insidejourney

Reflection with the monks...

2009-08-11T11:40:00.005+01:00

Last week myself and our 2 interns travelled to Rostrevor for an overnight retreat with the Benedictine Monks in Holy Cross Monastery. The purpose of this retreat was us to reflect back on the year that has passed and acknowledge all that we have learnt through this experience. I had heard much about this place from friends but had never been myself and did not really know what to expect! It was a fascinating experience and very beneficial. Silence plays a major role for the Benedictines but as Brother Thierry informed us it is always for the purpose of listening to God. Silence simply for the sake of silence is not healthy.

In silence the Benedictines believe we expose ourselves to 3 truths:

The truth about who God is.
The truth about others.
The truth about ourselves.

The reason we constantly avoid silence in our daily lives and indeed often find it uncomfortable is because we fear these 3 truths in our lives.
It was 24 hours in arguably one of the most beautiful (as you can see from the pictures) and peaceful places in N. Ireland. I would highly recommend it for anyone who wants to make some space to listen to God.

Romania Part 5...

2009-07-31T09:51:00.001+01:00

Yesterday we spent the morning running a programme with the younger children in the orphanage. There were about 25 children there aged between 3 and 12. It was fantastic to see the smiles on their faces as they sang, listened to a story, made bracelets and played games. We found the children to be very affectionate- they would just throw their arms around you! I suppose this is understandable given that the staff there would never be able to give 50+ children the attention and affection they need. There were orphans there who are now young adults but still live there as they continue studying. It saddens me to think that some of the young children will probably still be living there in 15 years time. This experience was a tremendous challenge for the team as I had challenged everyone to try to enter into their suffering and imagine what it would be like to walk a mile in the shoes of an orphan in Romania. It was clear that none of us wanted to leave that place knowing the empty lives the children live. So today we are back on the bumpy road for 7 hours back to Budapest to fly back home tonight. This has been a remarkable journey shared with an incredible team of young people. This morning I have been reminded of the words of Eph 3:20 'to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.'

Romania Part 4...

2009-07-29T19:21:00.001+01:00

The last couple of days have been fantastic. The team have loved the kids club each morning and the children have had a fantastic time! This afternoon we were able to visit the orphanage again but communication problems meant that the younger children were in bed. All was not lost though as we were able to go to the river and play games with the older children. Tomorrow is our last full day and was scheduled to be a day off but the team have chosen to run a kids programme at the orphanage in the morning! This team continues to amaze me! One thing i will never forget is our evening team times and the power of people's stories of their journey with God. I am in no doubt that we have all been drawn closer to God in this place.

Romania part 3!

2009-07-27T19:45:00.001+01:00

On Saturday we were helping to paint a church centre in Jibou. The team worked very hard and made great progress. In the afternoon we visited a local orphanage. This was tough for the whole team to see children as young as 3 without a home. We were told that most of the 57 children in the orphanage have families but they either dont want them or cant afford them. We hope to go back and spend more time with the children this week but have encountered some unexpected red tape today that means we may not be able to. Please pray this will be overcome as the team really want to go back there. On Sunday we went to church for 2 hours and 15 minutes! It included 3 sermons and was an endurance test for us all i think! We sang a couple of songs and some of the team were interviewed and shared a testimony. They were great! Today we did a childrens programme in a small village which was great fun. The team loved playing with the kids who all seemed to have a great time. It was incredible to see the lads in our team playing with the children without any of the inhibitions they might have at home! We will be back there again tomorrow! Sadly this afternoon, Tyrrell tripped and broke his toe and is now in plaster cast and on crutches. This has been a devastating for us all but Tyrrell has been in high spirits since and is determined not to let it effect the team mood! Please pray for him and us all! Cant believe both interns have broken legs in the last fortnight!

Romania Part 2...

2009-07-25T22:58:00.001+01:00

Bush Camp was a great experience. The camp was located in a grass area surrounded by forest in the hills of Transylvania. It was beautiful! It was not meant to be a comfortable experience but a taste of real life for many Romanians. In 40degree heat with limited water, cooking over a fire and a pit latrine, Bush Camp definitely achieved its objective! One commodity we have definitely come to appreciate is a water. With the intense heat there is a shortage of water in rural areas as we have experienced in both Szelag Seg and Bush Camp.

Romania update 1...

2009-07-24T17:22:00.001+01:00

This building is set to be a retreat centre for recovering alcoholics when finished. At home it would be built in less than 1 yeah and yet it was started 11 years ago. The sad thing is that i can see virtually no progress since last year. The building work is funded entirely by donations which are few and far between. This must be so frustrating and yet God has reminded me as he did last year of the importance of patience, perseverance and faithfulness. I have also been reminded that slow is not necessarily bad as it has meant that hundreds more people have been a part of this project and their lives impacted as a result! This team have blown me away by how hard they have worked and embraced every challenge that has come their way!

Off to Romania!

2009-07-20T11:46:00.001+01:00

So Im off to Romania this morning with this wonderful group of young people! During our time away we will be involved in children's work and practical work. We will also engage in a 2 day bush camp experience! Please pray that this experience will be life changing for us all! I'll try to update this blog whilst away!

Time for retreat...

2009-04-27T19:02:00.001+01:00

Im on PCI youth workers retreat for a few days at the beautiful location of white park bay. Could there be a more beautiful place to go to reflect and re-charge with the one who created it? Mark Yaconnelli is facilitating the retreat which is very exciting!

Take back the city...

2009-03-19T21:53:00.001Z

Im at the Snow patrol gig as we speak! Its amazing!

Roll on Cham '10!

2009-03-09T11:07:00.004Z

Chamonix '09 finished well! The snowfall started on Wednesday evening and didn't stop until Friday! Fresh powder for 2 days and although visibility was poor at times we still had an amazing time in superb off piste conditions!

One of the absolute highlights of this trip has to be new friendships! No one on the trip knew everyone! Out of the 10 people on the Cham '09 adventure there were 6 i did not know! The great thing was that everyone got on well and had such a laugh together! So much so that i think everyone has secured their place for Cham '10 - bring it on!

Lookin for some powder...

2009-03-04T14:45:00.001Z

Chamonix '09 has been a great week so far! The snow boarding has been amazing! It really is one of my favourite things to do which makes it sad that it has to be concentrated into 6 consecutive days a year! Sadly, despite the prevalence of cloud there has been no fresh snow this week and Im really hoping for some to make the last 2days an off piste paradise! Ah well, i really shouldn't complain- i am on my holidays after all!

Day 1 on the piste...

2009-03-01T17:48:00.002Z

So we arrived safely yesterday with our boards which was a bonus! First day on the slopes was fantastic! Snow is good and there are more than enough runs 2keep us busy! No sun 2day but hopefully that will come 2mor! Muscles are sore but feeling contented!

Chamonix '09 begins...

2009-02-28T10:18:00.002Z

Im off to Chamonix today for a week of fun in the snow! I was there in 2006 and so i know the resort is amazing! I've never been anywhere else that has had so many pistes to keep you entertained! The sno conditions all across Europe this year are fantastic which makes me very excited!

We only booked this trip last week as we wanted to get a good price. The trade off has been that we are unsure if there will be room for our snowboards on the plane! Sadly they didn't tell us this when we booked which has made this week a littel more stressful but thankfully we have managed to negotiate a plan B should the boards not make it to France!

So really i can't complain, life is good and i have a week ahead of me where all i have to worry about is getting from the top to the bottom of the mountain without breaking anything!

I'll try to post some pics during the week!

Lent, take-aways & the Wing...

2009-02-25T23:18:00.003Z

So after a day of pancakes yesterday, Lent begins today! That period of 40 days leading up to Easter Sunday where we remember the time that Jesus fasted in the desert for 40 days and 40 nights and was tempted by the Devil. We often choose to deny ourselves something during Lent as a way to realise our own weaknesses and grasp the intense significance of the crucifixion. It also gives us a deep and powerful longing for the resurrection and a joy on Easter Sunday.

Easter can often sneak up on us but by observing Lent we take a chance to remember the dark before the dawn, the sin that sent Jesus to the cross. Lent helps us experience our part in the Passion (or suffering) of Jesus. We face our humanity during Lent: we learn that sin still dwells in us, that we still carry darkness. We learn that we, like his disciples, would likely have fallen asleep as Jesus prayed for deliverance in the garden, and, also, that we would likely have denied knowing him as he silently accepted his death sentence.
This Lent I have been challenged (and so have challenged teh young people under my care) to consider denying myself some pleasure as a means to remind me of Christ’s sacrifice and prepare for the celebration of that at Easter. However, as well as NOT doing something, I also feel motivated by the challenge of Christ to DO something or GO someplace this Lent and stretch myself in my SERVICE to Him.

So for Lent i have chosen to give up 2 things i love very much - take-aways & the West Wing! The former will be a challenge to my weekly lazy eating habits and the latter will be incredibly difficult as i have just acquired the entire DVD collection and am currently in the midst of season 2! It was never meant to be easy! I'm just wondering has anyone else out there given up anything for Lent this year?

I got soul but im not a soldier...

2009-02-23T16:20:00.003Z

What a great weekend! It was the 1st birthday of my niece and nephew, James & Anna and so we marked the occasion with a party in Malahide. Hope you enjoy the couple of photos here!

Then, lo and behold i got offered a last minute ticket to see The Killers at the Odyssey. Being a big fan of the band i couldn't say no and so made haste up the road from Dublin to Belfast! I think i missed the first 25mins of the gig but it was still AMAZING! 'All these things that I've done' was definitely a highlight as was 'Human' and 'Mr Brightside'!

So the gauntlet was thrown down...

2009-02-13T00:21:00.002Z

Given that we had begun a theme of music videos for the weekend we decided to challenge the young people in their teams to make their own on the weekend. So they were each given a popular song and about 45minutes to film! Some of the leaders and young people then edited the videos for the next day! Three of the videos are shown below. Can i just state that my team won with an excellent rendition of 'Spice up your life' by the Spice Girls! Enjoy!

Winter Retreat 2009...

2009-02-10T20:30:00.002Z

I've just recovered from our annual Winter Retreat at the weekend - spent the whole of yesterday in bed with a thumping headache - could this be a symptom that i can no longer stick the pace of staying up to 4am (a rhetorical question so please don't feel the need to answer it below!)?!?! We had a fantastic weekend at Castlewellan Castle. My hope for the weekend was that everyone would leave with the knowledge that God had spoken to them personally. As such, 2 of the 3 sessions were centred on reflection & experiential learning to allow the young people space to listen to God. This seemed to be received very well by the them and the addition of small groups allowed the young people to discuss their experiences of what God was saying to them.

On top of all that we had the best banter ever with music videos forming the theme for the year. The leaders produced 3 music videos in advance of the weekend which you can enjoy below!

Exploring the Jewish World...

2009-02-01T10:18:00.004Z

Been quiet on here for the last couple of weeks because I've been studying! I decided after Christmas to sign up for a short course being run at Belfast Bible College by Desi Maxwell (Xplorations) titled 'Exploring the Jewish World'. The 2 week course of mornings finished on Friday by which stage i was mentally exhausted! I haven't really engaged in any third level study since i finished my MA in 2004 so my brain was feeling the pain of exercise. The course, was fascinating and yet very hard to put into a succinct blog what i learnt! Much of the content was looking at the bigger picture of the Hebraic way of thinking, contrasted with the Greek mindset that our Western society is completely influenced by. When you come to look at the Scriptures, both Old and New Testament it is enriching and truthful to be able to apply a Hebraic lens and in some way enter the mindset of the writer and the narrative.

I would certainly recommend this course to anyone and Desi Maxwell is a fantastic teacher with an energy and enthusiasm for Hebraic thought that is infectious. Have a look at his Xplorations website to discover other upcoming study opportunities!

37inches of TV...

2009-01-17T00:17:00.003Z

I had been looking to buy a new TV since Christmas and had been looking around at lots of good deals out there but could never really pluck up the courage to just go and buy one! I had spotted one at a good price in a local electrical retailer and had been in to look at it on 3 separate occasions this week! They only had one left, so this morning i just decided to put it off no longer and if it was still in the shop i would buy it - it was and i did! Im delighted with the results and reckon it will definitely help with New Year's Resolution number 12 although probably not with number 14!

Apathetic new year...

2009-01-06T07:55:00.007Z

I hardly slept a wink last night as i start back to work today after the Christmas break. It's a nervousness that always comes over me before resuming work after a significant break. Ive done a fairly good job of not thinking about work at all for the last 2 weeks and now i have to re-engage into work mode and panic sets in as i think of the many things that need to get done!

I hadn't set any New Year's Resolutions as i was somewhat apathetic about the whole thing but as i lay awake last night i resolved to do a variety of things in 2009. Here goes:

I want to know Jesus better, to love him more and to be changed as a result this year.
I want to read the Bible more and establish a more regular discipline. As such, i was recommended a new book to aid me on this journey called 'Search the Scriptures'.
I want to re-develop my regular discipline of prayer and reflection on a Wednesday morning. This had lapsed over the last term and i missed it.
I want to feel fitter and stronger and so will continue to go to the gym and spinning.
I want to read more and will aim for 15 books this year.
I want to say 'yes' more often. Inspired by Danny Wallace and Jim Carey!
I want to be able to pass myself at golf! I got a set of clubs and a lesson for Christmas so would like to improve so i don't embarrass myself!
I would like to have a girlfriend next Christmas & New Year!
I would like to blog more (as i have been apathetic about this too) and will aim for 50 blogs this year!
I would like to carve up some powder in the French Alps with my snowboard.
I want to get out walking more in The Mournes.
I want to start watching the West Wing as i think i will like it.
I want to go at least 3 music gigs this year!
I would like to not waste as much time doing stupid things like watching TV and invest time in these resolutions instead!
I would like to establish a pattern of getting up earlier and going to bed earlier so that i don't feel tired as much!
I want to develop a small peer group around me that meet on a regular basis for intentional encouragement, prayer and accountability.
To re-establish a pattern of journaling in my spiritual life.

So there you have it! Plenty for me to work on in 2009! Have a great day!

A new found hero...

2008-11-23T23:16:00.003Z

We all have our heroes in life - people who inspire us by the things they do or say. Let me introduce you to one of my new found heroes. I have never met this guy before but I heard a lot about him recently so I thought I would have to go and read his book and watch him on the TV to find out a bit more.

Edward Michael "Bear" Grylls (born 7 June 1974) is a British adventurer and writer currently best known for his popular television series Born Survivor (Man vs. Wild in the US). He was christened Eddie, that became Teddy, and that became Bear! In 1998, Grylls achieved a Guinness World Record as the youngest Briton, at 23, to summit Mount Everest. In 2000, Grylls was among the first team to circumnavigate the UK on a jet ski, to raise money for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). Three years later, he led a team of five British men on the first unassisted crossing of the north Atlantic Arctic Ocean, in an open rigid inflatable boat. The team battled giant waves, icebergs and storms. Indeed he has went on to break several other world records including the record for the highest ever open-air dinner party at 25,000 ft in a hot air balloon in full formal clothing!

For those of you who haven’t seen the Born Survivor or Man vs Wild show it documents survival techniques in some of the harshest conditions of the world from the Arctic to the jungle to the swamplands. Bear will show how to keep warm, how to make a shelter and how to eat pretty much anything at anytime. If you haven’t seen it then here is a short clip that documents some of his meals. If you are squeamish then don't bother!

It really is a fantastic show (Sunday's 5.45pm CH4) that has become the number one cable show in America. If you still don't think this guy is amazing then let me share with you some more of his story. After leaving school, Grylls joined the British Army's Special Forces reserve, serving for three years as a Specialist Combat Survival Instructor and Patrol Medic with the 21 SAS regiment. His service ended following a parachuting accident in 1996 during a training exercise in Kenya. His canopy ripped at 16,000 feet (4500 m), partially opening, causing him to fall and land on his parachute pack on his back, which broke three vertebrae, and left him struggling to feel his legs and unsure if he would ever walk again. Grylls spent the next 18 months in rehabilitation and with his military service over, directed his efforts into trying to get well enough to fulfill his childhood dream of climbing Mount Everest.

This journey from the hospital bed to the top of the world is documented in his book ‘Facing Up’ which went into the UK top 10 best-seller list. The book details the climb, from his first reconnaissance climb on which he fell in a crevasse and was knocked unconscious, regaining consciousness to find himself swinging on the end of a rope, to the gruelling ascent that took him over ninety days of extreme weather, sleep deprivation and almost running out of oxygen inside the death zone. If you have ever thought of climbing Everest then the book is a sure fire way of putting you off! What an amazing guy to be one of only 2300 people ever to have climbed the tallest mountain in the world!

However, what sold it for me and put Bear Grylls into the rank of a hero of mine is his honesty that he does not do these things alone. This is a quote from his book about climbing Everest:

'But I knew that I had to stretch myself further, and reach beyond my grasp. I felt this burning urge to go higher and I longed to witness the summit. The beauty of the places on the way was unquestioned – what I had seen so far had stunned me in its sheer scale and beauty, but I felt there was more. My eyes and heart were for the summit, and my dream was to reach it with the Person who had created it. I wanted this to be my journey.’

Can you see in these words that Bear understands there is a God who has created the mountains and even at the top of the highest mountain of the world he knows that God is there with him. This reminds me of the words of Psalm 139:

7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, [a] you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

Throughout the book Bear talks very openly about his faith:

‘The more time I stay here the more I believe the only way to survive is to stay close to Jesus.’
He carries a shell with him all the way to the summit and back with words of his favourite quote inscribed on the inside from Matthew 28:20 ‘Be sure of this, that I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ Words of great comfort whenever he felt very much at the end of the world.
At another time when he fell sick and it looked like he wasn’t going to be able to complete the climb he was at his lowest and turned his anger toward God. It was then he remembered the dying words of his great uncle ‘Remember this if you remember nothing else. When God goes, everything goes. Never let your faith leave you. Promise me.’ He didn’t lose faith on that mountain and of course he did go on to reach the summit.

Bear Grylls did not find God on the mountain. None of us have to climb a mountain to find God. Bear became a Christian when he was a sixteen year old lad struggling with normal stuff. God became his friend and they have been friends ever since! Bear Grylls when asked the question ‘How is your Christian faith important to you?’ answered as follows:

'Faith gives me a strong backbone and when we find that within ourselves we can then live more exciting, effective, kind, passionate and giving lives. Life has a meaning again. It doesn’t though make life easier in any way, and I still battle with my fair share of struggles and doubt and often great self-doubt, but that is just the product of trying to stretch beyond the norm and to live life fully.'

So why is Bear Grylls a hero of mine? Because he is adventurous, he climbs mountains and he can survive in the jungle and kill and eat an alligator AND he is a Christian and acknowledges that he does it all with the help of God. Often, being a Christian for young people can be incredibly difficult because it is often seen as not cool, boring and a bit sissy! That idea is blown out of the water by Bear Grylls who is so cool that any young man would aspire to be like him – and he’s a Christian! So if you are a Christian then I hope you are encouraged that a life with Jesus is incredibly exciting and fulfilling in every way when you take time to develop a friendship with the God who will never leave you as we are told in Psalm 139.

Maybe you don’t know who your creator is? The one who in the words of Psalm 139 says ‘you created my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother's womb.’ Maybe you have never known the peace and promise of God in Matthew 28 when he says ‘Be sure of this, that I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ Bear Grylls along with model Kim Johnson and footballer Linvoy Primus produced a promotional video for the popular Christian Alpha course 3 years ago. Check it out below.

Is there more to life than this? Bear Grylls said ‘when I was a kid I never looked before I leaped. Now I know better, but I still leap!’ Maybe you are someone who has thought about God for a long time but has never taken that leap of faith. Is there more to life than this? It is my hope and prayer that you will search for the answer to that question and that you also will find out as Bear Grylls found and many others including myself have found, that life in all its fullness is only found in a leap of faith with Jesus.

P.S. I prepared this for a BB Enrollment service recently so thought I would share.

I can go to London baby...

2008-11-09T22:21:00.004Z

So I was in London on Wednesday for a wee day trip. We arrived about 9.30am in Liverpool St Station and purchased a day pass on the for the tube. As we waited on the Underground platform for our first tube of the day thoughts cannot fail to enter your mind of the London Bombings in July 2005. With this slightly unnerving thought fresh in our heads we heard our train approaching in the distance and began to shuffle towards the platform edge surrounded by scores of other commuters. It was at this point i noticed an official London Underground staff member running towards the platform which i thought was a little strange but i definitely wasn't prepared for what happened next! With panic and urgency in his voice he yelled 'CAN ALL PASSENGERS LEAVE THE PLATFORM NOW!' Panic immediately entered everyone and we ran to the nearest escalator with thoughts of an imminent terrorist attack. No longer were people leisurely allowing the machine to defy gravity and carry them upwards, on the contrary people were bounding 2 steps at a time as quickly as they could and overtaking anyone who wasn't quite as agile! After quickly ascending 2 levels we slowed down as the panic around us had subsided. This was slightly comforting as it became obvious that staff were not asking travellers to exit all lines. It was a few minutes later that we discovered the reason for the swift evacuation was due to a passenger falling/jumping in front of a train further up the line. It seems the staff had reason to believe that the passenger may be trapped under the train that was approaching the platform we were on and hence the need to clear the public quickly. It took a good half hour for my nerves to settle again and to feel relaxed with underground travel given that my life had just flashed before my eyes! A dramatic reminder though that we really don't ever know what lies around the next corner. Every day is a gift from God.

Kenya Info Evening...so how did it go...

2008-11-02T23:08:00.002Z

So last Thursday night we had our long-awaited Kenya Info Evening. The prep for this was hard work as i wasn't sure how much the guys were going to do live on the night and we weren't certain if people would actually turn up! Both fears were unqualified as 4 of the guys agreed to be interviewed live on the night and we had an overwhelming attendance of almost 150 people! My hope for the evening was that people would get a flavour of what the experience involved through hearing stories told by the team. We worked hard to make the evening as relaxed as possible by creating a chat show type feel with interviews taking place on the couch and video footage interwoven throughout. The informality of the evening was topped off with a supper of 'pizza & puddings' which seemed to be well received. All in all, feedback from the night has been very positive so it looks like all the hard work paid off!

I found it quite an emotional evening at times as happy memories were recalled and the thought of this being the final chapter of the Kenya Team experience. I take comfort in the knowledge that the shared experience of the trip can never be taken away from any of us and will continue to form part of our regular conversations with each other. And of course there will be many reunions!

If you couldn't make it along on the night then here are the videos to give you a flavour of the experience!

First Impressions of Kenya...

The Building Project...

The Highlights...

Harvest Thanksgiving...a challenge for all.

2008-10-19T23:29:00.003+01:00

It was our Harvest Services today in Waringstown Presbyterian which is always one of my favourite services in the year as we are reminded of God's goodness to us. The sermon this morning was given by a South African minister who is currently ministering in a church in Belfast. He set out to challenge us in the reality that whilst we are very blessed, others in the world are not. I have heard many sermons from people who are very passionate about poverty and injustice in the world but i have never been so challenged as i was this morning.

He shared first hand experience of living in a country were he was privileged to be 'white' whilst his 'black' neighbours lived in poverty. He shared a story of the stark contrast between two sons born around the same time. One was his own son and the other was the child of the gardener he employed. M&S clothing vs 'hand-me-downs', disposable nappies vs linen nappies, private health care vs NO health care, healthy vs HIV, life vs death. All because of the colour of skin. He explained that African funerals are massive occassions for the whole community. At the funeral, everyone attending will say something. They will start with the youngest and finish with the oldest and therefore wisest person there who will be no older than 40. However the funerals of babies and children are much simpler. At the funeral of the gardener's son there were only a few people present and the occassion was much less tragic. Why is this? Simply because there is a much greater expectation that children will die beacuse it happens so regularly. We live in a society were it is a tragedy when a child dies because we believe it is our right to a long and full life. The poor people of South Africa, and many other countries of the world, have never been conscious of this 'right' and so their reality is very different.

With anger in his voice he reminded me that only a few years ago the goverments of the Western world were informed that it would take $300 billion to wipe out world poverty and they concluded that they could not find that amount of money - yet recently, when financial crisis hits the world, the US government seems to have found $700 billion without much difficulty.

He concluded with the following powerful video from The Miniature Earth Project. You may have seen it before but if you haven't, you need to watch it as it cleverly breaks the injustice of the world into figures that are easier to get you head around.

Kenya Info Evening...

2008-10-01T21:58:00.003+01:00

Here is a wee video i made with a few highlights of the Kenya Team in July. I am using it as an opportunity to promote an evening where people can come and hear more stories and experiences on Thursday 23rd October @ 8pm in Waringstown Presbyterian Craig Hall.

gLo Waringstown...

2008-08-31T15:22:00.002+01:00

gLo Waringstown happened last week with great success. It is hard to explain how fantastic the week was in words on a blog and so i hope the attached video gives you a taste of the highlights. Some of the figures might help you to understand the scale of the programme that could not have went unnoticed in our small village:

45 gLo'ers involved in the programme;
20 'mini' gLo'ers helped during the week;
30 young people involved in the Football tournament;
30 girls involved in dance workshops;
30+ children came to 'play time' in Murraywood;
30+ children came to 'play time' in Churchill Place;
32 individuals had odd jobs completed at their homes, and;
200+ people attended our Family Fun Night at the church!

Many prayers were answered during the week and we have many things to be thankful for:

Dry weather!
People were helped and they greatly appreciated it;
People with no church background have benefited;
The profile of the local churches has been raised positively;
The local churches have been brouht together at youth level' and;
The young people involved have been challenged about mission in their own community.

Without a doubt we have birthed a movement in Waringstown that cannot be expressed in 5 days each summer. The challenge for us as leaders is what is the next step for this group of young people who have caught something about what it means to serve people in their own community.

So i have survived to the end of probably the busiest summer of my life! At times i really wasn't sure if i was going to make it or not! Summer Madness, Kenya, Romania and now gLo have all been amazing experiences where i have seen God work in my life and the lives of others in an amazing way! It makes me happy to say that i am taking the next week off work to rest, although at this moment in time, a week really doesn't seem long enough to re-charge the batteries!

Romania...

2008-08-10T15:53:00.003+01:00

I got back from Romania on Friday night. No access to the internet for the fortnight so unfortunately i couldn't blog but let me fill you in on the highlights! During the first week we were working with a rural church in a small village called Selag Seg. We were being hosted by the Pastor of the church (Andras) and his wife Ella. Our team of 19 people was split into two groups and one group ran and kids club for Hungarian children in the morning and the other group did the same for Romanian children in the afternoon. We had approximately 50 children across the 2 groups and they had a fantastic time each day. The programme included an illustrated Bible story, games, singing and craft and the children loved it all. When we weren't involved in the children's work we were helping practically at a alcohol rehabilitation centre they were building. This involved painting or cement carrying. Alcoholism is a huge problem in Romania and has destroyed many families. Andras and Ella have a dream that this centre will offer hope to those seeking to beat their addiction. Sadly the government will provide no support for the centre and so they build when they receive donations which explains why the building has been under construction for 10 years now. God has shown me something about patience, perseverance and faith through this encounter. He has reminded me that He works on an entirely different time scale than I do and that slow isn't always a bad thing because it allows more people to come on board and be a part of a project and catch the vision.

We were completely blessed in Selag Seg with the hospitality of Andras & Ella who embraced us as family as we invaded their home for a week. The area was very rural and at times it felt like we had stepped back in time by 50 years as all the agricultural work in the fields was done by hand with horses and carts being common place.

For the second week we moved to a youth camp near to the Ukraine border. The camp was set in a beautiful location in forested hills and was hosting 250 young Christians aged 12-18 for a week of spiritual growth. Our role within the camp was to help washing dishes after mealtimes and to input into their evening church programme with singing and testimonies. During the week half of our team was also involved in running a kids programme in a small village in the morning and a gypsy community in the afternoon. This week started with difficulties as there were miscommunications around our role in the camp which left us feeling under utilised at times. Thankfully the situation improved and our time there finished very positively with our team making many new friends amongst the campers! It was an amazing privilege to listen to the young Christians of Romania worship Jesus with such passion and volume from the depths of their hearts. It truely was another 'thin place' where the gap between heaven and earth seemed very small.

Probably the biggest highlight of this experience was the impact it had on us as a team. When you share life with another 18 people for 2 weeks you undoubtedly get to know each other better - more than you ever could in a whole year of normal ministry. I have no doubts that each team member, including myself, has been changed through this experience for the better. We have grown in our faith as our view of God has been expanded and people's confidence has grown through leading devotions and children's work. People have also realised that they have an important story of their own to tell of God's grace and redemptive power in their lives. Thanks for all of your prayers and support for this team!

Post Tuum blues...pre Romania excitement!

2008-07-24T23:12:00.005+01:00

This week has been hard because i have felt pretty tired. I usually wake up feeling ok but by lunchtime I'm wrecked again! To make matters worse i had booked my minibus driving test for yesterday! I spent the whole morning from 8am having lessons with an instructor (which were vital!) and then completed the test at 12.30pm. I passed which was a huge relief but felt totally drained afterwards! Today is the first day that i have felt energetic all day! Just as well as i am off to Romania for in the morning on a team of 19 young people from the church. We will be away for 2 weeks doing a mixture of children's and youth camps and some practical work. Please pray for us all and especially Richard & Kate as they lead the team. They have done an excellent job in leading and organising things so far so pray that they will have wisdom to make the right decisions whilst away and strength to keep going when they are feeling weary. The team is made up of a fantastic group of young people who have a range of unique gifts and abilities. They are a group who would not all naturally gel with each other and yet it has been great to see new friendships develop as the group has spent time together. I'm excited to see how they all get on in Romania!

My heart still yearns for Tuum. Each morning when i wake there is a part of me that wishes i was there! Don't get me wrong, i love home and don't think i would want to live anywhere else right now but i could easily have spent some more time in Tuum. I like that i didn't need to wear a watch there. I like that the people there were so accepting and welcoming and they smile a lot more than people in N.Ireland! I miss spending time with Stephen and Angelina and hearing their wealth of stories and wisdom gleaned from 20+ years of serving God in Tuum. I missed church 'Tuum-style' on Sunday as the worshipers there sang like they really knew Jesus. I miss being there and seeing our team of young guys start to come alive as they joined in Kingdom building work.

Stephen has a fantastic strap-line he used several times to describe the ministry in Tuum:

'less church, more Jesus.'

I saw reality of that in practice in Tuum. It was messy at times but it was working and it was beautiful.

I will try to update this whilst in Romania. Thanks for your prayers.

Some photos...

2008-07-21T16:52:00.004+01:00

More photos can be viewed at the following link:
Tuum Builders 2008 photos

Tuum Builders Part 5...the finale!

2008-07-19T17:43:00.003+01:00

Just arrived home, a day later than planned - it's a long story but if you read on you will find out! Let me pick up where i left off. Day 12 started a little later than expected due to essential maintenance required on one of the Land Rovers which did not arrive back until midnight the previous evening. As such, Stephen was up from 4.30am working on it and his team of garage workers all weighed in at 6am to get it ready for our departure. When we finally left at 9.15am, many of our new friends from the town had come to bid us farewell which was very nice for us all. The planned 10 hour journey started well and we made very good time until the universal joint broke in one of the vehicles. By the grace of God we had a spare and so started the 2 hour process of fixing the vehicle at the side of the road under torchlight. Nothing ever seems to phase Stephen - he just gets on with it! We got on the road again and when we were only a few miles away from the safari lodge the clutch of the same vehicle gave up after giving trouble all day. We ended up having to tow it to the lodge and arrived at 12.30am - 15 hours of travelling! The staff were expecting our late arrival and couldn't have been more helpful with our bags. We didn't expect a meal at that time but they had woken up the chef to prepare a meal for us that was gratefully received. The rooms were fantastic and i don't think it took anyone too long to fall asleep with exhaustion.

Our morning safari on day 13 was postponed as we needed to get the vehicle fixed first. Stephen, Mundia (the other driver), Colin and Watsy set about stripping the clutch and gearbox down to its component parts in the car park of the lodge! The problem amounted to a broken washer and Mundia was sent off to source a replacement from a nearby town. Let's not forget this is Africa and so it was a 2 hour drive each way! In the meantime the rest of us chilled out around the swimming pool enjoying some well earned rest. The spare part did not arrive until 6pm which meant we did not get any safari on day 13. The plan was to get the vehicle fixed that evening and go on an early morning safari drive before departing for Nairobi. Stephen, Mundia and Colin worked tirelessly putting the gearbox back together and did not finish until 1am!

On day 14 everyone was up for safari at 6am! The early morning cool of the day is the best time to see animals and we were not disappointed! We seen many giraffes and elephants and at one point a lion walked directly towards us on the road. We were on the roof of the vehicle at the time and it was only about 40 feet away so we had a great (if a little unsafe) view! Another highlight was seeing five cheetahs walk right past our vehicle. They were only 15-20ft away and were amazing! We also saw 2 gazelles locking antlers and having a bit of a battle at the side of the road! Seeing animals in their natural habitat, roaming wild, is an experience that i will never forget. I think it was definitely a highlight for everyone! Following breakfast at the lodge, we hit the road for our final 8 hour journey to Nairobi. Both jeeps suffered no further problems and we made good time. We made a short stop at the equator for lunch and got the opportunity to pick up a few souvenirs and gifts for friends and families - the bartering was good craic! We arrived in Nairobi and had a quick change before heading to the Carnivore restaurant for our final meal together. This place is a major tourist attraction in the city as you get to sample all sorts of exotic meats cooked on a spit! You pay a set price and the waiters will keep bringing all types of meat to your table until you give up eating! As well as chicken, beef pork and lamb we sampled ostrich meatballs and crocodile! A funny highlight was when we set Colin up by informing one of the waiters it was his birthday (which it wasn't). About 8 of the staff appeared with a cake decorated with a sparkler and sang and danced around the table - it was hilarious!

Day 15 was an early start as the bus departed for the airport at 5.30am with everyone looking forward to getting home to see family and friends. A delay in our flight by 90mins meant that we would probably miss our connection in Amsterdam and so we were unsure what would be the outcome. 30mins before touchdown in Amsterdam we were informed that passengers with an onward connection to Dublin should make their way as quickly as possible to gate E2 where their flight would be waiting. This was great news for us all and we ran through the airport as quickly as we could. When we arrived at the gate, the plane was still there but the gate had closed and we were informed that we were too late to get onboard. Devastated and exhausted we made our way to the desk to find that the best we could be offered was a flight the following lunchtime. So, at the expense of the airline we faced the reality of a night in a hotel in Amsterdam with 7 teenage lads! I'm sure you can imagine the obvious concerns and stresses we were feeling at this prospect but the good news was that the hotel was not in the city centre but close to the airport. The reality was that there was very little dissapointment in the group when we informed them we wouldn't be leaving the hotel! Tiredness played a major factor and everyone was tucked up in their rooms by 10.30pm!

Today started slowly with a later breakfast than we have been used to. We made our way back to the airport around 11am and the flight home to Dublin was only delayed a little. With spirits high as we arrived in familiar territory we once again faced the reality of lost luggage - not one of our bags appeared! They never made it onto the flight in Amsterdam and so we can only assume they are still there somewhere! Hopefully they will turn up in Dublin tomorrow and get delivered. It isn't as big a concern as it was on the outward journey but many of us have gifts in our bags that we wouldn't want to lose so please pray for their safe return.

So there you have it. The Kenya team that has monopolised my working life now for the past 6 months is over. I'm sitting in the comfort of my own home as i write this and i know that in the days and weeks ahead i have much to reflect upon and ponder of this life changing experience. It has been amazing for every single person on the team as well as relationships within the team - socially, physically, emotionally and spiritually. It has been the biggest leadership challenge of my life with highs and lows, celebrations and mistakes. Would i do it again? Absolutely!

Tuum Builders part 4...

2008-07-14T17:18:00.001+01:00

Day 10 got off to a leisurely start with a late breakfast at 9am. It is difficult to sleep in here though because the roosters start cock-a-doodle-dooing from 6am. This chorus is added to by the local dogs and donkeys to diffuse the need for any alarm clock! The far guesthouse awoke to a crisis with the whole kitchen flooded as they had left their water tap to their tank turned on the previous evening when there had been no water. Sometime in the early morning the water began to flow again and when it filled the tank it started to fill the kitchen floor! Ah well, at least it got them out of their beds in good time for church! We made it to the church around 10.20am. There were already over 100 people there as the singers were practicing songs. I could sense the Spirit of God in the room as people sang words of praise to Jesus - i knew we were in for a treat! The service began at 10.30 with a time of worship and then we were formally welcomed to the service. I had to get up and introduce the team and took the opportunity to say a few words of thanks to the community for making us feel so welcome. More worship followed and then Stephen preached from Psalm 91 about the safety of God in the shadow of his wings - very relevant for a community feeling much insecurity in recent times. Yet more singing and dancing followed, some of which was led by the choir of the local girls secondary school where we had been building. The only instrument present was a drum and voices and yet the volume was amazing! The songs were very simple and repetitive songs that were sung by even the youngest worshippers there. I didn't understand one word of the songs and yet i came away 2 1/2 hours later, sure that i had worshipped the King of Kings. What a privilege it was to be there.

In the afternoon we had been challenged to a football match by the local team! We had 7 willing players that was made up to 11 by 4 locals. We made our way down to the local stadium (!) that was nothing more than a clearing of dirt with football posts at either end. It was far from level with pot holes and bumps abounding! Thankfully the sun was not shining and with a 60 minute match ahead we did not have a great deal of confidence! We got off to a great start with Stoddart making a break and scoring the first goal for the Tuum Builders after 3 minutes! There must have been at least a couple of hundred locals from the village down to watch the Big Match Live which i think gave us the motivation to go on and win 2-1! We were all in need of a lung transplant by the end of the game but delighted none the less! We had lined up a traditional Kenyan 'goat roast' for the evening which meant that 3 goats were on borrowed time. Some of our team were very keen to be involved in the killing process - needless to say i was not up for it! Indeed i wasn't too sure if, when it came to the crunch, any of the boys could go through with it - but i was wrong! Watsy, Gareth and Jamie did not chicken out on what was a very nauseous act to witness. It made me very grateful for Tescos just around the corner at home! The fire for the roast was started in the traditional way with too sticks and before long the meat was cooking on a metal grill placed over an open fire. My conclusion on roast goat is that it is very tasty when cooked well. The first taste i had was a little on the rare side for me! A fantastic experience for everyone though and a community occasion that was attended by over one hundred of the locals!

Some great conversations with the guys have developed following the evening spent hearing the stories of Stephen and Angelina. The guys have been challenged about eternity and faith but seem to struggle with accepting that God's grace is sufficient to cover all the mistakes we make - past, present and future. Please keep on praying.

Today was day 11 and Stephen and Angelina had arranged a guide to take us up the nearby Mt Nero. Tuum lies 4500ft above sea level and the summit of Nero is 9000ft. Not all of the team felt able for the challenge but there were 6 of us who made it to the top! It was a bleary eyed 7am start in the cool of the day on a climb that we were told would take us 2 hours to the top! 4 hours later (!) we finally reached the top on what was the most challenging climb of any of our lives! We were all exhausted but the views over the valley were spectacular! We eat a pack lunch and then took a walk along the ridge of the mountain for another hour before starting the hairy descent via another path. This was extremely steep with loose footing and so it took us another 3 hours to reach Tuum again - an 8 hour expedition in all. Surely that must be at least a Silver Duke of Edinburgh! I am currently in a lot of pain but it was definitely worth it and despite much moaning along the way i believe the guys all felt they had achieved something today!

Tonight is our last night in Tuum. We will depart at 5am to make an 10 hour journey to a National Park where we will take a safari trip on Wednesday. My hope is that i will see elephants and lions - that would make me happy! Pray for us as we travel as the roads can be treacherous!

By the way, i am posting by e-mail at present and so will be unable to publish any comments until i get home on Friday evening!

Tuum Builders part 3...

2008-07-12T19:37:00.000+01:00

Day 8 started with a team meeting to try to resolve yesterdays crisis for good. I wanted the guys to know that our forgiveness was not dependent on someone owning up and taking responsibility. I shared the parable of the unmerciful servant from Matthew 18 and made the point that because i have been forgiven much by God i will forgive others. Conflict, whilst never pleasant at the time, is always a great learning experience and was inevitable at some stage on this trip. Through several discussions to resolve this one issue we have had the opportunity to talk about team-work, loving each other, the value of honesty and trust in relationships and the consequences of actions. It is unlikely now that anyone will come forward and own up for damaging the chair and so we have fined everyone 500 Kenyan Shillings (£4). As leaders, we have agreed to also pay the fine to reinforce the value of 'team' - if one hurts then we all hurt. This penalty has been accepted by everyone and the money will go directly to Stephen and Angelina as a gift! We have told all the guys that we want that to be the end of the issue and we do not want this to fester and effect the unity of the team. The rest of the day was spent working hard down at the school. The building work is progressing very well and we are on schedule to complete our target by tomorrow. I got to spend most of the afternoon building a gable wall by myself which was very rewarding. I think because manual work is so different from my norm i am enjoying it all the more! The temperature has been very warm the last couple of days, at one stage reaching 35oC. There is a Kenyan builder called Zach who overheard Mapper singing 'I wanna dance with somebody' by Whitney Houston the other day and has now been singing that song regularly ever since! After dinner we invited Stephen and Angelina to share their story with us of how they have ended up in Tuum and managed to live here now for 23 years. This was a fascinating time together with many of the guys interested in asking questions and probing them further. The conversation explored issues of God's will, love, grace, forgiveness, acceptance, death, heaven, spiritual warfare and church. I have had much time to sit and talk and listen to Stephen and Angelina and have found them to be among the most godly, wise and humble people i have ever met. I have been abundantly blessed in my own faith through these conversations.

Day 9 got off to a slow start as we arose to heavy rainfall - first time it has rained here in over 3 months! Within an hour it had eased off and so we headed down to the building site to finish off the work. I finished my wall with the help of some other team members and within 2 hours we had completed our goal of ring-beam level. This was a great encouragement for all the team and morale was very high! The local builders were delighted with the rapid progress we made with the brickwork only taking 4 days! I can't wait to get a few pictures stuck up here when i get home. Not one of us left the site with our t-shirts as we gave them away to our new friends! In the afternoon we got to have a short camel ride! This was hilarious but very uncomfortable! Evenings are great here as we sit around outside and drink Milo (hot chocolate) and chat - no Coach or Banville or TV or music and the boys are all happy! I'm looking forward to church Kenyan style tomorrow! I'm not sure if the boys really know what they are in for but they are intrigued enough to want to be there for at least an hour - sometime it can last up to 3 hours! Please keep up with the prayers!

Kenya part 2...

2008-07-10T20:53:00.000+01:00

Day 5 began with our first trip down to the girls secondary school that we will be building at. We are working on the building of a new dormitory for students. Our task whilst here will be to try and get the building up to ring beam level - that means little or nothing to my non-manual labour CV but I'm sure some of you more educated folk with rougher hands will know what i mean! I'm learning fast though from many of the other guys in the team who work in construction trades. The brick we are using are produced in a machine so that they inter-lock which removes the need for cement. This means that even guys like me can build a wall - its just like giant lego! We are working alongside a team of apprximately 15 Kenyan labourers and 2 Kenyan builders. Our work rate would appear to be a lot higher than the Kenyan and at times it was frustrating as everything was happening at a very slow pace but as the day progressed things improved. Again the evening was spent chatting and playing this game called Mafia that has become an instant hit! Team morale has been great!

Day 6 involved more building at the school - a hard days work but excellent progress made. The team all worked very hard and the Kenyan builders have been very impressed with our work. More excellent meals courtesy of Angelina who is starting to wonder if she can ever produce too much food for 10 hungry men! After work, Nathan and i headed up the street to get a Coke from the local shop which was closed. The owners live just behind the shop and it turned out to be one of the guys on Stephen's leadership team called Maldia. He invited us into his small plot of land that housed 10 people. We shared a Coke and were introduced to his 4 children who sang 'Mr Noah built an arc' for us! Nothing can quite replace the experience of being invited into someones home and saring food or drink with their family. A cultural experience that you just can't buy in a travel agents! They welcomed us so warmly and answered many of my questions about their lives here in Tuum. Yet more Mafia in the evening.

Day 7 started with crisis! The guys had stayed up after we had went to bed. No major disruptions took place but a seat did get damaged in the process. Not a major crisis i guess but the fact that no-one would own up and take responsibility for it was incredibly dissapointing and frustrating for us as leaders. We tried several tactics and created te opportunity for the person to confess confidentially - but this proved fruitless. This has caused a tension in the team and frustrations have bubbled to the surface all day long, We are reluctant to just let it slide as we see great opportunity for learning to take place and yet we don't want to sacrifice team realtions either. Please pray for wisdom for us as leaders and pray for each of the guys - that they will understand why we are taking action. This has been a difficult day for us all - thank-you for your prayers.

More updates will follow again soon...

This is Africa...

2008-07-08T12:33:00.000+01:00

This is my frst oportunty to write a blog update since we departed from Waringstown on Friday morning. We arrived at Aldergrove in good time and got checked in. A combination of breakfast, smoke breaks, shopping, and baggage control delays meant that we ended up running to the gate with the words 'could passengers, watson, harrison, simmons and thompson please make their way to gate 27 - this is your final call'! By the time i got on the plane i think i was about ready for a smoke myself! The rest of the flights all went very smoothly and we touched down in Nairobi about 7.30pm local time (+2 GMT). When i say everything went smoothly for us - our bags did not make it through the short transfer in Amsterdam and we had no guarantees of getting them before we were due to depart for Tuum! This was a bit of a shock for all of us and probably not the best introduuction to Africa but we tried to keep the spirits up of the younger lads and prayed much! People would keep telling us 'This is Africa'! We met Stephen Cowan, our host at the airport and he transported us to our guesthouse for the night. There we arrived to a nice meal and comfortable rooms. End of Day 1!

The next morning i had to make my way back to the airport at 6.30am to see if our bags had arrived on the next flight. Hopes were raised as i hunted through a pile of bags just sitting in the middle of the arrivals terminal (this is Africa after all!) - i found one, then two and so on until all 1 bags were located - praise God! The team were delighted and after a bit of lunch and some shopping in Nairobi we departed on our first leg of the journey to Tuum which was due to take 4-5 hours. Due to wet weather and difficult roads it ended up taking 6 hours. We arrived at approx 8pm at another guesthouse for the evening. End of Day 2.

Day 3 started early at 5am to complete the last 14 hours of driving to Tuum in 2 Landrovers. It had been many miles since we last enjoyed the grace of tar-mac and had learned to cope with the dirt-track 'main' roads that head north from Nairobi. Unfortunately this connection will not allow me to post any pictures so you will have to wait until i get home for those! For this day of travelling we were accompanied by another 10 young African leadership students from Stephen's team. Indeed for the final 8 hours of the journey we had 14 people in one Landrover and 11 in the other. Both were loaded inside and on the roof with luggage and supplies and both were towing trailers filled with diesel and a water tank. These are items that are unavailable in Tuum or more economically purchased in Nairobi. It was a very tight squeeze and incredibly uncomfortable at times - a huge challenge for our team as you can imagine. There were moments were tensions were high and tempers frayed but as they say 'this is Africa!' On the journey we made a couple of stops to help other vehicles that were stuck in the muddy roads. At other times we all had to get out and push our own vehicles over slippy terrain - these were all challenges that helped us all to realise just how different this country is. The views at times were spectacular of valleys and plains and mountains that stretched for as far as you could see. We seen Zebra, Girraffe, Babboons, a hyena, gazelles and many others at the side of the road - every hill or corner presented another WOW factor of God's creative glory. All of the team were incredibly stretched and yet blown away on the journey. It was 11pm and 4 punctures later that we finally drew into Tuum under the greatest display of stars any of us has ever seen! We were greated incredibly warmly by Angelina who at the mention of food being ready, was instantly loved by us all! If any of the team had any worries regarding catering on the trip they were quickly put to bed with a beautiful home made curry - and plenty of it! We were shown to our rooms which were also more than adequate and could be likened to small thatched cottages. Everyone was exhausted with the days travel and relieved to find rest in a comfortable bed. It wasn't long before anyone dropped off to sleep to the noise of dogs howling in the distance. Day 3 completed.

Day 4 had a lazy start with everyone sleeping in to around 9am and a leisurely breakfast that was more than adequate - yet more points for Angelina. It was at this point that we finally got to meet Carragh (aged 10), Jason (8) and Annissa (4) - Stephen and Angelina's children who were delighted to have a few new people to meet and play with. They took us on a tour of the village accompanied by a local African called Joseph. We quickly were brought to a small nursery school with about 40 little black faces laughing and waving at us. They came out and played with us for a little while and were very excited and playful - just hanging off our arms and shoulders and constantly smiling! The village has a few little shops that are basically tin huts no bigger than 100sq ft. The people were very warm and welcoming and all shook our hands and greeted us. The village backdropped by a large mountain which dramatises the already beautiful scenery all around us. The temerature in the middle of the day would be around 25oC - pleasant enough to get a bit of a sun tan! We got to work in the afternoon with the task of raising the height of a water tower. The local African workers were amazed at the speed and efficiency with which we were able to move and throw bricks around. We were told later that what we completed in 30 minutes would have taken them a week! It was great for all the team to get stuck in and feel like they were doing something - working together is great for team-work. After another beautiful meal in the evening we spent some time on the veranda playing a few games of Mafia which was new to most of the guys but they loved it!

A large part of our hopes for this experience is the impact this could have on the 7 young men who are part of the team. Already i have seen a great openess in conversation with them and we have had some great discussions about God and faith. On the first night in Tuum one of the young guys asked me to pray for those in our room before we went to sleep - this was very encouraging for us and has now become a night-time tradition! Please keep praying for us all! I will try to update the blog again in a few days time - don't forget - 'this is Africa'!

Let the adventure begin...

2008-07-02T17:05:00.001+01:00

On Friday morning at 4.15am i will be embarking on a journey unlike anything i have ever experienced before. I will be involved (along with 2 other leaders) in leading a team of 7 young men aged 17-19 to Tuum in Kenya. We will fly to Nairobi (via Amsterdam) arriving at 7pm Friday evening. We will spend the following morning in Nairobi before departing for Tuum in 2 Landrovers. Tuum is 1000km north of Nairobi. The roads are very poor and so it will be an 18 hour drive. We will stop over at a guesthouse during this and arrive in Tuum on Sunday morning. Whilst there we will be involved in building the walls of a staff house at a local secondary school.

Please pray for us on this trip:

Traveling safety both there and back.
Leaders - wisdom for decision making, patience with the lads & strength when others feeling discouraged.
Lads - that they would make the most of the trip and learn more about themselves and others through it.
That everyone on the team would see God differently as we learn to rely on Him more than ever.

I will try to keep updating the blog during the trip but communications are not as reliable in Tuum so i will not know until i get there!

Below is a photo of the team:

Back row from left: Adam, Mark, Gareth, Kyle, Reuben

Front row from left: Jamie, Neil, Colin, Nathan, Matthew

A relaxing break...maybe...

2008-06-06T20:03:00.002+01:00

Updated Post.

I’m on my holidays this week. I decided it would be good for me to get a week away from work before the busy summer ahead. It has been a hectic term of work since Christmas and I feel pretty tired so this is my week to re-charge! I left on Tuesday afternoon and flew to Glasgow to stay with my sister and her husband Richard for a few days. It’s been good fun to hang out with my nephew Daniel (left). We went out on the bikes on Wednesday and to the play rooms on Thursday. Today the four of us went to the Aquarium at Loch Lomond and seen the sharks which was very exciting! I’m currently in the airport about to fly to Birmingham to go and stay with Stefan, Melody & Caden until Monday which should be good fun! I’ve realised that toddlers are hard work though and I am beginning to wonder if I really thought this through when I was thinking of a relaxing week away! Children get up very early in the morning!

Update...
...I've had a great couple of days with Stefan down in Bicester, near Oxford. It's a beautiful part of the UK and the weather has been sunny! It has also been fantastic to get some quality time getting to know Melody and Caden. He is another incredibly cute toddler and so i just had to put up a picture to prove it! I think he has bonded with his 'uncle' Neil over the last couple days as we have sung inumerable verses of 'Baa, Baa Black Sheep' and 'Round and round the garden'!

I travel back home tomorrow and so it's back to work on Tuesday! Time flies when you are on your hols!

Champions...

2008-05-25T23:43:00.001+01:00

Just thought i would put this little video together as a memento of the great achievement of last Wednesday night!

Charity Dinner & Auction...

2008-05-11T07:23:00.004+01:00

It's the morning after the auction and despite being exhausted i'm wide awake at 7am! Last night we had our charity dinner and auction for the team of young men from the community heading to Tuum in Kenya this summer. It was a fantastic evening at Edenmore Golf and Country Club attended by 140 people many of whom were family and friends of the team members. During the evening we introduced the team using the video shown below and outlined something of the work we will be doing whilst in Tuum. Following this we had our main auction for which we had many fantastic gifts donated including paintings, designer sunglasses, designer clothing, holiday homes for a short break, Ulster & Ireland Rugby gear, car valet and David Humphreys rugby boots. People were incredibly generous and by the end of the evening we managed to raise almost £6000! I must express a HUGE thank-you to all who contributed to the evening including our auctioneer, those who donated the auction items, and those who decorated the room etc.

We have now reached and exceeded our fundraising target for this team which initially had seemed insurmountable! All of the surplus will go directly to the work of Stephen & Angelina Cowan in Tuum. Thank-you for all of your support! Please keep praying for this team as we prepare for what will be a unique and life-changing experience for all of us!

Updates...

2008-04-28T18:38:00.005+01:00

I was away with our Kenya Team for an overnight stay in Portballintrae on Saturday. The purpose was really team bonding and we had such a laugh, helped along by fantastic weather! On Saturday we had a BBQ and then headed to Barry's in Portrush. I went on the ride by the door called 'The Experience' and it reminded me why i don't like rides like that!

We spent the rest of the evening on Whiterocks beach and saw the most beautiful sunset and sat around and chatted. Sunday was a beautiful day and we went back to the beach to find it busy with surfers! A few ice-creams later and we headed home! The guys were very well behaved and we all got along fantastically. I came home even more excited that in 10 weeks time we will all be in Kenya together. I have every confidence now that each member of the team is completely committed to going and will have an amazing experience that will impact their lives forever!

We have our Charity Dinner and Auction approaching in 2 weeks time. Lots to do in a short space of time but it promises to be a fantastic night. We still have to raise in the region of £3,000 so please pray that this evening will go a long way to do that!

Our Exodus Romania team were bag-packing in Tesco in Portadown on Saturday and managed to raise an amazing £817! All of that will go directly to the projects in Romania we will visit in July. It was hard work for the team but very encouraging that people were so kind and generous!

The sense of a goose...

2008-04-09T18:36:00.003+01:00

I spoke at our family service on Sunday and shared the following lessons from geese! It was something i stumbled across in my reading but the more i explored geese further the more fascinating it got! Thought i would share it here and widen the blessing!

Lessons From Geese
FACT 1: Do you know why geese fly in a "V" formation? Because the aerodynamics of the "V" formation enable the geese to fly over 70% further than if they fly alone. As each bird flaps its wings, it creates an updraft for the bird behind it.
LESSON 1: Do you see the analogy here? They can go a lot further if they work together and help each other out. What a beautiful picture of the synergy of God’s creation – the sum of the whole being much greater than the sum of the individual parts. Christians who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier because they are travelling on the thrust and uplift of one another. God made us not for independence but for interdependence. That is the means by which his church, the bride will be most effective in the building of His kingdom.

Romans 12:4-6 (Message) In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we're talking about is Christ's body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn't amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ's body, let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't.

FACT 2: When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of flying alone. It quickly moves back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front of it.
LESSON 2: If we have as much sense as a goose we stay in formation with those headed where we want to go. We are willing to accept their help and give our help to others. ‘as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn't amount to much, would we?’

FACT 3: When the lead goose tires (he's working the hardest), it rotates back into formation and another goose flies to the lead position.
LESSON 3: It pays to take turns doing the hard tasks and sharing leadership. As with geese, people are interdependent on each other's skills, capabilities and unique arrangements of gifts, talents or resources. This reminds me of that OT story of Moses.

Exodus 17:8-13 (New International Version) The Amalekites Defeated 8 The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. 9 Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands." 10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.

Team work is required in the work of God’s Kingdom.

FACT 4: The geese flying in formation honk to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.
LESSON 4: We need to make sure our honking is encouraging. In groups where there is encouragement, the production is much greater. The power of encouragement (to stand by one's heart or core values and encourage the heart and core of others) is the quality of honking we seek. What do you ‘honk’ from behind?

1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 (The Message) 9-11God didn't set us up for an angry rejection but for salvation by our Master, Jesus Christ. He died for us, a death that triggered life. Whether we're awake with the living or asleep with the dead, we're alive with him! So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you'll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you're already doing this; just keep on doing it.

Sadly we live in a culture that thrives on ‘put downs’. I see this a lot when working with groups of young people where the words used are always negative and nick-names are often hurtful. In such an environment it is unheard off to hear a young person praising another, congratulating them or saying ‘you are really good at that.’ What do your words do? Do they build others up? Or do they destroy and cause division?

FACT 5: When a goose gets sick, wounded or shot down, two geese drop out of formation and follow it to help and protect it. They stay with it until it dies or is able to fly again. Then, they launch out with another formation or catch up with the flock.
LESSON 5: If we have as much sense as geese, we will stand by each other in difficult times as well as when we are strong. If people knew we would stand by them like that in the church, they would push down the walls to get in.

Romans 12:9-13 (The Message) 9-10Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle. 11-13Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.

Are you someone who is willing to come alongside others in their time of difficulty? Are you someone who is honest enough to share your struggles and allow others to carry you for a while through the troubles of life? That is a picture of community within the Kingdom of God that we are all a vital part of.

You see God himself is community, Father, Son and Holy Spirit and so he created us to live in community. That is why God said it wasn’t good for man to be alone, and created Eve. Philip Yancey provides a useful illustration of this. How do I know when I place my hand on a hob it is hot? God created us with built in safety mechanisms to protect us from harm. Yancey then turns to think about loneliness and describes it as God’s indicator to drive us toward relationships.

Jesus was not a lone ranger in his time on earth. He had the disciples around him, crowds followed him, people who ministered to his needs. He also drew aside to take time with His Father. Jesus thought community was important. Jesus died for community when he died for the world. Indeed what we experience now in this community is only a foretaste and shadow of what God is doing in the world. It all began with God in perfect community with man and will finish one day in heaven in perfect communion with God if you have given your life to Christ.

So don’t search for community in the mason’s or the golf club. Come to the one who is community and created that desire within each of us. Come to Christ and join in the Kingdom work he is doing right here in the community of the local church.

Snowboarding in Italy...

2008-04-03T17:17:00.008+01:00

Just got back early on Monday morning from a weeks snowboarding in Andalo in Italy with church. About 140 of us descended upon this small resort in N. Italy for a week of fun in the snow. The conditions where fantastic with good snow and sunny weather as you can see from the pics. The first picture shows Lake Garda in the distance.

I managed to come home relatively unscathed apart from a few bruises and a sore thumb that i thought i had broken on day one after i was assaulted by a tree root!

I also managed to turn 28 whilst away, although i didn't come through that quite so unscathed! Thanks to some of my lovely 'friends' there were a series of embarrassing childhood pictures on display over breakfast. The funniest thing about this was that one family assumed the pictures where Italy's version of 'Sponsor a Child'! Things got worse in the evening with an extremely embarrassing video of 'This is Your Life' featuring interviews with some of my friends, neighbours and work colleagues. I doubt if my face has ever been so red!!!

Winter Retreat 2008...

2008-02-27T17:12:00.003Z

Edited post: Link to all the weekends videos has been added to the end of this post!

I slept until 11.55am on Monday morning - 13.5 hours in total which can only mean one thing - I'm just back from our 20:20 Winter Retreat. I generally find there is a correlation between tiredness and how good the weekend was so my big sleep is an indication of a fantastic weekend!

We had 50 people attending this year's retreat at Castlewellan Castle aged from 15-21 and a few leaders in the 25-30+ bracket! I remember writing a blog last year about the winter retreat and calling it the best ever so the standards where definitely high approaching this year! However, i can easily say that the retreat this year was of an equally high standard - if not even better!

The theme for the sessions this year (voted by the young people) was 'God's Will - Hear the Call'. Session 1 explored 'How does God Speak?' and for this we engaged the young people in a couple of experiential spiritual exercises that they loved. I'm pretty sure that some young people understood how God can speak for the first time. Session 2 looked at 'What are my gifts?'. In advance of this the young people had completed a heart's desire survey and gifts survey from the Prepared to Serve Course. You may be familiar with similar courses such as Network or SHAPE. This session was very practical and discussion based for the young people and very enjoyable. In Session 3 i attempted to tie the 2 together by encouraging young people to consider where they thought they could best use their gifts to serve God. I also reminded them that gifts used without love are useless (1 Cor 13).

The worship throughout the weekend was fantastically led by the young people themselves and really helped everyone to focus and reflect on who God is, what He was saying, and what response He was calling for.

The entire weekend was made so much more enjoyable by the fantastic range of games and activities organised by the rest of the leaders. We had 'The Price is Right' on Friday night, 'The Crystal Maze' on Saturday afternoon and 'Play Your Card's Right' on Saturday night! I had no organisation responsibilities for any of this which was a great help for me. On top of that the video production and drama team put together some of the finest quality amateur videos i have ever seen - hilariously funny! I will put a link up to the videos once they get put online! The video below is just some footage of the Crystal Maze activities that was quickly put together! So that's it over for another year as they say! I just hope that this time next year i can testify to another weekend of God's rich blessing!

Click here to link to all the videos of the weekend!

Car wash & Coffee morning!

2008-02-26T16:05:00.003Z

As you are already aware, we are taking a team of 10 to Kenya this summer to build a school in the rural village of Tuum. As a team we must raise £7,000 to finance the trip.

One of our fundraisers is happening this Saturday 1st March - a car wash and coffee morning at Waringstown Presbyterian Church.

Myself and the rest of the team would appreciate your support so i hope you can make it along!

New arrivals...

2008-02-21T18:14:00.004Z

Updated Post with pictures! First is James and Anna in the pink!

So my family has grown again! Yesterday my sister Claire gave birth to her first children - twins! Baby James Thomas Grogan (4lb 6) and baby Anna Claire Grogan (3lb 5) were born yesterday about midday in Dublin! They were a few weeks early which we had expected but all are happy and healthy, including mum! No pictures yet but i'll stick one up as soon as i get to see them which will probably not be until they move out of the ICU.

I know many of you have been praying for the safe arrival of James & Anna so thank-you for that - God is good. My role as an uncle is steadily growing!

ATL Rock School...

2008-02-16T09:23:00.006Z

It's a bit short notice for this but ATL Rock School final is being televised tonight at 8pm on BBC2. Three of the young people from our youth fellowship have made it in to the final as a band called 'Wednesday Adams'. Tom McConnell, Rhea Lyttle and Kris Platt formed the band a year ago and have been writing music together and playing gigs ever since. Watch the link above to see a short video of the band and listen to a studio recording!

The programme was recorded in November but i am not going to tell you who the winner is - watch and see! Also look out for an interview with me in Cafe Rigmarole Waringstown about the band's history!!!

5-a day, Padraic & Jake...

2008-02-06T09:17:00.000Z

This post is a bit of a double story - 2 completely unrelated musings.

Lent starts today, Ash Wednesday, the period of 40 days (not inc Sundays), that leads to resurrection Sunday. Christians are meant to use Lent as time of reflection and preparation for Easter. As Jesus fasted in the desert for 40 days, often Christians will give something up for Lent that they will struggle without. Equally some may challenge themselves to do something each day that will be a struggle. I've been trying to achieve 5-a-day (portions of fruit or veg) for about the last 3 weeks and so i plan to sustain this throughout Lent. I know its supposed to be healthy but i have to say it has been playing havoc with my stomach! On top of that i've decided to be coffee free for lent. The greatest difficulty with this one will not be the loss of cafeine but the social aspect - i meet a lot of people for coffee and so it will be odd to drink water or tea! So what are you giving up for Lent if anything???

So I'm doing this training course called PYP (Preparing Youth to be Peacemakers) with PCI. I'm training so that i can facilitate the course with young people in Waringstown. The course explores conflict, specifically within the Northern Ireland context, how this effects us today looking wider than Prod-Catholic, and how we are called to be peacemakers from the life and teachings of Jesus and Scripture.

Yesterday, as part of the course, we got a 2 hour tour up the Falls Road by an Republican ex-prisoner called Padraic, then we met Jake, a loyalist ex-prisoner, who took us on a 90 minute tour of the Shankill Road. What an interesting afternoon! The tour was organised by an organisation called Coiste.

We met Padraic at the Divis flats. Padraic was imprisoned for 15 years in the Maze on 4 separate occasions. The first 3 occasions he informed us that he was accused of murder/attempted murder but there was insufficient evidence for a conviction! He was finally imprisoned and sentenced to 22 years for possession of weapons which came to a head in a shoot out with the RUC in his own home. So having never met a Republican ex-prisoner before i felt a strange tension of discomfort and yet a sense that as we walked up the Falls we were in safe hands! Padraic gave us an unashamedly Republican perspective on Irish history. This was incredibly detailed by someone who obviously had a great passion for the history of our land. He informed me that his interest in history really started in prison as the importance of education was strongly promoted amongst the Republican prisoners. I found the murals interesting along Divis Street very interesting as they highlighted worldwide political issues and oppression such as the Iraq war and the oppression of Palestine.

We met up with Jake at one of the peace barriers that lead onto the Shankill (still closed every evening). This was a friendly handover as the two guides were obviously used to working together. Jake also spent 15 years in prison for attempted murder of 4 Republicans. He said he is thankful now that none of them died but he was caught up in a lot of emotion and hatred at the time. Unfortunately our Loyalist guide came across as much less articulate and educated on the issues at hand and historical facts. Using words like 'them-uns' didn't really help! However, it was evident we were being guided by a typical working-class bloke born and reared in the area through the height of the Troubles. His opening story was his first experience of the conflict and his decision to do his bit as a young boy aged 10, so he went round the area gathering up glass bottles in a pram to aid the petrol bomb industry!

Interestingly, at one point he said that he was happy with the democratic place the country is now in and that he and many of his colleagues would support democratic and fair decisions that come from Stormont. He stated that he and many others in the area are committed to the process and would not lift arms again should a democracy vote for a united Ireland. He acknowledged that he felt this would need to be a slow process of small steps.

All in all it was a really interesting experience to hear two sides of the same story told by men who lived through the conflict and yet view it through very different lenses.

Big 3 for '08...

2008-01-13T13:41:00.000Z

I know it's been ages since my last post but i make no apologies for that as i had an incredibly busy run up to Christmas and then an extremely relaxing 2 weeks off! Just back to work last week and as i think about the year ahead there are 3 big things that are going to be a major focus in the upcoming months.

Firstly, i will be leading a team of 10 to Kenya in July for 2 weeks. The team is made up of 7 young men aged 17-19 from the local community who are regular attenders of the Basement of Cafe Rigmarole. Myself and 2 other leaders make up an all male team! We will be traveling to help the work of Stephen and Angelina Cowan and their family in Tuum, N. Kenya. We will be involved in building work at the local secondary school as well as getting plenty of time to engage with the local people there and learn from their culture. I am extremely excited about this opportunity which will be my first experience of Africa and i know that the lives of everyone on the team will be changed as a result.

Obviously with the recent unrest in Kenya we have some concerns about the team's future but it is too early to make that decision yet. Please pray for Kenya and it's people at that this time. Pray that the value of human life will become real in people's hearts and that a peaceful resolution will be found.

I am also extremely excited that we will be running an Exodus discipleship programme with some of our young Christians from 20:20. This will include a 16 week discipleship programme that will finish with a 2 week long overseas mission trip to Romania in late July. This team will be led by 2 very capable leaders from 20:20 and i will be taking a supervisory role. We had a leaders training day yesterday and i was so impressed by the organisation and quality of resources provided by Exodus. A fantastic help for leaders.

The team members for this team are currently making applications but we would expect the team size to be around 16. They will range in age from 16-21 and for many of them this will be their first overseas mission opportunity. I am excited because i believe that the course beforehand and challenges and responsibilities they will face in Romania will grow them in their faith! This i believe will have a massive ripple effects in 20:20, our church and into their schools and universities!

The third Big Thing for this year will be the acquisition of the Village Inn pub in Waringstown as a youth and community facility. I am led to believe that we should acquire the premises very soon which is incredibly exciting! This will require the mobilisation of a small army of people to get the place ready for ministry within the local community. Maybe you are someone who could join that army? Have you practical skills to offer or time on your hands? If so get in touch with me and i'll keep you informed.

So as you can see, the run up to the summer and the summer itself are already looking busier than ever but incredibly exciting because it is Kingdom building work that God promises will reap eternal rewards!

10th Birthday...

2007-12-06T20:42:00.000Z

It was 10 years ago on Saturday 6th December 1997 that i gave my life to God. I remember it very well, and some of you probably remember it too! It happened at Mannafest at the Ulster Hall. Sadly, my memory isn't good enough to remember the name of the guy who was speaking that night but i remember he was particularly talking to people who believed in God but had not received him into their life. That was exactly what i needed to hear as God had been messing with my head for about 2 months. Prior to that i didn't even believe in God!

From that moment on everything changed for me. It's hard to imagine what my life would have been like if i had never become a Christian. I reckon i would probably have pursued a career in Accounting or Finance because that's what i thought i wanted to do at that stage.

My faith gave me an understanding of what life was really all about - a new perspective and purpose that gradually changed my goals, dreams and desires. It has been an amazing journey over the last decade with lots of highs and lows but never once have i ever had any serious doubts or regrets about living for God. I have gotten to know God better in this time and yet i still know i have only scratched the surface of who He is. Here are just a few truths that i have collected and stored along the journey:

I am not always faithful but God is always faithful.
There are times when i feel incredibly far away from God and yet those are the experiences that have lifted my faith to an entirely new level.
Without strong Christian friends i would have given up on faith long ago. Thank-you.
God is incredibly patient with me and constantly reminds me that He is not finished with me yet.
Sadly there are lots of Christians who give God a bad name.
God is interested in making disciples not just saving people.
I am convinced that nothing else can provide the peace and fulfillment that God brings in a life.

As for the next decade? Who knows? I'm really happy with life at the moment. I love my job at WPC and can certainly see me sticking around for a few years yet. God is stirring many dreams within me for the local area that i long to see becoming reality. Family and friends are both very important to me in providing constant support and encouragement. What more could a young, single but eligible bloke want! ;-)

Have a little patience...

2007-12-01T10:26:00.000Z

This term in 20:20 we have been looking at the Fruit of the Spirit. Last week was 'Patience' and our in-house drama team decided to put together this little sketch representing one common situation they get really annoyed with - parents! It's really funny so i hope you enjoy it. I think they are amazing and i believe the next episode has already been filmed and is being edited as we speak. I am led to believe that it is even funnier so watch this space!

Maybe you find yourself being impatient? What are some of the things you get impatient about? Here are my top 8, in no particular order:

People who want to try and talk to me when I am watching a movie or TV show like 24/prison break.
Strangers who stand too close to me in queues.
Bank queues that move really slow.
Messiness.
Really slow drivers.
When my PC breaks down.
Family – much less patience for family than non-family.
Technical Helplines where they don’t understand me and I don’t understand them.

Here are just a couple of thoughts and quotes on patience i shared last week.

Our prayer is not ‘Lord, take away all the things that drive me crazy’. No, God wants us to grow in patience through our troubles. Thomas a Kempis wrote:

‘Patience is necessary in this life because so much of life is fraught with adversity. No matter how hard we try, our lives will never be without strife and grief. Thus, we should not strive for peace that is without temptation, or for a life that never feels adversity. Peace is not found by escaping temptations, but by being tried by them. We will have discovered peace when we have been tried and come through the trial of temptation.’

Finally, another fantastic quote about patience i found in Wikipedia:

"Patience with others is Love, Patience with self is Hope, Patience with God is Faith." Adel Bestavros

We'll support you evermore...

2007-11-22T21:44:00.000Z

Got back from Gran Canaria at about 7.30pm tonight! Just 12 hours traveling to get home, compared to 18 hours on the way there - nightmare! It was a really fun trip even though we didn't qualify. As always, the Norn Iron fans just sang all the way there and back. Below is a couple of videos i took to prove it! The first is on a public bus on the way to the match - it was hilarious! The second is after the match finished and the team gathered to applaud the fans.

It was 29 degrees in Las Palmas and i think i am struggling to re-acclimatise to the harsh N. Ireland temperatures!

We're all off to sunny Spain...

2007-11-19T16:55:00.000Z

...Viva Espana. So i was there on Saturday night to witness an awesome victory over the Danes. Nearly wet my pants when Healy scored the winner - what a goal! If you didn't see it then you can watch it in the clip below. It's actually a really funny clip to watch as you hear the co-commentator on BBCni laughing the whole way through!

It's great news for N. Ireland fans as it leaves us with a ray of hope that we can still qualify for the European Championships next year. So myself and a few mates are jumping on a plane (actually, make that several planes) bound for Las Palmas, Gran Canaria for the big showdown on Wednesday night with Spain. Direct flights to Las Palmas where ridiculously over-priced because of the match so we are taking the scenic route of Dublin-London-Madrid-Las Palmas! Sure it's only taking us about 12 hours to get there (and the same home!)! It'll be my first away game for N. Ireland and what a showcase to go to!!!

Anyways, i'm leaving at 5.45am so i'd better sign off, do some packing, and get to my bed!

MAD 9...

2007-10-29T16:25:00.000Z

Just Back from MAD 9! For those of you out of the PCI loop (like me until i started this job!), the MAD weekend is a youth weekend for 11-17's run by the PCI Youth and Children's Dept and this was the 9th year of it. The weekend is held at University of Ulster, Coleraine and the 800 young people that go each year sleep in local church halls. This was my first MAD experience and we decided to take our Fusion age (11-14) to it. 19 of us went including leaders and it was an excellent weekend all round - the young people had a ball! It was great fun for them and on top of that i believe they all experienced God and got to know Him a bit better.

I was so encouraged over the weekend to see our young people really engage with the God stuff. Andy Flannagan was leading the worship and did a fantastic job in getting the young people excited about worshiping God. It was loud and high energy and our guys loved it! Mark Oestricher from Youth Specialties was the speaker and he was excellent. With our guys being very young i wasn't expecting them to enjoy the talks too much but they loved Marko because he was dynamic, funny, had good stories, had a simple message and he never spoke for longer than 20 mins. The theme for the weekend was 'One Life' and all of our young people were challenged in some way about their relationship with God and making the most of their lives.

Our young people really amazed me over the weekend! I think because i had no interest in God until i was 17, i have little expectations of their interest in God or faith until they get a little older. God really challenged me about this over MAD 9 and not just because the young people loved the worship and teaching. On the Friday night as i was getting ready for bed (at 2.30am might i add!), one of our youngest guys was using his mobile phone as a torch to read his Bible! Speaking to him the next day i found out he tries to do this most days, usually in the mornings! Also, at the very end myself and the other male leaders got all our boys together to have a time of prayer. Again, i wouldn't have been surprised if none of them had prayed but every single one of them prayed, and they prayed really personal prayers to their personal God - it was awesome!

One of my favourite verses is 1 Tim 4:12 as it informs us to 'set an example in speech, life, love, faith and purity'. I've been reminded this weekend by my own young people that there is a first half to this verse too:

12 Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.

Exciting news for the future...

2007-10-06T14:22:00.000+01:00

Haven't blogged in a wee while, no real excuse for that except busyness! Got some exciting news to share though, although many of you will have already heard! I work with young people in the community who have no interest in church. This started about 18 months ago with detached youth work and then we progressed into the Basement of Cafe Rigmarole in December 2006. Since then we have been open 3 afternoons and 2 evenings per week. We have contact with 40 young people and have approximately 270 users each month, facilitated by a team of 6 volunteers and myself. However, the Basement is tiny which really restricts the amount of young people we can engage with and what we can offer them in terms of facilities.

So what do we do with them? The work is primarily relational - hanging out with the young people and getting to know them and what is going on in their lives. We also have engaged in group work and ran a Youth Alpha course which was a great success.

Has there been progress? Yes i believe there has been! There seems to be less evidence of anti-social behaviour in the village as supported by the Neighbourhood Watch and the PSNI. As leaders, we have seen HUGE changes in the young people over recent months. At times relationships have been very frustrating with young people showing little or no respect or appreciation towards leaders or the facility. However, recently that has certainly not been the case and we have seen a much more settled atmosphere in the Basement with significant progress in relationships. Through this ministry i have had the opportunity to talk to young people aboutmany of their struggles:

struggles at home.
struggles with a sick relative.
struggles with their sexual activity.
struggles about life being rubbish.
struggles with whether God is real or not.
struggles with a parent who has left home.

In all these conversations, myself and the rest of the leaders are able to give God answers.

So what about the FUTURE? Well that is the exciting news! We have been offered use of the Village Inn as a community facility for the next 2 years until it is ready for development. The VI is a huge facility and will allow us to do grow and expand the work with the young people as well as develop work with other people groups in the community.

My vision for the youth work in the community raises some challenging questions for the people in our church family:

why not think bigger?
why not contact with 80 young people?
why not open 7 nights per week?
why not a team of 30 volunteers?

It's not everyday that you are given a pub! God is doing something in this community and it's exciting to be part of it! In fact, at the moment i am struggling to keep up with what God is doing but it's a great place to be!

3 great fires...

2007-09-14T23:31:00.000+01:00

I have had many great nights with people around a fire. It's something i absolutely love doing with friends or with groups of young people as i always find it a 'memory making moment'. As such, this has been a good week for me with 3 memorable fires. Let me share them with you...

As you know, i work with young people in the local community through a little drop-in centre in the village. These are primarily young people who do not go to church. One of these lads, aged 16 headed off to the army on Sunday so we a had a bit of a farewell night for him last Thursday round at my house. About 25 young people showed up and half a dozen leaders and we had lots of desserts to go round. I had got my hands on a firepit for the back garden so we were able to light a fire and sit round it. I had got a a little farewell gift which i presented and said a few words about how he would be missed but i would be thinking and praying for him. What happened next was amazing because everyone in the circle shared a few words of encouragement for their friend who was leaving. It was a lovely moment to listen to all these nice things being said to this guy, i could tell he was really moved and just didn't know what to say!

Then last saturday myself and 9 other youth ministry leaders from church headed up to Donegal for an overnight retreat. This had been programmed in for a while as i felt i really wanted to get away and have some quality time with leaders before we launched into another academic year. The purpose of the retreat was to build relationships amongst the leaders, to listen to God's call for us and the ministry for the year ahead, to think about our roles and to engage in some basic planning for the year ahead.

Of course we also had lots of time to just chill out and on the Saturday evening we ventured down to the beach and lit a wee fire and sat round it for a good few hours sharing stories and laughing a lot! I'm excited about our team of leaders and feel privileged and blessed by every one of them. There is a strong group there who give sooooo much to the young people week in and week out and they are deeply committed to it and love it - what more could you want from a group of leaders!

Much of the content for this retreat came from a book i read recently called 'Contemplative Youth Ministry' by Mark Yaconelli. The book is excellent and one of the areas of teaching he focuses on is how we can be 'present' with young people and increase our effectiveness in our relationships with young people. He highlights 5 keys:

Seeing - we need to see young people with the eyes of Jesus. Do young people feel noticed in our ministry?
Hearing - young people remember when they feel genuinely listened to by someone else.
Moved to Compassion - when we see young people with the eyes of Jesus and hear them with the ears of Jesus then we cannot be failed to be moved to compassion by the heart of Jesus.
Acts of kindness - the compassion we feel will move us to small acts of kindness that can bring so much healing to hurting young people.
Delight - we know we are genuinely called to youth ministry when we find ourselves being amazed by young people and therefore a sincere desire to spend time with them.

There is lots more in this book i could share here but i don't want to make this post so long you stop reading! Get the book if you are involved in youth ministry.

Tonight was the launch of our youth ministry programmes, Fusion and 20:20 for the academic year. We did this with a trip to Murlough Beach for a BBQ and, you guessed it, a bonfire! I booked a 57 seater bus last week and was confident we might have 50 young people there. By Wednesday we had 60 signed up and the final numbers for tonight including leaders was 80 people! A fantastic night had by all i believe. We had a bit of a 'moment' at the end of the evening around the fire, with everyone putting an arm round the person beside them as we prayed for the year ahead in Fusion and 20:20.

I'm excited for this year ahead! To see young people grow in faith and maturity is such a privilege and a gift that i am very thankful for!

Wild at Heart...

2007-09-10T13:39:00.000+01:00

Recently i was at a meeting where this book by John Eldredge was given a very critical review. If you were there and have never read the book you are probably never going to read it. If like me, you were there and have read the book and found it excellent, then you were probably left feeling embarrassed.

I've been thinking about this a bit over the last few days and felt i had to have an outlet somewhere where i could review the book from my perspective to add a little more balance to the argument.

I have read this book probably about 3 times and have given countless copies away as gifts to other men. I have found it to be a great book to read with a few guys as it provokes a lot of positive discussion amongst men who are perhaps not that open and vulnerable but yet they are able to find some truths within the book that they can relate to at the deepest level of their own experience.

I found the book brought me to a greater level of understanding myself, why i am the way i am, and it often reassured me that i am normal! Eldredge spends a lot of time emphasising the importance of parental roles, especially that of a father, in child development and how this can impact our behaviour throughout our adult lives. Parents (or significant adults) have a massive role in affirming their children. Men and women each have a deep question that needs to be answered. How these questions are answered during growing up will affect them for the rest of their lives. The question for men and women is different.

The question for men is ‘Am I really a man? Have I got what it takes?’ A man’s strength, not just physical but also at soul level, is very important to him hence the desire for adventure, climbing trees, wrestling, etc. If this question is unanswered or answered negatively then it makes for weak men in adulthood who lack commitment in relationships and when the going gets tough, they up and leave. The question for young girls is ‘Am I lovely?’. A woman’s beauty is very important to her, not just physical beauty but also her heart. This explains the desire of young girls to dress up as a princess and look beautiful. If this question is not answered positively for a young girl then it can have devastating effects on her self-esteem throughout the rest of her life. Only parents or significant adults can properly answer these questions.

The book, as you would expect, also highlights some of the struggles that are exclusive to men and sets them within a useful context that helps you to understand why certain areas could be weaknesses for men. Eldredge emphasises that we all have a 'battle to fight' as we seek to be more like Christ and presents a helpful strategy for this.

The book of course has criticisms. Firstly, it is American written which presents obvious cultural differences that come through as Eldredge talks about his family life and experiences but i think the discerning reader can look beyond this and find value from his teaching. Secondly, if you are looking for a Bible Study of considerable theological depth then you will be disappointed. That said the book has Scriptural references throughout to support and communicate the views presented in the book.

Personally speaking, i would happily recommend this book to anyone (male or female). I would be interested to hear other opinions of the book in the comments section below to see what the general consensus is!

Youth Week 2007

2007-09-03T18:33:00.001+01:00

Youth Week finished over a week ago but i think i'm still recovering! I showed this video of highlights on Sunday morning at church so i thought i would stick it up here too! It was a great week of fun activities with a fantastic group of young people! The video says it all!

How much do you love God?

2007-08-21T00:12:00.000+01:00

So Youth Week started today with a full days activity at Craigavon Watersports Centre. It was great craic and the weather stayed dry for a change! Each morning of this week we begin with some worship and a short devotion or thought for today. I led this today and this is what i shared...

How much do you love God? Think about it right now? How much do you love Him? How important is He to you? How high does He sit on your agenda?

It’s a hard question to quantify isn’t it? I mean it’s not like ‘how good are you at maths, or football?’ You can quantify those things much easier. Love is harder to quantify.

I bet if we went round the room and asked everyone what God meant to them we would use words like: Savour; friend; Father; forgiver; healer; EVERYTHING.

BUT how does that work out in our daily lives? How much do we love God in our everyday life and relationships?

I recently heard a quote that helped to quantify my love for God and really challenged me in the process.

Dorothy Day, co-founder in 1933 of the Catholic Worker Movement said this:

"You only love God as much as you love the person you love the least."

I don’t know about you but when I first heard this it really made me stop and think about how much I love people (or fail to love people) as an indicator of how much I love God.

Author Brennan Manning went on a spiritual retreat and he wrote this:

‘One lonely night in the Colorado Rockies, I heard this message [from God]: “Brennan, you bring your full presence and attention to certain members of the community but offer a diminished presence to others. Those who have stature, wealth, and charisma, those you find interesting or charming or pretty or famous command your undivided attention, but people you consider plain or dowdy, those of lesser rank performing menial tasks, the unsung and uncelebrated are not treated with the same regard. This is not a minor matter to me, Brennan. The way you are with others every day, regardless of their status, is the true test of faith.’

Can’t we all relate to this? Why are we like this? I think it’s our INSECURITY. We want to hang out with the ‘cool’ people, the ‘funny’ people, the ‘hot’ people because that makes us look ‘cooler’, ‘funnier’, or ‘hotter’. But what about Jesus? Who did Jesus hang out with? The disciples were pretty average really, they were awkward and they often got it wrong. They fought with each other and they abandoned Jesus when he needed them most. Who else did Jesus hang out with? Tax collectors, Samaritan women, prostitutes, lepers – people with questionable character and often people on the fringes of society.

So my question this morning is this – how many people with questionable character do you know? Do you know many drunks, thief’s, prostitutes or homeless? What about people on the fringes of our culture and society? Gay people? Immigrants? Disabled folk or the elderly?

How much do you really love God?

So how does this fit in with the Bible? Does the Bible agree that we ‘only love God as much as the person we love the least’?

Matthew 5:46-48 (New Living Translation)
46 If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. 47 If you are kind only to your friends,[c] how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. 48 But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

This passage challenges us not to measure our love by how much we love the people who love us back. Also let us not forget about the passage of the sheep and goats when Jesus makes it clear that how we treat others is directly linked to how we treat Him.

45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’

So there is a challenge for us all this morning. Are we going to chase after the adoration and approval of others to find our value, worth and SECURITY. Or, are we actually going to be radical enough to believe God when he says that HE LOVES US, and respond accordingly in the way we treat the rest of the world?

What if it is true that:
"You only love God as much as you love the person you love the least."

Let’s meditate on the following Scripture for a few minutes:

19 We love each other[a] because he loved us first.
20 If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a Christian brother or sister,[b] that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? 21 And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their Christian brothers and sisters.[c]
~ 1 John 4:19-21

Having a moment with Foy...

2007-08-09T22:32:00.000+01:00

Hello there, a while ago i promised a bit of a blog about the new Foy Vance album. It's called 'Hope' and was released in the UK at the start of July. If you are not familiar with Foy's music then your life is less fulfilled as a result! He is one of those artists whose music will touch you to the depths of your soul with a combination of his emotive, real-life song writing and powerful vocals. Not only that but he is a local Christian guy hailing from Bangor - so go on, buy it!

On my travels this summer i spent a lot of time listening the new album and i think it is fantastic. So i thought i'd just highlight 3 songs that particularly caught me:

1. I Was Made. This seems to be a song about Foy's encounter with God. The song begins with an expression of his lifestyle before he met God - 'i didn't know what i was missing'. Then God finds him and he professes:

i came round to all the truths i found
i threw down all of the chains that bound me
i was made for loving you

He goes on to make reference to Christ's suffering for our sins:

i left you hanging all alone
threw my stench upon your throne
after all that you'd been through

'I was made for loving you' - great truth within a beautiful song.

2. Indiscriminate Act of Kindness. This is probably Foy's most well known song and i have heard it hundreds of times before but as i listened to it on a bus one day on my travels, there was a particular line that just grabbed me and challenged me deeply. The song is about a one man's kindness in a random encounter with a down and out drug addicted woman. The line that got me is when the woman asks:

how is it you can see past me as i am?

Surely as Christians we are called to see past people as they are but the sad reality is that many don't. Ive worked with lots of young people over the last few years and when i ask them what they think of church people, more often than not the answer will be 'they don't like us' or 'they think they are better than us'. Just a few weeks ago i was chatting with some of the local young people and this question arose and one guy said something that really struck and chord with me:

'they [meaning church people] see us drinking [alcohol] and just think we are bad people.'

How sad, that often Christians are not defined and known for their ability to accept and 'see past people as they are'.

3. Two Shades of Hope. Hope is a word that is woven throughout this album - hence the title i guess. 'Gabriel & the Vagabond' speaks of the 'gentle whisper of hope' that leads to life transformation - again referencing a God encounter. 'Hope, Peace & Love' is a simple song that has echoes of 1 Corinthians 13. 'Two Shades of Hope' however attempts to portray the harsher side of hope. He opens by explaining the two shades: 'the enlightening kind', covered in the above songs, and; the other which he likens to a 'hang man's rope'. He goes on to share some real life stories including a loveless broken relationship and a lost battle with cancer where on each occasion 'it was hope that dealt the hardest blows'. His conclusion? Despite the pain and despair that comes within relationships, he still has the realisation that:

'i cannot help myself but hope.'

A moving song that i'm sure we can all relate to in some degree.

I can't endorse the album to you enough - you will not be dissapointed! On top of that he has a few gigs coming up at the end of the month at the Black Box that would be worth checking out. Foy Vance has yet to attract mass attention which means it is still possible to see him in small intimate venues at little cost (£10) but this is could change very soon, so take the opportunity while you can!

It's your move...

2007-08-08T10:22:00.000+01:00

So i got back on Saturday from SU camp and i was completely exhausted! Maybe that's a good indicator of how good the camp was! It was one of the best weeks of residential youth work i have ever been involved with. There were 22 trainee leaders (aged 16-18) at camp and our role for the first 4 days was to train them so they could lead the camp when the p7's arrived. This group were probably the best group of young leaders i have ever worked with. They were very teachable, committed, passionate about God and soooo funny. That's a recipe for a great week in my book!

The most exciting thing about the week for me was really getting to know these guys and girls and then sitting back and watching them lead the P7's. It was amazing to see them really take on responsibility and do things they never thought they could have done. For most of them, this was their first experience of leadership - giving talks, leading games, teaching memory verses etc. There were a lot of fears and nerves but this taught them to rely on God more than ever, and He was definitely FAITHFUL! At the end of the week we had a team de-brief and it was obvious that this week had been extremely significant for each of them.

It was a reminder to me of how much that age group thrive and grow on responsibility, especially when they have the correct support, encouragement and training.

Mothers are like maps...

2007-07-27T17:01:00.000+01:00

Just got home late Wednesday night and already I've been soaked by some of the heaviest rain i have ever seen - feel like i need another holiday! Anyways, i had left my car at my parents house and when i picked it up i was delighted to discover that it had been miraculously cleaned both inside and out! It was pretty bogging when i had left it so i kinda wasn't surprised that my mum was unable go look at a dirty car for 2 weeks! So i happily drove back to my little house which i must admit had been left in an equally bogging state before leaving. It's not that I'm a dirty person, it's just that life had been a bit hectic for the couple of weeks prior to going on hols and i just had no time!

So i walk in the door to find my whole house spotless from top to bottom! Floors mopped, carpets vacummed, bathroom cleaned - even my bedroom was tidied and my bed was made with clean sheets! To top it all off my grass was cut too! I promise you i did not leave a list!

I've come to the conclusion that mothers are a bit like maps, sometimes they can be very frustrating, but at the end of the day you would be lost without them!

I'm heading off again tonight for one week to help lead a Scripture Union camp at Castlewellan Castle. The first 3 days we will be training a group of 16-18 year in leadership. They will then be taking on the responsibility of leading the camp for a group of 30 P7's who will arrive for the last 4 days. The theme for the camp will be 'It's Your Move' - teaching the p7's how to deal with change as they move to secondary school using the Biblical model of Daniel. Please pray for the camp leaders and the young people - and the weather!.

I wonder if i will come home to find my drive power-hosed or spoutings cleaned???

Niall on segway in Prague...

2007-07-24T14:02:00.001+01:00

The aforementioned segway moment!

Czech this out...

2007-07-24T13:26:00.000+01:00

Hello there folks, just arrived in Prague this morning after an extremely uncomfortable 8 hour journey on a train that seemed to stop at every hole in the hedge. All sleeping cars with beds were fully booked so we were stuck in a carriage of 8 seats with 2 other Spanish guys. We had a good bit of room but it was still impossible to lie out flat and to top it all off, you had regular people coming round to wake you up and check your ticket or passport! Toilet facilites are brutal too, far worse than anything i remember in school and they surely haven't seen any toilet paper since well before you or i were born! 3-4 hours of broken sleep was enough to see us through though and so after dumping our bags at the hostel (very modern and beautiful, more like a hotel really), we ventured off into the city.

At this stage of our trip, after seeing 6 other cities, we are a bit weary of seeing the city sights because each church, castle and square looks much like the rest, so in order to spice it up a bit this time we opted for a Segway Tour of Prague (thanks for the idea Craigo!! The 2 hour guided tour was fantastic fun as we got to see the whole city without expelling any energy or shoe leather! I'm going to try and upload a video of the segway action on a separate post. The footage will show Niall raking it on a patch of grass and nearly falling off after hitting a pot hole! I laughed a lot at this but what unfortunatley wasn't captured on video was myself 2 minutes later hitting a pot hole at top speed (a hefty 12mph!) and completely tipping the segway and falling off! I thought i had wrecked the whole thing but the guide wasn't even concerned so i just climbed back on and cracked on! Segway tours are becoming more popular in many cities around Europe so if you get the chance, give it a go for a good couple of hours craic!

A few other random thoughts on eastern europe:

Sausage dogs - seem to be an obsession with them here as we have seen many!

Pedestrian crossings - EVERYONE waits for the green man, even if the coast is clear. Maybe this is a discipline that has been passed on through communism to the next generations (?) but it is amusing to observe.

C&A - it's great to see that this department store has not gone bust but is alive and thriving throughout much of Eastern Europe!

So that's me for now, probably see ya in norn iron soon! Is it still raining there?

Too much happening and too little time...

2007-07-23T16:59:00.000+01:00

Ok, its been a few days and 3 cities since last post so let me give a brief update. Im currently in Krakow, internet access not so good at this hostel, hence the lack of updates and no photos this time. Enjoyed Vilnius a lot. Highlight was probably heading up to the castle on a hill looking over the city at night. From there we jumped onto another bus for 8 hours to get to Warsaw. Although it was long, i had the ipod in and had a bit of a 'moment' watching the beautiful countryside go by! I was listening to the new Foy Vance Album - Hope (album cover to the left). I've a whole other post to make about it but i'll reserve that for when i get home and have a bit more time. Needless to say, you should defintely get the album!

Warsaw was ok but probably my least favourite city so far as it is much more spread out and i didn't really feel there was much to see. It probably didn't help that the temperatures now are soooo hot that it's much less comfortable to walk around cities.

On Saturday we caught the train to Krakow and i have really fallen in love with this city! If you haven't been here then make it a must for a city break. The old town is really amazing with the hugest town square i have ever seen. There is a really good buzz about this place with lots to go and see.

On Sunday we took a bus to Auschwitz. When we first discussed travelling to Poland we definitely both wanted to get to see this place and it was definitely worth the trip. It's hard to put into words how harrowing it is to visit the place where approximately 1.3 million people (mostly Jews) were sent for extermination. I think what hit me the hardest was seeing the mass pile of childrens shoes. Approximately 230,000 of the people sent to the camp were children and almost all of them did not survive. I don't think anyone can ever understand how anyone could ever inflict such brutal cruelty on another group of people. It's sobering to remember that this attrocity only ended just over 60 years ago.

Today we visited the Saltmines near here which was interesting and then took a walk around the old town of Krakow. Tonight we catch a 8 hour train to Prague to spen our last 2 days there. Home on Wednesday night - sniff, sniff!

Aside, i think we have a tall bald stalker from USA! First met this guy in a tour in Tallinn then he turned up at our hostel in Vilnius and in Warsaw and now in Krakow too! We have not spoken one word to this guy the whole time so it's all a bit humourous! I'm expecting to bump into him in Rigmarole next week!

The Latvian doughnuts and Vilnius so far...

2007-07-18T16:25:00.000+01:00

We left Riga yesterday morning bound for Vilnius (Lithuania) by bus (5 hours). Just before boarding the bus i stopped at a little bakery to grab something for breakfast with our last 60cents. The lady had 3 types of what appeared to be filled doughnuts on the counter. I was thinking the fillings may be chocolate, or creme or something nice like that. When i enquired, this disgruntled old lady informed me the first one was filled with meat (generic term for substance that could originate from any animal), the second was cabbage (? i know!) and the third was 'patatenne'. It was a tough choice but i opted for the third one - i hadn't a clue what it might be but surely it was better than either meat or cabbage? Well low and behold when i take a bite i discover it is filled with mashed potato! Needless to say it went straight to the bin. A gravy ring filled with champ - only in Latvia folks!

Since arriving in Vilnius yesterday we have been walking around the city. It's more spread out than Riga or Tallinn but again really beautiful. You can see that this city is a little bit behind on Riga or Estonia but with evidence of lots of construction, it is catching up very fast. We visited the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul today which has a breathtaking interior that would rival anything i have seen before, even in Rome.

I have been really surprised by the Baltic cities we have visited. I think i naively expected to see more poverty here than home, more litter, poorer quality food and generally 'less trendy' if you understand what i mean. On the contrary, i have seen more wealth in these cities than i would ever see in Belfast. For example i have seen more Mercs, BMW's, Bentley's, Hummers, and other top range vehicles than would be the norm at home. There is definitely less homeless people and begging here than in Belfast. Also there is less litter, excellent quality food and everyone is extremely fashion conscious. I understand i am only seeing city centre life and there are bound to be other areas that are less well off that would perhaps explain the influx of nationals into the UK and Ireland, from some of these countries.

Oh yeah, my reflection on Finland is that the boys love their skinny jeans. I think Niall was going to get a pair too but i talked him out of it!

My Bungee Jump as promised!

2007-07-17T19:12:00.001+01:00

Here it is folks, videoed by Niall in the cable car! I still get a bit nervous watching it!

Niall Bungee

2007-07-16T15:35:00.001+01:00

This is Niall's bungee jump. I'll get mine up here asap!

The journey so far...

2007-07-16T14:45:00.000+01:00

Hello there, haven't had much chance to update this since i left as i haven't had great internet access or its been expensive but lots has been happening so here is a quick low down! Arrived in Helsinki on Wednesday afternoon (weather was wet and miserable!) and dandered around the city, it's quite nice and modern but not stunning. On Thursday the weather was nice and sunny so we went to Suomelina (left picture). It's an old island fortress just off the coast of Helsinki (15min ferry). We got a guided tour which was interesting - a good spot to go visit if you are ever there.

We left Finland on Friday and got a 90minute ferry to Tallinn in Estonia (3 pics on left). This is is a beautiful medieval looking city (large town really) with lots of cobbled streets and squares with market stalls surrounded by cafe's and bars. It's to sorta place that's great to walk about and stop for a coffee and watch the world go by. We took a walking tour of the city which was interesting. The people in Estonia were very friendly which i suppose you expect when they are thriving on tourism. Lots of nice hotels and restaurants with great food so it's definitely a place i would go back to. Not as cheap as i expected though.

On Sunday we departed by bus for Riga in Latvia (5 hours). When we arrived and found our hostel we headed off on another 1 hour bus journey to Sigulda which is described as 'the Switzerland of Latvia' in the Lonely Planet. It's a beautiful small town which boasts snow sports during the winter and so we really went for some adrenaline summer activities. First we had a go at bobsleding down an olympic bobsled track in what basically resembled a tin bath on 4 wheels. The 80km/hr rush was well worth the cost of 5 pounds!

Next we headed off to the Cable car where we had read off the opportunity to bungee-jump (check out their website) from the cable car suspended over a ravine with a river at the bottom! At a cost of only 25 quid this seemed like too good an opportunity to miss. The cable car takes you out and stops half way for your jump of 150feet! We had to queue for a couple of hours and weren't sure if they were going to have space availble for us or not but they did and before i knew it i was being fitted with a harness and strappings around each ankle. At that point the nerves started to kick in and i began to think that maybe this was not the brightest idea! However, that was nothing compared to the feeling you get 150ft in the air in a cable car with the door open and some bloke looks at you and says 'you're turn next'! Next thing you know you are clipped in and you have 15 other people in the cable car waiting for you to throw youself into mid air attached to a big elastic band. The peer pressure is immense! To top it off, you are beside a bridge and so the passing traffic stops to have a good gauk at you too and they beep their horns if you hesitate at all! So the upshot of all that is that against my rational thought, i did it! It was undoubtedly the scariest thing I've ever done and i don't think i would rush to do it again but i did it and managed to keep my pants clean! Niall has a great video of my jump on his camera so i'll hopefully get that up here soon!

Today we have been having a bit of a walk around Riga city. It's much larger than Tallinn and more cosmopolitan but still has loads of relly beautiful architecture. Apparently it's a lot like Prague. Also it is very cheap. We had a nice lunch today and it only cost about 8 pounds for both of us.

Tomorrow we move on again to Vilnius in Lithuania so i'll keep you posted on that one. Over and out...

2 wise men head east...

2007-07-10T09:08:00.000+01:00

Just back from Summer Madness and Streetreach with our young people. I wrote a blog about it with some pics on our Youth Ministries blog so check it out here. I leave tonight for my holiday in Eastern Europe (see last post for details) so it's been a pretty quick turnaround. Praise the Lord for mothers i say as thankfully i was able to dump all my washing with her on Sunday and collected it (ironed and all) yesterday - my mum loves a good challenge!

So i awoke this morning with that slightly nervous yet excited feeling that comes with heading off. Nervous because we only have accommodation booked for the first 2 nights and the rest we'll figure out as we go! However I love travelling and in the next 2 weeks I'm going to experience the culture of 6 countries i have never been to before which will be fantastic! On top of that i will meet plenty of people from many more countries along the way which is part of the enjoyment.

I hope to keep this blog fairly up to date as i go with some pictures too so keep on dropping in if you are interested!

Eastern European Adventure...

2007-06-20T21:22:00.001+01:00

I wasn't planning on any adventurous holidays this summer but the closer it got and as i heard the plans of others for the summer, the travel bug got the better of me!

As such, on 11th July i will be departing for 2 weeks of back-packing in Eastern Europe. Myself and my mate Niall will be starting in Helsinki (Finland) and then we will get a boat to Talinn (Estonia). From there we will travel by bus/train to Riga (Latvia), Vilnius (Lithuania), Warsaw and Krakow (both in Poland) before finishing in Prague (Czech Republic). The plan is to spend a couple of days in each location to see the main sights and get a flavour of the culture.

I love travelling to new places, meeting people from other countries and eating different foods! I'm excited about journeying between places listening to the ipod and reading a good book or two (that's as much multi-tasking as i can manage!). I look forward to some good chats about life over the trip with my friend.

Anyways, this post is not intended to provoke jealousy within you! I'm thinking that many of you have probably already visited some of the places we will be going so can recommend either:

things to see/visit
places to stay (hostels)
good food to try!

I await your comments eagerly!

Holy Club...

2007-06-12T23:27:00.000+01:00

I got an e-mail today from a friend inviting me into a 'Holy Club'! My only reference to such a term is usually a derogatory attack on the church or a group of Christians. This isn't far off the mark really as the Holy Club was the name given in mockery to a group started by John and Charles Wesley, which was the first sign of what later became Methodism. Begun by Charles and led by John after his return to Oxford University in 1729, the Holy Club members fasted until 3 PM on Wednesdays and Fridays, received Holy Communion once each week, studied and discussed the Greek New Testament and the Classics each evening in a member’s room, visited (after 1730) prisoners and the sick, and systematically brought all their lives under strict review. If you want to read more about the 'Holy Club' then click here.

Now i don't expect that the group i have been invited into would be able to engage in that degree of intensive community but the intention would be to create a medium sized group of 15-20 men to dialogue with each other and figure out how to keep our Christian identity alive in the context in which we are living.

Interestingly, here are 22 questions the members of John Wesley's Holy Club asked themselves every day in their private devotions over 200 years ago.

Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better than I really am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?
Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?
Do I confidentially pass on to another what was told to me in confidence?
Can I be trusted?
Am I a slave to dress, friends, work, or habits?
Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?
Did the Bible live in me today?
Do I give it time to speak to me everyday?
Am I enjoying prayer?
When did I last speak to someone else about my faith?
Do I pray about the money I spend?
Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?
Do I disobey God in anything?
Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy?
Am I defeated in any part of my life?
Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy, or distrustful?
How do I spend my spare time?
Am I proud?
Do I thank God that I am not as other people, especially as the Pharisees who despised the publican?
Is there anyone whom I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold a resentment toward or disregard? If so, what am I doing about it?
Do I grumble or complain constantly?
Is Christ real to me?

If you get through all of these in a morning devotion then you are doing well! If you get through all of these and haven't been challenged to change in any way then i think you need to refer back to question 1!

Rob Bell's latest effort...

2007-05-27T12:05:00.000+01:00

Just finished reading 'Sex God' by Rob Bell wich according to the subtitle 'explores the endless connections between sexuality and spirituality'. It's an excellent read with Rob Bell's unique and creative style of writing, and ability to draw so much context and depth from Scripture. The highlights of the book for me where around the following issues/quotes:

how we value ourselves and others.
how with every action 'we're continuing the ongoing creation of the world.'

'freedom isn't being able to have whatever we crave. Freedom is going without whatever we crave and being fine with it.'

how stealing is the ultimate selfish act and giving stuff away is the ultimate act of generosity.
'Love is handing your heart to someone and taking the risk that they will hand it back because they don't want it.'
'Jesus always chooses the path of love, not power.'

He also writes about singleness which resonated a lot with a conversation i had recently with a friend. Have you ever been chatting with someone who you maybe haven't seen in a while and they say to you 'well any girlfriends?' (or boyfriends, if that's your preference!). I have no problem with that question, and more often than not over the last 5 years my answer is 'No'! It's what sometimes happens next that i find frustrating. Their facial expression will change and their head will tilt a little to the side and they will say something like 'Ach well, sure it'll happen sometime!' Words of pity, as if my life is in some way incomplete or unfulfilled - it kinda makes me mad!

Rob Bell talks about this:

'It's possible for destructive messages to be sent to people who are single. That they are second class, less than, that they don't fit, that they should find someone, get married, and join the rest of us who are "normal."

If you are single, and you've been sent messages or it's been hinted at or even said to your face that you are somehow missing something, that you aren't good enough, that you don't fit in - that is not true. It's not just that you're fine single. The premise of the Scriptures is that you are able to connect with God and serve God in ways that those who are married can't. The tilt is for being single, not away from it.'

I meet people and their life revolves around finding a man/woman. They feel incomplete and believe their life will only really begin when they meet someone and get married. The sad thing is that God has a plan for their life NOW and they are completely missing out on it. I'm not saying relationships are wrong, on the contrary i think relationships are good, but being single is good too. I can't accept the view that one status is better than the other, they are just different. What do you think???

By the way, Rob Bell is speaking at Spires Conference Centre in Belfast on 12th June as part of his 'Calling all Peacemakers' tour. Click here for further info. Note that tickets can be purchased from Wesley Owen bookstore without having to pay the online £2 booking fee.

One year in...

2007-05-08T22:44:00.000+01:00

So last week saw me complete my first year with WPC - hard to believe! The year has gone incredibly fast and so i still feel incredibly new to the role but yet at the same time i feel very settled in the church with lots of very strong relationships as if i have been here for many years! With all that has gone on in the last couple of weeks i haven't had much time to reflect on the last year as my thoughts are still very much with Alain and both family circles. However, i did have to complete a report for church leadership which forced me to reflect and evaluate to some degree.

I have to say it was an encouraging process as i considered the progress of youth ministry in the church in the last 12 months. The most encouraging things are as follows:

Passionate and enthusiastic leaders. When i started, several youth leaders 'retired' from service and the remaining few were a bit disillusioned and tired. The last year, especially since Christmas, has seen this change dramatically. We now have a group of 18 leaders (some came back from retirement!) who are passionate and enthusiastic about the youth ministry in church!
Young people growing in faith. We have a fantastic group of young people in church who are passionate about engaging with God through WORSHIP and hungry to hear what God is saying to them through the TEACHING OF GOD'S WORD. This such an exciting place for me and the rest of the leaders to be.
Youth work outside of church. This was started from scratch last summer with detached youth work and has now developed into a drop-in centre that opens 3 afternoons and 2 evenings per week. We have 9 leaders involved and have contact with approximately 40 different young people and the centre has around 250 users each month. I was also involved in running a Youth Alpha group with 8 lads which was a fantastic experience.
Church family. I have been made very welcome at WPC from the outset which has made it a joy to build relationships. I have found the people in this family very encouraging to me directly (on a personal and professional level) with both their words and actions, and also indirectly as i watch people seeking to live out their faith in a way that makes a difference to those around them.

So what are the hopes for the next year? That's a really difficult question! Yes i want to see the ministry grow so that we have contact and relationships with more young people. Yes i want to see new areas of ministry develop so that we don't stagnate and just do the same things. However, I can honestly say that i am more excited about youth ministry now than i have ever been, so above all i want to feel as encouraged in May 2008 as i do now which will come from the 4 things highlighted earlier:

passionate leaders
young people growing in faith
progress with youth work outside of church
encouraging church family.

Check back in 12 months time for another evaluation!

Beautiful...

2007-04-23T09:37:00.000+01:00

As most of you already know Lindsay went home to be with Jesus yesterday morning. Please pray for Alain and the Anderson and Emerson families at this time of grief. Pray that they will experience the God of comfort and peace.

Sometimes the most beautiful things of this world only last a moment - a sunset, a butterfly, cherry blossom, are all so beautiful and yet short lived. Lindsay was only 23 and she was one of the most beautiful people i have ever met. Stunningly beautiful in appearance but more than that she had a very beautiful spirit - warm, kind and compassionate. I will miss her.

For sale...

2007-04-13T19:48:00.000+01:00

The day has come when i am selling the 'yoke'. The Megane and I have been together now for 10 years so it's a reluctant sale but my loss will definitely be someone else's gain! Here are the important details:

Year: 1997
Model: 1.6 16v Megane RT Sport
Miles: 133,000
Other info: full electrics, alloy wheels, remote central locking.
Price: £550 (negotiable!)

If you are interested, or know of anyone who may be interested then leave a comment!

Bulgaria baby...

2007-04-10T23:14:00.000+01:00

Just back from a week of snow-boarding in Bulgaria. I was away with 115 other people from Waringstown Presby so I'm pretty sure that makes it a working holiday - yeah right!!! Anyways, it was a great trip. We were staying in Pamparovo and managed to arrive during the best snow of their season and so had a great week on and off the slopes! This was my third full week of snow boarding in the last few years so I'm definitely getting the hang of it. My mate Dave was there too (same level of boarding as me) and we went to try and get some 'intermediate' lessons to improve our technique but the instructor told us we were 'advanced'! Both of us laughed about this a lot cos i don't think he would have called us advanced if he had seen how much time we spent on our butts!

It was great going away with so many people because no matter where you went there was people from our group and the banter was excellent in the evenings. It was also a great trip for me to get to know a few more people from the church. It's scary to think that at the end of this month i will have been at WPC for a year.

I had to do a morning devotion whilst away and so focused on a verse i have been thinking about recently from John 20. I've been thinking about this ever since Pete Greig highlighted this verse at the Nua conference i was at recently. The context is the resurrection of Jesus. Mary Magdalene has found the tomb empty and is understandably upset and then she has a conversation with what she thinks is the gardener but is actually Jesus. What we read here are Jesus' first words of the new covenant to humanity and they are 'why are you crying?'. This amazes me as it speaks several things to me about who God is:

God is a God of COMPASSION - He cares deeply about our hurt, pain and sorrow. 'Why are you crying?'
God is a God who UNDERSTANDS - He identifies with our pain in that He suffered and died in his humanity. 'Why are you crying?'
God is a God who LISTENS - Jesus listens to Mary's pain and hurt, even though he knows exactly why she is crying, he still asks 'why are you crying?' and he listens.

In our pain, hurt and sorrow, we can run a to a God of compassion, who understands and listens and ultimately we will find COMFORT.

27 for me and Healy does it again...

2007-03-29T09:37:00.000+01:00

So it was my Birthday yesterday - grand young age of 27! It's funny cos i really don't feel like I'm 27, more like 23 maybe! Although i got a toolbox, complete with tools from my parents so that kinda made me feel at least 27!!!

Coincidentally my birthday fell on the same date as N. Ireland v Sweden. I have been going to all the home games of this European campaign so what better way to spend a Birthday but with 14,000 people in Windsor Park singing 'Stand up for the Ulstermen', 'Green and White Army' and 'Lets all do the bouncy'. Despite N.I's recent run of form i still found myself braced for defeat but no dissapointment was to be found! It was an amazing game with 2 cracker goals by Healy the legend. Sweden were outplayed and N. Ireland played out of their skin! So now we find ourselves top of the group - 'we're gonna win the euros'!

Scandanavian experience...

2007-03-12T10:26:00.000Z

I realise that this blog is turning into a 'wish you were here' programme and i assure you i am not on commission from Thomas Cook! However, this time last week i was over visiting my friend Alan in Sweden. I went to school with Alan and he has been living in Sweden in the city of Lund with his girlfriend Helena since last June. Above is a picture of the 3 of us and one of Lund.

This was my first experience of Scandanavia and it was a very positive one. Lund was a quaint little city with a huge student population. The Swedish pace of life came across to me as being a little more relaxed than home as people mostly got around on their bicycles - people seemed less in a rush! It was a very relaxing few days for me with lots of time to just potter about the town and chill out together and play some cards - they play this game called 7's at which i think i excelled!

Lund is situated only 50mins from Copenhagen (Denmark) by train. So on Monday as Al and Helena were both working i took myself off to explore another country for the day! Copenhagen is a beautiful city and well worth a visit. It's quite small so it was great for me to just wander about for a few hours. One really interesting place i visited in the city was a community called 'Christiania' which is home to approx 1000 people who are seeking to live an alternative way. The community started with a group of squatters in 1969/70 in an area that was an abandoned military base. The area covering 85 acres soon attracted publicity which resulted in massive immigration of people who wanted to create another life based on communal living and freedom. This led to a political situation with the government trying to remove the people by force on several occassions but the numbers of people and large area have made this impossible. So they are left with this constant tension. There is a constant heavy police presence in the community which was intimidating for me at first. This was heightened as you see many groups of men standing warming themselves around barrels of fire on every corner (see picture). Part of me felt like a riot could ensue at any moment but i was reassured that this was just normality for Christiania.

The people see themselves as a community living independently of Denmark and the EU and so don't pay taxes. Anyone who lives within the community must therefore have to contribute in some way to make it work. For lots more info on the history and current situation within this community click here.

Anyways, ive just had a weekend at home for a change and it was lovely, i must try it more often!

Barca baby, and a couple of surprises...

2007-02-28T21:58:00.000Z

So I just got back last night from a wee trip to Barcelona from Saturday to Tuesday. Stefan and i went over to visit our mate Simon who we met a couple of years ago when travelling around Europe. Simon lives in Barca with his parents (his dad is Spanish and mum is S. African) who live across the street from the Nou Camp stadium (seriously, the picture on the left shows a view from their apartment balcony). Simon is a season ticket holder at FC Barcelona and was able to get us great tickets for Sunday nights match against Athletic Bilbao. Barca won 3-0 and it was fantastic to see Ronaldinho turn on the fancy footwork in the second half.

Had an amazing trip and one of the big highlights was experiencing a bit of Spanish culture by staying with Simon's family. Every Sunday his whole family (2 brothers and 1 sister) descend on the family home for a meal together. Simon's dad has been cooking his famous paella (see pic to left) every Sunday for the last 35 years and it tastes absolutely amazing! Not only that but it was a fantastic experience to sit around a table with a Spanish family and be part of their culture. Spanish families are still very close which i was surprised to hear. Sometimes we are arrogant enough to think that families in other countries couldn't be as close as our wee families in NI. Simon's family was one of the most friendly, hospitable, affectionate and loving families i have ever met and so it was a real joy to spend a bit of time with them - they all spoke good English too which helps cos my Spanish is about as good as my Chinese!

Outside of the Barca match we did a bit more sightseeing around the city. As Stefan and i had been to the city before, Simon took us to less touristed and more inaccessible areas outside the city. Barca is surrounded by a few hills and one of these hills called Tibidabo has a lovely old chapel on top of it (see pic to left). Simon knows of our religious interests and so he thought this particular place would be of interest to us. Not only did it offer some fantastic views over the city (see left) but there was a jewel to be found inside that i just blew me away. Inside this beautiful old building there was a room that tourists were not allowed into - it was a prayer room. After asking a few questions we found out that this was a room for 24/7 prayer. This immediately excited me and so i got Simon to ask the priest how long people had been praying 24/7 in this room for? I was completely taken aback when he replied 40 YEARS! That kinda blows our 3 day prayer crusades out of the water eh?!

Other place we seen were Sitges, a beautiful coastal town, the olympic village and the Dali museaum in Figueres (not sure what i think about Dali except that he was a crazy genuis)! All in all a great trip and Simon was a great host! We are already planning the return leg to Ireland before the end of the year!

A very funny story happened to me on my way home. Simon and Stefan dropped me off at the airport for my Ryan Scare flight home to Dublin (Stefan was flying to Manchester later that day). You know the bit after check-in when you go to departures and have to put your bag, coat and contents of your pockets through the x-ray machine and then walk through the metal detection. Well i beeped - and i never beep! So the guy told me take off my watch and belt which i duly did but lo and behold i beeped again! So this disgruntled Spanish guy then pulls out a hand held version of the metal detection machine and begins to wave it around my body starting from the top. Suddenly the machine starts beeping when he gets to the right pocket of the jacket i was wearing. As it dawns on me what is in that pocket my face quickly turns a shade of crimson. He signals to me to empty the pocket and imagine my embarrassment as out of my pocket i pull a condom! Now before you write me off completely as a lost cause, let me explain what had happened 10 minutes before this moment! Simon has a friend who works for Durex and so he has a bag in his boot filled with free condoms that he gives to his mates. As a bit of a joke, when i was leaving, my good friend Stefan discreetly placed one of these in my pocket without me realising. As i stood in the check-in queue i found it in my pocket but not being near a bin to dispose of it i returned it to the pocket with the intention of dealing with it in a few minutes - but of course i forgot all about it until i find myself emptying my pockets in front of this disgruntled Spanish bloke with no way of communicating to him that i have been set-up! Anyways, my embarrassment quickly subsided and i was able to have a good old chuckle about it all the way home!

Memory making with the lads...

2007-02-20T09:37:00.000Z

Took our Youth Alpha guys away to Donegal for a night on Saturday. These are a group of 8 lads aged 15-17 who use the basement drop-in centre. Myself and another leader have been running a Youth Alpha course with them each Wednesday for about the last month. We decided it would be good to get them away for a night and chose Donegal because it was completely out of the way of any distractions (i.e. alcohol or girls!) and we were kindly offered the use of a house outside Carrigart.

I was a little anxious in the run up to the weekend. My main worries were that they would mess about and i would lose the rag with them, and that they would be completely bored and hate it! I was thinking about it a lot on Friday night and by Saturday morning i had a real peace about it and i was excited about what was going to happen! more than anything i just wanted this group of lads to have a night away that they would remember for years!

We left about 2pm on Saturday, loaded into 2 cars and arrived about 5pm. We went straight to Rossapenna beach and played a bit of frisbee and Nerf ball and then started collecting a bit of wood for a bonfire later that night. Then we headed back to the house, settled in and prepared dinner. Each week we have a different volunteer from the church who prepares dinner for our Alpha which is such a blessing. Sharing a meal together each week is such a great place for building relationships. So for the night away i had a couple of volunteers prepare two meals that could be easily reheated. After our feast we started into our Alpha discussion. Being honest with you, this group do not make discussion easy and in fact are not used to sitting round having a serious discussion. Each week we are lucky to get 5-10 minutes of good discussion. So i was expecting a similar pattern on Saturday evening. On the contrary, we launched into an hour long discussion covering questions like:

Do you feel like you should be living your life differently?
Do you know anyone who's life has been changed by God?
Have you ever prayed? Have you ever seen God answer prayer?
Have you ever read the Bible?

It was so encouraging to see almost all of the guys really engaging with the discussion and not getting distracted. Hopefully this will set a pattern for the weeks to come! After the discussion we made our way down to the beach, picking up some more wood on the way. I had hoped the guys would really enjoy the whole lighting a fire thing and sitting around it because it's something i love to do! I wasn't dissapointed! I think there is a bit of a 'pyro' within all of us guys - it's that God given adventurous spirit we have! So within half an hour we had a great fire going. At that stage i suggested the idea of going in for a wee swim - i was half serious and half joking and most of them were like 'aye right Neil, whatever!' Then one or 2 decided they would go in if i did so that was it, i wasn't for backing down at that stage so within 10 minutes there were 6 of us charging into the freezing cold February Atlantic for a quick dip!!! This was quickly followed by a dash back to fire to dry off and warm up! Now we were definitely starting to make those memories! After that we sat around the fire for about another couple of hours just chatting, telling our most embarrassing stories and when we have been most scared. It was one of those really special nights - a shared experience with a group of people that we'll still talk about in 10 years time!

The rest of the night back in the house involved little or no sleep for some but the craic was good. Sunday was basically breakfast, tidy and clean up, back to beach for some 'ultimate nerf ball', lunch and then home! The guys all had a ball, so much so that they want to go next weekend to do it all over again! Here is a picture of the unforgettable Donegal 10!

Better late than never!

2007-02-16T15:59:00.000Z

I know it's been almost 2 weeks since the aforementioned Youth Weekend but i thought i'd give you an update of how it went anyway!

This year’s retreat was held at Castlewellan Castle and including leaders we had 62 attendees. I have been on many YF weekends both as a young person and a leader but without a doubt this was the best ever! I say this for a number of reasons:

1. The programme as a whole was excellent and every aspect of it was delivered with excellence by our team of leaders. I had to take no responsibility for any of the games & entertainment stuff. A group of leaders (mostly students with time on their hands!) looked after that aspect and it was excellent. You can tell this by how much the young people enjoyed it.

2. The worship (provided by our young people) was of a very high standard. It was encouraging for me to see young people engage with worship and really enjoy it.

3. The teaching streams were all encouraging.

Fusion (1^st-3^rd year) looked at a programme exploring the Fundamentals of faith e.g. sin and grace. This was led by 4 of our leaders and approximately 16 young people were part of this programme.
The 20:20 age group were split by gender. The girls programme was facilitated by 2 female leaders and explored the area of identity and self esteem – a major issue for young girls. 20 girls were part of this programme and feedback has been very positive with a lot of girls getting the opportunity to open up and share some of their experiences in the group.
The boys programme was led by myself and another male leader and explored the issue of ‘Purity of heart’ (Matt 5:8). There were about 20 guys involved in this programme and our goal was to make it very discussion based – tackling less talked about issues that young guys struggle with in an open forum. This worked really well and feedback from some of the guys involved has been very positive.

4. One of the major encouragements about the weekend has been the leaders. I have been chatting to many of them since the weekend and they are all buzzing and excited about being involved in this ministry. Many have told me they can’t wait until Friday night again! For me this is so encouraging because as a group we can see progress and development with the young people – relationally and spiritually.

All in all it was a very encouraging weekend. I am excited that we can offer programmes to young people that are obviously meeting their needs. As I look to the future, it excited me as I can only see this area ministry growing!

I know, I know, I know...

2007-02-01T22:39:00.000Z

... you've heard me say it before and i'm saying it again - apologies for lack of regularity of posting recently. Excuses are:

No t'internet yet in new house. Will hopefully be online from 9th Feb so that should increase my blog frequency.
General busyness at the moment! Got our youth weekend to prep for this week so it's been a bit hectic.

Anyways, this is really just a courtesy post to the impatient folk our there giving me abuse. please bear with me for just a little longer and i'll be a better blogger! I have this great idea for a blog series in the pipeline so please watch this space.

If you are a pray-er then please pray for me this weekend - i need wisdom.

Man flu...and the long way round...

2007-01-15T19:15:00.000Z

Been a bit sick last week. It started last weekend with a bit of a sore throat and by Tuesday night (after a full days work) i was dying with thumping head and breathing difficulties! So i decided to take Wednesday off cos i was fit fer nahin! Thought i could take the opportunity to read a bit but alas i just wasn't up to concentrating on the page so i took into to watching the 'Long Way Round' DVD (thanks wiggy, i didn't ask you but i knew you wouldn't mind - what's mine is yours!)

If you haven't seen it - you should cos it's fascinating. It is a 7 part series (previously shown on TV) documenting the adventure of Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman (best mates) as they travel around the world on 2 motorbikes. Their journey takes them across Europe, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Siberia, Alaska, Canada and the USA in just over 3 months. The highlight for me has to be in Ukraine when they meet this bloke in the street who invites them to stay in his home for the night. So they follow this guy, supposedly a coal minor, to his home which turns out to be considerably larger than the other homes in the locality. So he puts on a massive feast and invites many friends around for a party and the Vodka is on tap! Later in the evening, the host comes down the stairs with a guitar in one hane and a Kalashnikov rifle in the other! It's hilarious as Ewan and Charlie just take their mafia experience in their stride! Another highlight has to be the interesting array of nuts they get to sample in mongolia i believe - watch it! I guess this is not unlike the movie 'Motorcycle Diaries' if you have seen it but this is a documentary that focuses in more detail on the logistics and struggles of the trip.

Anyway, it was a great way to spend a sick day - i definitely felt that it was not a day wasted as i was inspired to follow dreams and travel more on a motorbike of course!

It's a big, big, world...

2006-12-30T19:37:00.000Z

Just visited a site that generates a map of the countries you have visited. I would love to say the grey area is all the countries i have been to but alas they are in red! Just when you think you are doing well in the travelling stakes you suddenly realise that it's a really big world we live in! Not a depressing thought at all folks, more exciting than anything as i ponder where exactly i would like to venture to next - South America looks a bit too grey for my liking - watch this space!

If you feel like generating your own map then click here!

Happy Christmas folks!!!

2006-12-27T14:38:00.000Z

Well it's been a mental few days to be honest so it's great to be enjoying some rest and relaxation this week! On Friday night we had our Fusion & 20:20 Christmas Fancy Dress party! There was about 40 people there and it was great to see so many people putting in a BIG effort on the costumes! I fulfilled a life's dream of mine and came as Scooby-Doo (zoiks!). Such a good nights craic was had by all! Then Saturday night was the house warming party of my new house. I never thought you could fit so many people into a semi but we packed them in and it was a cracker night. Singstar proved to be the real winner though!

Sunday was the carol service at WPC and i was sharing the sermon with the other leaders. I don't think I've ever seen so many people turn up for a service. The car park was complete bedlam and sadly i think some people ended up going home because there was just no room left. I was really nervous but it went well ( i think) and once it was over i could start to relax for Christmas!

It's great to have the whole family home for Christmas and especially my nephew Daniel who just livens everything up. He is only 13 months but he can say 'Santa' which is very cute. Sadly he hasn't quite managed 'Neil' yet but I'm working on a repetitve programme this week with him so he should have it sorted by the weekend!

Lovin the fog and the value of 'thanks'...

2006-12-21T21:52:00.000Z

It's been great to see the fog in the last few days! Maybe you think thats a strange statement but i went walking down by Oxford Island on Wednesday morning and it was just amazing as you can see in the picture. Alrite i know its been cold and it's rubbish for driving but there's something about the fog that gives a bit of a mystical feel that i really like!

This week has been good. Took the local young people from Waringstown to the Ice Bowl on Tuesday night. I was a bit worried about how it would go i.e. would they drink, fight, get thrown out etc.! But it was a fantastic night had by all! Most of the young people are not involved in any organisations like BB, sports teams or youth clubs and so don't really get the opportunity to go on a lot of trips (outside of school) so they were looking forward to it. There was about 30 of us altogether and everyone had a really good night. At the end of the night I was really struck by how thankful they all were. Loads of them came up and thanked me personally for organising which really encouraged me. Sadly lots of people in the community don't really have many positive words to say about the local young people. I just wish they could hear stories like this.

No more abuse please!

2006-12-10T14:21:00.000Z

Ok so i was starting to get abuse on my last post for lack of a recent update - apologies for that! I bought a house and moved in last weekend so the last few weeks have been understandably mental. It has been great though to move in to a house i can call my own (well half of it anyway!). Although you do feel kinda old and sad when you reach a time in life when you have to go out and buy a vacuum cleaner!!! This is a picture of the Hoover TC1182 i purchased - rather attractive im sure you will agree!

No internet in my new house so less opportunity to blog. Although having been at my parents house for my dinner for the last 3 days i think they think the only think that has actually moved is my bed! What can i say except compliments to the chef!

Anyway if you havn't already had the opportunity to call round to my new abode for a wee brew then you are most welcome!

SU Weekend!

2006-11-19T16:52:00.000Z

Hey there people. I realise it's been beards since my last post so i apologise for that (again!) but ive been a busy boy and haven't found myself with much idle internet time recently. Anyways, I'm just back from taking Banbridge Academy SU weekend and it was amazing! There were about 50 young people there ranging from 4th year to U6th and the topic for the weekend was 'Service...get it?'. To be honest with you i struggled a lot with preparation for my 3 sessions. I just found that when i sat down to prepare it just didn't flow - i couldn't get my sermon mojo working if you know what im saying! But as often happens, things started to come together at the last minute and i was excited about what could happen if they 'got it'!

A big message about service i wanted to get across to them is they idea that people have many needs:

Physical
Social
Emotional
Spiritual

Sadly, when Christians and churches generally approach service we invest most of our time, energy and resources into meeting people's 'spiritual' needs and forget about the other needs we all have. I was excited to hear that the SU are having a week of outreach activities in the school that include things like:

free breakfast (physical)
helping the cleaners clean the school (physical)
It's a knockout night (social)

Also we had a session in groups where they came up with all sorts of great ideas fo how to meet all four categories of needs. One idea that came across strongly was a student counselling/mentoring project (emotional).

People need to know that we care about all of their needs and not just their spiritual requirements. I think the church has a responsibility to meet these varied needs as Jesus did. He met people's physical needs when he fed the 5000 and healed the sick wherever he went. He also met social needs when he crossed barriers of religion, gender and age to connect with people. In the parable of the sheep and the goats what does the Son of Man say to the sheep? When i was hungry you fed me (physical), when i was thirsty you gave me a drink (physical), when i was a stranger you invited me in (social), when i needed clothes you clothed me (physical), when i was sick you looked after me (physical), when i was in prison you visited me (social & emotional).

What a great weekend. The young people really connected with God, the food was great and the banter was even better! Please for these guys this week and for the rest of the year as they seek to be 'lights to the world' in their school.

Long time no spake...

2006-10-28T13:05:00.000+01:00

Apologies for the lack of bloggage recently. It's been almost 2 weeks since my last blog and i guess the main reason for that is busyness! There's been a couple of things recently that have meant I've had less time to do things:

Setting up my office/spce for young people downstairs in Rigmarole. This has taken a lot of my time (painting & cleaning) in the last 2 weeks. Thanks to everyone who helped with this. All the time consuming stuff is done now so i hope to make full use of it in the next couple of weeks. Please come and visit me!
House-hunting. Doing some serious searching for houses at the minute which takes time. I'm planning to buy with one of my mates cos neither of us can afford to buy on our own. It seems like I've been out looking at properties most evenings this week from about 5-8pm. I'm starting to get frustrated to be honest because we can't seem to find something we both like, in the right location and for the right price. On top of that as the weeks pass buy the prices are rising at an incredible rate. Also getting frustrated with the many stories of friends who have bought houses in the last year at half the price of what they are now - if you have such a story then I really don't want to hear it! As an aside can i just say that it's an interesting experience when we look at a house because you just know most owners/agents reckon we are 'a couple'! As such, John and i have a strategy of casually dropping into the conversation something about girlfriends!

So basically both of these time consuming pursuits have come on top of normal work stuff so that ive been pretty flat out recently. Hopefully though things should settle down a bit now.

Love of being together...

2006-10-15T16:43:00.000+01:00

What is it about large gatherings of people, who are united in heart and voice, that is so powerful? This week i attended 3 events with large groups of people and all were very special. Firstly, on Wednesday night i was at Windsor Park to see the mighty N. Ireland take on Latvia. It was a great night shared with around 14,000 people and as we shouted, sang and bounced with joy - it was a powerful experience. Last night i was at Ravenhill with about 12,000 others to see Ulster dance all over the Cardiff Blues and as we celebrated victory there was that similar powerful feeling of shared experience with a large group of people. This morning was the Harvest service at WPC and there was probably about 350 people packed into church for the early service. It was a fantastic harvest celebration, the worship team were amazing and the message was excellent. Sharing this experience with a large group of people was similarly evocative and moving.

All examples of 'fellowship' and i suppose that is why we are called as believers to acts of 'fellowship' because God knows there is power when groups of people meet together for a shared experience. Acts 2:42 tells us the importance of 'fellowship' when it mentions it as a practice of the early believers alongside teaching, breaking of bread and prayer.

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (Acts 2:42)

Worship...

2006-10-07T18:17:00.000+01:00

Last night at 20:20 (our senior YF) was absolutely amazing! The topic was 'worship' and as i prepared on Friday i got really excited because i knew that if they 'got it' then it would be a special night. Well guess what? They got it! It's hard to say what happened but as i tried to explain what real, true, genuine worship is, which is what God is looking for, i just knew that people were really listening. So as we moved into a time of worship at the end i really hoped that what they had been challenged about would start to be practiced. The worship was fantastic and i know that young people really met with God, spirit connecting with spirit, which is what worship is all about.

As i looked around the room i was really moved and i realised there is no where else in the world i would rather have been at that moment than in that room, with those people, worshiping God. Afterwards i was absolutely buzzing with excitement which meant i hardly slept a wink last night!

Shooting Dogs...

2006-10-07T17:46:00.000+01:00

Watched this movie on Thursday night and it is excellent. Like the movie Hotel Rwanda this movie tells the story of the brutal genocide that took place in Rwanda in 1994 when 800,000 people of the Tutsi tribe were masacred by the Hutu people. The story is told in the context of a UN base set-up in a Catholic school where thousands of Tutsi's fled to for protection only to face eventual abandonment. The story closely follows two characters caught up in this context both of whom are white and English. One is the catholic priest who runs the school and the other is a young student teacher at the school.

Two moments sin the movie stand out to me. The first is when the young teacher is having a conversation with a BBC reporter who has just witnesed a horrific machete attack on a group of Tutsi's. She compares the experience with the horrifying things she witnessed when in Bosnia and how severely she was affected then. This time it was different, she wasn't so affected and it was not because she had become numb to such things it was because as she looked around all she seen were 'dead Africans'. That really sums up the attitude of the UN and the rest of the world powers during this genocide.

The second moment occurred at the end of the movie when the UN are about to leave and abandon the people and the priest decides to stay and the young teacher in desperation asks him why? The priest has struggled with his role and his faith as the masacre has ensued but at this moment he tells this teacher 'Remember when you asked me where is God in all of this? Well i have realised that He is right here with these people, suffering as they are and His heart is breaking.' What truth about our God.

Fantastic movie - a must see.

5 for 30...

2006-10-01T15:37:00.000+01:00

When i was in Thailand Stefan and i both made a list of 5 things we would like to have done by the time we are 30 (4 years to go!). I thought I'd throw them up here just so i have a record of them! In no particular order:

Further study, probably theology and definitely part-time.
Live in another (non-english speaking) country for a significant time (at least 6-12 months). This would be a fantastic cultural experience and i would be motivated to learn another language.
Invest a bit more time into music, especially playing guitar and singing.
Get fit. I'm doing zero exercise at the minute and its starting to frustrate me. Ive now blocked out time in my week for exercise so the plan is to join a gym this week and then maybe try and get a weekly game of squash too. If anyone fancies a game then let me know, unless you're really good, then im not available! This one is more of a 6 month plan rather than 4 year!
Get married - hehe! This one seems the most unrealistic probably because i have least control over it but sure i'll keep my eyes open!

I like setting a few goals mainly because it gets me thinking about the things i would like to do. They are not set in stone by any stretch but it's always fun to dream!

Belfast Festival...

2006-09-25T00:17:00.000+01:00

Ok folks i got a programme for Belfast Festival (19 Oct-4 Nov) a couple of weeks ago and i thought yeah i really must go to some stuff this year cos ive never been to any of the festival before. If you haven't got a programme then do not fret, all the stuff is in the website - click here. There's something for everyone there including music (of every genre), theatre, dance, visual arts, talks, cabaret, comedy and cinema! Here's a few things i have picked out that I'm going to try and get along to:

19 Oct - Crackers. Outdoor display of fire and fireworks in Botanic park to open the Festival. It's FREE so you can't beat that!

Music

22 Oct - Buena Vista Social Club plying some of the finest Cuban music ever made. Sounds interesting to me! Cost £17.50
30 Oct - Declan O'Rourke with Final Fantasy. 'It's the simplicity of great songs coupled with a unique voice that has the ability to reach into your heart and tear it apart.' I haven't heard of Declan before but have since listened to a few of his songs on myspace music (look for his link on the left) and have been impressed. Click here to see a live video of him performing a beautiful song called 'No place to Hide'. Cost £8 (bargain).
4 Nov - Iain Archer & Courtney Tidwell. I would like to go to this as i like Iain Archer but alas this date doesn't suit me - worth checkin out if you have a spare £8 lying around! Click here to listen to some of his songs.

Theatre

1 Nov - The History Boys. Sounds like an entertaining production - check it out.

Comedy

2 Nov - Andrew Maxwell. A local boy renound for telling a good story! Cost £11.50

Talks

4 Nov - Moazzam Begg (Amnesty International). A British Muslim's Journey to Guantanomo and Back. Sounds like an interesting life story. Cost £5.

So there you go, a few ideas for nights out in Oct/Nov and there's lots more on offer too and most of it at a reasnoble price i think! So if anyone would like to join me for any of this stuff then let me know as i'll probably try to book some tickets this week!

The week that was...

2006-09-23T15:21:00.000+01:00

Lots of stuff happened this week and i just didn't get time to blog it so here goes! I feel i have made real developments in my relationships with the young people who hang around the church car park. I had the opportunity to bring 2 of them along to meet with a few members of the church committee to address some of the concerns the committee have around litter, alcohol, noise and minor vandalism. This was a very positive meeting as the young people really listened to what the committee members had to say and responded very maturely. Negotiations took place and i really felt that both sides understood eachother better. On the back of this the church now have a greater realisation of the needs of these young people and are keen to pursue the idea of getting a centre open to meet the needs of young people in the village.

In June i put together a proposal and budget for such a centre and sent it off to a variety of Trust Funds and grants. Just this week i have received confirmation that two of those applications have been successful which is really encouraging.

It has been one of those weeks were i have just felt like things are starting to click into place. I've been in this job now for almost 5 months which really isn't that long as far as 'relationships' are concerned but yet i really feel settled. I have been accepted by the young people from the car park, they seem to enjoy having me around. Two of them had birthdays this week and they have begged me to come to the Bannville with them tonight to celebrate (i declined!)! The young people from the church are an amazing group that i just love spending time with. An incredibly gifted bunch of young people who are hungry to know more about God. They make me laugh too which is just great!

We had our first night of Fusion & 20:20 last night. I was pretty nervous and a bit stressed out cos i had been running around all week getting stuff sorted for it. Both went amazingly well - at least i think so anyway! We had about 15 young people for Fusion and they all seemed to enjoy themselves! There were a few regulars missing so hopefully those numbers will be over 20 in the next few weeks! We have about 5 leaders for Fusion and everyone had something to do and did a fantastic job! I think we had about 30 young people for 20:20 (again with a few regulars missing!) which was really encouraging! The worship was led by 'Witness' (an in-house band). It was the first time i had heard them and they blew me away with their gifts in music and worship leading. Then i introduced the vision of 20:20 using the vision in Ezekiel 37:1-14, and led on to talk about our theme for this term which is Spiritual Disciplines. I'm really excited about developing our young people's ability to engage with God in a very personal way, allowing them to grow in spiritual maturity. So by the end of the night i was pretty hyper to be honest and i can't wait until next Friday night!

So you can see what i mean when i say 'i feel like things are starting to click into place'. It helps me to know that God is with me and that i am in the right place and that i am doing the right things. I am happy! On that note i must go and wash my car!

Tiger Trophy trauma...

2006-09-21T10:21:00.000+01:00

Ok so the Tiger Trophy was held last night. For those of you who are not aware, the Tiger Trophy is held every month-6 weeks with 3 friends of mine for Uni. A different person hosts the tournament each time and we generally eat pizza first and then play a league of Pro Evo Soccer 5 on the PS2. Last night i was feeling fairly confident for no particular reason at all! However i put in an absolutley shocking performance and failed to win a match all evening. As such i finished last! Unfortunatley Nigel took the trophy home which is really quite embarrassing because he isn't that good and i usually beat him!

You see i find myself at a significant disadvantage to the other competitors as i do not own a PS2 or X-Box and so therefore cannot put in the required 'training' between tournaments. The rest of the guys are practising all the time so it's little wonder i'm taken advantage of! Anyways, there's always the next time!

Check out the photo and do take note of the t-shirt and the coveted trophy!

Baptism & Beach BBQ's...

2006-09-18T23:20:00.000+01:00

I was over in Glasgow at the weekend for my nephew Daniel's Baptism. I hadn't seen him since the end of June and he has grown soooo much (as you can see in the picture!). He's 10 months old now and so full of fun and smiles. It really will be no time until he's running round the place, then the craic will really start! I love spending time with him though because he makes everyone happy, especially Mum and Dad - they just seem to come alive when they are with him and none of the rest of us even get a chance to hold him!!!

The baptism all went off well and Daniel was a model child of course! All in all a great weekend but i was pretty wrecked by the time i got home last night! To be honest i think i still haven't recovered from my travel tiredness!

Also have to say we had a great night on Friday! Youth in church started back and we headed for a beach BBQ at Murlough. We had about 45 young people there aged from 11-18 and quite a few new faces too which was great. The food was good (big thanks to Pete and a few others) and then we lit a bit of a bonfire and shared a bit of a moment together! Feedback has been pretty good so i think people enjoyed themselves! So hopefully everyone (and even more!) will come along this Friday night as we start into out programme for this term in Fusion (aged 11-14) and 20:20 (aged 15-uni).

Rejoice...

2006-09-13T23:38:00.000+01:00

Was down at Oxford Island again this morning for the first time since before the summer, it was really good for me. This morning i had read the following and it had stuck in my mind so it was good to reflect on it as i walked:

'Rejoice. Change your ways. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you.' 2 Cor 13:11

The word rejoice got me thinking about JOY and can i really say that i am full of JOY? I think my happiness and joy is generally dependent on external factors but that isn't God's JOY, which comes from deep within and in spite of externalities. I know that if i want to be there and experience the 'God of love and peace' with me then i need to invest more time in our relationship. I've always struggled with reading the Bible regularly and i know im not alone on this one. They (don't ask me who 'they' are) say that it takes 6 weeks to develop a new habit, so I'm committing myself to the One Year Bible blog for the next 6 weeks. I'll keep you updated on my progress!

I spent some time tonight with a friend who completely inspires and challenges me with their lifestyle of unconditional love and self-sacrifice for a broken community. I feel like something broken in my own heart gets restored when i spend time with them. It's good to have friends like that.

Mine eyes have seen the glory of Windsor 2006...

2006-09-07T09:00:00.000+01:00

So i arrived home yesterday from Bangkok after almost 24 hours of travelling and very little rest. It's nice to be back in Waringstown, not much really changes although the Road Service has obviously been busy and the village now has parking lay-bys and boasts more islands than Greece!

A few months ago my friend and i went into the Lottery for tickets for N. Ireland's home qualifiers for Euro 2008 and were lucky enough to get 2 seats. I'd never been to a N.I. game before so last night i was looking forward to the match with Spain but given the 3-0 defeat to Iceland at the weekend i wasn't too hopeful. Oh my goodness, how wrong was i.

This was one of those defining moments in life people will talk about. 'Where were you the night N. Ireland defeated Spain 3-2?' will be the question. I can't believe that i am one of the 14,500 who can say - 'I was there!'

I have been to Old Trafford to watch United play 5 times but i can honestly say that last night was the best match i have ever been to in my life! N. Ireland came from behind twice and then with only 5 minutes to go, scored the winner. Healy with his hat-trick performance truely is a local legend on the scale of Best now.

I can hardly speak today, not because of the emotion of the experience, although it was emotive but because my throat hurts. I don't think i stopped singing all night. N. Ireland fans surely are the best in the world and the chorus's of 'We're not Brazil, we're Northern Ireland', 'We're not very good', 'Healy, Healy, Healy', 'Let's all do the bouncy' and 'Are you England in disguise?' rang out with enormous volume from start to finish. When Healy's 3rd goal went in i don't know if i have ever experienced such corporate euphoria and celebration ever in my life! I hugged and danced with grown men i have never met before but yet it was completely rational in the context! I'm sure the celebrations continued long into the night and with good reason!

What a night, what a game, what a team. Give's us all something to sing about our wee country! Now all that remains for me is to e-mail my Spanish friend Simon in Barcelona! Back to work today - ahhhh!

Latest adventures...

2006-09-03T09:20:00.000+01:00

Ok where do i start! Lots has happened in the last few days! Our flight was leaving Ko Samui island at 6am on Friday morning so rather that pay the mere 5pounds accommodation for the night we though we would just kip at the airport! So we arrive with all our bags at Samui airport just after midnight to be told the airport closes during the night and won't open until 5am! I mean what sorta airport shuts at night - although if you have been to Samui airport you might understand why - its basically a series of small bamboo huts with no walls! Its like being at a tropical island resort! Anyways, resourceful as we are, we decided to just hang around across the street so we found this market stall and just slept in it (see pic on left)! Not a great nights sleep had!

So on Friday we made our way to Sangklaburi to visit our friend Laura there. She teaches English to a group of fourteen students. Sangklaburi is a small town but 80% of its inhabitants are Burmese (Myanmar) and they have fled to Thailand because of the problems in their country. As such you get a real Burmese flavour to the area. The students Laura teaches are from the Mon tribe in Burma and all have their own colourful life stories to tell as you can imagine. Laura lives in community with her students - sharing meals and living space. She has been there for 3 months now and plans to spend another 6 months there. Laura has her own blog where she jouranls her experiences with a fantastic writing style - click here to check it out. Picture shows us sharing Mon food with Laura and her students. Following this we discovered how much the Thai and Burmese people love Westlife and Westlife karaoke - it was a sereal moment!

This was an amazing experience for us as we got to talk with real Thai and Burmese people and experience something of their culture and struggles. I'm so glad we had these couple of days were we could get off the beaten track and see no other tourists!

Whilst there we got invited to a Buddhist Monks birthday party at the temple - what a privilege - i mean this opportunity does not often present itself eh?! The pic on the left shows is the birthday boy in question! The party really just involved a sharing of food with a lot of people from the community. Then they had a time of prayer that we were able to observe also.

Yesterday we hired out 2 motorbikes and went touring around visiting some of the Mon villages. I've never been to anywhere were i have seen such poverty but at the same time the people there are very happy, they have their own little houses and they are healthy and seem to have their basic needs met - they all had running water, electric, televisions etc. We were also able to visit a Christian Childrens Home which mostly caters for orphans or children with HIV/Aids. The children were at church when we were there though so sadly we didn't get to spend time with them. We moved on to visit a similar centre for adults who have HIV/Aids, or disabilities or mental health problems. This was also interesting and the residents there weved their own products to sell so we were able to buy some stuff. The pic on the left is me beside the Burma border (we weren't allowed to cross it).

By far the funniest thing of the trip happened yesterday! Stefan was raking his motorbike in this little dirt area beside some market stalls. So i thought i'd take a picture and I'm not sure quite what happened but he was giving it full throttle and heading straight for me with the intention of braking. However i think he forgot how to brake or else he tried to brake whilst still giving it full throttle. Anyways, basically he fell off just as i was taking a picture so i managed to capture the perfect moment. I'm not joking folks, it was hilarious! Stefan came away with a few cuts and bruises but by far the worst to suffer was his pride! The bike was only a little bit damaged luckily enough and we got it fixed ok! Anyone who can remember any of the stories from last years trip will remember he did something pretty similar with a boat!

So all in all, it was a fantastic couple of days, defintely a highlight of the trip. we have just arrived in Bangkok today for 2 days. We leave here on Tuesday and arrive home on Wednesday morning and there will end the travelling for another year (well a few months anyway!).

Roast beef...

2006-08-31T06:39:00.000+01:00

So here we are still in Ko Phangan, thought I'd include a couple of pics - one of the beach and one of a beautiful sunset. Yesterday Stefan and i got absolutely roasted unfortunately! I think because we knew we only have a couple of days here to get a tan then we got a bit carried away! So as a result we both had an uncomfortable night of sleeping! I'm a firm believer in p20 sun cream (apply once and it does you all day) but it definitley let us down yesterday! Anyways, I'm a bit less sore this morning and we both will spend the day in the shade! Its a good opportunity to get some reading done. Im reading 'Celebration of Discipline' by Richard Foster. I think it's about my third time reading this book but its so good. We are looking at the disciplines this term in youth fellowship so I'm enjoying refreshing myself!

We leave at about 3pm today to make our way back to Ko Samui to spend the evening and then we fly early in the morning back to Bangkok.

Here are some observations of Thai culture:

all toilets a have a little hand held hose pipe thing that you use to wash yourself off. Toilet paper is only used for drying purposes!
Its quite common to see older men spitting into bins and then clearing both their nostrils into the same bin just by blowing hard (no tissue involved). This is really gross.
Barter for everything. The first price they quote is usually at least 3-5 times more than what they will sell it for!
Most foods are very spicy!