another long week

Phew. It's been another long one. Wednesday night we went to a small group meeting of the local Presbyterian church. It was kind of neat. It was led by the pastor. There are other groups led by the other elders in the church.

Thursday we went to Belfast again to see Queens University which we did. It's a beautiful campus in downtown Belfast. We got some good info for anyone who might want to go to school there. Once again we had hoped to meet new people and failed. One thing that we're learning a lot about is our personal limitations and, if God does call us here, what sorts of people to pray for to join us. Extroverts and easy conversationalists would be high on that list.

This weekend has been totally consumed by a big group being here. Once again we did many hours of dishes and are quite tired, even a day later. I had no idea kids could generate so much dirt and clutter or break so many things or paint all over the windows and mirrors with spray deodorant. But they can...

Keep praying that God will keep us on track with His plans. We're feeling homesick and a little tired. We also have less than six weeks left and still plenty that we would like to do. We've posted two new photo albums on our photo site.

Hang tough,
Mark

N.Irish word of the day: Ulster Fry = traditional Northern Irish breakfast. Ulster was one of the five provinces that divided Ireland of old, and is now the country of Northern Ireland. An Ulster Fry consists of bacon (more like our canadian bacon), sausages, fried soda farls (bread), fried potato farls, fried egg, fried tomato, and sometimes blood pudding (which is like a bit of sausage but grosser and, thankfully, we haven't had to deal with). It is not for the faint of heart or the fat-conscious.

halfway point, part 2

On Sunday we finally made it to Maude's Ice Cream Shop in Newcastle for some "sinner watching". It was actually a bit disappointing, because we had hoped to meet and talk to some of the godless masses but they didn't seem interested in us. If I'm truthful, I was also disappointed in my own shyness. We took a card game (Phase 10) and played cards until we got dirty looks from the people behind the counter, then went for a walk on the beach. I didn't expect there to be so many people out and about during the church hours. I wonder if any of them were thinking about "the things of the Lord and eternity." I imagine they would have plenty of thoughts if we listened. Lord, help us. Lord, help me.

On Monday we went down to the village of Rostrevor for the night. We visited a place called the Christian Renewal Centre, which would be similar in outlook to an International House of Prayer, but not 24/7 prayer meetings, just several times a day. We really connected with them, though, which was refreshing. We also stayed at a really nice Bed&Breakfast called Glenbeigh. They won't have a website for several months, but one could probably google "glenbeigh rostrevor bed breakfast" and get them. It was £50 for the night for an en suite room with a great view of the Carlingsford Lough. We would highly recommend them. Also, we got one of the best Ulster Fry's ever for breakfast. Mmmm.

Tuesday night we went to visit a young couple in the village. I'd met Andrew when I went to Mannafest with the local youth group a couple weeks ago. We just went by to say hi, but ended up eating our dinner there and then talking for three hours. They are really nice people and it's so nice to talk with someone our age. Andrew's wife Talitha is from the Netherlands and they met on an OM ship. It does take some getting used to, though, to just go to someone's house and stay for hours without phoning first. Feels rude, but it's not here.

Today we sang for a "seniors group" at the Presbyterian Church. We did some folk songs and some hymns. It was a hoot.

Well, I think that's enough for now. Keep praying for us, that we be sensitive to God's voice.
Mark

halfway point

I think today might be the halfway point of the trip. That's wild. It doesn't seem like it's been that long. It does seem like a long time since we've posted. Too long, I guess. Sorry about that. This week has been pretty action packed. Wednesday we met up with one of Ange's college buddies who just happened to be here on vacation and she took us in to Belfast for the afternoon. It was a fun time, especially for Ange. We went to the Starbucks downtown for a (bad) cup of coffee and a rest. It was a great atmosphere, though: comfy couches, big glass windows with scenic views of the city, teenagers making out in the corner...

Thursday we took the bus into Newcastle for some groceries. While waiting for our return bus we met some bizarre old women. They were dressed all fashionably and one of the first things they said was that I looked mexican and that I had nice teeth. The next thing was that I was cute and should be a chippendale dancer (mind you, Ange was standing right there). After a few random and racy stories, they asked us what we were doing and when we told them about the camp they said "Isn't that some kind of religious place? Are you like, mormons or moonies or something?" And then they laughed and talked incomprehensibly about "moonies." They didn't seem to want to talk to us any more after that, though. That's two for two meeting strange characters at the Newcastle bus station. Shocking.

Friday we went to Newry with our friend David and just walked around the town. It's a nice place--probably about the size of Marion, IN. Saturday David and his wife Sandra had us over for fajita's. They were really good, but we thought it strange to fly across an ocean and still eat Mexican food. We had a really great time with them, singing and talking well into the night.

More later, I've got to run now, though.
Mark

the end of a long week

Well, YFC leaves tomorrow. It's been good having them here, if a little exhausting. Last night I went to an event in Belfast called Mannafest. It is a big "worship event" in Belfast for teens. There were probably 800 people there and they sing for 30 minutes, then have about 30-45 minutes of teaching, then another 45 minutes of singing. I must admit that I was a little skeptical at first because of the lights and stuff, but the music was so joyful (and ROW-DY). I really felt uplifted as I walked away. There's something pretty cool and infectous about people who are really happy about worshipping Jesus and pretty free to show it.

Unfortunately, we weren't able to make it over to Maude's for ice cream today (so we can't give an official answer to the survey question) because the group wanted breakfast an hour later than we thought. We decided we would stay home and pray and read the Bible on our own, so we did. We invited the cooks to join us and one of their daughters did. I was amazed that any teenager would want to come read the Bible with a couple of old folks like us. We found out that she actually met Jesus a few years ago here at summer camp and that she likes the book of Revelation, but she also thinks it's scary. She believes that God still talks to people like he talked to Philip in Acts 8 and now she knows what an Ethiopian eunich is. I'm sure her parents are glad. :)

I find that it can be really hard to learn how to incorporate spiritual life--reading the Bible, praying, living as if God is actually who He says He is--into daily life with other people. We're so used to spiritual things having a certain amount of affectation: taking a certain tone when we pray, using (overusing?) weird words, needing to always have answers. I want to learn how to share spiritual things with people naturally. I can talk about music or relationships or even sports naturally--why is it so hard to talk about spiritual things, which are just as real if not more? Maybe it's because we in the West have accepted this crazy idea that "religion" is a private matter which should only stain certain spheres of life. Maybe it's because the Truth of Christ hasn't permiated every aspect of my permiated every aspect my personal life like it should. Maybe it's because it's always scary to share the things at the core of you. Maybe it's just a lack of practice. I don't know. But that's something we've been thinking about recently and, I think, something that's really important for a generation (including myself) which doesn't want the Bible to be confined to "Bible studies" and prayer confined to "prayer meetings" and the Way, the Truth and the Life confined to only a nominal or superficial influence on how we live. I guess we don't want preaching confined to pulpits either... :)

Many of you have prayed that we would have joy and the past few days we have really felt that. Thanks. May God bless you.

Mark

N.Irish word of the day: class = really cool. Usage: If I were coming from a party that I really enjoyed, I might say: "I had a really good time. That was class." if I were Irish or Northern Irish or an American posing as Irish.

irish sunrise and a funny story

So we've got a group here now from Youth for Christ. It's actually the first group that we've had to do totally on our own, which has been a bit nerve-racking. The guy that's running it is actually the director for Europe and Africa and his name is John Duncan. Now when John Duncan first came here, I'm pretty sure he thought I was an idiot and here's why:

After a string of simple mishaps such as forgetting to turn the heat on to his dorm, forgetting to give them anything to drink with their dinner, and putting two salts on one table and two peppers on another, they came and asked if I could turn up the heat in the meeting room. So I did that and as it was a little after noon I thought I would go up to see if it came on ok. It didn't even occur to me that the meeting might still be going on, so I just barge noisily right into their teaching session, mumble something inane like "Oh, sorry, I thought you were at lunch..." and back out the door from whence I came. In my frenzied embarassment, I also bolted the door from the outside out of habit. So as it turned out, I had locked them in the meeting room and they had to use the fire exit to get out. I didn't find any of this out until I was serving them their vegetable soup at lunch. Boy did I feel stupid.

So there's your funny story for the week. It still makes us belly laugh to talk about it. And John Duncan seems to think I'm ok now, which is nice. May you have joy today.

Mark

ice cream and eternity

We had a pretty uneventful weekend. There was a group here but they were self-catered so we just stayed out of their way. Sunday we went back to the Presbyterian church here in Annalong for their "harvest service." They had a guest minister from another town preaching and he mentioned that he had driven by Maude's Ice Cream Shop on the way down and was saddened to see it packed out with people who didn't care about "the Lord or eternal things." Pretty stiff judgment to make, eh? So I think Ange and I may catch the early bus over to Maude's next Sunday.

This week, however, will probably not be uneventful at all. Youth For Christ is doing training here all week, so we'll be working pretty hard. They seem really cool and we're excited to get to meet them.

We're missing you guys pretty badly these days. Not so much culture shock as people-we-love shock. How about you all just move over here? The chocolate is better...

-mark

Survey of the day: What flavor of ice cream do you think Jesus would order on a Sunday morning at Maude's?