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.