Meet My Friends, part 5

On Wednesday, I got back from a three-day retreat with the rest of my team. We went up to Donegal, which is in the northwestern part of Ireland, and stayed in a house in the country. It was rather overcast, but still beautiful, and lots of fun. We waded in the ocean (cold!), played Frisbee on every open patch of grass or sand we could find, climbed hills, romped through the heather at Ireland’s most northerly point, and generally enjoyed each other’s company. I went for a morning walk with one of the other YAVs, and we discovered a patch of moss that looked like Jesus on a tree.

This is the moss that Hannah and I decided looks like Jesus.

The Frisbee addicts, all of whom brought a Frisbee on the retreat, are myself, Kevin, and Alex. Alex, Joel’s roommate, lives and works in North Belfast. He’s from Springfield, Ohio, and went to university at Kent State. (In one of those odd twists of small-world Presbyterianism, Emyli’s aunt goes to Alex’s church.) Alex is the only one of the YAVs who actively follows sports. At the beginning of the year, he often gave us reports on the scores of college football games back home. Like Joel, he has a fairly sarcastic sense of humor and enjoys teasing his friends. (Basically all of the YAVs give as good as they get, when it comes to teasing.)

Alex works at Whitehouse Presbyterian Church, which has had a run of bad luck in the recent past. In 2002, the church burned down from a sectarian arson attack. The attack actually served to bring the community together, thanks to the church’s loving response, and strengthened Protestant-Catholic relations. Then, this summer, a flood swept down the street and essentially destroyed the church again, immersing it in several feet of water. Rebuilding is nearly complete. Since August, Whitehouse has been holding all its activities – services, youth groups, Alpha courses, and other events – on other churches’ premises. Alex does a lot of work with the youth activities. He also makes some home visits and helps with adult activities like a homeless ministry and a lunch club.

The northernmost point in Ireland is very rugged terrain, the land mostly covered in brown heather. It reminded some people of The Lord of the Rings movies. So Emyli and Kevin started casting everybody as Lord of the Rings characters. Alex and I were cast as Pippin and Merry, respectively – the two slightly rambunctious hobbits. This might have had something to do with the fact that we were, at the time, climbing around on rocks and scampering through the fields, exploring. 

Alex, scrambling up some rocks.

Word of the Week: Cheers. This is an alternate for "thank you." I have now officially raised the $10,000 I needed for the year. Cheers to everyone who so generously donated! (If you wish, you can still donate money, which will go to the YAV program as a whole and support other totally amazing people all around the world.)