Lecture Week 1: The Father Heart of God

Last week's lectures were all about God's character, especially His Father heart. It was wonderful. I learned so much about His love!

I was struck each day by how blessed I am to have an earthly father who has always shown me what a true father heart looks like. It's amazing how God made dads able to point their kids to Him. I love you, Daddy! :)

Similarities Between Northern Ireland and the UP

They use the plural you, "yous," here like they do in the UP! I love it. 

There is a food here called a pastie, and people (at least Americans and Canadians) seem so pronounce it wrong all the time... It's different from a UP pasty though. These pasties are a mixture of ground up potatoes, cheese, and spices (and sometimes ground meat?) mashed into a patty and deep fried. They're eaten on buns - "pasty baps!" 

It's really pretty here. :) 

Lectures have begun!!!

This week we're having actual lectures. Our speaker for the week is a pastor from South Africa, and he's been teaching us about the nature of God and His love. It's wonderful. Here are some big points that have really struck me.

• True freedom is the ability to do that which you know is right.
• True humility is the willingness to be known for who you really are. Consequently, thinking too little of yourself is not really humility, but pride. Thinking too lowly of ourselves says that our Creator didn't do a good job. 
• Conviction is specific; condemnation is vague. Welcome the Holy Spirit's conviction, and don't let the Enemy condemn you. 

On a lighter note, I realized that I'm sort of regressing in some ways... (Regressing isn't the best word... I think it reflects negatively on younger people... Don't take it that way please.) Being here is sort of like being back in college, with lectures, assignments, and community living, and many of my fellow trainees are "college-aged." It's so strange being back in this lifestyle, but kind of fun. I'm really enjoying the freedom to wear jeans and hooded sweatshirts whenever I want to. Yesterday I wore pigtails and I think this might become a habit here... I'm not always trying so hard to make my appearance scream, "I'm a grown-up!" in this atmosphere. (That's not to say that I'm not a grown-up here... oy... you get the picture.)

On an even lighter note, I had a bacon bap for lunch today. And, did you know that what we call "fruit juice" back home is called "squash" here? Now you know.

More Pictures

Here are some more pictures, so that you can all see the pretty things. 

Water under the bridge on the way into town. I think it's pretty.

Did I mention there's OCEAN outside? 

Another tree. This one's in a park. 

(Have you noticed a trend here?)

My roomies and me by the Cloughmore Stone.

A bunch of us hiked up to it on Saturday.

Panorama from near the Cloughmore Stone. 

Me!

Beautiful. (I took this one while we were climbing/hiking up to the stone.)

Pictures!!!

I finally found some time to upload some pictures so that the visual people among you can understand my life a little better. Enjoy!

This is An Cuan, the lovely estate where I live.

This is posted on the entryway to Au Cuan. 

(You maybe could call it a gate...?)

This is the first toilet I used at An Cuan. I believe it is an antique.

Please notice the flusher hanging in the top right corner. 

Don't worry, family, all of the other toilets here are modern, but this one STILL WORKS!

Be impressed. (Also, please note that the generally used term for "bathroom" here is "toilet.")

This is the cafe at An Cuan. 

Melissa (and friends), please notice the bunting.

This is a big pretty tree nearby with one of my friends standing under it.

(It's kind of hard to see her...)

Night sky panorama!!! I took this at a park down the street.

This was one of the first places I got to visit after I got off the plane. 

It's a lovely tropical greenhouse in Belfast.

(We had to stay in Belfast to pick up a student on a later flight the day I arrived.)

This is another tree I liked that is down the street from where I live.

Oh! That land on the right, on the other side of the water, is the Republic

of Ireland. 

Slightly Overdue Update

Hi Friends!

I'm here in Northern Ireland, and adjusted to the time difference, and somewhat adjusted to life here. I'll attempt to keep this update succinct (but I might not succeed... sorry).

I live in a small town (LOVE small town life) that is RIGHT ON the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

The estate (YWAM base) where I live is called An Cuan (pronounced "on KOO-in"), which is an Irish word meaning "harbor." It's meant to be a place of refuge and restoration for those who come to visit our community - a place where they can fill up before being sent out again. It's basically like a giant house... sort of... I share a room with two others (who are fantastic, by the way), in a hallway full of girls sharing rooms (dorm-style). There are other dorm-style areas, guest quarters, apartments, a cafe attached to a big room for community gatherings, a classroom, a couple of kitchens, and lots of other places. There are families living here, trainees, and some staff.

In some funny ways, living here feels a lot like college (because I live in a dorm room and go to class... in the same building...), but it's also so much like a family. This community truly is unique.

Our normal lecture schedule officially starts tomorrow. Last week consisted of these things:

• Learning my way around this giant building.
• Learning my way around town.
• Getting to know the staff and my fellow trainees.
• Learning about Irish history (SO INTERESTING!).
• Learning more about YWAM.
• Learning about what it takes to keep a place like this running (cooking, scrubbing toilets, how to operate electric showers, etc.). 
• Generally getting oriented.

This weekend consisted of these things: 

• Getting to know the other trainees better.
• HIKING!
• Walking. (We've had several sunny days in a row!)
• Experiencing a service at a Church of Ireland. (Lovely.) 
• Resting.
• Doing laundry.

I intended to include pictures in this post but time is running short... I'll try my hardest to post pictures tomorrow. They'll be lovely when they come. Thanks for reading!!! 

Correction: It's "Bap."

When I said that a Bacon Bop is a Canadian bacon sandwich, I was a little bit off. It's actually spelled B-A-P. Pronunciation is rather unaffected though I think...

To further clarify, the term bap refers to the BUN, not to the fact that it's a sandwich. SO, it has to be on what an American would consider to be a bun (like a hamburger or a sloppy joe or something...), to be a bap. Also, the bun itself is a bap; it doesn't have to have anything on it.

Now you know (and so do I).  :)