Mrs. McClurg asked me to come up to the front of the class to receive a going away gift.  Two of the students came up and presented me with a book of Irish memories, made by the class, an Irish bodhran (drum) and a Celtic cross necklace.  Each student drew a picture of something for me to remember about Northern Ireland for the book of Irish memories.  There are pictures of the Giant's Causeway, Cavehill, an Ulster fry, fish and chips, the Belfast Marathon, Cadbury Dairy Milk, and more!  I couldn't believe the amount of hard work that they all put into the project, not to mention Mrs. McClurg's coordination of the project.  It was such a kind gesture to offer considering the small amount of time I actually spent in the class.  It goes to show that small things really do matter, and we should strive to make the most out of the opportunities we have to interact with new people. 





Pages from the book
I also prepared a small parting gift for the members of the class - it does not come close to measuring up to the gift they gave me!  I gave each student an envelope with my new address written on it, in hopes of getting some pen pals, and put some jelly beans and a note saying, "Thanks for 'bean' so kind and for welcoming me into the class!" into each envelope. 


I am so blessed to have gotten the chance to meet and work with Mrs. McClurg and her P4 class.  I might not have done anything real spectacular with the class, but I hope my interaction with them helped them to think about people and places outside of their own neighborhoods.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Mission in the Car Park of the Church

As I am writing this post from my comfy living room, the rain is drizzling down outside, scones are baking in the oven, and the Euro 2012 Republic of Ireland v. Spain football match is playing on the television (Spain is up 1-0 in the 25th minute).  Just another enjoyable evening in Belfast!

Before settling into my flat for the night, I was down at Whitehouse taking part in the church's weekly car boot sale.  During the summer months of the year, a team of about 15 volunteers run a car boot sale every Thursday evening.  At about 3:30 P.M. cars start arriving at the church and are directed into a parking space.  People then open up their boots (trunks) and set up stalls to sell anything from baked goods, used books and dvd's, clothing, and toys to their used kitchen sink (that is not a figure of speech)!  If the weather is nice, there can be up to 90 cars in the car park, but we have averaged about 50 cars per week this year. 

I say that I take part in the car boot sale because I don't do a whole lot to help out at the sale.  I usually spend my time walking around talking to various people in the car park - members of Whitehouse who are working the sale, people selling bric-a-brac out of their car boots, and members of the community shopping at all of the different stalls.  If I am not doing this, I am sitting with Anne and Betty at the church's prayer stall.  At some time during the evening I get my dinner from the kitchen volunteers inside the church.  During the sale, the church doors are open for people to come in and buy burgers, hot dogs, chips, crisps, sweets and of course tea and coffee.

The car boot sale is a valuable mission for Whitehouse for a number of reasons. Most importantly, it is a way for the church to be engaged in the community. I was speaking with a friend of mine at Whitehouse last night about churches making a difference in their community. He said a great way to gauge the church's involvement in the community is to answer the question, "If the church closed tomorrow, would anyone in the community, not members of the church, notice?" I can recall two specific instances, once at the grocery store and once at the bus stop, where I was asked what I was doing in Belfast. I told the people that I was volunteering at Whitehouse Presbyterian, and they responded with, "Is that the church that does the car boot sale?" This is proof of the church being engaged with the community in which it resides.

Another valuable aspect of the car boot sale is the different perception it gives to the church. Between the hours of 4:00 and 8:00 P.M., there is a constant flow of people moving in and out of the doors of the church. For a wide range of reasons, church can be a frightening place for people to enter, but during the car boot sale Whitehouse is a nonthreatening place where people can gather around a bit of grub and conversation. The barriers which keep people away on a Sunday morning disappear behind friendly banter and delicious smells of burgers and sausages. I would venture a guess that more people enter the church on a typical car boot Thursday evening than on a Sunday morning.

Lastly, the car boot sale is a great fundraiser for the church and local charities. Money is collected for the burgers, sausages and chips, for the cars setting up stalls and in charity buckets at the entrance to the car park.

Well, the rain has stopped, Spain is now up 4-0, and I have sampled a scone fresh from the oven. I think I will call it a night!
Kitchen crew serving up burgers




Bucket collection

Two of the men behind the madness



Thursday, June 7, 2012

Belfast Tour Guide

It has been a little while since I have updated my blog...May was the month full of visitors in Belfast.  I wrote my last post the morning my parents left, and since then we have hosted three other sets of visitors: Laramie UPC, James, Marcy & Kelly (Karl's brother, sister-in-law & friend of theirs), and Rob & Jenn (friends of ours).  Karl and I feel abundantly blessed that we have had so many people come visit us here.  After this month, I can quite confidently say that I am a trained tour guide of Belfast!  I don't want to bore everyone with all of the things we did with our visitors, but I will do a quick recap of the past 3-1/2 weeks:

Laramie UPC Visit:
Sarah playing with the garage at Tots & Co.
The group from Laramie was in Belfast for five days.  Over that time, Karl and I showed them our churches and the 174 Trust and tried to give them a taste of what we do on a weekly basis.  I was particularly excited with the time they got to spend at Whitehouse Presbyterian and with the people of my church.  On the Sunday they were here, the whole group took part in leading the morning service at Whitehouse.  It was almost dreamlike having people from Laramie speaking at my church in Belfast.  On Monday a few members of Whitehouse volunteered to drive the whole group to the North Coast, and on Wednesday the group helped out at Tots & Co.  Karl kept a more detailed account of their visit here - you can read his posts at www.handinthehand.blogspot.com. 

I am so, very thankful for our church family in Laramie and for the people of the church who came to visit us.  During their visit at Whitehouse Presbyterian, Rev. Liz talked to the group about how well I transitioned into the congregation of Whitehouse and the importance of my focus on building relationships.  She thanked the people from Laramie UPC for teaching me those values and for being a church which understands the importance of building relationships.  I would like to echo Liz in that - I am exceedingly fortunate to have been part of Laramie UPC, a church filled with people who care about me and about being in relation with all of God's people. 
Richard, Marcia & Elizabeth helping at the C'mon in Cafe
Patti at the 174 Trust Disabilities Club

James, Marcy & Kelly's Visit:
These guys were here for five days too, and they brought wonderful weather with them!  One day of their visit, they took a tour bus up the North Coast and came back with sunburns - not your typical Northern Ireland experience!  We had a great time taking in the typical tourist things in Belfast:  Belfast Castle, John Hewitt's for traditional music, Titanic Museum, Botanic Gardens, Ulster Museum, Victoria's Square, etc. 

Rob & Jenn's Visit:
Rob & Jenn at Whitehouse's Jubilee Tea Party
Rob & Jenn were here for a week, and we repeated a lot of the tourist attractions we went to the week before with James & Marcy.  One new thing we did with them though was going to Holywood to play 9 holes (Rob & Jenn played, Karl and I walked with them) at Holywood Golf Club, home of Rory McIlroy.  We took the train to Holywood and were planning on walking from the train station to the golf course.  We stopped at a local pub to ask for directions, and the pub owner thought we were crazy for wanting to walk there.  He told us to jump in his car, and he gave us a lift.  On the way to the course he drove us by Rory's old house and school.  Aside from the site seeing, we spent most of our time talking and playing cards with Rob & Jenn.  It was so good to see them and catch up on the things we have missed in Laramie this past year. 

Playing pinochle in our Dublin hotel


Posing in our golf attire
Jenn putting for eagle
We had a wonderful time having so many visitors in the month of May.  Not only was it nice to see family and friends after almost 10 months of being away, but it was energizing to see Belfast through newcomers eyes.  Many things that I have become accustomed to since being here were so different to our visitors.  They asked a lot of questions about the history and current political issues of Belfast and how the church and religion play a role.  This stretched me because I had to verbally articulate my thoughts and opinions, and it allowed me to reevaluate things I have learned over my time here. 

While it was wonderful to have visitors with us, I struggled to stay connected with my church and YAV family here in Belfast as much as I would have liked over the past month.  I have eight weeks left in Belfast and want to spend that time in the presence of those whom I will miss dearly when I return home.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Many Thanks

I just came home from taking my parents to the airport and have enough time to write a quick post before going to church this morning.  As I am sitting in my living room, enjoying a cup of coffee, I can't help but think about all of the things I have to be thankful for. 

Family - I have such a wonderful, loving family who supports Karl and me in anything we set out to do.  A great example of this is our parents and siblings who have come to visit (or who are coming to visit in the near future).  When our family have come to visit us, they have been willing to go around to all of the sights and church gatherings we want to show them, as well as take part in some of our simple living choices while staying at our flat.  A good example of this is when my mom was here.  She was having a tough time acclimating to the coldness and wetness of Belfast, but instead of boosting the heat every time she was cold, we filled two hot water bottles up for her to put on her lap and feet.  She was a trooper!  So thank you to our family for being interested in what we are doing and where we are living this year.

Friends - Karl and I are truly blessed when it comes to the friends we have.  We have so many friends back home who stay in touch with us daily/weekly, and we have met so many new friends over the course of this year in Belfast.  It is comforting to know that we are connected with so many people who we can be open and true with and who we can count on.  This past Monday when I was running the marathon, I experienced more support than I could ever imagine from all of my friends.  Thank you all so much for cheering me on and giving me the encouragment to complete that goal of mine.

Church Family - Karl and I are in such an exceptional situation in which we are part of three church families.  We are blanketed by the love and support of our home church in Laramie and have now been welcomed with open arms into the churches of Whitehouse Presbyterian and Woodvale Methodist.  All three of these churches are filled with folks who strive each day to live out the teachings of the gospel.  It is wonderful to be part of these churches, and what is even more wonderful is the fact that the folks of these three churches are intertwining this week!  Right now, 7 people from our home congregation in Laramie are visiting Belfast in order to see the work that Karl and I do and to meet the people of the churches we are a part of.  I am looking forward to the days ahead in which we can make more connections between our church in Laramie and our churches in Belfast.

The beautiful thing is that all of these three categories (Family, Friends & Church Family) run together into one, blended network of people that are connected by the love of our savior, Jesus Christ.

My parents and I before the race

Running along Merville - thanks John for taking this!


Posing for one more photo before the start - with the one who supports me the most!

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Feelings about the future...both near and far

For some reason, humans tend to look forward to the future.  We are always wondering what's next, how will this turn out, where will I be in (insert time frame), and the list of questions regarding our future goes on and on.  Lately I have been feeling quite anxious for some future events in my life. 

The closest one to the present time being the Belfast Marathon, which is in just 3 short days.  I have never ran a race anywhere near this distance, so naturally I am feeling quite nervous about it.  But running a marathon has been a desire of mine for a long time, so I am also very excited about doing it.  Plus, many people, including my parents (yes they will be in Belfast for it), have told me they will be out alongside the route to cheer me on.  Along with the support that I am expecting from my friends and family on the day of the race, I have received considerable support from members of Whitehouse Presbyterian and the surrounding community through sponsorship for the race.  It is common for people to get sponsors for running the marathon in Belfast, so I have chosen to run the race in support of the Whitehouse Presbyterian Mission Fund. 

[Insert sponsorship pitch here] For anyone living in the Belfast area who has not sponsored anyone for the marathon but would like to, I am gladly accepting sponsors!  For anyone who is not living in the Belfast area, say living in the United States, who would like to sponsor me in the marathon, you can give to the YAV program (more details to follow).

Which brings me to the next future event in my life that I am anxious about - a second YAV year for Karl and I.  Throughout this year in Belfast, Karl and I have been feeling a call to serve a second year with the YAV program.  For the past month or so, we have been speaking with site coordinators in Tucson, AZ and New Orleans, LA trying to discern which placement is right for us.  Both sites offer great opportunities for living in community and working with local people to do mission outreach in larger cities in the U.S.  After a lot of prayer and discussion, we finally decided on Tucson.  We are very excited for the opportunities that Tucson offers and for what the future has to offer through another year with the YAV program.

[Continuing sponsorship pitch here] For those of you in the U.S. who would like to sponsor me in the marathon by supporting our next YAV year, you can:

Make checks payable to “Tucson Borderlands YAV”
On the memo line include "Kendra & Karl Heimbuck"
Mail checks to-
YAV
ICO: Linda Marshall
716 Lucinda Drive
Tucson, AZ 85748

Although we are quite excited for what the future holds in Tucson, I am aware of the 3 months we have left in Belfast.  Three months is quite a long time, but I have a feeling it is going to go by quickly, and I can't help but think ahead to the day we leave.  That is going to be a very sad day.  I have met so many wonderful people, spent a great deal of time working alongside amazing folks, and have grown to love the youth of Whitehouse.  I am going to miss these people tremendously!

This really hit me when Karl and I found out about our placement with Tucson for next year.  When it became official that we were going to Tucson, we both posted it on our Facebook statuses.  I wrote, "Decision is finally made. Come the end of August we'll be moving to Tucson for another YAV year!"  The first person to comment on my status was a boy from youth group.  Now this boy was a kid who I could barely understand talk when I first arrived, because of his thick Belfast accent, and whom I thought I would not be able to form a significant relationship.  I still can't understand half the things he says, but over the course of this year we have formed a meaningful bond.  His comment on my Facebook status was, "No u wont, ul be stayin."  When I read his comment, it brought tears to my eyes.  To know I have impacted him enough to express wanting me to stay here means A LOT.  It makes me realize just how close I have grown to the people of Whitehouse and how difficult it will be to say goodbye.  That is why I must not look to the future, but strive to live in this moment and make the most out of the time I have left in Belfast.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Growth and Transformation through Mission

It is hard to believe that it has been eight months since Karl and I left home to embark on this year of mission in Belfast.  These past eight months have been filled with moments, happy and sad, exciting and boring, comfortable and uncomfortable, which have strengthened my faith, helped me to grow as an individual and helped me to build relationships which I will forever cherish. 

Some of these moments, the ones freshest in my memory, took place on a Whitehouse Youth mission trip.  Over Easter, I went on a mission trip with our youth group to Tremont, Illinois - a town in the states which I would never have imagined myself being in.  Never the less, the mission trip was a wonderful experience!  For ten days, I lived in community with eight youth and three youth leaders from Belfast and three young children and two youth leaders (the parents of the three children) from the United States.  By living in community, we learned how to serve one another through preparing, serving and cleaning up meals together, we gained patience as we shared two showers among the group, we learned how to go without when the hot water ran out after the first six showers, we learned to love and care for one another when we were missing home, and most importantly we used all the time we spent together to bond as brothers and sisters in Christ’s family. 

If any of you reading this have ever been part of a youth mission trip (either as a youth or a leader), you will probably agree with me in saying that the change and transformation that can happen as individuals and a youth group is amazing during a mission trip.  There is something to be said for taking a group of youth to an environment different from their home in order to allow for true growth.  Our trip was filled with awfully busy days topped off with meaningful, late night devotions.  During the course of the trip, we went Easter Caroling, prepared a Seder Meal, helped at a local food pantry, visited a women’s correctional home, cooked scones for senior citizens, took part in the local churches’ youth programs and cooked an Ulster Fry for the community…that is just the community involvement side of the trip.  We played really hard too!  We took in a baseball game, went shopping at Bass Pro Shop, had play days at the farm, visited the Abraham Lincoln Museum…the list goes on, but you get the idea.  I was extremely tired by the end of each day, but went to bed smiling about that day’s events and looking forward to tomorrow’s.  During the trip I witnessed great transformations as our eight youth grew closer to one another, served with willing hands and hearts, gained patience, explored their faith in a deeper sense than ever before and developed into young disciples. 
Not only did the youth grow and learn about themselves on the trip, I too experienced growth and learned a thing or two. A couple of days into the trip, one of the youth from Tremont loaned us his guitar for use at the cabin (our accommodation for the trip). I have been learning how to play guitar during this year, but lack the confidence to play and sing in front of people (ask Karl, I rarely play for him!). One of the other leaders on the trip is learning how to play guitar too, so he wanted to work together and try to learn some songs to play with the kids. Not long into messing around with a few songs, I found the courage to play and sing in front of the group. Another growing moment of the trip was learning how to not be in control of every situation and be OK with it. The nature of mission trips is that you have an itinerary, and the itinerary will always change – the schedule was completely out of my hands, and I had to just roll with it. Lastly, a joy of working with youth is that they are filled with contagious energy and just love to have fun. For the 10 days we were away, I had the opportunity to let my guard down and to just have fun with the group! I came home from the trip refreshed and re-energized to work with others in the church to continue nurturing our youth into disciples for the church.

Hay Ride at Farm

Clay Pigeon Shooting at Farm

Baking Scones




Lunch at Bass Pro Shop

Helping at Food Pantry

Campfire Devotion


Abraham Lincoln Museum




Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Mission/Nurturing Disciples

According to Google's dictionary, the word mission is defined as:
  1. An important assignment carried out for political, religious, or commercial purposes, typically involving travel.
  2. A group of people taking part in such an assignment
But what does mission look like?  What is classified as an important assignment?  Who is meant to take part in such assignments? 

Let's look at The Great Commission in Matthew 28:16-20. 

16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.
17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

Jesus tells his disciples to to go out and make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey everything He has commanded.  So, if Jesus wants his to disciples to go make disciples of others, then must these new disciples go out and teach as well? 

I believe that we are all called to mission of some form.  Mission can be physical work, like building homes or installing water and electrical systems for underdeveloped countries, or it can be evangelizing to groups who have not yet heard the message of Jesus Christ.  But it can also be working in your local community to make a beautiful place for others to live in.  I like the definition of mission which I read on the Diocese of Salisbury's web page, “Nurturing disciples in order to build the church and change the world.”  This is exactly what I think mission is.  It doesn't necessarily have to be building something with your hands, getting dirty, or going to a totally foreign country which doesn't have indoor plumbing.  Mission is about nurturing our mind, bodies and spirits in order to further God's kingdom on Earth! 

Tomorrow morning, I will be leaving with 8 youth and 3 other leaders from Whitehouse Presbyterian to go on a mission trip to Tremont, Illinois.  This trip isn't the typical mission trip you hear of church groups taking in which the focus of the trip is hard physical work or community service.  The focus of our trip is nurturing the youth, as well as the leaders, and growing in our faith as we engage in conversations about our beliefs with people of a different culture.  (Not quite a different culture for me, but for the mission team!)  We aren't doing mission work which produces tangible fruit or results, but just as important we are doing mission work which produces fruit of the spirit and forms us into disciples to build God's church and change the world.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Telling the Easter Story

When walking through the doors of Whitehouse Presbyterian Church during this Easter season, visitors encounter a depiction of Palm Sunday, complete with a donkey, palm branches and the words "Hopes and Dreams."  This display, which is set up in the foyer of the church, is one of six displays set up around the church which recreate the Easter story.  The stations are set up for the two weeks leading up to Easter in order to give people a chance to remember the last days of Jesus' life on Earth. 

From the Palm Sunday display, you are invited to move along to the next display which is titled "The Servant King."  It is complete with a wash basin, towels and sandals in order to remind us of the humbling and serving attitude that Christ had for his disciples and those in his presence. 


From the washing of the feet, you then proceed upstairs to the upper lounge where the Last Supper is set up.  On the table is a jug of wine, matzo bread, figs, grapes, olive oil and honey and the words "Remember Me."  At this display we are reminded of the last supper that Jesus shared with His disciples and of His instruction to eat of the bread and drink of the cup in remembrance of Him. 


After viewing the depiction of the Last Supper, you are invited to move to the display of the Garden of Gethsemane.  Here you see the word "Alone," which speaks to how Jesus felt when anticipating his arrest and crucifixion. 


From the garden, you then move into the vestibule of the church where the crucifixion is depicted.  A cross sits in the corner of the entry, decorated with a crown of thorns, a drapery of red ribbon, dice and robes, and a sponge with vinegar.


The last display of the Easter story is set up in the sanctuary, and it depicts Christ's Resurrection.  There is tomb, decorated with flowers and a butterfly, with a stone rolled away from the opening.  It is a great portrayal of the promise of new life which was given to us through Jesus Christ. 


A lot, and I mean A LOT, of work was put into setting up the portrayal of the Easter story.  Two women of the church, along with the caretaker, put hours of hard work into assembling and decorating all aspects of the displays.  This hard work is well worth it, though, because the six depictions are set up for the enjoyment of members of the church and community, but are also set up as part of an outreach to schools in the local area.  Over the course of this week, almost 150 students (aged 8-10) will visit Whitehouse Presbyterian to listen to and see the Easter story.

On Monday and Tuesday I was able to be a part of the school outreach.  Each morning, students came to the church and were split into two groups.  One group went around the six stations and heard the Easter story, while the other group stayed in the church hall to create fun Easter crafts.  The groups then came together for a cup of juice and a biscuit and switched activities.   I went around the stations with the groups and helped to tell the Easter story.  Getting to see the depictions of the parts of the story really helped to engage the students.  It was great to see the attentiveness and enthusiasm of the children.

Items handed out to the children at the stations - palm cross,
red ribbon from crucifixion & Easter eggs as a sign of new life

Easter crafts

Friday, March 16, 2012

The Simple Joys in Life

Yesterday was one of those days in which I realized just how great the simple things in life are.  I had a wonderful day, even though nothing extraordinary happened during it. 

My day started with Thursday luncheon club.  This is a lunch club for those over the age of fifty in the church and surrounding community.  The club starts at 10:30 with tea and coffee, then proceeds to some sort of entertainment or program until 12:30, when lunch is served.  The entertainment for yesterday's club was Karl Heimbuck himself.  Karl came to play the guitar and sing a number of old gospel and western tunes.  I had a blast singing along on some of the songs and having him at one of my normal weekly events.

After luncheon club, one of the other leaders for the Tremont mission trip took me on a shopping trip to some outlet stores a little ways out of Belfast.  Both he and I were in need of some new shoes, and I was having a hard time finding any in town that were reasonably priced, so he kindly took me to the outlets.  I was excited to find a pair of cute adidas trainers for only 23 pounds, but most of all was pleased to build on a friendship with this leader.  I get to spend a ton of time with people from Whitehouse in the church at the various activities and programs I help out with, but rarely have the opportunity to build on those relationships outside of the church in a social setting.

I came home from my shopping trip and made a batch of puppy chow for one of the other volunteers who is travelling to London and then started prepping Karl's and my living room for a painting job. 
          --side story here:  Karl helps out with a youth program called Urban Magnets in which he had hundreds of fliers to write "Thursday Nights" on.  As with most projects, Karl procrastinated, and the fliers sat on our coffee table for weeks!  I was getting quite annoyed with their presence in our living room, so as a practical joke Ellison, Zoe (two of the other volunteers) and I proceeded to cover an entire wall in our living room with them.  Not thinking, we used sello-tape to do so.  The next week, when the joke had run its course, I started removing the fliers, along with a lot of paint from the wall!  Needless to say Karl had the last laugh, which brings us back at yesterday and my painting job.

After getting a first coat of paint on the living room wall, it was time to go to Boys' Brigade for the evening.  I got to the church and went into the main hall where the boys kick around footballs until the start of BB.  As I walked through the doors of the hall, one of the boys ran up to me with his hand in the air, motioning for a high-five.  I gave him a high-five as he said, "Hey Kendra, last week's assembly was class!"   He was speaking of the assembly I did at Whitehouse Primary for the P5-P7 classes in which I talked about the life skills I learned from playing basketball.  During the assembly, I dribbled the ball through my legs and behind my back and spun the ball on my finger - nothing too extremely showy, but impressive for kids who mainly use their feet to control a ball.  This seemed to have impressed this boy, as he tried doing those things with his football after greeting me last night.  It felt pretty good to receive such a compliment from this boy, who up until last night I thought didn't remember my name or even paid attention to my presence at Boys' Brigade.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Spring is in the air

Spring is definitely in the air in Belfast.  The weather is warmer, and you can just feel a spring energy about the place.  With springtime comes a faster pace of activities in Whitehouse Presbyterian and Whitehouse Primary.  The Girls' and Boys' Brigades are busily working to prepare for their respective Display/Parents' Nights.  Both of the organizations are putting a lot of time and effort into planning programs to honor the work that the girls and boys have been doing this year.  Each group has a different flare that they are putting on their display:  the girls with a bit more classy and dance filled program, the boys with a comedy filled program (the more laughs the better). 

Making pizza with the Girls' Brigade

This is also an exciting time of year for SWAT (the youth group at Whitehouse).  Eight of the youth are preparing to go to Tremont, IL for a ten day mission trip around Easter.  They, and their leaders, have been working very hard to raise funds for the trip.  In the past month, I have had a great time attending various fundraisers - a disco night, pub quiz, Chinese buffet meal, and a movie premier of "We Bought a Zoo."  Of most recent activity with the group, a leader was added to the list of people going on the trip, and that leader is me!  That's right, I will be heading back to the states over Easter to take part in the mission trip.  The itinerary is filled with a number of activities which will strengthen the relationships in the group and allow the youth to see God at work in an entirely different context.  Those two aspects of the trip (building relationships and experiencing God in a different context) are at the core of my YAV year, so I am thrilled for the opportunity to share these experiences with people from Northern Ireland in the United States. 

I have also been spending an increased amount of time at Whitehouse Primary school in these past couple of weeks.  I am absolutely loving the time that I get to spend in the P4 classroom.  This week, the teacher asked me if I could prepare a lesson on Martin Luther King, Jr.  This was a challenge for me, as I have never planned lessons for that age of children.  But in the end, I put together a pretty fun lesson for the kids.  I started out by sharing about slaves in the United States and the progression to the abolition of slavery.  We then talked about Jim Crow Laws and segregation in schools and public areas.  I had the kids take part in a civil rights march, in which they made their own posters and marched around the classroom chanting "Jobs for all," "Equal treatment," and "Voting rights." 


Making Civil Rights Posters

Another new happening for me in the primary school was speaking at a school assembly on Friday.  The principal approached me on Monday and asked if I would be willing to talk at the P5-P7 morning assembly.  I wasn't sure about what I should speak about, and Karl told me (as he is quite experienced in doing assemblies here) that I should just tell them about who I am and the types of changes I have experienced since moving to Northern Ireland.  I started the assembly by talking about differences between the United States and Northern Ireland - driving on the other side of the road, the currency, and jargon like pants/trousers and chips/crisps.  I then moved on to talk about popular sports in the United States like American football, baseball and basketball.  As basketball is not a very popular sport here, I thought it would be fun to talk about it in more depth, so I shared about my experiences growing up playing the sport.  Through my involvement in the sport I learned many valuable life skills such as work ethic, the value of teamwork, making commitments and learning how to succeed humbly and bounce back from failure.  I went to a sporting shop before the assembly and bought a basketball so that I could bring it into the assembly and show some of the skills I learned through hard work and practice as a kid.  I was very happy to I receive some 'oohs' and 'aws' from the kids when I spun the ball on my finger and dribbled the ball through my legs and behind my back.

Well there is an update on life in North Belfast.  As always, thank you for reading and supporting Karl and me through this year.  Please continue to keep us, our work, and the communities that we are working amongst in your prayers. 

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Mountain Top Experiences

In my last post, I mentioned that I led worship and shared the message during church two Sundays ago.  I followed the lectionary, so I spoke on the Transfiguration (Mark 9:2-9).  I shared about mountain top experiences and how we all have (or will have) them during our lives.  A mountain top experience is one in which we feel so utterly close to God that we can seem Him and His glory in true clarity.  When we have mountain top experiences, it is easy to want to stay in them and never go back down the mountain.  But the reality is that we have to go back down the mountain.  However, we can take that feeling and the spiritual refueling from the mountain top experience with us and use it to serve and work alongside those people at the bottom of our mountain...I don't want to go on any further because I will spoil the video below!

Whitehouse Presbyterian Church is equipped with wonderful sound and video equipment, and they capture every service on video to share with members of the congregation who have a difficult time physically getting to church on a Sunday morning.  I uploaded video from the service, but had to cut out some parts for confidentiality reasons.  The video is in two parts: the first is the beginning portion of the service (including the children's address in which I accidentally used the word pants for trousers...oops!), and the second is my address.  I hope you enjoy! 


Sunday, February 26, 2012

Busy, busy, busy

It has been quite some time since I have last sat down at the computer to write a blog post, and a lot has happened in the past few weeks.  Let's start with retreat.  Two weeks ago we all, the eight Belfast YAV's and Doug, went on a four day retreat to Donegal and Londonderry/Derry (nicknamed stroke city because the name of the town is quite controversial).  Retreats are a time for us to catch up on our R's - rest, relaxation, reflection, and refueling.  I didn't have the greatest start to retreat, as I woke up from a nap on the mini-bus with my left eye feeling conjunctivitis coming on.  By evening time, my eye had turned a nice red color and was threatening to swell shut!  However, Doug drove me into town Tuesday morning to see a doctor and get an antibiotic to help clear it up.  So, moving on from my conjunctivitis, we stayed three nights in a nice house situated on a lake just outside of the town of Donegal.  There was an eleven mile path which went around the entire lake and we spent Tuesday afternoon leisurely walking the path in one another's company.  On Wednesday, we woke and set off to climb Slieve League and take in beautiful views of the sea cliffs of the west coast of Ireland. 

Conjunctivitis - yuck!
At the top of Slieve League

Sea cliffs at Slieve League
On Thursday, we set off to head home to Belfast, but stopped in Londonderry on the way. Now I mentioned above that Derry is often called 'stroke city' because the name is in dispute - Derry is the preferred name for most Nationalists, while Londonderry is preferred by many Unionists. It was originally called Derry, but in 1613 the city was granted a Royal Charter by King James I, and 'London' was added as a prefix. During the period of 1613-1619 walls were built around the city to keep English and Scottish settlers out. Apart from the 17th century history of Derry, it is the location of the sad event in history called 'Bloody Sunday.' I will not go into too much detail about Bloody Sunday and would recommend you read a bit more about it on your own, but it took place on January 30, 1972. During a peaceful civil rights march, 12 unarmed protestors and bystanders were killed by soldiers of the British Army. As a result of the event, enrollment in the IRA in Derry skyrocketed and acts of violence became a common occurrence in the city.

After retreat, work at Whitehouse Presbyterian quickly resumed.  I delivered my first sermon on Sunday, February 19.  We had a service dedicated to the youth of the church, and Liz asked me to lead the service and give the address.  I have to say, I was quite nervous and stressed about planning a church service and writing a sermon.  When attending church, I do not think about all of the work that goes on behind the scenes of putting a service together - choosing and writing prayers, liturgy and hymns that follow the message of the service.  Needless to say, I felt quite relieved once I was finished planning the order of service, preparing a children's address and writing a sermon.  Now all I had to do was stand up in front of the church and do it!  I woke up on Sunday morning and prayed that God would guide me through the service and calm my nerves.  And He was there for me.  I made it through my first preaching experience!


The stress and worry was lifted from me after Sunday morning, and I started to look forward to Tuesday (February 21).  Collette and T.J. arrived that afternoon, making them our first family visitors for this year.  It has been such a blessing to have them here and to be able to show them where we have been living and what we have been up to this year.  We have had a wonderful time with them so far, and I am looking forward to the few days that we have left with their company.  Karl and I were away this weekend to Drumalis for an Alpha weekend.  As you know, I have been helping to lead an Alpha course at Whitehouse, and an important aspect of the course is a weekend away.  We spent the weekend worshiping and talking about the Holy Spirit - what it is, what it does and how we can let it move in our lives.  It was unfortunate that we were away while Collette and T.J. were here, but the Alpha weekend was an amazing worship experience, and they were able to get away to the north coast in our absence.