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!

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.