Daylight All Night...

What a wonderful day! I started out by working in the office; got quite alot done. We are taking the youth to camp mid-July so I had to get activities organized for that and Rique comes out 2 weeks from tomorrow so making sure everything is all set for his arrival.

At 4pm I went to collect Izzy's (from AAB) granddaughter. We really didn't have any plans other than heading into Belfast. Haha we had such a fun time! Walked around the City Centre, then went up to the lookout dome to take some pictures. McDonalds was a definite and then we headed over to the Abbeycentre as it stays open until 9pm and Belfast was pretty much closed down after we finished our dinner. Walked around eating slushies and chocolate until our feet became too sore to walk! We got to our bus stop 30 minutes early so Paddy came up with a game for us to play to pass the time. It reminded me so much of what my twin sisters would come up with! Made me miss them something awful and yet it also made me feel as if they weren't too far away. Each of us chose a color (silver, black, red, blue, etc. . .) and then counted how many cars passed in our color - whoever reached a certain number first won and then we picked new colors. Haha so simple but it really passed the time beautifully :)

I dropped her back off close to 9pm. I stepped inside to say hello to Izzy and got caught up in the show she was watching, Gordon Ramsey - Behind Bars. Basically a chef show in prison. Quite fascinating. These Britts really know how to step up the reality tv!

One thing I'll never get used to is being so high up on the globe. . . this whole not getting dark till 11pm is strange. Very strange! Walking back with Paddy I took these two pictures with my phone. . . No edit done on them. It was 9:15pm. . .

After leaving Izzy's I took these  two. Once again, no editing done on them. It's now 10:00pm . . .

Finally made it back to the church - 10:30pm . . .

 

And it's not even like its light at night, dark in the morning. Ha no we're talking sun rises before 5am (nice and bright) and then sets around 10pm and doesn't get dark til close to 11pm. Crazy!

Well I believe it is time for me to head to bed! Busy day tomorrow!

Night!

-J

Red, White, & Blue...

Another couple of days have just flown by. Hard to believe that June is coming to an end and July is peeking around the corner!

Backtracking. . . Saturday was a really rough day for me. It started out fine, Stevie and I went out as the dynamic duo to tackle the litter along Shore Road. The rain even held off the whole time we were visiting with families. It wasnt until the afternoon time that the rain started to fall - and with it, extreme homesickness. So I spent the evening having Jesus + Julie time and even tho I still really miss my family and close friends back home - I know I am here for a reason. . . one I'm not willing to give up on.

Yesterday was alot better. Church in the morning was really good and I went out for lunch with the Kirks to Ross Park. The food was amazing! Last night we had a surprise birthday celebration for both Cecil and Evelyn who each turned 70 in the past week! We spent the service having different people share on how they've been inspired by the Stewarts. Afterwards we had a potluck dinner and cake! Some of their family and close friends made it out as well and the whole night was such a special time for two incredible people.

 

Today has been lovely! Ha so from bad to good this blog is going! I stayed the night at the Kirks and spent the morning relaxing and doing pretty much nothing - so nice. Went out to town (Ballymena) to buy a birthday card for a friend and met up with Rebecca for some hot chocolate (her) and a latte (me). I just love that girl so much! Seriously such a sweetheart! Tonight Alan took Ben to his first football training camp! He is a year young - but daddy has some connections! Ha and Alan sure was excited. . . got Ben a whole Liverpool outfit, including a top with "Kirk" on the back and Alan's old football number "9".

While they were away, Rach and I spent the evening watching tv and polishing our nails. I decided for a sparkle red in honor of the upcoming holiday. First 4th of July I'll have missed. . . gonna be strange not having BBQ, potato salad, corn on the cob, or apple pie, not being able to watch a baseball game, and especially strange not to see or shoot off fireworks. Haha as I'm typing this I realize how much Americans (or maybe it's just me) relate food and sports to holidays. . . especially American holidays (Fourth of July, Thanksgiving)! Well regardless, my American flag will be flying high in my office a week from Wednesday, I'll be wearing my red white and blue, and my USA playlist will be on repeat from morning til night. Might even grab an apple pie from Tescos - who knows!

Well I think my nails are just about dry. Gonna call it a night!

Love yall!

-J

Hello Summer...

I have a feeling that this is going to be an interesting summer. . .
The rain and cold over the past three days have been ridiculous!

I've been busy the past few days getting the youth area ready for last nights grand opening. It was a huge success - all the kids loved it! We had 50 teens show up! Jamie-Lee from street reach came as well. I brought a short epilogue at the end - totally off my notes. . . but God pulled through and had his way last night! It was incredible!

Just got back from Street Reach. We were only there until 7:12pm but it seemed so much longer! As soon as we arrived 8 teens immediately came for their hotdogs. 6 more appeared soon after. The warm hotdogs were a huge hit tonight as was the hot chocolate. Ha I was in a heavy jacket and gloves . . . IN JUNE! What kind of summer weather is this?! Several more teens arrived and then Stevie and Gemma came walking towards us underneath this and I was laughing so hard tears were coming down my cheeks (or maybe it was just the rain. . . hard to tell)

We did have a tent up but thanks to the wind it didn't fare too well and unfortunately had to be taken down close to 7pm. It was then that 95% of the teens headed over to Burger King to stay dry until they got kicked out for not purchasing anything.

Trying to stay dry & warm!

I love these guys!

I just finished getting warm myself. Now I'm cozy under blankets with my cup of tea in hand. One thing I forgot to mention earlier is that Cecil and I had a wonderful meeting with Andrew, the City Centre manager. He is a Christian and is excited to be working with DCB. Once a month he has a lunch meeting for several evangelical ministries who focus on the City Centre and he invited us to attend. Those connections will no doubtingly prove vital. He also is working on getting us a building for the teens drop-in centre. Woohoo!!! BIG THINGS are happening!

Missing home quite alot tonight. Would love a snuggle with one of my sisters, or to be at a baseball game with my older bro, or at CiCi's with my younger one. And I long to just sit with my mom and dad and visit. Soon, but not now. Right now I know Jesus has me here for a reason. For such a time as this.

♥

-J

Bernard The Seal...

Great day! Worked for a bit in the office. Then I went off house hunting part 3! This time Alan and Luke took me. I looked at two 5-bedroom houses. I liked them both in different ways. Agh! I wish though that I could just combine some of these houses that I've seen into one perfect house. Emma is going to take a look at them next week and possibly Dr Stewart which will help with the decision. We need a place by the time Rique arrives on the 11th. That gives us 3 weeks!


Met up with Tanya for a walk along Lough Shore and GUESS WHAT I SAW. . . seal! Named him Bernard. It was the first name that popped into my head. I tried to get a photo of him but he slipped back into the water before I got the shot - LOL all that's in the pic is the rock he was on! Haha oh well.

We talked for awhile until we saw the storm coming! Decided to head back up to Sue's so as not to get caught in the obvious upcoming downpour.

Overall today was good. Really tired though so I think I'm gonna head to bed here shortly. Got a busy day in the office tomorrow.

Night!

-J

Lush...

Couple of good days. I always love writing on my days off - so easy to be positive :)
Yesterday was Sunday and I was helping Opus in the creche (nursery). I mostly watched Joshua but put a Veggie Tales on for wee Ben and Esther later on cause service was running a bit late. Went to Sue's for lunch. Delicious meal of roast beef and potatoes! I must say that the gravy made out here is divine! At least Rachel and Sue's always are. . . there must be some kind of secret ingredient they both use. Hmmmm I'm gonna need to look into this.

Alan spoke for the night service on vision. It was an encouraging word that I feel really boosted the atmosphere with excitement and energy. He said a Japanese proverb that really spoke to me; "Vision without action is a day dream. Action without vision is a nightmare." SO TRUE!

I ended the evening with watching a movie and eating my most favorite snack out here - Veda and cheese. However I've stepped it up a notch by adding slices of tomato and pepper. AMAZING!

Spent today chilling with myself :) Cleaned my room (a weekly Monday task) and did pretty much nothing until later afternoon when Sue rang me to go over to Ikea with them.

RANDOM SIDE NOTE: Tanya used the word "lush" on multiple occasions. I LOVE the word! It means like good, swell, awesome, . . . "you are so lush." Haha reminds me of my friend Tony in Cali when he tried using the word "fetch" in every sentence. I miss that guy :(

Ikea is by far my most favorite store to go in! I would go alot in Texas (had many "youth meetings" there with Lindsey over a cinnamon roll or two.) And I would go almost monthly back when I lived in LA. First time I've been out here - Can't believe it's taken me so long! I shall go back as soon as I get a house to buy at least one item. Even if it's just a vase :)

Afterwards we went back to the house and played a game of chicken foot dominoes. Love that game - even if I lost.

-J

Rainy Days...

Rain, rain, go away! Come again another day!

Couple of yuk days outside - but still moving forward! Our website is now complete! Check it out HERE

Last night at Street Reach it was pouring. Vinny was sick with the flu (BE PRAYING!) so Big Al made the hotdogs and Robert drove. Still quite a few out despite the weather. Hotdogs went quicker than normal. . . so many teens know we have them now that I'm thinking we're gonna have to start bringing more in the near future - God provide!

Me and my Kaya ♥

Catherine & Gemma

Headed to Sue's afterwards for a few games of Skip-O with her, Tans, and Alison. I never won a game. . . not ok. Still had fun though :) We also watched Euro 2012 London vs Sweden. I actually am really enjoying following the matches. Same as the 2010 World Cup - I'm pulling for Germany.

Today was good - AAB this morning. Cause Vinny is sick, just Stevie and I went out today. Rained again and we brought no umbrella - eh but a little rain never hurt anybody! Spent majority of our time with Junior and Vera. Lost the football at one point under a work van, we couldn't reach it so we decided to wait until the end of AAB before laying in the mud puddles to get it. Would've worked too had the van not driven off half way through! Haha needless to say the ball is now a bit flat!

Spent the rest of my evening having Julie time! Watched Ocean's 13 - one of my favs! And skyped with near all my family. . . Emily, Melody, Dad, Jonathan, and the twins!

Have church in the morning so I think it's time to put an end to Julie time and head to bed :)

-J

ps I was looking as some more houses and found a 5 bedroom 2 bath for the same price as the 3 bedroom 1 bath I looked at on Thursday! Either it's sketch or God's been saving it for us! It would mean more room to expand the Dream Team (say in January) and it means we'd have the space for teams to come out on mission trips! I'm hoping to check this place out Monday or Tuesday! We shall see!

Thank God For Starbucks...

Oh my word! House hunting PART TWO! Way crazier than yesterday!!
I woke up this morning and headed out with Sue and her granddaughter Tanya to Lisburn's Linen Museum. The museum showcases one of N. Ireland's best known industries. The bottom floor was a special exhibit on the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Quite fascinating it was! Upstairs was more so the actual museum. Very interactive and detailed as it taught me all about the linen industry in N. Ireland and how flax became fabric. Linen and fabric making was the biggest industry in Belfast in the late 1800s early 1900s. I got to learn how to spin flax into yarn on one of the old spinning wheels!  Tanya went first and took to the wheel perfectly. You set up your twine of flax on the side of your spinning wheel and then start up the wheel and maintain it by keeping a steady beat going with your foot. You’d take little bits of flax from the bundle, wet your fingers, and then spin it between your fingers an feed it into the wheel. I was like - oh I got this. . .Hahaha I finally got the hang of it but even then the yarn didn't seem to turn out right! Back in the day, girls would sing songs to help keep a steady rhythm going. They’d tell stories to pass the time. As a spinster, you didn’t meet a lot of guys so what the girls would do is wrap their flax in a ribbon to signal that they were single. If it was white, pink, or red they were single. If they were married they’d wrap the flax in blue or green. This way the boys who worked in the fields knew whether or not to come over and talk to them. It mattered how fast and detailed you were in your spinning - the boys wanted to make sure you'd be able to help them with providing. So glad I was born in this century as I would've died an old maid! My yarn was that bad!

After lunch we headed into Belfast for a bit. I saw this in a local sports store. . . made me smile.

I said goodbye to Sue and Tanya around 2:30 and headed off to my first house viewing (about a mile and a half away) I really liked it! Not perfect - but definitely an option and alot better than the one we saw yesterday! My second house was another 1.5 mi away and I only had 45 mins to get there.

I had to walk down Botanic Ave to get there - LOVE THIS STREET! Wasn't sure if I was going in the right direction at one point and I had to pee so bad I couldn't even think straight. . . Was contemplating what to do when I saw a Starbucks off in the distance! PRAISE HIM!

Used the bathroom, got a mocha, AND double checked my directions. . . I love Starbucks :)

The second house wasn't as good as the other so I scratched him off the list.

Grabbed some groceries and then met up with Ems who took us to the church for youth. Service tonight was AMAZING! Heavy attack but God's will prevailed - His anointing heavy. I just think He's incredible. Never ceases to amaze me! I reached a level of breakthrough tonight - no doubt. Feel even tho I'm facing some challenges, I'm on top of the world. It's now physically evident that BIG THINGS are headed our way!

-J

House Hunting...

What an adventure Ems and I went on today!

Woke up this morning with a text from Hannah saying she was gonna be a tad bit late so I headed into the office to cover the phone until she arrived. I then worked on a couple things until about noon when I headed into town to meet Ems at the Starbucks.

We wanted to combine the different properties we each found and S'bux seemed like the ideal location :) I just love "sitting in" at the Starbucks here as they give you your coffee/tea in a mug instead of a to-go cup. Makes the experience that much more enjoyable!

About an hour later Ems and I headed off to our only house showing for the day. We both forgot to write down directions to the place! We asked the guy at the car park pay station and he pointed us in the initial direction so off we headed! About 8 mins later we asked someone else, and then a mile later someone else. This happened for about another 14 pedestrians. . . and then finally we found it!

First impression: the street seemed a bit sketch. The realtor was running late but finally we were able to see inside. Hmmmm not that bad - but location is everything and I don't think Ems or I felt like "this is it". We took the man's business card and shall keep looking the rest of this week to compare some different places. The two I'm going to tomorrow both look pretty nice. We shall see!

Spoke for Biblestudy tonight - so nervous! Not really sure why - but it ended up being a good night!

RANDOM SIDE NOTE: Elvira is back! And I forgot how creepy she is! Still don't have the nerve to take a pic of her - but I might record my home/church/office tomorrow and post it in the blog. . . thus capturing the bizaare looking dummy on tape.

Just finished washing dishes and cleaning my room. Love starting a day off in a clean bedroom! I also put some fresh flowers on my nightstand making the room smell delicious!

Well that's all I have - know it's a bit random. . .but I guess you should be used to it by now :)

Hmmm I wonder what tomorrow holds. . .

Night!
-J

10 Months Later...

Oh my word! What a day I have had! Before I get into it let me bring you up to date on my "weekend" (Sun-Mon).
Church was good Sunday morning. Headed over to the Kirk's for lunch - Rach made a gorgeous meal of roast beef and potatoes! And had a straboffee pie (strawberry banoffee pie). It didn't come out like she wanted but to me it was HEAVEN!

CLICK HERE FOR THE RECIPE!

The night service was amazing! Rachel spoke on worship. Such an inspiring message! I headed back to Ballymena - my home away from home :)

Yesterday was good. Didn't do much all morning but hang with Ben. While he was in nursery (same as preschool) Rach and I (with Joshua) headed into the town to run a couple errands and grab a coffee at Montgomery's. Rachel is one of my favorite people. Just being with her inspires me and challenges me to be a better person. I am so thankful that God has placed her in my life!

Today I worked in the office! Last minute things on the website . . . so close to being completed! And I did a couple more intros for Dr Stewart's tv program. I headed into town after lunch to meet my girl Zena.  Hadn't seen her in almost 2 weeks so we were long overdue for a date :)

Went to get some chocolate truffles at Thorton's (chocolate is her favorite) and then headed to KFC for a snack. We then proceeded to have what I've started to call "KFC Church"  I had told her I'd tell her the "stories" in the Bible in a way she could understand. Before starting I asked if she knew any. She cocks her head to the side thinking "I know Jesus died on the cross." HOW AWESOME IS THAT?! I was like - well that's the BEST story to know :) So needless to say we started at the fall of Satan and went thru creation up to the rainbow. Next time we'll cover - Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Joseph, and so forth. I can already sense that this could be the start of something much bigger than I realize. . .

LacyJo came over tonight! Been awhile since we hung out! We got chippies for dinner and just finished watching a couple films - 17 Again & Miss Congeniality. Perfect sleepover if you ask me :)

She's actually fallen asleep here but I wanted to update the blog. Sitting here and thinking back it's hard to believe its been just over 10 months. How the time flies! Crazy how much has happened, how much I've changed, in the last 308 days. Definitely Jesus.

 -J

A Wee Girl's Night...

Today was so fun!

I went out to Adopt-A-Block in the morning. The weather seemed as tho it might rain so none of the teens came out to volunteer. First time I've had to pick up litter along Shore Road alone. Wasn't too bad tho I hope it doesn't happen again. Vinny and Big Al came out but drove to the site cause they were cutting gardens. While they worked I went and visited with everyone! Nearly all of our regulars were home - I loved getting to visit with them!

Usually AAB ends around 1pm - today however cause so many were home I didn't leave until 3pm. It turned out to be a decent day and I didn't have plans for the afternoon so I quite enjoyed it :)

Tonight Ems came and picked me up. I enjoy her company so much! Can't wait until she officially joins the Dream Centre Team (one more month)! We met up with a friend of hers, Rozee, and all headed over to Nicole's house (the legendary Nicole who climbed Cave Hill 5 months prego).

Nic was craving some pizza (which sounded perfect to Ems and I) so praise God for Dominoes! We spent the night chowin down on pizza and chips and dip. The tv was on but no one was really watching. We had all kinds of conversations and loads of laugh - Love them girls so much! Can't wait until our next get together!

Well I have church in the morning and then heading back to Ballymena for the next couple of days.

-J

Elvira...

Aw crap - Here I had decided to stay up to date and almost a week goes by without me noticing! I can't keep track of the days anymore! Busy busy - though I can't complain cause that's the way I like it! I guess I've had time to blog - just chosen a movie or a nap instead :)
Not really feeling much like giving an extensive detailed update - so this should probably be pretty brief.

Tuesday was a completely lazy day. Rach and I sat on the couches most of the day watching telly, only getting up to use the toilet and eat lunch and dinner. I needed one of those days tho - a completely 100% chill day.

Wednesday was the usual for a Wednesday - consisting of office work (finalizing the website and searching for apts to let), Biblestudy and prayer, and a movie to cap off the evening.

Yesterday was brilliant! One of those days you look back on and think "Yes, God has everything under control." Had a nice lie in and then headed into town to visit with my girl Jamie-Lee, who I fondly refer to as "Jamesters". I met her about 8 months ago at Street Reach and she became one of my instant favorites. We ran a couple of errands before ending up at the one and only Starbucks :) Best spot for a chat tho I must say! We got to visiting - and had some really good conversations.

We departed ways and I headed to Tescos for a much needed shopping trip. Ems picked me up at the end and we headed off to youth club (so nice not having Junior Youth on right now. Really frees up my Thursdays and takes an extra pressure off me) The Loft Youth was good tonight - but a bit different cause we are currently without a gameroom (the new one wont be finished until 2 weeks) Not much for the kids to do so Alan brought the message a bit sooner. It was an incredible word! Also James from AAB came! So glad he finally made it! Not sure how he liked it but I'll ask him tomorrow.

The service ended last night abruptly thanks to the fire alarms. Still don't know what really set them off (the enemy perhaps) but needless to say everyone left soon after.

Woke up this morning to the dang alarm. I had to walk all the way to the lobby to turn it off so I was wide awake thereafter. Worked in the office completing the website (gosh I miss Jacs so much being here!) and then I headed off to town for Street Reach. Alot of the teens were out! Spent most of my time with Colin, Jack, and Malachy. Beth and Daniel came out! And Jenn, Gary, Jade, John, Gemma, Woody, Stevie, Amy, Martin, and several others were out as well.

Have I mentioned how much I adore these kids?!?

Well I have a full day tomorrow! Can't wait until AAB - and then going out with Ems to Nicole's house! Hope everyone at home is doing well!

-J

ps I forgot to mention Elvira! So Cecil owns a hospital out here and they've just recently moved some of their training classes over here at our offices. They brought in all kinds of hospital-like things to use for demonstrations, one of those being a full sized hospital bed with a dummy! That thing has freaked out several people (me on a regular basis). So, I named her. . . felt like maybe it would make her less creepy. I would post a picture on here - but I'm not keen on going to her in the middle of the night. (And I'm a wee bit scared LOL!) One day maybe. She went missing a week ago - So so disturbing!

The Queen's Jubilee...

What a wonderful year for Great Britain! So glad to be apart of it all! Stayed the night at Alan and Rachel's. Around 11am we headed into the town of Ballymena to grab some coffee and scones at a wee cafe. Both of their mum's joined us. We sat near a window to watch for the parade.
We all headed outdoors as it came near. It was quite different than American parades - but I still really enjoyed it! Alan's sister came with Caleb and his friend Lee. Haha they were both so cute - and matching as usual.

We walked around a bit - thinkin there might be a carnival at the fields, but there wasn't so we headed on home.

We spent the afternoon relaxing. Alan took Benjamin out to buy him a bike while Rachel cooked dinner (Alan had his family coming over) and I downloaded my Olympic playlist. It has become a 4th of July mix as well. I must say even just hearing some of these and my heart skips a beat (like it does when I hear Christmas music!)

2012 Olympic Playlist
1. Bugler's Dream & Olympic Fanfare Medley
2. O Fortuna
3. Olympic Spirit
4. The Star Spangled Banner
5. Chariots of Fire
6. Rat Race
7. Olympic Theme
8. Summon the Heroes
9. America the Beautiful
10. God Bless America
11. Battle Hymn of the Republic
12. Proud To Be An American


Alan's mom, sister, brother, and his girlfriend all came over for dinner around 7pm. Such a lovely evening visiting with all of them! The banter between Alan and his brother with an occasional remark from his mom or sis reminded me of my wonderful family. I miss them so much!

After a delicious meal of lamb and potatoes, we all sat down to watch the massive jubilee celebration outside Buckingham Palace. I must say that I have learned quite alot about the royal family and how the whole thing works over the past few days (I would personally like to thank wikipedia for always being there for me. . . )

Alot of the singers and comedians performing tonight were British and other than a couple that I heard about since moving and the extremely famous such as Elton John and Paul McCartney I hadn't a clue who they were. Stevie Wonder was the only American I believe. However the lights and visual of the whole production were outstanding - I mean it had to be. . . it was for the Queen right? My favorite on the night was a song Gary Barlow wrote and put together called "Sing"...

Such a fun night hanging out with the Kirk clan and watching this magnificent celebration.

Well it's been a long day. Opted to take tomorrow off too. Gonna spend the day doing absolutely nothing at all with Rachel! Can't wait!

Sweet Dreams!
-J

Fire & Water...

Woke up this morning before my alarm. Even my throbbing head couldn't keep my excitement down! Today's the day the torch comes! (sigh) If only I had an American flag! Hmmmmm no point in wearing red, white, and blue since those are also Great Britain's colors. Got down to Lough Shore around 9:30. The torch came around 10:45am. I tried to get a U.S.A. chant going - but they would have none of it. Only 53 more days!

Service this morning was good - but I struggled paying attention with my head hurting as bad as it was - seriously feel as though my body is falling apart :(

Headed over to the Kirk's house for the afternoon. Tuesday is Queen Elizabeth II 's Diamond Jubilee. Basically the 60th year of her reign. Today and tomorrow they also celebrate it with festivities throughout the UK.

We were watching the Jubilee celebration on tv. Funniest thing tho is several people who saw my photos asked me if I was there. . . uhhhhh no these are pictures of the tv! The whole event was spectacular! I can't wait to watch the concert event tomorrow.

Back at church for the night service I was running around trying to find things before the service. My head hurt so bad I couldn't even move my eyes without causing shooting pains. I was getting so frustrated until I walked into my office and saw a wee note one of the teens posted on my wall. . .

I said a silent prayer and took a deep breath. I will not let the enemy get to me. Something I heard last week was “When the devil knocks on your door, send Jesus to answer.” I'm gonna  give this one over to Him.

Four teens got baptized tonight! (Leanne, Kirsten, Charlie H, and Conor) It was incredibly anointed! I cried during the whole thing! So proud of them! I remember these guys months ago some of them before they were even saved - the transformation God has done makes me shake my head and smile. Truly nothing is impossible for God.



I'm staying the next few days with the Kirk's. So blessed to have them in my life!

Well that's me off to bed! Goodnight wherever you are!
-J

Missing Jacs...

Sitting on my bed thinking of how quiet and empty this place feels without my Jacs. Been a good couple of days - but I'm definitely having Jaclyn withdrawals.

Yesterday after work I went into town before Street Reach. Hannah dropped me off on her way home from work. I love to walk the streets of Belfast. I'm def feeling an adventure in town again soon. Hmmmm maybe go exploring some parts I have yet to venture to!

Street Reach tonight was great! We had another team with us - this one from Alabama. Alot of the regs were out tonight as was the whole town thanks to the continental market (similar to the Christmas market they had back in December) that was out for the Queen's Jubilee. I also really enjoy the fact that it stays light out until late - makes the mood much more cheerful, even if the temperature outside has dropped about 10 degrees Celsius.

I stayed the night last night at Emma's. Love her! We went to CFC's (Christian Fellowship Church) worship night after the outreach. I love going to a service where no one knows me and nothing is required of me. I can just sit and rest in the presence of God.

THE DREAM TEAM: So we are attempting to not use the word "intern" out here because it has some connection with the troubles. Cecil has deemed us The Dream Team. . . so does that make us Dream Teamers? I dunno but with Jaclyn leaving I had started to pray for more help and uh Dream Teamers. By the 11th of July I will have two more volunteers joining me. Emma, 22yrs, who is from here and my good friend Rique, 20yrs, from back home. I'm really excited to have them out here and see this thing continue to take off! Ems already volunteers with us for the outreaches - but to have her full-time will be incredible! Such a dynamic trio God is putting together! (And Jacs if you wanta return we can make it a quad!)


Today was really good. Except I have had a migraine all day! Seriously - I am definitely under some crazy enemy attack. Adopt-A-Block this morning was good though. Conor and I had a competition to see who could pick up the most pieces of litter along Shore Road. He beat me 256 to my 207.

The rest of my afternoon was spent redecorating my room. I took Jaclyn's bed and am now using it as my own and turned mine back into a couch. I also brought in the wee bits of furniture she had and got rid of a couple suitcases I had been using as dressers. This room is starting to look a little bit more like a bedroom :) though I cannot wait until we get an apartment. Hopefully sooner than later!

Well it's time for bed. . . need this headache gone by morning!
-J