I have this feeling. A feeling that's so hard to explain to someone if they've never experienced it before. But...I'm going to give it a go.
Have you ever met a group of people that you've instantly felt accepted for who you are and what you believe?
Have you ever so completely opened up yourself and let God take over that you find yourself in a place you least expected?
Have you ever found yourself in that place and all you could feel was "THIS is where I'm meant to be."?
I have.
And it's one of the most extraordinary feelings in the world.
I've been here for just over two weeks yet it feels like I've been here for two months.
I am awestruck by how quickly you can fall in love with a community if you simply just open up your heart and are willing to let yourself receive their love.
I was lucky enough that I already knew quite a few of the members of the new community. Of course I knew the staff and the three other returning volunteers but I also had met 8 of the new volunteers last year when they came on interview. So there were only three newcomers I'd never met before. But that didn't hold them back from squishing me, when I arrived, in a huge hug that nearly suffocated me because they squeezed so hard. Rest assured, I was smiling the whole time.
Its been quite an interesting experience in these first two weeks alone. Usually I find myself holding back a little bit until I feel I really know people, then I can be myself. However, there's so much I still don't know about these guys, which is mainly because I jumped into working as soon as I got here and it hasn't really slowed down since. But, despite not actually knowing much about their backgrounds, I honestly feel so comfortable with all of them, it feels like I've known them for years. I've never been the "new kid in town," so I wasn't sure how I was going to respond, or how they were going to respond. They welcomed me with such open loving arms, I couldn't help but immediately feel I was part of the family.
To be fair, they had a good warning about me before I arrived: the 3 other second year volunteers filled them in a bit and told them some things about me before I came. I know that if I want to get to know everything about them, it's just going to take time.
I find myself fascinated by how much the feeling of community can be so effected by each individual within and where they come from. This year there are 4 guys on team(soon to be 5- in January we'll have another American joining us!) which is a few more than last year. The average age of the volunteers is one year older so quite a few of the new volunteers have already been to university- only 2 18-year-olds this time. And there's a larger number of volunteers that are actually from England, so we're getting more British influence than we had before-I think it's brilliant!
I could tell, almost instantly, that this group is something special. Everyone is friends with everyone, there's no separation like you'll often get in a group full of young adults. They're such a tight-knit family already, and they've only been together for a few months!
I feel truly blessed to have such an incredibly opportunity to be a part of such a beautiful thing. We spend more time with these people than we spend with anyone else, most of us never even spend this much time with our family. Not only do we live together, but we also work together everyday and we play and pray together in our free time. To some people that sounds terrifying, but to those of us here now, it sounds fantastic.
There's no better group of people in the world that I'd rather be with this year.
I love my new English family.
God is good.
Monday, December 05, 2011
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Back in the saddle again
So I've been back for exactly two weeks now and what a whirlwind it has been. Once I landed I hit the ground running as the team's been together since mid-August and retreat season's now in full swing.
After having one day to recover from jet lag, I worked a two-day residential in the Loft with 28 4th graders. It didn't take me long, maybe all of one hour, to feel like I was right at home, that I was exactly where I was supposed to be. I missed working with these kids so much, I was so excited to be back singing silly songs, playing games and just running around and being a kid amongst the kids. That night I got to do the campfire, which made me feel right at home even more.
After the two-day retreat, I had a day off which I spent at the open markets in St. Albans. I was so excited to be back inside the English culture, I couldn't stop smiling as I walked the streets and soaked it all in.
Sunday I worked with a Confirmation group in which most of the young people had never been to SPEC before. They were absolutely lovely. It was 3 different parishes that brought their groups together for one retreat. It was amazing to watch how quickly the camaraderie was built and they opened up to each other. Quite a few of them had gone to primary school together but hadn't seen each other since then so it was fun to see the reunions and hear them relive some of their favorite memories.
Mondays are what we call Non-Contact Days, meaning there are no groups in so we have the day to spend together as community. Oftentimes the morning is spent on chores or preparation for programs and in the afternoon we have faith formation. Different speakers will come in(usually priests, nuns, authors or other leaders in the church) and speak on a certain faith topic. I quite enjoy these actually because it feels a lot like the lectures we'd have in some of my religion classes at Concordia. And because it's usually someone from the Catholic church, quite often they will speak on a Catholic topic, so they're even more informative for me as I still have a lot to learn. Monday evenings are always going to be filled with some sort of community bonding activity. Our small groups take turns in planning/ preparing/ hosting the events so we find ourselves in an array of different activities. (*sidenote* If anyone has any ideas for a fun group-bonding activity for 20 or so people, let me know!!!)
Last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday I was on a Loft residential again with 38 4th graders and I had such a blast! The group was so wonderful and somehow we managed to get everything done in good time and stay on schedule, even with 38 kids!! (If you've tried to lead 38 4th graders in any sort of activity, you'll understand why we felt it was such an amazing feat.)
Though we didn't do much to celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday, I did spend a lot of time that day thinking of all the things I've been thankful for in the past year. Every chance I got, I yelled "Happy Thanksgiving!" to anyone on the team, especially Kristin, the other American. It was pretty weird not having a turkey or sweet potatoes or lefse,(even last year I had a Thanksgiving dinner in London with some other Americans and some Brits) but I figured it's okay without all the food this year, then I could spend even more time thinking about how thankful I am to be where I am.
Throughout the whole three days of that retreat, I was constantly reminded how much we can learn from young people. I've heard 4th graders ask some questions deeper than any college student in any of my religion classes. Childlike wonder(term I acquired courtesy of Concordia Campus Ministry) is something I'm fascinated with and continue to search for it in my own life. I have no doubt that I will find myself submersed in it more and more as the year goes on.
This past Saturday I went with Narquita(a British volunteer who also returned for her second year) into London to check out the German Christmas market on the Southbank of the Thames, right by the London Eye. We were so excited to see how festive the city is already- I can't believe it's already December(almost)! But as Christmas is my absolute FAVOURITE time of year, I couldn't help but squeal like a girl when we saw all the Christmas lights and heard the music and smelled the roasted almonds and hot chocolate! After a few hours at the market, and exploring a new little shopping district we found by chance called Carnaby Street, we made our way back to SPEC. I had just enough time to get changed and ready to head to a Latin American Night with 8 others from community. A parish in Hemel Hampstead(about 15 minutes away) hosted a night full of amazing food and wonderful salsa dancing! What a great night to just let loose and have fun with some of my new brothers and sisters out on the dance floor!(especially when we were some of the youngest ones there by about 20 years).
Sunday I got up early and made my way to the train station and headed up north about two hours to Nottingham to visit Anthony, the Zimbabwean who was here for the past three years and is now going to university up there. If you ever travel to England, you will discover that Sunday travel is not the most convenient as transportation simply doesn't run as often as on weekdays. Because of this, I couldn't get there until about 11:25 so I wasn't able to go to 11 am Mass with Anthony so I sat in a chic coffee shop/wine bar in Beeston(small village outside of Nottingham)and waited for him. As I sat there I heard a buzz of conversation from the neighbouring tables and I could sensed quite a difference in the English accents. Then I remembered I was now in "the north" and any time you travel north, it's like you're hearing a different language. It made me smile. Especially when I heard a little blonde girl, about 18 months old I'd guess, talking to her mom about her teddy bear. "Mine, mummy!" So precious.
Once Anthony arrived we had coffee and talked, then we ordered lunch and talked some more. As we finished we walked up to campus and he showed me his new home. It was exactly what I expected an English university to look like-complete with a beautiful lake full of ducks! After it started to get dark, we made our way into Nottingham itself and headed for a pub called The Fat Cat. Anthony's part of Cathsoc, a Catholic society that most universities in England have, and the Bishop of Nottingham, Malcom McMahon, was coming to speak that night. So we went up and joined the group of 20+ people from the University of Nottingham who were there to listen to him speak about Advent and preparing for Christmas. He was a pretty cool guy and was really fun to listen to and at the end, he offered to buy everyone there a drink. He said he was glad to see Catholic students still drinking on a Sunday night. haha! Unfortunately, because of the Sunday travel, the last train I could catch was about 25 minutes after he finished so we weren't able to stay and enjoy the drink. But it was the thought that counts. Even though it was a rather quick trip up and back (which was unHEARD of to anyone from here, to take a 2 hr. trip up and come back the same day), it was so great being able to catch up with Anthony. He and I got to be really good friends last year and it was hard for me not being able to see him or talk to him everyday for the last 3 months. So I was very grateful for all the time I had with him that day.
Yesterday(Monday) was a Non-contact Day so we spent the morning preparing for a big group of 8th graders we have on Thursday, we had a guy named Jon come in the afternoon to start a Youth Leader course with us. It was SO much fun because it was all about activities and learning how to read a group that your leading. He'll be coming for six sessions, and I can't wait to see what we'll be doing next Monday!
Then last night for our community bonding time, we decorated the house for Christmas! We lit the fireplace and blasted the Christmas tunes and we spent a few hours getting the house all decked out for the Christmas holidays. There's no better way to spend a Monday night then to spend it with my 14 brothers and sisters, getting ourselves into the holiday spirit. I am so thankful for each and every one of them! The house looks pretty fabulous, if I do say so myself.
Today was a crazy day, but so much fun! We had 93 10th grade girls in and we ran the new program that I've never seen before. It's called "Heroic Virtue" and it focuses on fortitude, justice, and moderation and how we can choose to practice those in our everyday lives. The program is brilliant and the girls really seemed to enjoy it. Most of them have been coming to SPEC since primary school and this was their last retreat because they don't come next year. As I've been scheduled to work mostly Loft this year, I was quite excited I at least got to have some time with the older kids today. 93 seems like so many girls but they were so lovely, we really didn't have any problems all day. It was just how a big retreat should be!
I know that's a lot to take in, but I wanted to give you an idea of what I've been up to since I've returned. Even amidst the craziness, I have had some time to myself and I've just been reminded, again and again, how blessed I am to be back here. God has called me here for a reason and I cannot wait to see what this year holds for me and the rest of the SPEC Community.
After having one day to recover from jet lag, I worked a two-day residential in the Loft with 28 4th graders. It didn't take me long, maybe all of one hour, to feel like I was right at home, that I was exactly where I was supposed to be. I missed working with these kids so much, I was so excited to be back singing silly songs, playing games and just running around and being a kid amongst the kids. That night I got to do the campfire, which made me feel right at home even more.
After the two-day retreat, I had a day off which I spent at the open markets in St. Albans. I was so excited to be back inside the English culture, I couldn't stop smiling as I walked the streets and soaked it all in.
Sunday I worked with a Confirmation group in which most of the young people had never been to SPEC before. They were absolutely lovely. It was 3 different parishes that brought their groups together for one retreat. It was amazing to watch how quickly the camaraderie was built and they opened up to each other. Quite a few of them had gone to primary school together but hadn't seen each other since then so it was fun to see the reunions and hear them relive some of their favorite memories.
Mondays are what we call Non-Contact Days, meaning there are no groups in so we have the day to spend together as community. Oftentimes the morning is spent on chores or preparation for programs and in the afternoon we have faith formation. Different speakers will come in(usually priests, nuns, authors or other leaders in the church) and speak on a certain faith topic. I quite enjoy these actually because it feels a lot like the lectures we'd have in some of my religion classes at Concordia. And because it's usually someone from the Catholic church, quite often they will speak on a Catholic topic, so they're even more informative for me as I still have a lot to learn. Monday evenings are always going to be filled with some sort of community bonding activity. Our small groups take turns in planning/ preparing/ hosting the events so we find ourselves in an array of different activities. (*sidenote* If anyone has any ideas for a fun group-bonding activity for 20 or so people, let me know!!!)
Last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday I was on a Loft residential again with 38 4th graders and I had such a blast! The group was so wonderful and somehow we managed to get everything done in good time and stay on schedule, even with 38 kids!! (If you've tried to lead 38 4th graders in any sort of activity, you'll understand why we felt it was such an amazing feat.)
Though we didn't do much to celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday, I did spend a lot of time that day thinking of all the things I've been thankful for in the past year. Every chance I got, I yelled "Happy Thanksgiving!" to anyone on the team, especially Kristin, the other American. It was pretty weird not having a turkey or sweet potatoes or lefse,(even last year I had a Thanksgiving dinner in London with some other Americans and some Brits) but I figured it's okay without all the food this year, then I could spend even more time thinking about how thankful I am to be where I am.
Throughout the whole three days of that retreat, I was constantly reminded how much we can learn from young people. I've heard 4th graders ask some questions deeper than any college student in any of my religion classes. Childlike wonder(term I acquired courtesy of Concordia Campus Ministry) is something I'm fascinated with and continue to search for it in my own life. I have no doubt that I will find myself submersed in it more and more as the year goes on.
This past Saturday I went with Narquita(a British volunteer who also returned for her second year) into London to check out the German Christmas market on the Southbank of the Thames, right by the London Eye. We were so excited to see how festive the city is already- I can't believe it's already December(almost)! But as Christmas is my absolute FAVOURITE time of year, I couldn't help but squeal like a girl when we saw all the Christmas lights and heard the music and smelled the roasted almonds and hot chocolate! After a few hours at the market, and exploring a new little shopping district we found by chance called Carnaby Street, we made our way back to SPEC. I had just enough time to get changed and ready to head to a Latin American Night with 8 others from community. A parish in Hemel Hampstead(about 15 minutes away) hosted a night full of amazing food and wonderful salsa dancing! What a great night to just let loose and have fun with some of my new brothers and sisters out on the dance floor!(especially when we were some of the youngest ones there by about 20 years).
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| Girls at the Salsa Night |
Once Anthony arrived we had coffee and talked, then we ordered lunch and talked some more. As we finished we walked up to campus and he showed me his new home. It was exactly what I expected an English university to look like-complete with a beautiful lake full of ducks! After it started to get dark, we made our way into Nottingham itself and headed for a pub called The Fat Cat. Anthony's part of Cathsoc, a Catholic society that most universities in England have, and the Bishop of Nottingham, Malcom McMahon, was coming to speak that night. So we went up and joined the group of 20+ people from the University of Nottingham who were there to listen to him speak about Advent and preparing for Christmas. He was a pretty cool guy and was really fun to listen to and at the end, he offered to buy everyone there a drink. He said he was glad to see Catholic students still drinking on a Sunday night. haha! Unfortunately, because of the Sunday travel, the last train I could catch was about 25 minutes after he finished so we weren't able to stay and enjoy the drink. But it was the thought that counts. Even though it was a rather quick trip up and back (which was unHEARD of to anyone from here, to take a 2 hr. trip up and come back the same day), it was so great being able to catch up with Anthony. He and I got to be really good friends last year and it was hard for me not being able to see him or talk to him everyday for the last 3 months. So I was very grateful for all the time I had with him that day.
Yesterday(Monday) was a Non-contact Day so we spent the morning preparing for a big group of 8th graders we have on Thursday, we had a guy named Jon come in the afternoon to start a Youth Leader course with us. It was SO much fun because it was all about activities and learning how to read a group that your leading. He'll be coming for six sessions, and I can't wait to see what we'll be doing next Monday!
Today was a crazy day, but so much fun! We had 93 10th grade girls in and we ran the new program that I've never seen before. It's called "Heroic Virtue" and it focuses on fortitude, justice, and moderation and how we can choose to practice those in our everyday lives. The program is brilliant and the girls really seemed to enjoy it. Most of them have been coming to SPEC since primary school and this was their last retreat because they don't come next year. As I've been scheduled to work mostly Loft this year, I was quite excited I at least got to have some time with the older kids today. 93 seems like so many girls but they were so lovely, we really didn't have any problems all day. It was just how a big retreat should be!
I know that's a lot to take in, but I wanted to give you an idea of what I've been up to since I've returned. Even amidst the craziness, I have had some time to myself and I've just been reminded, again and again, how blessed I am to be back here. God has called me here for a reason and I cannot wait to see what this year holds for me and the rest of the SPEC Community.
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| ~SPEC Community 2011-2012~ |
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
(near) Future Plans
Many of you may be wondering, "Ok, so what's next in your crazy plans?" Well, I'm more than thrilled to say that I got offered a position for a second-year volunteer on the SPEC team so I'm planning to return to England!
After lots of thinking, praying, and discerning, I feel God is calling me back to SPEC. It's a feeling I can't really explain other than I just don't feel like my time is done. I feel I have so much more still to learn and right now, England is where I need to learn it. I knew it would take a lot of work to get back for a second year but since I decided to return, I have had so many confirmations that this is what I'm meant to be doing, from different conversations with people to things just falling into place. I can't help but feel that SPEC is where I'm meant to be right now.
Though the new team has already moved in(with 3 other volunteers from last year who are also returning), it will be mid-October when I head back. I knew it would take some time to sort out visa paperwork (especially with the wedding) and I knew I would need to spend some time with my family. So as long as the UK Border Patrol likes me enough to let me into the country for another year, I'll be heading back and hopefully it'll be around October 13.
I will be at the same place, doing pretty much the same thing with a little bit more responsibility. As a second-year volunteer, we are expected to help out the first-year volunteers in learning the sessions and help make sure they feel comfortable with what they're doing. I also told our Director and Assistant Director that, while I rather enjoyed my time with the high-school aged students this past year, I would really like to spend more time with the primary aged children this year. I absolutely love the Loft!
Though I will not be serving through the Young Adults in Global Mission, as that is just a one- year program, I will still be serving through the Lutheran church as an ELCA Volunteer with Time For God (lots of names, I know).
I have already received a few donations as I'm returning as a volunteer, and I am, once again, in need of support both financially and spiritually.
If you are interested in supporting my continuing ministry, you can mail it to
206 Moccasin Mtn. Dr.
Lewistown, MT 59457
or you can drop it off at my parent's office at
Moccasin Mtn. Art Gallery/
Shobe Auction & Realty
408 West Main St., Lewistown.
Also, many people have asked if I will be giving any presentations about my experience, to which the answer is YES! On Sunday September 18 and Sunday September 25, I will be giving presentations in the downstairs of Zion Lutheran Church during the Adult Forum from 10-10:45 am. On the 18, I will be sharing about my work life and ministry during the year and the 25 will be more about the culture I encountered in England as well as some of the other countries I visited. Anyone and everyone is welcome! It's a Lutheran church so there will definitely be enough coffee and cookies for everyone=)
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions!
Hope to see you there!
After lots of thinking, praying, and discerning, I feel God is calling me back to SPEC. It's a feeling I can't really explain other than I just don't feel like my time is done. I feel I have so much more still to learn and right now, England is where I need to learn it. I knew it would take a lot of work to get back for a second year but since I decided to return, I have had so many confirmations that this is what I'm meant to be doing, from different conversations with people to things just falling into place. I can't help but feel that SPEC is where I'm meant to be right now.
Though the new team has already moved in(with 3 other volunteers from last year who are also returning), it will be mid-October when I head back. I knew it would take some time to sort out visa paperwork (especially with the wedding) and I knew I would need to spend some time with my family. So as long as the UK Border Patrol likes me enough to let me into the country for another year, I'll be heading back and hopefully it'll be around October 13.
I will be at the same place, doing pretty much the same thing with a little bit more responsibility. As a second-year volunteer, we are expected to help out the first-year volunteers in learning the sessions and help make sure they feel comfortable with what they're doing. I also told our Director and Assistant Director that, while I rather enjoyed my time with the high-school aged students this past year, I would really like to spend more time with the primary aged children this year. I absolutely love the Loft!
Though I will not be serving through the Young Adults in Global Mission, as that is just a one- year program, I will still be serving through the Lutheran church as an ELCA Volunteer with Time For God (lots of names, I know).
I have already received a few donations as I'm returning as a volunteer, and I am, once again, in need of support both financially and spiritually.
If you are interested in supporting my continuing ministry, you can mail it to
206 Moccasin Mtn. Dr.
Lewistown, MT 59457
or you can drop it off at my parent's office at
Moccasin Mtn. Art Gallery/
Shobe Auction & Realty
408 West Main St., Lewistown.
Also, many people have asked if I will be giving any presentations about my experience, to which the answer is YES! On Sunday September 18 and Sunday September 25, I will be giving presentations in the downstairs of Zion Lutheran Church during the Adult Forum from 10-10:45 am. On the 18, I will be sharing about my work life and ministry during the year and the 25 will be more about the culture I encountered in England as well as some of the other countries I visited. Anyone and everyone is welcome! It's a Lutheran church so there will definitely be enough coffee and cookies for everyone=)
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions!
Hope to see you there!
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Landed Stateside and hit the ground running...or sprinting, rather
As many of you may know I got back to the States a few weeks ago, July 26th, to be exact. Flying through Chicago(where I had a lovely, relaxing, 5-hour layover) I landed in Billings late where Mom and Dad were there to greet me with big hugs and bigger smiles. As we drove the two hours back to Lewistown, I did most the talking as they wanted to hear about everything that had happened since May. After they came to visit at Easter, our communication with each other slowed down quite a bit. We all got so busy and caught up in the end-of-year festivities, it was hard to find much time to fill each other in regularly. We finally made it home safe, I unloaded my bags, went to my room and collapsed on my bed. The next few days were a bit of a blur as my body wasn't exactly up to speed on my travel itinerary(London is 7 hours ahead of Montana). If you've never experienced jet-lag, let me tell you, it is one of the most confusing but fascinating experiences you might go through. I was quite impressed with how my body could sleep 15 hours one night...then 2 hours the next. Talk about frustrating.
Besides the spontaneous bouts of utter exhaustion, the next few days were wonderful as I got to reconnect with friends and family and become reacquainted with life in Central Montana. It was fair week in Lewistown so I got to see quite a few old classmates, many of whom I'd not seen since we graduated. It was so interesting to hear where everyone has been; it seemed like we were all in such different stages in our life. The ones that I'd talked to that had gotten married and/or had kids already seemed quite keen on hearing about my year overseas. I heard everything from excited questions and hopes of traveling to fear and doubt in their ability to take on such a lifestyle. I was shocked to hear that some of them have never left the state, or even the town. Of course, it made me realize, again, how I'm in such a completely different stage of my life than a lot of people my age. Some of them said they would be terrified to move to another country for a year. I said I'd be terrified to have kids right now.
Though I didn't pick up much of the British accent, I seemed to acquire somewhat of a more expansive vocabulary. My brother Kyle did not hesitate to make fun of me when I asked if he had the same "mobile number" instead of "cell number"...and my friend in Minnesota got confused when I said "I'll meet you at half six" instead of "six thirty." The first few days back, my brain was hurting. I've never had to think so hard when trying to keep a conversation going. And to think, I was still speaking English!
I had about seven days home before I left for Minnesota for my brother Justin's wedding. After a few days full of rehearsals, family reunions, overindulging in fruits and salads, hair and makeup appointments, and a few hours of photo shoots, Justin and Julie tied the knot on August 6, 2011 at First Evangelical Free Church in Maplewood, MN. After the ceremony, we headed to Lake Elmo for the reception which was full of delicious food, the best cake I've ever had in my life, heartfelt and helpful toasts, and, of course, lots of music and dancing.
Justin and Julie had chosen "I Hope That's Me" by Brad Paisley for their first dance and then they wanted it to go right into "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" by Jet to which they had asked me to choreograph them a swing dance for. We had so much fun rehearsing the Thursday night before the wedding, I was so proud of them and how fast they picked it up! During rehearsal I told them they only got one shot at this so they had to go big or go home. They gave it everything they had and went all out. I couldn't stop smiling through the whole song.
After the wedding, I stayed in Minnesota for a few days visiting friends from Concordia. I made my way home on Wednesday and then on Friday I spent the whole day helping set up for the Lewistown reception for Justin and Julie, which was on Saturday. They realized that 13+ hour drive to Minneapolis is rather a long trek for a lot of people so they wanted to have a celebration here as well so everyone could be a part of it. The reception was held at my uncle's(Tom Spika) welding shop. Sounds crazy, I know. But that place cleaned up well! The reception ended up being bigger than the wedding with over 300 people(wedding was about 200). It was nuts! But so much fun as I got to see so many people I'd been looking forward to reconnecting with but didn't know when I was going to get the chance to.
Pastor Paul Seastrand gave a short blessing and Kyle and I sang the song which we sang at the ceremony("I Will" written by John Lennon & Paul McCartney, also sang by Alison Krauss). After the food was served, Kyle, Jodie and I shared a little program we had put together to tell the story of Justin and Julie(which they had no idea was coming). As J.R. Lund (groomsman & Justin's best friend since childhood) and Steve Astrup(Concordia buddy) read the story, the rest of us added in a little musical flavor. We had rewritten the words to some songs to make them more fitting while trying to keep the embarrassment at a reasonable level. It wasn't perfect, as we didn't have much rehearsal time, but we sure had fun with it.
We really did party til the cows came home. It was about midnight when the dancers began dwindling and the music faded. What a wonderful night! My family felt so fortunate to have so many caring people there to show such love and support.
I'll be honest, the whole week was quite a whirlwind yet it was one I'll never forget. Though I had people asking me about England every chance they got, I felt so blessed to have the chance to share my story and be a witness to the ministry of YAGM and SPEC. I also have to say that I'm forever grateful to Justin and Julie(I don't know if they're reading this) for putting their wedding plans on hold until I returned. I know my being gone kind of got in the way but I was so happy to be able to be a part of their special day and share in the love and joy of their marriage.
Besides the spontaneous bouts of utter exhaustion, the next few days were wonderful as I got to reconnect with friends and family and become reacquainted with life in Central Montana. It was fair week in Lewistown so I got to see quite a few old classmates, many of whom I'd not seen since we graduated. It was so interesting to hear where everyone has been; it seemed like we were all in such different stages in our life. The ones that I'd talked to that had gotten married and/or had kids already seemed quite keen on hearing about my year overseas. I heard everything from excited questions and hopes of traveling to fear and doubt in their ability to take on such a lifestyle. I was shocked to hear that some of them have never left the state, or even the town. Of course, it made me realize, again, how I'm in such a completely different stage of my life than a lot of people my age. Some of them said they would be terrified to move to another country for a year. I said I'd be terrified to have kids right now.
Though I didn't pick up much of the British accent, I seemed to acquire somewhat of a more expansive vocabulary. My brother Kyle did not hesitate to make fun of me when I asked if he had the same "mobile number" instead of "cell number"...and my friend in Minnesota got confused when I said "I'll meet you at half six" instead of "six thirty." The first few days back, my brain was hurting. I've never had to think so hard when trying to keep a conversation going. And to think, I was still speaking English!
I had about seven days home before I left for Minnesota for my brother Justin's wedding. After a few days full of rehearsals, family reunions, overindulging in fruits and salads, hair and makeup appointments, and a few hours of photo shoots, Justin and Julie tied the knot on August 6, 2011 at First Evangelical Free Church in Maplewood, MN. After the ceremony, we headed to Lake Elmo for the reception which was full of delicious food, the best cake I've ever had in my life, heartfelt and helpful toasts, and, of course, lots of music and dancing.
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| Shobe fam |
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| Shobe kids |
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| Blonde Bombers~ (Cousin Ilsa & niece Hadlee) |
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| Welding shop-wedding style |
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| a glimpse of the celebration |
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| Justin & Julie performing their swing dance in Lewistown |
I'll be honest, the whole week was quite a whirlwind yet it was one I'll never forget. Though I had people asking me about England every chance they got, I felt so blessed to have the chance to share my story and be a witness to the ministry of YAGM and SPEC. I also have to say that I'm forever grateful to Justin and Julie(I don't know if they're reading this) for putting their wedding plans on hold until I returned. I know my being gone kind of got in the way but I was so happy to be able to be a part of their special day and share in the love and joy of their marriage.
Monday, August 22, 2011
A Wee Trip to Northern Ireland
I had a week from the time we finished at SPEC til my flight home on July 26 so Erik(fellow Minnesotan) and I decided to head to Belfast, Northern Ireland. We stayed with our friend Franclin who is from Cameroon and had come to SPEC in May to work with us for a week. Franclin works at a center called Corrymeela (look it up!) in a little village called Ballycastle, just north of Belfast about an hour. It was there that I decided Ireland has got to be one of the most beautiful places in the world.
The first two days we spent in the city, exploring the streets and shops. Thursday we were lucky enough to meet up with fellow SPEC-ies Amelia(American) and Jess(Kiwi...from New Zealand)and Jess's parents who were visiting for the month. They joined us for a "Hop-on Hop-off Bus tour" of the city; what a great way to learn about the city! Jess's parents were a hoot; they were both born and raised in South Africa and moved to New Zealand when Jess was ten years old. I was fascinated by the stories they shared about life back in South Africa.
I don't know if you know much about the rather recent history of Northern Ireland and the conflict that they've endured. It's referred to as "the troubles" between Protestant unionists and Catholic nationalists, or the republicans and the loyalists. Starting back in the 1960s, the conflict continues today, though not to the same degree that it was even 15 years ago.
As we were on the bus tour, we saw hundreds of murals painted on billboards and the sides of buildings crying out for peace between the two peoples. We saw several paintings that were memorials for those who had suffered or died from the conflict, expressing the great courage and perseverance their lives displayed. Some of the paintings gave me chills, as they depicted men dressed in black with machine guns, with a message written about their intent. I've never been in a place like that, so affected by political conflict that you see it on every street you walk down, and practically every building in sight.
One thing that I saw that took my head for a spin was the children that were walking up and down the street where we were staying. Franclin had warned us as we walked to the house the first day that we might see these kids out, declaring their unionist support. I wasn't quite sure what he meant until we actually saw the kids. Sure enough, they were marching up and down the street, banging their bass drums and yelling some chant(which we couldn't quite make out the words to). He said it seems to be something so engrained in them, it's a pasttime that has been passed down to them from generation to generation. It gave me goosebumps when I first saw them as I really had never seen anything like it before. It still blows my mind how much political conflict can truly affect everyone and everything and in ways we never expect to see it.
Also, if you brush up on your Irish history, you will discover that the Titanic was actually built in Belfast(how cool is that?!) so as we were on the tour, we got to see the building sight as well as the new museum that is being constructed to be finished in the upcoming years. We also passed the Royal Hospital, where the portable heart defibrillator was invented. Our tour guide said this made Belfast the best city to have a heart attack in, and the city most likely to give you one. At one point, our tour guide had told us we were about to pass the house of the most optimistic man in Belfast("how do you measure that?" I thought). And sure enough, just as we drove by the house, we saw an outdoor swimming pool in his backyard. Apparently it's the only one in the whole city.
After the bus tour, we invited the others to join us for dinner so we all headed back to the house we were staying at and Erik and I cooked delicious stir fry for everyone. As we sat around and chatted about life in England, Cameroon, and America, there were a few moments I just found myself sitting there, soaking in everything around me. I thought about how lucky I am to be blessed with such wonderful friends. How lucky I am that I get to meet people from every walk of life. How lucky I am that I get to explore this beautiful world. How lucky I am to be alive. (sounds cheesy, I know. But it was just one of those moments.)
After a few hours of laughing and storytelling, we waved goodbye to Amelia, Jess and her family as they had flown into Dublin, hired a car, and were planning to continue their drive up north. Then Franclin, Erik and I decided we wanted to take in some traditional Irish music so headed to a pub in the city center for the evening. Franclin's friend, Owen, came and joined us and we had a blast. Owen was born and raised in Holywood, just outside of Belfast, where Rory McIlroy, PGA golfer who won this year's U.S. Open, is from. Owen said he's even talked to him several times before! I had Erik take a picture of me enjoying a Guinness(of course), with a ginger Irishman, while listening to the beautiful Irish music...I was lovin' it all.
Friday morning we made our way towards Queens University (beautiful campus!) and the Corymeela office. We were very grateful that two of Franclin's co-workers offered to give us a ride out to Ballycastle and Corymeela, so we wouldn't have to make the 2-3 hour long trip by bus. It was such a beautiful drive!
As soon as we got out there, Franclin gave us a tour of the site and then it was lunchtime. After having a little time to relax, we decided we wanted to go out for a hike and Franclin said "I know just where we'll go...Fairhead." Sounds great! So we set out our our afternoon excursion. We come to discover that Franclin had only ever walked this trail once before, and that was way back in October. Though the path was pretty easy to follow as it was guided by the shoreline, there were some parts that were a bit overgrown by bushes and were about 3 inches deep with mud. I thought it made it that much more entertaining. We finally made it as far down as we could go before we had to start climbing up the big hill to the rocky ridge of Fairhead.
At one point we passed a herd of sheep and I thought to myself, "How the heck do you take care of your herd if they're way out here?!" I definitely didn't see a road anywhere close and the closest house was at least 2 miles away. As I was contemplating the logistics of keeping a bunch of sheep so far away, we reached the top and as I turned around to see the view, it completely took my breath away. As I looked straight ahead, across the water, I could see an island. To the right were the mountains of Scotland and to the left was the village of Ballycastle.
I took so many pictures but none of them could truly capture the beauty that was before us. We agreed that we deserved a break so we sat there for awhile, just soaking in the majestic gift of Creation.
When we finally caught our breath, we started back towards Corymeela, this time staying on top of the ridge to make our way back, but still not really sure where we were going. Let's just say, we had a good time making our own trail.
We made it back just in time to catch the tail-end of dinner. Even though I was rather toasty from the hike, the beef and vegetable soup tasted so delicious! The potatoes were rather tasty as well (Franclin had warned us about the overload of potatoes he'd gotten this year, they have them EVERY day!). After dinner, we had a little time to relax before some of the volunteers started heading to the pub in the village. We walked about 35 minutes to Ballycastle(which made the 15 minute walks at SPEC seem like a piece of cake) which was absolutely beautiful. We walked by the edge of a golf course, which was right along the beach and as we got closer to the village, we could see all the lights, shining bright and reflecting on the water. As we made our way into the village, we found a very traditional, very small, Irish pub. As we walked in, I felt like I was stepping back in time. It was one of the oldest pubs in the area and the people there made it feel like we'd been family for just as long. Of course, there was live traditional Irish music that night (which happens almost every night, I'm sure) but it was the real traditional kind, meaning it was just instruments and no singing. So here were these three men: one playing a fiddle, one playing an accordion, and one playing a drum and they weren't on a stage(there was no room for a stage in that pub) they were just sitting around their table like they normally would, just playin' away, and of course, a few pint glasses there, ready to nourish them when they needed it. I was just captivated by the friendliness of the place, by the music, and by those three men, they didn't stop smiling the whole night! What a perfect way to spend our last night in Ireland.
As it was getting pretty late(11 pm is late for pubs in the UK...that definitely took some getting used to) we pooled our money together with some of the others and got a cab home. When we got back, everyone pretty much went to bed but I still had so much energy from experiencing some true Irish culture, Erik, Franclin and I ended up sitting and talking for a little while, talking about our day and how we didn't want it to end.
But as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. Saturday morning we had to wake up by 5 am so we could make the trek back to Ballycastle and catch the bus to get back to Belfast. We actually ended up having to get on 2 different buses, which took about 2 1/2 hours to get us to the city, longer than the car ride up, but shorter than walking all the way! As we got into Belfast, we had about an hour until Erik and I had to head to the airport to catch our flight. We bid farwell to Franclin and thanked him abundantly for being such a fabulous host. He'd made the trip so enjoyable, we were so incredibly grateful for his generosity. We made one last stop at a Irish souvenir shoppe (where the bulk of their merchandise was Guinness labeled stuff) and then made our way to the airport. We had just enough time to grab coffee and a sandwich before we had to get on the plane and before we knew it, we were in the air, London-bound. I couldn't believe our trip was over already. It was a bit of a whirlwind, but it was so worth it. I decided that if/when Franclin moves down to Dublin next year, I'm going to go visit him there too. That's the wonderful thing about making friends with people from all over the world, now I have lots of places to go visit! The thing about the friends I've made this year is that they feel like they are more than just friends, they feel like family.
The first two days we spent in the city, exploring the streets and shops. Thursday we were lucky enough to meet up with fellow SPEC-ies Amelia(American) and Jess(Kiwi...from New Zealand)and Jess's parents who were visiting for the month. They joined us for a "Hop-on Hop-off Bus tour" of the city; what a great way to learn about the city! Jess's parents were a hoot; they were both born and raised in South Africa and moved to New Zealand when Jess was ten years old. I was fascinated by the stories they shared about life back in South Africa.
I don't know if you know much about the rather recent history of Northern Ireland and the conflict that they've endured. It's referred to as "the troubles" between Protestant unionists and Catholic nationalists, or the republicans and the loyalists. Starting back in the 1960s, the conflict continues today, though not to the same degree that it was even 15 years ago.
One thing that I saw that took my head for a spin was the children that were walking up and down the street where we were staying. Franclin had warned us as we walked to the house the first day that we might see these kids out, declaring their unionist support. I wasn't quite sure what he meant until we actually saw the kids. Sure enough, they were marching up and down the street, banging their bass drums and yelling some chant(which we couldn't quite make out the words to). He said it seems to be something so engrained in them, it's a pasttime that has been passed down to them from generation to generation. It gave me goosebumps when I first saw them as I really had never seen anything like it before. It still blows my mind how much political conflict can truly affect everyone and everything and in ways we never expect to see it.
Also, if you brush up on your Irish history, you will discover that the Titanic was actually built in Belfast(how cool is that?!) so as we were on the tour, we got to see the building sight as well as the new museum that is being constructed to be finished in the upcoming years. We also passed the Royal Hospital, where the portable heart defibrillator was invented. Our tour guide said this made Belfast the best city to have a heart attack in, and the city most likely to give you one. At one point, our tour guide had told us we were about to pass the house of the most optimistic man in Belfast("how do you measure that?" I thought). And sure enough, just as we drove by the house, we saw an outdoor swimming pool in his backyard. Apparently it's the only one in the whole city.
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| Family dinner |
After a few hours of laughing and storytelling, we waved goodbye to Amelia, Jess and her family as they had flown into Dublin, hired a car, and were planning to continue their drive up north. Then Franclin, Erik and I decided we wanted to take in some traditional Irish music so headed to a pub in the city center for the evening. Franclin's friend, Owen, came and joined us and we had a blast. Owen was born and raised in Holywood, just outside of Belfast, where Rory McIlroy, PGA golfer who won this year's U.S. Open, is from. Owen said he's even talked to him several times before! I had Erik take a picture of me enjoying a Guinness(of course), with a ginger Irishman, while listening to the beautiful Irish music...I was lovin' it all.
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| Franclin & I at Queen's University |
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| The view from Corymeela |
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| Franclin thought about trying to catch one... but decided against it. |
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| View from Fairhead... or what I could capture of it. |
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| headin home |
We made it back just in time to catch the tail-end of dinner. Even though I was rather toasty from the hike, the beef and vegetable soup tasted so delicious! The potatoes were rather tasty as well (Franclin had warned us about the overload of potatoes he'd gotten this year, they have them EVERY day!). After dinner, we had a little time to relax before some of the volunteers started heading to the pub in the village. We walked about 35 minutes to Ballycastle(which made the 15 minute walks at SPEC seem like a piece of cake) which was absolutely beautiful. We walked by the edge of a golf course, which was right along the beach and as we got closer to the village, we could see all the lights, shining bright and reflecting on the water. As we made our way into the village, we found a very traditional, very small, Irish pub. As we walked in, I felt like I was stepping back in time. It was one of the oldest pubs in the area and the people there made it feel like we'd been family for just as long. Of course, there was live traditional Irish music that night (which happens almost every night, I'm sure) but it was the real traditional kind, meaning it was just instruments and no singing. So here were these three men: one playing a fiddle, one playing an accordion, and one playing a drum and they weren't on a stage(there was no room for a stage in that pub) they were just sitting around their table like they normally would, just playin' away, and of course, a few pint glasses there, ready to nourish them when they needed it. I was just captivated by the friendliness of the place, by the music, and by those three men, they didn't stop smiling the whole night! What a perfect way to spend our last night in Ireland.
As it was getting pretty late(11 pm is late for pubs in the UK...that definitely took some getting used to) we pooled our money together with some of the others and got a cab home. When we got back, everyone pretty much went to bed but I still had so much energy from experiencing some true Irish culture, Erik, Franclin and I ended up sitting and talking for a little while, talking about our day and how we didn't want it to end.
But as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. Saturday morning we had to wake up by 5 am so we could make the trek back to Ballycastle and catch the bus to get back to Belfast. We actually ended up having to get on 2 different buses, which took about 2 1/2 hours to get us to the city, longer than the car ride up, but shorter than walking all the way! As we got into Belfast, we had about an hour until Erik and I had to head to the airport to catch our flight. We bid farwell to Franclin and thanked him abundantly for being such a fabulous host. He'd made the trip so enjoyable, we were so incredibly grateful for his generosity. We made one last stop at a Irish souvenir shoppe (where the bulk of their merchandise was Guinness labeled stuff) and then made our way to the airport. We had just enough time to grab coffee and a sandwich before we had to get on the plane and before we knew it, we were in the air, London-bound. I couldn't believe our trip was over already. It was a bit of a whirlwind, but it was so worth it. I decided that if/when Franclin moves down to Dublin next year, I'm going to go visit him there too. That's the wonderful thing about making friends with people from all over the world, now I have lots of places to go visit! The thing about the friends I've made this year is that they feel like they are more than just friends, they feel like family.
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| My brothers |
Wednesday, August 03, 2011
In the past month...
My deepest apologies for my lack of communication over the past month. Once June hit, things went off the wall. We were busier than ever with end-of-the-year work, play, and celebrations. Here's a quick overview of what went down.
At the beginning of June, we had our third and final TFG Conference. All nine of us YAGM, plus the three 2nd year ELCA volunteers, headed up north to Doncaster for four days of sharing stories, relaxing, and, hardest of all, saying goodbyes. Everyone was asked to give a short presentation about their placement and what they learned which was wonderful because we got to hear how the year has changed every single one of us. Hearing stories about mistakes we'd made as newbies to the English culture, to stories about struggling with our identity and our faith: we felt such a sense of connectedness, knowing that we were never alone through it all. One of the moments I will always remember about the conference was the last evening where we had worship together and celebrated Holy Communion. With Erin showing her skills on the piano, we sang some familiar Lutheran hymns that seemed to tug at everyone's heart; a lot of us had felt a yearning for songs like that for quite a long time. Communion was done a bit differently as we pushed the tables together and all sat around the big table together. Donald Scott, a man from Glasgow, Scotland who's on the Board of Trustees for TFG and also a minister(he has done a lot of work in prison ministry) served us Communion and it was one of the most powerful Meals I've ever experienced. Looking across the table, through the candle light, I could see a reflection of God in the faces of my brothers and sisters. As we ate the Bread and Body, I imagined that was what it must've felt like to be eating at the Last Supper; sitting around the table with your closest of friends, sharing a most sacred meal. It's moments like that which are impossible to plan, but will never be forgotten.
Brightlights! July 1-4 we went up north for a young adults Christian music festival which has always been held at SPEC in the past but this year was moved to Aylesford Priory. What an amazing place to have a festival! I have to admit, hangin' out with a bunch of Friars, in a place that was built in 1281 was one of the coolest experiences ever. Especially when they had come to the "disco"(dance party) we had the last night and they all rocked out to a medley from Grease, Grease Lightning moves and all! It was a wonderful weekend full of music, incredible speakers, and time to reconnect with fellow volunteers we'd met at the conference in January. Most of us took tents and sleeping bags and camped out in the nice field they had; I'd forgotten how much I love camping out!
I absolutely enjoyed all three of the main speakers that were there, they had so many good stories and inspirational advice surround the theme of "Just Love." The theme was so fitting as it focused on the social justice aspect as well as the idea of love alone being the most important thing we are given and we have to give.
Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow is the Scottish founder of Mary's Meals, an organization he started in 2002 after watching on tv the conflict in Bosnia. After making the trek to Bosnia with a Jeep full of donations of clothes and food, it quickly grew to an aid effort to get more children to school, where they would be offered at least one good meal for the day. Currently Mary's Meals serves in over 16 countries, costing £6.15 to support each child for a year. His story was one of true perseverance and dedication.
The second speaker was by far one of the most captivating and honest speakers I've ever heard. Abuna Elias Chacour is a Melkite Catholic Archbishop born to a Palestinian Christian family in Upper Galilee. He experienced the tragedy of eviction from his village by the Israeli authorities in 1947 and became a refugee in his own land. In 1965, Abuna was appointed priest of the village church in Ibillin and has been there ever since. The stories he shared about the things he had experienced showed that his work and ministry went far beyond the reaches of routine priestly duties. He has written 2 books and has been nominated three times for the Nobel Peace prize. He talked about how we are "living stones" and that only together are we stronger than anything. He started his talk with what was one of the most powerful things I heard all weekend. He said, "Stones can speak and they can speak eloquently only if we know how to listen. So get up, go ahead, do something, you who want to be peacemakers." As I glanced around the audience, everyone, I mean everyone, was absolutely captivated by this man's presence, hanging on to his every word. It's not everyday you get to experience something like that.
The last speaker was Fr Christopher Jamison, a Benedictine monk who is famous for his appearance in the BBC 2 television documentary The Monastery as well as The Big Silence. He shared with us his studies and exploration in the value and challenge of silent meditation. A lot of what he had to say related to what I'd learned(and loved) in my Religion and the Body class last year at Concordia. He offered some different practices that can help us to focus and re-center ourselves; it's all about finding balance, finding quiet in a world so full of noise. Amen, Father.
Overall, the weekend was a great time of reconnecting, relaxing, and re-energizing. The sunshine was abundant, as was the fellowship. I had been asked to help lead a workshop with a game I'd help write a few months ago that was all about saints of the Catholic church. I have to admit I never expected to learn so much about the saints, let alone find myself teaching others about them! I actually quite enjoyed it, I've always found sainthood rather fascinating.
As the last day of the festival was on the 4th of July, us three Americans ended it by standing in the dining hall at breakfast showing our patriotism by singing the Star Spangled Banner. Though a number of the people had already left the evening before, we did get a round of applause from the few that were still left in the room. And that was the extent of our 4th of July celebration.
After Brightlights, we had only a few days left of work. My last day of retreat was with a year 8 group(7th grade) and they were lovely as ever. A perfect way to end the year! After our last day of work on the 8th of July, we had a week and a half of community activities and time to finish documenting things we'd done and changed over the year. Within the week and a half, we had a 24-hour retreat(similar to the team retreat we'd had before Easter), went golfing at the driving range(SO fun, especially because I was one of 3 people on the team who'd ever golfed before...I had a grand time teaching the little I remembered about how to swing), went to a pottery shop and painted mugs, had picnics outside, had a recap of the year in photos, watched movies, played ultimate frisbee, had a baby-photo contest, and ended the last night with a dance party. We pretty much tried to spend every possible moment with each other because for a lot of us, it's hard to know when we'll see each other again. I think it's safe to say, the friendships we built this year are friendships that are going to last a lifetime. I feel so blessed to have been part of such a beautiful community.
There were quite a few more things that seemed to fill up our last month together but I just wanted to highlight a few so you could get an idea of what it was like around SPEC at the end of the year. Who would've thought the end would come so quickly?!
At the beginning of June, we had our third and final TFG Conference. All nine of us YAGM, plus the three 2nd year ELCA volunteers, headed up north to Doncaster for four days of sharing stories, relaxing, and, hardest of all, saying goodbyes. Everyone was asked to give a short presentation about their placement and what they learned which was wonderful because we got to hear how the year has changed every single one of us. Hearing stories about mistakes we'd made as newbies to the English culture, to stories about struggling with our identity and our faith: we felt such a sense of connectedness, knowing that we were never alone through it all. One of the moments I will always remember about the conference was the last evening where we had worship together and celebrated Holy Communion. With Erin showing her skills on the piano, we sang some familiar Lutheran hymns that seemed to tug at everyone's heart; a lot of us had felt a yearning for songs like that for quite a long time. Communion was done a bit differently as we pushed the tables together and all sat around the big table together. Donald Scott, a man from Glasgow, Scotland who's on the Board of Trustees for TFG and also a minister(he has done a lot of work in prison ministry) served us Communion and it was one of the most powerful Meals I've ever experienced. Looking across the table, through the candle light, I could see a reflection of God in the faces of my brothers and sisters. As we ate the Bread and Body, I imagined that was what it must've felt like to be eating at the Last Supper; sitting around the table with your closest of friends, sharing a most sacred meal. It's moments like that which are impossible to plan, but will never be forgotten.
Brightlights! July 1-4 we went up north for a young adults Christian music festival which has always been held at SPEC in the past but this year was moved to Aylesford Priory. What an amazing place to have a festival! I have to admit, hangin' out with a bunch of Friars, in a place that was built in 1281 was one of the coolest experiences ever. Especially when they had come to the "disco"(dance party) we had the last night and they all rocked out to a medley from Grease, Grease Lightning moves and all! It was a wonderful weekend full of music, incredible speakers, and time to reconnect with fellow volunteers we'd met at the conference in January. Most of us took tents and sleeping bags and camped out in the nice field they had; I'd forgotten how much I love camping out!
I absolutely enjoyed all three of the main speakers that were there, they had so many good stories and inspirational advice surround the theme of "Just Love." The theme was so fitting as it focused on the social justice aspect as well as the idea of love alone being the most important thing we are given and we have to give.
Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow is the Scottish founder of Mary's Meals, an organization he started in 2002 after watching on tv the conflict in Bosnia. After making the trek to Bosnia with a Jeep full of donations of clothes and food, it quickly grew to an aid effort to get more children to school, where they would be offered at least one good meal for the day. Currently Mary's Meals serves in over 16 countries, costing £6.15 to support each child for a year. His story was one of true perseverance and dedication.
The second speaker was by far one of the most captivating and honest speakers I've ever heard. Abuna Elias Chacour is a Melkite Catholic Archbishop born to a Palestinian Christian family in Upper Galilee. He experienced the tragedy of eviction from his village by the Israeli authorities in 1947 and became a refugee in his own land. In 1965, Abuna was appointed priest of the village church in Ibillin and has been there ever since. The stories he shared about the things he had experienced showed that his work and ministry went far beyond the reaches of routine priestly duties. He has written 2 books and has been nominated three times for the Nobel Peace prize. He talked about how we are "living stones" and that only together are we stronger than anything. He started his talk with what was one of the most powerful things I heard all weekend. He said, "Stones can speak and they can speak eloquently only if we know how to listen. So get up, go ahead, do something, you who want to be peacemakers." As I glanced around the audience, everyone, I mean everyone, was absolutely captivated by this man's presence, hanging on to his every word. It's not everyday you get to experience something like that.
The last speaker was Fr Christopher Jamison, a Benedictine monk who is famous for his appearance in the BBC 2 television documentary The Monastery as well as The Big Silence. He shared with us his studies and exploration in the value and challenge of silent meditation. A lot of what he had to say related to what I'd learned(and loved) in my Religion and the Body class last year at Concordia. He offered some different practices that can help us to focus and re-center ourselves; it's all about finding balance, finding quiet in a world so full of noise. Amen, Father.
Overall, the weekend was a great time of reconnecting, relaxing, and re-energizing. The sunshine was abundant, as was the fellowship. I had been asked to help lead a workshop with a game I'd help write a few months ago that was all about saints of the Catholic church. I have to admit I never expected to learn so much about the saints, let alone find myself teaching others about them! I actually quite enjoyed it, I've always found sainthood rather fascinating.
As the last day of the festival was on the 4th of July, us three Americans ended it by standing in the dining hall at breakfast showing our patriotism by singing the Star Spangled Banner. Though a number of the people had already left the evening before, we did get a round of applause from the few that were still left in the room. And that was the extent of our 4th of July celebration.
After Brightlights, we had only a few days left of work. My last day of retreat was with a year 8 group(7th grade) and they were lovely as ever. A perfect way to end the year! After our last day of work on the 8th of July, we had a week and a half of community activities and time to finish documenting things we'd done and changed over the year. Within the week and a half, we had a 24-hour retreat(similar to the team retreat we'd had before Easter), went golfing at the driving range(SO fun, especially because I was one of 3 people on the team who'd ever golfed before...I had a grand time teaching the little I remembered about how to swing), went to a pottery shop and painted mugs, had picnics outside, had a recap of the year in photos, watched movies, played ultimate frisbee, had a baby-photo contest, and ended the last night with a dance party. We pretty much tried to spend every possible moment with each other because for a lot of us, it's hard to know when we'll see each other again. I think it's safe to say, the friendships we built this year are friendships that are going to last a lifetime. I feel so blessed to have been part of such a beautiful community.
There were quite a few more things that seemed to fill up our last month together but I just wanted to highlight a few so you could get an idea of what it was like around SPEC at the end of the year. Who would've thought the end would come so quickly?!
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Days Worth Living
For the past month and a half I have been going for an hour-long run in the morning pretty much every other day. England has "public footpaths" everywhere for people to walk which I have really come to enjoy exploring. Sometimes the paths lead you through towns, other times they lead you through fields. It's a great way for one to see more of the countryside.
I decided to start running 1) for the exercise and 2) for the chance to clear my mind and get focused for the day. Today my run was particularly worthwhile. One of the paths I often take is actually the route we take the young people that come to SPEC out on for the night walks. It goes through some fields, over a bridge that hangs above the M-25(busy motorway around London), down a road that's blocked off to cars, along a hill that's a fence-line away from the train tracks, and up and down a few hills along the way. One of my favorite parts is where the path runs right next to a stream and under a bridge that holds up part of the motorway. Today the sun was shining beautifully and after a night of heavy rainfall, the trees and flowers welcomed the warmth. As I ran under the bridge, I noticed the stark difference in the lighting as the sun was so bright, and when I was under the bridge it was so much darker. For those few moments I felt so disoriented, my eyes couldn't adjust well to the darkness. As the blinding sunlight hit me again, on the other side of the bridge, I suddenly became aware of what song was playing on my ipod.
Cause these are the days worth living
These are the years we're given
And these are the moments
These are the times
Let's make the best out of our lives
It was like the sunlight was there to hit me in the face to get me to listen to the music. I was needing something to remind me about the importance of every moment I have left here. I've been so worried about getting future plans made and making sure everything gets done that needs to be done, I've forgotten how much I will miss out on if I spend my last month stressed out about everything. I was needing a reminder that life is a precious gift. The words of the lyrics were the words I needed to hear. Funny how that happens.
Our Lives by The Calling
Is it love tonight
When everyone's dreaming
Of a better life
In this world
Divided by fear
We've gotta believe that
There's a reason we're here
Yeah, there's a reason we're here
Cause these are the days worth living
These are the years we're given
And these are the moments
These are the times
Let's make the best out of our lives
See the truth all around
Our faith can be broken
And our hands can be bound
But open our hearts and fill up the emptiness
With nothing to stop us
Is it not worth the risk?
Yeah, is it not worth the risk?
Cause these are the days worth living
Theses are the years we're given
And these are the moments
These are the times
Let's make the best out of our lives
Even if hope was shattered
I know it wouldn't matter
Cause these are the moments
These are the times
Let's make the best out of our lives
We can't go on
Thinking it's wrong
To speak our minds
I've gotta let out what's inside
Is it love tonight
When everyone's dreaming
Can we get it right?
Yeah, well can we get it right?
Cause these are the days worth living
Theses are the years we're given
And these are the moments
These are the times
Let's make the best out of our lives
Even if hope was shattered
I know it wouldn't matter
Cause these are the moments
These are the times
Let's make the best out of our lives
Today is a day worth living. Thanks be to God.
I decided to start running 1) for the exercise and 2) for the chance to clear my mind and get focused for the day. Today my run was particularly worthwhile. One of the paths I often take is actually the route we take the young people that come to SPEC out on for the night walks. It goes through some fields, over a bridge that hangs above the M-25(busy motorway around London), down a road that's blocked off to cars, along a hill that's a fence-line away from the train tracks, and up and down a few hills along the way. One of my favorite parts is where the path runs right next to a stream and under a bridge that holds up part of the motorway. Today the sun was shining beautifully and after a night of heavy rainfall, the trees and flowers welcomed the warmth. As I ran under the bridge, I noticed the stark difference in the lighting as the sun was so bright, and when I was under the bridge it was so much darker. For those few moments I felt so disoriented, my eyes couldn't adjust well to the darkness. As the blinding sunlight hit me again, on the other side of the bridge, I suddenly became aware of what song was playing on my ipod.
Cause these are the days worth living
These are the years we're given
And these are the moments
These are the times
Let's make the best out of our lives
It was like the sunlight was there to hit me in the face to get me to listen to the music. I was needing something to remind me about the importance of every moment I have left here. I've been so worried about getting future plans made and making sure everything gets done that needs to be done, I've forgotten how much I will miss out on if I spend my last month stressed out about everything. I was needing a reminder that life is a precious gift. The words of the lyrics were the words I needed to hear. Funny how that happens.
Our Lives by The Calling
Is it love tonight
When everyone's dreaming
Of a better life
In this world
Divided by fear
We've gotta believe that
There's a reason we're here
Yeah, there's a reason we're here
Cause these are the days worth living
These are the years we're given
And these are the moments
These are the times
Let's make the best out of our lives
See the truth all around
Our faith can be broken
And our hands can be bound
But open our hearts and fill up the emptiness
With nothing to stop us
Is it not worth the risk?
Yeah, is it not worth the risk?
Cause these are the days worth living
Theses are the years we're given
And these are the moments
These are the times
Let's make the best out of our lives
Even if hope was shattered
I know it wouldn't matter
Cause these are the moments
These are the times
Let's make the best out of our lives
We can't go on
Thinking it's wrong
To speak our minds
I've gotta let out what's inside
Is it love tonight
When everyone's dreaming
Can we get it right?
Yeah, well can we get it right?
Cause these are the days worth living
Theses are the years we're given
And these are the moments
These are the times
Let's make the best out of our lives
Even if hope was shattered
I know it wouldn't matter
Cause these are the moments
These are the times
Let's make the best out of our lives
Today is a day worth living. Thanks be to God.
Community Camping Trip in the Lake District
Over our week of Half-Term Break, we decided we were going to take a community camping trip up to the Lake District, one of the most beautiful parts of England. We all wanted to use our last real chance to take a trip together but didn’t want to do anything too expensive. So 14 of us piled into 3 rental cars and drove the 4 hours up north to a little village called Windemere, next to Kendall. We’d paid for 3 nights at a camping barn. Sounds dodgy, I know, but it was one of the coolest places I’ve ever stayed. It was an old barn converted into a camping lodge(which I guess is a common thing to do in England?) and it was nestled in right on the side of a huge hill. As you entered through the big barn doors, there was a main sitting room: a few couches and chairs on one side and a big floor space for all the little mattresses on the other side. Keep walking in and up to the right, there was a few steps into what I called the “Bunk Room”(which I learned isn’t quite a common term in everyone’s vocabulary) with 3 bunk beds and a skylight! Next to the Bunk Room, a straight shot back from the barn door, was the kitchen. I thought it was a fabulous kitchen, considering the only stove/oven/anything else I've ever had for cooking has been a campfire. However, to the typical English camper, it wasn’t quite, how shall I say...up to par? One tiny sink, just enough to fit a pot in to wash, sat in the stone counter. The fridge was a true English fridge…tiny. (Think dorm fridge, one stacked on top of another) The oven was just big enough to fit one pan in, and the stove was rather entertaining to try to light(even more entertaining to try to get it to stay lit). The cutlery and utensils was mix-and-match, to the extreme. To me it just made it that much more exciting to try to cook anything successfully. “Whoever finds a knife sharper than a butter knife first, wins!” I’d say the cooking was one of the most interesting parts of the whole camping experience. Cooking for 14 people, in a tiny kitchen, on a small budget isn’t the easiest thing I’ve ever done but it was oh-so-worth it.
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| Our barn |
The drive there ended up taking a bit longer than we expected but no one seemed to mind because we were all quite excited for a giant road trip together. Amelia, Erik, and Jess drove (I was going to but decided my manual driving skills aren’t quite up to snuff for English driving, and with a full car of volunteers) which was quite entertaining as none of them had driven since August, and Amelia and Erik had never tried driving on the left side of the road before(roundabouts, what!?). So after we arrived safe and sound (only a few wrong turns to count), we unloaded the cars, set up our beds, and Seo-Yeon, our South Korean, set to cooking right away. She made us some authentic Korean food including some sushi rolls, some sushi rolls minus the sushi plus more vegetables, and a beef dish that was absolutely brilliant. After we ate our weight in rice and vegetables, we did nothing but sit and talk. I enjoyed every minute of it. There’s been so many times I’ve wanted to just sit and hang out with community but it seems there’s always jobs to do, places to go, young people to tend to (which is important, indeed). As we sat and conversed, I realized just how fast this year has gone, how much I’ve learned, and just how much I have come to love our community and everything about it.
After awhile people started getting a bit antsy so we played what might possibly be one of the best games ever invented, called “No Holds Barred.” I’m not sure how easy it would be to explain here, so let’s just say it’s the kind of game I could see my brothers playing. Though the severity of the war wounds was minimal, the number of bruises was abundant.
Our first full day, Amelia took a group with her to hike a trail she’d found on the map and was determined to conquer. The rest of us took our time getting out of bed and enjoyed a morning of relaxation on the sea of mattresses that had replaced the floor, sleeping bags and pillows scattered everywhere. After about 12:30 pm we decided we should make the most out of our holiday instead of sleeping it away so we packed some sandwiches and filled our water bottles and headed out for Kentmere Reservoir, a place Jess had found on the map and decided it looked like a nice friendly route for an afternoon jaunt. We set out with the agreement that we’d walk for an hour or two and however far we’d gotten by then, we’d just turn around and come back. We hadn’t even made it to the bottom of our hill and we’d met these two older ladies sitting on a pile of rocks, studying their map and eating oranges. Since they had a map (and we didn’t) I thought I’d ask them about the route, just to be on the safe side(I've learned the hard way that Jess isn't always the best with directions). They assured us it was a lovely stroll, with the loop up and around the reservoir totaling 6 miles and we’d be just fine if we followed the signs the whole way.
Well, after an interesting encounter with a field full of sheep, a semi-treacherous crossing of a swampy pasture, passing a few abandoned yet beautiful buildings, several instances of “It’s gotta be just over this ridge,” and about 3 hours later…we finally made it to the reservoir. Though Jess and I were a bit disappointed it wasn’t exactly fit for swimming conditions (the strong gale winds would’ve made it a tish nippy), it was still an incredibly beautiful view from the top. I have to say, I was fully enjoying myself as I have been yearning for some outdoor excursions like such all year, however, I think I was among the minority. Everyone was pretty convinced the two ladies had miscalculated the length of the route but I think they were pretty close. It just seemed to last a bit longer with all the breaks we kept taking. As we started back down to our barn, I got a few rolled eyes when I was trying to spark some positivity and said, “Well, at least it’s all downhill from here.”
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| Kentmere Reservoir~We made it! |
As soon as we got back, some of us jumped in the car and headed into the village to find a grocery store to get food for the evening. It was the Americans’ night to cook and we decided we’d go BBQ style with hamburgers, crisps(chips), and vegetables with Ranch(which is usually impossible to buy in this country but we were lucky enough to find a small bottle at the store-we couldn’t believe our eyes!). After some serious frustration with the little disposable BBQ grills we’d bought, we ended up cooking our burgers on the stove inside. They still tasted amazing, seems everyone was impressed with our grill skills. The night continued with more games and more chat, it was about 2 am when we finally turned in.
The next day, Amelia and her gang left on another hike while most of us decided to have a lie-in(sleep in) and just take it easy. About 3 pm, I decided to go for a run through the tiny village of Windemere. The village was so cute, but the huge hills, however, were not so cute. I ran to the top of one of the hills we’d hiked over the day before and as I looked down over the valley, the misty fog was hanging in the air so heavily. The low clouds were sitting on top of the little cottages and the one church, it looked like a scene from a movie. It was another one of those moments where I had to stop and say to myself, “Wow. You definitely are in England.” It gave me goosebumps. I wish I could’ve captured the sight in pictures(I actually ran to the barn and back with my camera so I could try) but no photo would ever do it justice. Another lesson I’ve learned this year: just stop. Enjoy the moment while you have it.
That night we had one of the most entertaining meals that will definitely stay among my favorite memories of the year. Hannah, one of our program leaders, decided it would be fun for the staff to host a “Mystery Dinner” for us volunteers. I think I was more excited than most the others when she told us the theme and which character we’d be playing. It was “Murder at Cactus Creek” and it took place in Texas. Yeehaw!! If you’ve never done a mystery dinner, imagine a more in-depth version of the board game Clue: everyone gets dressed up and gets a script to read out and the challenge is to figure out who the murderer is as the story unfolds. The 3 program leaders cooked a 3-course fajita meal for us- it was fabulous! I was quite impressed with how much everyone else got into the whole thing, they all brought costumes and everything! My character was Honey Pott, "Cowgirl whose Daddy is one of the richest landowners. Likes to think she's a crack shot and as good as any man. Wears cowboy boots and a big white Stetson perched on her blonde curls and a gun tucked into her garter." Though I didn't have a big white Stetson(or a garter) I did have my Fatbaby cowboy boots that I wore with jeans and a plaid flannel shirt. I think the others enjoyed it so much because they were acting out a lifestyle that was so different than they were used to whereas I loved it because I felt like I was back in the mountains of Wyoming, where I worked for 2 summers on the wagon train. I also enjoyed it because I, or rather, Honey Pott, turned out to be the “murderer”.
After dinner, we all seemed to crash as we knew we’d have to be up and ready to leave by 10 am the next day. So as Thursday morning came, everyone was running around trying to put everything back together(it’s amazing how much damage 14 people can do in 4 days) and we were waving goodbye to the sheep by 10:30.
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| Blackpool Beach |
We decided that we’d make the most of our trip so instead of driving straight back to SPEC, we stopped off in Blackpool for a few hours. It turned out to be the perfect ending of our wonderful adventure together. Blackpool is famous for its Winter Gardens, Empress Ballroom, and Pleasure Beach Amusement Park. It was a perfectly sunny day for exploring the beach and the piers though the tide was a bit high so we couldn’t do much swimming. One of my highlights was going to the amusement park, which was literally right across the street from the beach, with Jess and Anthony. Anthony is a 22-year old Zimbabwean and he'd never been on a roller coaster before so we decided it was time for him to experience the thrill. Let’s just say for a guy who has such a deep bass voice, he can scream pretty loud…and high. We had a good laugh about it afterwards.
4 pm rolled around and we decided it was time to head back so our caravan took off for the last leg of the journey and we returned back to SPEC by about 7:30 that night.
Everyone was at the “exhausted-but-still-on-a-high-from-the-exhilaration-of-the past-four-days” stage so soon after returning, everyone dispersed and crashed. As I laid in my bed that night, looking at the stars out my window, I couldn’t help but think how incredibly blessed I am to be a part of such a beautiful community. The people I’ve met, the places I’ve been, and the things I’ve learned this year have made such an impression on my heart; these are the memories that will last forever.
I thank God for blessing me with such an abundant life.
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