Happy New Year

I doubt it will surprise anyone to hear that Advent is a busy season in a church and I have not been an exception.  These past few weeks have been packed as I have, in addition to my normal jobs, I narrated the Lisburn Sunday School Christmas Service, I performed a narration and did a reading for the carol service, and of course, attended and helped to plan several Christmas parties.

Despite being so busy (and missing home, of course), I still had a great Christmas here.  Christmas Eve I opened presents from my parents with them and my sisters over skype, then went to the Christmas Eve service at 11:30PM, where we took communion and confirmed three new members, including one girl who I work with in Sunday School and Flame (Youth Group/Fellowship), so that was a bit of an exciting moment for me.  The sermon was also very interesting, focusing on gender roles in Christmas, and how it wouldn't happen without women.  Women cook the dinners, wrap the presents, keep track of who to send cards to, who to invite to a Christmas party, men are given the tasks the women think we can't screw up, often after women have attempted to remove as much difficulty as possible, and yet so often we still screw things up--the gifts are poorly wrapped, some critical family member is forgotten on the card list.   Even in the biblical account of the birth of Christ, it is Mary who does most of the work; all Joseph has to do is remember the names Jesus Emmanuel.  Further, though David didn't mention this, we can assume it would have fallen to Joseph to ensure they had a place to stay (at which he was at best only partially successful).

On Christmas Day I went to the morning service, which was light and informal, instead of doing a sermon, David just ran around asking the children what they got for Christmas, there were a lot of new shirts and jumpers (sweaters), and several toys, including transformers.

Then he got to me, the only person he asked over the age of 10.  I wasn't at all ready, and, unfortunately the first thing that came to mind was the Vietnamese silk dressing gown (robe), which my parents picked up on their trip, and gave the congregation a good laugh while giving my cheeks a bit of color.  After the service, I went up to Joseen’s house for Christmas dinner.  Joseen is a member of the Harmony Hill session, and is involved with the Base as well.  Joseen’s daughter, Mary, is the member of the Lambeg Project Committee to whom John reports, and is the step-mother of one of the youth at Flame, and was present with her family as well.  I was also excited to meet Joseen’s sister, Ruth Patterson, who is quite the amazing woman.  She was the first woman to be ordained in Ireland, and served as the minister of Kilmakee Presbyterian (where my flat mate works, and where she is still something of a legend).  She currently runs Restoration Ministries, which does work in peace-making and reconciliation.  Christmas dinner her is fairly similar to what I’m used to at home, the core of the meal consists of turkey, ham, stuffing, gravy and potatoes, and was an excellent meal, though I do miss sweet potatoes.

I spend Boxing Day with David and his family, including his parents and his brother’s family, and that was also an excellent meal, with pork and lamb instead of turkey.  Heather (David’s wife) is an excellent cook and hostess, and always makes me feel very welcome.  After the meal we watched David’s eldest son’s wedding video as David’s parents had not yet seen it, and while I didn’t know most of the people involved, it was interesting to watch to see where British and American weddings differ (the differences are pretty subtle, but they exist).  Once David’s family left, I hung around for a few more hours and just chatted about life and home.  David seems to remain excited about letting me take a few services in the coming months, and while I’m very nervous, am excited for the opportunity to get some experience, and hopefully to become even more connected on the Harmony Hill side of my placement, where I sometimes feel that I am not doing enough. 

Sunday morning came a bit too quickly—I was very disoriented when my alarm went off, and it took me a few minutes to remember why I had even set it the night before, since it certainly couldn’t be Sunday already (going to Church on 3 of 4 consecutive days is a bit disconcerting).  Anyway, David managed to work the Vietnamese dressing gown into the sermon again, once again turning me a bit red.  It seems the consensus is that I’ll keep hearing about it until I wear it to church, since after that it can’t be trumped.  If it happens, I’ll post pictures.

Today I played football (soccer) with a bunch of the men from Harmony Hill (and one of the women), where I pretty much made a fool out of myself, but at least I can hide behind the excuse of being American.  The game went well until the end when we had a minor injury, but nothing too terrible.  This evening I had supper with Clarke’s family, and then watched Taken.  Tomorrow Andy and I leave for Dublin, where we’ll be until the 2^nd of January, when we go to London, returning to Belfast on the 4^th.  Happy New Year everyone.

20 Years

When I was a senior in high school I was, like many others, approached by an army recruiter. I had no intention of enlisting, I had, I think by that point already been accepted to Virginia, but thought it polite, to go and hear him out, to do my best to consider all options. While there we discussed the fact that I had been accepted to University, and that I felt called to the ministry--he told me he could get me a position as a chaplain's assistant where I could acquire some practical experience before later going to university and seminary on the army's dime. I politely turned him down, but army recruiters are a persistent bunch, and he passed my name up the line, so that later that week I received a call from a colonel who was, I believe, responsible for recruiting in the region including Virginia. This colonel had clearly been briefed on the substance of my discussion with the recruiting sergeant I had met with, and closed his pitch with the line "The army needs more Christian soldiers."

It's a line that has stuck with me, partly because at the time my thought was quite different. I felt then that the army needed more Muslim soldiers, more soldiers who better understood the complexities of Iraqi and Afghani society, soldiers who wouldn't be viewed as the beginning of another wave of crusader invasion. Now, I have even greater doubts about his statement. I want to be a peace maker. I do not doubt the necessity of military action in some circumstances, but I doubt the ability of the military to create peace. Peace is not an absence of fighting. Peace cannot be obtained just through the removal of a dictator, the destruction of an insurgency. These things are often necessary, I'm not so naive as to argue against that, I only doubt the ability of the military to create lasting peace on its own, it seems that military alone can at best cause the cessation of open hostility necessary for beginning the process. We don't need more Christian soldiers in the army; we need more Christians on the other fronts. We need more Christians doing the charitable work that heals and rebuilds communities. Peace is more than the absence of violence.

This point is especially apparent to me here with the combination of previously mentioned Remembrance Day and that this past month marked the 20th anniversary of the opening of the Berlin Wall (9, November, 1989). The poignancy of that moment is not one lost here in Belfast. This past weekend I saw someone wearing a shirt that read "Berlin: 1961-1989 Belfast: 1969-?" Much has been made of the success of the peace process in Northern Ireland. The paramilitaries have largely disarmed. There is a power sharing government in place that is at least mostly functional. The Good Friday Accords seem to be a success on those fronts, but those are not the only standards of peace. Berlin had one wall. Northern Ireland has 47 "peace lines," 36 of which are in Belfast, and there are at least 15 miles of wall just in North Belfast..

The walls vary greatly in nature, some are large and imposing, others are mostly wire fence, with plantings attempting to conceal them.

This wall to the left is a section of what is possibly the most famous wall in Belfast, the one that divides the Shankill (Unionist) from the Falls (Nationalist) neighborhoods.  This wall is something like 20-25 feet high, and has grown both taller and longer since originally built.  In fact, these walls, which began as temporary measures, not intended to last more than 6 months in the beginning of the Troubles in 1969 continued to multiply and grow even after the 1998 Good Friday Accords.

One of the great difficulties faced in Northern Ireland is the way in which the walls reinforce themselves. 50% of the population lives in an area where more that 90% share their religious and political background. In 2002, 68% of people between 18 and 25 reported having never had a meaningful conversation with someone from the other community.   Just 5% of children go to an integrated school.
Conventional wisdom holds that no one wants the walls to come down, this was supported by a 2008 survey administered by Millward Brown Ulster for the US-Ireland Alliance, which found "strong agreement that the walls serve to help residents feel safer by keeping the communities separated."  21% of respondents felt that the walls should come down now, but an additional 60% want the walls to come down eventually, but do not feel it is currently safe to do so.  A major obstacle to these feelings of safety is continued lack of confidence in the police--58% were fairly or very worried about the ability of police to keep the peace if the walls were to come down.

This is not entirely unjustified, people still throw projectiles over the walls, and Belfast is prone to what some call "recreational rioting," which is exactly what it sounds like, young people with nothing better to do decide to cause trouble, but in addition to the standard teen thrills, come together in the interface areas to riot.  Originally, there would be police officers stationed at the most common flash points, but then it was discovered that police presence really just provided a target, so they were replaced with CCTV cameras like the one to the right, which allows the police to respond promptly without risking instigating (or preventing) anything.

This presents two immediate concerns; first, if the police presence acted to instigate violence, do the walls do the same.  The walls themselves may not present a target, but they most certainly show exactly where the divides are in a country where around half the population lives in an area that is at least 90% of their own community.  The walls show exactly where the "others" live, and I cannot imagine that they do not contribute to the sense of the other community as "other."  In many places the walls (and some murals, more on those later) are among the most prominent features of a community, and it becomes impossible not to wonder how much the define not just the geography, but also the people, all too many of whom have grown up knowing little about the other community other than that they have to be kept apart.

Edit:
I tried to resist, because it seems at least a little cliché, but I just had to at least link to Robert Frost's "Mending Fences"

Happy Thanksgiving

My America By Andrew Sullivan

Piece by a British ex-pat living in the U.S. about his thoughts on Thanksgiving.  I don't have anything original to post today, so happy Thanksgiving.

Tuition tax wouldn't be small change to students - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Tuition tax wouldn't be small change to students - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Not a full post, but since one of the seminaries I'm applying to is in Pittsburgh, I'm kind of annoyed at this. The City of Pittsburgh has decided that non-profits aren't doing enough to support the city, and so is retaliating by taxing post-secondary tuition, because higher education isn't already expensive enough.

Remembrance Day

Following my post on Halloween as an interesting holiday, I thought I'd postpone writing on the retreat last week and instead take this time to talk about a few other dates.

Today is Rememberance day, which means that this past Sunday was Remembrance Sunday, ( the Sunday closest to the Remembrance Day) which is, like Veteran's Day in the U.S. on the 11th of November, in commemoration of the end of the First World War. Unlike in the U.S. the holiday is also celebrated in churches, marked by participation of the Uniformed Organizations (Boys' Brigade, Girls Brigade, Scouts and Guides) these groups are similar to Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts in the U.S. but are generally more involved in the church, and marching plays a larger part (at least according to Andy).

The service is also marked by everyone (or so it seemed) wearing red poppies, most of them paper poppies sold in shops to benefit the Royal British Legion, which works to support veterans.

The other side of Rememberance Sunday and Rememberance Day (because there always is another side in Northern Ireland) is that it is a British (and therefore unionist holiday). This unionist sentiment is compounded by the acts of Irish Republicans during the First World War, and the neutrality of the Republic of Ireland during the Second, but there were still a large number of Catholic Irish from both sides of the border who served honorably in both wars, and these people risk being or feeling excluded, or that their service and sacrifice is unappreciated.

Another problem with Rememberance Sunday, or at least an obstacle for me is the ease with which commemorating soldiers can lead to glorifying war, especially in a divided society such as still exists in Northern Ireland. The events of the day can very easily be seen as highly jingoistic. and thus I was highly appreciative of the way the service was run here at Harmony Hill. The choir's anthem was a musical arrangement of the Prayer of St. Francis, and David's sermon addressed also the discomfort that I, and many others have "remembering war in case we are guilty of glorifying it, or of wrapping the gospel in one particular flag. But remembering is not glorifying, remembering is respecting."

For anyone interested, you can listen to Harmony Hill services here. The Remembrance Sunday Service under Sunday, November 8th, 2009. The choir anthem I referred to is at 740 seconds in, the sermon is 1,997 seconds in (the number shown is seconds). You can also find the service as a podcast on iTunes, in which case the choir anthem is at 12:20 and the sermon at 33:17.

Halloween

Halloween is an interesting holiday here.

There are a fair number of Christians who consider the holiday pagan and demonic, and thus want nothing to do with it. True, there are people in the U.S. who think that way as well, but there seem to be more of them here.

At the same time, however, the city of Belfast holds a pretty substantial concert/festival at the docks near city center. I didn't go because I had to work, but a few of the other YAVs went, and it was quite the show.

Trick or Treating does happen, but on a smaller scale than in the U.S., and money is a common substitute for candy. According to the experience of Amy and Madeline, the kids aren't at all hesitant to ask for cash either. We didn't get any here, but that might also be because I live in a high rise apartment block with controlled access.

The big thing that kids do here for Halloween is run around shooting off fireworks. I don't mean just little crackers, some of these are big, legit fireworks that people are setting off, and have been setting off for the past month. On Halloween night they were all around the building, some of which were quite nice to watch from the living room, but it was a bit unnerving having them surround you.

Riding my bike home from work that evening was also scary, since I could hear them all around me, and I'd heard stories of people throwing them from cars, so I felt like quite the target, but I made it home fine.

Coming out fine was actually a bit of a theme for the day. For the past several Saturdays, and finishing tomorrow, The Base has hosted a peer leadership program for some of the local youth, run by two other youth organizations which means that the youth taking it can get a certification towards their OCN (Open College Network, don't ask me to explain, I don't understand it myself, just that being certified/getting a certification is a good thing, I think). Anyway, it was, as per usual, raining that day. What was unusual was that we got what I like to call "Virginia Rain"--hard, big, fast drops coming in a downpour for a few minutes and then passing.

The problem with that is that while much rain is received here, it tends to be much more spread out. So the drainage system didn't so much work out well for us at The Base that day--the drain was clogged, and we almost flooded.

Yeah, the water is even with the weather strip there, part of the door is actually submerged. John and I had to clear some of the water with buckets before someone else could reach deep enough to find and remove the block. (Actually, eventually he had to go home to get chimney sweeping rods (which are slightly bendy) and used those to clear the drain, after which the water dropped the rest of the way, but John and I had already cleared 3 to 4 inches with the buckets.

In other recent events, we went to Planet Fun with some of the third years from The Base. Planet Fun is a travelling amusement park, with rides and games similar to what you might find at the Dogwood Festival in Charlottesville, or just about any county fair, the difference being that some of them were inside (the ever present rain).

Another odd thing is that there is a Halloween break from school here. Given, it isn't really Halloween, it's their half term break, and it just happens to generally coincide Halloween, but it has meant that I've been able to catch up on a few things in the past week, enabling me to FINALLY post another update.

There will be more coming later, mostly about the YAV retreat earlier this week, but for now I'm taking a break from writing. Oh, I've also uploaded a TON of pictures to facebook, going back into mid-September, so you can go there for a look back at what I've been doing, and even a sneak peak of what will be coming soon to here.

Chaos

I've been something of a sham about posting, I've been working on a couple posts that will come up later, including more historical background of the area, but I'm not happy with those at the moment, so they will get more work. In the meantime, a bit from me.

The question I am most often asked (possibly even the phrase I most often hear) is "How are you settling in?" It's a question frequently asked of all of us here, and seems to come both from genuine concern, and possibly from people simply not having a better way to start conversation. Normally, I give some short, pleasant, non-committal answer, assuming the question is given in the same sense as the "How're yous" two university students might exchange as they pass each other on campus. Neither really wants an extended answer, and both need to keep moving towards class anyway.

I sometimes wonder, though, if people are genuine in their interest, and actually do want more than a three word answer ("Fine, thank you"). This concern, as well as a growing awareness of the danger and seduction of three word phrases, and the realization that I haven't updated in a month leads to this post.

First, pictures--some are up on facebook, some need to be posted, and at some point I plan to post pictures here, or at least link to them, but that is a task for another time. I'm finally settling into a routine, getting familiar with the bus and rail system to the point that I sometimes (sometimes) don't even have to check the time tables.

Second, I'm finally beginning to get close to some people here and adapt to the quirks. There have been some hilarious mix ups with words here committed by some of the other yavs, but the one that gets me the most is the group prayer before we open The Base for the Friday drop in, where someone almost always prays for craic (pronounced crack). It's an Irish word, though it is used by both communities here, and roughly means "fun," though its usage is a bit more complicated than that.

My fundraising is going well, especially since I just received a substantial grant from the Presbytery of the James, which is a great relief, and hopefully they will continue their generosity in the future if I go to Seminary. I'm working on several applications, though I've become busier than I expected, especially since I've ended up spending a fair amount of time dealing with my computer, which has decided to act up a bit.

And now I've lost the inspiration that began this post, so I'm going to take a break from trying to be self reflective.

Some Background-Part Two: Irish Independence

While Pro-British media at the time portrayed the leaders of the Easter Uprising as villains, not particularly loved by the Irish, this appears to have not been the case, or at least to have not been as sweeping a statement as the British would have liked. It seems likely that the British response to the uprising was a factor in the strengthening of Sinn Fein and it's landslide victory in the 1918 Parliamentary elections, following which the Sinn Fein MPs (Members of Parliament) decided not to take their seats in the UK Parliment in Westminster, but instead gathered in Dublin and, in 1919 declared independence.

Some Background-Part One

Now that I've gotten slightly more settled in, and am beginning to adapt to my daily routine I've decided to give you a bit of background. Before I begin, I want to emphasize that this is in no way comprehensive or complete, and while I am trying to be objective, this is still based on my own subjective opinion.

First, for all the people who think this is a purely religious conflict, it isn't. Catholic and Protestant are short hand labels for two communities that differ on ethnic and political lines as well as religious ones; a more accurate set of labels would be Nationalist and Unionist; in basic terms, Catholics/Nationalists want Northern Ireland to be part of The Republic of Ireland, and not the UK. Protestants/Unionists want to remain part of the UK--this is the basic political divide.

As far as the ethnic divide, Catholic/Nationalists are native Irish, while Protestants/Unionists are mostly of English and Scottish descent, though in many cases their families have been living here for generations.

In terms of the recent violence here, it seems to go back to the early 20th century, when the concept of Irish Home Rule gained traction in the British Parliment. In response, some members of the Protestant/Unionist population took up arms AGAINST independence, forming the Ulster Volunteers. During the First World War, many members of the Ulster Volunteers joined the British military and fought on the continent.

In response to the formation of the Ulster Volunteers, Irish nationalists formed the Irish Volunteers, who, in 1916 joined with several other nationalists groups to form the Irish Republican Army and launched the Easter Uprising against the UK. This uprising was quickly put down and it's leaders executed, but it introduced (or re-introduced) violence into the political atmosphere, and (depending on who you ask), many thought the executed leaders were heroes and martyrs.

Part Two will follow with Irish Independence, and possibly the beginnings of the modern conflict.

Second Week

It's now been two full weeks since we landed in Belfast, and a lot has happened. We spent the first week together as a group with Doug, our site coordinator. Then, starting last Wednesday we started work with our sites.

For me, this meant getting picked up at 11 AM the morning of the 9th by John, the manager of The Base, and one of my bosses here and taken on a tour of Lisburn and the area. The first couple hours were pretty much spent in a get to know each other routine, including a short meeting with David, the minister of Harmony Hill. Then, at about 4 PM the fun began. Wednesday afternoons are the drop-in day for the first years, and several were already there by the time I left my meeting with David and walked downstairs to The Base. I tried to get involved somewhat, and think I did a fairly good job, but there were six of them, and I found myself vaguely intimidated by their energy and their accents. They're a great group though, and by the time the drop in was shutting down a little over an hour later they brought me in on their mischeif making, forcing me to play along (and I do mean forced, I resisted, I tried to fight for you John, I promise, but they overpowered me) as they locked John in a closet, then hid around the room before one of them let him out. It may sound a bit mean spirited, but it was quite a large space, and it was done in fun.

The next day continued my session with John, introducing me a bit more to the daily procedure of running The Base until it was time for the third years to come in for their drop-in time. Three boys showed up for this session, and we ended up playing a game of football (soccer) in the hall, the three boys against a rotating squad of three adults (we're older and slower, so we had a fourth player sitting on the sideline to sub in when needed). I won't say I performed with disinction, but at least I didn't embarass myself, despite trying to play in jeans and boots...and being from the U.S.

Friday was a bit crazy, John took me on a walk around Lambeg, showing me some of the things we'll look for and some of the areas we'll go when we do our Street Reach work, during which we walk around and visit the various youth hang-outs and hide-aways. That night at the drop-in was especially nuts, as we were expecting a quiet evening, so John had called and told some of the volunteers not to come in, but we ended up getting about a dozen come in at once and they were rowdy, a few things were broken, but nothing really major (one chair, but they're in the process of being replaced, so it could have been worse). After this, Andy and I ventured into Belfast to meet up with the rest of the group, since it was one of the girl's birthdays and everyone else had been out to dinner. We met them near the restaraunt just after they had finished, and roamed around city center for a bit, which was good fun, saw a few street musicians who were decent, and it was a pleasant enough night until I was hit in the shoulder by an egg...which thankfully didn't break, but rather ricocheted off me, hit another YAV in the stomach, and then fell and broke on the ground.

Saturday I was off, so I wandered around Lisburne a bit, the weather was very nice.

Sunday was a bit mad, with church in the morning feeding into my first session with the Sunday School class I'll be working with, followed by a training session for the Lisburn Inter-church Sunday School (the LD Sunday School some of you have heard about), followed that still by the evening service and youth fellowship that night. Sundays will frequently be 11 hour days for me, but so far the teens seem fantastic.

Monday we had a meeting to check in with Doug, then I did some shopping, bought a couple new sweaters and a shirt a Primark, a super inexpensive clothing store which has enjoyed immense popularity with several generations of YAVs for very good reason--think Target, but cheaper and working with fair-trade.

Today was quiet, a meeting with a local youth worker (works local, is from Germany) in the morning, and worked from home for the afternoon.

First Few Days

So I've been in country for a few days now, and have settled in enough that I can take some time to write a bit.

So, to start, we left Newark Airport at about 9 PM, and arrived in Belfast around 8 AM local time (3 AM EDT), which was nice, since it meant we were about an hour early. We pretty much breezed through customs, one of the agents seemed to be taking longer and we thought he was grilling people, but they said he was just being really friendly and offering advice on places to go and the like. Even better, all of our luggage made it with us so Andy's black-cloud of travel seems to have dispersed.

After that we split into two cars, well, one car and one minibus, went to our various apartments/houses to unload/rest for a few hours. Then Doug picked us back up for lunch at his house, after which we went and walked around Stormont, the North Irish Parliament Building.

Yesterday we started going around to the various sites, starting with mine, where we all met David (the minister), John, the manager of The Base is incredibly nice, and though I was warned his accent was incredibly thick, I didn't have too much trouble with it. That might, however be purely because he was trying to slow down and "speak like an American," in which case, I'm in trouble. Regardless, both of them seem fantastic, and I think I'll have a great time working there.

We then came back to Andy and my apartment for lunch, and went back out for a few more sites in the afternoon. The highlight of the day, however, was when Andy managed to blow out all the lights in our apartment by touching the shade of his overhead light. We didn't have the proper fuse to replace it, so we survived off natural light and lamps, with two carefully positioned flashlights allowing for showers this morning.

Today, we went around to a few more sites, and then we climbed up Scrabo Hill and Scrabo Tower (from which we could see Scotland!) It was quite scenic, pictures will be up on facebook soon, but I don't have the energy to deal with that tonight. Tomorrow we have a few more sites to visit, followed by dinner at Doug's. I have a schedule for the rest of our orientation time, but right now I'm just focusing on getting picked up in the morning and staying with the group. The past few days have been intense, but I think I'm beginning to settle. For instance I'm able to remember that I'll be picked up at 10:30 for church on Sunday, and Wednesday is our first day at our sites.

Arrival

We made it, we're all safe and well. I'm too tired to do anymore today, but I'll have more when I can.

Last Day of Orientation

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change

Courage to change the things I can

and wisdom to know the difference.

This week has been incredible. Everyone here is amazing. I've made some incredible friends, not all of whom I will be serving with next year, and you can check out links to some of their blogs to the right. This is the first year they have had a combined orientation for the national and international sites, so I've met people who will be serving all over the place--Hollywood, New Orleans, Memphis, Nashville, Atlanta, Miami, Cincinnati, Tucson, Alaska, Guatemala, Peru, India, Kenya, and of course, Northern Ireland.

Much of the time here has been dedicated to ways we can take care of ourselves in the dark times of the coming year, which is why I opened this post with the Serenity Prayer. I've also been thinking a lot this week about the Prayer of Saint Francis:

"Lord make me an instrument of Thy peace;

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

and where there is sadness, joy;

"Oh Divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console

to be understood as to understand

to be loved as to love

for it is in giving that we receive

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life"

On a lighter note, worship here has been incredible, and in the hope of bringing you into that, here are some videos.

From Thursday Night

The Call to Worship: "N Nung Yah Dah"

Post-Worship Jam Session

Orientation Day One

I wasn't planning on posting today, but other events have changed plans. Today has been very strange for me, obviously one of beginnings, but also one of endings. I was pulled out of one of the first meetings of today to find out that my grandfather has passed away. He'd been unwell, and it wasn't a surprise in that sense, but he'd been unwell for so long that it feels fresh in a way.

It's also difficult, being here, away from family, away from so many of my common comforts, but it is also good that I'm so busy, or at least, it's helping me right now, even if I sometimes feel awkward or guilty for laughing at a joke, but I've just been so in and out of everything today, I can't fathom what I should be doing, the excitement I feel about what we're doing here is great as a counter, but I worry that I'm not mourning properly, that I can't here. His funeral won't be until January, they are holding that off so my Mom can get back, and I might be able to come back for that.

I wish I could talk about the rest of today, what kinds of things we've done for orientation and what not, but I honestly just don't remember it, my focus has been so many other places. Bizarrely enough, the thing that keeps popping into my head is a paraphrase of an explanation Langdon Gilkey gave in testimony at the trial described in his book Creationism on Trial of the difference between science and religion using weather.

"Why are we having rain today', well, the answer is because of a cold pressure front and so forth and so on. That kind of `why' question, but the kind of `why' question that is quite different, `why did it happen to rain on my wedding', is not the kind of question the weatherman will be able to answer."

Gilkey is implying that the weatherman cannot answer that question because that is a question for God and religion, not science. It is an excellent example of how religion and science are different, and I have often used it in that context, but it is much less pleasing when the refrain I just keep thinking 'I understand why he died, he was over 90 years old, but Why, my Lord, did he have to die today?'

I do not doubt that there is purpose, and reason to this timing, and if I were to be with any group of strangers and near strangers, this is probably the best of them, but even though they are all incredibly wonderful and caring people, I just don't know how to receive their care. Perhaps that is what I'll have to learn from this, but it still really sucks.

Oh, we took a Myers-Briggs test today, I flipped from an I to an E (NFP). I've got to say, I'm kind of curious about that switch.

And now I'm late for dinner, so I'm going to go eat.

Leaving

So here I am, sitting in CHO waiting for my plane to board. I'll fly from here to Dulles, than on to La Guardia for a week of orientation in New York. I've had a great weekend, and so many thanks to those of you who showed up Saturday night, and to the people who held it down last night as well. I hope all of your years are well, and I'll remain very accessible to all of you through electronic means. It's crazy to think that I will be getting on a plane to Belfast next week. Crazy that I'm finally leaving UVa after 6 years, and Charlottesville after 24. I'll miss you all so much that it can't be put in words.

Of course, I suppose there is the chance that my trip could be abbreviated. I still don't have my visa, but hopefully something can be worked out to get it to me there. Clearly though, WorldBridge, the company that runs some of the visa process, does not want to be helpful.

"Dear Applicant,

Thank you for contacting WorldBridge Service, The UK Border Agency's Commercial Partner. We appreciate your patience regarding the response to your enquiry as WorldBridge strives to provide the most accurate responses to all enquiries. Below you will find the response to that enquiry.

You should submit a fresh entry clearance application. This means new form, new photograph, new biometrics and new fee.

Please note that you will not be able to respond to this email. If you have additional questions submit a new enquiry via email free of charge by visiting the WorldBridge website at www.worldbridgeservice.com.

When submitting a new enquiry, please reference the case number from this particular email to ensure thorough processing. Note the case number can be found in the subject line of this email, EX: Reply from WorldBridge Service for CaseNumber :00000123.

Thank you again for contacting WorldBridge.

Very sincerely yours,

WorldBridge Service

WorldBridge Service is happy to provide you with this information. Please note, however, that the decision to issue or refuse an entry clearance is made solely by Entry Clearance Officers at the British embassy. WorldBridge staff has no power or influence over the success of applications. WorldBridge staff may offer application information but may not offer immigration advice."

That is the email I received just a few minutes ago. I am feeling some slightly un-christian feelings toward them right now. Seriously, I leave in a week. It took three weeks for my first application just to get there. So now they want me to pay them ANOTHER $212? I say thee NAY Worldbridge, there has to be a better way. Like having the people renting my parents house overnight it for me if I have to, it's expensive, but it's a lot cheaper than the WorldBridge bombing bridges out from under their customers method, and doesn't involve restarting what was a multi-week process.

I'm tired, it's early, and I didn't sleep last night, so I feel like that email has gotten more attention than I meant to pay it. This was supposed to be a nice, touching goodbye post from the terminal, but they took that away from me.

VISA: I can't leave the country without it

So, problems with my visa. Apparently they have my passport, but not the rest of my application. Ok, I put them in separate packages, my fault. What really gets me is the fact that I sent both priority mail, which is supposed to be 2-3 days, but in my case took 12. This on top of all the other pre-leaving stress is not making me a happy person. A few people have tried to reassure me, rightly pointing out that God is more powerful than the British Consulate, but I'm starting to wonder if this is happening because I am not meant to go.

I know I shouldn't have so much doubt, but it seems like just as I've gotten over my fear OF going, now I get to be afraid that I'm NOT going.

In the interest of com batting my fear by facing it, here is a rundown of what the Visa application process is:

First, under new U.K. law, I have to be "sponsored" by an organization within the U.K. This was a small problem in that I am being sent and funded by PC(USA), and American organization as the name would imply. Conveniently, this was not MY problem, except that I couldn't begin applying until Doug (the site coordinator, hi Doug!) had secured this for all of us, which was something new for him since I don't think he had to do this last year.

So, sponsorship has now been arranged, so I get an email with my sponsor and sponsorship number, allowing the visa office to verify it. This means I can start the application process.

The first part of it is to fill out this online form/questionnaire that is rather thorough (my parents dates and places of birth, every trip outside of the U.S. I have taken in the last 10 years...). Once that is done I print that out, and make an appointment to go to an immigration center where they take my picture and fingerprints. The closest one to me is 3 hours away with traffic, or 3 and a half hours away without. I pick the one with traffic since it is also close to someone I wanted to see before I left, we had a lovely lunch. Or would have if I hadn't been so nervous.

So, that done, picture and fingerprints taken, plus a stamp on a form indicating that I had done that, put that form, the printed form from online, a letter indicating that pretty much that I will have enough money to house, feed and clothe myself, and various other supporting documents indicating that I am who I say I am, and, of course, my passport (oops) in the mail to California.

Most of that went smoothly, but with the slow mail delivery combined with my being an idiot and mailing things separately...

OK, well, that didn't really help, but the three people who read this will now be more educated. Or something.

OK, well, I'm going to go back to laundry, packing and cleaning.

Update 7:40 PM

I threw the pants I was wearing into the last load of laundry. I forgot to take my phone out of the pocket. I caught it before the agitator started, so hopefully it just encountered water and not soapy water, but I may not have a phone.

Presumably, the people in the visa office work normal hours...in which case they close in 20 minutes. They have my home number, but I won't be here on Monday when they reopen.

Let's hope they have my email address.

Update 8:00 PM

Just got an email, they have everything together, so that's good. Promises to make a decision within 10 business days, so let's just hope that they decide a bit quicker than that...

Update 9:00 PM

This may well be my longest post ever with all these updates, but I think I saved my phone. Vacuum cleaner/hair dryer combo for the win!

Dates

So I just received my ticket information to Belfast, completing my travel arrangements (minus my entry visa). I fly out of Charlottesville a little after 10 AM Monday, the 24th. I'll spend a week in Stony Point, New York for orientation with all the other YAVs from every site, both national and international, then, at 9:20 PM on the 31st the Belfast nine will fly out of Newark, landing in Belfast at 9 AM, so it's a 7 hour flight with a 5 hour time difference...I imagine we will all be very tired the first few days of September.

The only uncertain element left is my visa, which is applied for, so we'll see what happens with that. I am really starting to freak out though, it's only 2 weeks until I leave for orientation, and in three weeks and a day I will be in Belfast, an exciting, but scary thought for me; it's really starting to hit me how much I'll miss you all.

OK, enough musing, time to get back on the beach.

Beach

So I know it's been a while since I've posted, but there hasn't been a whole lot to report. I've applied for my Visa, and as far as I know everything is right on that front/in the mail on the way to them to be checked, a little late in the game, I know, and I'm a bit worried about that, but I couldn't send anything in until after getting my fingerprints and picture taken at an Immigration Center (oddly enough a U.S. run one), and I didn't get that appointment until the 31st of July. All in all, things are well, though I am beginning to freak out that I'll be leaving so soon...so many things I want to get done, and so little time left. Here's hoping a week at the beach with the family (and all three of my nephews, yay!). I may even post some pictures...we'll see.

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.