Mom's Ideas

So my mom just walked in to talk to give me some blog suggestions. Since they aren't bad ideas, and since she feeds me, I'll take them.

For starters, she mentioned that there may be some confusion, since I've told you that I will be going to Belfast, but I said I would be in Lambeg in the last post. Lambeg is just to the south of Belfast, in County Antrim, my apartment is in Dunmurry, which is about a mile closer to Belfast. I don't know if this is technically accurate, but basically I will be in the southern suburbs of Belfast.

A map is below, Lambeg is in the bottom left corner, Belfast is the top right, to give a hint at scale, it is about 6 miles from Lambeg to central Belfast

View Larger Map

Setting Up

A few things to start.

For instance, what will I be doing?

I will serve with Harmony Hill Presbyterian Church in Lambeg, which is cooperating with nearby Roman Catholic and Church of Ireland parishes in providing a youth drop-in and after-schools centre for those ages 10-18 called The Base. I will also support existing youth ministries within the congregation, assist in worship, link with a unique Sunday afternoon Christian Education program for those with learning disabilities, and support a Parent/Toddlers pre-school program two mornings each week.

I will be living with a recent William and Mary graduate in Riverdale House in Dunmurry. You can read his blog at http://nornironandy.blogspot.com/. He has posted the google street view picture of our apartment building, so I won't repeat that here.

As another note, I am not yet in Belfast, I will be arriving sometime around the first of September, until then I am still in Charlottesville trying to raise money to help the church (PC(USA)) pay for my adventures. If you are interested in donating, you can make a tax deductible donation online at www.pcusa.org/give, please include my name and ECO number E201109 in the comment field. I need to raise $9,000 total.

On that note, many thanks to everyone who has donated so far, as of the last update I am just over $3,000, which is fantastic since it means I am officially ahead of schedule for fundraising, and can breathe a bit more easily over that.