So much happening so little time!

     So first off I have to apologize for not posting regularly.... it has been very busy and there has been so much to do! So I think over this week will will sort of do a series of blog posts to catch everyone up on my life and that way its not a long and boring rant. So since the last time I wrote I have gotten pretty much fully settled, I have started baking a lot, I have had three infections, I have learned to play bowls, I went on my first all church retreat, I went with the YAV's to a monastery, I have traveled to Carrickfergus, Harvest happened, I went on my first YAV retreat which included going to the Giants Causeway, and finally the European Music Awards were hosted in Belfast. So many things keeping me busy and I will elaborate of the first few now!

        I have finally gotten fully settled! I have a waterproof coat since that is extremely necessary. My house is lovely and I am enjoying living in an intentional community. Settling into work and a typical routine has also been something that I have done in the past month. Regent Street has been absolutely amazing. It is home away from home. The congregation has been so warm and welcoming and the craic has been wonderful. I am getting to know people a lot better and even learning most of their names... considering that there are at least a handful of Pats so if im not sure I can fall back on that.  Now that I am settled in as a part of the church there are so many amazing activities that I am doing. My typical day in the church is a Wednesday where i get to meet with the minister and associate minister... and if you thought there were a lot of people coming through the church office daily in the States... well you would be surprised. It is wonderful to be able to see so many church members come through the office on a daily basis. So I get to be in the office in the morning and in the afternoon I get to go out and do visits. This has been something that I totally love. To me this was something different, in the states the experience or knowledge I had of visiting was to those who are sick or shut-ins. This is very different, not only do you visit those who are ill or can not come to church but you have a list of everyone in the congregation and the minister and associate minister go out and visit people on those lists. Yes, this church is much smaller then Nassau or Lawrenceville, but it is just common practice for ministers to do. It has been a real time of joy for me to be welcomed into someones home and be able to sit and hear about their lives and how they are doing. It has reminded me to value the face to face conversation that is readily available but yet not taken advantage of often. These visits have also helped me to get to know the congregation and learn about the culture.

Debbie Bowling

          Another thing within the church that I participate in is Bowls. To compare this to something that someone in the states might understand I would say it is like Boccie ball but harder. This is something that happens on Thursday nights at the church and it is with many of the older but very vibrant congregation members! the way it works is your put on a team of four people and you play against another team of four. Each player has two bowls and you go in the order you are on the score card. The idea is to get your ball closest to the jack. You cannot hit the stick in the center and the bowls have a bias so they turn when you roll them. You get two bowls every hand and normally you would play anywhere from 5-9 hands. For every hand you get points depending on who was closest to the jack and if their team has more then one bowl close then the get more points if the other team has no bowls close they get no points. Whoever has the most points at the end of the number of hands your playing wins. It sounds much more complicated then it is, I promise!

Bowls on the mat at the end of a hand

Thursday nights have been a great chance to get to know the congregation and have also helped me to learn a new and challenging game that is a part of the Northern Irish culture. The craic is wonderful, they are some of the funniest people I have met in my life and I just always leave laughing and ready to go back the following week. Also, a part of the culture I am still getting used to is the fact they drink tea/coffee maybe 5 times a day. So after the second full game of bowls every Thursday everyone stops to enjoy a cup of tea and a biscuit. So next week is our first tournament against another church. I  hope by the end of this year I can be brilliant at this game.

 Sundays at the church are very busy. It starts at half ten (10:30am) in the morning where we go to the church for pre-service cuppa which is like coffee hour in the states. Then the service starts at 11. In the beginning I was sitting in the services and just getting a feel for how church is run and how things happen. Now I have begun to take part. I have sang in the choir, done a scripture reading, and more recently have been going out to help with the different Sunday school classes. I am still learning the curriculum they use and getting a feel for what it is like but I have gotten to know some of the children and hope to be much more active in the Sunday school classes as time goes on. I recently have been given the job of putting together the children's service which is December 18 (my dad's b-day) so I have been working on that and putting it all together. Should be a lovely service. After the service or Sunday school, I am usually invited into someones home for lunch which has been amazing since Sunday lunch here is a huge part of the Northern Irish culture. There is actually a sign up sheet to have me for lunch. It is wonderful. Then every other Sunday there is an evening service which if this is taking place youth fellowship takes place after. On nights of no service it happens earlier. Youth fellowship is bundles of fun and it has been great to get to know the youth. One of the main things that I and the associate minister are trying to do is recruit more youth. At the moment the largest number of youth we have had is ten. So we have been trying to increase that to build up the youth fellowship program. So far youth fellowship has been a ton of fun. Everything form laser tag, to movie night, ten pin bowling and then on nights of the evening service very good discussions. So overall the church life has been wonderful and I am  loving my time in Regent Street Presbyterian.


So I was planning on continuing this post but I did not realize this one was so long so I will start a new one and leave you with some new phrases and language differences I have come across so far!

Whataboutya  =  how are you
good craic      =  a good time/ anything enjoyable
come by you   = Pick you up
call by            =  stop by your house
wee               = an adj they use in front of everything, meaning small.
pram             = stroller
child minder   = baby sitter
hiya              = hello
crisp              = chip
chip             = french fry
jumper        = sweater
trousers       = pants
pants           = underwear
skint           = broke
bap            =roll
cheeky      = rude
foot path   = side walk
baby grows  = onesie
rubbish       = trash
solicitors    = lawyers
fortnight     = every two weeks
plait           = braid
dead on     = o.k.
gutties/ trainers = sneakers
peelers       = police
motor way   = high way
to let         = to rent


Those are just a few of the many words I am learning here... and supposedly I have heard from my parents that I am starting to talk a bit more NorIrish! :) Next post on its way! Miss you all and thanks for your continued love, support and prayers! :)