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.