First Sunday with Whitehouse

I woke up this morning feeling quite nervous about my first Sunday with Whitehouse.  I knew I would be meeting a whole lot of people and was nervous about making a great first impression.  A wonderful lady named Anne picked me up for church and brought me right to the kitchen to get a cup of tea before services started.  Immediately I was welcomed by a room full of kind ladies who gave me the warmest hugs I have received since arriving in Belfast!  The members of the congregation are so friendly and really helped me to feel at home in my new church. 

Here is the photo that was projected
during the service for my introduction

I was formally introduced to the congregation during the children's sermon.  My fellow youth leaders, John and Francis, did a little "meet Kendra" interview with the children.  They asked me about my family, what I am hoping to get out of this year of service, where I am from, and what kind of Northern Irish phrases I am learning.  They had the children teach me some words, and it was very fun....we got some laughs from the congregation.

During the message of the service, Rev. Liz Hughes spoke about the importance of church and how church is more than what we do on Sunday morning but is a place where we can join together as family.  This message was so fitting for what I am experiencing right now.  Here I am, in Belfast, so far removed from my family outside of Karl.  I know that my family back home is praying for me and thinking about me, but it is so nice to be surrounded by a loving family inside the doors of Whitehouse. 

After church, Karl and I went to Liz's house for dinner (late lunch), and her husband cooked us a wonderful meal!  It was so nice to sit around the table and join in conversation, starting to form relationships with the people of my new home. 

Lastly today, I attended SWAT (youth group) and met some of the youth of the church.  We spent a lot of time sitting around talking and listening to music, which was a great way for me to start to get to know the kids.  We had a lot of laughs centered around my ignorance to the slang they use, but I think I will start to catch on to the jargon soon...hopefully.  The other youth leaders are absolutely wonderful, and I think that I will be able to learn a lot from them over the course of the year.  They are really good at relating to the kids and have very balanced relationships with them.  All in all, I had a fabulous first day and am excited for what it in store for this upcoming year.

Welcome to Belfast!

The time was about 8:30 AM, the day August 30, and the place Belfast, Northern Ireland.  Continental Flight 94 hit the ground with eight anxious young adults aboard.  Those eight young adults being myself, Karl and six other individuals from around the U.S.  We arrived in Belfast extremely tired but excited to see our new home for the upcoming year. 

Doug and his wife, Elaine, picked us up with a car and a mini bus, loaded our luggage and drove us all to our houses.  We quickly stepped into our new homes, dropped our luggage in our rooms and proceeded to the next house.  At the last house we visited, we took a moment to enjoy our first cup of tea and scones (biscuits in the U.S.).  The rest of the day was pretty much a blur, as we spent it trying to stay awake in order to adjust to the time change. 

After getting a full night's rest, we all set off to begin touring each other's volunteer sites for the next three days.  As we stopped at each site, we toured the premises and learned a bit of the history of the neighborhood and about the community involvement of each site.  It is amazing how complex the conflict between the people of Northern Ireland is and how deep the Troubles have touched the communities that we will be working in.  I have a lot to learn about as the year goes on.

My site, Whitehouse Presbyterian, was the second to last stop for the whole group.  By this time, I was very anxious to see the church, reconnect with Rev. Liz Hughes, and meet others in the congregation.  In fact, I was so excited to see the church that I ran the 2.5 miles to and from to get a sneak peak the morning we were scheduled to see it.  (By the way, I had to be very conscious about which way the traffic was travelling when crossing the street). We got to the church and were welcomed with open arms and hugs.  There were a number of folks from the congregation there to meet us, and they were so hospitable and friendly!  I will be attending my first worship service this Sunday and will get to meet the youth group in the evening...I can't wait!

As an end note, here are some fun words that we are picking up and pictures from a walk to Scrabo (a tower outside of the city):

boke=puke
skint=broke
craic=fun/entertainment
biscuit=cookie
jumper=sweater
bap=bun/roll
come by you=pick you up

Hope and Fear

2011 YAV Group

I am sitting at Stony Point in New York right now writing this post.  We have been at orientation since Monday, August 22, and it is almost over!  I can't believe how fast this week has gone by and how much I have experienced in this past week. 

Throughout this week, I have met an array of new friends and sat in on so many helpful sessions with these wonderful people.  We have joined together to explore critical cultural competency, safety and gender issues, relationships, self-care, what makes me tick, communication and conflict, globalization, and culture shock.  These orientation sessions have provided me with the opportunity to consciously think about my fears, worries, hopes and expectations for this year ahead. 

Since arriving at Stony Point, I have gone through many emotional highs and lows.  During our training, I realized that I haven't really thought about the emotional implications of this year until I got here.  This really scared me.  I was scared about my personal self and health, about Karl's and my relationship, about my relationships with the family and friends staying behind, and about feeling worth something in Belfast.  These fears are definitely fears that I will be carrying with me throughout this next year and the rest of my life, but I have hope that the Lord will help me through.  The Lord will provide me with strength and the people in my life to help me through all of my fears.  This does not by any means mean he will make things easy for me, but it does mean that I can always be hopeful that I am not alone in my fears and struggles.  With that said, I want to leave you with this Psalm which gives me hope:

⁷ I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
⁸ I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
⁹ Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
¹⁰ because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
nor will you let your faithful one see decay.
¹¹ You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.  

The time has come

Well, it is officially only two days until Karl and I leave for orientation in New York and nine days until we leave for Belfast!  I can't believe that our year in Belfast is finally here. 

As we are making our final preparations to leave, I can't help but feel a multitude of emotions....anxious, scared, sad, excited, blessed...to name a few.  Karl and I have been spending the majority of our summer travelling around to various locations in Wyoming and Colorado to spend time with our family and friends whom we will miss so dearly during our year in Belfast.  God has blessed us with wonderful families and friends, and we are truly thankful for the relationships that we have here.  It is going to be extremely hard to get used to the idea of our family members not being a short drive or simple phone call away.  But, as difficult as it is going to be to live so far away from our family and friends, I am looking forward to all of the new people I am going to meet and walk with in my journey of faith.  God calls us to be in relationship with each other, and this year is going to provide me with countless opportunities to join in relationship with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.  I cannot wait to break bread and share conversation with my fellow YAV's, serve side by side with members of White House Presbyterian, and learn about myself and my faith with the people of Northern Ireland. 

In two short days, Karl and I (along with about 60 other young adults) will be arriving in New York to join together in preparation for our year ahead.  Please pray for our safety, for peace of mind, body and soul, for open and loving hearts, and for the will of God to be fulfilled through our time as YAV's.  

Blessings Abound

"And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus."  Philippians 4:19


Thanks to the wonderful blessings of family and friends on this earth, Karl and I have met our fundraising requirement for our year in Northern Ireland!  We cannot begin to express our overwhelming gratitude for the gifts that God has provided us through our brothers and sisters in Christ.  The thought of raising $16,000 was a little daunting when we first started our experience with the Young Adult Volunteer program.  But, as God has promised us, He will always provide.  


We have successfully raised the $16,000 we need for our year of service, but if anyone is still interested in supporting us there are a few ways.  We still ask that you keep us in your daily prayers, that we may continue this walk with God, see his plan for us in our year of service and be transformed into his Disciples.  Also, you can continue to give financially.  The money may not go directly to Karl and I, but there are still some other YAVs who need financial help.  Lastly, continue to follow up with what we are doing during the next year by continuing to read this blog!


I just want to say thank you again to all of those who gave donations towards Karl and I.  We are so thankful to have the love and support of our family in Christ!

So Anxious for Belfast!

It has been quite some time since my last post, and a lot has happened since!  Last week, Doug Baker sent us all of the information for our visa applications.  Karl and I are in the process of filling out the application and getting all of the supplementary documents compiled to send with the application.  Hopefully we will have them in the mail within the next week and our passports will be returned to us with a visa stamp in due time to leave for Belfast.

As many of you know, Karl and I are having an adventurous summer...living out of our car as we travel from town to town visiting friends and family before we depart for the next year.  This lifestyle leaves a lot of flexibility in our schedule, so we have been fortunate enough to have been picked to represent the 2011-2012 YAVs at a wonderful PC(USA) conference called Big Tent.  We are currently in Indianapolis at the J.W. Marriott, joining with approximately 1,700 fellow Presbyterians from all around the world!  This has been such a wonderful experience for us:  we have had the opportunity to attend many workshops, network with fellow missionaries from all over the place, talk with other young adults who are attending seminary, meet up with our site supervisor Doug Baker, and one of the greatest surprises of the conference - I have been able to meet the pastor for the church I will be working with in Belfast!  

The first activity that Karl and I attended when we arrived at Big Tent was the opening worship service. We walked into the humongous ballroom housing the service, a little late, and were looking around for a place we might be able to squeeze into for a seat.  Much to our surprise, Doug Baker caught my attention and made room for the two of us in his row.  He quickly introduced us to a colleague of his from Belfast, Liz, and we went on with the worship service.  Straight from worship, we went to the opening dinner for the conference and got to chatting with some individuals from the Young Adult Volunteer office in Louisville, KY.  One of the individuals informed me that the pastor from my church in Belfast, Whitehouse Presbyterian, was at the conference.  She told me that her name was Liz...I quickly put it together that it was the lady I met during worship...what a coincidence!  Since then, I have had the opportunity to meet with Liz and talk for a short while.  She is a wonderful woman:  warm spirited, welcoming, genuine, friendly, and excited to be serving God's people in her ministry.  I am so anxious to be able to work with her on a daily basis and join in the efforts she has started to reconcile the violence and turmoil in Belfast.  

Belfast Bulletin: Serving at Whitehouse Presbyterian Church

I know I keep saying that as every day goes by, the reality that Karl and I will be moving to Belfast next year sets in even more.  But as the events of today unfolded, that reality hit me in the face!  I checked my email this morning and was pleasantly surprised to see an email from Doug Baker titled, “Your YAV Placements for 2011-2012.”  The moment Karl and I had been waiting for had finally arrived….we were finding out where we would be serving for the duration of the next year. 

The moment we read the locations of our assignments, we Googled the addresses so that we could see a street view of the buildings we would soon be spending so much time at.  Technology of today is truly amazing!  From our apartment in Laramie, WY, we were able to start to picture ourselves in our daily life in Belfast.   

I will be serving at Whitehouse Presbyterian Church (www.whpci.org), which is situated between areas identified with Loyalist and Republican factions in North Belfast, and is involved in cross-community work within those areas.  One of my roles at the church will include youth ministry (including youth fellowship, leadership of boys/girls brigade groups and plenty of recreation).  I am so excited to have the opportunity to work with the youth of the community and church.  Being involved with youth ministry is something I am very passionate about, and I am very anxious to begin forming relationships within the Whitehouse youth community.  Just a side note….I love the fact that the youth groups are called brigades and that I will be able to be involved in recreation!

Whitehouse Presbyterian Church

As a volunteer at Whitehouse, I will also be involved in cross-community projects for older adults, assisting with worship and pastoral visiting.  These areas of my assignment are less familiar to me, so naturally I am a little nervous about putting myself in these roles.  I expect that there will be numerous times in which I find myself very uncomfortable, but God calls us to do new things and to push ourselves past what we “know.”   I ask that you pray for my ability to be open to God’s call for me in this situation, and for my capacity to love those whom I will be interacting with. 

With my placement at Whitehouse, there are also going to be opportunities for me to work with schools in the area.  I still do not know what kind of work that will include, but am excited to see what unfolds in that area of my service.   

There is still a lot of time and items to take care of before the departure to Northern Ireland, but soon enough I will be taking the bus ride to Whitehouse Presbyterian Church almost daily to engage in the service opportunities placed before me through God and the YAV program….I can’t wait!