Work at East Belfast Mission

I now have been settling in for over a month. It does not feel like a very odd vacation or tour anymore. I am making friends and truly connecting with the congregations and the other people that I work with. When you feel out of place, it is truly disconcerting when someone expects you to cope like you have been there for ages. Thankfully, the pastoral team at East Belfast Mission has been extremely accommodating and understood that I would be out of sorts and slowly brought me up to speed. They invited me to join in their weekly meetings so that I could get an understanding of how the church worked from their viewpoint and how they help move the life of the church forward. 

The first Sunday of the month, I spend at EBM. They of course have already thrown me in the morning service by asking me to sing in the praise band. Sunday was my first time singing in a praise band and I quite enjoyed it. I had been worried as I had woken up with a sore throat that morning but all was well by the time the service started with the help of some ibuprofen. This was also their Harvest Sunday. Harvest Sunday is a day that they celebrate the harvest and what has been done for them. Churches normally pick one of the Sundays in October to celebrate this. The decorations around the church reminded me of Thanksgiving at home and made me realize how quickly that is approaching. Since I have been here, I have noticed that time has passed me by so quickly and many times I have worried that a year is too short for me. I know that probably sounds pretty crazy. Anyhow, to get back to the thoughts at hand I will explain what else happens at EBM that I work with. Note: there are many other programs that EBM does, that I do not work with because of time but they are extremely important and quite interesting. I would encourage you to check them out by clicking on the link if you are interested. 

Ok, well back on topic now. I used to think that Mondays were a big drag but now I truly enjoy them. That might have to do with the fact that I help out with Dance Nation on Monday nights. Dance Nation is a hip-hop/breakdancing class. The first hour is for 8 to 11 yr. olds while the second hour is for the older kids. The teacher is a freelance dancer/choreographer/teacher and while not working with Dance Nation, she works with bbc, films and tons of other stuff. She is fantastic at what she does. I never thought I would be over here learning to breakdance or dabble in hip-hop but I would not trade it for anything. I love seeing the guys and girls in the class so engaged and truly appreciative. This class is also free and open to the community, which is fantastic. That is something that a lot of churches here in Belfast are concerned about. They understand that the community needs outlets and they try to accommodate and cater to the concerns of the community.  While Tuesday nights, I hang out with some Form 1 girls which means they are around 12 years old. They help show me what is cool for their age and have helped me understand the schooling system here. Yes, there are prefects here. 

Blooper of the Week: On Sunday I made baked potatoes for dinner and had to quickly eat one before I had to be back at the church that night. As I tried to swallow one of the last bites of the potato, I realized that the particular section that I was eating hadn't been cooked through and was a little hard. This wouldn't have meant too much to me except that it got stuck in my throat and my flat-mate Patricia was out of the house. Well, thankfully I was able to swallow it after a little bit. As I walked to Strand Presbyterian that night, I thought how ridiculous the headline would have read had I not lived through it. It would have said something like American Volunteer dies by choking on a POTATO in Northern Ireland. I mentioned this to some of the church members that night and they found it just as funny as I did, if not more. The irony was just too much.

Word of the Week: trainers, this would be tennis shoes or sneakers in the US. I have used these most mornings to run because it has been beautiful!